Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Knox leaned against the edge of Jaxon's desk. “You here for good, Keller?”
Jaxon paused, turning his attention away from the box he had been unpacking. “Sure.”
He hadn’t originally been scheduled to start until next week, but he needed something to take his mind off the situation with Adalyn.
“Good,” Knox said, pulling a chair closer and sinking down, propping his feet on the edge of the desk. Jaxon lifted one brow and replied, “Make yourself at home.”
Turning his attention back to the box in front of him, Jaxon continued to unload its meager contents: a few books and a picture from his time in the Army.
He held the frame in his hands, not really seeing the picture inside.
It still hadn’t fully sunk in that he had a daughter—a tiny little girl who looked just like him.
If things had been different, would he be holding a picture of her right now instead? Would he see her precious little face staring back at him from the corner of his desk instead of his brothers? Better yet, would Adalyn and he be in the frame as well, like a real family?
His family. The words settled in his heart, dissolving some of the anger that still resided there. Nearly two years ago, Adalyn and he had shared a wild night of intense passion and chemistry like he had never known. Now they shared more than desire—they had a child together.
The memory of their night together had kept him sane and driven him to distraction in equal measure while he was away.
He’d been terrified those couple of times when she had attempted to reach out to him, thinking maybe she had moved on and found someone else.
But the fact that she hadn’t spoke volumes.
And the paperwork for the dissolution being filed incorrectly? It had to mean something. In his estimation, all of these things had happened for a reason—Adalyn and he were supposed to be together.
How did the expression go? Absence made the heart grow fonder?
He had felt something for her the night they first met—it was the whole reason he married her.
He had always been the staid, straitlaced one who never made one impulsive decision in his life.
Yet, in that moment, he had known it was right.
Even just a few nights ago in the restaurant, lust had hit him like an uppercut to the chin. He still felt like it was right—but would he be able to convince her of that? Especially after yesterday. He had lost his temper again, and it may have cost him both of them.
Knox cleared his throat. “We’ve got a meeting in fifteen. Working a case in conjunction with Miami PD.”
Pushing the melancholy thoughts from his mind, Jaxon turned his attention back to his boss. “Go.”
He listened intently as Knox briefed him on the situation. Over the past few weeks, a rash of burglaries had occurred across the city. Reports had come from both wealthy residents and independently owned stores.
“Unfortunately,” Knox continued, “the only thing each victim has in common is that their security is lacking, if they even have it. A small jewelry store was broken into last week, but the perpetrator bypassed the security system so it never alerted the authorities.”
Jaxon’s brows lifted at that news. That was pretty difficult to manage in this day and age. “And there are no common denominators?”
“Nothing that the PD or Aiden have been able to find so far.”
He would’ve suspected that the person responsible knew the places that he had broken into. More than likely, he either knew the owner or spent a good deal of time there. “Ex-employee?”
“PD has cross-referenced employees from the stores and checked into relatives of the homeowners. No matches.”
“So what are they doing with everything?”
He assumed this was more than a one-man operation, judging from the amount of work it took to accomplish something of this magnitude.
Fenced items were much harder to get rid of than anyone realized.
With technology, there was always a footprint somewhere online or a camera to capture someone’s face.
“So here’s the thing.” Knox half-laughed.
“One of the victims is Alan Richter. Insanely wealthy, huge pain in the ass.” That sounded about right.
Jaxon gave a little nod of acknowledgment as Knox continued.
“A painting was stolen from his residence last week. Ironically, he also owns the jewelry boutique that was broken into.”
“Sounds personal.”
Knox tipped his head. “That’s why Richter is out for blood. He’s certain he knows who took his painting.”
Jaxon lifted a brow. “And that would be?”
“Oliver Eldredge. He owns an antiquity shop downtown. Unfortunately”—Knox pulled a face—“Miami PD questioned him and his employees but came up empty.”
“What makes Richter so certain this Eldredge guy is involved?”
Knox rolled his eyes. “An old feud, apparently. But, according to Phelps over at the seventh precinct, Eldredge was forthcoming and more than willing to help. Even offered to show them his home and warehouse where he keeps overflow.”
Interesting. “They’ve checked all the local shops?”
Knox nodded. “PD spoke with all local pawn shops, art galleries, other antiquities dealers… though they’d be stupid to take any of that stuff.”
Jaxon snorted. “I would imagine. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
“Exactly.” Knox tipped his chin. “Taylor’s been digging around online to see if there’s been any recent mention of the stolen goods.”
That must be like searching for a needle in a haystack. But if anyone could find it, it would probably be Aiden.
“Gets better.” The promise in Knox’s tone had Jaxon’s ears perking up with interest. “We have a potential suspect. Ever heard of the Marvelous Maids?”
