by Lori Ryan
He laughed, a harsh loud laugh. “Sorry, miss. My language ain’t fit for mixed company, but that’s the truth of it. Fucking hoodlums beating my ass bad in an alley. I’d just curled up in a ball ready to take it and hope like hell I came out alive, but Leo came and chased ‘em off. Picked up a big freaking pipe from a dumpster and ran ‘em off.”
Before Mia could say anything, Moses walked away, repeating, “Good man. He was a good man.”
Jax grinned and turned to Darla, and Mia was thankful for the reprieve. She hadn’t thought about the fact that some of the people they would meet would know her father and have stories for her.
“Darla, we wanted to ask you a little more about Jimmy’s death. Would that be okay?”
Mia liked how gentle he was with the woman’s feelings. It didn’t surprise her at all, though.
Darla’s face clouded but she nodded and sat back down on the concrete wall. Jax sat next to her with Mia on his other side.
“I spoke to someone in the New Haven Police Department,” Jax began. Mia wondered if the homeless people in New Haven had a good or bad relationship with the police. From what she’d seen in the newspaper, New Haven was pretty innovative in its community policing approach. She couldn’t remember all the details, but she knew every officer who graduated from the academy in New Haven spent a minimum of a year on a walking patrol route.
When Darla didn’t comment, Jax continued. “The detective I spoke with found that a number of other men who went to the clinic have died from heart attacks this month. He and his partner are going to look into things, but I thought I’d see what we could find out. Do you mind if I ask if you were married to Jimmy?
There seemed to be apology in Jax’s voice, as though he knew it was offensive to pry into this woman’s life.
The color drained from Darla’s face as she shook her head, and her voice shook when she answered this time. “No. We never saw any need to make it official, not to mention paying for the license wasn’t really in our budget.” She snorted out a laugh, but there was bitterness behind it as she gazed around at where she and Jimmy had made a home of sorts. Mia wondered what circumstances had brought the woman to the streets in the first place and then what had kept her there. Why hadn’t she and Jimmy been able to climb their way out?
She supposed there were any number of reasons things could get so bad it became impossible to turn their lives around. Maybe mental health issues, or some physical disability that made work impossible. It had to be hard to go for job interviews or show up at a job every day when you didn’t have clean clothes or a shower, never mind transportation to get to work.
Maybe they’d just gotten in so far over their heads, they couldn’t see a way out? Just thinking about it made Mia’s heart ache for her father. She knew alcohol had played a large part in his being on the streets, but thinking of the years he spent living without before Jax came and helped him get his head above water killed her.
“Do you know anything about the other deaths?” Jax’s question pulled Mia back to the present and she focused on Darla’s answer.
“Sure,” Darla said nodding. “There were Big Sam and Ray Ray. Don’t know about the others.”
“Do you know if they were seeing one of the clinic doctors?”
Darla frowned. “I don’t know. Could be. I didn’t like Big Sam at all. He had a mean streak and drank too damned much. Me and Jimmy stayed as far away from him as we could.” Her eyes teared a little as she talked about Jimmy and Mia could see the pain marring the woman’s face. It was true heartache. “I didn’t know Ray Ray very well, either. He was new around here. Came up from Texas or Florida, I think.”
“Is there anyone we could talk to who might know?” Jax pressed.
Darla grinned at him, but shook her head. “No. But there are people I can talk to who might know.”
Jax laughed. “All right.” He handed her a card. “My cell number is on there. Call me anytime you hear something.”
Before they could stand, Darla turned intense eyes on Mia. “He really was a good man. Helped a lot of us, and never asked for anything from anyone in return.”
It took Mia a minute to process that Darla was talking about her dad. She didn’t know what to say, but Darla didn’t seem to care whether she answered or not.
“When this guy first started showing up and bringing your dad food or cash” she said, nodding her head in Jax’s direction, “your dad never kept that all for himself. He always knew which of us was most in need. The food or cash got doled out to those who needed it.”
“I never knew for sure, but I suspected,” Jax said.
“Thank you,” Mia finally said, realizing she was thankful to Darla for sharing the little bit of information about her dad. As confused as she was about him, she couldn’t help wanting to know more about him. And she was starting to see that maybe he’d left and stayed away all of these years because he truly did believe she and her mother were better off for it.
Darla nodded and smiled, then seemed to think of something else and added, “He was proud of you, too.”
“What?” Proud of me? She’d only found him recently and they hadn’t even talked about who she was or what she did or anything.
“Yep. When you graduated from high school, from college. Proud days. He told everyone.”
Mia looked to Jax and shook her head, before turning back to Darla. “But how could he know?”
“He took the bus up to Hartford both times. Watched you from a distance. He’d always be hurting for days afterward, real quiet and withdrawn, but eventually he’d tell us how proud he was of you.”
“You knew him for that long?” Jax asked and Darla nodded.
“Mm hmm, long time. We met Leo in New Orleans. We all came up here together.”
“But I don’t understand,” Mia said. “How could he know when I was graduating or where I went to college?”
