Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
JAXON/JAX
Two Months Later
Now
Firecracker Dreams & Pretty Bows
The party should be a celebration, but it’s more like my funeral.
I’m in my office on a video call with Axel, talking about what he’s uncovered about the strike against Livianna’s life.
I pick up the picture he sent me. “What am I looking at?”
“That SUV that hit Livianna. It’s one of Edward Thorne’s security team’s vehicles. See the man in sunglasses standing off to the side?”
“Yes. Who is he?”
“He’s the lead on the team.” Axel picks up the same image and shows it to me through the screen. “I’m not sure why Leon Baker is with Edward and his daughter Faith, but I’ll see what I can dig up.”
I bring the photo closer, recognizing the girl. “That’s Faith Thorne?”
“Yes, sir. She’s about thirteen in that picture.”
My pulse accelerates. “You know she goes by Zara Blackthorn now?”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Axel, this investigation has taken much longer than I expected. What’s the problem?”
“Like you, Jaxon, Edward has everything tied up in LLCs and legal documents. It takes a while to untangle it all.”
It’s been two months of hell watching Livianna rebuild her life without me in it. We still work together on her business, but that’s what our relationship has been reduced to.
That hasn’t stopped my quest to find the person responsible for destroying my history with the woman I still love to the depths of my soul.
“Not good enough, Axel. Find out which one of these assholes was behind the wheel.”
“Yes, sir.” He clears his throat. “When I do, then what?”
“Just notify me. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Of course, sir. Is there anything else?”
“No, just put a rush on this. It needs to be handled now.”
“Understood.”
I disconnect without saying goodbye, staring at this photo that’s the key to my revenge. When I can’t get over the coincidence that Edward Thorne, the pharmacist whose laboratory and clinical trials I finance, is Zara Blackthorn’s father, I throw it down.
“It’s too uncanny,” I mutter.
“What is?” Andrew appears in my doorway.
“You’re back.”
“I am, no thanks to you.”
“You’re getting a raise, so I’ve paid my penance.” I stand and gesture to the couch that’s in my office. “How was your flight?”
“Perfect. Thanks for sending the jet.” He glances back over his shoulder, then brings his gaze back to me. “I only stopped by the office to drop off some files. Why don’t we take a break and go get a cocktail? You look like you could use one.”
I shrug. “Is it that obvious?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“In that case, lead the way.” I grab my jacket off the back of my chair and make sure I have everything I need.
We get out to the hallway and bump into Quinn and Livianna leaving her studio.
“Hey, Andrew! You’re back just in time.” Quinn adjusts her purse strap and peeks over at Livianna. “Oh, Livianna, this is Andrew.”
“Hi, Andrew. It’s nice to meet you.” She holds out her hand.
He shakes it. “Nice to meet you…again.”
She blushes. “Sorry, I was in an accident. Parts of my life are missing.”
“Yeah, I heard.” He glances between us. “We were just going to grab a Friday night happy hour drink. You two should come with us.”
“We would, but we already have plans. That’s why I said you got back just in time.” Quinn shoots Livianna a sinful kind of smile.
What is she up to?
Livianna’s eyes widen. “What?”
“You don’t mind if they come too, do you?” Quinn presses her palms together as if begging Livianna to agree. “Andrew is really fun to party with, and Jaxon needs to relax. He’s been too wound up lately.”
“Um…” She glances my way. “Sure. You guys should come.”
Knowing it’s not a great idea to join them, I give her an out. “Andrew, you go with them. I have work—”
“Not tonight, Jaxon.” Quinn takes my arm and leads us down the hall. “We have an important party to go to.”
“Yeah, and where is this party?” I step away from Quinn.
“It’s at my mom and dad’s house,” Livianna chimes in from behind me.
My neck muscles grow tense. Greg Hemings is going to want answers I don’t have.
But maybe I can ask Cash about Leon Baker and Edward Thorne. Understanding their connection could help me figure out what I’m dealing with.
Whatever it is, I know it’s not good. My intuition is screaming that this is a bigger problem than I can imagine.
Everything surrounding Livianna’s accident has been devastating, so Leon and Edward knowing each other isn’t just going to be a simple coincidence.
I feel it in my bones, but I can’t stop without making right what one of Edward’s men did to her. I’m almost positive Zara is part of it, but I need to be sure before I take action.
As I’m ruminating on that thought, they chatter about Andrew’s trip. The mention of Malaysia has Livianna rubbing her temples.
I hate seeing her in pain, so I jump in. “Livianna, your hair is violet. It looks good.”