Jaxon blinked at him. “What is that?”
A tiny smile quirked Knox’s mouth. “Cleaning service. Apparently, the regular cleaner who works for Richter remembers the painting that was stolen. She saw it across town yesterday in another client’s house—Paul Mickelson.”
Even Jaxon knew of that slimy creep. His name was on every car dealership from here to El Paso, and he had a reputation to match his smarmy car salesman smile.
“Yep.” Knox tipped his chin. “PD interviewed him yesterday. He insisted on being guaranteed immunity for his cooperation.”
Jaxon rolled his eyes. He could roll in a pigsty and come out smelling like a rose. “Figures.”
“Yep.” Knox pushed up from the chair. “I’ll be in the conference room. Meeting starts in five.”
Jaxon nodded, his mind floating back to Adalyn and Jaclyn.
He had been a tool yesterday. He owed Adalyn an apology for storming out—for the second time—and he needed to find a way to connect with Jaclyn without scaring her off again.
Pulling his phone from his back pocket, he tapped out a message to Adalyn asking if he could come over tonight.
He had no idea what he was going to do or say, but he had to make things right.
He nodded to the team as he slipped into the conference room and took a seat next to Mason’s twin brother, Miles. “Hey, man.”
He tipped his chin at Jaxon as he relaxed into the chair. “You here for good?”
“Just in time for the party, apparently.”
Miles’s attention jumped over Jaxon’s shoulder to Vivi. “Thanks, beautiful.” He winked at her, and she slapped his upper arm with the manila folder she held.
“That won’t work with me.”
He let out a laugh, completely unperturbed, and took the folder. Vivi turned to Jaxon and held out another file. “Hi, Jaxon.”
He accepted the folder. “Hey, Vivi.”
Miles twisted in his chair, his eyes following the petite brunette. “When you gonna let me take you out, Viv?”
She bared her teeth in a wicked smile. “You gonna make it worth my while?”
He grinned. “Always do.”
“Knock it off,” Mason barked from Jaxon’s other side.
Jaxon threw a look Mason’s way, but he kept his gaze firmly on the file in front of him. Beneath the table, though, Mason’s knee jumped anxiously, his hand curling into a fist on his thigh. Interesting.
Aiden Taylor set his laptop down, dragging Jaxon’s attention to him. “Everyone ready?”
A low murmur of affirmation rose from the table, and Knox nodded for Aiden to begin. “As you all know, a painting recently stolen from Alan Richter’s residence turned up in the home of Paul Mickelson. PD questioned him yesterday, and we finally got a lead.”
That was good news.
“Apparently, the items are being auctioned off each Friday night. They’re invitation only for only the wealthiest customers. New clients are referral only. Mickelson told them all about the process, but he swears he has no idea who’s running them.”
Jaxon leaned back in his chair. “So we’ve got nothing.”
“IP address is different, and the signal gets rerouted all over the place. Website changes every week, and an invitation is sent out about an hour prior to the start of the auctions.”
Knox spoke up. “Apparently, two items were stolen from Richter’s residence.
The painting we know was purchased by Mickelson.
But he denies knowing anything about this.
” Knox pressed a button on the remote, and an image filled the screen, an ugly bust of someone that looked to be at least five hundred years old.
“Richter is adamant we find it. He believes that Oliver Eldredge has it and plans to move it.”
Knox tipped his head Jaxon’s way. “Mason and Keller, you’re on Eldredge. Basic recon. Dig into his background, anything you can find out about him. The PD have already been through the shop, but we’ll need to get eyes on the warehouse, see if anything looks suspicious.”
“I think we need to get into one of these auctions,” Aiden stated.
Knox nodded. “Agreed.”
He turned his attention to the other guys, and Jaxon’s thoughts drifted back to Adalyn and Jaclyn.
Jaclyn was his, too, and what he had told Adalyn yesterday was true—he wanted to be involved in her upbringing.
He replayed Adalyn’s reaction in his mind, her hackles rising, claws coming out.
She was like a tigress, protective of her cub.
He smiled at the image. That was Adalyn, all right.
Seeing her with the baby had made him want her all the more.
She obviously loved their daughter and would do anything for her.
He was still angry with her—who wouldn’t be?
—but he couldn’t deny that he still wanted her.
It might require a lot of convincing on his part, but he would just have to show her he meant every word of what he had said before.
He wanted Adalyn and the baby, and he wanted to be part of their lives.
He needed to make Adalyn see that he didn’t want to take the baby away—just the opposite, in fact.
They could make this work. She wasn’t going to give in easily, but he was going to win her over—one way or another.