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He flattens his lips. “Oh no, you have that gleam in your eye, the one you get when you’re about to tear my balls off.” He raises his palms in a gesture of surrender. “You know, Ethan refuses to be married again. He sees marriage as a death sentence.”
“Wow,” I drag out. “I guess we’d better give him what he wants then.”
“Nope.” Jax shakes his head. “Ethanis the rebound guy, not me. Don’t rebound me.”
“I’m not rebounding you.” I chuckle at his antics. “We’re all in this together here.”
I think Ethan secretly enjoys being theotherguy, enjoys the taboo aspect of our relationship. It makes him feral.
If I marry Jax, Ethan will get to eat endlessly from his forbidden cake, and Jax will be over the moon. And I’ll…get to do whatever I want.
This is a win-win situation—or incredibly idiotic.
Jackson’s smile is devilish, his eyes full of mischief. “We’redefinitelyin this together. Coach better take time off for an extended honeymoon.”
“Does your dick-brain ever shut off?”
He glances down at said member. “Nope. Not with you.”
43
ETHAN
The morningafter Jax and Aurora leave for New York, my uncle wakes me up bright and early at five a.m.
His name is Rocco—I’m not even kidding. His law firm manages the real estate that is technically mine. His team also handled my divorce, and helovesto talk.
“What the actual fuck?” he says in greeting.
“I take it you received something from Jackson’s lawyer?” My voice is husky, thick with sleep, and I clear my throat.
Rocco has been helping me with the Santa Monica property, and Imighthave asked him to investigate Jax’s trust.
“Something? That’s quite an understatement. Let’s start with the property in question. It’s in the trust’s name. A real mystery, considering the trust was allocated for distribution at twenty-one and the beneficiary is twenty-five. I’ve found no explanation as to why the funds weren’t distributed.”
I sit up and roll my stiff neck. I miss Jackson’s pillow-top mattress. “I’ll tell you why: because Kyle O’Reilly is draining his son of every penny.”
“There must be others involved. Tens of millions of dollars are unaccounted for. I received the original documents and anAffidavit of Change of Trustee, listing you as the new trustee. I’m filing it, along with a motion for a record of transactions. This is unbelievable.”
The legal jargon is lost on me, but the missing money doesn’t surprise me. “Will they allow it? The change of trustee?”
“They will, or I’ll expose everything.”
“That might be dangerous. Does the trust even exist if it ended on Jax’s twenty-first birthday?”
“Yes. Kyle was the successor after Jackson’s mother died. He never terminated the trust. We can take legal action against him for misappropriation of funds. It could become a lengthy battle, but I doubt it’ll go that far.”
“I’d rather not involve the courts.” I’m not subjecting Jax to public scrutiny of his father’s crimes, although that might become unavoidable, considering Ricky’s involvement. “Why not demand he end the trust instead of transferring trustees?”
“Distribution will take months with a trust this size. We have to transfer deeds, accounts, and investments. It’ll be quicker and safer on our side.”
“Let’s start on the Santa Monica property.”
“That one’s simple. It was purchased in cash. Once you’re the trustee, you’ll have control of the property and hundreds of millions of dollars, per my source.”
“Well, damn.” No wonder Jax spends money as if it’s limitless. For him, it is.
“That doesn’t even touch it. There are properties in California and Connecticut. A London flat. Heirlooms and investments. I researched his grandfather, Thad Jackson Vaughn. In the sixties, he achieved fame as an actor. He was a writer, philanthropist, and politician. His wife was an actress and singer. They had two children, Jacquelin and Thad, both named after him. Rather creepy, if you ask me. Thad Jr. died in a car accident when he was a teenager.”