Finding Trust (Finding Series, Book 2) (3 page)

Dane began working the pig’s mouth open and the animal tried to pull away. Jax leaned against her as Dane began speaking softly to the animal, that delicious voice of his skittering over Jax’s nerve endings. It took Dane just moments to examine the pig and then he was getting to his feet. “Hold her for a sec. I’ve got to get some antibiotics.”

“You’re leaving me here with her?” Jax nearly yelled as the pig began sniffing his shirt.

“I’ll be gone for a minute. You’ll be fine,” Dane said with a chuckle as he left the run. Jax swore he heard the guy whisper something about wishing he had his phone.

“In and out, that’s what this trip was supposed to be,” Jax said to the pig as she leaned against him, her dank smell permeating his senses. “Nice long drive with a quick stop to drop off a few papers, then back to the city – that’s it. Twenty-four hours later and a man is dead and I’m sitting in a pile of pig shit to help out the hot country vet with the cute kid,” he lamented to the animal.

“You’re not exactly sitting in shit, you know,” Dane said as he reappeared at the kennel door and opened the latch. Jax groaned inwardly as he realized the man had overheard every word he’d said. “You do have some on your shoe, though.”

Dane leaned over the pig and jabbed a needle into her. The animal didn’t even flinch.

“What the hell did I need to keep holding her for?” Jax snapped. Dane just smiled at him, then held out his hand to help Jax up. Electricity shot through Jax at the contact and he was pushing Dane back against the wall of the run before he could stop himself. The grin on Dane’s lips fled when Jax’s cock pressed against his. Everything around them disappeared as Jax trailed his fingers down the other man’s sides.

“You shouldn’t eavesdrop,” Jax said as he let one of his hands curve around to brush Dane’s ass.

“I didn’t realize you and Lucinda had so much to talk about,” Dane returned.

Jax’s eyes settled on Dane’s mouth as he spoke and when the words were all out, Dane left his lips just slightly parted. An invitation? Jax wasn’t sure and in that instant he didn’t care because he needed a taste. As he dipped his head, Dane closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Definitely an invitation. But this time it was the vet’s daughter who killed the moment with a piercing wail and Dane tensed beneath his hands.

“She probably needs to be changed,” Dane mumbled and Jax nearly laughed at the mood killing observation. He released Dane and stepped back to let the man collect his daughter. God, he needed that shower more than ever now and not just to get the smell of pig off his skin.

Dane drummed his fingers on the armrest as Jax sped down the highway that led into town. They hadn’t spoken a word since the near kiss that Dane had wanted in that moment more than he wanted to breathe. Jax had gone upstairs to shower and Dane had changed Emma and put her in her Pack N Play in the living room while he got breakfast ready. The sight of Jax freshly showered and shaved and back in his fancy suit had Dane turned on all over again and he hadn’t hesitated to take Jax up on his offer to watch Emma so Dane could shower. What he hadn’t expected was the sight that greeted him on his return downstairs.

Jax had been laying on his back on the living room floor and was holding Emma high up in the air above him before slowly lowering her as he made faces at her. Each time he’d done it, Dane’s daughter had laughed and grabbed at his cheeks. Hearing his daughter’s happy, baby babble had lit him up from the inside like it always did, but seeing the smile on Jax’s lips as he played with Emma had Dane longing for something he once thought he’d have with someone else.

“Where are you from?” he asked Jax as he realized he knew next to nothing about the man.

“Seattle.”

“What are you doing in Montana?”

Jax kept his eyes on the road and was silent long enough to make Dane wonder if he wasn’t going to answer. “Rhys tell you about his past?”

“Finn told me he went to prison for assaulting his partner. They were both cops in Chicago.”

“They were lovers too,” Jax said. “Guy’s name was Tom Rawlings and he was dirty, though Rhys didn’t know it until it was too late.”

“Too late?” Dane asked curiously.

“Rhys busted a kid for possession and got him to flip on the guy he was running drugs for. The kid had seen the dealer murder a rival dealer so Rhys helped the kid get a deal with the Feds. They put him up in a safe house until the trial. Rhys and the kid’s protective detail were the only ones who knew the location.”

Dane could guess where Jax was leading. “Rhys’ partner?”

Jax nodded. “Sold Rhys and the kid out. The kid, his mom and the two agents guarding them were murdered before the trial. Rhys had no proof it was Rawlings.”

“But you found the proof?” When Jax didn’t respond, Dane knew there was something the other man wasn’t saying. “How?”

Jax seemed to mull his next words over before finally saying, “Let’s just say that old adage, ‘What goes around comes around,’ was made for guys like Rawlings.”

“How’d you get the proof, Jax?” Dane asked again, both needing and dreading the answer.

