Chapter 15
I should just change my bloody phone number. Risa slammed the phone down on the exam table. Three crank calls in one day, and the day wasn’t over yet.
If they weren’t giving her the silent treatment, then they were breathing like an asthmatic after a flight of stairs.
“Whoa, Doc. What did that phone do to you?”
“Jax.” Risa slid her arms around his neck and kissed the man. “What brings you by? Not that I’m complaining; just surprised.”
His hands skimmed down her backside and cupped her butt until she was pressed against his body. Obviously, he didn’t take her comment as an insult.
“If you’re interested, I’ve got lunch in the truck and a free hour.”
“Let me clear it with Corrie.” She stepped into the reception area. It was just the two of them on most days now, as they’d been ordered to cut hours on their receptionist and the second technician.
“Go,” Corrie said, not even looking up from her lunch as she handed Risa her sweater.
Fall had officially arrived, both on the calendar and in the air, but the sun was shining and the rain held off. And she had the perfect date.
Jax drove them the short distance from the clinic to the lake on the base and surprised her further when he pulled out a fully stocked picnic basket and blanket from behind the seat.
He spread out the throw, laid down, and tugged her into his arms. “How’s life as the boss?”
“I wouldn’t know, and as it looks right now, I might never know. They had to advertise for Lagasse’s position, and I have to apply for it. It’s possible, even with his recommendation, the job could go to someone with more experience. According to the grapevine, that’s what they want. Except there’s the budget crunch, and they don’t want to pay anyone what they were paying my boss.”
“So there’s hope?” His eyes twinkled in the midday sun.
“There’s always hope, Jax.” She brushed a quick kiss across his upturned lips. “Speaking of, I heard from my contact in Texas today. Bella is doing okay, considering she’s stuck in a crate to keep her off her leg. But the major said her spirits were good. Also, given the severity of the injury, and based on my observations, once she’s healed they’re going to retire her from active duty.”
His smile turned into a frown. “They’ll put her up for adoption.”
“Yes, and he knows I have two interested parties ready to give her a home here. That is, if you still want her.”
He shot up to a sitting position, which knocked Risa on to her butt. “Sorry.” Jax gave her a hand up. “Of course I want her. She’s my girl, my best friend. I also know that they do a full background check on the prospective adopter and that includes a home inspection. Right now, I don’t have a home for her. I wasn’t expecting this to happen so fast.”
“She can stay with me until you’re all set.”
“Isn’t your place full? The pony arrives in what, two weeks?” He slipped his arm around her shoulders and held on tight. “You’d take in every stray, every homeless animal you found if you could.”
His voice held a hint of sadness, and all playfulness from earlier disappeared. A dark cloud passed in front of the sun, mirroring Jax’s mood.
“Does that bother you? My menagerie?” She could deal with a lot, even the uncertainty of their relationship, but she could never, would never, give up her animals. They were just as much family to her as her parents.
“Are you kidding? I love that about you. If it weren’t for Bella, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t be here today. She saved my life and several others many times while we were deployed. She’s not a piece of equipment to be discarded now that she’s damaged. You get that.”
Her phone rang. Risa stared at it, lying on top of her sweater. Please don’t be another crank call.
“Is everything okay?” Jax looked at her glaring at the phone.
She reached for it. “Yeah, of course. Probably work.” When she picked it up, the “missed call” window popped up.
“Hang on.” She hit the log. Thank God, not another blocked call. It wasn’t the office or anyone she knew, so it could wait until after lunch. “Got anything to eat in that basket, or is it just for show?”
Jax pulled out sushi, grapes, cookies, and water while Risa toyed with the phone. She really should tell him about the calls so he could at least note it in her record. It was probably just Sal messing with her head, and if Jax found out, he’d go after the guy again. Then Sal could lodge another complaint against him. Nope, she’d keep quiet and not take the bait.
Taking the proffered chopsticks, Risa attempted to pick up a piece of sushi. “Attempted” was the key word. After dropping it five times, she laughed, picked it up with her fingers, and popped the yummy goodness into her mouth.
The phone rang again, and she automatically reached for it as she swallowed the last bit of food. “Hello,” she mumbled.
Heaving breathing. Great. Jax stopped eating and watched her. She must have been frowning. Just as she was about to hang up, the breathing got harder. “You won’t get away with this,” a non-descript voice whispered and hung up.
“Risa, is everything okay?” Jax’s brows were drawn down, creating deep creases across his forehead, and his words were hesitant.
