Chapter 24 – Madeline
The morning light filtered through the blinds, soft and warm against my skin. I stretched lazily, the soreness in my body a reminder of everything that had happened the night before. Jaxon’s arm was draped over my waist, his body warm and solid behind me, his steady breathing tickling the back of my neck.
I sighed contentedly, letting myself relax into him. For once, there was nothing else I needed to do, nowhere else I needed to be. Just this. Just him.
Then my phone buzzed.
I ignored it at first, letting the vibration pass. But then it buzzed again. And again.
Jaxon stirred behind me, a low groan rumbling from his chest as he pulled me tighter against him. “You gonna get that, Scout?” he muttered, his voice rough with sleep.
“No,” I grumbled, burying my face into the pillow. “It’s probably Quinn. She can wait.”
“Apparently, she can’t,” he said, his lips curving into a smirk against my shoulder as the phone buzzed yet again.
“Ugh,” I groaned, reaching blindly for the phone on the nightstand. I blinked at the screen, the endless stream of texts from Quinn lighting it up like a Christmas tree.
Quinn : Hey! How are you feeling?
Quinn : You okay?
Quinn : Helloooooo? Are you ghosting me?
Quinn : Is this because I stole your fries last week? I TOLD YOU I WAS SORRY.
Quinn : Okay, ignoring me? Rude.
Quinn : Wait… are you busy?
Quinn: Oh. My. God. YOU’RE BUSY.
Quinn: WITH JAXON?!? TELL ME IT’S JAX.
Quinn: If it’s not Jackie, I’m throwing myself into traffic.
Quinn: Please let it be him. For the love of all things holy, Maddie, REPLY.
Quinn: …You know what, don’t reply. Just do your thing, Queen.
Quinn: But also, you better call me. I NEED TO KNOW.
Quinn : Mads. Maddie. Madeleine.
Quinn : (Respectfully) ANSWER ME, SLUT .
Quinn : Fine. When you’re done, CALL ME.
Quinn : But not like right after. That’s gross.
Quinn : Actually, no, call me right after. I need the deets.
Quinn : But like… clean up first.
Quinn : Ugh, I hate you for having a sex life.
I groaned louder this time, my face heating as the buzzing continued unabated. Before I could reach for my phone, Jaxon’s arm shot out, snatching it off the nightstand with a smirk.
“Jax, no!” I protested, twisting to grab it back, but he held it out of reach, his grin widening.
“Relax, Scout,” he said, his voice rough with sleep and amusement as he unlocked the screen. “Let’s see what’s so important it can’t wait.”
“I mean it!” I lunged, giggling - but he was faster, his other arm wrapping around my waist and pinning me back against the bed with ease.
He held the phone above his head, scrolling through the messages with exaggerated interest. “‘Hey! How are you feeling?’” he read aloud, his voice pitched into a mock falsetto. “‘You okay? Helloooooo?’”
I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up from my chest, though it surprised even me. Seeing Jaxon like this — playful, teasing — felt strange. Not bad strange, but unfamiliar in a way that made me feel a little giddy. I wasn’t used to this side of him. He was always so controlled, so stoic, the weight of the world on his broad shoulders. And yet, here he was, grinning like a kid as he poked fun at me.
It was… nice.
No, it was more than nice. It was a glimpse of the man beneath – this was the Jaxon who let himself relax, even for a second.
His thumb swiped across the screen, and his eyebrows shot up as he scanned the flurry of texts. He didn’t say anything, but the grin spreading across his face told me everything I needed to know.
“What?” I demanded, my cheeks heating as I tried to wrestle the phone from his hands. “What does it say?”
He held the phone higher, his other arm wrapping around my waist to keep me pinned against him. “Oh, nothing,” he said, his voice full of teasing. He planted a kiss at the sensitive spot behind me ear, “Just Quinn being… Quinn.”
“Really?!” I groaned, burying my face in his chest as I tried to shove him away. “She’s going to kill me when she finds out I ignored her.”
