Shattered Lies

by Theresa Sederholt

  “Jax, please tell me you’re not going; clearly, you can see no good will ever come out of this.”

  “Bella gave us two days and then she is leaving. I can’t let her go alone.”

  “Can’t Michael talk to her? She has to see how dangerous this is; she’s not a fool.”

  “I honestly don’t think anyone will be able to get through to her.”

  “What’s bothering you? And don’t say ‘nothing’—I know something is.”

  “I don’t want to load you with anything else, but our deal is no secrets.” I mindlessly stroke his chest.

  He turns around so he can see me. “Go ahead, I’m listening.”

  “First, a package came yesterday from Hage, in it was a letter from Duke. Before you freak out, I didn’t read it and I’m not sure I want to. Secondly, I went to a therapy session with my mom yesterday and she is talking about confronting Vincent.” I wait for the storm that is coming. Surprisingly, he is very quiet. He closes his eyes and tilts his head back. He takes a few deep breaths, probably trying to gain some composure. “Jax, are you going to talk to me?” He lifts his head and opens his eyes. They are dark, very dark.

  “Why? Please explain to me why she would want to confront Vincent? She is a smart woman and clearly, she can see no good would ever come of it. I know everyone is in jail. But still, Raven, you have to talk some sense into her.”

  “I have tried—believe me—I have. She is pretty adamant about it.”

  “What has the therapist said about it, or is that too personal to ask?”

  “I honestly don’t know; I wasn’t in the session.”

  “What was in the package that Hage sent?”

  “Besides the letter from Duke, there were some papers that Max and I need to sign. They have enough on him that Max and I won’t have to testify. I really don’t want to go back to the states, but if my mom goes back, I can’t let her go alone.”

  “I understand, but your mum is not going back there. I will have to negotiate with her.”

  Oh Jax and his new found negotiating skills. “What if that doesn’t work?”

  “I will never let you anywhere near Vincent. If I have to, I will take her myself.”

  “I love you, but please go easy on her. Now let’s get out of here; the water is getting cold and I’m hungry.” I get up and give him my hand. He reaches for it and kisses the inside of my wrist. I shudder; his lips will always have that effect on me.

  JACKIE AND I SPENT hours combing the Internet and the results weren’t good. She finally fell asleep on the sofa. I need to head back to the main house and let everyone know what we found out. I love that we live close to everyone, yet we have our own sanctuary. I need both, more than anyone will ever realize. I look up from the computer and watch my sleeping angel. I can’t wait to get married and start a family. I lift her up and carry her to bed; the bad news can wait a little longer. I need her softness, it’s what grounds me. Through her, I see the good in the world. Through her, I see hope. That’s what makes me want to have children again. As I carry her, she nuzzles into my neck. “Mmm, Max, where are we going?”

  “To bed; I need to lose myself in your loving arms for a while.”

  She’s kissing my neck and I might not make it to the bedroom. She begins to run her finger up the back of my neck, massaging my head. She knows I have a headache . . . she always knows. “How bad is your head, Max?”

  “Nothing that an hour or two—lost in you—won’t cure, baby.”

  “You never slept, did you? You can’t keep doing this, Max. You’ll be no good to anyone if your head gets worse. Promise me you will rest.”

  “I promise, just as soon as I have my way with you.” I climb into bed with her still in my arms. She pulls me toward her and softly brushes her lips over mine. “Help me forget for a while, Jackie . . . please.”

  She slowly kisses me softly, slowly . . . tenderly; feeling her touch relaxes me. “Lose yourself in me, Max.”

  I slowly peel away what little clothes she has left, leaving a trail of kisses in their wake. Gentle is what I need right now to wipe away all the harsh realities. I kiss up one leg and down the other; magnificent works of art that I will never get enough of. I lock my arms around her legs, spreading her wide for me. Her skin is so soft, and she smells so sweet as I work my way up to her core. I find my prize and she is so ready for me, but I need more. I work my tongue around her clitoris and gently tug with my teeth. She begins to shake and digs her nails into my shoulders. She knows what those nails do to me. She’s there, so ready for me. I pull myself up to my knees and rub my cock up and down, stroking her very gently. When I know she’s at the edge, I push my way in very slowly. When I’m all the way in, I stop. Her eyes grow wide and she bites her bottom lip. I lean down and brush my lips up her neck. I hold still—hard as stone—throbbing deep within her. I rest my forehead on hers, “Take me, baby.”