“Yeah, it was nothing important.” It didn’t make sense. What had she supposedly done? And who was that, because she knew it wasn’t Salvador Rossi. For one, the caller hadn’t used his favorite word for her, nor did it sound like him. Then again, it didn’t really sound male or female.
Who in the bloody hell had she pissed off?
“Then why are your eyes suddenly as angry-looking as the clouds?”
“I should probably get back to the clinic.” She brushed off her hands. “Thanks for lunch.”
“You ate one piece.” His voice took on an authoritative tone that brooked no argument. “Who was on the phone?”
“No one.” She stood, grabbing her sweater and wrapping it around her. “I can walk back so you can finish lunch.”
“Like hell if I’m just going to sit here and let you walk away when you’re shaking like a victim in shock. What’s going on?”
Instead of answering, she walked to the edge of the lake, debating.
What if Sal put someone up to calling her so she wouldn’t think it was him? Jax would still go after Sal and then she was right back in the same place—falling prey for his drama. If she ignored him, he’d go away. He had before.
“Risa, don’t shut me out. Let me help.” Jax slipped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder.
“That’s not my intention.” She sighed. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“Are you in trouble?”
Was she? She didn’t really know. The hater had upped his game last time he attacked, but he hadn’t gone over the edge into psycho territory. But was this the next step— phone contact, and then confronting her in person… or worse? She shuddered at the thought that one of her fur babies might get hurt, especially because of a stupid decision.
“Listen, if you tell me to drop it. I will. I need to know you’re going to be okay, though.” Jax kissed her cheek and waited.
“Promise me you won’t do anything rash.” She turned in his arms to face him.
“Risa, don’t ask the impossible.”
She clamped her lips shut and met his gaze. Jax was about to see her stubborn streak. Neither said anything for several moments, a battle of wills, but she refused to give. Silence filled the air, creating an uncomfortable wedge between them.
Bloody hell, figures he’d be just as stubborn.
Jax dropped his arms and stepped away. “I better get you back to work.”
Within minutes, all traces of the romantic lunch had been swept away. Jax packed up the truck without a word.
Ugh. This is why animals were so much better than people. My dogs never got their feelings hurt.
“Jax, wait. I’m sorry. It’s probably nothing.”
“Your face said otherwise.”
“I’ve been getting weird phone calls. Mostly heavy breathing, or hang-ups, but today they said something.”
“Word for word, Risa.”
“‘You won’t get away with this.’” She still had no clue what the caller meant.
“Male or female?”
“I couldn’t tell. The person whispered, and it was hard to hear and understand.”
“Accent?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. It was very muffled and distorted, like maybe they had something over the receiver.”
“Let me see your phone.” Jax held out his hand and Risa passed over the phone. He hit a button, then pulled out his phone. “Kelly, I need you to see if you can find out who this number is listed to… eight-six-oh, five-five-five, two-oh-two-five. I’ll be back in the office in a couple of minutes. Let me know then. Thanks. You’re the best.”
When he hung up, he tossed Risa the phone and walked away. He kept his back to her, hands on his hips, looking skyward. He must have scrolled through her phone log and wasn’t happy about what he’d seen.
He turned back around. “You should have told me.”
“I thought it was some kid who’d gotten my number.”
“You’ve gotten four, five calls today, two yesterday, and at least a dozen others over the past couple of weeks. Most of them blocked. That’s not a bored child playing a prank, that’s harassment. It’s very likely the same person who slashed your tires and spray-painted your mom’s car and your house.”
“Why don’t you call them back then? See who answers?”
“Because if it is Rossi, I don’t want him to drop the phone in the river before we can get to him. It’s most likely a burner phone, but this gives us another link to unraveling this mess.” He walked back to her, stopping short of her personal space.
“I’m sorry, Jax. I really thought it was a random thing until this last call. The thing is, I can’t figure out what it is that I’ve supposedly done and am getting away with. Do you think this person has me mixed up with someone else?”
She wiped away a frustrated tear. Jax swore and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.
“It’s going to be okay. We’ll find out who’s behind this.”
* * * *
Jax tossed his cover onto the desk and strolled to the window where he could see the vet clinic. He’d dropped Risa off and checked in with Kelly on the search, not surprised when the number came back as a burner cell.
At his desk, Casey looked up from his work. “Given your mood and the fact that you’re back early, I take it lunch didn’t go the way you planned. Did the doc blow you off for one of her four-legged loves?”
