Dangerous Lies (Badge of Honor #2)

Chapter 11

ELEVEN

Megan trembled in his arms.

Jax hurried across the grass. The boathouse groaned as it listed sharply, the wooden structure surrendering to the flames. Smoke and ash filled the air. The acrid burn stung his lungs, but he ignored the ache and increased his stride toward the house. Megan couldn’t stop shaking. If she didn’t get warm, she would succumb to hypothermia.

The back door swung open the moment Jax’s foot hit the bottom porch step. Clay ushered them inside, tossing a blanket over Megan before pointing toward the rear of the house. “Rose is already running a hot bath. I’ll make tea. An ambulance is on the way.”

“No… ambulance.” Megan’s teeth chattered violently, a clear sign her body was still in the early stages of hypothermia. She clung to Jax’s shoulders. Her complexion was ghostly pale, her hair wet and limp around the delicate curves of her face.

A wave of tenderness swept over Jax. He hurried to the bathroom attached to the primary bedroom. Rose was perched on the edge of a large bathtub, fiddling with the knobs that controlled the water temperature. Her face was pinched with worry as Jax set Megan down on the chair next to the vanity. Water dripped from her clothes onto the tile floor.

“We’re going to get you warmed up fast.”

He grabbed a towel from the counter and gently dried Megan’s face before wrapping up her wet hair in it. Then he removed her soaked shoes and peeled off her dripping socks. Her toes were a purplish blue and frigid to the touch. Jax grabbed another towel and started rubbing them to restore circulation. Megan’s whole body trembled. She clung to the blanket. “So cccold… ccccan’t believe… people ddddo this for fun.”

“Which part?” Jax smiled at her as he kept rubbing her feet. “Running from a fire-spewing drone or taking an impromptu dip in a freezing lake?”

“Ssswimming.”

“Ah, you mean the winter swimmers. I have an uncle who loves it.” Jax kept talking, hoping that it would distract her. “Uncle Jerry lives in Denmark. He swims every morning, no matter how cold it is. But he gets into a sauna afterward, so I think that makes a difference. I never tried it myself to know for sure though.”

The bathroom was warming up fast, thanks to the steam coming from the bathtub. Jax dried Megan’s calves and rubbed them as well to stimulate circulation. “Thank goodness you hid under the dock. I was terrified I'd have to jump in after you.” He winked at her. “I’m not a fan of cold water.”

She let out a weak laugh, but then her expression sobered. “You sssaved me.”

“Naw. You saved yourself.” Jax didn’t want to think about those harrowing moments watching the fire-spewing drone chase Megan. He’d felt helpless. The decision to dive into the lake had been a brilliant one and had likely spared her life, giving Jax enough time to shoot the drone down.

He continued to rub her chilled skin. “I just pulled you from the lake and warmed your toes.”

His gaze met hers and held. Jax’s breath caught as something passed between them. Intangible, but powerful. He suddenly noticed the contrast of her bare skin against his. The fragile and feminine bones of her feet, the dark-pink polish on her toes, the smoothness of her skin. She was delicate, but also strong. A survivor. A fighter. And she thought of others before herself. When the drone chased her, Megan could’ve bolted for the house. For safety. But doing so would’ve put her grandparents at risk. So she’d run in the opposite direction. That said a lot about her.

“I can take it from here, Jax.” Rose laid a hand on his shoulder, interrupting his train of thought.

“Right.” Jax released Megan’s foot and rose. She needed to get into the warm bath as soon as possible to heat her core body temperature.

As he turned away, Megan grabbed his hand. Her fingers were still icy. “Thank you, Jax.”

Her voice wavered and tears shimmered in the depths of her deep brown eyes. She was terrified. For good reason. He had the indescribable urge to pull her into his arms again and hold her until all her fears were silenced, but he pushed the notion away. Instead, he gently squeezed her hand. “We’ll figure out who this is, Megan, and we’ll stop him. I promise.”

With a nod toward Rose, Jax left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He wasted no time going back outside to the yard. Sirens wailed as fire trucks arrived. The wintry air was thick with a hazy smoke as the boathouse continued to burn. Everything in it would be destroyed. The mannequin—and any evidence on it—would be reduced to a pile of smoldering ashes by the time it was done. Tucker was doing his best to maintain some semblance of control, but firefighters traipsed through the crime scene willy-nilly.

