by Taylor Lee
Politely pushing Sonia to the side, Enrique reached for her hand. “Viviana, I want you to meet a longtime friend of mine and Nicolas’s. We hung out together as boys. We called him ‘the Professor’ because he taught us everything we know. Especially how to achieve our most challenging goals.”
A deep voice rang out from the rear of the room. “It might be useful to introduce him by the name the rest of the world knows him by—at least the world that is determined to bring him down.” As he strode toward the startled group, Jax nodded to Viviana and said, “Sergeant Moreau, meet Joaquin Blanco, the despicable international drug lord and head of the El Blanco cartel. The outlaw agency that has visited untold agony on innocent people around the world.” Jax added, “And incidentally is the chief financial supporter of the Vega for Victory campaign.”
As dozens of uniformed SWAT members surged into the room, Enrique turned to her, aghast. “You? You did this . . . ?”
Viviana nodded coolly. “To be precise, our multilevel team led by our indomitable police chief did. Although I played a part. And I had help from your team. Thanks to the tags I placed on you, Sonia, and Nicolas this morning, my cohorts have been privy to your most private conversations.” Glancing at Jax, who was grinning broadly at her understatement, she held up the thumb drive and said, “This was undoubtedly helpful, Jax. As you instructed, I inserted it in the campaign’s main computer drive this morning. I expect by now our guys are more than familiar with the innermost secrets of the Vega campaign.”
As a crush of uniformed officers and special agents stormed the room, Jax saw Enrique make a dash for the balcony. On his ass in seconds, Jax called out, “Going somewhere, Counselor?” Waving off the men who surged in behind him, Jax squared off for what was sure to be a deadly encounter. As he circled the crouching man who’d assumed a fighting stance, Jax said in a low voice, “You thought you could touch her, Enrique? That she would let you? That I would let you?”
In seconds, the battle was drawn. Enrique displayed the quickness and viciousness of a streetfighter trained to go for the kill. But Jax was a highly skilled martial artist. In moments, following a dizzying series of brutal attacks with his elbows, hands, and most especially his feet, Jax drove Enrique to the floor, a bloodied, cowering man begging for mercy.
Waiting on the sidelines next to Viviana, Greg called out, “He’s done, Jax. Leave some meat on his bones for the animals at Leavenworth to chew on.”
When Jax stepped back, a frighteningly fierce expression tightening his face, Viviana tentatively reached for his arm. “Are . . . are you all right, Jax?”
He frowned as if surprised she’d seen him take down his would-be rival. In seconds, his expression cleared, and he said with a soft smile as he pulled her in next to him, “Better than I have been in a long time, tiger.”
****
Viviana sank onto the chaise lounge on their rooftop refuge. She was glad she’d allowed Jax to talk her into going home. Hours after Enrique and his despicable cohorts had been hauled off to jail, Jax had been consumed with the arduous task of updating the numerous agencies on their remarkable coup. The arrest of not only the principals of one of the most dangerous international cartels but the revelation that the evil enterprise was funding the Vega campaign had every media outlet clamoring for their attention. Viviana and Jax had answered a barrage of questions from the rabid media for what seemed like hours. When Jax finally shut them down, calling it a night, he insisted that Viviana go home. “Look, darlin’, it’s going to take me several more hours to brief all the relevant agencies. You need to get some rest.”
Sipping on a glass of Glenmorangie, Viviana tried to come to grips with what had happened. She’d turned off the sound on the television, not wanting to hear or see more of the wall-to-wall coverage. Once again, the media was gaga over whom they called the indomitable Enchantress, claiming she was the heroine of the stunning victory. At that moment, her phone pinged. Reaching for it, she was shocked to see Jax’s unexpected text.
“What are you wearing, sexy woman?”
Not wanting to give in to his arrogant assumption that even after the night they’d had she was at his disposal, she texted back, “None of your business.”
His response was immediate. “Oh but it is. Take off your pants, Viviana.”
She quickly answered, “Why should I?”
His concession surprised her. “You’re right, sexy woman. How about I take them off for you?”
Surprised, Viviana looked over to see Jax standing at the top of the stairway ladder, a wide grin splitting his handsome face. In seconds, he crossed the expanse between them and was at her side. He sank down beside her and pointed to the bottle of Glenmorangie. “Much as I hate to admit it, sweetheart, I need a shot of this almost as much as I need you.”
Viviana jumped up and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. She poured him a healthy portion of the potent alcohol and refilled her glass. Raising it, she said with a weary sigh, “I don’t know about you, Jax, but I had my adrenaline crash several hours ago and am thoroughly exhausted.”
Swallowing a healthy draught of the amber liquid, Jax nodded. “Yeah, tiger, I have to admit, I’m running as close to empty as I get.” Glancing at her sweats and tank top, he grinned. “Although stripping you naked, as I indicated that I would, will no doubt bring my weary body to full attention.”
