Page 11

Chapter Six

S he muscled open the slider, holding two plates loaded with salad and potatoes. The last two things they needed to complete this meal.

Jax held a spatula in one hand, an open half-drunk bottle of beer on the side of the grill. “Thanks, Ramon. I appreciate it.”

She set the plates down on the table and pulled the forks out of her back pocket.

“Got it. Bye.” Jax hung up, setting the phone on the table next to the plates and her can of prebiotic soda. “Steaks are done.”

She nearly sat, realizing that had become her default for the past few weeks. Slumping into the closest chair because she was so drained she didn’t have the energy to do anything else.

Kenna reached above her head, stretching her arms, and bent both ways. The groan she let out felt good.

“You do seem like you’re moving better.” He set a six-ounce steak on her plate, then lifted his and deposited the ten-ounce on his. “I don’t want to assume you’re good, though.”

“So far, so good.” She sat then, and he said a prayer for their meal. “How’s Ramon?”

“He’s worried about you, so he’s gonna wrap up the case he’s working in Palm Springs and make his way here.”

Ramon seemed to have been purposely giving her and Jax space after they got married.

Maybe he assumed that if she stayed with Jax at his house and only worked a local case, she’d stay out of trouble.

Maybe have time to be newlyweds without all her coworkers hanging around.

Possibly, figure out what Dominatus had done to her.

Then she’d seen him a few times, watching out for her.

Bruce said he’d gone and found the woman the lawyers lost.

The sun was just setting on the horizon, turning the sky pink and orange. That view, plus having a good meal and her husband beside her, made the evening about perfect. Nearly perfect enough she could forget everything else.

Except when she reached to cut her steak and saw the pink dot on the inside of her arm, with slightly blue bruising on one side of it.

She sighed. “I really want to know what’s going on.”

“We know you lost time, and we know someone else unloaded the groceries, cleaned up the mess of shredded paper the cat made, and shut her in the closet.”

“Making it look like I just came home and took a nap.” She ate a bite of steak that was groanworthy. “Which makes me wonder if that’s happened any other times in the past two months.”

He ate a bite of his meal, saying nothing. Enjoying the silence, or not wanting to start a fight. Life wasn’t ever going to be perfect, but talking it through was better than not. Right?

She glanced over. “What are you thinking?”

Jax took a sip of his beer and sat back in the chair. “It’s easier to keep it to myself rather than unload and cause you to have to carry that weight along with everything else.”

“I want to know.”

“And I don’t want to burden you with my issue.”

That was going to put them at an impasse. There was no resolution to both of them wanting to support the other but going about it differently. Their intentions were for good for each other. They just disagreed on how to go about it.

“I feel good today. Better than I have in weeks.” Kenna leaned back in her chair, shifting her knees toward him so she faced him a little better. “You, a great meal, and the sunset. Hit me with it. I want to know how you’re doing with all this.”

He stared at her. “You’re going to think I’m crazy.”

“With our lives? I find that unlikely.” She smiled.

He smiled back, but it didn’t last long. “I was…actually kind of hoping.” He paused. “That you were pregnant.”

“With a Dominatus baby?”

He shrugged.

“You were hoping I was having a baby.” Having a child might not be conducive to the kind of life she lived, working cases. Not being on the road all the time, settling here, had changed things. But did that mean she was ready?

Maybe she would never feel ready to go down that road.

He asked, “Why not?”

Kenna chuckled. “There are always reasons why not.”

“And a whole lot of reasons why as well. There are a lot of reasons for and against it. Ours. Theirs. It’s an innocent baby that deserves to be safe and cared for.”

“Doesn’t mean we have to jump into that right away. If we have kids, I should probably retire from private investigation. Become a consultant or something.”

“You wanna get a nine-to-five gig?”

She shrugged. Her thoughts went to those kids from the medical center this morning. They’d need to be taken care of now that their mother was—hopefully, for their good—out of the picture. “Maybe we could adopt.”

“I’ve thought about that.” Something shifted in his expression, and he looked almost nervous when he asked, “Were you hoping that you weren’t pregnant?”

She would’ve been actively preventing it now that they were married, but the risk to a baby in the event she’d been impregnated by her enemies meant her options were limited.

