by S. J. Bishop
"Different how?" I asked, my hands already shaking.
"The time," he said. "They're placing it from midnight to two a.m. now instead of two to four. Idiots."
"But what about the city coroner? He already ruled—"
"He made a mistake. Ryder's attorney sent the samples to a third-party exam team, and the coroner there used tissue samples saved from the autopsy to redetermine the rate of decomposition. Our coroner was wrong. He took another look and concurs with the new findings."
"He does? So you mean... there's no question about it? This is for real?"
"That's right."
I tried hard to get my breathing under control. I felt like I was about to pass out. The whole reason Jax and I had kept our relationship a secret hinged on the fact that the coroner had placed Penny's time of death between two and four in the morning—when I wasn't with him. This changed everything.
"Ryder's attorney is that ballbuster Geoffrey Stevens. The asshole says Ryder has an alibi for the time of Penny Ryder's murder. As if we're supposed to believe that!" He couldn't hide the contempt on his face even if he'd wanted to. "Ryder tried to tell us that when we first arrested him, remember? Then he wised up and dropped the whole thing. This is his attorney's fault. He's behind this. I know that for a fact. He's feeding Ryder things to tell us, prepping him."
"Detective Anderson," I said. A lump had formed at the back of my throat. I could hardly get the words out. Anderson was ranting now.
"I want you to find out who this alleged alibi is and rip them to shreds. You understand me? We need to tear his alibi down before it can even make its way into court or it could turn the jury. Even if it gets thrown out later, once a jury hears it, there's no erasing it."
"Detective Anderson," I repeated. He wasn't listening.
"So get out there and find out who this alibi is. Tonight!" He looked up at me, his eyes crazed. "Why are you still standing there? Go!"
"I don't have to go anywhere to find Jax Ryder's alibi..." I said, my heart drumming in my chest. I thought I might be having a heart attack. "It's me. I'm his alibi." I gripped the edge of a chair so I wouldn't fall over as my knees tried to buckle. "I was with Jax Ryder the night of Penny's murder."
My words hung in the air. Anderson stared at me like I was out of my mind.
"You're not serious," he said.
I nodded. My throat was too dry to speak. We stared at each other a full minute as comprehension slowly sank in.
"If that's true, Detective Walker... then not only are you off the case, but I will do everything in my power to make sure you are off the force as well."
41
Jax
I wiped Treena's cheeks as she looked up at me. My couch was so soft, and her body was so warm. I wrapped my arms around her and held her close as she poured her guts out to me.
"I can't believe I got suspended," she said, her voice thick. She'd been here all day, crying.
I could hardly believe it when she'd shown up at my place late this morning and told me she'd finally confessed everything to Detective Anderson last night. The bastard had told her to get out and had called their captain.
Her voice was cracking. "I mean, I knew this could happen. When I showed up at the station this morning, I thought I might get suspended. But then it actually happened. And I just..." Her voice trailed off again. Her eyes were much too red. I wished there was something I could do to fix all this.
"Did you get any sleep at all last night?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "No. How could I sleep? I just laid there all night, waiting for my sentencing." She pouted out her lips, and her cheeks fluffed up, making her look like a chipmunk.
"Maybe it won't be permanent," I said, trying to find something positive to say, but she only shook her head.
"Anderson said he was referring me to internal affairs," Treena moaned. "It felt like I had a scarlet 'A' on my chest when I was grabbing my things from my desk. Everyone in the department was watching me." She sighed softly. "Emily was there. I didn't say anything about her to anyone. I don't want to get her into trouble too. If they knew she pulled that fire alarm..."
"I'm proud of you," I told her. "Not just proud... grateful." Treena let out a soft, sarcastic laugh.
"See how grateful you are when you're in jail. Even if I find proof that links Anderson to Penny's death, who's going to believe me now? I'm tainted."
I kissed her forehead. Her skin was soft, and I detected the faint scent of flowers in her hair. "You're being much too hard on yourself," I said.
