“I needed money, and I couldn’t very well access my old savings accounts. Anyway, Leland helped me get a fake ID and he found a small apartment for me in Houston. He’d drive over every other week from San Antonio and pay me in cash for the work I did.”
There was some part of that explanation Jax obviously didn’t like because his mouth tightened, and she got another glare from him. “At any point did it occur to you to call me, or maybe even Chase? He’s a marshal and could have gotten you into official protective custody.”
“Of course it occurred to me. I’ve already told you that it did, but I was afraid I’d get Matthew and you killed.”
She had to fight the tears again, and she cursed them. Mercy, she already felt so bruised and weak, and she didn’t want to be crying in front of Jax. Evidently, he didn’t want her crying, either, because he cursed again and leaned closer. For a moment she thought he might lend her a shoulder, but his phone buzzed, and the moment was lost. Which was just as well. The last place she needed to be was in Jax’s arms.
Even if her body thought it was a good idea.
“It’s Jericho,” he said, glancing at the screen, and he put the call on speaker. Probably because he wanted her to hear details of the safe house—a place he likely couldn’t wait to take her. Anything to get her out of his house.
“Bad news,” Jericho greeted. “And that’s bad news on more than one front. Loveland’s dead. He never regained consciousness, never uttered a word about who hired him to attack you and Paige.”
That didn’t help her fight the tears, but Paige blinked them back. It’d been a long shot, anyway. Even if Loveland had lived, he might not have ratted out his boss.
Of course, now she had to live with the fact that she’d killed a man. She’d done that to stop him from hurting Jax and her, but still, it settled like a dead weight in her chest.
“What else is wrong?” Jax asked his brother when Jericho didn’t continue.
Jericho’s hesitation had her moving to the edge of the seat. Not that she was especially eager to hear another round of bad news, but she didn’t want to miss a word of what he had to say.
“The safe house is ready,” Jericho finally said, “but you won’t be able to take Paige there. Not tonight, anyway. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to leave the house with her right now. Not until I’ve had someone check the area.”
Paige met Jax’s gaze to see if he knew what this was all about, but he only shook his head. “What’s going on, Jericho?” Jax pressed.
“I got a weird text about five minutes ago. I’m sending you a screenshot.”
Paige hurried to Jax’s side so she could see the message for herself. “‘Tell Jax that I’m watching Paige and him. Love how he parked the cop car right in front of his house so that she didn’t have to be out in the open. Bet she appreciated Levi opening the door for her, too,’” she read aloud.
Oh, God. Whoever had sent the message, either the Moonlight Strangler or Pittman, was close. Close enough to see their every move.
“‘Yeah, I saw it all,’” Jax continued to read. “‘And I’ll keep on seeing every move Paige makes. Tell her that soon she’ll be dead for good.’”
Chapter Seven
The sound woke Jax. Not that he was fully asleep, anyway. But despite the fact that the sound was barely a whisper, it made it through the cobwebs in his head, and he sprang to his feet and grabbed his holster from the nightstand.
Damn it. What was wrong now?
Since it was barely 5:00 a.m., he figured neither Paige nor Matthew should be up yet. Chase should be asleep, too, since he was barely an hour off watch detail. Levi would be up, taking his turn at making sure they were all safe, but he shouldn’t be whispering to anyone at this hour unless something had come up.
Jax was already dressed. For the most part, anyway. After he’d pulled a shift to keep watch, he’d changed clothes but not to his usual sleeping boxers. He’d put on fresh jeans and a shirt in case they had to make a quick escape, but his shirt was unbuttoned, and he was barefoot.
“It’s Paige,” Levi said the moment Jax stepped into the hall. His brother tipped his head in the direction of Matthew’s room.
Jax’s heartbeat went into overdrive. Not only because Paige was apparently in Matthew’s room but because the sound Jax had heard was of someone crying. Matthew maybe.
