Chapter 4
Feeling his phone vibrate, Jax glanced at Serge to confirm that he’d also received the signal, then discreetly stepped back from the battling couple. As if a sounding bell had rung, shattering the drunken frivolity, a cadre of uniformed men stormed onto the terrace from either side of the pool.
Jax was gratified by Sherman’s and Jasmine’s startled visages. What appeared to be mystification quickly morphed into shock, then fury. Sherman leapt to his feet and yelled, “What the goddamned hell?” Seeing the tall, blonde woman at the helm of the armored phalanx, his disbelieving question was lost in the horror spilling across his face.
With a rush of pride, Jax concurred; the despicable man should be horrified. Joan of Arc leading her victorious French army into the battle of Orléans couldn’t have been more daunting than Viviana at the forefront of her formidable SWAT team.
Her Glock 30 Gen4 holstered on her hip and her badge in prominent view, Viviana strode toward Sherman and Jasmine. Stopping in front of the despicable pair, she pressed her lips together in a firm line, then nodded in recognition. Her calm, assured greeting broke the stunned silence that had settled over the terrace. “Good evening, Sherman, Jasmine.”
Seemingly trying to square the sight of the indomitable woman with her familiar greeting, Sherman choked, then managed to sputter, “Do . . . do I know you?”
Viviana pinned him with a narrowed gaze. “Much better than you should, Sherman.” Ignoring his shocked start, she turned to Jasmine. “Hello, Auntie.” Studying the startled woman for a long moment, she said with a thoughtful frown, “You don’t look how I remember you, Jasmine. I used to think you were beautiful.” Wrinkling her nose, she added, “But the stench is the same. Calvin Klein Obsession, mixed with booze and leftover sex, smells as sickening as it did then.” Turning on Sherman, who was shaking, a horrified expression flushing his florid face, Viviana said, “But it was your smell, Sherman, that kept me awake at night.” She added with a grimace, “That disgusting combination of sweat, alcohol, and forced sex ruled my nightmares.”
She shuddered, as if remembering the odious stench, then nodded at Jax, who had moved next to her and wrapped a protective arm around her waist. “Ask Jax. He was the only man I could bear to have touch me after what you did to me. You can both thank him for what is about to happen. If it wasn’t for Jax, who incidentally is Jaxton Hughes, the San Jose police chief and a former Delta Force special operative, I never would have tried to find you. I’ve spent most of my life trying to forget you. To seal you in an inviolable vault in the recesses of my mind. But Jax wouldn’t let me. He insisted that if he did nothing else, he would track you down and see that you paid dearly for your crimes.”
Glancing at Serge, Greg, Mick, and the uniformed men behind her, she visibly swallowed, then said in a firm voice, “Not to alarm you, but because of Jax and these determined, dangerous men, you and your hideous compadres are about to experience a hell that even your perverted minds would find hard to imagine. If I didn’t despise you with every thread of my being, I might even pity you. Instead, I’ll turn you over to these formidable men and spend the rest of my life trying to help your pedophilia victims survive.” She scanned the horde of naked, wide-eyed children staring at her and shook her head. “Knowing how you tortured them, it will be a daunting task. I only pray that for the rest of your lives, a day won’t go by that isn’t filled with horrendous pain and mind-crippling terror.”
****
Viviana closed her eyes and rested against the cushioned seat of Jax’s Romeo. With a weary sigh, she wondered if she’d ever get over her fatigue. In the days following their extraordinary takedown of the hideous villains who’d ruled so much of her life, no matter how many hours she slept, her fatigue was a thick blanket of exhaustion shrouding her. At least now, the long years in which she’d refused to face the damage the wicked duo had visited on her were a thing of the past. She’d been vindicated. Every time her mind triggered memories of her ugly past, she forced herself to remember the frantic shrieks of her aunt and Sherman and their repugnant cohorts as Greg, Mick, and the others loaded them into the waiting police vans. Knowing they were facing a hideous future they couldn’t imagine in their worst nightmares had helped to quiet her own nightmares. And like a final door closing, it had taken Viviana, with Jax at her side, a day to funnel the remainder of what was apparently an impressive fortune to a host of foundations dedicated to helping victims of child pornography and pedophilia.
