Darkness into Dawn (The Unraveled Trilogy Book 2)

by Theresa Sederholt

  I DECIDE TO HEAD into Raiders for a bit. I have some things I want to look into. Tony should have the reports I ordered on Sammy and Gerhard. I’m not in the door five minutes and Mrs. Osla is all over me, asking a million questions about my health. I know I have to cut her some slack. She’s worried, but I swear, she’s like An on steroids! I don’t have much time here before I need to be back to put Jax’s plan in motion. I’m looking over the reports, when something pops out at me. Fuck, Sammy is still employed with MI6. Why would his file show that he’s retired, yet, he is still employed? I need to get to the bottom of this. It helps that I still have many friends at MI6, even the Chief, himself, owes me. I call the Chief. After assuring him that I’m fine, he tells me what I need to know. I race out the door and head back to The Tower. I need to talk to Jax.

  WE DECIDE TO TAKE a lunch break, which is good because I’m hungry. I take everyone to S’Mac for the best choices when it comes to Mac and Cheese. My mom is in shock when she sees there is a restaurant designed only around Mac and Cheese. I forgot that she has been isolated for twenty years; for her, time stood still.

  “Raven, I’ve never been to a restaurant that only makes Mac and Cheese.” Mom leans in and whispers in my ear.

  I want to cry at the loss she has gone through, but instead, I decide it’s time for a mental pep talk. I am going to enjoy showing her the world, seeing it through her eyes for the first time. “Rose, there is so much to see. A lot has changed since your last visit to the states.” I try to play our conversation off like she just hasn’t been here in a while and not hidden away for so long.”

  We order four different types of Mac and Cheese, each of us passing them around to sample. I check my watch and realize time is getting away from us. It’s time to set the plan in motion. “So, Jackie, have you decided when you’re going to see Max?”

  “Raven, you’re more like Jax everyday. No, I’m not sure what I want to do yet.”

  I sneak a peek to mom, and she knows what we need to do next. “Raven, I’m feeling tired. Do you think you can drop me off at home, and finish up without me?”

  Jackie takes mom’s hand, “Rose, Raven and I can finish up. We will take you back to The Tower.”

  As we head out the door, I quickly pull Sammy aside. “You need to go along with the plan, and trust me, don’t interfere.”

  He whispers in my ear, “Raven, I knew you were up to something. Not to worry, I won’t interfere with your plan as long as I know she’s safe.”

  We all pile in the limo and as we head towards The Tower I text Jax:

  Plan in motion. On our way. Make sure you’re ready. XO

  WE GET TO THE Tower, and everyone is very quiet on the elevator ride up. “Jackie, Jax and Max are staying at Bella’s, so we can stay together until the wedding. We set Rose up in Jax’s guest room, for now. We have lots to go over and we will need both places. Jax texted and said he set the seamstress up at Max’s place.” I know Jackie; she can be very stubborn, so I have to give her a push. We get off the elevator and Mick is there, waiting for us.

  “Hey, there are my favorite ladies. Did you get everything done?”

  I am so happy for him, He finally feels like he has a purpose; little by little the night terrors are getting better. “Almost, Mick, just a couple of gifts left to get.” I introduce him to Sammy, and they take to each other right away.

  “Raven, some deliveries came for you, and the seamstress is waiting in Max’s place. I believe you’re up first, Jackie.”

  She is hesitating, and I think it’s because the last time she was there, Max wanted her gone. I pull her into my arms, “Come on, I will go in with you. You’ll be just fine. He’s not there; it’s just the seamstress.” We go inside and head down the hall, towards the living room. Max and Jax are both standing there. Max stares at Jackie—neither one—saying a word. I keep my arm around her waist, so she won’t bolt.

  Jax steps up towards us, “Jackie, Max, the two of you need to work this out. Please hear me out and then if you still want to leave, I will let you.”

  Max cocks one eyebrow at him, probably because he knows that will never happen.

  “You are both stubborn fools, too blinded by hurt and misunderstanding to dig your way out of this mess. You both need me.”

