chapter 5
Jaxon
AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH on the property Scarlett was asking about, I’ve found out that not only had Darren been using it as a drug lab but also he’d changed the ownership for this property, and the others, into his name. I don’t know how the hell he did it. It’s a property she was given by her father, and she doesn’t even know what’s happening with it. Darren’s a total piece of shit.
I inform the police of my findings, and hope that they shut the operation down. It’s something else I can use against Darren’s character in court, to really paint a picture of the true person he was. It shows the type of dangerous people he was associated with, and that any of them could have been the one to take his life. I make a note to ask Hunter, our family-law attorney, to look into what we have to do to get everything back in Scarlett’s name. Luckily they were still legally married when he died, so she inherits everything.
I don’t know why Scarlett went to that property, but I have a feeling she’s a woman who tends to get herself into trouble. I know the type—good intentions, but somehow trouble always finds them. They’re usually beautiful too. And although she’s my client, I’m not blind. Scarlett has a classic beauty not many could deny, including me. She dresses to hide her figure, but she has that natural hourglass shape—wide hips and a narrow waist—that can’t be hidden. Not that I’ve been looking, or anything. It’s just a little hard to miss.
“What’re you thinking about?” Tristan asks, making me jump a little.
“Nothing,” I say a little too quickly. “Found an operating meth lab in one of Ms. Reyes’s property. Her husband apparently was a heavy user as well. Just another day on the job.”
He barks out a laugh and leans back against the doorframe. “Why do you always get the fun cases? You should’ve let me take this one.”
“We must have a different opinion on fun,” I mutter, sighing heavily.
“I think we must,” he replies, amusement in his tone.
Kat comes up behind him and wraps an arm around his waist. “Is there anything you need me to do before I leave, Jaxon?”
“Thanks, but I’m good,” I say, knowing she’ll stay behind and work late without hesitation. “You two go home to those beautiful kids of yours.”
“It’s late, Jaxon. You should go home and get some rest too.”
I glance out the window, and it’s now dark outside. I don’t know where the time goes. “Shit, yeah, I will. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
I pack up my things slowly, not in any rush to leave.
The truth is, I don’t like being at home. I don’t have anyone to go home to. It’s just an empty house. Yes, it’s beautiful, but it’s still empty. Just sitting there and giving my mind time to overthink things isn’t good for me. For a while Olivia was there and made it feel like home again.
I like to stay busy and distracted. Since taking time off, I’ve started building things, from tables to bookshelves, just to give me something to do. I don’t need much sleep, and I’m not one to laze around in bed unless there’s a woman in there with me, which, to be honest, is rare these days. I’ve always preferred quality over quantity, but recently there’s been none of either. There was one woman I was casually sleeping with, before everything happened with Olivia, but I haven’t seen her in a while. Maybe I should message her. I could really use both the distraction and the release. As I go to text her though, my fingers linger over the SEND button without pressing it. I don’t actually want to see her, if I’m being honest.
I don’t know why, but I’d rather be alone. I think having meaningless sex would just make me feel even emptier at this point. I haven’t been the same since Olivia died. I withdrew and started looking at life in a whole different way. She was everything to me, my only family, and someone I’ve loved from the moment I laid my eyes on. Will the pain of losing her ever go away? Will the guilt of not being able to save her ever lessen? That was my job.
To look out for her.
And I failed.
I head home, but only to do more work.
I might as well just stay at my office.
A FEW HOURS’ WORK and one hundred push-ups later, I jump into a lukewarm shower. Hopefully after this I’ll be able to relax a little. I’ll eat something and then watch a movie and fall asleep. For some reason, my mind roams to Scarlett. I wonder what she’s doing right now. As I look down at my cock, which has somehow gotten hard, I consider it nothing more than an inconvenience. As I run my hand along it, I groan a little, the feeling of it so good. I’ve always had a healthy sex drive, but lately I’ve been trying to ignore it. Tonight, however, it looks like it needs to be taken care of. If I had called someone over, she’d be here on her knees in front of me, her mouth on my cock, looking up at me. When I picture that though, it isn’t blue eyes looking up at me—they’re hazel.
Fuck.
I begin to stroke harder and faster, water streaming down my body, my hand pumping away, bringing me closer and closer to orgasm. I brace myself against the tiles as I come, each jerk bringing more pleasure than the last. When I come back to myself, and to reality, I cringe.
Did I just jack off to my client?
To Scarlett? A woman accused of murdering her husband?
Fuck.
I’m so inappropriate, it’s not even funny.
I finish showering and hop out, grabbing a towel, unable to even look at myself in the mirror. Never in the history of my career have I ever thought about one of my clients like this, and I’ve represented many beautiful women before. It was a line I’ve never even thought about crossing. It’s wrong, I know, but I can’t seem to help the fact that she’s beautiful. Her eyes are haunting, and her soul—which is begging to be free—simply calls to me, but I need to fight this. It doesn’t matter how fucking stunning she is, it’s not right, and it’s not going to happen. She needs me right now, and not in any other way than to save her from what she’s been accused of, and maybe to be someone she can trust.
I guess I should be careful what I wish for, because I wanted another distraction, and I got one.