She forced herself to look at me, her cheeks coloring. "I feel like I let you down," she said, a fresh wave of tears starting. "At least if I still had my badge, I could keep investigating. Now what the hell am I supposed to do? Flash people my driver's license? I'm sure that'll really get them to start talking."
"At least you're not being cynical or anything," I said. The corners of her lips curved up.
"I don't know how you managed to put up with me for so long," Treena said. "I don't deserve you."
"Let me be the judge of that," I said and planted my lips against hers. She responded just as I'd hoped, pressing herself more firmly against me and running her hand up and down my neck. Her mouth was warm and wet, and I wished this kiss could last forever. When we finally pulled away from each other, her eyes had a dreamy quality. The tears had subsided, at least for now.
"No one has ever done as much for me as you have, Treena. I want you to know that. Whatever you might be thinking or feeling about yourself right now, just know that I appreciate every single thing you've done for me."
Her bottom lip began to quiver. I brushed my tongue over it and pinched her tummy, making her giggle.
"I should have told Anderson and Captain Murphy the truth a long time ago," she said.
"It doesn't matter anymore. Geoffrey says that between your testimony and the new time of death, there's no way the jury can convict me."
"Unless they find a way to keep the new coroner's report out," Treena said.
"How would they do that?"
She shrugged. "I have no idea, but you know how tricky lawyers can be. That prosecutor is hard as nails."
I frowned. I was sure Treena was just being paranoid. Just because lawyers were known to be scumbags didn't mean that the prosecutor would keep out new evidence. The exam team Geoffrey had used was top notch. There was no way the judge wouldn't allow it. Plus, the original coroner had even reversed his statement regarding the time of death, so it wasn't just Geoffrey's team saying it, it was the prosecutor's own team.
"I'm sure it will all work out," I said, though the confidence I'd had a minute ago had dropped a full percentage point. Treena was leaning forward, her hands wrapped around her knees. She looked like she was gonna be sick. "Hey. Don't worry. I'm not going to jail." I hesitated before saying what I wanted to say, afraid it might sound dumb. "I feel like my father is here... watching over me. Between you and him, I know that I'm gonna get out of this."
Treena shot me a sideways glance. She licked her lips.
"Are you alright?" I asked. "You look pale." I reached out and felt her forehead. It was wet. "You're sweating too. Maybe you should go lie down."
She shook her head, sucking in a deep breath. "Jax, there's something I have to tell you. I... I didn't want to say anything now, while all this is going on, but... you need to know."
"Treena, you're scaring me. What is it?"
She wouldn't look at me. Her face was red and pinched, and she was breathing heavily. I was afraid she'd pass out if she continued like this.
"Whatever it is," I told her, taking her hand, "you can tell me."
She let out the breath she'd been holding. "I'm pregnant."
42
Treena
I held my breath, waiting for his reaction. My hands were shaking.
"Jax, say something."
He stared straight ahead at the wall, and I knew I'd fucked up. I should never have told him. Not now. Maybe not ever. "F
uck!" I cried. "I'm sorry, this was such bad timing. I shouldn't have said anything." My vision blurred as tears filled my eyes. It annoyed the hell out of me that I was crying so much today, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself.
I wished now that I'd told Clarissa instead. She could have helped me sort this out. Offered some advice or told me what to do. That was what I needed right now—someone to take charge and tell me what I should do, especially since I couldn't seem to figure it out on my own. No matter what I did, I felt like I was fucking up.
I'd finally told Anderson the truth and gotten myself not just thrown off the case, but suspended. Nothing was going right for me. And now I'd just told Jax I was pregnant, in what was possibly the most ill-timed confession ever. How the hell did I expect him to react to this news? Would it have killed me to wait until after the trial before telling him? A small voice inside my head jumped in.
If you’d waited until after the trial, you might have been starting to show. Who knows how long this trial will last?
