Chapter Twenty-three
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Keeley stepped onto the porch, a blanket around her shoulders and a steaming mug in her hand. A gusty wind brought the smell of rain. Clouds had moved in overnight, bringing in a spring storm.
She wasn’t one to be up with the birds, but a noise had woken her and there was no going back to sleep.
Rolling over had brought her nose to nose with Owen. The half-light coming through the east-facing windows was enough for her to look her fill while he slept.
It wasn’t fair that his eyelashes were so long the tips tangled together. The only way hers would ever look like that would be with extensions.
She loved how even in sleep scowl lines formed between his brows. Granted, they were soft scowl lines, but still.
When she had to catch herself before she ran a finger over those lines, she’d forced herself out of bed so he could sleep undisturbed. Lord knew they hadn’t gotten much sleep during the night.
Owen Hardesty loved her. The knowledge felt like a warm sunbeam lighting her from within. The future was still murky, and it wasn’t clear Owen had changed his stance on marriage and family. For now, they were together, and she would cherish what they had.
The view over the valley showed clouds obscuring the top of Payback Mountain. A flock of birds, ducks, she thought, flew north in a V formation.
She leaned against the rail and sipped from her mug. Then set it on the railing with a clunk. A vehicle was parked on the road in front of the house, all but the rear bumper obscured by a clump of live oak. She thought again about what had awakened her. Had it been a car door closing?
Cars could park on the street. That was perfectly legal. But why on a residential road so early in the morning? And why in front of the address where she was staying?
She chewed her bottom lip. She didn’t want to be paranoid, but Jaxon had made bail and was free to be his weird and foreboding self.
The Ravagers had given her a reprieve but could’ve decided to pay her a visit. She supposed motorcycle gang members might also drive cars. It’d be hard for Mr. Paulson, aka Nero, to take his granddaughter to school on a motorcycle.
She needed Owen. She picked up her mug and turned to the house.
A man stood with his back to the closed door. He must’ve crept around the porch from the side without her noticing.
In the periphery of her vision, she was aware his shirt was bloody, his face bloodier still. Her focus narrowed so all she saw was the black muzzle of the pistol he held, pointing at her dead center. The mug slipped from her fingers to smash to the floor and the smell of coffee permeated the air.
“ Where’s the asshole?”
“ I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“ It’s not a good idea to piss me off, Keeley. Where is he?”
“ Owen’s still in bed, Jaxon. Asleep.”
“ Good. We’ll keep it that way. Now tell me where the flash drive is. Give it to me and you’ll never see me again. I wouldn’t be here if you’d handed it over when I first asked.”
She clutched the blanket tighter around her like it would shield her from a bullet. She took a step toward the stairs.
“ You never asked me for it, Jaxon. You said I had something of yours but not what it was. I didn’t know you were looking for a flash drive.” Another step. She froze when broken crockery scraped the wooden floor, but Jaxon didn’t appear to notice.
He looked haggard, like he hadn’t slept in days, and his face had fresh bruises on top of older bruises. He’d always been fastidious about his personal grooming, but the mustache he’d kept carefully waxed was bristly and looked like it’d been smashed into his face.
Half his hair had fallen loose from the bun at the back of his head. Keeley’d bet her next cup of coffee the Ravagers had caught up with him and demonstrated their displeasure with his behavior.
“ You know now. I had a flash drive I needed to keep in a safe place. I put it in the inner pocket of your purse.” He spoke slowly like he was speaking to a child. She struggled to hear past her heart pounding in her ears.
She took another careful step toward the stairs from the porch. If she could get down the stairs, she could dart away. She’d run to the back of the house and find a way to alert Owen. There were construction materials and the rollaway. Maybe she could find someplace to hide.
Jaxon moved toward her, wagging the muzzle of the gun. “Into the house.” He gestured toward the door with the gun. “Don’t even think about alerting the asshole. He shows his face? I’ll shoot him dead.”
His words chilled her to the bone. He waved the gun again. “Pam brought me your purse, but the flash drive wasn’t there. You must’ve found it, and I need it back. It’s the only leverage I have over the fucking Ravagers.”
“ You killed Pam.” Keeley no longer felt surprise at the knowledge he was capable of such depravity. “You were using her. She stole my purse, then you killed her when the flash drive wasn’t there.”
“ She wanted me.” He smiled and Keeley shuddered in revulsion. “You saw her at that party. She could hardly keep her hands off me. She got herself into trouble. ”
How could she have ever thought him charming? Keeley couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen him for what he was. When they’d first met, Jaxon had put on an act of being affable and easygoing, and she’d bought it.
