Father Figure (A Jaxon Jennings' Detective Mystery Thriller Series, Book 3)

by Richard C. Hale

  Ray was attractive with blood running from his nose onto his light blue shirt. Laurelyn’s hand could be seen wrapped in ice. She looked great except for a scratch under her eye, her beauty even more pronounced with the flush of adrenalin wearing off. The news crew had gotten there quickly. They must have been in the area.

  Ray rode with Laurelyn to the ER, her protesting the whole time, but Ray got her calmed down and held her uninjured hand during the ride. She still looked angry.

  “I need to be there,” she kept saying.

  “They’ll take care of everything,” Ray said. “You need that hand looked at.”

  “It’s fine.”

  He held it up and moved the ice away. It was swollen to twice its size. She winced when she tried to move it.

  “See. It’s probably broken,” Ray said, gently.

  “Great.”

  He chuckled.

  “What?”

  “You really decked her.”

  “She was being a total bitch.”

  “Yes she was,” and he smiled.

  She finally smiled too. “You weren’t doing too well by yourself.”

  “No shit,” he said. “Glad you had my back.”

  And he meant it.

  She leaned her head against his shoulder in a surprise showing of affection. Maybe she wasn’t as tough as she made out to be.

  “We did good, didn’t we?” she said.

  “Two people were shot.”

  “But nobody died.”

  “True. We did good.”

  She cradled her injured hand in her lap and grew silent. Ray could smell the scent of her perfume and shampoo and liked the way it made him feel. He tried not to get blood on her, but his nose was still leaking.

  “I’m bleeding on you,” he said.

  “I don’t care.”

  He wrapped an arm around her and held her closer as the ambulance drove to the hospital. The paramedic nodded to him and let them be.

  At the hospital, they wanted to wheel her in on a gurney, but she refused. She walked into the ER holding her swollen hand and they put her in a small cubby and Ray in another. He assured them he was fine but the ER nurse refused to take no for an answer. Ray couldn’t argue with her so he caved. At least they were right next to each other.

  The doc came in and poked and prodded, pronouncing the nose unbroken. The bleeding had stopped.

  They cleaned up the crusted blood and Ray was discharged. He went to see Laurelyn who now sported a brace on her right wrist and a bandage on her face. She smiled when he walked in.

  “Sprained but not broken,” she said, holding the hand up.

  “But you put her down with one punch.”

  “I did.”

  “That’s twice now I’ve seen you kick some ass. Remind me not to piss you off.”

  “You already have.”

  “But you didn’t kick my ass.”

  “I could though.”

  He smiled and took her good hand. “Can you leave yet?”

  “They are processing my paperwork.”

  “Good. We can finish our date.”

  She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “Great first date, huh?”

  “It’s been the best one ever for me.”

  “Yeah. I bet.”

  “Everything I could want in a night out. Action, excitement, fighting, screaming. And sharing it all with a beautiful woman. Can’t get any better than that.”

  She actually blushed and squeezed his hand.

  “You know how to show a girl a good time don’t you?”

  “The best.”

  She looked up into his eyes and held them.

  A connection he didn’t know could happen so quickly clicked into place and he lost himself in her stare. He found himself moving toward her and then her lips were on his in a gentle kiss that he never saw coming. It grew deeper and he pulled her to him, her softness all around. He didn’t want it to stop.

  The curtain to the room pulled back and someone cleared their throat. He broke away from her and saw the nurse with paperwork in her hand. She pretended to ignore what she saw and moved into the room.

  “You’re all set, Miss Hawks. Any questions?”

  Laurelyn shook her head and glanced at Ray, a whisper of a smile on her lips. He liked that look. Especially since it was directed at him.

  “Then let’s get you out of here.”

  She stepped outside and pushed a wheelchair into the room.

  “I don’t need that,” Laurelyn said.

  “Hospital rules,” the nurse said. “You can ride in the chair or you can stay in the bed. Those are your only options.”

  Laurelyn shrugged and moved to the wheelchair.

  “You look cute,” Ray said and she grinned.

  “I bet.”

  They grabbed a cab and he helped her in to her apartment.

  She was still woozy from the pain medicine. He got her a drink and some pillows for her couch and she propped up on them, her eyelids growing sleepy. He touched her face and he could tell she wanted him to kiss her again, so he did. It was like heaven.

  He pulled back a bit and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She smiled sleepily.

  “Stay.”

  “I shouldn’t. I don’t want you to regret me being here in the morning when the drugs wear off.”

  “Not like that,” she said. “Just stay.”

  She looked deep into his eyes, so vulnerable.

  “I’ll stay.”

  He sat next to her and pulled her to him letting her head rest on his shoulder. She was asleep in minutes and he followed right behind.

  Chapter 10

  Jaxon knocked on Ray’s door for the third time.

  He pulled his cell out and dialed. He could hear the phone ringing inside, but no one answered. He called his cell phone next and it went to voice mail.

  “It’s Jaxon. We got stuff to do. Where are you?” He hung up.

