Page 54

Jaxson

Awareness crept in slowly, then hit me like a thunderbolt. I snapped my eyes open, and my heart raced before my mind caught up to where I was. Tory was still curled against me, her breathing deep and steady. Her clean, floral fragrance mingled with something else. A strong coffee odor.

What time is it?

I eased away from Tory, careful not to wake her, and stretching, I strolled to the window. Pulling back the curtain a crack, I froze. Pink and orange streaked the horizon.

Holy shit, I slept through the night. And not just slept, I’d stayed still, anchored in one place. No tossing, no turning, no nightmares about Charlotte. Just peace.

I glanced back at Tory. She’d rolled into the warm spot I’d left, and her features were still soft with sleep. Peaceful. Beautiful. Something inside me twisted, and I couldn’t help but think I could get used to this. Waking up to her like this every day.

The door creaked as I opened it. I stepped into the hallway and turned to shut it behind me, and came face to face with Parker.

He leaned casually against the wall, one hand holding a steaming mug of coffee, the other balancing a plate stacked with toast slathered in Vegemite .

His eyebrows shot up, and that familiar shit-eating grin spread across his face.

“Well, well. Look who finally decided to emerge,” he said. “Have a good night?”

“Yes, actually,” I muttered, unable to fully suppress the smile tugging at my lips. “Slept very well.”

“I bet you did.” Smirking, he thrust the plate toward me. “Breakfast? Or maybe you worked up an appetite for something a little more substantial?”

“Nothing happened,” I said, my voice flat but firm.

“Seriously?” His grin widened. “Jeez, bro. You must be losing your touch.”

“Ha ha.” Parker’s teasing wasn’t worth snapping over. If anything, it would only make him dig deeper. Instead, I exhaled slowly, letting the moment roll off me. “I need the bathroom,” I said, stepping past him.

“Get your ass into gear, bro,” he called after me, his tone light with mischief. “Everyone’s already in the gym sorting through those boxes. Except Yasmin. She’s in the kitchen making enough breakfast to feed a small country. You gonna be able to concentrate today, sleeping beauty?”

I flipped him off without turning around, and his laughter echoed down the hallway. But damn it, I couldn’t stop the grin spreading across my face, even if I would never hear the end of it.

When I emerged from the restroom, Onyx was waiting outside the door, her tail wagging lazily.

“Hey, girl.” I crouched to scratch behind her ears. “Where’d you sleep last night?”

Knowing her, she’d probably curled up on the sofa. I made a mental note to apologize for that later and headed toward the kitchen, with Onyx padding beside me.

When I stepped from the hallway, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and toasted bread made my stomach grumble.

Yasmin was busy pouring fresh beans into the biggest home coffee machine I’d ever seen. She glanced up and a warm smile cracked her lips.

“Hey, Jaxson. Didn’t expect to see you up for a few more hours,” she said, grabbing a steaming mug from the tray on the machine and handing it to me. “Milk and sugar are over there.”

“Are you kidding?” I asked, taking a grateful sip before glancing at the clock near the potbelly fireplace. “It looks like I slept for twelve hours. I’ve never done that in my life.”

“You must’ve needed it.” She plonked two fresh pieces of toast onto a plate. “Sorry, we weren’t exactly prepared for so many people here for breakfast. Otherwise, I’d have something better than Vegemite and toast to offer.”

“Vegemite is perfect. Thanks.” I grabbed a knife from the counter and slathered a thick layer of butter onto the toast before adding the spread. “Who stayed here?”

“You’ll see,” Yasmin said with a knowing smile. “And a few more came in early this morning to help. They’re all in the gymnasium. Oh, and Billie and Levi should be here soon with more food from Firefly Café.”

"Thanks, Yasmin. And thanks for letting me crash here. I needed it."

"Anytime," she said, turning her attention back to the toaster.

"I hope Onyx wasn't a nuisance?"

"Are you kidding? She slept in Jayden's room. Kept him company for the night. It was really sweet."

"Huh." I reached down to ruffle the fur between Onyx's ears. Onyx always knew when I was feeling under the weather, she obviously knew Jayden needed some doggy love. "Good girl."

I offered her a piece of my toast, and when she wolfed it down, I gave her my other one and stepped over to make myself two more.

Carrying my coffee mug and plate of toast, I made my way down the hallway.

I stepped into the gymnasium, and as the hum of voices greeted me, the room seemed alive with activity.

Sunlight streamed through the high windows, casting warm streaks across the floor.