“I was prepared to embrace it if it happened. Even knowing it would be a child that was genetically altered like me. No way was I going to let an innocent baby suffer just because they wanted me as an incubator. I would’ve given my life to protect that child.

And knowing them, it would have been a very real possibility. ”

“There’s a whole lot of honor in you, Kenna Jaxton.”

Her lips curled up at the edges. “Unless I’m fed up and tired and, let’s face it, probably hungry and so over the whole thing.

In which case, you’ll find me all up in their faces screaming bloody murder about how they’re ruining my happily ever after, controlling my life, and I don’t like any of it. ”

“You’re better at living in the moment and rolling with the punches than anyone I know.”

She wrinkled her nose, taking a sip from her soda can. “I don’t want to get punched anymore. I’ve had enough punches.” She glanced at him. “Isn’t life just supposed to be plain sailing after you get married? I didn’t think I got the angst and problems package. Did you?”

He smiled around the rim of his beer. “In this life, you will have trouble?”

“I’m all for taking heart , but some peace would be good.”

“Peace in the storm?”

“No, no storms. I want at least a week of quiet and feeling like this.”

“Mmm. I could take a few days off. We could get lost somewhere no one will find us.” His tone sounded wistful, almost dreamy.

“That sounds like an invitation I want to accept.”

She hadn’t been so self-absorbed as to not realize he was carrying different kinds of burdens. Having to work. Knowing she didn’t feel good. Worrying, as she was, that it could be something serious or that she was pregnant with a baby he’d raise as his own but would always know wasn’t his.

“Even if you wind up pregnant?”

Kenna sighed. “Anytime is a good time to be pregnant.”

“Is that really true?”

Maybe not, but that wasn’t her point. “While married. When it’s you and me. I can say that honestly now, because I’ve lived the story where things got out of order. But what I mean is, anytime is a terrible time as well.”

“I don’t follow.” He shook his head, taking another bite of steak.

“There are always reasons it might be inconvenient or heartbreaking or the wrong time. But the trade-off is something beautiful. A life that connects us. A child we made that we can raise together.”

“Lord willing.”

She nodded. “People take it for granted, I think. It seems like an everyday occurrence, and for some people, it just happens easily. Others have to fight for years to get pregnant. The road is long and hard and painful or even heartbreaking.”

“And you’ve seen both sides of it.”

“I have.” She looked at the wide expanse of sky behind the house. “I’ve done the wrong thing and had the best results, or so I thought. I’ve been as low as a person can get, and now I’m happier than I have any right to be. But with a cloud over my head. I’d rather just enjoy it.”

“Life doesn’t come with no worries.”

She knew what he meant. “Really? Let’s sell everything we have and move to Aruba. Live in a hut on the beach. Then you can tell me you still have worries.”

He chuckled, finishing his meal.

Kenna snagged a couple more potatoes and stood.

She went over to Jax’s chair and slid one knee beside his hip on the cushion.

She leaned the other knee on the other side and didn’t quite put her weight on his lap.

She didn’t want to squish him with her recent weight gain—the additional mass she’d accumulated while remaining the same size.

Didn’t make any sense to her, but it was what it was.

He set his hands on her hips and pulled her fully onto his lap. Guess he doesn’t agree. She settled there with his arms around her. Hers resting on his shoulders with her fingers linked behind his head. “Now I remember all the things we need to talk about.”

He shook his head. “No talking.”

She chuckled. “Sorry, it doesn’t work that way.”

Before she was even finished saying that, he’d tugged her close against his chest and kissed her.

Kenna pushed everything out of her conscious awareness except for the feel of her husband and the moment they were sharing right now.

All of it went on hold while she reveled in the feel of his lips against hers.

She rested her forehead against his and touched his cheeks. “You’d make a great father.”

“Anytime. You just say when.”

Kenna kissed him again, enjoying that he wanted to raise a family with her.

Anytime. She could get on board with that.

On one hand, why should they put their lives on hold just because of a dangerous enemy?

But on the other hand, having a child would make them so much more vulnerable.

These people were deadly serious, would stop at nothing, and might snatch any child they had. Kenna might be too weak to stop them.

