30
REECE
The patio door slides open and shut, heavy footsteps approaching, undoubtedly Ethan’s.
“If you’re here to apologize for him, save your breath.” I raise the bottle to my lips and take a long swig.
He winces and drops into the Adirondack chair beside me. “You can’t drink here.”
I figured as much, but my talk with Aurora left me restless, and I grabbed a beer to ease the discomfort.
She chose Jackson and always will. When I asked if she still wanted to leave, she refused. She’ll never leave him, and he doesn’t trust me. It’s him or me—I won’t allow her to remain caught in our crossfire.
“I didn’t expect anyone to come out here.”
“Jax might, though, so please don’t.” He runs his fingers through his chaotic hair. “Throw out whatever you have or finish it.”
“Charlie brought over a six-pack, sorry. It’s been a while, and he was hoping to hang out. I’ll take it with me when I go.”
He releases an audible breath. “That’s what I wanted to talk about. Have you thought about what you’re doing after this case?”
“Every day. Why?”
He stretches his legs out in front of him. “Can you resign?”
“Possibility. Why?”
Tired eyes meet mine. “I’ll match your pay.”
Miffed, I shake my head. “You two think everything is about money—everything can be solved by throwing money at it. You couldn’t pay me enough to put up with him.”
He clenches his jaw, and the muscle furrows.
“You grew up normal, didn’t you? Then, in the military, some shit happened.
Now, your rose-colored glasses are shattered, along with your good-guy persona.
You look at Jax and all his mistakes and can’t fathom how we could love him.
Maybe you think the same of yourself, and him receiving what you deem him unworthy of really pisses you off, doesn’t it? ”
The scorching heat of humiliation ignites my face, and my body breaks into a cold sweat. I ball my fists. “He treats her like shit and always has. He doesn’t deserve her.”
“Neither do I.” He shrugs his tense shoulders. “Neither do you. But she needs us.”
Something in the way he says ‘us’ has me dropping my guard, finishing my beer with a long pull, and sinking back in the chair. “He doesn’t trust me. I’m only making things worse for her.”
“Jax is deeply perceptive. He can pick up on intentions almost instantly, and he’s highly attuned to our surroundings. He’ll continue to distrust you if he detects animosity or deceit.”
Fair enough. Between us, the roar of the ocean, the rustling palms in the breeze, and Aurora’s melodic laughter fill the silence.
A smile tugs at my lips—I love that sound.
“I don’t need your money.” My military pay is sufficient, and my living expenses are minimal. “Unless you’re expecting me to contribute to this extravagant mortgage.”
The last line is sarcasm, but he responds anyway. “This house is paid for by Jackson. I’m expecting you to contribute in other ways.”
My heart rate quickens, and my brows pinch in annoyance, mostly with myself for feeling an ounce of hope. “Like what?”
“Security. Stay here. Do what you’re doing. Just do not involve anyone else.”
“Not involve anyone else?” I scoff. “I removed his phone from a federal crime scene to protect him, and he still doesn’t trust me.”
“You know what I mean. No one at the house. I told you to keep that shit away from him.” He gestures with his hand. “Now, he wants to reinstall the security and change the codes. He’s…”
“Paranoid,” I finish for him.
He side-eyes me. “He has reason to be.”
“I get that, but he has no reason to scream at her. I don’t give a fuck what he does to me, but I’m not sitting here while he terrifies her.”
“Me neither,” he snaps. “He won’t do it again.”
“Doubtful.” I need another drink—a water, anything. My idle hands feel awkward, and I go to twist the diamond in my ear, only to remember it’s not there. Technically, I’m not at work. I could replace them.
“You think I’d let something happen to her?”
“I think your love for Jax blinds you to what he’s capable of.”
“I know what he’s capable of. Him and I aren’t much different. He lacks self-control. He needs guidance, not retribution.”
Is he serious?
“I’ll guide him right through a fucking wall if he ever screams at her again.”
His expression hardens. “You won’t touch him. You’ll go to your superiors, explain you’ve fallen in love with your client or whatever, and quit.”
Serious and delusional.
“And what will that get me? Arrested and imprisoned on multiple counts of tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice?”
“Jax’s trust. Aurora’s trust. The chance to be with her. Isn’t that what you want?”
An absurd grin spreads across my face, and, dammit, I can’t stop it. “Is that what you’re offering?”
He narrows his eyes. “That’s not up to me.”
“So it’s up to her husband, then?”
“No, it’s up to Aurora. Jax knows I’m trying to convince you to stay. He knows she wants you here. About the only thing she’s upset about in this clusterfuck of a day is you leaving.”
Foolish male pride swells in my chest. “I’ll consider it. But Charlie would never betray me. He deleted the footage to protect me and Aurora. He thought you’d be against me hauling her back and lying down with her. He didn’t mean to set off your bestie.”
“He messed with the security, and now, Jax thinks it’s unsafe. He’ll most likely have the whole thing ripped out and reinstalled.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “If you really wanna help him, have Rocco send someone—anyone familiar to him. He trusts you and them by default. It’ll ease his mind.”
He slips his phone from his pocket. “Fuck, that’s brilliant.”
“The most stable I’ve ever seen him was in New York. It’s not me or Charlie. It’s LA fucking with his head. It’s sad to say, but the best thing Kyle did was send him to boarding school.”
Focused on his phone, he says, “We’re both committed to this team for two more years.” A smirk plays on his lips. “And you know he hates the snow.”
Then, it hits me—the reason behind Jax’s paranoia and why I am unable to resign.
I blow out a heavy breath. “I can’t quit right now, and you don’t want me to.”
Ethan peers over at me, his brows pinched in question.
“Kyle’s former partner, Hugo, still works for the LAPD.”
He sets his phone down, his eyes darkening. “Fuck.”
“It gets worse. He made police chief a week before Kyle’s death. He’s one of the highest paid in the country—nearly twice as much—petitioned and approved by the board of police commissioners.”
“Meaning Kyle.”
I nod. “We’re investigating him and the LAPD, but…”
“It’s a long and corrupt process,” he answers.
“Hugo likely knows about me. Kyle, or someone using Kyle’s phone, sent pictures of us in New York to an untraceable number. Given the threatening text toward Aurora, Hugo’s afraid Jax will talk. I have a hunch Kyle kept the LAPD away from Jax?—”
“Yeah, because if he were arrested, Kyle would lose his paycheck.”
I lean in and lower my voice. “Here’s my worry: Jax tipped off and blackmailed Kyle to prevent us from using Aurora as bait.
Kyle warned his partner, who wanted Jax silenced.
Kyle refused because he wouldn’t get a dime of Jax’s inheritance if Jax wasn’t alive, especially with the baby’s paternity in question. ”
Ethan’s eyes widen, and his tone deepens. “So they got Kyle out of the way once he was no longer needed.”
“Exactly, and I can only protect Jax and Aurora by being employed with an agency that outranks the LAPD.”