“ I would’ve been forced to kill her even if it had been there. She’d have blabbed to someone.” He shrugged. “Whatever. She deserved what she got. Pam failed, and it’s caused me nothing but grief. She was supposed to bring the purse with the flash drive, and she failed.”
He seemed distracted and Keeley risked another step toward the stairs. Then Jaxon lunged forward and grabbed her arm, taking her elbow in a vise-like grip. He jerked her to the door. “We go in quiet. Get me the flash drive, and you and I will never have to see each other again.”
Keeley kept her eyes moving, and her mind racing, looking for a way to escape or something she could use as a weapon.
There were other ways Jaxon could’ve used the information he’d stolen for his extortion bid beyond storing it on a flash drive. Like everything else, he wasn’t good at being a criminal.
She wasn’t about to tell him she didn’t have the device. He was convinced she’d found it and therefore must still have it. He’d killed Pam so she couldn’t identify him. He’d kill Keeley for the same reason. But if he thought she had the flash drive, she was safe. She hoped.
He shoved her at the door. “Open it.”
She pushed the door open and stepped across the threshold.
And was yanked loose of Jaxon’s hold and shoved behind six foot plus of enraged Owen. The next few moments were a blur of motion.
One second Jaxon was behind her with a gun. The next he’d been slammed against the door frame and Owen had wrenched the gun from his hand. He shoved it at Keeley. “Take it and stay back. He does anything you don’t like, shoot him.”
He grabbed Jaxon by his shirt and dragged him outside.
She was not shooting anyone .
She dropped the blanket onto a stack of lumber and shoved the gun under it before rushing to the open doorway.
Thunder cracked overhead and rain began pelting out of the sky.
Owen hauled Jaxon onto the porch, and holding him one-handed, plowed a fist into his face. Crushing bone made a wet squishing sound and Jaxon’s head snapped back. Owen hit him again, a fist to the gut, then one to the jaw.
Jaxon gave an agonized groan, his eyes rolling back, and he went limp. When Owen drew his fist back again, Keeley grabbed his arm.
“ Stop, Owen. Stop.” His arm felt like coiled steel. “He’s unconscious. You have to stop. You’ll kill him.”
Owen tried to shake her off, but she only tightened her grip. “Let him go. He’s no longer a threat.”
Owen turned to her, his eyes burning with rage. “He had a gun pointed at you. He wanted to kill you. He hurt you and scared you. He doesn’t deserve to live.”
“ I’m safe, Owen. You saved me, and he’s done.”
With his gaze still locked on hers, Owen released Jaxon, who dropped to the floor, his head hitting with a thunk.
Owen’s fury abated, and in a flash he was pulling Keeley into a desperate embrace, clutching her to him like the world was chaos and only she was keeping him from spinning out of control.
They stayed locked together, her face buried in his neck, his in her hair. Sirens wailed in the distance. He didn’t loosen his hold until patrol cars were streaming up his driveway.
***
Keeley sat in a chair on the porch. She was losing count of how many times the police had responded to something involving her. She hoped with all her heart this was the last time. An ambulance crew had taken Jaxon away in restraints. Owen had glowered at her when he’d recovered the gun from where she’d hidden it under the blanket .
He’d been awakened by the shattering mug. Thank god, he’d figured out what was happening and things had turned out the way they had.
She watched him in the driveway talking with Sawyer, who was not on duty but had come when Owen had called.
Keeley took out her phone. Her mom picked up on the second ring.
“ Hi, Mom. First thing, we’re okay. Owen’s safe. I’m safe.”
“ Tell me what’s happened.”
“ I’m at Owen’s. Jaxon showed up with a gun.” Keeley shared what happened while her mom peppered questions throughout the story.
“ Oh my. I’m so glad Owen was there. I swear that man would throw himself in front of a moving train if he thought it would keep you safe.”
“ He loves me.”
Her mom’s smile sounded in her voice. “I know he does. I see it every time he lays eyes on you.” She paused. “I don’t want to get ahead of anything, but I can’t help it. Are there wedding bells in the future?”
“ I don’t know. It’s all new.” Keeley moved to the end of the porch where she wouldn’t be overheard. “He shared what happened to him, Mom. It was bad. Really bad. It’s up to him to tell you about it. But because of that trauma he never wants to get married or have children. He blames himself and doesn’t want to risk that kind of pain again. My heart breaks for him.”
