Page 111 of It's a Wonderful Knife

“It’s okay, Chloe,” Jax said softly. “You don’t need to defend me. I’ll tell the sheriff what I’ve been doing. It doesn’t seem I have much choice.”

Chloe looked like she was about to cry, but she didn’t speak.

Jax turned to me. “You’re right. Richard came here to meet up with me.”

“Why?” I asked.

Sighing, Jax shrugged. “Because he was here to pick up drugs and take them back with him to Nevada.”

“What?” Mona asked sharply.

“Richard was hired by my employer to transport drugs.” Jax shrugged.

“I thought I was your employer?” Mona said harshly.

Jax sighed. “I’ve been moonlighting with a second job. Let’s just say, it pays a heck of a lot better.”

Ezra blinked at Jax, looking confused. “You’ve been dealing drugs on our farm?”

“Well, the farm is really more of a holding area.” Jax gritted his teeth. “Things were working great for years too, until the storm from hell descended.”

“Years?” Mona mumbled. “You’ve been doing this foryearson my farm?”

Jax raised his brows. “Sorry?”

“Arrogant little shit,” Leo muttered.

“I knew he was up to no good. Didn’t I tell you, Mona? Didn’t I tell you to fire him?” Elle shook her head. “I hope you rot in jail for killing those men.”

“No.” Jax shook his head vigorously. “I didn’t kill anyone.”

“Liar.” Elle glared.

“I’m a drug trafficker, not a killer.”

I studied Jax, inclined to believe him. He’d never seemed vicious. He was mouthy and opinionated, and he was obviously a user. But I’d never seen any indication he was a violent person. “I’ll bet you know who did kill those men, don’t you?”

His face closed, and his mouth thinned. “No.”

“Were you there when Richard was stabbed?”

His face flinched. “No.”

“Are you lying to me, Jax?”

“Nope.”

Gianna spoke for the first time. “Santiago was amazing. How could you kill such a beautiful soul, Jax?”

“I didn’t,” he grated.

“You’re going to go away for a long, long time, Jax. Murderers belong behind bars. Justice will prevail,” Penelope wailed.

“You’ll never see the light of day,murderer,” Amelia hissed.

Chloe started quietly crying, and a muscle worked in Jax’s cheek. He blew out a tired breath, and he shook his head, muttering to himself. Then he puffed out his chest and said, “Fine. Yeah, I killed Santiago and Richard, and they both had it coming. Can we be done now?”

Chapter Fourteen