  “Flip me over, Max—now!”

  My eyes grow wide with wonder. Wow, demanding Jackie is hot. I waste no time and follow her command. She’s on top of me now and taking full control.

  “Shut your mind off now, and give me your hands.” She takes my hands and puts them on her breasts, helping me work her nipples, bringing her into a frenzied state. Neither of us is going to last much longer. She begins slowly gliding up and down my cock. My hips are rising up to meet her, slow and steady. Her body begins to flush and I know she’s there, trying to take me with her. I start to shake and I know I can’t wait any longer. I put my hands on her hips and pull her down hard to meet my upward thrust. That does it, I explode within her. She lets out a whimper and cries out my name. I pull her toward me, holding on tight, feeling her heart race next to mine . . . beautiful.

  All I can do is whisper, “I love you . . .”

  I GRAB THE BABY monitor and head downstairs to the kitchen. I told Jax to get Antonia cleaned up and meet me in the kitchen. I am going to, at least, learn how to make eggs. When I turn the corner, I find Max and Jackie are already there. Thank God—Max is making French toast. I grab a cup of coffee and have a seat. Before I can say anything, the monitor comes to life and what I see and hear next floors me. Max, Jackie, and I sit in front of the screen with our coffee, silently watching the show.

  RAVEN ASKED ME TO get Antonia and meet her in the kitchen. I head toward the nursery, and I can hear my beautiful daughter cooing. I scoop her up and begin to change her. “My princess, I love being a dad. If your mum would consent, we would have ten babies. I’m realistic, knowing that will never happen, so I need to negotiate with your Aunt Jackie to get the ball rolling. After all, Uncle Max is not getting any younger. Okay, Antonia, your beautiful mum is attempting to make breakfast. Bless her for trying, but thank God we don’t have to survive on what she comes up with. Now here is the plan. I need you to hang out with your Aunt Jackie, and be really good. I need you to make her want to start having babies right away. Now, I know you can do this for me and Uncle Max. Let’s pick out something for you to wear that Aunt Jackie got for you. That might help the cause.” I go about getting her ready and I can only hope my plan works.

  I’M TRYING NOT TO laugh; even through all the madness, he can still be so playful. I look at Jackie’s face, expecting to see her in total shock and instead, she is biting her lip and trying not to laugh. “Jackie, you know he’s . . . well . . . he’s just being Jax.”

  “Oh, Raven, I’m not laughing at Jax. I’m laughing because he thinks he wants ten kids!”

  After hearing Jax’s plan, Max silently goes back to making breakfast. “Max, you’re awfully quiet. Please don’t tell me you’re a part of his crazy plan?”

  “Raven, unlike my crazy arse brother, I don’t want ten babies . . . five will do.”

  Jackie’s coffee cup crashes to the floor. Max is on her in a second. “It’s okay, babe, we can take it one at a time.”

  I don’t think that helped her at all. It’s at that moment I notice the ring. Maybe they finally set a date. I’
m about to ask when I hear him coming down the hall.

  Jax walks into the kitchen with Antonia. “Good morning, everyone.” He smiles but it slowly fades as we collectively stare at him. “Okay, why is everyone staring at me? I’ve only just gotten up, what could I have possibly done now?”

  I hold up the baby monitor, “Ten? Really, Jax?” I smirk. It’s time for Antonia to eat, so I take her and leave Jax to work himself out of the hole he dug himself into.

  “HOW MUCH DID EVERYONE hear?” I have to remember that damn monitor is always on.

  Max hands me a cup of coffee. “Enough to screw us both; let’s just leave it at that.” He smacks my back. “I have information about An’s trinkets.” He grabs his mug and leans his back against the counter. “It appears they are all stolen. Insurance was paid, so legally, they belong to the insurance companies.” he says before blowing into the cup, then taking a swig.