“ He’s strong, and now that he has you, he might reconsider.”
“ I don’t know if he will.” Owen and Sawyer climbed the stairs to the porch. “I’ll talk with you more later. Give my love to Dad and Auntie Carla. Bye, Mom.”
** *
The days following Jaxon’s arrest flew by. The judge ordered him held without bail, and that kept him sitting in a jail cell. Keeley would have to testify, but she was no longer in danger.
With her parents back from visiting Aunt Carla, Keeley moved back to her cottage.
Owen spent his time off with her and she was happy. Giddy happy. Even if marriage wasn’t in their future, she wasn’t going to worry about it.
For now, living in the present was good enough.
On an afternoon when the sun shone brightly, the storm from earlier in the week having left only mud puddles, the rumble of a motorcycle drew her and Owen’s attention. They were sitting at her little patio table enjoying the warm afternoon.
Keeley recognized Nero as he rode up the driveway to stop in front of her garage, another rider holding tight behind him. The passenger let go of Nero and swung off the bike. She took off her helmet and shook out her long black hair. Keeley rushed forward to engulf Destiny in a hug.
“ Hi, Miss Montaigne.” The pretty girl returned the hug. When she pulled back, she grinned, silver wires glinting on her teeth.
“ Oh my, Destiny, you got braces.”
“ Grampa says he liked my smile just fine, but I’m glad my teeth won’t be crooked anymore.”
Owen stood at her elbow and Keeley could tell by his watchful expression that he was ready for anything. Keeley had no such qualms. Nero wouldn’t cause any trouble with his granddaughter present. He shed his own helmet, and Keeley led her unexpected guests to the patio.
They sat at the table, and Destiny caught up Keeley on what her friends were doing. Abby spotted the surprise guests and waved. She brought out a plate of cookies, and after a short conversation, invited Destiny to the house to meet Iggy.
After encouraging her to take up Abby’s offer, Nero watched until his granddaughter was out of earshot before turning to Keeley .
“ Got somethin’ to share with you both that I’m not ready for my girl to know about.” He pulled on his long beard, then proceeded to explain an agreement he’d come to with the district attorney.
Law enforcement hadn’t been able to access the encrypted flash drive. Keeley thought Jaxon would be happy to give up the password as part of a plea agreement, but the district attorney had other ideas.
He’d chosen to throw everything he had at Jaxon including the murder charge, and after long discussions with the Ravagers top officers, had proposed an agreement. The sheriff would hold on to the flash drive but would not pursue efforts to access its contents. In return, the Ravagers would give up their criminal activities.
“ DA knows our organization has never been involved in human trafficking, and we weren’t part of the drugs or gun trade.
“ Now, I’m not sayin’ what we’d done in the past was exactly legal, but Ravager businesses only skirted the edges of the law. There’s evidence of said enterprises on that flash drive, but the DA’s always struck me as a principled man. I’m trusting him to keep his word.”
“ I’m so glad, Nero,” Keeley said. “I didn’t like Destiny being exposed to that sort of lifestyle.”
Nero gave her a long look. “It was talking to you the other day that convinced me to get off the dime and make the changes I’d been considerin’ for a while. My son’s in prison and I didn’t like that my girl might grow up to think criminal behavior was okay. I don’t want her to end up in prison.” He shrugged. “A lot of us Ravagers are old-timers. We got kids, some of us like me got grandkids. We don’t want them caught up in the life.”
“ So no more Ravagers? That’s got to be hard for you.”
His blue eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. “Not so hard because we’re not disbanding. We’re still a motorcycle club, but with a new purpose. We’re establishing a nonprofit to support our community. We’ve got some money and connections to get us started. Our focus is helping families in crisis get big things like housing and transportation. But little things too, like diapers and eyeglasses for those who need it.”
Keeley studied Nero’s weathered face. “That’s good work, Mr. Paulson, and Destiny’s future is already brighter.”
He nodded as Destiny returned and a little later after a last hug good-bye, Keeley and Owen watched the pair ride away. Owen said, “My guess, they probably ran chop shops for stolen cars.”
Leaning back against him as he stood with an arm around her, she murmured, “What they’re doing now is the best possible outcome. There’s such good in the world and it outshines the bad every single time.”
She felt his arm tighten and tipped her head back to see his face. “You okay?”
He turned her to face him and caught her in a kiss that warmed her all the way through. “You’re the good outshining the bad,” he murmured. “I feel like the luckiest man alive.”
His body responded in the most delicious of ways. “Yeah? I think you might get even luckier.”