Page 48 of Sins of Seduction
Jax glanced his way and noticed the tight knuckle grip he had on the doorknob. Cruz’s curiosity had been wiped from his face, but other than his nostrils flaring, it was the first time Jax couldn’t get a read on his friend.
“You joining us?” Greyson leaned back in the chair when he noticed Cruz hadn’t sat down.
Cruz cleared his throat and closed the door before he took the seat across from Jax. Their gazes collided for a moment before he glanced toward Raven and down at the paperwork Greyson shoved in front of him.
“I know it sucks that you’re here again, and hopefully we can get to the bottom of this quicker than last time and send you on your way,” Greyson spoke, taking the lead in this discussion, which Jax thought was probably for the better. The last time Cruz sat opposite Raven it hadn’t gone well.
“So we know you didn’t think the roses were a big deal at first to mention them, but given that we’re dealing with a murder investigation and now Jax’s brake issue—”
“We don’t know yet if that was on purpose or not.” Raven cut Greyson off, and Jax heard the uncertainty in her voice, which mirrored his own.
Jax took care of his car, and he understood shit could happen, but not with his car. Someone had been intentional and messed with the brakes; they just needed his mechanic to call him back and confirm it. They also needed to find out who did it and why. Were they targeting Jax only, or were they targeting Jax to get to Raven?
“You’re right, and as soon as Jax gets the call from his mechanic, we can figure out the best way to move forward. With that being said,” Greyson moved a yellow notepad and pen toward Raven. “I need you to make a list of anyone in your immediate circle, friends and family, please. As well as anyone you’ve been intimate with in the last couple of years and anyone you’ve met within the past three years,” Greyson glanced at Cruz, “and anyone you’ve pissed off too.” Greyson shoved a notepad and pen in Jax’s direction too.
“Why do you need this exactly?” Raven picked up the pen.
Greyson rubbed the back of his neck. “The white rose petals suggest someone may be stalking you. The dead body and the bloody message that was left in Lush suggest that it was someone you may have wronged. As far as we know, you were intimate once with the victim Bastillo?”
Raven nodded. “Well, once we know for sure if Jax’s brakes were messed with, it’s safe to say there might be a pattern, and if we can figure out what that is, maybe we can find Bastillo’s killer and whoever is sending you the rose petals.”
Jax waved the yellow notepad. “And I need to make this list because?”
Greyson smirked. “You’re getting soft in your retirement. We need to eliminate the possibility it’s someone you know trying to get to her.”
Jax knew that, but he was reluctant to admit it. He didn’t have many friends outside of Cruz. Everyone had been an associate, but he knew the drill, so Jax let loose a sigh that felt like he just added his weight in exhaustion to his body and grabbed the pen.
The room fell into a tense silence as Jax and Raven wrote down the names of people they were closest to. Jax had almost forgone any strangers he interacted with daily—like the person he used to get his coffee and breakfast from when he worked at the station. He knew the likelihood that this was some random person was slim to none. This had to be someone either he or Raven knew personally.It’s always those closest to you that hurt you.Still, he jotted down the guy’s name because they had been on a first name basis.
Jax looked over at Raven’s list, not surprised at how long it was. Lush had gained a lot of attention when the news had been spilled about what type of club it was. He caught the attention of one name on her list, it was the same name on his list: Daniel Cruz. He was the only person they both had in common, and as Jax glanced up at his friend, he tried not to let his mind wonder what if.
The shrill ringing of Jax’s phone broke the silence in the room but only heightened the tension. Jax pulled the phone out of his pocket and put it on speaker. “Hey, Pierce, how’s it going?” Eric’s voice was loud and it bounced off the wall.
“Hey, E, I have you on speaker. I’m at the station right now. What did you find?” Jax held his breath, and he could have sworn everyone leaned in closer to the phone.
“It ain’t good, man, someone cut your brakes. Did a shitty job too. You got lucky, man.”
Raven forced her protein shake down her throat. This one tasted just as weird as the first one she made, and she wondered if it was time to get a new blender.
Maybe it wasn’t the blender.
Maybe the fact that someone tried to kill either Jax or her affected the way she tasted things. It sure did fuck with her sleep and her every waking moment. It had been shocking to hear Jax’s mechanic confirm that the brakes had in fact been cut. The mechanic’s gruff and concerned voice played in her head on a continuous loop she had no clue how to stop. Every worst-case scenario was a silent movie on repeat in her head since she left the station. The movie always ended the same, with Jax and her dead.
Raven dumped the protein shake down the drain and filled the container with soap and water, letting it soak. Hopefully that would cure whatever weird taste lingered on her tongue. She walked into her living room, going straight to the window. She pushed the curtain back, seeing the cop car sitting directly across the street from her home. There should also be an unmarked car on either end of the street, and Raven hated that it came to this. Both Greyson and Cruz thought it was best to have someone keep an eye on both Jax and Raven in case whoever cut the brakes and left the rose petals came back and upped the ante.
It felt like such an invasion of privacy, but she understood the need for the shadows the cops were going to be in her life. The last thing she wanted to do was put herself and anyone she was around in danger because someone had it out for her or Jax.
Raven felt Jax before she heard him come down the stairs. The coldness in her body had been chased away by his warmth, and she could feel the shiver slide down her back as anticipation wrapped around her. His presence in her home made her feel safer than she would have felt by herself, but she worried about him all the same.
Her initial reaction had been to push him away like she wanted to the night the message had been left for her at Lush. The need to protect him from what was to come wanted to kick him out and change the locks. She remembered what it felt like to deeply care about someone and how that had gotten them killed. She may have not slit Lea’s wrists herself, but Raven had been the catalyst that caused her death, and she feared history was repeating itself with Jax, only this time the threat wasn’t an unstable mind but some unseen force.
Raven’s grip on the curtain tightened as she tried to push down the terror that threatened to suffocate her. She couldn’t imagine living in a world in which Jax didn’t exist. She couldn’t even remember a time when she hadn’t known him.
She took a few steadying breaths before she dropped her hold on the curtain, shutting the cop car out of view. She was going to have to get used to their presence, and that just added to the war of emotions coursing through her.
“Did you eat?” Jax’s steady voice sounded like silk flowing across her skin. She turned around to see Jax standing just in front of the stairs that lead to the bedroom and her private office. He was in dark denim jeans, bare feet, and a navy blue shirt that stretched across the muscles of his chest. He looked calm and relaxed, but the way he watched her made it seem like he was anything but relaxed.
“I had my shake.” Raven’s tone was uncharacteristically soft.