Glancing at the big man beside her skillfully guiding his fancy car over the winding backroads, Viviana acknowledged Jax was the primary reason her nightmares no longer invaded her sleep. She remembered with a guilty start how she’d fought him. She’d insisted she didn’t want to revisit her past and that Jax had no right to force her to. That he’d ignored her passionate pleas and ugly accusations and insisted that, together, they would hunt down her demons and literally send them to hell spoke to his wisdom and courage. And, she acknowledged, a love as profound as what she now admitted she felt for him.
“Are you awake, sweetheart?”
Viviana rose and nodded. “Yes, I am. I don’t know when or if I will ever be able to get enough rest. God, Jax, I slept for ten hours last night and fell asleep the moment I got in the car. What’s wrong with me?”
He chuckled and reached for her hand. “Take it from a man who’s been sleeping beside you for some time and who knows how little sleep you actually get. At least before our mind-blowing raid. Baby, it’s no wonder your body and mind are trying to recover.” He grinned and gave an appreciative whistle. “Damn, Viviana, if I’m ever foolish enough to take you on, all I have to do is remember you marching onto that terrace, leading a small army of heavy-booted, helmeted men. Jesus, sweetheart, no wonder Thor was afraid of the Enchantress. Know that for all the sleepless nights they caused you, that image of you will haunt Sherman, Jasmine, and their vile cohorts for the rest of their sorry lives.”
Jax expelled a hard sigh, then grasped her hand as he pulled into the marina parking lot. Nosing into a narrow space alongside the pier, he turned off the engine. Reaching for her chin, he held it, insisting that she meet his gaze. “But, darlin’, I’m done talking and thinking about those evil wretches. From this minute forward, I want to focus on the future. Our future.”
At her tearful nod, Jax gazed at the vessel in front of them and said with a frown, “Hmm, I told Dawg and the guys we’d be late but to have the Sea Ray ready. But I don’t see it in our slip.”
Viviana looked at him in surprise. “What do you mean? Isn’t that your boat right there?”
Jax shook his head, but she didn’t miss the smile quirking his lips. “I don’t think so. At least, it looks different.” Taking a flashlight from the glove box, he shined it across the bow of the spectacular yacht. “Mm-hmm, just as I thought. Something has happened to our glorious craft. It seems to have taken on a different identity.”
In the beam’s light, Viviana saw the words decorating the side of the Sea Ray. It took her a moment to recognize the name spelled out in fancy script: The Enchantress.
Stunned, she turned to Jax and stammered, “You . . . you named your boat after . . . me?”
The grin splitting his face said it all. “Yeah, darling, I did. It was only fitting that the spectacular yacht I’ve lusted after for years should bear the name of the woman I will lust after and love for the rest of my life. Oh and, sweetheart, it’s our boat.”
****
As Jax steered the yacht across the channel, Viviana stood next to him on the helm’s deck. The dark night sky was sprinkled with myriad stars and just enough gauzy clouds to play hide-and-seek with the crescent moon. Viviana leaned into Jax’s strong body, wondering if she had ever seen a more beautiful night or experienced a more extraordinary way to revel in it.
As the powerful boat skimmed across the glassy water, Jax pulled into a secluded bay and dropped anchor. Reaching for her hand, he led Viviana to the open deck at the front of the beautifully outfitted craft and settled her on a comfortable sofa. He squatted down in front of her and pinned her with a serious expression. Only his dancing eyes gave his banked excitement away.
“I have a number of things I plan to do to you tonight, Enchantress, but first on the list, I think we need to christen this spectacular boat, agreed?” Before she could respond, Jax was on his feet, dragging a large cooler from one of the recesses under the upholstered bench. Making a production of lifting the lid and examining the contents of the oversized container, he said, “Let’s see if that swamp rat, sharpshooter buddy of mine followed my instructions.” Removing a large picnic basket, he peeked inside and nodded in appreciation. “Damn, I gotta tell you, if Dawg ever decides to shuck his down-country, good-ole-boy shtick, I swear he could open a fine-dining restaurant.”
Pulling out a bottle of champagne, Jax whistled in admiration as he examined the label. “If ever there was a champagne worthy of this craft and the woman whose name is emblazoned on its bow, it’s this Salon Blanc de Blancs.” He laughed. “It’s a damn good thing that Dawg and the guys don’t have a problem spending my money.” Glancing at the marvelous-smelling containers promising untold delicacies, he said, “Hope you like being spoiled, princess. Fair warning. With the help of my outrageous friends, I intend to make this a night you will never forget.”