Seeing the weariness straining his expression, she sank down beside him and snuggled up next to him, then teased him, “My goodness, Jax, are you saying that the ever-ready sexual marauder is too beat to perform?”
He ran his hand under her pants and pinched her bare butt. Smiling at her startled response, he shook his head. “Never fear, darlin’. Just sitting beside you, drinking in your heady fragrance and knowing what’s under your innocent attire, already has a critical part of me coming to attention.” Frowning down at her, he surprised her with his next assertion. “However, before I rip these clothes off of you, I need to fill in some of the holes in our narrative. To be specific, you neglected to mention what Enrique referred to as the ‘other night when you kicked him out of your room.’ Mind filling me in on that omission, sweetheart? I need to know if he so much as touched you. If he did, I may have to make a midnight foray to the jail and finish what I started earlier tonight.”
Remembering Jax’s vicious takedown of the clearly outmatched former candidate, Viviana sniffed. “Relax, big guy. Believe it or not, I have years of experience shutting down amorous advances, even from someone as insistent as Enrique.”
Jax shook his head. “Not good enough, baby. I want the details. All of them.”
“Seriously Jax, nothing happened. It was late—after midnight—and we’d had an exhausting day. I went to my room and couldn’t wait to get into bed. I had just gotten out of the shower when there was a knock on the door. I assumed it was a staffer bringing information for our morning appearance. To my surprise, it was a grinning Enrique, holding a bottle of Maker’s Mark.”
Seeing Jax’s jaw clench, Viviana quickly added, “I shut him down, Jax. I told him I was exhausted and that he should leave. That was it. I closed the door and went to bed.” Before he could question her further, she reached for his hand. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but I was truly surprised at his advance. If it will make you feel better, I crawled into bed and would have given anything to have had you beside me.” She hesitated, then confessed, “As I was lying there missing you, I got a text from you admonishing me to eat. Believe it or not, I burst into tears, wishing that you were there holding me in your arms.”
Jax was quiet for a long moment, as if considering his response. Viviana was relieved when he put his glass on the table and reached for her. His voice was gruff as he laid her down on the chaise lounge and crawled up beside her. Slipping his hand inside her pants, he grasped her hip and pulled her up next to him. “I remember that night, Viviana. I was so goddamned angry at you for leaving me to work on Vega’s fucking campaign. I was beside myself with fury, imag
ining all the things I wanted to do to you and that arrogant asshole you were with. But when I sent you that text, all I wanted was to hold you in my arms and never let you go.”
Viviana hesitated, then murmured, “I . . . I’m here now, Jax, and so are you.”
He blew out a hard sigh as he slid off her pants and dispensed with her top. Gazing at her naked body gleaming in the moonlight, he said in a gruff voice, “So we are, tiger. Let me see if I can show you how very much it means to me to have you next to me. Oh, and make it clear that I’m never letting you go, ever again.”
Epilogue
Long after Jax had made passionate love to her, touching her at her very soul, Viviana woke from a troubled sleep. Nestling next to him, she was surprised to see that Jax had turned on the television and was watching four eager commentators discussing the astonishing capture of Joaquin Blanco and the more riveting collapse of the Vega campaign.
“I didn’t know you were awake, Jax. Are you okay?”
“Yes, darlin’, I’m okay. I couldn’t sleep. I guess I’m still riding my adrenaline high. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
At her negative murmur, he moved up against the pillows and tugged her next to him. “I hadn’t seen any of the television coverage. Damn, Viviana, we really did pull off a coup, didn’t we? For once, I’m as impressed with us as the gaggle of media whores are.”
At that moment, the news channel was replaying one of the many interviews with Viviana. As usual, the commentators were celebrating yet another Enchantress victory heralding their heroine. However, there were also questions about her support of Vega. The reporter on the screen pressed her. “I don’t understand, Sergeant Moreau—you were one of Enrique Vega’s biggest champions. You campaigned with him and repeatedly endorsed his views.”
Viviana answered crisply, “Yes, I did. I admired his public stands. Which made the truth challenging. As you know, fighting pedophiles and hideous criminals who abuse young girls and boys has been my lifelong focus. When I learned that Vega and his cohorts were funded by a cartel known for drug and human trafficking, I was heartsick.”
At that moment, Jax, who was standing beside her, stepped in. “To be clear, we could not have taken down these despicable criminals if not for Sergeant Moreau’s participation. She courageously inserted herself into the campaign, planted recording devices on the principles, and even managed to infiltrate the campaign’s computer hard drives. Her daring actions gave us irrefutable evidence of the criminal hypocrisy of the Vega campaign and confirmed its association with the El Blanco.”
