by Taylor Lee
He saw Viviana’s frown and knew she was annoyed that he was asking her for details. He wasn’t surprised when she tipped up her chin and shot him an irritated glance.
Shrugging, she said impudently, “Are you asking what I would do if I was working the case alone, the way I usually do, Chief?”
Jax smiled and said evenly, “Yes, Sergeant Moreau, I’d like to hear how you would approach the Padrones.”
Viviana blew out an audible sigh and said flippantly, “If I was working the way that I work best, I would know that the news of my meeting with Raphael is topic number one among the gangbangers. Given that both gangs have plants in their rival gang, they no doubt know every word that I said to Raphael and his boys.”
Jax held her gaze and nodded in acknowledgment. Knowing that he was pressing her but insisting that she articulate her goals and actions, he said, “I’m confident that is true, Sergeant. Given that, what do you recommend? And, Sergeant Moreau, please be specific.”
Viviana shrugged. “Obviously, the next step—which by the way, I’ve already taken—is to reach out to Ortiz’s goons, indicating that I need to meet with their hallowed leader. I expect to hear back today or tomorrow at the latest.” With an impudent shrug, she added, “When I get the word, as with Raphael, I will go alone.”
Not responding to the fact that she’d already contacted the Padrones and her declaration that she would be solo, Jax chose to ignore her obvious provocation. Instead, he pressed his lips together in a firm line and spoke to the group as a whole. “Once Sergeant Moreau confirms the details of her meet with Manuel Ortiz, we will outfit her with the same equipment we did with the Diablos.” Nodding at the monitor screen, he singled out Matías Rocha. “I’ve got to tell you, buddy, that equipment you sent is beyond sensational. It was as though we were in the room with Sergeant Moreau instead of within arm’s reach.” Turning back to Viviana, he said with a pleasant smile, although there was no mistaking the import of his words, “I’m confident our inimitable sergeant is grateful, Mat. Without your high-end surveillance toys enabling us to protect her, there’s no way that Sergeant Moreau would be meeting with these assholes alone.”
Chapter 13
Viviana made a point of participating in the ensuing discussion as little as possible. She knew Jax felt the tension between them as much as she did, but she’d be damned if she would acknowledge it. As the national agents were signing off, she began gathering her materials in preparation to leave.
Mick stopped her. His frown said it all. “Hey, hot stuff, you aren’t blowing us off again, are you? We have some serious celebrating to do at Flemings. Damn, Vivi, you pulled off the coup of the century. We gotta let you know how proud we are of you.”
Ignoring Jax’s stern expression and brushing Mick’s hand off her arm, Viviana made her way to the door. “I have to make some calls, Mick. I’ll catch up with you guys later—if I can.”
Not waiting for her partner to respond and ignoring Jax and Greg, who were standing to the side not hiding their troubled frowns, Viviana walked through the door with a flippant wave over her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she headed for the back staircase to her office. She didn’t want to talk with anyone, particularly her “team.” She knew Jax was angry with her and she was glad. Maybe he’d decide that having her on the team wasn’t such a good idea after all. She snorted in disgust. Unfortunately, he’d made it clear that she was on the team or off the squad. And she had to admit that all the guys were practically tripping over their tongues praising her.
Trying to slip into the squad room unnoticed, Viviana was surprised when Opal Davis, the VCU desk sergeant, stopped her. “Hey, Viv. Hope you don’t mind, but I escorted your visitor into the conference room. It’s noisy out here and she looked a little out of place.”
Viviana frowned. She racked her brain, trying to remember whom she was supposed to meet. Walking into the conference room, she was startled to see Jax’s mother sitting in one of the side chairs, flipping through an old magazine. At Viviana’s entrance, she rose to her feet.
Before Viviana could speak, the attractive woman held out her hands, a worried expression marring her pleasant face. “Oh, Viviana, I’m so glad to see you.”
Viviana didn’t try to hide her confusion. “I . . . I’m sorry, Dr. Hughes. Jax didn’t mention that you were coming. Uh, Jax’s office is on the fourth floor.” Trying for humor, she glanced at the busy room behind her and said, “The squad room is for the rest of us wannabes.”
