11. Jax

Chapter eleven

Jax

T oday was a bust!

Every time I tried to speak with Mels, she practically ran in the other direction. I'm trying to give her space to process whatever the fuck is going on, but every time she brushes me off, it's like a knife to my heart. Her normal warm, vibrant, and confident self has been replaced with a meek, scared, fragile persona.

She left over an hour ago and I'm worried as fuck about her. I want to head straight to her house, but I won't. It wouldn't do anything to help my cause in trying to get closer to her. The kiss we shared replays in my mind over and over like a broken record. I don't want that to be the one and only.

I finish loading up the dishwasher and take off my apron just as Jim comes through the door.

"Hey Jax, busy today?" he asks as he hangs up his jacket on the hook.

"Nah, just the normal. See you tomorrow, man." I toss my apron into the dirty hamper and head out the door.

All I want is to get in my truck and head straight over to Melissa's, but I don't. It doesn't stop me from driving by though, and parking a few houses down, just far enough she can't see me.

She doesn't come out, but I know she's there. Her car is in the driveway. Unless Mels left walking or with someone, she's inside, safely tucked away while whatever is bothering her festers. What's worse is I think that biker dick knows something.

I pick my phone up from the console, checking it for the millionth time today. Arthur should've called already with the information and yet nothing. My anger builds as I drop it, then grip the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turn white. A whirlwind of thoughts swarm through my mind, pushing me closer to my breaking point. I need to know what the fuck is going on so I can step in and fix it. End Mels suffering so she feels safe again.

When the turmoil bubbling inside of me reaches its boiling point, I slam my hands down on the steering wheel, wishing it was the fucker's face who has Mels tied up in knots. I shift the gear into drive and pull off, not wanting any nosey Nancy calling the cops on me or for one of Earl's flunkies to drive by.

I've barely turned the corner when the faint echo of the phone ringing comes through the bluetooth speaker as Arthur's number flashes on the dashboard.

"It's about time. What do you have for me?" I bark as I answer the call.

"This was a tough one."

"How so?" My interest has definitely peaked.

"Melissa Calvert is actually Melissa Dolson."

Dolson, why does that sound so familiar? I scour my brain but come up empty, but it doesn't escape me that Arthur is silent. He's known not to be a man of many words, but this is absurd. Surely he would've continued with my lack of response, but he must be giving me a chance to solve the riddle of her name before he spills the beans.

"Care to continue?" It comes out snarky, but I'm fed up and ready to get what I asked for in the first place, instead of these guessing games.

"I also need to tell you something else," he adds before pausing, which only irritates me further. All I want is what I fucking asked about and he's pussyfooting around.

I take a moment, breathing deeply, wanting nothing more that to reach through the speaker and rip his fucking throat out. "What did you find on Melissa?" It takes everything in me to remain calm even though my words come out harsh, cold and staccato.

"She came to Memphis almost twenty-eight years ago. She was married, but not even three months after she got here, her name was changed and her husband went missing. Witnesses say he and his wife went out on a yacht and sometime during the night, they lost contact with the boat."

Married. Melissa was married. How the fuck did I not know that?

"Okay, that doesn't seem horrible."

"There's more. The boat was never found and it was presumed there was an accident at sea and both were killed."

I let out a burst of laughter. "Well, that can't be, since she's perfectly alive and well."

"This is where it gets more curious. Prior to three months before this accident, Melissa Calvert didn't exist. The forged records on her were good but there were cracks. When I went back and looked again this afternoon before calling you, shit was different, more airtight. Someone went and made sure there were no flaws in the records, and the fucker is good. Better than me, and you know how much I hate to say that."

"I think I have a clue who it was." My words are solemn. What is it you're trying to keep me from finding, Earl?

"Are you positive? I can keep digging and find out who's helping her and why."

"No need. Do you have anything on why she changed her name?" I press on the brake, bringing my truck to a stop as I approach the stop sign.

"Not anything conclusive, but if I were to make an educated guess from the hospital visits, I'd say she was a victim of domestic violence."

I grip the wheel tighter, my eyes frozen on the horizon as the sky gradually deepens, fading from the golden hues of daylight into the darker blues of the approaching night. The streetlights start to flicker as they come on, doing so in a delayed pattern.

"She. Was. Abused." My words come out short and sharp. I want to murder the fucker who laid a hand on the woman I love.

There's just one question.

Melissa is here. She was supposed to be on the yacht with him, but he's missing and she's not. What the fuck happened? As much as I don't want to do it, there's one person I need to talk to. One who I think has the answers. The question is, will he share those answers with me?

"It looks that way, Jaxton. But there's more." I can hear the unease in his voice, which isn't normal for him. Nothing shakes Arthur, but right now he's on edge.

"Spit it out, Arthur. It can't be worse than what you've already told me." I need to end this conversation so I can talk with Earl.

"Someone has been snooping into your past."

Not what I wanted to hear, but I've covered it well. My forged life is airtight.

"And? There are no holes in the identity we created."

I can hear his sigh, the defeat in his voice, and a little fear that he's failed me.

"Someone found a way past it. They know who you are."

"Keep digging into Melissa's past and let me know when you have more information."

Before I can end the call, Arthur speaks one final time.

"Please be careful, Jaxton."

"I always am." With that, I end the call as I head to my house. I need a drink and to calm down before I can lay eyes on Earl. If I don't, I'll kill the motherfucker, thus ending all my chances with Mels.