Page 71 of Hushed

At the door, he kissed her one last time before he slipped out into the hallway. Downstairs, he had the valet bring his rental car around. He’d been in too big of a hurry to make the drive and flew instead. Picking up a rental car at the airport was the next best thing to having his truck.

After he got behind the wheel, he rolled his window down and reminded the staff that he was to be alerted if anyone tried to deliver anything else to Kenzie.

Half an hour later, he parked and walked three blocks to a coffee shop. He wasn’t sure how he was ever supposed to live in this city. Driving all the time wasn’t exactly ideal, but he couldn’t see how he could get away with not living here if things continued the way they were with Kenzie. The idea of using public transportation all the time made his skin crawl, so he would have to get used to driving in the city.

At the counter, he ordered a large black coffee and waited for his appointment to arrive.

“You’re lucky my client’s husband flew his mistress to the city for a show tonight,” a man drawled a few minutes later.

He looked up and grinned at the man in the cowboy hat. “Jax, thanks for coming. You really chase down cheating husbands now? Seems a little beneath your skill set.”

Jax shrugged. “It’s safer than what I used to do, and that makes Dakota happy.”

And Jax lived to make Dakota happy even when she tried his patience. Gage was fairly sure Jax lived for taming her bratty ways too, so they were perfect for each other.

“I can appreciate that. I’m sitting here contemplating moving to New York permanently.”

Jax whistled. “That’s a substantial change. It was clear you were done with Texas, but I always assumed you would settle in the country somewhere with a piece of land.”

The two men hailed from Texas, and had bonded over their love of Whataburger, and Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream during their early days in the military. It used to be Gage’s dream to have a big house in the middle of nowhere, but he’d been in D.C. for so long, it was hard to imagine not living in a big city.

“Funny how the right girl changes things huh?” Gage said as he picked up his coffee.

Jax nodded his agreement and shifted in his chair. “What did you need my help with?”

Gage pulled out his phone and swiped to a photo then handed it to Jax.

“I need to find out where this picture of me came from. A spiteful ex photoshopped these and sent them to Kenzie. What I can’t figure out is why. They met once, and Kenzie happened to mention that she knew me. And this is an actual photo of me. The scar and tattoo on my back are right, and I don’t think that part is photoshopped. So, where the hell did she get it?”

“Do you have the photo?” Jax asked as he zoomed in on the photo on the screen.

“The police have it. But I can get a copy if you want.”

Jax nodded. “Might be useful. You said she was an ex? Any chance she took this picture while you were together?”

Gage dragged a hand through his hair as he tried to remember the brief time he spent with Evie.

“She used to come to the house parties I had before I opened Exposure. We were together for a few weeks max when she gotthe job in New York and moved over here. It was right after Reggie died.”

Jax grimaced. “I still hate that I didn’t make it for his funeral.”

Gage shook his head. “You had a lot going on at the time. Can you help me look into what the fuck Evie’s angle is?”

Jax nodded. “You got it. I’ll dig into it this afternoon. Tonight, I get to sit in a theater and pretend I like Hamilton.”

Gage raised an eyebrow. “He’s taking his mistress to Hamilton?”

Jax shrugged. “She apparently has a thing for the founding fathers.”

“It’s a good show. It was better with the original cast, though.”

Jax rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Not my cup of tea. I’d rather be home with my wife.”

Gage grinned. “You should bring her to D.C. next time you visit.”

“We’ll plan a trip,” Jax agreed.

When Gage left the coffee shop, he headed for his rental again. As he pushed the button on the remote to unlock it, a woman stepped from behind a pillar.

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