Boxes were stacked on tables along one wall, and everyone was spread out, each person staking their claim along a row of tables in the middle.

Papers, photos, notepads, pens, tablets, and Post-it Notes were also scattered about.

“Morning all,” I called out, heading toward Parker and Whitney, who sat side by side with their heads bent as they combed through a stack of files. Opposite them were Aria, Ryder, a woman I didn’t recognize, and Whisper and Cody.

“Oh, hello ,” Whisper drawled, looking up with a wide, mischievous grin. She jabbed an elbow into Cody’s ribs. “Doesn’t he look relaxed?”

Cody rolled his eyes, but a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Morning, buddy. You get enough rest?”

“I doubt it,” Whisper added with a giggle, earning a glare from Cody.

“Yes, Cody, thanks,” I replied dryly, refusing to take the bait. “Probably the best sleep I’ve had in years.”

I turned to Aria and Ryder, giving them each a nod. “Morning. What time did you get here?”

“I stayed,” Aria said, tightening her high ponytail. “Xander will be here after he’s fed the horses and goats.”

“And have you met my partner, Piper?” Ryder asked, resting his hand on the shoulder of the woman beside him.

I smiled at the striking redhead. “Not yet. Nice to meet you.”

“Piper is the one who found that shipping container in the ocean,” Whisper chimed in, leaning back in her chair.

“Well,” Piper said, holding up a hand and shaking her head, “I didn’t exactly find it, more like crashed into it.”

I nodded. “I remember now. Your yacht sank after hitting the container, right?”

“Yeah,” Piper said, her expression darkening slightly. “That container saved my life, and my daughter’s. Pity we couldn’t say the same about the victims inside it, though.”

The air shifted as a somber note settled over the group.

Someone had suggested yesterday that Beatrice was involved in those poor trafficking victims.

It was a grim reminder of what other tragedies we might find amongst these boxes.

“Well,” Aria said, clearing her throat, “we’re glad you’re here, Piper. And the rest of you. But we have a lot of work to do.”

“Right,” I said. “Where do I start?”

“Grab a box from over there.” Aria pointed toward the untouched stack. “At the moment, we’re just going through all the boxes to see if we can find any information on Beatrice.”

“And Watts,” Whitney said.

“Watts?” I blinked at him.

“Oh right, you don’t know.” A cocky expression crossed his face. “You’ll want to sit down for this one.” He looked pleased with himself, and I assumed he was the one who made the connection to Watts. In his line of work, he didn’t get to be in the limelight often.

I took a box from the table, and after I sat down and removed a stack of papers from inside, Whitney filled me in on the name Watts showing up on what appeared to be a ledger of bribes. “His name appears nineteen times in that book.”

“And that was just one year,” Whisper said.

“Christ!” Shaking my head, I pulled out a stack of yellowing papers with curling edges. “So we’re just looking for those two names?”

“Yep,” Cobra said. “They are the most critical at the moment. But once we have them nailed, we’ll cycle back to the rest of the intel in here.”

The room fell into an intense, almost oppressive silence as we combed through the mountain of documents.

Sipping my coffee and picking at my toast, I flipped page after page, and the monotony set in fast. Most of the paperwork was mundane: receipts for equipment, maintenance logs for the gardener, and donation records listing clothes and toys.

Why the hell did they save this crap?

The first two-thirds of the box were an exercise in tedium, but near the bottom was a pile of sealed envelopes with handwritten names on the front, no addresses, though.

I broke the seal on one, pulling out a handmade Christmas card. The front was decorated with a lopsided tree, drawn in crayon. The green was smudged and uneven, the kind of messy charm only a child could create. Inside, the message was scrawled in the shaky, uneven handwriting of a kid.

I forced myself to read it, even as my stomach twisted tighter with each word. It was simple with misspelled, crooked letters, and a hopeful plea for a visit from someone who cared. It was signed, Glenda .

My throat tightened. The cruelty of it was staggering. Whoever had stored these envelopes had known damn well that the children’s hopes for a reply would never be fulfilled.

Unable to stomach reading another one, I shoved it all back into the box, and my chair scraped against the floor as I stood.

I marched back to the unopened boxes with the tightness in my chest morphing into frustration.

Pissed off that I hadn’t contributed to the evidence spread thin on the wall, I grabbed another box from the untouched stack.

I was halfway back to the table when Maya breezed into the room, her energy breaking through the tension like a wrecking ball.