  He’d seen the news footage and knew that Ray had an eventful evening. He just wondered why he hadn’t heard from him. He was probably with Laurelyn, and Jaxon was not going to visit her place. He’d have to go it alone today.

  He arrived at Ben Rothstein’s secretary’s apartment twenty minutes later. He was hoping Candice O’Neil didn’t sleep in on Saturday. She didn’t.

  The woman who opened the door was blond, petite and well proportioned. He could see how Ben Rothstein would not have an issue betraying his marriage with this one.

  “You must be Jaxon,” she said, surprising him.

  “Yes ma’am. I take it Mr. Rothstein told you I might be stopping by.”

  “He did. He told me to tell you everything and that I shouldn’t be ashamed.”

  Funny way to put it, but Jaxon figured she was just being honest.

  “May I come in?”

  She nodded and opened the door wide. He followed her into a small kitchen and she asked if he wanted coffee or something else to drink.

  “Coffee would be great.”

  She set a mug in front of him after suggesting that they sit at the table and then she poured her own. She slipped in across from him and watched him over her cup.

  He cleared his throat. “Miss O’Neil…”

  “Mrs. O’Neil. And you can call me Candy.”

  “All right. Candy. Are you divorced?”

  She shook her head. “No. My husband is in the next room asleep.”

  He turned around before he realized what he was doing and then he turned and leaned in closer.

  “Do you want to talk to me later? I can come back.”

  “It’s fine. He knows.” She smiled.

  Jaxon leaned back in his chair and then reached for his coffee. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of all this.

  “Will he be a problem?”

  She thought about it for a second and then shook her head.

  “I don’t think so. He kind of likes it.”

  “He likes that you had a sexual relationship with your b
oss?”

  She nodded. “He likes to watch.”

  “Does Ben know this?”

  “No. But Ben told me to be honest with you. I’m being honest.”

  Jaxon grinned. This was going to be easy to prove if the husband was willing to corroborate the story.

  “Will he talk to me too?”

  “I guess so. Do you want me to get him?”

  “If it’s no trouble.”

  She shook her head and rose. Jaxon watched her walk out of the kitchen to a closed door and open it. She shut the door behind her. He listened to voices and then the door opened. A tall, muscular man in sweatpants and a t-shirt led the way out of the room and sat at the table next to Jaxon.

  “Candy says you wanted to talk to me.”

  “If you don’t mind.”

  He waved a hand at him.

  Jaxon cleared his throat and sat up in the chair.

  “I need you to confirm you witnessed…uh…your wife with Mr. Rothstein a few nights ago.”

  He nodded. “Watched the whole thing.”

  “Where was this?”

  “You don’t know?”

  “I was told where but I need you to tell me so that I know you know.”

  “It was at his office building. In his office.”

  Jaxon nodded. “How were you able to see?”

  The man squirmed and said, “I watched from the office next door. I drilled a hole in the wall behind a bookcase.”

  Jaxon looked up at Candy who was standing inside the doorway to the kitchen. She nodded at him.

  “Did Mr. Rothstein know you were there?”

  “No.”

  “How were you able to drill a hole in the wall?”

  “Candy has access to the offices any time she wants. She got there early and let me in. Easy.”

  “What time was this?”

  “I have a video if that will help.”

  Jaxon couldn’t believe it. They were making his job far too easy.

  “Do you want to see it?” Mr. O’Neil asked.

  “I would like to watch enough to confirm Mr. Rothstein’s in it, but I don’t need to see…uh…all of it.”

  The guy went into the living room and pulled a DVD from the bookshelf. He signaled Jaxon to come into the room and bent to the DVD player as Jaxon stood.

  After a few seconds, the interior of Ben Rothstein’s office played back on the screen. Ben was sitting at his desk looking pissed and nervous and then Candice O’Neil entered and walked over to him. She whispered something in his ear and he grinned uncomfortably, but nodded. She began unbuttoning her blouse.

  “That’s good,” Jaxon said. “You can shut it off.”

  “But it’s just getting good,” the guy said, pointing.

  “I don’t need to see the rest. Really.”

  “Your loss pal.” He pressed a button on the remote. Candy looked disappointed.

  “I’ll need a copy of that DVD. Any problem with that?”

  The guy grinned. “Oh I get it. You need to be alone. No problem if that’s your thing.”

  “It’s for evidence.”

  “Right.”

  “Anyway. Make a copy for me and I’ll pick it up in a few days. Ok?”

  “Sure. You sure you don’t want to stick around and watch? Candy thinks you’re cute. She told me in the bedroom.”

  “I’m flattered, but no. I’ve got things I need to do. Maybe another time.”

  Right. Time to get the hell out of here, he thought.

  Candy walked him to the door and leaned against it watching him walk away. He turned once on the sidewalk and waved. She smiled and waved back. Sometimes you could just never tell with people, Jaxon thought to himself, shaking his head as he got in the car.

  * * *

  Ray awoke to a beautiful smile.

  Laurelyn was leaning up against him on her couch and watching him. He wondered how long she had been staring at him.

  “Hi,” she said.

  “Hi.”

  “Thank you for staying.”