“You told me once at my parents’ networking party you thought my natural color was better.” She stops in front of the elevator and raises her eyebrows. “Do you still feel that way?”
“I’ve always thought you’re a natural beauty. Your hair color doesn’t distract from that.” The elevator doors open, saving me from groveling over her hurt feelings.
We all gather in and take the lift down. Andrew switches topics, keeping us away from any delicate subjects. I make a mental note to thank him later.
We get out to the front of the building, and a limo is waiting. Livianna skips off with Quinn following close behind.
Andrew pats my shoulder. “You sure you’re up for this?”
“No, but I know how to control myself.”
“You do, but…”
“What’s the worst thing that can happen?”
He huffs. “A lot.”
“It’s a goddamn party. Not a funeral.” I shrug his palm off me. “Just get in the car.”
“It’s your choice, but don’t say I didn’t give you an out.”
I release a low growl and march to the open back door of the limo. I duck through the narrow space and slide into the seat farthest from Livianna.
We make eye contact and I swear she blushes. I want to jump in and ask why, but I no longer have the right to do so. It’s a knife to my heart how distant we’ve become.
I gaze out the window and focus on anything but the past. The ride to her parents’ house is dreadful, but I pretend to enjoy myself.
When Livianna insists, I even toast to a night full of laughter and love with a shot of whiskey she forced into my hands.
Andrew keeps the conversation flowing for a while until Quinn rattles on and on about how romantic Cash and Livianna’s life is. Andrew asks her about Mayhem and when they’re going back out on tour.
It’s something I haven’t thought of. I shake my head at myself.
How did I gloss over that fact?
That thought leads me to the next one.
Who the hell is going to be there with her to take care of her?
Cash recently shared with me she’s still suffering from intense headaches. She’s not taking painkillers anymore, but it wasn’t without a massive fight between them.
I have to give him credit, though. Once I pointed out the dangers of having pills around them and their past drug abuse, he cleaned out their house.
She threw a fit, but he put his foot down. I guess their love is more important than drugs.
Knowing she’s healthy is the only solace I have. I have to believe this is what fate had planned all along. Otherwise, I’ll spin in the question of why.
Why did I lose her?
Why did I leave her?
Why did we lose a child?
The answers never come, so I resign myself to believing it’s just meant to be this way. The limo stops, and with it, so do my tired thoughts.
The driver gets out and lets us all out. We enter the Hemings mansion. The entryway is decorated with big white bows.
“Hi, darling.” Lorna meets us near the door. “Oh, you brought more people than Quinn.”
“Yeah, they were on their way to happy hour, so we hijacked their plans.” Livianna hugs her mom. “I hope it’s not too much trouble.”
“It’s not. The more people, the better the celebration will be.” Lorna releases her. She comes over to Andrew and me, planting small kisses on each of our cheeks. “It’s nice you two could make it.”
“Thanks for having us.” I gesture toward the kitchen. “You don’t mind if I get a whiskey from the cabinet, do you?”
She takes my arm and pulls me along with her. “Of course not, Jaxon. But I already have all the alcohol out. There are servers to make sure everything is perfect. Just let them know what you want.”
They all follow behind us. While my drink is being poured, Livianna asks her mom where her “daddy” is. Lorna explains that he’s in his study talking with Cash.
I glance through the formal dining room, down the hallway to where Greg’s office is. The door is shut. From that small tell, I know they’re not in there having a casual conversation.
Once everyone has a drink, Lorna gestures to the concrete deck. “Let’s go outside. It’s beautiful out tonight.”
We start to go, but Livianna places her free hand on my arm. I stop and face her.
“Jaxon?” She swallows hard. “Can we talk? Just for a minute or two, then you can let loose.”
“All you need to do is ask, and I’ll give you all the time in the world.”
“Thank you.” She removes her hand. “You’re too kind, considering how I’ve been treating you the past three days.”
“And how is that?”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.” She gives me a knowing look. “I just wanted to apologize.”
I dip my chin in acknowledgement. “You don’t need to apologize. You haven’t been as rude to me as you’re alluding to.”
“Come on, Jaxon. Don’t play nice.”
“That’s not what I’m doing. I’m simply saying—”
“Fine. If you say you haven’t really noticed, then great.” A little defiance from her rears its ugly head. “We can move on as if nothing has been different between us.”
“That’s not what I said. I believe things are very different between us, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say you’ve been rude.”
She studies my face for a moment. “Okay, so I haven’t been rude, but I haven’t been friendly either.”
“Is there a reason for that?”