It was the right thing to do. Nobody in his family was in the mood to deal with reporters right now, though he figured the news frenzy would continue for a while. Especially since the media would be looking to score an interview with Addie, the serial killer’s daughter. However, Addie was still at the hospital with Cord, Levi, a reserve deputy and the protection detail from the FBI assigned to guard the Moonlight Strangler.
Jax thanked Buddy, made a mental note to thank all the hands and give them big bonus checks and pulled into the back, parking on the side of the porch next to the porch swing where they’d found that camera and listening device. There was no need to tell Paige to move fast. She knew the drill all too well since running and hiding were all they’d been doing since she’d returned to the ranch.
Jax didn’t bother with an umbrella since they’d be changing their clothes, anyway. He got out ahead of her, unlocked the door and disarmed the security system only long enough to get Paige inside. Even though they weren’t going to be there long, he reset it and locked the door, too, behind him.
He didn’t turn on the lights, just in case someone was indeed watching the house, but he could see that the place was a mess. The CSIs had apparently left no stone unturned when they’d searched for cameras and bugs. Thankfully, other than the one on the porch, they hadn’t found anything.
“I’ll have to get you one of my shirts,” he told her. There were probably some of Belinda’s things around, but he doubted she’d want to wear those.
Jax stripped off his shirt and tossed it into the laundry room just off the kitchen. Only then did he realize being shirtless probably wasn’t a good idea with Paige in the room.
Or maybe it was.
She looked at him. Looked at his bare chest. And everything inside her finally seemed to go still. She definitely didn’t seem ready to start pacing again.
The rain was coming down harder now, slapping against the window. The lightning streaked through the sky, the flashes enough for him to get glimpses of Paige even without the overhead lights.
“I’m a mess,” she whispered. Maybe she was talking about her bloody clothes, but it could be a whole lot more.
She turned, the streaks of rain and lighting hitting just right so that it looked as if tears were sliding down her face. Maybe they were. If anyone deserved a good cry, it was her.
But he didn’t want her to cry.
He wanted to do something about that stark look on her face. Wanted to do something about her uneven breathing, too. And the nerves. So close to the surface that he could feel them.
He took off his waist holster, laying it on the counter, and went to her. And he kissed her before he could change his mind. All in all, it was a good decision. Paige didn’t back away, and she slipped right into his arms. Right into the kiss, as well.
The soft sound she made was one of pleasure. Mostly. Mixed with some doubts that he had no trouble hearing, either. But Jax didn’t want doubts. They’d have enough of those later. For now, he just wanted her.
He knew the fix for that. Jax deepened the kiss, bringing her closer to him, and he put his hand at the base of her throat and slid his palm down to her breasts.
Oh, yeah. Familiar territory. But the doubts were still there.
On her part, not his.
“I don’t want you to see me naked,” she whispered. Her breath shivered. She did, too. “The Moonlight Strangler cut me, and I have scars.”
Not an easy thing to hear, but Jax was determined to take some of those old nightmares and put a new light on them. Or at least he’d try. Even if this was probably a bad idea.
He kept kissing her. Kept touching her, too. But Paige did her own share of touching, and like all the other times they’d been together, it didn’t take long for the fire to ignite.
Just how long was he going to let that fire burn?
Apparently, pretty damn long, he decided, when her hand landed on his bare chest. Then his stomach.
He turned her, pressing her against the edge of the counter so he could rid her of that bloody top. Jax didn’t want any more reminders of the day. What he wanted was her bare skin against his. He took off her bra and lowered the kisses to her breasts.
One of the scars was there. On her left breast. There was another just below it on her rib cage. He kissed both, lingering long enough to make sure she felt only pleasure and not the old memories.
That upped the urgency in him. Upped those silky sounds she was making, too, and she latched on to him and let him add some fuel to the fire. He kissed her stomach, all the while unzipping her jeans, sliding them off her along with her shoes and panties.
Then he kissed her exactly where he wanted.
Her breath broke, and Paige fisted her hand in his hair, and she gave in to the heat for several moments before it must have become too much for her. She dropped down, pulling him to the floor with her, and in the same motion, she went after the zipper on his jeans.
Jax figured he should ask her if she was ready for this, but judging from her nonverbal cues, that answer was yes. She kissed him, shoved off his jeans and boxers, and then straddled him. He could have sworn his head exploded when she took him inside her.
Oh, yeah. He remembered this. Remembered just how good it could be. Of course, sex had never been an issue for them. Apparently, it still wasn’t.
She moved, shoving her body against his. Creating the rhythm and the friction needed to make that fire rage out of control. She looked like a woman on a mission.
Maybe she was using this to take out some of her frustrations or to burn off some of that restless energy. Or maybe this was just about them.
Either way, it worked.
She made another sound. Not one of pleasure this time. But release. Jax felt the climax ripple through her. And thanks to a bolt of lightning, he got to see it on her face, as well.
The moment was perfect despite all the imperfections.
And Jax pulled her to him and let himself go with her.
* * *
PAIGE COULDN’T MOVE. But she could certainly feel, and that feeling went up a notch when Jax lifted his hips and she got a nice little aftershock from the climax.