Dr. Hughes flushed and said quickly, “I know that, dear. But I didn’t come here to see Jaxton. I wanted to talk to you.”
Viviana swallowed and sucked in a calming breath. Unable to imagine why the sophisticated woman could possibly want to see her except to comment on how she had spoiled their dinner two nights ago, Viviana made an effort to appear composed. Not an easy task, given that her heart was tripping wildly in her chest. Motioning to the chairs surrounding the conference table, she said, “I see. Let’s sit here, shall we?” Refusing to be cast in a subordinate position, Viviana choose the chair at the head of the table.
As she waited for Dr. Hughes to take her seat, a hard realization hit her. An avalanche couldn’t have been more crushing. Of course, in addition to her bad behavior at the dinner, Jax must have told his parents who she was, what her hideous lineage was. And now Jax’s mother must have come to tell her that she wasn’t worthy of her superstar son.
Determined to maintain her dignity, Viviana faced the older woman and asked flatly, “How can I help you?”
Jax’s mother held up her hands and gave an aggrieved sigh. “This is challenging. But first, you need to understand that Jaxton doesn’t know I’m here. He’d kill me if he did.”
Without agreeing that the situation was more than challenging, Viviana managed to say, “I’m afraid I don’t understand, Dr. Hughes.”
“Please, dear, call me Mary Ellen.”
Viviana swallowed hard and said as calmly as she could, “Of course . . . Mary Ellen. Again, how can I help you?”
Mary Ellen smiled, her expression lightening. “Well, for one, Viviana, you can help me get off the hot seat I inadvertently put myself on.” At Viviana’s frown, she continued. “I came to apologize to you, my dear.”
Viviana shook her head and responded coolly. “Really, Dr. Hughes . . . Mary Ellen, you have no need to apologize to me. If anything, I owe both you and your husband an apology. I behaved poorly the other night. I didn’t mean to spoil your dinner with Jax—”
Mary Ellen shook her head. “No, no, Viviana. According to my husband and, I’m sure, my son, I truly do owe you an apology. Both Jaxton and his father were unhappy with me. They said I didn’t give you a chance to talk, that I just rambled on.”
Viviana frowned, honestly not knowing how to respond. Obviously, she had made a fool of herself, and for some reason Jax’s mother wanted to excuse her. Likely before she told her that she wasn’t fit to be with her son. Before she could decide how to handle the untenable situation, Mary Ellen leaned forward, an earnest expression on her face. “Viviana, both Jaxton and Connor said I was over-the-top. That I literally assaulted you with my inane chatter. I . . . I know I have a tendency to brag about my son. It’s just that I see him so seldom and . . . ”
Viviana raised her hand, glad that she was breathing relatively normally. “Please, Mary Ellen. You have nothing to apologize for. Understandably, you are proud of Jax.”
“That I am, my dear, but I had no business going on and on. I just wanted you to know what a wonderful man he is. Frankly, I wanted to do anything I could to help him in your eyes. You must know, Viviana, my son is very much in love with you . . . ”
Viviana pulled back, startled by Mary Ellen’s unexpected claim and her poignant sincerity. Before she could respond, the door opened and a clearly troubled Jax stomped in.
“Mother, what the hell?” Frowning at his mother, Jax was at Viviana’s side in seconds.
Viviana stood and tried to sp
eak, but Jax wrapped a protective arm around her and tugged her next to him. Turning to his mother, who looked as agitated as Viviana felt, he said carefully, “Mother, I don’t understand. Why are you here, and more important, why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I would have been pleased to meet you and show you around the precinct.”
Mary Ellen assumed an injured expression and met her son’s frowning gaze with one of her own. From the way the two of them were facing off, it was clear to Viviana this wasn’t their first altercation. Dr. Hughes breathed an audible sigh and pressed her lips together in a way Viviana had often seen Jax do when he was annoyed. “Really, Jaxton, I wanted to talk with Viviana without you and your father hovering over us. You have to know that you and Connor can be quite overbearing. In that your father and I have to leave in the morning, I hoped that Viviana and I could have a little girl talk.”