Normally Casey’s teasing rolled off of him, but he wasn’t in the mood. Still, he remembered Mike’s warning from earlier and refrained from flipping Case the finger or telling him where he could go.
“She’s getting phone calls,” he said.
“What kind of calls? And I take it by ‘she,’ you mean Risa.”
Jax turned and paced across the room. “No, Totes the Goat is getting calls from a Hollywood agent for a film role. Of course I’m talking about Risa.”
Casey sat back and steepled his hands under his chin. “What kind of calls?”
“Childish crap, hang-ups, heavy breathing, the sort you’d brush off. Until today. She got a call while we were together that told her she wouldn’t get away with it.”
“With what?”
“Million-dollar question, my friend. She couldn’t give any specifics on the caller, age, sex, voice—”
“Voice distorter? That’s a notch up from amateur.”
“I don’t think so. Risa said the caller whispered and it was hard to understand. Possibly old school and just muffled the receiver. I had Kelly run a check on the number, and no luck.”
Jax was stumped. Whoever was behind this was smart enough not to leave clues, knew Risa’s schedule and where she lived, plus had base access. That left a small pool of suspects, especially when motive was considered. He turned back to the window and watched the activity around the clinic. Nothing out of the ordinary.
“What are you thinking?” Casey asked.
“Either we’re missing something, or Rossi is smarter than I gave him credit for.”
“Jax,” Casey warned.
“I know; leave him alone. Got the memo, damn it. But he’s still our best suspect.”
Casey tapped his fingers on the desk as if the action spun the wheels in his brain. Jax knew him, knew the signs, and waited. The guy had a great mind, when he used it.
“When did all of this start?”
“Seven, eight weeks ago? Right after Bella’s accident.”
“So when you walked into her life?”
Jax stopped his pacing and swung around. “You think I’m behind this?”
“No and yes. Not you personally, but maybe an ex-girlfriend who sees Risa as a threat.”
Jax shook his head. “I don’t see it. Two of them are married now and forgot about me the minute we broke up. Maria didn’t want it to end, but she doesn’t have base access that I know of, and how would she know where Risa lives?”
“Things change, and you can find anyone on the web.”
“I don’t know, but I’ll look into her.”
“Your ex-fiancée?”
“Keri? You’ve lost your touch, man. That woman never wants to see me again. Plus, I haven’t seen or heard from her in years. She doesn’t even know where I am, nor do I know where she is. No, this isn’t about me. The only one that makes sense is Rossi.”
“Maybe so, but without solid proof, you can’t go after the guy.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Why don’t you let that local cop who responded to the call know? He can always pull Rossi back in for questioning.”
“Yeah, except Deputy Dawg made it clear he didn’t need or want my help. If I called, he’d toss the message in the trash.” He just needed one piece of concrete evidence on the guy, and then Jax could have Rossi’s ass hauled back in.
“You’d better convince Risa to report the calls, then. Besides, you have other more important things to worry about.” At Jax’s “don’t screw with me” look, Casey pointed to his desk. “You’ve got a test to take.”
Jax stalked to his desk and scooped up the message Kelly had left for him. If he hadn’t been solely focused on Risa, he’d have seen it as soon as he sat down.
NCIS had taken the next step and scheduled his polygraph test. He had no qualms about passing. He had nothing to hide—his record spoke for itself—and generally he had a high tolerance for bullshit questions. For the moment, he allowed himself to feel the thrill at the prospect of getting his dream job.
There’d be no sleeping in the back of his truck or on his mama’s couch. He could get a house and have a place for Bella to run and play. Plus, he knew they had an opening coming up at the Groton office, which, if he snagged it as his first assignment, meant he could continue to see Risa.
For the moment, the path ahead of him was crystal clear. He could see a future, one that wouldn’t bore him to sleep in five seconds, and he liked what lay ahead.
“You ready?” Casey’s question cut into his internal thoughts.
“Piece of cake. Hey, when are you due to report into Pensacola?”
“Not until February. Gives me time to train your replacement right this time.” Casey grinned his smart-ass smile.
“Yeah? Good luck with that. I heard it’s going to be Alec Simonson.”
Casey groaned. “You’re kidding, right? I can’t stand that guy. He’s so full of himself. January is going to be the longest month of my life.”
Jax let out an evil laugh of delight. He almost wished he’d be around to see Simonson bring the mighty Casey Thomas back to earth. It was a tough job, keeping his friend grounded, and sometimes he needed help. His replacement was the perfect person for the position.