  Jax gives them both the biggest smile, and I’m trying not to laugh at my man. He is really trying. I hold my hand up to Jax, “I think what Jax is trying to say is, you both need to sit down and talk this out. You might decide it’s too much and walk away, but you don’t want to ever wonder—what if. Jackie, when Max woke up, he was speaking out of fear and love. You know you’re a very strong person and would have stayed by his side, no matter what the outcome. Max, you need to tell Jackie why you built walls around your heart. Then, you both need to be honest about your feelings. After that, if you walk, well there is nothing anyone can do about it.” So far no one is moving. “Jax and I are going next door. We are going to leave the two of you alone to talk this out.”

  Jax takes my hand, “Sweetheart, can I talk now?”

  Oh he’s smirking at me. God only knows what he’s up to. “Go ahead, Jax. The floor is all yours.”

  “Raven, is the nice negotiator, and she has been trying to help me with my bulldog style way of doing things, however, in this case, I have only one thing to say, you will sit down and talk this out. You will tell each other everything and, Max, I mean everything. If either one of you tries to leave here before that, I gave Mick instructions to shoot you in the arse! Okay, Raven, I’m done now.”

  Max is trying not to laugh and Jackie seems to be in shock.

  “Jax, is Mick supposed to shoot me in the ‘arse’ too, or just Max?”

  He narrows his eyes at Jackie, “Seeing as your parents might get mad if I had you shot in the arse, I will have him tie you up until you listen to reason.” Before anyone can say anything more, Jax pulls me into his arms and we are out the door.

  “JACKIE, WOULD YOU LIKE a drink?” I offer. Her eyes are glued to me and her silence is deafening. “Please, have a seat. I have a lot to tell you.” I gesture to the seat next to me as I sit on the couch. She takes the chair. I push the coffee table in front of her and sit on that instead. Our knees are touching, and it takes all that I have not to pull her into my arms.

  “I’m listening, Max, say what you need to,” her tone, almost impatient.

  I take a deep breath, preparing myself to relive this nightmare, yet again. “I have some things to tell you. Some of which, I only found out a couple of days ago. You need to know everything about me . . . why I’m so overprotective. Afterwards, if you hate me and decide to leave, I won’t stop you.” I wait a moment to see if she has any objection.

  “My mum met a man from Scotland, got married young, and had me. He was in sales and traveled for business. His visits home became less and less, until one day, he just never came home at all. Shortly after, a young woman came to see us, claiming she was married to my dad. She had two children, Jax and Isabella.” Just when I say that last bit, her face registers shock. “Yeah, I just found this out. It was not too long after that my mum committed suicide. An came right after that and offered to raise me as one of her own children. My grams kept me with her, but she kept in touch with An through the years. I made a life for myself. After graduation, I joined the Police Force and my career took off. Not to long after that, I met a girl and fell in love. Her name was Samantha, and soon we were married.”

  She leaps up, “Max, you’re married? That’s what this is all about?”

  “No, please hear me out. In the end if you want to walk, I promise, I won’t stop you.”

  She quietly sits back down and I take a deep breath to continue. “Soon after we married, we had a son, Elliot. I thought my life was complete, it didn’t matter that my dad walked out. I had the family I always wanted. Then one day, Samantha took Elliot to the park. Afterwards, she headed back to the car and while she was taking him out of his buggy, two drugged up gang m
ember’s carjacked Samantha. They pulled a gun and shot them both. My Elliot died in Samantha’s arms, along with her. My heart died that day, too.”

  “Max, my heart breaks for you and all that you have lost, but it doesn’t explain why you’ve pushed me away. I gave you my heart, my soul, myself, so completely. And you sent Jax to get rid of me. You broke my h-heart.”

  I watch Jackie’s face as the tears start to trail down. I want to take her in my arms, but she needs to hear it all, and then she can decide.

  “Baby, you came into my life and you scared me. You blew my whole world apart.”

  She puts her hand on my knee and I jolt from the touch. “I scared you how?”