He ran, skidding to a stop on the hardwood floors, and what Jax saw wasn’t anything compared to the worst-case scenario he’d built up in his head. Paige was sitting on the floor. Not near Matthew but on the other side of the nursery. Matthew was still sacked out, and Paige was watching him.
Well, watching him through her tears and soft sobs.
Her head whipped up, her gaze colliding with Jax’s, and she waved him off. Maybe her attempt to get him to leave. As if that was going to happen. He holstered his gun, went to her and helped her to her feet.
“I’ve ruined everything,” she said.
Jax didn’t argue with her, though he had to admit this wasn’t her fault. Most of it, anyway. But she didn’t need to hear him say that right now since she was obviously beating herself up.
Judging from the hoarseness of her voice and her red eyes, she’d been crying for a long time. And she likely hadn’t slept.
He’d lent her some pj’s—a Christmas present that he’d never used—but they looked as wrinkle-free as they had when he’d taken them out of the package and given them to her. There were also dark circles under her eyes. Circles that were nearly the same color as the nasty bruise that was now on her forehead.
So, with all of that, how the hell did she still manage to look so good?
Probably because he was still attracted to her. He always had been, and certain mindless parts of his body just weren’t going to let him forget it.
Jax went over and helped her to her feet. “Come on. I’ll make you a cup of tea if I can find some.” After the divorce, he’d cleared out her stash of the Irish breakfast tea she bought in bulk, but he might have missed some.
Since Paige wasn’t too steady on her feet, Jax hooked his arm around her waist and got her moving. Past Levi, who gave him a raised eyebrow. Maybe at the close contact.
Jax gave him a raised eyebrow right back for that hug he’d given Paige the night before. Jax wasn’t jealous that his brother had done that, but this situation was already complicated enough without giving Paige the full-court welcome back home.
“It really hit me this morning,” she said, wiping away the endless stream of tears. “I’ve lost so much time with him. Too much.”
Yes, she had. Again, Jax didn’t voice that. He got her headed in the direction of the kitchen, cursing the fact that the house suddenly seemed gigantic with miles and miles of floor space. That probably had plenty to do with the fact that he didn’t want to keep her in his arms any longer than necessary.
“All that time I spent investigating the Moonlight Strangler,” she went on. “I kept at it, knowing it was causing a rift between us.”
It was an understatement, and at the root of it was that she just couldn’t let go of something that Jax had known could be dangerous. It was something she should have trusted him to investigate, but she hadn’t.
Lack of trust was his hot button.
Giving up had been an equally hot button for her.
Not a good combination when both were putting in so many hours with the baby and at work that they didn’t have time for each other. Jax would accept his blame for part of that, but this whole faked death thing was on Paige’s shoulders.
When they finally made it to the kitchen, Jax put her at the breakfast table and went in search of that tea. Nada. He had vague memories of getting drunker than a skunk and tossing everything that would remind her of him.
Everything except that picture he’d put in Matthew’s room.
He gave up his search, got a pot of coffee brewing and made a check out the window. Something he’d been doing most of the night. A team of
ranch hands was out there, patrolling, and there’d be a team in place until he moved Paige and Matthew. Hopefully, that would happen soon.
When the coffee was finished, he set both a cup and a box of tissues on the table in front of her, but Paige just stared at them. Stared, and then she got to her feet.
“Just please hold me a second,” she said.
That was the only warning Jax got before she was in his arms.
Instant jolt of memories. Really strong ones. His body immediately started to prepare itself for Paige. And not a good preparation, either. His body was smacking the foreplay label on this and reminding him that it’d been way too long since he’d had her in his arms.
And in his bed.
Jax didn’t push her away, though. Mainly because this wasn’t anywhere near foreplay for her. She was falling apart right in front of him, and he felt his arms close around her before he could talk himself out of it.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
The latest apology put his teeth on edge. No way could an apology erase what she’d done. For nearly a year he’d grieved for her. Cursed her. Because he’d believed she had caused her own death. Now he was cursing her for lying to him. Cursing her because of this blasted attraction that just wouldn’t die.