Before the reporter could respond, Jax continued. “As you remember, when we took down what the media termed the Diva Dominatrix criminals, to my dismay, no less than five of the miscreants were law enforcement professionals. The former police commissioner Paul Davis and, I would add, a former member of my special operative team was one of the despicable child rapists. It’s hard to describe the pain and rage I felt when I understood how truly contemptible he was—the man I had considered a friend and colleague. Trust me, it was a devastating personal cut. As for Enrique Vega’s deception, fortunately because of Sergeant Moreau’s fierce commitment and her incredible courage, we took down a consummate charlatan who came close to fooling the state of California—not to mention all of you.”
Viviana leaned against him, then murmured softly, “Thanks for coming to my defense, Jax.”
“Why wouldn’t I, Viviana? Jesus, darlin’, we couldn’t have brought those fucking assholes to the ground without you. Besides, it feels good to poke at those self-important commentators who all drank the Kool-Aid and now are pretending they weren’t bamboozled.”
Viviana buried herself against his chest, then said tremulously, “Jax, do you know how hard it was for me to watch the news tonight? It brought back all those questions I could barely answer. The ones you had to jump in and answer for me.” She hesitated, then straightened and appealed to Jax. “I don’t understand how I could have been so stupid. So unwilling to see the cracks in him.” Grasping his hands, she shook her head in dismay. “And how willing I was to write off your concerns as merely a jealous reaction to a handsome and charming man.”
Jax drew himself to a sitting position and pulled her alongside him. His expression was serious. “You were right about at least some of my reactions, Viviana. I was jealous of him and furious at your refusal to see any of his faults. But, darlin’, what was hardest for me was your unwillingness to acknowledge my concerns.”
Viviana jerked up and pinned him with a hard glare. “Don’t you see, Jax? That’s why I’m upset. What was wrong with me? I’m usually so much smarter, but I was completely blind to what he was.” She frowned and said distractedly, “Why did I fall for it, Jax? I never do that.”
Jax knew he had to tread carefully. The news he was about to relay was more than challenging. But her dismay at her actions opened a door they both needed to go through. He drew a deep breath and said flatly, “Actually, Viviana, you do. Everything is black and white to you. In your worldview, there are villains and heroes, white hats and black hats. I admit, your instincts are usually on target, but your certainty makes it hard to convince you that you may be wrong or that your strategy isn’t necessarily the wisest one. That’s one of the reasons it is so challenging to break through your ‘go-it-alone MO.’ Face it, sweetheart, you’ve spent most of your life refusing to rely on anyone but you.”
At her perplexed expression, Jax held up his hand, knowing that whether he was ready for it—and that she most certainly was not—the moment he’d been waiting for had arrived.
“I need to tell you something, Viviana. I have news. Important news.”
She gazed at him and said warily, “I don’t think I want to hear that news, Jax.”
Not letting her pull away, Jax shook his head. “Sorry, darlin’. Not an option. It’s like this. In addition to unmasking Enrique Vega and his devious team, you know I charged Serge Stryker with another mission, an even more critical charge. That was to track down the evil people from your past.” When she tried to move back, he held her closer, not letting her pull away. “I know, baby, this is tough. But I promised you that I would never stop until I found the despicable sub-human pedophiles who abused you as a child.”
She whirled on him, her expression fierce. “Dammit, Jax, I told you I didn’t want Serge to do that. You had no right to keep investigating my ugly past.”
He placed a finger on her lips, stopping her tirade. “I disagree, Viviana. I had every right. You and I pledged we were going to honor the young girl you have spent your life protecting. After you were nearly killed in our last escapade, we both promised we would hunt down the despicable people who abused you. Thanks to his being such a remarkable investigator, Serge found them. At least the ones who are still alive.”
At her shocked gasp, Jax narrowed his gaze and held her chin, forcing her to look at him. “I’m calling on you now, Viviana, to join me in the single most critical mission either of us will undertake. That is to avenge an incredibly important little girl. A very brave, very honorable eleven-year-old Viviana Moreau.”
Viviana was quiet for a long moment then pinned him with a piercing glare. “Promise me, Jax. Promise me we will take them down. Crucify them. Hang them from a cross they never knew existed.”
He grasped her hands and pulled her next to him. Meeting her fierce gaze, his voice was soft, thick with violent intent. “With God as my witness, Viviana, they will suffer a more hideous death than they knew existed.”
AFTERWORD
Thank you for reading BETRAYED. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much I enjoyed writing it. For the stunning conclusion to the riveting Criminal Affairs Collection, follow Viviana and Jax in REDEEMED as they pursue the evil men and woman who made the mistake of their lives when they attacked the young girl who came to be known as the Enchantress. Not to mention taking on her fierce lover, who happens to be an indomitable warrior out to wreak vengeance on the despicable pedophiles. Don’t
miss REDEEMED, the Finale Novella of The Criminal Affairs Collection.
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