“She’ll live,” he said, tossing the phone back onto the nightstand as his arms tightened around me, holding me close. “Besides, she’s not wrong.”
I froze, my cheeks flaming as I looked up at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
His lips felt feather-light on my ear, the grin in his voice radiating from him. “It means your nosy best friend clearly has good judgment.”
Lying there with him, the weight of his arms around me, his warm breath against my skin — it felt surreal. The tension that had been brewing between us for weeks was finally broken, and the relief coursed through me like a balm I didn’t know I’d needed so desperately.
It was only then, as my breathing evened out and the haze of the moment began to clear, that the thought struck me.
Jax had slept through the night.
The realization was so startling that I blinked, my mind replaying the events of last night — and now this morning. The easy conversation, the teasing, the way his usual guarded edges had softened.
For the first time since I’d moved in with him, there hadn’t been the restless sound of him tossing and turning, or the muffled groans that always broke my heart.
How long had it been since he’d had a night like this? Since he’d let himself rest without the weight of his nightmares dragging him under?
He deserved this — a moment of peace.
For the first time in forever, I felt… light. Happy. The kind of happy that felt fragile and rare, like it could shatter if I breathed too hard. Jaxon had torn through the walls I’d built around myself without even trying, and now here I was, wrapped up in him, feeling more exposed than I ever had.
But that happiness was tempered by the weight still sitting in the back of my mind.
No matter how good this felt, no matter how much I wanted to cling to this moment, I couldn’t ignore what I’d been hiding from him.
The information I’d pieced together, the connections I’d uncovered about Sean and the club — secrets I’d kept from Jaxon not out of malice, but because I thought it was for the greater good.
Would he understand that? Could he?
The guilt twisted in my stomach, but I forced myself to push it down, to focus on this . On him. Because if I didn’t, if I let those thoughts creep in now, I’d ruin something that felt too precious to lose.
“You’re impossible,” I muttered, trying to deflect, though my voice lacked any real bite.
“And yet, here you are,” he teased, his hand sliding up to cradle my jaw as he tilted my face back toward his. “Still in bed with me. Still looking at me like that.”
“Like what?” I challenged, though my voice betrayed me, soft and unsteady.
“Like you’re trying to figure me out,” he murmured, his thumb brushing over my cheek. “But don’t worry, Scout. You’ll have plenty of time for that.”
Plenty of time. His words made my chest tighten in a way I couldn’t explain. Because as much as I wanted to believe him, to believe that we could have all the time in the world, the truth was more complicated than that. Secrets had a way of unravelling even the strongest connections. And I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep mine.
“Plenty of time, huh?” I asked, raising an eyebrow, though the corners of my mouth tugged into a small, wry smile. “That’s bold of you to assume.”
He chuckled, low and rich, his lips brushing against mine in a kiss that was far too brief. “Bold? Sure. But not wrong.”
I smiled against his lips, letting the warmth of his words seep into me, even if the shadow of my guilt still lingered in the background.
The room settled into a comfortable quiet again as he spun me around and nuzzled into my back, the sound of Jaxon’s steady breathing and the distant hum of traffic outside the window grounding me. I let myself relax into his embrace, trying to lose myself in the moment, in him , as if I could block out the noise in my head.
My phone buzzed. Again.
I ignored it at first, letting the vibration pass. But then it buzzed again. And again.
Jaxon stirred behind me, a low groan rumbling from his chest as he pulled me tighter against him. “If that’s Quinn again…”
“Ugh,” I groaned, reaching blindly for the phone on the nightstand. I blinked at the screen, my heart freezing as I read the name lighting up my notifications.
Tim Grayson.
I hesitated, glancing back over my shoulder to make sure Jaxon wasn’t watching too closely. He’d settled back into the pillows, eyes half-closed, his hand still resting against my hip. I quickly unlocked the phone and opened the message.