She eased back, her gaze finding his, and she looked down between them. At his bare chest.
Where she had her hand.
Paige didn’t exactly jump back, but she did step away from him and mumbled yet another apology that he didn’t want to hear. She also wiped away the tears, and this time they stayed gone. Jax could almost see her steeling herself. Maybe to fight off the attraction. Maybe because she just didn’t want him to see her cry.
“I promise I won’t go crazy on you,” she said. “I just need to get my footing and figure out how to catch the Moonlight Strangler.”
Definitely more like the old Paige now. Except this time, he totally understood her obsession to catch this particular killer. Because this time his son was the one in the crosshairs.
“There’s nothing new on the investigation,” he told her, and Jax got himself a cup of coffee. “But I’ve been giving some thought to that last text. Why send it to Jericho? We know the Moonlight Strangler has your phone number because he’s been texting you, and you said he included details of the attack that only a few people knew.”
She stayed quiet a moment and nodded. “You think that text to Jericho was from Darrin Pittman?”
Now it was his turn to nod. “Whoever sent it used a burner cell, one that can’t be traced, of course. But even if Darrin wasn’t the one behind the attack last night, he’s probably heard you’re alive.”
“One of the Unknown Caller texts could have been from him.” She took out her phone from the pocket of the pj’s and showed him the cache of calls and texts.
Unknown caller, Cord and Leland.
Jax couldn’t help but notice that she had four missed calls from Leland, and they’d all come since she had been back at the ranch.
“I let Leland’s calls go to voice mail,” she said, putting her phone away. “I wasn’t up to talking to him.”
There. He heard it again. Something in her tone. It’d been there the night before when the cop’s name had come up.
“Is there anything about Leland that you’re not telling me?” he came out and asked.
Paige gave a heavy sigh and sank back down into the chair. “We, uh, had a parting of the ways.”
“What the heck does that mean?” Jax pressed when she didn’t continue.
Another sigh, and she didn’t make eye contact. “I told you that Leland had been helping me. Well, he started to develop feelings for me—again. Feelings I could never return, and I told him that.”
Jax took a moment to process that. “I’m guessing Leland was upset?”
She made a sound to indicate that that was an understatement. “He didn’t say anything to me. He just walked out the same way he did after I broke things off with him years ago.” Now her gaze came to his. “All of that happened right before the Moonlight Strangler contacted me to set up the meeting. And no, I don’t believe Leland told him.”
Maybe. “Then it’s a helluva coincidence, especially since Leland was only one of two people who had your phone number at that time.”
“That still doesn’t mean he gave the number to a killer. Or to Pittman. Yes, Leland was upset and hurt, but I don’t think he would have set me up to die.”
The jury was still out on that as far as Jax was concerned, and he took out his phone to text Jericho and let him know he should call Leland in for an interview. However, the sound of a car engine stopped him, and Jax hurried to the window. It was a vehicle he recognized.
Belinda’s.
And it was indeed the nanny all right. Hard to miss that gold-blond hair when she stepped from the car.
She normally arrived at his place around this time of morning so he could do some ranch work before going into the sheriff’s office. However, with everything that’d gone on the night before, Jax had made it clear that she should stay away until he had some things settled.
Jax buttoned his shirt and went to the back door to temporarily disarm the security system. By the time he did that, Belinda was already on the porch.
“I couldn’t wait,” she said, her breath rushing out. “I had to make sure Matthew and you were all right.”
“We’re fine.” Jax stepped back for her to enter only so he could shut the door and turn the security system back on. That way, if a hired gun did manage to sneak past the hands, at least Jax would know if there was a break-in, since all the doors and windows were wired.
Belinda immediately pulled him into her arms. His second hug of the morning, and Jax didn’t want this one any more than he’d wanted the other one. Of course, the one from Paige still had the heat simmering in his body. This one from Belinda had him stepping back.