Darla shrugged. “Kept track somehow.”
The woman seemed to think the conversation had gone on long enough, because she got up and walked away, leaving Mia staring open mouthed at Jax.
“He loved you,” he said softly.
Mia was beginning to believe it.
“Darla!” she called out and waited for the woman to turn back. “Thank you.”
It wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. But Darla nodded and smiled as if to say she understood, and Mia had a feeling she did.
Chapter 22
Mia felt nerves stirring in her stomach as she and Jax walked to her front door. He’d driven up to Hartford two days after they’d fallen asleep on the couch together to take her to dinner.
She wanted to ask him to come inside but didn’t know if he’d want to.
Of course he wants to. What man doesn’t?
The only problem was, she didn’t want him to come in just because it was an offer of sex and no man would turn free sex down. She really liked him. And she wanted him to want her back. To like her just as much.
He pulled her into his arms at the door and lowered his mouth to hers, beginning with a kiss that made her head spin. His mouth felt so right on hers. Strong but soft at the same time. Controlling but not in a way that made her want to run screaming for the hills. In a way that made her toes curl and her heart race.
She ran her hands over the muscles in his arms, up to his shoulders, and around his neck. She liked the way his hair felt, all clipped short and military when she ran her fingers over it. It tickled her fingers, but not in a funny tickle kind of way. It tantalized and aroused.
“Mia,” he groaned, and she pressed her hips against his.
“This is about to get R-rated on my porch,” she whispered.
“Then get us inside.”
She turned and fumbled in her purse for keys as he pressed against her backside and ran his hands around her waist. She whimpered as she turned the key in the lock and let them inside.
She dropped her purse on the floor as Jax slid the lock into place behind them.
“Hold
on,” he said, not giving her a minute to process what he said as he scooped her into his arms.
“Yes, sir.” She didn’t know what possessed her to say those two words, but his eyes heated with a mixture of amusement and desire as he walked toward the back of her house.
She ran her mouth along his neck, loving the growl that came from him in response.
“Which way, Mia?”
“Last room. Right.” She went back to his neck, only pausing when he laid her on the bed.
He came down on top of her. “My turn.”
She was somewhat lost after that, as his mouth did things to her that she hadn’t ever experienced. He licked and nipped at her skin until she thought she might explode. He’d stripped her of her clothes before removing his own.
He was nothing short of perfection. Every muscle taut and sculpted, as if he were made from clay. She ran her hands over his body, not wanting the connection between them to end.
“God, you’re beautiful, Mia. So soft.”
“I was just thinking the same thing about you. Except not the soft part.” She laughed, but he stole her laughter and her breath when his mouth caught her breast. She moaned and pressed her body closer.
He rolled her then, pulling her on top of him, but she felt him still, then curse. He pushed her to the side and sat, pulling the sheet off from around his prosthesis. He sat with his back to her on the side of the bed.
“Jax?” She pulled the sheet over herself, wondering if he was having second thoughts or if she’d said or done something wrong.
He looked over his shoulder at her and she realized he looked tense and nervous. Maybe this wasn’t about her after all.
“What is it, Jax?” She reached her hand out toward him and touched his shoulder, surprised to see him glance away.
“Will it freak you out if I take my leg off?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Why would that freak me out?” She sat up, drawing the sheet over her. She’d never seen him act at all worried about his leg around her, but it occurred to her she’d never seen him without his prosthesis.
“I just—” He looked almost apologetic and ran a hand through his hair. “I just haven’t done this—” He cut off again then met her eyes and seemed to brace himself for a blow. “I just haven’t been with anyone since I lost my leg.”
That took her more than a minute to process. “Wait. You haven’t been with a woman at all since then?”
“No.” He shook his head, his mouth a grim line.
She looked at him but he still wasn’t looking her way.
“Knock it off.”
His brows went up and his eyes met hers now. “Knock what off?”
“The … the …” she sputtered and waved her hand in his direction. “Whatever this is. The pity party or whatever. I don’t care about your leg and I don’t care that you have to take care of yourself and your needs sometimes. You’re allowed.”
He watched her for a minute before a smile broke over his face. He leaned in and kissed her, softly, firmly. This was a different kiss. Where the ones before had been about heat and need, this was all emotion and heart. It was connection on a different level and it stopped her heart.
He broke the kiss and looked at her, still holding her face in his hands, then turned and removed his prosthesis. He set it between the bed and the nightstand, pulled off the layers of material she’d seen between the prosthesis and his limb and turned them inside out before laying them next to the leg.
He moved with ease back over her, causing her to lay back as his body came down over her. Confident Jax was back and she sighed and slipped closer to him. He lost no time, his mouth and hands finding those spots that sent her into a frenzy so easily, she forgot to worry about his leg or any questions about how he was feeling. She was lost as he took control.
Jax produced a condom from somewhere and covered himself, his eyes locked on hers.
