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Both Mac and Jaxon chuckle, making me feel even more like an idiot. I frown at my lack of knowledge.
“Don’t feel bad, Bailey. In a town like this it’s not very often I have to wear a gun and badge. Now, why don’t y’all tell me what’s going on here.” Turning to Jaxon, he says, “You said something about a package.”
I stay behind when Jaxon leads Mac out onto the porch. No way am I looking in that box again. I shudder at the memory. Walking into the kitchen, I decide to make a pot of coffee. After searching for a few minutes, I find everything I need. The kitchen smells of fresh coffee by the time Jaxon and Mac come.
Jaxon walks to my side and places his arm around me. Mac stands across from us.
“Bailey, honey, I know it’s hard for you to talk about it, but I need you to tell me about your husband. Jaxon’s filled me in some, but I need to hear it from you.”
I look at Jaxon and he gives me an encouraging smile. “It’s okay, angel. I’ll be right here with you.”
After making all three of us a cup of coffee, we take our mugs and sit at the table. For the next half hour I tell Mac everything about Steven, leaving nothing out. He takes notes and interrupts me a few times to ask questions. I watch while Mac’s jaw begins to tick during the more gruesome parts, noticing his eyes get hard. The whole time, Jaxon is at my side, and I feel the tension radiating off him.
By the time I’m done, my brain is exhausted and a mess. I know it’s necessary for me to tell Mac what happened with Steven, but it’s still hard to speak about. I went from having no one but Chris knowing about the mess of my life to six people knowing.
“Okay, I think that’s enough. I’m going to go to the station and run a background on Steven. I’m also going to make a few phone calls to find out his movements within the last several days. I’ll see if I can get a judge to sign off on a search warrant to get his financial statements. I’ll also ask around town to see if anyone new has been lurking about.”
He closes his little notepad and gets up from the table. When he picks up the coffee mug to take to the kitchen, I stop him. “Don’t worry about that, I’ll get it.”
Walking him to the door, we all stop and Jaxon reaches his hand out for Mac to shake. “Thanks for coming all the way out here, Mac. Keep us posted on what you find out.”
“Will do. In the meantime, keep an eye out. If you see anything suspicious or if he contacts you again, Bailey, give me a call. This guy seems like a real nut job.” He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a card and hands it to me. “My mobile and office number are on there.”
“Thank you, Mac.” On impulse, I walk over to him and place a small kiss on his cheek.
I go to step back, but Mac grabs my arm lightly. “I’m so sorry for everything you’ve been through, but don’t worry. We’ll catch the sick son of a bitch and he’ll pay for everything he’s done.”
I have no idea what happened between Mia and him, but I do know that Mac’s a good guy. Whatever the issue, is I hope they eventually work it out. Anyone would be lucky to have him.
After saying our goodbyes, Jaxon closes the door, locks it, and sets the alarm. Turning to me, he bends to my level, places both hands on my cheeks, and looks straight into my eyes. “How are you doing?”
Scrunching up my face to show him my distaste of the whole matter, I tell him honestly, “I hate talking about it, but I know I have to. It gets a little easier each time I rehash it.”
Jaxon gets closer and kisses my lips softly. Pulling back, he asks me, “Are you hungry or do you want to take a nap?”
My stomach is in knots, so I don’t know if I can handle food right now. I’m exhausted after everything that’s happened. I tell him as much and we make our way to the bedroom.
Once inside, we both strip down. I decide to wear one of Jaxon’s t-shirts, and Jaxon wears nothing. I never thought I would enjoy sleeping with a naked guy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way with Jaxon. I still haven’t worked up the courage to prance in front of him naked, though.
Slipping into bed, I immediately make my way over to his side. After he is situated he holds out his arms to me. I lay my head on his chest, throw my arm around his waist, and my leg goes on top of his. He pulls me closer until I’m plastered against his body from head to toe, just the way I like it.
I fall asleep wrapped in a big, warm, safe Jaxon cocoon.
19
JAXON AND I BOTH are doing last-minute chores at the bar before heading home. He’s in his office finishing up the rest of his daily paperwork and I’m wiping the counter down and putting away the dishes from the dishwasher. It’s one in the morning and I’m drained. It was hectic tonight and I’m ready to settle down and relax.
Mac was in earlier, much to Mia’s dislike, to tell us that nothing came up on Steven’s background check. This information didn’t really surprise me since he’s a prosecuting attorney and, as such, probably wouldn’t still be a prosecuting attorney if there was incriminating information in his past. He also said that he couldn’t find any traces of his credit card being used outside of his town. No cash withdrawals either. And no one’s seen anyone suspicious hanging around. No fingerprints were found on the box. All of this was discouraging, but came as no surprise. Steven isn’t stupid. He won’t leave trails behind. Mac reiterated for me not to worry and that he still had a couple things he wanted to look into.
Anna left today to surprise Nick with a visit. She was so excited when she stopped by the house this morning to say goodbye. I’m so happy for her, that she finally got the opportunity to be with him while out of town. She may not be able to go with him every time, but even every once in a while will make a big difference.
I spoke with Chris a couple of times and filled her in on current events. She was, of course, upset, and threatened again to come up. It took some work, but I finally got her to agree to wait until she had originally planned to visit.
I feel a slight slap on my butt and turn around, squealing. Andrew is standing there with a towel twisted, getting ready to flick me with it again. I narrow my eyes at him, daring him to do it again. He looks at me with an adorable innocent face, but we both know it’s fake. Andrew is anything but innocent.
“What? It wasn’t me, I swear! It was that guy.” He throws his hand over his shoulder, pointing with his thumb, and ever so naturally throws the towel over his shoulder as well.
Knowing that no one is behind him, I keep my eyes fixed on him. An idea forms in my head.