Knowing that even if she were tortured, she wouldn’t know how to participate in “girl talk,” Viviana could only lean against Jax, praying that some of his strength would rub off on her. She hadn’t realized how upset she’d been, certain that Mary Ellen had come to tell her that she didn’t approve of her. But she was truly unable to comprehend her declared purpose. Not surprisingly, Jax seemed to understand her confusion better than she did. Pulling her closer to him, as if shielding her from his mother’s annoyance, he said with a sigh, “I see, Mother, and I appreciate the gesture, but I wish you had called first. Viviana and I have had a long day and a challenging week. Much as I would have liked to spend more time with you and Dad—”
Viviana interrupted him. “Please, Jax, it’s okay. I . . . I’m glad to see your mother again.” She hesitated. She’d been so certain that Mary Ellen had come to warn her off her precious son that she didn’t know how to respond to her surprising declaration. Struggling for words, she shrugged, then leaned in closer to Jax. Feeling his arms tighten around her, she fought the emotions threatening to overtake her. God, what was wrong with her? She was never this emotional, had never felt so compromised. She could always hold her own, no matter who the antagonists were. With a sliver of insight, she acknowledged that while she was a master of caustic put-downs, graceful acceptance wasn’t in her repertoire. Fortunately, it was in Jax’s.
Holding her tightly against his side, Jax smiled at his mother and said with an audible sigh, “Look, Mother, I’m pleased that you wanted to see Viviana and me again before you leave. I have a suggestion. If you’re up for excellent booze, how about you join Sergeant Moreau and me—and the rest of our team—at a well-deserved happy hour? I’m not sure if Dad is done with his meetings, but it would be great if he could come as well. I’d like you both to meet the impressive people I hang out with.” He smiled down at Viviana and added, “Although you’ve already met the star of our galaxy, the Enchantress.”
Much later, after a lively conversation with their team and his parents, Jax prepared to say good-bye to his mother and father. Greased with Francis’s high-end booze and Mick O’Reilly’s outrageous repartee, the evening had been an undisputed success. His parents had been charming, and at Mick’s insistence, they had told one story after another about Jax’s early life. Although most were tales of his successes and achievements, more than a few were embarrassing, adding to the frivolity of the evening. Jax did his best to include stories about his parents and his team to balance the star role he was inadvertently playing. Throughout the evening, Viviana was unusually quiet. Jax pulled his chair next to hers and, ensuring that their knees touched, he kept a protective arm wrapped around her shoulders, creating an unbreakable physical connection between them.
****
Jax wasn’t surprised to see Viviana’s car in their garage when he arrived home. The way she’d rushed out of Flemings underscored her need for space. Rather than confront her, he passed by the bedroom and went up to the rooftop patio to wait for her. He was confident that she wouldn’t go to bed, knowing that would make her more vulnerable to an amorous assault. He was gratified when she joined him several minutes later. He only wished that she didn’t look so pale and strained.
He nodded to his glass and pointed to the bottle of scotch on the counter. “Although we just came from Flemings, a nightcap seems to be in order. Will you join me, Viviana?” At her nod, he poured a healthy portion in a glass and handed it to her. Raising his glass, he said with a smile, “Here’s hoping this expensive scotch will help chase that worried expression off your beautiful face and replace it with a smile. Or at least, something that’s not a frown.”
She took a long draught of her drink, then murmured, “I thought your mother was coming to tell me that I wasn’t good enough for you.”
Jax was startled. “Jesus, Viviana, my mother would never do that. Even if she felt that way, which she didn’t, she wouldn’t have dared. She knows that I would never speak to her again.”