If only she could be strong enough to protect her family, no matter what happened.

The sliding door opened, and someone came out.

“Don’t mind me.” Bruce stepped onto the patio, carrying one of Jax’s beers, and took Kenna’s seat. “How are you folks tonight? No more kidnappings?”

She sighed, shifting on Jax’s lap to face Bruce. Jax tugged her so she leaned her shoulder against his chest. “Oh, you know. Same old. Enjoying a quiet evening in. Just the two of us.”

Bruce sipped the beer. “Don’t blame you. It’s nice out here.”

She sighed. Jax chuckled, and she felt it under the palm of her hand—the one braced on his chest. She was probably squashing him, but he didn’t seem to mind. He could shift her off him at any time. She kind of liked it right here.

“There’s no more steak,” Jax said. “We only defrosted two.”

Bruce waved a hand. “I already ate. Then Maizie called and told me the story of your afternoon. And I thought this morning was exciting.”

“No one got thrown through a window here,” she said.

Bruce grinned. “Night is still young.”

Kenna frowned. “Is there a reason for your visit?”

“I installed some more sensors, more cameras, took care of some other business. Maizie is rebooting your security system. Once it’s live, I’ll get out of your hair.

But we need a plan for this doctor guy.” He took another sip of beer.

“First thing tomorrow, let’s roust the guy out. Make him tell us what he did to you.”

“You’re all in with this law firm?”

“I looked into them. They’re practically famous—in certain circles, anyway.” He sat back in the chair, looking at the yard. “You guys should put in a pool out here.”

Jax said, “The neighborhood has a community pool.”

“You could fit one in here.” Bruce waved at the grass. “It would be more private.”

She asked, “Can we get back to the subject at hand?”

Bruce glanced over. “You mean how to take down these sons of?—”

“Yes, that. We have a lot of work to do. First thing, not tonight. We need a full background on this doctor, and I need to look into a cold case.”

Jax said, “The cold case can go on the back burner. Your health is more important.”

She heard a trace of worry in his tone and didn’t like it.

“We also need to talk to that doctor lady,” Bruce said. “’Cause if she falsified your test results or was paid to tell you that you’re fine, we need to know.”

“She probably has nothing to do with this.” Kenna figured that given how quickly they’d kicked her out and told her not to come back, it meant they were good people.

She was the threat to them as far as they were concerned.

“I want a follow-up on those kids, though. Make sure they’re placed with a good family. ”

Nicola Santorini didn’t need to be in the line of fire just because they’d brought the woman into this. If Nicola had nothing to do with it, then Kenna wouldn’t make her a target.

“I have an initial report on the doctor guy,” Bruce said. “Top of his class at Harvard medical. Forty years ago now. Since then? Nothing. The guy has been completely off-grid. No employment record. Not listed as practicing anywhere.”

“So he isn’t a licensed physician.” Great. She had some hack, who’d started with promise but now operated with no oversight, messing with her while she couldn’t fight back. “I’m feeling the need to dissociate with a cold case.”

“I’ll take a vacation.” Jax squeezed her hip. “We can work it together.”

Bruce saluted them with his bottle. “Bon voyage. I’ll take care of the doctor while you’re gone.”

“Thanks for offering.” But he knew she wasn’t going to do that.

Bruce made a face. “Figures you’d say that.”

“I want to know what he did to me.”

“I can find out for you.” Bruce shrugged. “Ramon will help. And Maizie. You take some time off and don’t worry about it.”

She sighed. That did sound extremely tempting. “We’ll see.”

She was about to tell him to get lost when his phone buzzed, and he looked at the screen. “Reboot is done. I’ll get out of your hair.” Bruce eased out of the chair, and she heard his hip pop. He groaned out a sigh. “I could use some of that mojo of yours. The kind that caves someone’s chest in.”

She pressed her lips together and didn’t look at Jax. “Bye, Bruce.”

“Have a good one.” He closed the slider behind him.

Jax asked, “You caved a chest in?”

“I thought you heard about what happened.” She shifted on his lap and still didn’t look at him. “You knew about the woman and the kids.”

“I’m definitely taking time off.”