Tim : Hey, Maddie. Just checking in. You need any more help with what we were looking into? I’ve still got some good contacts if you want to dig deeper into Sean or the club.
My pulse spiked. Shit.
Tim was careful — always. He wouldn’t text me something like this unless he thought I needed an extra hand. Which, in hindsight, I probably did. But I couldn’t let Jaxon see this. Not now.
“What is it?” Jaxon’s voice broke through my thoughts, laced with suspicion. His grip on my hip tightened just slightly, like he could sense the tension coiling through me.
“Nothing,” I said quickly, my voice too high, too forced. I pressed the phone face-down onto the bed, rolling over to look at him with what I hoped was casual indifference. “Just work stuff. A colleague of mine, Tim. He’s checking in.”
His eyes narrowed, more awake now, the sharp edge of his focus clicking into place. “Work stuff?”
“Yeah.” I swallowed, trying to keep my voice light. “Freelance projects. You know how it is — people always poking around, seeing if I need a second opinion.”
Jaxon didn’t say anything, but the look on his face said he didn’t buy a word of it. “Who’s Tim?”
“Just a journalist I’ve worked with before,” I replied, too quickly. “He’s helped me with a couple of stories in the past.”
His gaze didn’t waver. “Tell me you aren’t.”
I froze. For a second, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. I hadn’t realized how close Jaxon was until now — his arm still curved around my waist, his dark eyes locked on mine, sharp and unrelenting.
“It’s nothing, Jax,” I said finally, forcing a smile that felt brittle and thin. “Just some background research. I get nosy, I poke around, and Tim’s always happy to help.”
His expression hardened instantly, a dangerous calm settling over him. “Did Tim help you snoop where you shouldn’t be?” he asked, his voice low and blunt. “Around V?”
I flinched, the words hitting like a physical blow. “What?” I said too quickly, pushing up slightly in the bed. “No — I mean, it’s not like that—”
“Madeline,” he cut me off, sitting up fully now, his frustration bleeding into every tense movement as he raked a hand through his hair. “Don’t bullshit me. Did you forget the call you got days ago? The notes? The threats ? Did that just slip your mind?”
I opened my mouth to argue — to say of course I hadn’t forgotten — but the words got stuck in my throat. Because he was right. I hadn’t forgotten. The call had been a constant thrum of anxiety in the back of my mind, a dark cloud hovering over me that I’d tried to ignore.
“I haven’t forgotten,” I admitted softly, looking down at my hands as I gripped the edge of the sheet.
“Could’ve fooled me,” he shot back, his tone sharper now, a raw edge breaking through his control. “Jesus, you think I’m going to sit here while you get tangled up in something like this?”
“It’s not like that!” I said defensively, my head snapping up to meet his glare. “I’m not stupid, Jax. I’m not waving red flags and asking to get myself hurt.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” he repeated, his voice biting as he swung his legs off the bed and planted his feet on the floor. His back was to me now, his shoulders tense, muscles coiled tight, like he was holding back from saying something he couldn’t take back.
“You think that call was just someone playing games?” he asked, quieter this time but no less angry. “That was a warning. They’re watching you. Listening to you. It’s not a fucking joke.”
His words sliced through me, cutting deeper than I wanted to admit. Because I hated seeing him like this — frustrated, angry, scared . For me. That was what this was about. Underneath the sharp edge of his voice, Jaxon was afraid.
“You don’t understand,” I said softly, my voice unsteady. “I’m not doing this to be reckless. I’m doing it because it’s right .”
He turned then, his expression a mix of disbelief and something else — something heavier. The muscles in his jaw tightened, his dark eyes locking onto mine with a look that pinned me in place.
“Right?” he repeated, his voice low and incredulous, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What part of this is right, Maddie? Looking into Sean? The club? Whatever the hell it is you think you’re looking for — it’s not there. You think it is, but it’s not.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but the quiet anger in his voice stopped me cold.