Viviana fought the tears that had flowed much too easily lately. It seemed as though the more she relaxed and gave in to this remarkable man who seemed determined to spoil her rotten, the more teary she became.
Jax popped the cork on the elegant green and gold bottle and laughed when the precious liquid bubbled up over the top. Reaching for the long-stemmed crystal glasses in the treasure chest, he filled her glass, then raised his to her. “To you, Viviana, my beloved Enchantress. The strongest and most delectable woman who’s walked this earth. I’m in awe of you, sweetheart, and love you more than I knew it was possible to love a woman.”
For the next hour, Jax retrieved one extraordinary entrée after another from the remarkable array his special operatives had prepared. Ignoring her pleas that she could never eat it all, he insisted she sample each of them. His easy banter almost made it possible for her to let her guard down and give in to his obvious excitement.
When she declared that she would burst if she took another bite, Jax took pity on her. Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her to the top deck and settled her on the plush sofa.
Before he could speak, she put up her hands, knowing she would never forgive herself if she didn’t apologize to him for the way she’d acted these last few weeks. “Jax, please, I know this is our night to celebrate, and I agree. But I need to tell you how sorry I am that I fought you, tried to stop you from finding Sherman and Jasmine. I’m so sorry. Especially for the horrible things I said to you.” Fighting to keep her voice from breaking, she whispered, “Will . . . will you please forgive me?”
Jax reached for her and lifted her chin, ensuring that she met his gaze. His lip quirked up in a soft smile. Rubbing a finger against the corner of her mouth, he said, “Yeah, Viviana, a hell of a lot of the time this last couple of months you were a pain in the ass. But you get a pass, sweetheart. Coming to grips with the hideous things that happened to you when you were a kid was a huge challenge. But you came through like the champion that you are. Not only taking down Enrique and the fucking El Blanco cartel, but also sending Sherman, Jasmine, and their despicable cohorts to a hell worthy of their wickedness.”
Fighting her tears, Viviana shook her head. “But, Jax, I fought you almost every step of the way.”
He held up his hands. “Yeah, sweetheart, you did. But you came through, as I knew you would. Seriously, Viviana, it was your courage that was the deciding factor in our victory. And yes, I played a role. Let’s face it, darlin’, we’re an impressive team.” He added with a grin, “As for your pain-in-the-ass antics, if you haven’t noticed, I know how to control that spectacular ass of yours.” Pulling her up next to him, he reached inside her pants to pinch her ass. At her squeal, he grinned. “Need I say more, baby?”
He held her close to him for a long moment, then sat up, a frown crossing his face. “Hmm, I had planned dessert. I can’t believe Dawg forgot.”
Reaching into the basket, he pulled out a cellophane bag containing what looked like fortune cookies. He shook his head. “Leave it to Dawg to follow this sumptuous meal with Chinese fortune cookies.” He laughed. “Well, I guess we can handle it, as long as yours doesn’t say a tall, blond man is about to enter your life and sweep you off your feet.” Picking up one of the packets, he handed it to her. “I think this is for you, Viviana. Remember, before you crack it open, you need to make a wish . . . or the wish won’t come true.”
Viviana took the cellophane bag from him, surprised that it was heavier than she’d expected. Closing her eyes, she silently wished to herself that somehow, this extraordinary man would continue to love her. Tearing the cellophane, she took out the fortune cookie. Breaking it open, she gasped in shock, then said in disbelief, “What . . . what is this, Jax?”
He smiled and rubbed a finger against her cheek. “Well, if I was to hazard a guess, I would say that it is a ring. And the more I look, it appears to be an engagement ring.”
“I . . . I don’t know what to say, Jax.”
He nodded. “I can understand your confusion, sweetheart. It doesn’t really look like an engagement ring. No, if anything, it is too elaborate, more like an engagement ring and a wedding ring. I guess that’s as it should be. Because once you slip it on your finger, agreeing that you will be my wife, I intend to rustle you over to a justice of the peace before you can change your mind.”
Viviana stared at the gorgeous ring sparkling with a multitude of colorful precious stones. Glancing up and seeing the excitement flaming Jax’s emerald eyes, she burst into tears. At his frowning startle, she gazed up at him and forced herself to tell him the hard truth. “Oh, Jax. I don’t know what to say except . . . except that I can’t. I can’t marry you.”