CHAPTER FOUR
– SEAMUS –
Anger flows freely through my veins. Directed at Dax, at Jaxie, at my own weak body. Fuck. Why did she come outside while I specifically told her to stay inside?
My leg throbs as I slam the door shut and lock it before whirling around to snarl, “Don’t ever disobey me again.” Towering over her, I add, “Where the hell did you get that gun? Do you even know how to handle it?”
A grunt rips from me and tears instantly burn in my eyes as I double over.
My cane clatters to the floor so I can cup my balls and suck in a harsh breath.
Fuck. I just got kicked in the balls. I should have known Dax’s daughter isn’t as delicate as the man made her out to be.
My knee gives out again and I stumble back on my ass, making my anger skyrocket.
Why the hell did that fucker give me this assignment?
There’s a reason I retired. It’s barely been six months since the accident I had on the job.
My broken body isn’t capable of what I used to do without so much as a single thought.
Gritting my teeth, I shove my broken body off the floor and fight through the pain.
Jaxie is waving her hands and I try like hell to keep up. “Slower, dammit.”
She narrows her eyes and thank fuck she repeats the few words I recognize. “Your father taught you how to handle a gun. Good. Which means you know how to use it. You could have just told me instead of kicking me in the...”
“Asshole,” she snaps.
The word comes out without a stutter again. “We’ve already established this fact. No need to repeat what we both already know.”
I reach for my cane and move to the bag I brought here earlier today.
Pulling out my laptop, I place it on the table and boot it up.
I place my cane against the back of my chair and take a seat.
Reaching down, I adjust myself. Great, not only a painful leg, but my junk as well.
Jaxie is talking with her hands again, but I don’t have the patience nor the capability to translate what she’s saying.
To prevent another confrontation, I start to explain what I’m doing and keep my eyes on the screen in front of me. “After Dax left two weeks ago, I installed several security cameras. I’m going to tap into the feed to see if I can get a glimpse of who was lurking out there.”
I let my fingers tap the keyboard, picking the right camera, angle, and timeframe. Jaxie steps out of the cabin on the screen of my laptop when a note appears in front of me. I glance down to read the words.
Hitting pause on the feed, I turn to face Jaxie and answer the question on the paper by repeating it first. “Did your father suspect anyone? Yes.”
She sucks in a sharp breath and brings her hand up.
Before she starts to sign, I tell her, “We’re not discussing who, why, and what-the-fuck-ever.
Mostly because I don’t know anything except for the suspicion Dax had, and also due to the lack of proof.
Now, if we have a face on tape? Then we’ll go from there, okay? ”
Jaxie gives me a tight nod and drags the chair next to me away from the table to take a seat. I hit a key to make the feed start again and zoom in on the spot Benny barks at. The angle is shitty, but I do see movement. It’s the shape of a person, and it’s proof someone was out there.
Jaxie’s hand smacks something in front of me. I glance down to read another Post-it note. This one states, “Now what?”
I hit a few keys to tweak the settings of the cameras, making sure the motion sensors give an alert straight to my phone in case it happens again.
“Now I hope to fuck you take what I say seriously and stop aggravating me. I have a job to do and you’re not helping.
Especially when you don’t listen to a fucking word I say and kick me in the balls as a damn thank you.
” I close the laptop and grumble under my breath, “Why the fuck did I agree? I’m retired for a reason. ”
A normal person would quickly grab their stuff and storm off into another room. Being forced to use a cane for my fucked-up leg means I have to stand here longer to put the laptop in my bag, swing it over my shoulder, grab my cane, and then make an exit.
Way too much time for the woman to write two more colorful tiny slivers of papers and put them in my line of vision.
I don’t take a moment to read and instead glare at her. “Still using your hands to sign or write to give me the words your mouth can voice all the same.”
She flips me off and smacks a flat hand on the table to draw my attention back to the notes.
The words she wrote might as well have been shouted because they ring loud inside my head.
My father trusted you, no one else.
This has to be about the company if he kept me out of it.
Jumping to this conclusion makes her one fucking smart woman. Her father always kept her away from the company. When he debriefed me two weeks ago, he insisted on keeping her safe from a distance, or finding a reason to stay close without telling her why.
While I did when she still lived in her childhood home, and honored his wishes, I don’t agree with them.
Having her come to live on the mountain changed shit.
Hell, today showed how dangerous limited information can be.
If she knew someone from the company might try to harm her, she would have stayed inside like I told her to.
Turning to face her, I tell her the truth.
“Your father didn’t trust his partners, one specifically.
I don’t know the finer details yet, but he mentioned something happened almost thirty-two years ago.
They managed to stay partners until about six months ago.
Old wounds were ripped open, and it’s all the information he gave me. ”
“B-Burk C...”
“Yeah, Burk Clark. Fifty-fifty guess. Why did you pick him and not Royce Elden?” I wonder.
She releases a frustrated sigh and gives a longing look at the tiny papers on the table.
Instead of writing, she looks right at me and stutters, “D-dad t-talked a-about Royce, I m-met h-him once, n-never B-Burk.”
Thinking over her words, I nod. “Makes sense. Burk is a mean son-of-a-bitch. Royce is a bit of a peacekeeper, you know...the kind who jumps in the middle to soothe things over. He was the glue keeping the company together. All three knew very well that the company was a success because they have created a solid reputation over the years. If they would part ways and start a new company? Burk and Royce wouldn’t be able to get it to the same level by themselves.
Your father had the majority of shares in the company, and it carries his name, he could buy them out.
I know all of this due to my mother. She gave decades to the company, and she’s told me a lot of stories. ”
Jaxie’s shoulders sag. It’s not hard to think what’s going through her mind right now. I’m a dick for mentioning my mother being open to me about the company while I know her own father never shared shit.
Pointing at the kitchen, I tell her, “Eat something. The kitchen is stocked. I’m going take a shower and change.”
There’s no need to tell her why when my jeans are soaked from the mud when I fell in the pasture.
Besides, I need to clear my mind and get away from her, even if it’s only for half an hour or so.
I’m not used to being around people, except for my mother.
Who I can ignore and dodge for days if I want to.
I don’t wait for a reply, throw my bag over my shoulder, grab my cane and walk into the spare bedroom. Another bag of mine is sitting on the bed. I brought some stuff yesterday, and this morning. Everything to be prepared for my stay to protect her when she came up here.
Good thing she’s still in contact with my mother. It gave me a heads-up to get things ready in case we need to lock ourselves up in here for a few days. At least we’re prepared. Someone lurking in the shadows, caught on tape, showed both of us the threat is real.
Dax also asked me to look into his death if he died.
Creepy as fuck for a man to straight-up tell me this sitting across the kitchen table while staring in my damn eyes.
Even more when the news of his death reached us.
I still need to get more details. He mentioned having some documents, but he was still researching himself when he died.
So, for now I’m putting priority on keeping his daughter safe.
Dax might have had his suspicions, but we’re still flying blind due to no evidence. If only we had the documents he mentioned. I might need to ask Jaxie, though she had no clue about anything.
We’re both motivated to find out which is a good start to find the one responsible. I can imagine who would benefit from Jaxie’s death, her being the only living owner of the shares of the company. Which definitely points the finger at Burk, but Royce as well.
So, Dax might not have trusted anyone, but he put his faith in me. And aside from my mother? I don’t trust, or like, any other human being.