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Taking a sizable swig of my own glass, my throat burns as the amber colored liquid slides down it. “We’ve got a problem.”
“What kind of problem?” Malachi says with a growing impatience.
I fill him in on the information that Madison found out through the internet and he hangs on to my every word. His men do not budge an inch as I speak, and the room is so quiet you could hear a mouse squeak. Even the bartender seems to be neglecting his bar duties to listen to what I have to say.
“And this group, have you seen any of them yourself?” he asks with a frown on his lips, carving deep wrinkles into the sides of his mouth. I share with him what we’ve seen and heard on our journey here and our encounter with the lab coats going after Drew.
But now I tell Malachi it’s his turn to share how or who turned him toward me and my pack. And what he shares with me infuriates and troubles me to my core.
Chapter 14
Madison
“No way we are going to allow Jax to mess with us and cause a fight between us and the Grey pack. I spoke with Malachi and for now, he is open to working with us. It’s a tentative connection but it’s better than how things were before.” Chase sighs.
“The question now is, how did Jax know about the disappearances and exactly who to egg on to cause trouble for us?” I ask.
“Excellent question… Do you think he’s a part of the black ops group?” Dustin looks between Chase and me.
My stomach churns, how could I possibly have missed something so massive?
I suppose I was too wrapped up in the personal hell Jax put me through to worry about what he was putting others through too. How narrowminded of me…
“You did say he’s a fantastic tracker…” Chase starts and looks at me apologetically before he continues.
“I hate to ask you about this, but can you tell me more about Jax? What does he do for a living? Did he have any hobbies or friends that you know about? Anything you can tell us will behelpful since right now we don’t know anything about the man except that he’s obsessed with you.”
“I understand,” taking a deep breath I steady myself even though my voice still comes out shaky. “Jax told me he works for a technology corporation as private security. From what I understand after graduating university at the top of his class, he was recruited into this private security firm. The contract required him to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) so we didn’t discuss his work much. Knowing what I do now it wouldn’t be a stretch for him to be involved in this group.”
“I’d say that’s not a stretch at all. Especially when working in the tech sector. There are always a lot of hush-hush developments in tech, NDAs are doled out in those corporations like candy at a parade.” Drew nods affirming his revelation.
What do I even know about Jax? Nausea overwhelms me as I realize that the man I spent over a decade with is a near-complete stranger to me.
“Did you ever meet any of his coworkers or friends?” Chase asks, his eyebrows knit together, and his green eyes darken as they search mine.
“Jax didn’t have friends… As for his coworkers, I only met one of them. I think his name was Geoff, Geoff Frey, he was older than Jax by about 15 years. The two of them were partners until one day Jax was reassigned, and I never saw or heard from Geoff again. He was a nice guy from what I remember.”
The guys exchange glances and an uncomfortable heat spreads over my cheeks, “Geoff Frey, like Jeffery?” Dustin asks letting out a low appreciative whistle. “What do you want to wager he didn’t just disappear?”
“Not right now,” Drew says checking Dustin.
How could I have been so stupid for all those years? My eyes fill with tears.
“Don’t beat yourself up about not knowing things related to Jax, Madison. My guess is Jax had a lot of training in deception that he used against you too. He met you when you were just a child, you couldn’t have known better. I’m sure he had plenty of ways to keep you under his thumb and to keep you from asking too many questions.” Chase says as if reading my mind.
“Ugh,” I say flailing down onto the couch.
“A child? How did you get mixed up with that loser anyway?” Dustin asks turning to give me his full attention, his eyebrows knit together with concern.
“I met Jax when I was 14 and he was 23. I thought he was so handsome, mysterious, and cool. Just like one of the guys out of the bands I’d listen to. I swooned over him, to say the least. My mom saw me as more of a burden than anything else, she never wanted me around. So, when Jax asked me to move in with him I felt like he was my savior.”
“That’s sick, didn’t your mom try to stop you?” Drew’s face is contorted with worry.
“Not at all, she was actually relieved when I told her I was moving out. It was just the two of us after my dad left when I was five and my mom always resented me for holding her back in life. She wanted to be a movie star, but I guess it’s kind of hard to do that when you’re a single mother struggling to make ends meet.”
Momentarily I bury my head in the cushions of the new couch. I could disappear under a rock right now and be completely fine with it.
This is the first time I’ve spoken about Jax to anyone else out loud since we got together. My guts feel like they’ve all twisted together and tied themselves in knots.