Wow.
She hadn’t seen this coming, but she didn’t have to think long and hard to know it was needed. Jax wasn’t just the cure for her headache and tight muscles; he was the cure for other things, too. For the first time in over a year, her mind settled down just enough for her to see and feel something other than the nightmare she’d been living.
Later, she’d decide if that was a good thing.
For now, Paige just savored the moment of her body still joined with Jax’s. The feel of his body beneath hers. His scent. That scent alone could stir all sorts of hot thoughts, but it calmed her, too.
Or maybe just the great sex had done that.
However, it didn’t last. Jax eased her off him and got up to get his gun and phone. For a second she thought he might just walk away, but he scooped her up, too, and with both of them buck naked, he carried her to the master bathroom. Yet another place she knew well, because she’d come up with the remodel design.
Including the massive stone and tile shower.
Which was exactly where he took her.
Other than a night-light by the vanity, the room was dark, and he kept it that way as he put aside his gun and phone so he could turn on the water. The moment it was hot and steamy, he took her inside, setting her on her feet. Slowly. While her body slid down his.
“Foreplay,” he said a split second before he kissed her mouth. Then her neck. “We sort of skipped that in the kitchen.”
They’d skipped a lot of things. Like finesse and conversation. But that was okay even if Paige knew that later they were going to have to talk about all of this.
But not now.
For now, she just let him kiss away all the worries. All the pain. And even all the doubts.
Despite the fact that she’d just had him, Paige felt the heat return.
Slow and easy like those kisses he was delivering. But he stopped, looking down at her forehead and frowning.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to be getting those stitches wet,” Jax said.
Paige was sure she frowned, too, because it was true, and it caused him to turn off the shower.
“We should be getting dressed, anyway,” he added.
Now the doubts came. Not only hers but his. She could practically feel them. But he was also right. They shouldn’t be standing around naked even if that was exactly what she wanted to do. Except the sooner they dressed and left, the sooner she’d get to see Matthew.
Jax handed her a towel when they got out of the shower, and after grabbing a towel for himself, he went into the bedroom. Several minutes later he returned, fully dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt. And he handed her not only the clothes she’d taken off in the kitchen, but one of his clean shirts, as well.
Since it felt awkward for her to be standing around naked when he was dressed, Paige hurried to put on the clothes, but she didn’t even manage to get her jeans on before Jax’s phone buzzed. Considering all the bad news they’d gotten, she immediately thought the worst.
And it likely was.
Because Jax frowned when he glanced at the screen.
“Darrin,” he said, showing her the caller ID.
Great. She definitely didn’t want to chat with him tonight. Jax must have felt the same way because he let it go to voice mail. Then he listened to the message that Darrin left. He didn’t put it on speaker, but judging from the way his teeth came together, it wasn’t well wishes.
“Do I want to hear the message for myself?” she asked.
“No,” he said without hesitation. “But it wasn’t one of his usual threats. He sounded, well, desperate. He said he needed to see you right away. You’re not meeting with him.”
“No,” she agreed. “Did he say why he wanted to meet?”
Jax shook his head. “But I’m betting it wouldn’t be to have a nice conversation. He probably wants you to get Jericho to back off on that interrogation that’s scheduled for tomorrow.”
An interrogation that might not happen since Jericho was up to his eyeballs with all the stuff going on.
“Sometime soon I should start the process to get a restraining order on Darrin.” She paused. Met his gaze. “Or maybe I should wait to see if we’ll be moving to that safe house?”
Or better yet, staying in Appaloosa Pass.
Near Matthew and Jax.
Jax didn’t answer her. Probably because he heard a sound that caught his attention. Paige heard it, too.
A car engine.
She hoped that it was just Buddy or one of the other hands, but when Jax’s phone buzzed and Paige saw Buddy’s name on the screen, she figured they had a visitor.
“Put it on speaker so I can hear,” she insisted. She wanted to know if they were about to come under attack.
“Anything wrong?” Jax asked when he answered, and he hurried to the living room where there were windows facing the road.
Paige went, too, though Jax motioned for her to stay back. She did, but she still saw the headlights of the vehicle making its way toward them.
“It’s another one of those reporter vans,” Buddy explained. “You want me to send them packing like the other one?”
“Yeah. And as soon as they’re gone, Paige and I’ll be leaving to go to the main house.”
Suddenly, there was no other place Paige wanted to be. She inched closer and caught a glimpse of the van. It was indeed one that reporters used, and it was from a local station out of San Antonio.
The rain was still heavy, making it hard to see, and the only light came from the van’s headlights. Buddy didn’t get out of his truck. As he’d done with Jax and her, he lowered the window. The passenger’s window on the van lowered, too.
And that’s when Paige saw the gun.
Chapter Sixteen
“Get down!” Jax shouted to Buddy.
He did see Buddy duck down on his truck’s seat, but Jax had no idea if it was in time. Because a split second later, there was another sound that Jax didn’t want to hear.
A shot rang out.
Damn.