That was true. Jax's lawyer had estimated four or five weeks, but it wouldn't be unusual for a trial like this to go even longer.
Jax was in shock. He wasn't moving, and his whole body had gone rigid.
"Pregnant?" he said, still staring at the wall. "How? I thought you were on the pill."
Shit. This was what I'd been afraid of. I'd seen enough tabloid talk shows to know how this worked. Any second now, Jax would turn to me and ask who the father was, never believing for one second it was his. Then he'd accuse me of lying... say that I tricked him. I'd said I was on the pill when really I wasn't so that I could get pregnant and trap him into marrying me. That was how men thought. I'd seen it a thousand times on television. After I left his house, he'd probably call his lawyer and tell him to set up a DNA test.
"I was on the pill. It's like 99.5% effective... I guess I'm the other .5 percent." I tried to smile, but it was useless. My lips wouldn't curve. My cheeks ached just from trying to force my mouth out of the frown it had settled into. I pushed back the tears, letting the rivers running down my cheeks dry off.
Finally, Jax turned to me. His blue eyes were swimming with emotion. I stared back at them, hoping he wouldn't throw me out of his house. I wasn't sure I could handle that on top of everything else that had happened today.
Slowly, his mouth began to curve up. His eyes, already shiny, began to sparkle. He was grinning at me.
"You're really pregnant?" he asked, excitement bubbling under the surface.
"Yes..." I said, uncertain about his growing enthusiasm.
"Treena," he said, suddenly standing. He pulled me off the couch so that I was standing too and wrapped his arms around my waist. He held me in a bear hug, so tight I could hardly breathe. He was laughing.
"Oh my God, Treena. This is amazing. This is the best news you could have given me!"
"It... it is?" I asked, unable to believe I was really hearing this. How the hell could Jax be so excited? He should be freaking out like I was, not jumping for joy.
"Of course!" he cried, kissing me with more passion than I ever remembered him kissing me with before. I felt my body melting against his. The heat from his lips traveled down to my toes, warming every inch of me. My toes began to tingle. A minute later, my fingertips joined my toes.
"Jax, are you fucking with me or something?" I asked, still not believing his excitement could be real.
"Treena, don't you get it? With all of the crap that's been happening to me... with everything that's been going wrong in my life... I've finally done something right. I found you, and you've given me something..." I was shocked to see him choke up, "...something I never thought I could have. A family. I'm the luckiest damned man alive."
He kissed me so hard I thought my lips might start to bleed. Relief washed over me, and with it came a wave of emotion like nothing I'd ever felt before. I felt safe. I felt... whole. All at once, I wanted Jax.
"Fuck me," I whispered as my heart pounded in my chest. Jax responded by brushing his lips against mine and then lifting his shirt over his head.
43
Jax Jax Jax
Treena's body was hot to my touch. I skimmed my fingertips over the small of her back, feeling her quiver under me. My hand fell to her ass, smacking it playfully. She giggled, her breasts shaking against my chest as she pressed her core to me. I peeled her shirt over her head. Her pants fell to her ankles, and she stepped out of them. The black lace bra she wore hugged her breasts like it was part of her skin. I touched her cheek, and she closed her eyes, nuzzling my palm before I slid my hand down her neck and over her breasts, stopping at her abdomen.
Treena's eyes fell to where my palm lay. Her stomach rose and fell with each heated breath.
"Will you still love me when I'm fat and my ankles are so swollen that I can't walk right?" she asked.
I smiled. "I'll love you when you’re fat, skinny, short, tall, young, old..." I kissed the tip of her nose. "I'll even love you if you suddenly decide to become a circus performer." She giggled again, and I kissed her neck. Her skin tasted like a red delicious apple. I slid my tongue along the nape of her neck, dropping to my knees as I moved my mouth to her breasts. She unclasped her bra, and her breasts spilled out. Their milky color was so smooth and creamy; they looked like something out of a painting.
"How about you?" I asked. "Will you still love me when I'm bald and need a cane to get around?"