She wrapped her legs around his waist as he settled himself above her. She whispered his name as he entered her, slowly stretching her. Every nerve in her body felt like it was being stroked by him. It was both the most pleasure she’d ever felt and not enough at the same time.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him down to kiss her as he found a rhythm that had her pressing her hips up to meet him stroke for stroke.
He rolled them, pulling her up on top of him and holding her hips as she ground down on him in sheer heaven. She came almost instantly, and watched as he ground his teeth, orgasm taking over as his body tensed beneath her.
She collapsed in a heap on top of him. “I feel like Jell-O,” she said as he ran his hand up and down her spine. “Like very happy, sated Jell-O.”
He laughed and grazed his mouth over her temple, loving the feel of her, the sound of their heavy breathing filling the room.
Moments later, she lifted herself off him and he rolled to the side, taking care of the condom. When he pulled her back into his arms, pressing her against the full length of his body, she couldn’t help thinking how well they fit together. It was a foolish school girl thought, but it was the last thing in her mind as they drifted to sleep.
* * *
Jax walked through the hallways of the New Haven Shelter. He’d been hoping to see the director, but he was out. The woman out front had sent him back to see the deputy director.
The name plate on the outside of her office read Carissa Hastings. The door was shut but he could hear voices. She was on the phone and she was using the speaker function, letting Jax listen in.
“Yes, we’ll pledge seventy-five thousand for this year’s gala. That’s no problem, Carrie,” said the voice on speaker phone. Jax couldn’t help but listen. Who had that kind of money?
No one in his world. Actually, that wasn’t true, he realized with a jolt. His bosses at Sutton Capital could, and he was friends with them, but he tended to forget they had that kind of money. He sure as hell didn’t. Not that he was poor. Far from it, but who writes a check for seventy-five grand like it was nothing.
“Thank you so much, Warrick. I knew I could count on Simms.”
“Are you going ahead with the expansion of the clinic?”
“Well, I was actually hoping to talk to you about that. We want to use some of the space that’s been freed up in the shelter as new clinic space and expand our services.”
“Is there a problem with the plan?”
“I’ve heard rumors that Branson Medical might pull their funding of the medical clinic. That would be a huge blow. I don’t think we’d make the expansion work if we lost them.”
Jax began to make mental notes of the names he was hearing.
The woman’s voice continued, as Jax moved closer to the door. “Do you think you could talk to Meredith Ball at the gala? Maybe help her see how important it is to continue to fund the clinic?”
“You got it,” said the man on the phone. “I think Meredith Ball is friends with Jonathan. Maybe I can drag him out of the lab and get him to the Gala.”
Carrie laughed. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
The man laughed along with her. “Well, either way, I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you, Warrick.”
“Anytime. Talk to you soon, Carrie.”
The room went quiet and Jax knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
He opened the door to find a tall blonde woman rising from behind her desk. She looked surprised to see a stranger at her door and he wondered if the woman at the front desk was supposed to send him back here or not.
“Hi, Ms. Hastings. I’m Jax Cutter.”
She recovered quickly and he couldn’t help thinking she seemed completely out of place in the shelter. She had the regal bearing of someone raised among wealth and privilege. He wondered briefly what had her slumming down at the shelter.
“How can I help you, Mr. Cutter?” She offered her hand and he shook it. Yes. Soft hands. Those were the hands of a pampered woman. Her outfit
matched. She wore tailored pants and a blouse he’d bet cost a month of his salary and seemed completely out of place in the shelter.
“I’m a friend of Leo Kent’s.”
Her face softened. “I was sorry to hear about Leo’s death.”
“You knew Leo?” Jax asked. He knew Leo spent time at the shelter but he was surprised the woman before him would know any of the shelter residents by name.
“Yes,” she smiled. “He was a kind man.”
What she said was true, but Leo was also a private man. Jax realized he didn’t know what he was hoping to find out from her. He’d come here just hoping to get a sense about the shelter. To poke around a little and ask some questions. He focused on the conversation he’d just overheard.
Jax was winging it and way out of his element. “I was thinking of making a donation to the shelter in Leo’s name.”
“That’s very generous of you.”
“Uh, so I saw something about an annual gala you hold each year to raise money for the clinic?”
She nodded and smiled. “Yes. It’s one of our biggest fundraisers of the year.”
“So, it’s what? A giant party?”
“Something like that,” she said. Her phone began to ring and she glanced at it, but didn’t interrupt their conversation. “It’s a ball of sorts. Black tie. Our largest donors come out for it each year.”
He’d heard the names Simms and Warrick. Jax knew he’d heard those names before. And some medical company. Branson Medical. He wondered if that could be the company giving out medicine at the clinic.
“Wouldn’t you save money if you just asked them for donations instead of putting on a ball?”
She laughed as the phone stopped ringing, likely rolling over to voicemail. “I’m afraid that’s just not how these thing work. I’d love it if my donors would just whip out the check book. Sadly, they have to be wined and dined. It’s a publicity thing for them. A chance to be seen supporting the clinic, to have their names appear in the news in a positive light.”
Jax wondered if she knew about the deaths that seemed to be plaguing the shelter and the clinic.