Chapter Eleven

James

 

I was forty minutes into my fifty-minute drive to Amarillo when my phone rang. The usual elated feeling I got when I would see Evelyn’s name light up on my screen was missing this time.

“Hey, how’s the sexiest lawyer in Texas?” I answered cheerfully.

A sigh rolled from her lips to my ears, a sweet noise that resembled the one she made when I’d let my tongue travel down her belly, and again once it touched the sweet flesh between her legs.

“Always the charmer,” she laughed.

“I save all my charms for you,” I teased.

Again, a sweet sigh…

“Sure. I just wanted to let you know I would be unavailable the rest of the week,” she informed me with her most professional tone.

Unavailable?

My thoughts scattered, wondering what she might be up to. I knew I wasn’t her only client, but I liked to think I was more than that, especially after our night together.

“So, I guess I will wait anxiously for your call,” I chuckled anxiously.

“I’ll keep you posted on anything that comes through, but I doubt I’ll need to make a trip to you before next week,” she added.

“I didn’t realize it was a need thing. But, if you do decide you want to come see me, I’ll be available,” I pouted playfully.

Her laughter rolled through the phone. It was obvious she was a bit anxious herself from the crack in her voice when she said goodbye.

I was glad she hadn’t asked where I was, where I was going, or worse, wanted to stop by with something important. Her knowing I was headed to see Axel was not what I wanted, or needed.

My GPS guided me to a small brick ranch at the center of a cul-de-sac with perfectly trimmed bushes in front, a mailbox shaped like a firefighters hat, and an attached two-car garage. It wasn’t anything like I expected.

Axel stepped out the front door, waving in my direction as I turned off my truck and climbed out.

“What is this place?” I teased with a wide grin.

“A man has to grow up sometime,” Axel laughed as he guided me into his home, not apartment or bachelor pad, but home.

“I liked your apartment in the city,” I noted as I stood in the foyer of a tastefully decorated home.

“Take off those boots,” Axel warned, and quickly disappeared into another room.

I slid off my boots; sacrilegious to remove my boots for anything other than sex, sleep or a hot shower if you ask me. But, I respected him, leaving them by the door.

I followed Axel’s path, finding him in the kitchen. He held two beers, pushing one towards me.

“At least you still have beer,” I grumbled.

“Get over yourself,” he laughed.

“No, seriously, where are you hiding the wife?” I teased, picking up one of his placemats from the table and dangling it in front of him.

“I don’t have time to meet a woman,” Axel grumbled.

“You meet them all the time at work,” I laughed.

“Yeah, ones that are stuck in the bathtub, or screaming at me to save their nineteen cats from the fire,” he smirked.

I knew he worked long hours, twenty-four-hour shifts at a time at the fire station, but he was off long enough to decorate his house with bright, cheerful colors.

“Sit down, I want to show you what I’ve done,” Axel motioned towards the kitchen table.

I took a seat, curious to what he’d come up with to get rid of John and the pictures he’d taken.

Axel was always a sly fox, and he was smarter than most people I’d met, so it wasn’t surprising when he pulled up John Jasper’s bank account, already logged in.

“Holy shit, what’s he want the ranch for if he’s got plenty of money?” I gasped at the number displayed at the top of the account.

“Greed, so that’s what we’ll use against him,” Axel sneered.

I wasn’t certain I followed exactly what Axel had in mind until he picked up the phone. He connected it to his computer and dialed a number through a program.

“This way he can’t trace it back to us,” he explained.

John answered with the same snobbish tone as his sister used. Axel immediately went into stealth mode on the poor idiot.

“I have your bank account up and my finger on the transfer button,” Axel warned.

“What are you talking about? Who is this?” John demanded.

“Those pictures you sent me, of my cousin, not smart buddy, actually one of your stupidest moves yet. I thought about calling the cops, bring them into it and let them sort you out for stalking, peeping, taking unauthorized photos while trespassing on private property, and a few other charges I’m certain I could talk them into dropping on you, but this sounded like more fun,” Axel chuckled.