She grinned down at me. "Not a chance."
I took her nipple delicately between my teeth and pinched down just enough to give her a jolt. She jumped and slapped the back of my head lightly with her hand.
"Fine," she laughed. "I'll love you when you're bald and old. Happy?"
I lowered my mouth to her belly button, slipping my tongue into her hole before trailing it along her skin and back up to her breasts.
I moved back down and buried my head between her tight, creamy thighs, inhaling her flowery scent as I pushed the cotton fabric of her panties aside. My tongue moved smoothly over her clitoris, enjoying the way her pussy swelled with excitement as I lapped at her.
"Ohhhh," she groaned, her hands resting gently on top of my head. Her knees shook, and I pushed her panties to the floor before burying my face against her once more. I used my tongue like a tool, gliding it along her inner and outer lips... checking that every nook and cranny was in perfect working order.
My cock swelled to three times its size. I unzipped my pants and let them fall, pushing her gently onto the bed. Her back lay flat against the mattress as I straddled her. Treena's slick tongue maneuvered over my tip, tasting me. My spine tingled, a zillion sensations coursed through my body as Treena pulled me into her mouth. Entering her was like stepping into a whirlpool. Heat and steam and wetness converged together. My erection grew bigger, unable to stop the blood from engorging me as excitement began to pulse deep inside my core.
"God, Treena," I groaned as she bobbed her head up and down. My back arched as she released me, gliding her tongue along my shaft and tasting the two sacs that hung below, full and firm. I couldn't take it anymore. I moved my hips so that my cock was between her legs. The tip of my erection drummed against her opening as she spread her legs for me, wrapping them around my back. I pushed into her, and her eyes fluttered shut.
My cock throbbed as I thrust against her. The urgency in me was strong and growing stronger still. I sank into Treena's hole, feeling her warmth envelop every side of me as I plunged into her again and again.
"Jax," she cried. The rest of her words were lost in a series of groans that could only mean she was enjoying herself as much as I was. Her cave was wet, and as her juices flowed around me, I couldn't help but be amazed that after all this time, Treena and I were back where we'd started—in bed and in love. That was how I'd thought of her all these years, the memory of our prom night together ingrained in me as I pictured her soft face and the way she'd felt when I'd sunk into her for the first time.
"What are you thinking
about?" she purred, her hands trailing up and down my chest, enjoying my muscles the same way I was enjoying her breasts.
"Just thinking about us," I told her.
"Now's not the time to think," she told me and propped herself up on her elbows so she could kiss my neck. "Make me cum," she whispered.
I propelled myself deeper inside her. She fell back onto the mattress, gripping the edges of the bed sheets in her hands. I pounded into her once... twice... three times... her back arched and her eyes rolled back. I pinched her right nipple between my thumb and forefinger, rolling it gently back and forth as I continued to invade her body.
The first tremors gripped us both at the same time. My thighs tightened, and I had to force myself to hold on long enough for Treena to finish. I pounded against her once more, harder and fiercer, sending my cock deep into her hole. Our bodies slapped together in a thundering shockwave. Treena pulled the sheets off the bed as she let out an exulted cry. I saw the wave of pleasure as it rolled through her body and released my own gratification.
My orgasm erupted, and I fell on top of Treena, panting as she massaged my ass while I finished spilling into her. I rolled over, trying to catch my breath.
"That was fun," Treena said. "Let's do it again."
44
Treena
I crawled out of Jax's bed, trying not to wake him. He had to be in court in the morning, and I wanted him to get some sleep, even though I couldn't. His case was weighing on my mind. I knew that somewhere there had to be an answer. It was probably obvious too, sitting right out in the open for anyone to take, like a penny on a sidewalk. Jax wasn't as worried as he had been, now that I'd confessed our relationship and the new coroner's report was in his favor, but I knew better. Even in my short time as a cop, I'd seen cases that you'd think were open-and-shut go ten rounds through the court system.