Jax: A Navy SEAL Romantic Suspense (6 page)

Chapter 8

I woke up around midnight to the feel of warm kisses near my groin.

“What time is it?”

“Almost 12.”

“Where’s Jasmine?  Jerry?”

“It’s OK.  I picked them up from school.  They’re asleep.  Everyone’s asleep.  Just us.”

I rolled over trying to clear the cobwebs from my head.  “Thanks.”

“I thought you might be up for another round.”

“Wow, that first round was electric.”

“You can say that again.  I forgot what that felt like, and I’ve never felt anything like that.  You’re really strong.  I felt like you could do to me whatever you wanted.  And it felt good.”

“It did feel good.”

“Like superhero sex.”

I laughed.  “What’s superhero sex?”

“When the hero saves the girl and then he’s so big and strong, like cartoon character big and strong, he’s able to do things in the bedroom that mere mortals can’t.”

“Mere mortals, huh?”  I smiled.

“Yeah, I’m done with mere mortals.  I found my superhero!”

We both laughed.  Kate crawled up from my midsection and kissed me.

“Hungry?”

“Starving…but I can wait if you have something else planned for right now.”

“Not exactly planned, but I know some things we can do for awhile.  Maybe make you even more hungry?”

“Let’s see.”

We picked up right where we left off.  Two hours of exploring and pleasuring.  We had to keep the noise down, which we managed to do.  After we finished Kate went downstairs and prepared those eggs and bacon that I was supposed to eat over 12 hours earlier.

The food gave me a second, or was it third, wind.  Right back to bedroom fun.  In between sessions we slept, talked, and just enjoyed each other’s company.  We joked a lot.  It was like two adults had been bottled up and now everything was coming out.  Not one, but two people, at the same time after years of nothing.  It felt amazing.  As isolated as I had been these last few years I knew I had found the woman I could open up to.  Share my dreams and desires with.  The best part was she felt the same way.  She told me.  I couldn’t imagine a better ending to this story, and the best part was I got to play the hero.

Chapter 9

The doorbell rang right at 0700.  We had just finished another session and I was coming out of the shower ready to get dressed and start the day.  Being so early and also a weekend, it seemed especially strange for a visitor. I went to the door in my towel.  I looked through the peephole and saw two men in white shirts and slacks.  Federal agents.  You can spot them a mile away.  They’re recognizable partly by their body language and partly by the moustache and choice of wardrobe.  It seems like it’s standard office environment work wear, but there’s something about the way they wear it that makes it a dead giveaway.

I opened the door.

“Good morning.  Agent Morris and Agent Jackson.  FBI.  We’re looking for a Mr. Jax Justice.  Is he in?”

“I’m Jax.  What can I do for you?”

“Mr. Justice, sorry to disturb you, but we’d like to ask you a few questions.  We also understand you’re former military.  Is it OK if we come in?”

“Sure.  Come on in.”

I offered them a seat on the couch.  “Just give me a quick second to throw some clothes on.  Can I get you anything to drink first?”

“We’re OK.  Thank you.”

I ran upstairs wondering why in the world the Feds would be knocking at my door, especially this early in the morning.  I put on pants and a shirt and was back downstairs in less than 60 seconds.

“What brings you here?”

“Mr. Justice, first of all thank you for your service to our country.”

“My pleasure.”

“We’re sorry to have to come out here today, but we really must ask you a few questions.”

“No problem.  Shoot.”

“Mr. Justice, can you tell us where you were two nights ago?”

“I can, but can I ask what this pertains to?”

“We’re not really authorized to say, but as a former military man myself I’ll tell you, off the record, that there are some questions regarding someone you might know, or know of.  Someone in Arizona.”

“Understand.  Two nights ago I paid a visit to a man in Tucson.  He has been harassing someone I know, a woman that is, for quite some time.  I thought it was time he pick on someone his own size.”

“Can you tell us if there was an altercation between Mr. Harper and yourself?”

If they know the name and they are even willing to say it out loud, then I’m assuming they know quite a bit.  Not that I have anything to hide.  “Yes, there was.”

“And would you say that altercation was violent or more than violent?”

“If those are my only two choices then I’d have to lean towards violent.”

“And was there finality at the end of this altercation?”

“What do you mean by finality?”

“Was the point you were looking to convey made to Mr. Harper at the conclusion of the altercation?”

“I would definitely say so.”

“And what condition was Mr. Harper in at the conclusion of this altercation?”

“Not very good.  I hit him with a few pretty good shots.”

“And at this point did you leave?”

“I said a few quick things in no uncertain terms, but yes, after the altercation I left.”

“And did you report this to anyone?”

“No.”

“Did you tell anyone?”

“No.  I mean I told the woman he was harassing that he wouldn’t be harassing her anymore.  I didn’t provide any details.”

“And Mr. Justice, where did this altercation take place.”

“In Tucson as I mentioned.”

“Right, but where in Tucson?  A business?  A home?”

“On the front yard of a home.”

“And can you give us an approximate time?”

“It began about 0410.  It only lasted a couple minutes.”

“And when it ended Mr. Harper was still conscious?”