  My mum walks in looking dog-tired. I pull her into a hug, “Let me get you some coffee, Mum.” She nods then sits down and hands Max an envelope.

  “Ma’am, what is this?”

  “ It’s the original report on James from my friend, Garth, and a group picture from one of our day trips that I found in my journal.”

  I clench my jaw, trying to retain some control. “Mum, is there anything else you might have overlooked that you think we should know?” I try to keep my voice steady.

  “Jax, All I have left are my personal journals. If I thought they would keep you from going, I would give them to you. However, I don’t believe anything will stop you.” She raises a brow as she takes her mug out of my hands.

  I look at the baby monitor and see Raven is putting Antonia down for a nap. When I look up, everyone is staring at me. “Don’t even say a word, none of you. Max, after breakfast, we have a lot to go over. We have a buyer for the company. And a package came yesterday from Hage. Where is Rose this morning?” I’m surprised Raven’s mum isn’t joining us for breakfast.

  Max turns pale, “I don’t think she is back from her daily run yet, is there a problem, Jax?” I’m not sure Max could handle another thing.

  “I need to talk to her before we leave.” I put my mug down and take a seat. Max begins serving up breakfast as Raven comes in with her mum.

  “Ahh, Rose, just in time; Max made breakfast. Afterwards, I have some stuff to go over with you. How was your run?” I need to keep things light and my temper at bay.

  “It was good. I’ve been exploring different sections of the property. I don’t know if I will ever see it all,” she says with exasperation then directs her attention toward Jackie. “Jackie, how are the new horses?”

  “The colt will be fine but the filly will need a lot of work. Are you going to come down to the barn again today?”

  “Yes, I enjoyed working with the children, that’s if you don’t mind.”

  “I would love the extra set of hands.”

  I take a step back and watch everyone laughing and just being a normal family and I wonder why can’t we have this all the time? Is that so much to ask for?

  Raven takes my hand, snapping me out of my daydream. “A penny for your thoughts?”

  “I’m enjoying the normal for a change, sweetheart.” I pull her tight, “Did you put the package on my desk?” I add.

  “Back to reality. Yes, and go easy on my mom, please.”

  “I will, if you promise to go easy on Bella.” I lift her chin up and laugh, “I know you just as well as you know me.” We finish up breakfast and I grab another cup of coffee. “Come on Max, we’ve got lots to discuss.”

  “CONGRATS ON THE RING; you did good. Now start making babies. You’re not getting any younger, mate.” I hear Jax talking to Max as they head down the hall.

  My mom and Jackie head out to the barn, leaving me with An. “Did you get any sleep? You look tired.” I shift in her direction, giving my full attention.

  “Not really. I just wish there was something I could say to them to stop them from going. I have a bad feeling about all of this.”

  “Do you think I have a chance of getting through to Bella? I don’t want Jax to go. I don’t see any good coming from this.”

  “My daughter is more stubborn than all of them combined. She is the most like James in looks and temperament.” She waves off the idea before picking her cup up for a sip of coffee. “What’s going on with your mum? Something is bothering her. I tried to talk to her about it but she didn’t say much.”

  “She wants to confront Vincent. I get why she wants to but I don’t think she sees the big picture.”

  “Raven, do you honestly believe that my son is the best person to talk to her about this? Dear God, you know how he is; poor Rose won’t stand a chance.”

  “I know, but he promised he wouldn’t bully her. Besides, she won’t listen to me.”

  “Well, let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I’m going to try and rest for a bit.” An heads out and I’m left alone.

  I need to piece together what I’m going to say to Bella. Lost in my thoughts, staring out the window, I jump as I hear a noise behind me. I turn and see one of the walls in the kitchen pop open; out steps Michael, Jax’s nephew! I gasp, “ How did you do that?”

  “It’s a secret passageway that Uncle Jax found. Come on, I’ll show you.” He holds out his hand.

  I get up and head into the passageway. Michael turns on a flashlight and leads the way, with Bo right behind me. “Michael, how many passageways are there?”