She noticed.
So did Paige, judging from the way her gaze shifted between Belinda and him. She probably wanted to know if Belinda was more than just Matthew’s nanny. She wasn’t. But Belinda had made it pretty clear that she wanted to be a whole lot more.
Belinda’s attention landed on Paige, specifically the pj’s, and because Jax was watching her so closely, he saw the flicker of disapproval go through Belinda’s pale blue eyes. Once, Belinda and Paige had been friends. They’d all gone to high school together, but the tension in the air wasn’t so friendly right now. Paige stood slowly, adjusting her pj’s and looking as uncomfortable about this situation as Jax felt.
“Paige,” Belinda said. Not exactly a warm greeting. “How could you have done this to Jax? And how could you come back into his life now after all this time? He’d gotten over you. He was moving on with his life. And now you’ve brought danger right to his doorstep.”
“She didn’t have a say in that attack,” Jax told Belinda when Paige stayed quiet. But he wanted to groan. Now he was defending Paige. Great. Just great.
Belinda’s bottom lip started to tremble and her eyes watered. “I prayed it wasn’t you I saw yesterday by the garage.”
Jax pulled back his shoulders. “You saw Paige?”
It was a really easy question, but it still took Belinda several long moments to answer. “Yes. I was on the porch swing with Matthew and I got a glimpse of someone. Maybe her, but I also thought maybe it was a friend of Buddy’s or one of the other hands.”
Paige looked surprised, but Jax figured he had her beat in the surprise department. “And you didn’t tell me that you thought you might have seen her?” he snapped.
Belinda blinked. “I was hoping it wasn’t her. Not that I wanted her dead,” she quickly added. “But I didn’t want her to come back. I figured if she was alive, then the Moonlight Strangler would still be after her. I was right, wasn’t I?”
Maybe.
Jax didn’t doubt for a minute that the Moonlight Strangler would want to finish what he’d started, but Jax wasn’t convinced the k
iller was the only player here.
“Did you break into the house, too?” Belinda asked, looking at Paige.
“W-what?” Paige shook her head and turned to Jax. “You had a break-in?”
Jax’s hands went on his hips. “This is the first I’m hearing about it. When did this happen?”
The tension in the room went up a significant notch. “Yesterday afternoon. While you were at work, I took Matthew out to see the new horses. I was only gone for about thirty minutes, but when I came back in, I saw that someone had...damaged Paige’s picture, the one you usually keep next to Matthew’s bed.”
“Damaged?” Paige and he asked in unison.
Belinda didn’t jump to answer, but she went to the junk drawer and took out the framed photo. It was indeed the one of Paige, and there was “damage” all right.
The glass had been shattered, and it appeared that either the glass—or someone—had cut Paige’s face. Not an ordinary cut, either. There was a gash on the cheek, very similar to the real one the Moonlight Strangler had given her.
Jax cursed, and Paige staggered back a step.
“Why wouldn’t you have told me about this?” Jax demanded of Belinda.
More tears sprang to Belinda’s eyes. “At first, I thought it had fallen off the table. Or that maybe you’d gotten upset and did it.”
“I wasn’t here,” Jax reminded her. “You knew I was at work.”
He tried not to sound furious with her, but he was. This was huge. It could have meant someone had indeed broken in. Or rather just walked in, because he doubted Belinda had locked up to take Matthew to see the horses.
Her tears turned to sobs. “Don’t be upset with me. I thought maybe you’d come back home for something, that you saw the picture and decided it was finally time to put Paige out of yours and Matthew’s lives.”
“I’ll always be part of his life,” Paige whispered. Not angry but rather hurt. “Even if I’m not here, I’ll always be his mother.”
Belinda’s face turned red, and her nostrils flared. She looked ready to scream or do something Jax was sure they’d all regret. Emotions were running sky high right now, and he needed to diffuse it.
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