Chapter 25
Jessa awoke to the sound of deep male voices in quiet conversation. When one of them barked with laughter, her eyes popped open.
Cowboy.
She smiled widely and moved to get up, surprised when she realized her hands were bound together with part of the sex bindings from last night and affixed with a tiny padlock.
At least she was no longer attached to the bed. She furrowed her brow, wondering when Jax had made the change.
Cowboy laughed again in the distance. It had been forever since she’d seen him, and forever was much too long to go without seeing a friend like she had in Leo Wilson. He was a ray of sunshine in a world full of raindrops, and she’d missed him terribly.
“Jax, how could you leave me like this?” She looked down at her body. At least she had a shirt on.
She stood and made her way to the top of the stairs. “Jax?” she called down. The men kept talking as if they didn’t hear. She sighed and moved down the steps, stopping short of the doorway to the kitchen. “Jax?” she called again.
“That’s Jessa,” Jax said. “Why don’t you go and say hi?”
“Jessa McConnell?” Cowboy came into view at the bottom of the stairs, and Jessa grinned warily. She was barely covered up and wearing a pair of velvet handcuffs. What would he think of her?
She needn’t have worried. Cowboy gave a loud whoop and opened his arms to greet her, hopping up two stairs when she wasn’t quick enough to leap into his embrace.
“Damn, girl, it’s good to see you.” He pulled back, his eyes scanning from her head to her waist. “Looking sexy, too.” He picked up her hand and furrowed his brow. “What is this?”
“Uh…”
Jax appeared in the doorway, dressed to a T and clearly back in command of his emotions.
And everyone around him.
Her toes curled into the rug.
Jax looked from her to Cowboy and back again. “I see you remember Leo.”
He looked angry, and she felt like she’d done something wrong, though she wasn’t sure why. “Of course I do.”
Jax took a small key out of his pocket and unlocked her wrists.
Cowboy smiled widely. “If I’d known it was that kind of party, I’d have brought my whips and chains.”
Jessa was embarrassed, but Jax just laughed good-naturedly, making her wonder if she’d been right about his anger just a moment before.
“You two seeing each other?” Cowboy asked.
Jessa and Jax answered at the same time.
“No,” said Jessa.
“We’re having a baby,” said Jax.
Cowboy’s mouth pulled into a disbelieving half grin. “Together?”
Jax pointed at her with his chin. “Tell him, sweetie.”
At that very moment, her morning sickness reared its ugly head and she pressed a hand to her stomach.
“Are you okay?” asked Cowboy.
“She’s fine,” said Jax. “Just happy.”
She brought her hand to her mouth and ran for the bathroom, aware and horrified that her ass was hanging out of the back of her shirt. She heard Jax say, “She’s glowing. Don’t you think?” and she wished he were closer so she could throw up on his perfectly shined shoes.
When she was done being sick, she sat on the washroom floor and rested her head in her hands.
She thought back over the last six months. The increasing sense that life was passing her by, her determination to get out of the house where her marriage lived like a ghost that was haunting her present.
So, she’d packed up everything she owned and made a new plan—move to Savannah and start fresh. A new hospital, a new town, a new life.
Then Jax showed up at her door.
She cursed and wiped at her eyes.
She’d thought her days with HERO Force were over, that she’d never see any of those guys ever again. But there he was, standing on her doorstep in the bright sunshine, just waiting to take her newfound independence and throw her back in time.
In the blink of an eye, she was stuck again, the sad young widow who had lost her happiness. And she just about lost her mind.
Hell, maybe I did lose it.
She remembered getting ready to go to the bar and find Jax. She remembered her plan, which was now well executed. Seduce him. Get pregnant. Go on with her life a little better than she’d been before, the replacement of a baby in her womb like a pound of flesh that could make everything better.
Only it hadn’t made anything better at all.
She loved this baby with all her heart and soul, but she knew now it could never replace the one she’d lost. That was the baby she and Ralph had created out of love, and it died when he did.
She stood and started the water running, then stripped and stepped into the tub. A stirring like the tickling of butterfly wings in her lower belly made her gasp.
“Baby,” she whispered, a smile spreading over her face and a joyous giggle rising up in her throat.
“Hi, sweetheart.” Then she was crying happy tears, so happy was she to feel her baby move.
She didn’t know if she’d ever feel that again after her first baby died, and the sensation meant more to her than she could have imagined.
By the time she made it back downstairs, she was determined Jax was not going to ruin her newfound good mood.
“You’re sure it was him?” asked Jax.
Cowboy’s voice was deep and loud. “Ballistics confirmed the weapon was the same one used in a murder four years ago in Boston. Funny thing is, the defendant’s attorney works for Layton, Felder, Bach & Moore. The weapon went missing during the trial.”
She walked into the room. “What’s going on?”
Jax met her eyes. “It looks like Maria Elena may have been killed by someone from the law firm in Boston.”
“Or someone who worked on one of their cases,” said Cowboy. “The police. The legal staff. Opposing counsel.”
She leaned away from him. “How do you know?”
“Ballistics match from the bullet that killed Maria Elena to the one that was used on an old case handled by the law firm. The alleged shooter was acquitted of all charges.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” she said. “The lawyers wouldn’t want the heir dead. They don’t benefit.”
“Unless the person connected to the law firm is also Harold’s nephew. I’ll have Logan look into it,” said Jax, opening his cell phone and placing the call.
Cowboy turned to her. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, baby cakes. What do you say I take you to lunch?”
Jessa turned to Jax, who didn’t seem to notice. “Sure,” she said to Cowboy. “I’d like that, if my captor doesn’t mind letting me out of my cage for a while.”
Jax glared at her and she knew he was listening.
“I already asked him,” said Cowboy. “Seems I’m to treat you as an unfriendly and never let you out of my sight.” He laughed.
“I wasn’t kidding, Cowboy,” said Jax.
“Oh, I know it.”
Jessa stuck out her bottom lip.
“Still want to go to lunch with me?” Cowboy asked.
She nodded. “Anything to get out of here.”