  “How could I resist?”

  “And you were a good boy.”

  “Depends on what you mean by good.”

  “You were a gentleman.”

  “I don’t see how. I was asleep.”

  She punched him with her good hand. “You know what I mean.”

  He put his hand to her hair and stroked it. “Do you always look this great in the morning?”

  “I cheated,” she said. “I kind of fixed myself up while you slept.”

  “I was really out, huh?”

  She nodded, smiling. “But you didn’t snore. Thank God.”

  “I have other issues.”

  “I don’t want to know.”

  “Your wish is my command. I shall remain forever silent.”

  He touched her brace gently. “How is it?”

  She wiggled her fingers and grimaced. “Hurts, but I can stand it.”

  “You took your bandage off your face. I liked it. Made you look invincible.”

  “It made me look hideous.”

  “There is no way on this earth you could look hideous.”

  “Wait ‘til you see me for real in the morning.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  She smiled. “We’ll see.”

  He went to kiss her and she moved in to meet him. He ran his fingers across her ear and down to her neck, pulling her in tighter. She shivered.

  Moving away, she opened her eyes and stared into his.

  “You keep doing that and I might promise right now.”

  “Anything you say.”

  He kissed her and she seemed to melt into him. It grew more passionate and her hand found the back of his neck. Little electric shocks worked their way up his spine. Her tongue was soft and not too demanding and he relished the feel of her so tight against him. She moved her other hand and must have forgotten the brace. She whacked him in the ear with it and pulled away gasping.

  “Oh my God. I’m sorry.”

  He chuckled and then they both started laughing. Watching her laugh was almost as good as kissing her. Almost.

  She reached up and touched his ear with her good hand.

  “I’m fine.”

  She looked at him closely. “You’re not bleeding anyway.”

  “Nope. But now there’s this funny ringing sound when you talk.”

  She smacked him in the arm playfully and then leaned in to him and he held her close.

  “What do you want for breakfast?” She asked.

  “You.”

  He could feel her smile against his skin.

  “Besides that.” She pulled back and looked at him again. “We can take this slow, right?”

  “Pretty tough. I mean you’re right here.”

  She looked down, the smile still on her lips. “I don’t want to ruin it by going too fast.”

  He tilted her chin up to look at him. “Ok. I don’t either. We go slow.”

  She kissed him, gently, and then pulled away.

  “That’s definitely not helping,” he said. “Now where’s your shower, because I need a cold one?”

  She smiled and gave him another quick kiss. “Thank you.”

  He got up and went into the kitchen. “I’m cooking since you’re injured. Do you like eggs?”

  “Love them.”

  “Bacon?”

  “I could eat bacon with anything.”

  “Do you have any?”

  “Yes.”

  He fumbled around in the fridge and found the eggs and bacon.

  “Scrambled?”

  “You choose.”

  “Scrambled it is. With cheese.”

  “Sounds yummy.”

  She joined him at the small table in the kitchen and directed him to the pots, plates, glasses and silverware. He had bacon frying and eggs scrambled in no time. They sat and ate, talking about last night and why the two kids acted so psycho.

  “I’m sure they were hopped up on something,” Ray said
.

  “But what? Crayons?”

  “I’ve never seen the effects, but I’ve heard about issues like this. Some guy tried to stop a train with his bare hands.”

  She nodded. “That was last year in Jax. I heard it was pretty messy.”

  “Those two look like rich kids to you?”

  “It was hard to tell with the way they were acting, but the hair and clothes fit. And the gun.”

  “The gun? Really?”

  “In this town, the rich kids have guns. It’s weird.”

  “This place definitely has its problems.”

  She smiled. “What’s south Florida like?”

  “Pretty much like you’d expect. Money and retirees. Lots of retirees.”

  “Do you like it better down there?”

  He thought for a minute and realized he wasn’t really sure.

  “You’re up here.”

  She grinned and took a bite of eggs.

  “But you just met me and you’ve only been up here a short time. What if I wasn’t here?”

  “Can’t happen. You’re here and there’s no changing that.”

  She seemed to like his answer and said, “What if I was leaving?”

  He hesitated with his fork, glanced at her and couldn’t read her face. He took a bite.

  “Are you leaving?”

  She shrugged, a little smile on her face.

  “Is that why there’s an opening?”

  “Yes.”

  He was having a hard time hiding his disappointment. She could tell.

  “When?”

  “Six months. I get to train my replacement.”

  “Where?”

  “Quantico.”

  “The FBI?”

  She nodded.

  He pushed his eggs around the plate with his fork then looked out the window.

  He turned back. “That’s a big deal. Congratulations.”

  It was too early in the relationship for him to be feeling what he was feeling and he tried to push it away. He had six months to spend with her whether he took the job or not. He stared at her beautiful face, her smile a little sad as she studied him. He could get used to seeing it every day but he really didn’t know her. What if she could be a total psycho, whack-job or live up to her work reputation as a bitch? He had a hard time seeing any of that right now, but sometimes things change.

  She reached across the table and took his hand. “I’d like to spend that six months with you.”