  I take her hand and place in over my heart. “You made me feel hope, you made me feel love. You made me think of the future. That scared me half to death. The night that Vincent’s men tried to grab you from your flat, I nearly died all over, again. I realized that night I was in deep. I can’t take another loss. It’s why I’m so over the top with security.”

  “That day I left you at the elevator to go after Vincent, I heard you when the doors closed. I heard the gut-wrenching wail, and I felt my heart crack in two. The whole time I was running through that mansion, searching for Vincent, I knew if I could just get this over with, I would be back in your arms. You’re the light at the end of my tunnel, but then, my world went black.” I squeeze her hands tightly for emphasis.

  “I heard you at my bedside, crying. I heard Jax threaten me with bringing his mum to try and bring me around. I heard you and An, talking. Jackie, I heard you tell her that no matter what the outcome, you would sit by my bed and take care of me for the rest of your life. Do you know what that did to me?”

  Her eyes grow wide and I can see she’s shocked that I heard it all, that I could remember all of it. “It made me realize the best thing I could do for you, if I really loved you, was to force you to go, even if it meant that you would hate me. I didn’t know if I would ever recover, and I couldn’t, no—I wouldn’t hold you back. You deserve to be happy and loved. When Raven was kidnapped for those three months, I would sit outside the school everyday and just watch you with the children. You love them, and they love you, how could I ever take that away from you? I just couldn’t.”

  We sit there for a long time in silence. “Please, Jackie, you need to talk to me. At least tell me to sod off, if that’s what you want, and I will.”

  She gets up and walks to the window, looking out over the park. “Would you have ever told me about your wife and son?”

  I walk up behind her. “Jackie, please look at me,” I plead. She turns and we’re face to face. “Yes, I knew that I would have to when I felt the walls around my heart start to crumble. I knew I was in deep with you. You deserved to know my whole story.”

  She strokes my face, “How do you feel?”

  I’m in shock. I pull her into my arms, “After all I told you, you want to know how I feel? I feel like I’m going to lose my mind if I let you walk out that door. I feel like my heart is beating again, now that you’re in my arms. I feel like I’ve come back to life, like I’ve been given a second chance. I feel like I want to hold you, and love you all night long, never letting go. That’s how I feel.”

  She leans up and lightly brushes my lips with a barely there kiss. “I meant your head, Max.”

  I lift her up, and carry her towards my bedroom; her long legs are wrapped around my waist. “Please stay, Jackie.”

  She kisses me again, “Not until you answer some of my questions.”

  I climb into bed with her still in my arms. She’s sitting in my lap, her legs still wrapped around me. It feels so right, perfect. “Okay, you can ask me anything, and I promise to answer.”

  She searches my eyes, while stroking her fingers around my scar.

  “How is your head? What did the doctor say?”

  She’s worried about my health? God this woman is beautiful inside and out. “I get headaches, but the doctor said that is to be expected. They are becoming less and less. I don’t have all my stamina back, but I hope to soon. I have been doing therapy, and the doctor released me to go back to work on a limited basis. I do a full workout in the gym. I don’t think I am ready to be back in the trenches, but being in the office, behind the scenes—for now—is fine.”

  She leans in and kisses me. “First, thank you for your honesty, it is something that I need. Do you know what happened to your father?”

  I wasn’t expecting that one. “Yes I do, I just learned the other day that I am related to Jax and Bella, and I wanted to find out how many others there could be out there. Our father was a bigamist, and poor An has carried this knowledge, silently for all these years. I gave Jax a file that has all the information in it, but he’s choosing not to look at it. Do you want me to tell you?”

  She shakes her head, “No, I don’t want to know. What is going on with Vincent and Duke?”

  She’s not holding back. “Vincent came out of the coma yesterday. I’m not sure if he remembers anything that happened that day. Either way, the Feds and the District Attorney need to talk to both Raven and I. There will be a trial. And it will be messy. Raven’s aunt has surfaced, and we will be bumping up security on everyone, including you. I don’t see this ending any time soon. Duke is in Sing Sing prison. From what I’ve been told, the Feds don’t think he will be beneficial to them.”