Dawson exited the woods at a brisk jog. Sweat cut through the lines of soot on his face and his clothes were grass-stained from tumbling through the yard to escape the drone.

“Attacker’s gone.” He slid to a stop in front of Jax, panting. “There’s a bend about half a mile up from the boathouse on the lake. He must’ve planted the mannequin and then stayed nearby, keeping watch for Megan.”

Jax nodded. The mannequin had been left to draw her out to the boathouse. Chances were, the perpetrator had used the drone to monitor the property. It would’ve been invisible from the ground if flown at the right altitude.

Dawson bared his teeth. “I should’ve spotted him.”

Jax shook his head. “Tucker and I were both here, and neither of us considered the attacker could be waiting nearby either. The property was cleared, and it was reasonable to believe the assailant had left. No one could’ve predicted he would strap a flamethrower to a drone.”

A mistake Jax wouldn’t make again.

The wind changed direction and smoke billowed toward them. Jax moved several paces out of the way as firefighters tugged thick hoses across the grass. An ambulance arrived. The paramedics headed into the house. Megan was probably fine, but a medical check-up was necessary.

Dawson scraped a hand through his wind-blown hair, causing it to stand in spikes. He’d lost his cowboy hat during the altercation with the drone. “Any word on your brother?”

“No.” Jax’s gaze swung to meet his colleague’s. “Wesley didn’t do this.”

Sympathy creased Dawson’s features. “He has a drone license?—”

“I know.” Frustration tightened around Jax’s chest like a vise. “It looks bad. Leaving the mannequin as a diversion to draw Megan to the boathouse, arming the drone, the expert way the pilot flew it… all of it resembles military tactics. But again, my brother is a Navy SEAL. Why go to all this trouble when he could just slip up behind Megan in the dark and slit her throat? Someone is framing Wesley, and I don’t know why.”

Dawson didn’t reply. What could he say? Jax wasn’t a fool. He knew how he sounded. Like a brother in denial. It struck him then—he’d been horribly wrong about Megan. He hadn’t seen things clearly. Was he doing the same now? It was an awful thought. Jax didn’t want to believe for a second that Wesley would commit murder. Yes, he was a soldier. Yes, he’d been to war. But operating outside the bounds of the law was a very different matter.

“Megan told me of a guy named Zeke Russell,” Jax continued. “He was Oliver’s drug dealer, and it sounds like he was a part of an illegal fighting ring. My brother believed someone was trying to kill him. Maybe it was Zeke.”

Dawson ripped off his hoodie and used the shirt beneath it to wipe the sweat and soot from his face. “Does Zeke know Wesley? What reason would he have for framing your brother for this?”

“I don’t know. Wesley and Oliver were twins. They ran in the same circles until Oliver started using, but even then, they were close. According to Megan, Zeke got violent with Oliver. If Wesley found out…” Jax blew out a breath. “I could see him confronting Zeke about it.”

Dawson grunted and dropped the shirt from his face. “What else can you tell me about him?”

“Not much. He and his brother, Cody, own a gym called Bodybuilders. Megan may know more, but she’s not in a position to be questioned.” Jax’s gaze flicked to the flaming boathouse and the firemen working hard to contain the fire. “If Megan’s right and Zeke was running some kind of illegal fighting ring, any number of people could’ve wanted Oliver dead. We can’t assume Zeke is behind this, but he may have insight into who might be. Either way, we should find him.”

“Agreed.”

Jax breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thanks.”

Dawson’s gaze shifted from the burning boathouse and focused on Jax. The steel in his tone belied the sympathy in his eyes. “Don’t thank me yet. We’ve always been honest with each other, so I’m gonna be straight with you now. I have serious doubts about your assertion that Wesley is being framed. There’s not a shred of evidence to support the theory.”

Jax couldn’t argue with Dawson’s logic, so he didn’t even try. “Someone wants Megan dead. That much is a fact. We have to follow all leads until we have direct evidence that points to a clear suspect. One photograph isn’t enough to say Wesley is guilty of this.”

“No, but it indicates a personal connection to your family. If we find solid evidence proving Wesley is behind this, he’ll be arrested and charged. We all care about you, Jax, but we won’t ignore our duty.”

“I’d never ask you to.”

Dawson sighed. “I know, but it’ll feel like a betrayal all the same.”