“Have you heard any more from Colette?”
“Come to think of it, January can take its sweet time passing.” Casey scrubbed his hands across his face, before squeezing the bridge of his nose. “A quick text.”
“Anything life-shattering?”
“Nah. A picture of some restaurant we used to go to. She thought I’d like to know it’s still around.”
“Sounds like someone is taking a trip down memory lane and wanting you to come along for the ride. Maybe more.”
“Yeah, so she can rip my heart out and drag it behind her through the mud and gravel before shoving the battered, torn-up lump back in my chest to leave me to slowly bleed to death.”
“Tell me how you really feel, man.”
“You brought it up.” Casey punched the keys on his keyboard with enough force to shove them through the desk and floor beneath.
“Lighten up, Case. Maybe she’s genuinely sorry for what happened and still has feelings for you. Stranger things happen all the time.” Like him wanting to be tied down and picturing life five, even ten years down the road and seeing Risa by his side and a menagerie around their feet. Even weirder, the idea didn’t freak him the hell out.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Casey said.
Mike stuck his head in the office. “Faraday, in my office now.”
“What did you do now?” Casey asked after Mike walked away.
“Hell if I know. Guess I’ll find out in a minute.” He grabbed the note with his test time and shoved it in his pocket.
“Jax, to get back to what we were talking about earlier… let me give you one more piece of advice. Don’t risk it all for something that won’t amount to more than a good time in the sack. Trust me, it’s not worth it, buddy.”
As soon as Jax walked into the senior chief’s office, Mike pointed to the chair. Jax shoved Casey’s cynical comment to the back of his mind. His friend meant well, but damn, the guy needed therapy or something. Jax turned his focus front and center. There was no mistaking this man in front of him as his friend. He had been called on the carpet before his boss.
“Does the name Officer Browning ring any bells?” Mike asked.
Probably not the time to call him Deputy Dawg. “Big guy, grumpy.”
“Seems he’s a fan of yours, too.” Mike’s eyes narrowed and tapped the desk. “He called SECOP to file an official complaint against you for interfering in a police investigation. Be glad the lieutenant is out and I got the call.”
“Bullshit. Sorry, Senior, but I did no such thing, unless you call sharing information interfering.”
“Did you try to bully him with your, and I quote, federal authority?”
Jax snickered. “What do you think? Of course not.”
Mike sighed. “Tell me your side.”
“Not much to tell. Doc Reynolds’s place was vandalized and two of her animals went missing. She was kind of freaked out and called me to come help her find them.”
“Why you?”
He hesitated long enough that Mike glared at him. “We’re friends.”
“So what happened next?”
“I got there first, she was a little shaken and hadn’t called the local yokels yet. She did. They showed up. We tried to explain. The older of the two, Browning, was more interested in his dinner than details. They left, and I stayed to help find the rabbits.”
“Rabbits?” Mike waved a hand. “Never mind. I really don’t want to know. Did you bring Rossi’s name into the conversation and tell this Officer Browning or his partner that they needed to bring him in?”
“No, I did not. He asked Risa for a list of enemies. She gave him Rossi’s name. I shared with him and his partner what had happened on base. Nothing more.”
“I don’t get it, Jax. You’ve worked for the better part of a decade to become the ideal candidate for federal service, and in the last two months, it’s like your common sense broke free and escaped for greener pastures.”
Jax refused to rise to the bait.
“Let me ask you something,” he continued, “and I want you to think long and hard before you answer. Is this woman worth jeopardizing everything you’ve worked for? Are you willing to give up your dreams for her? Because the feds want team players. Not guys who don’t play by the rules.”
That was two for two calling him a fool. Maybe they were right. Then again, maybe they didn’t know squat. But Jax couldn’t argue that two complaints against him in under a month wouldn’t score him any points with prospective employers. He’d back off of Rossi, play good cop, and wait. Sooner or later, the guy would screw up and then Jax would nail his balls to the floor.
It didn’t mean he couldn’t keep a close eye on Risa.
“I swear, Mike, I’m following your orders.”
“Fine. I’m dismissing the complaint, but Jax,” he held up a finger, “one more and you go in front of SECOP. Understood?”
Jax nodded, and Mike told him to get the hell of his office. He walked back to his empty office and stood by the window.
Screw it all. If I’m going to get my ass chewed out for doing the right thing, then I might as well make it worthwhile.
He grabbed his keys and headed out to do a little extracurricular surveillance.