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“No, she’s here. Talk to me, Jax.”
“Marina,” he said, his face twisting as if the word tasted as sour as it sounded.
“Is she bragging about her new boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend?” Jax’s eyes snapped back to me. “Who?”
“No clue. Before our meeting yesterday, I was down at the resort meeting with the catering staff for New Year’s party. On my way back I saw Marina in the bar with some guy.”
“What guy?”
“I don’t know. Kind of tall, rough around the edges. Square face, almost completely shaved head. You know, her type.”
“Ah.” Jax sighed deeply and finally stopped his pacing. “Doesn’t matter. Not now.”
“Why?” I moved around the desk, bringing myself closer to try and force Jax to talk to me clearly.
“I got a call from my lawyer.” Jax lifted his eyes to mine and the shadow of defeat lingered there. “He claims her lawyer called him, said Marina has evidence of me keeping Bonnie in unsafe conditions and around dangerous people. Her lawyer has seen the evidence and it’s enough, more than enough to push up our court dates. It doesn’t look good, not at all.”
“What evidence?” What shock I had experienced initially melted quickly into anger. What the fuck was Marina playing at?
“I don’t know. Todd hasn’t seen it yet, but he’s requested it be sent immediately so he can look it over. He sounded worried. Apparently, Marina’s lawyer was so confident; like he’d just stumbled on some sort of jackpot.”
“This… this doesn’t make any sense. There’s nothing unsafe about living here. The chalet and the resort are fully certified… and as for dangerous people? We run a security company; we’re the safest fuckers on the planet.”
“That’s just the thing…” Jax’s gaze turned out the window to the large mountains rising beyond the cloud line. “Marina called me after, and she… she was sohappy.So fucking smug. Whatever she has, she thinks it will secure her in the divorce and the custody battle, and I—I can’t think, Luke. She said Bonnie was hers, and I was always going to be the waste she picked up in a bar. As soon as those words left her, I just lost it. I yelled at her, I called her all the foul things under the sun and just gave her more ammo in the process.”
Defeated, Jax slumped down in his seat with a soft groan and his head fell forward between his shoulders.
“Is that why the desk is a mess?” I joked softly, processing through everything he had told me.
“Yeah. Sorry. And if I scared Tabitha… I’m sorry.”
“Apology not necessary,” I reassured quickly. Falling silent, I moved around the desk and began to gather the tossed books, spilled paper, and thrown pens while working through what had happened. Marina had proof of child endangerment, to the point that her lawyer was involved. That wasn’t good, regardless of what this proof was.
“I can’t lose her,” Jax murmured brokenly. I immediately abandoned the clean-up and crouched in front of him.
“You won’t.”
“Ican’t.”
“Jax, you won’t. We’ll fight this. There’s nothing dangerous here. There are no terrible people or anything. It’s just family and snow. Whatever Marinathinksshe has is utter bullshit because looks around. Bonnie is happy and healthy and safe.”
“But…” His voice cracked and my heart crumpled with it. “She has something. I don’t know what, but she hassomethingand whatever it is… I don’t know how to fight it. I’ve been doing everything by the book but somehow I—” Emotion got the better of him and he screwed up his eyes, fighting the rest of the tears that threatened to follow the couple that leaked down his cheek.
I clutched at his arm and squeezed. “Jax, we will fight this. You won’t lose her.”
“Lose who? What—what’s going on?” Summer stood in the doorway, her face paler than normal, but since she’d been with the kids through the snow I brushed it off. Her eyes were wide, and she huddled near the door as I glanced up at her. Jax immediately turned toward the window to hide his spiraling emotions.
“Summer.”
“Sorry, I—I didn’t mean to listen in. I was just…” She trailed off and cleared her throat. “I was just sticking my head in to let you know we’re back in case you wanted to see Ava or Bonnie. Have you seen my keys anywhere? I’m sorry.”
“No, no come in.” I straightened and waved her closer. Her presence was the most soothing thing I had ever experienced so if there was a chance she could calm Jax down then I was going to encourage it. “Jax has just had some uh…”
“Bad news,” he croaked, and I gripped his shoulder, rubbing in a small circle as he worked to regain control of himself. Summer, somehow, paled further as she approached the desk.
“Bad—bad news?”