“Yes.  He definitely had a headache, and probably still does, but he was conscious.  I made him answer a question for me, which he did.”
“And what was that question?”

“I told him to leave the woman alone or next time I’ll finish what I started.  Then I asked him if he understood to which he said yes.”

“You heard him say yes?”

“Yes, I heard him say yes.”

“And then you left?”

“And then I left.”

“What was used in this altercation against Mr. Harper?”

“I used my body.  Mostly my fists.  My knees a little.  Hand to hand stuff.”

“And that’s all?”

“Yes.  That’s all.”

“No weapons of any kind?  Even any makeshift weapons?”

“Nothing.  Just me.”

“You’re sure?”

“One hundred percent.”

“And you would testify to this?”

“I stand by anything that comes out of my mouth, whether I’m speaking to you, my daughter, or a stranger on the street.”

“Understood.  Thank you for your time, Mr. Justice.  Sorry to disturb you.”

“No problem.  Can I ask what’s going on?”

“Unfortunately we can’t disclose that.  If we need anything we’ll be in touch.”

“OK.  You know where I’m at.”

“We do.  Thanks again.”

And with that they stood up, shook my hand, and were out the front door.  I sat down on the couch trying to process what might have happened in Tucson after I left.  Kate came down the stairs.

“Who was that?”

“Some government guys.”

“Everything OK?”

“Yeah.”

“You look like you’re trying to figure something out.”

“I am.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“Not right now.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

I stood up and walked over to Kate, putting my hands on her waist and looking her straight in the eye.  “You’ve been doing everything right.  Everything.”  She smiled.  Just a little something came up and I’m going to need to make some calls today.

“OK.  I’m feeling way better, and safer, thanks to you now.  After two years I was in need of a much-needed break from work.  I took this week off so I think I’ll have coffee with a friend and go for a massage today and talk about what we might do this week when everyone’s at work and we have the town to ourselves.”

“My massage wasn’t enough?”  I winked.

“Your massage was perfect.  Believe me.  Now I’m feeling like the kind of massage I can fall asleep to.  Your massages are more the kind that have me feeling wide awake.”

We both smiled and I leaned over into a kiss.  She tasted like mint and smelled as fresh as spring air.  Perfectly feminine.

“OK, but please, take the Jeep.  I’ll go get your car and give it one more look for any kind of monitoring devices.”

“Are you sure?  You don’t need your wheels today?”

“I’m sure.  After my adventure nothing sounds better than lounging around the house today.”

“OK.  I’ll drop the kids off at their party and pick them up when it’s finished.”

“Deal.”

“Let me go upstairs and see how their mornings are coming along.”

“OK.  Thanks.”

Kate had a spring in her step as she headed upstairs to check on the kids.  It was still early, so Laura wouldn’t be in and available to check and this might be her weekend off.  I sent her an SMS. 
Pls call when @ desk
.  A reply came right back. 
Pulling double
. 
Call now
.

The operator transferred me.

“Everything sorted with your target?”

“I thought so, but now I’m not so sure.”

“What’s up?”

“The feds stopped by this morning.”

“To your house?”

“Yeah, they seemed to know everything.  Asked me some questions and left.”

“What vibe did you get from the questions?”

“Something’s up with Harper.  I think he might have reported my visit.”

“You visited him?  Already?”

“Yeah, you know me.  I like closure…and fast.”

“Geez, I guess so.”

“Can you do a deeper scrub on his records?”

“I can, but you’re asking me to enter some really gray areas now.”

“I know, but this is serious.  Something’s up and I need to know what.  I’m not asking you to do anything illegal, but any deeper digging you can do would be really helpful.”

“OK.  Luckily with the post 911 laws I can do just about anything I want.  Just need to flag it under some keywords that basically cover us for anything that might happen.”

“OK.  Thanks.”

“No prob.  I’ll get back with you.  You’re home all day?”

“Yeah.”

“And this is urgent, right?”

“The Feds were at my doorstep less than 30 minutes ago.  I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m definitely looking at it that way.”

“That qualifies as urgent to me.  I’m on it.  Will get back to you.”

“Thanks, Laura.”

“No prob.  Talk to you.”

I head the dial tone.  When Laura said she was on it, she really meant she was on it.

I went online and googled John Harper.  The name was too common to provide any leads, and I couldn’t find anything even remotely resembling him in Google Images.  I did some pushups and sit-ups to get the blood flowing.  That often helps my brain get going.  I made a pot of black coffee.  Drank half of it.  My mind was totally wired, focused; yet I still couldn’t figure out what was going on.

I heard a vibration coming from the kitchen.  I ran in and sure enough it was the top shelf of the cabinet.  Behind jars of pickles I kept a separate, old phone that only a few people had the number to.  Even at my height I had to stand on a step stool.

I hit the green call button.

“Jax.”

“Yes, Laura?”

“Yeah, it’s me.  Where are you?”

“At home, why?”

“You might want to sit down.  This is looking serious.  Could get ugly.”

“Walking to the couch now.  Shoot.”

“Your buddy John Harper…”

“Yes?”