Jax cast him a dark look, then hardened his jaw and said, “I knew he was under surveillance so it was just a matter of getting him to talk. Couple of drinks and a mouth wrapped around his dick was all it took. Feds heard it all and I made sure the dealer Rawlings was ratting out heard it too.”

A cold feeling settled in his gut at Jax’s admission. “Why?” he heard himself asking in a strangled voice. “For Rhys?”

“Rhys was just a lucky side effect. I did it for my brother.” The ice in Jax’s voice was unsettling. “Ben was one of the agents protecting that kid.”

***

Jax cursed himself for the millionth time as he pulled his car along the curb at the end of the block from the garage. He had no idea what had possessed him to tell Dane the truth about how he’d secured justice for his brother, but the man’s condemnation had been clear. Not only had Dane fallen completely silent at his admission, he’d physically recoiled and had actually leaned against the car door in an attempt to get as far away from Jax as he could. They’d parted at the Sheriff’s station with Dane saying he and Emma would walk to the mechanic’s garage and then mumbling a quick thank you, all the while refusing to make eye contact.

Served Jax right for thinking the guy might be different. So it made no sense to Jax why he wasn’t already speeding down the highway that would take him home to Seattle. The kid, he supposed. There was something about that little girl that just drew him in. And it was her he was sticking around for to make sure the vet got his car back because Jax wasn’t wasting his time on some holier than thou asshole who’d been judging him from the second Jax shoved him to the ground when bullets began flying.

Jax got out of the car and leaned against it as he began checking the dozen or so texts and emails that had been piling up since the events of yesterday had unfolded.

Where the hell are you?

It was the first of several messages that became more colorful as he scrolled further and further down. Since the last one was a threat to hack his phone to get his location, Jax hit the dial button and waited.

“About time, fucker,” came the grumpy voice on the other end.

“Stay out of my phone,” Jax said as a smile tugged at his mouth. It felt good to have someone worry about him.

“Where are you?”

“Montana.”

“Still?”

Jax sighed. “Yeah, things kind of went to shit when I got here. I’ll tell you about it when I get back.” Jax raised his eyes to scan his surroundings, then felt his gut tighten at the sight of Dane coming out of the garage…on foot. “It’s complicated,” he said into the phone.

“Usually is,” the voice on the other end said.

Irritation went through Jax as he saw Dane catch sight of him and then grudgingly walked down the block towards him. He should just get in the car and drive past the fucker and get the hell out of this piece of shit town.

“How was Chicago?”

“It’s done,” was all he said.

“I assumed that. How are you handling it?”

Jax ignored the question and said, “I’ll let you know when I’m on the road. Should be in the next hour or so.” He disconnected the call and watched Dane head towards him, the other man’s gaze still refusing to settle on his. A movement behind Dane caught Jax’s attention.

A man dressed in black jeans and a dark T-shirt was just a few dozen steps behind Dane. Jax went instantly on alert as the guy’s beady eyes scanned the area around them as if looking for someone. Something was off and Jax was moving, his hand automatically reaching behind his back in search of the comforting grip of his gun. The man behind Dane suddenly stopped as his eyes settled on Jax and then he was darting across the road towards a non-descript, idling black sedan. The car pulled quickly away from the curb and drove off and Jax cursed the sunlight that was just a bit too bright to make out the license plate of the car as it turned the corner and disappeared.

Dane reached him and shifted Emma’s car seat in his hand. The plastic base was tucked under his armpit and the diaper bag was slung across his shoulder. The nice thing to do would have been to offer to take something from the man to ease his burden but Jax wasn’t feeling particularly charitable at the moment. His mind was also still hung up on the possibility that someone had been following Dane and as much as it annoyed him, the worry for the other man’s safety was churning in his gut.

“They had to special order the tires for my car. I guess they’re a custom size that the mechanic doesn’t keep in stock.”

On any other day, Jax would have drawn this out just to make the guy squirm but between his pent up desire for this man and the nagging feeling that the guy following Dane hadn’t just been out for a leisurely stroll had him snatching the plastic base from under Dane’s arm.

“Dr. Winters?”

Both men turned at the sound of a woman’s voice and Jax recognized the girl walking towards them as Wendy, the young woman that was attacked at Callan’s ranch yesterday by the would-be arsonists.

“Hey, Wendy,” Dane said. “How’s the head?”

A wide smile spread across her pretty features as she glanced her fingers over the small bandage covering the injury. “Good. Little bit of a headache.”

Her eyes turned to Jax, then back to Dane. Jax could almost hear the gears turning in her head. Dane must have seen the direction her mind was going, but before he could deny there was anything between them like he clearly wanted to do, Wendy said, “The sheriff and Mrs. Greene got some folks together to go out to the CB Bar to help with rebuilding the barn. Maybe you guys want to stop by?”