“Sean’s troubled,” Jaxon continued, his voice gruff, like he was forcing himself to explain something he didn’t want to. “Hell, we all are when we come home from that place — when we come home different .” He exhaled sharply, his shoulders rising and falling, his frustration bleeding into something that felt raw.
“You don’t know him like I do. He’s a good guy, okay? He’s made mistakes — God knows we all have — but you poking around like this, throwing a target on yourself? That’s not helping anyone.”
I swallowed, my throat tight. “You think I’m just imagining things?”
“I think you’re seeing ghosts where there aren’t any,” he shot back, his voice firm but not unkind. “And you’re gonna get hurt chasing shadows.”
His words hit harder than I expected, knocking the wind out of me. Because he didn’t get it . He didn’t see what I saw — what I’d pieced together. The patterns I’d seen being formed.
Maybe it wasn’t solid enough for him, but I knew something wasn’t right.
“I’m not seeing ghosts,” I said, my voice trembling but sure. “And I’m not chasing shadows.”
His eyes searched mine, and for a long moment, neither of us said anything. The silence was thick, stretching between us like a chasm neither of us knew how to cross.
When Jaxon spoke again, his voice was quieter, steadier, but still carrying that edge of fear I wasn’t used to hearing from him. “Scout, listen to me.” He leaned closer, his hands bracing on his thighs. “Whatever you think you know about Sean or the club, it’s not worth this. It’s not worth you . I don’t care what story you’re trying to chase — If it puts you in danger, it stops now.”
I looked away, guilt twisting in my chest because I knew I couldn’t promise him that. Not when I was this close to figuring out the truth. Not when I was sure there was something buried beneath the surface — something no one wanted me to find.
Jaxon reached for me then, his hand resting on my knee, the warmth of his touch anchoring me even as I fought against the weight of what I wasn’t telling him. “Please, baby,” he said softly, his voice fraying at the edges. “You don’t have to do this.”
I swallowed hard as his eyes burned into mine. “There’s something there, Jax,” I said quietly, hating the tremor in my voice. “I know there is.”
He exhaled sharply, dragging his hands down his face before bracing them on his thighs, trying to steady himself. When he finally spoke, his tone was rough and raw, the anger fading into something that made my chest ache.
“You don’t get it,” he said quietly, almost brokenly. “If something happens to you because of this, I won’t be able to forgive myself. Someone has already threatened you. Four times . And you’re still acting like this is some puzzle you need to solve.”
The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating. I watched him look at me, his face etched with worry, his eyes so dark and vulnerable that it felt like the air had been knocked out of my lungs.
“Promise me, Madeline,” he said finally, his voice raw and pleading. “Promise me you’ll stop. That you’ll leave this alone.”
I opened my mouth, ready to say whatever he needed to hear, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t lie to him like that — not when he was looking at me this way.
“I’ll be careful,” I said finally, the words coming out like a lie even though I meant them.
Jaxon’s hand tightened slightly on mine, his jaw working like he was holding back another argument. He didn’t believe me. I could see it in his eyes.
“Careful’s not good enough,” he muttered, rising to his feet and pacing to the edge of the room. He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. “You’re too fucking stubborn for your own good.”
He turned back to look at me then, his eyes softening just slightly. “If you won’t stop, at least promise me you’ll tell me everything. No more secrets, Scout.”
I hesitated, my chest tightening with guilt as I nodded, even though I knew it was a promise I couldn’t fully keep.
“Okay,” I whispered.
Jaxon didn’t look satisfied, but he didn’t push. Instead, he crossed the room and sat back down on the edge of the bed, pulling me into his arms with a sigh that felt as heavy as the tension still hanging between us.
“I don’t know what I’m gonna do with you,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
I closed my eyes, leaning into him and letting his steady heartbeat calm me, even as the truth I was keeping clawed at the edges of my mind.
Neither of us said it, but we both knew it: This wasn’t over.
Not yet.