“What are you doing to my account? I cannot get logged in,” John stammered nervously on the other end of the phone.

“Oh, I’m sorry, try it now,” Axel suggested, clicking a button on the account.

“How do you have control? You’re bluffing,” John’s arrogance shone through his fear.

“Am I?” Axel laughed, clicking the transfer button and turning John’s account balance to fifty dollars.

“I wouldn’t want you to get charged for not having enough to meet the minimum balance,” Axel snickered.

“I know who you are; you’re the one that sent that nosey attorney into town. I’ll call the cops, have you arrested right now,” John scoffed.

“Yes, I did. So, tell me this: if you’re so smart, why didn’t you realize that the woman you illegally photographed came from a very powerful family filled with attorneys in New York?” Axel asked.

“Not to mention, I am a retired Navy SEAL with plenty of brothers on the police force, in politics, and, well, that are just itching for some action,” Axel added.

“I, uh-I knew all about her, but she said you’d be willing to get her out of town to keep the pictures away from the family,” John stuttered.

“She? So your sister is the mastermind?” Axel laughed.

“Where’s my money,” John screamed frantically into the phone.

“Calm down, big boy; you’ll get your money, as soon as you destroy all the photos,” Axel threatened.

John sounded frantic as he agreed to Axel’s demands. I leaned back in my chair sipping my beer while Axel gave him instructions on how to work Skype. From there, he made him show him that the photos were being deleted from his phone. When Axel had him type in a series of strokes onto his computer, suddenly, he had control. John roared through the video chat program as Axel searched his hard drive for the photos. When he found them and deleted them, he opened John’s e-mail account and discovered he’d sent them to his sister as well.

“Who did she send them to?” Axel demanded.

“She hasn’t even opened the e-mail yet,” John pleaded.

Axel confirmed the e-mail hadn’t been read, so he unsent it with a string of characters he entered in John’s settings. It was impressive to watch, and even more entertaining with the video of John’s reaction as a bonus.

After clearing out the photos, Axel made John write out a statement that he’d taken nude photographs of unsuspecting subjects while trespassing on their private property. The statement handled all the legal necessities, as well as ones that were simply for revenge purposes. I held it together and didn’t laugh aloud as Axel made John add that he was a pervert and needed help for his obsession with peeping.

Once the letter was signed, Axel had video of John writing it and signing it, he made him fax it to him using a computer-generated number before he would release his funds back into his account.

“If those pictures ever surface, or are even mentioned, this letter will be published, you will be prosecuted, and I’ll drain every account you have within seconds,” Axel warned.

“Holy shit,” I hooted after the video chat ended.

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about him anymore,” Axel smirked, downing the rest of his beer.

“You’re a genius,” I praised.

Axel grabbed a couple more beers from the fridge and handed me one. He really was a genius, and one that saved my hide.

“How are things going with Evelyn?” Axel asked.

I sipped my beer, watching Axel’s eyes lock onto mine. He was a skillful reader of people, of their expressions, their mannerisms, their anxieties. He knew he was making me uneasy, and he enjoyed it.

“I haven’t seen much of her,” I admitted.

“You mother fucker,” Axel leaned up in his chair and towards me.

“Wait a fucking minute, tough guy,” I chuckled anxiously, not looking forward to another one of his swings.

“She’s been avoiding me I think, and I’ve been trying to keep a low-profile until I knew what was happening with that John idiot,” I explained quickly, calming Axel back down.

“I’m sorry, brother. She’s just like a little sister to me. The family expects me to keep an eye on her since she’s moved away from home. I’ve got Luke to help, Theo, and a couple others that I trust, but its all on me if something happens to her,” Axel sighed.

“Well, you have me now, too,” I smiled, lifting my beer towards him for a cheer.

Our bottles tapped, and the tension between us faded, finally.

“I’m trying to get her to come out and ride with me,” I admitted.

“Good luck with that, she’s scared to death of horses,” Axel informed.

“I can get her on one,” I boasted.

“I’ll take that bet,” Axel lifted his beer again for another tap against mine.

Now I had to get her on a horse. I never lost a challenge against Axel.