  I need to know how she feels, but I don’t want to push her. “Jackie, talk to me, baby. Please tell me what you’re feeling. Just like you, I need total honesty.”

  She puts her arms under mine and pulls me close to her. She leans in and kisses my heart. I swear to Christ, I don’t know how much more I can take.

  “Max, I love you. I don’t play games, I know what I want and what I want is you. That being said, I’m not going anywhere, but we need to set some ground rules.”

  I let out the breath I was holding. “Okay, baby. I can live with rules . . . rules are good. Just tell me what you need.” God I have missed this girl so much; my heart ached without her.

  “Real simple, Max—no secrets. I’m not running away and neither are you. If you have a problem with me, then tell me. If you’re scared, then tell me. If you need a timeout, then tell me. If you ever pull this shit with me again, the only thing you will be looking at is my ass walking away from you. We are equal here, and it’s best you remember that.”

  I kiss her and she deepens it. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

  She rests her forehead on mine and closes her eyes. “Sorry, I can’t. Neither can you. You’re staying at Bella’s house, tonight and I am staying at Jax’s with Raven and Rose.”

  I whisper, “Okay, I’ve waited this long, I can wait another day.”

  “Do you think it will ever be safe for me to go back to teaching?”

  I wish I had all the answers. “I honestly can’t answer that. Has Raven or Jax spoken to you about Jax’s idea of opening a private school at Raiders?”

  She smiles and kisses my lips. “No, but it doesn’t surprise me. Jax is crazy when it comes to Raven.”

  Maybe if I can convince Jackie, then she will convince Raven. I’m getting as nuts as that crazy arse fucker. “It’s a good idea for many reasons.” She cocks her head and smiles. “Okay, don’t look at me like that, just hear me out. If the workers had daycare and a school, within the same building, then they could be more productive. If the parents don’t need to worry about after care or before care, then they would be more productive in their jobs. We could have all sorts of after school programs for the kids. The parents would know their children are safe and getting access to more opportunities they normally wouldn’t. For safety purposes I think it’s great. Now, as far as learning, we wouldn’t be relying upon the state or the federal government for funding, so we could offer a much better education. I went to school on scholarships and it really helped not having any debt when I was done. It would make the workers more productive, and it could be part of the incentiv
e package for new hires. There are other companies with the same business model.” I’m not sure she is buying this, and I know I’m starting to sound as desperate as I feel. “There is a company in North Carolina that does this. They also have other things available for workers, such as dry cleaners or car maintenance. By doing this, they are creating less stress for the workers. In the end everyone wins.”

  She leans in, and kisses my neck. “It’s also good for you and Jax, this way you both know where we are at all times.”

  She kisses me, and I don’t want to let her go. “Baby, I know you said I have to go to Bella’s with Jax, but please, just let me hold you for awhile.”

  “Only for a little bit, then the seamstress needs to measure me. There really is a seamstress, right?”

  I kiss her neck, working my way slowly down her beautiful body. “Oh, baby, there’s a seamstress. I can help her with your measurements. I could tell her, in great detail, about every inch of these beautiful legs.”

  “Maxwell, you’ll do no such thing!”

  She’s blushing. Oh God, if I don’t stop now, there won’t be a wedding. “Come on, baby, let’s go find that seamstress.”

  ALL IS QUIET NEXT door. I wonder what is going on. I know Jackie loves him, and she will listen, but she can be very stubborn. The seamstress got everyone’s measurements but Jackie’s. Jax is in the office, working on something, and I’m enjoying the quiet time, relaxing and gazing out the window. My mom is meeting with her therapist for the first time, today. I hope she takes it slow. I need to figure out what to get Jax. He has no clue what tomorrow is, and I decide I’m not telling him until after the wedding. I need to let him know that I would like to write our own vows. I head to the office and am taken aback at the sight before me. Jax is talking to himself, crumpled paper is everywhere, and he’s practically pulling all his hair out. “Jax?”