The shot hadn’t come from Buddy, either, but whoever was inside that reporter’s van. Jax seriously doubted it was reporters, and it sure as heck wasn’t the Moonlight Strangler.
So who was it?
“Oh, God,” Paige said, moving closer to the window. “Was Buddy hit?”
But Jax didn’t have the answer to that. Not yet. However, he couldn’t just stand here while Buddy was killed right in front of him.
He texted Buddy. And waited. The seconds crawled by with no answer. So Jax tried Hank next. He got an answer right away, but it wasn’t an answer he liked.
What the devil’s going on down there? Hank wanted to know.
I’ll let you know when I know, Jax texted back.
“Get the gun from the closet in the bedroom,” Jax instructed Paige. She’d know exactly where it was since it was where she’d left it before she moved out. “When you get back, I want you to stay inside and stay down.”
She started to move, then stopped and frantically shook her head. “You can’t be thinking about going out there.”
Jax didn’t have time to argue. “Just get the gun, and we’ll go from there.”
Thankfully, she hurried off to do that while Jax kept watching out the window. No more shots. And he couldn’t see either Buddy or the shooter. Buddy was smart, so maybe he was playing dead, hoping the shooter would get out so that Buddy could return fire.
Because of the van’s blinding headlights and the rain, Jax couldn’t see through the windshields of either vehicle. However, there was likely at least two people in the van because the shot had come from the passenger’s-side window.
Without taking his attention off the vehicles, Jax pressed in Jericho’s number. There were ranch hands nearby, but Jax might need Jericho to coordinate the communication so that no one was hurt from friendly fire.
“There’s trouble,” Jax said the moment Jericho answered. “A van just pulled up in front of my house, and someone inside fired a shot at Buddy.” He rattled off the license plate number to Jericho. “We might need an ambulance.”
Jericho cursed. “Where are you and Paige now?”
“Inside my house, but I’m about to go outside and see if I can sneak up on the people inside the van. Just let everyone know what’s going on so the main house is all locked up. Text me if you need to tell me anything and make sure I have some backup ASAP.”
“I will. Don’t guess it’d do any good to tell you to wait. No, I’ll save my breath,” Jericho added before Jax could say anything. “Just be careful.”
“I will. Hank’s nearby, too, so you should probably call him first. I don’t want him coming down here into the middle of this. Not until I figure out what this is, anyway. But if he spots me, I want him to cover me.”
Just as Jax was finishing up the call with Jericho, Paige came running back into the room with not just one gun but with two. And she had some extra magazines of ammo, as well.
“Any sign of Buddy yet?” she asked. She tried to peer out the window, but Jax moved her back behind him.
He shook his head and tried to figure out the best way to do this. If he waited, Buddy could die. And if he didn’t wait, the same might happen.
Jax made brief eye contact with her. Just enough to let her see that this was not a negotiable situation. “I’m going outside to get a better look at what’s going on. Once I’m out the door, I want you to arm the security system. The code is 4031. Then I want you to hide and not come out until I tell you it’s safe.”
“No,” Paige repeated several times during his instructions.
But Jax didn’t even try to bargain with her. He dropped a kiss on her mouth and hurried to the back door, grabbing his black Stetson along the way. He turned off the alarm and shot her a glance to remind her of what
she needed to do.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, giving her another kiss.
Jax ignored the pleading look in her eyes, and he stepped out the door and onto the back porch. He didn’t move, though, until he heard her press in the code to set the alarm.
Good.
At least if anyone tried to break through any of the windows or doors, the alarm would go off.
He went to the side of the porch by the swing where they’d found the camera and jumped down to the ground. It’d been raining long enough that the ground was soggy, and the water and mud oozed over his boots. The rain wouldn’t help with visibility, but it could give him an advantage.
If he couldn’t see them, then maybe they wouldn’t be able to see him, either.
Ducking down and using the cruiser for cover, Jax looked around. He still didn’t have a good view of the van because of Buddy’s truck, so he hurried closer, sandwiching himself between the house and the cruiser. At least this way, no would sneak up on him from behind, but that left sides he had to cover.
He checked the cruiser door. Locked, of course. And he cursed himself for not grabbing the keys from the kitchen counter. That could turn out to be a bad mistake. Maybe, though, when Jericho arrived, he could open it using a remote. That would give Jax a bullet-resistant shield in case this turned into a gunfight.
There was no sign of Hank, but that didn’t mean the ranch hand wasn’t out there somewhere. And he wouldn’t be alone. Soon, Jericho would have others around. He hoped Weston and Chase would stay in the main house with Matthew. Jax didn’t want backup if it meant putting his son at risk.
Since the angle was still wrong for Jax to see what was going on, he crawled beneath the cruiser. The ground was wet here, too, and the rain soaked straight through his clothes. However, when he came out on the other side, he finally had the viewpoint he needed.
And his heart slammed against his chest.
No. This couldn’t be happening. The back door of the van was wide open.
Hell.
There was no telling how many gunmen could have gotten out of there by now. They could have used the ditches or even Buddy’s truck for cover so they could get closer to the houses.
Six-Gun Showdown Page 15