Viviana’s hand was shaking so hard, she was unable to hold the glass. She put it on the table and turned to him. “I . . . I thought you told her, Jax. Told her about me. You know, about my mother, the . . . stepdads. The bad things I did, what happened to me when I was . . . a kid . . . ”
If she had shoved a ten-inch Ka-Bar in his gut, Jax couldn’t have been more shocked. It took everything he had not to grab her and shake her. Anything to dispel the ugly accusation she’d uttered calmly, as if she’d accused him of telling his mother the dress she wore made her look fat. Calling on his wealth of forbearance, Jax tried to keep his potent fury from compromising his ability to reach her. As angry as he was that she could think he would tell his parents about the ugliness she’d experienced and betray her confidence, he forced himself to acknowledge her agonized expression. Pulling her into his arms, he lifted her chin and looked into her indigo eyes that were glistening with unshed tears.
He forced himself to speak calmly. “Viviana, I know somewhere buried deep in your rational brain you know that I would never betray a confidence—”
She interrupted him. “You told Serge, the others . . . ”
He tightened his hold on her and said quietly, “Uh-uh, don’t do that, sweetheart. You know that my team—our team—of agents is working their asses off to find the hideous men who hurt you. And, Viviana, none of us will rest until we bring them to justice.” He added grimly, “Our kind of justice.”
Determined to shake her out of her destructive thoughts, Jax changed the subject. “Tell me, Sergeant Moreau, what am I going to do with you?” At her questioning frown, he shot her a mock frown. “Specifically about the fact that you are determined to challenge my order that team members discuss their plans before they execute them. They don’t preemptively implement them.”
Glad to see her chin go up, Jax was relieved that she responded to his challenge as he’d hoped she would. Deciding to further up the ante, he pinned her with a frown. “While we are discussing your risky behavior, you haven’t told me about your luncheon date.”
Viviana gave an annoyed sniff. “As if your little spy, Francis ‘the traitor’ Flemings, didn’t give you a blow-by-blow description, including the fact that I didn’t stay for lunch.” Apparently deciding to challenge him further, she added, “Oh, and by the way, I agreed to take Enrique to the women’s shelter tomorrow.”
Jax managed to respond blandly. “Enrique, huh? Ah yes, the man who’s going to get his ass kicked . . . ” He pulled her closer to him and said carefully, “I can see I have some work to do with my provocative little girl.”
She frowned and shoved at his hands. “Like what?”
He shrugged. “Apparently I need to convince you that there is only one man in your life who can ever love you the way that I do.” When she gave a dismissive shrug and tried to pull away, he tightened his grip and said softly, “Rather than tell you in words, how about I show you?”
Chapter 14
Dashing from the bar, Viviana planned to stay as far away from her serious-looking lover as she could. Unfortunately, Jax seemed to have an invisible chain attached to her. O
ne that he could pull at any moment, and whether she wanted to or not, she discovered she couldn’t resist going to him. Fully intending to take a bath, then crawl into bed, she was surprised when her disobedient feet found their way up to the rooftop patio and the man waiting for her. She’d seen the hurt that streaked his emerald-hard eyes when she admitted she thought he’d told his parents about her hideous past. At base, she knew that Jax would never do that, but she felt vulnerable knowing that her team, with the exception of Mick, not only knew her ugly past but was hunting for the perpetrators who had abused her.
She was relieved when Jax gave her a pass on that issue, although all too soon it was apparent it had been a momentary reprieve. He’d quickly focused on the rest of what he called her “bad behavior.” Of course, he was angry that she’d approached the Padrone goons without his permission. She’d done it on purpose. To rub it in his face how challenging it was going to be to have her as a member of his team. But Jax had handled her disobedience and her taunting references to the glamorous gubernatorial candidate in a way only he could. He’d gathered her in his arms and for the next several hours underscored what passionate, provocative loving in the hands of a consummate lover could do to her resistance. She groaned, remembering the audacious things he’d done to her body and spirit. Good God, it was almost worth misbehaving if last night’s bacchanalia was her “punishment.”
Viviana leaned against the plush leather seat of her classy Mazda RX 7 Spirit and breathed a hard sigh. She closed her eyes, as if that would erase the X-rated images coursing through her teeming brain. She sniffed, thinking if only it would be so easy to scuttle the memory of the extraordinary night she’d had.