“People from this town?” Dane asked, his astonishment clear.

Shame seemed to creep over Wendy’s features and Jax wondered what that was all about.

“Not everyone sees things the way people like Mayor Greene or Doc Sanders do. Or those awful deputies. But we should have stood up for Finn a long time ago when Hunter said all those terrible lies about him. I guess today is about trying to mend some fences. At least start to anyway.”

Dane seemed at a loss for words so Jax said, “When are you guys heading over there?”

Wendy immediately brightened. “We’re meeting at the high school in a few minutes. A couple guys went up to the lumber store in Missoula this morning and they should be getting back right about now,” she explained as she glanced at her watch.

“My friends and I were just stopping to see if Jimmy needed help with his stuff,” she said as she motioned to the garage behind her and blushed prettily when the good looking young mechanic waved at her from the driveway where he was getting into a small pick-up truck full of tools and equipment. Wendy’s sedan was parked near the curb and Jax counted at least four people in the tiny car.

“We’ll be there,” Jax said.

“K,” Wendy said as she leaned down to give Emma a quick tickle. “See you there.”

Jax finished putting the car seat base in the back seat, inwardly impressed with himself that he managed to secure the thing without Dane’s help.

“What was all that stuff about Finn and Hunter? Who is that?” Jax asked as Dane settled in the passenger seat next to him.

“Hunter Greene – he’s the mayor’s son. He and Finn went to high school together and I guess they were caught making out at some party by Hunter’s father a couple years ago. The kid told his father that Finn assaulted him so the guy wouldn’t find out he was gay.”

“Little shit,” Jax murmured as he started the car and followed Dane’s directions to the high school. “Where is he now?”

“College, I guess. Finn said he hasn’t seen him since that night.”

They both fell silent as they reached the parking lot which had nearly a dozen cars sitting in it, including a couple with trailers attached to them. A flatbed truck strapped with bundles of lumber was just pulling out of the lot so Jax fell in behind the last car in the caravan as it meandered its way out of town. The slow pace meant it took them twice as long to get to Callan’s ranch and by the time they drove under the metal archway with the initials
CB
on it, Jax was teaming with frustration. He owed the man next to him nothing, but all he could think about was how badly he wanted to hear that smooth, rich voice tell him it was okay. That he understood that Jax had had no choice in what he’d done. That it had been the only way to get justice for the lives that had been stolen. But Jax knew there would be no such words and the sooner he accepted that, the sooner he could get his ass out of this place and back to where he belonged.

***

Dane’s stomach was churning by the time he got Emma out of the car. The place was already buzzing with activity as people started tossing the remnants of the burned out barn into the first of the two trailers. But all he could think about – all he’d been thinking about – was that Jax had set a man up to be murdered…and he’d used his body to do it. Dane had no doubt that this Rawlings guy had deserved whatever he’d had coming, but knowing Jax had been his judge, jury and executioner had left Dane reeling and conflicted. His body still wanted the man like nothing else, but his mind couldn’t deal with the truth of how dangerous Jax really was.

“Doesn’t look like your friends were expecting this,” Jax said from behind him, his burly presence catching Dane momentarily off guard. His eyes caught Jax’s and he thought he saw a flash of longing there, but then the shuddered expression was back.

Dane looked up to see Finn standing between Callan and Rhys on the porch of one of the two small cottages on the property. Rhys and Callan were watching the commotion with confusion and suspicion but Finn had a soft smile on his face. The young man looked like he was exactly where he was meant to be. A pang of envy went through Dane.

“I’m gonna go help out,” he heard Jax say and then the man was disappearing into the small crowd. Dane headed up towards the trio as they made their way down to where the barn had stood. Finn’s arm was in a sling and his eyes looked heavy, presumably from the pain medication he’d likely been given for his injury.

“Hey, how you feeling?” Dane asked and wasn’t surprised when Finn pulled free of his lovers and gave Dane a hug.

“Pretty good,” Finn said as he released Dane and carefully lowered himself down so he could be eye to eye with Emma who was flailing her arms in excitement. “Hi Emma,” Finn cooed.

“Do you know what all this is about?” Callan asked as he motioned to the group of people. Dane wasn’t surprised to hear the distrust in his voice.

“Think of it as baby steps, Mr. Bale,” came a sharp voice from behind Dane. Harriet Greene appeared carrying a box in her arms which Rhys quickly took off her hands. “Thank you, young man,” she said with a nod of her head before turning her attention back to Callan. “It’s not the whole town like it should be,” she commented as she glanced over her shoulder at the small group of people. “But it’s a start. It’s our way of asking for a second chance.”