  “There are five that Miss Rose and I have explored. There is one that you can take from the main house all the way to the stables. Uncle Max showed me that one. Miss Rose and I were going through them, when we noticed strange carvings on the walls.”

  “You and my mom come through here?”

  “Oh, Miss Rose loves to explore with me. She’s the best!” he states enthusiastically.

  I’m happy they enjoy spending time together, exploring. “Where does this one lead?”

  “There is a spiral staircase up ahead. Once we climb that, we will be right outside my bedroom door. Isn’t this great?”

  I laugh at his excitement and I’m sure Jax was just as excited. “Michael, maybe tomorrow you can show me another one.”

  “Sure, Aunt Raven, that would be fun. If you look to the right, there is another tunnel. But, I haven’t been down there yet.”

  We get to the top of the steps and he presses on the wall. It pops open. Sure enough, we are right outside his bedroom. “Thanks for the short cut, Michael. I need to talk to your mom.”

  “No problem. I’m going into my room to watch some television.”

  He doesn’t seem to be his usual energetic self. He never wants to sit around and watch television, only if it’s Doctor Who, of course. He seems a little off. I hope he’s not getting sick. “Michael, you feel okay?”

  “Just a little tired, Aunt Raven.”

  “Go get some rest.” I watch him head off into his room and I go look for Bella.

  MAX AND I HEAD into my office to discuss business. I need to see what Hage sent and I know Max wants to tell me what he found out. However, first order of business is Jackie. “Max, what happened with Jackie?”

  “Jump right in, why don’t you, mate? I had the ring made and then I waited until I figured out exactly what I wanted to say. Of course when I started, it was like one giant run-on sentence. I persuaded her to get married sooner rather than later. I want a family, but I realized this morning that she’s scared.”

  “What do you think she’s scared of?”

  “I don’t think it’s of being a mum; she is great with all children. I think it has to do with actually having the child. I need to figure out her fear and then fix it.”

  “Did you try asking her? I mean that just seems to be the logical approach.”

  “No, Jax, I haven’t because I haven’t had a minute to breathe.”

  “Well, the sooner we get this all done, the better for everyone. What did you find out
about the trinkets?”

  Max gets up and walks over to the window. He picks up the binoculars I keep close by and begins looking out over the vast property. “Jax, every piece was high-end and stolen. Insurance was paid on them. If he was acting as a fence, then why keep them? I think he is the thief. I don’t know why he gave them to An. Based on all the reports and what An said, it’s not like they were living in luxury.”

  “When were they stolen and from whom? Could the people or the places have had any meaning to him or Mum?”

  “I don’t know yet, but I do know that two days is not enough. We need to talk to Bella.”

  “Yeah, well, Raven was going to try and talk some sense into her today,” I inform him. Max cocks his head and raises one eyebrow. “Yeah, Max, I know, but you got to love her for trying.”

  “ How long is it going to take for the Raiders Inc. deal to go through and are you happy with the terms?”

  “It should be closed in six months, possibly sooner, since it’s a private company. I’m happy; I think we got a fair price. We need to look at whatever Hage sent over. Raven said there is a letter from Duke. But, we have a bigger problem to deal with, Rose wants to confront Vincent.”

  “Jax, we have to stop her. I know she thinks this will bring her some sort of closure, but it won’t, trust me, I know. Revenge didn’t help, it only added to the nightmares I have to live with.”

  I never asked him, but knowing Max, I didn’t have to. “I’m going to try and talk to her today. I can’t say it’s going to be easy.” I hand Max the package from Hage. “We need to deal with this. I thought part of Duke’s deal was no contact ever?”

  “Yeah, well, it says here that the only way Duke would agree to the terms was if this letter was sent to Raven. I’m sure, at that point, Hage would do whatever he had to do. At least Hage left Raven and I out of everything. The book with all the details of Vincent’s dealings was enough for Hage to offer Vincent a plea deal; life—with no chance of parole in exchange for his testimony.” I shrug. Max throws the papers on the desk, his face taking on a look of disgust. “What’s the problem?”