Chapter Eleven

Hayden pulled away when they reached the condo.

That was the only thing Jaxon could think of when Hayden disappeared into one of the back bedrooms and he was left cooling his heels.

For about fifteen minutes.

Tired of waiting, he stalked down the hallway and stopped outside Hayden’s bedroom door. He sighed. He didn’t want to encroach on the man’s privacy.

Who was he kidding? That was a lie. He wanted to encroach all the hell up in Hayden’s business.

“Hayden, I got the Nintendo working.”

He rapped when there was no response from within. Maybe he was taking a shower? He turned the knob and pushed open the bedroom door. The room stood empty and he walked to the partially closed bathroom door.

“You decent?” he called out, knocking on the door, and pushed it open to find it empty. “Fuck!”

Striding quickly through the condo, he checked the rest of the place, but there was no sign of Hayden. Yanking out his cell phone, he went to call Hayden’s number when he realized the man didn’t have a cell phone. He walked back into the bedroom and stood in the doorway. It took him a moment to figure out what he was seeing on the nightstand. The closed laptop and a pen lay on top of a piece of paper and he hurried to pick it up.

Jax, I can’t take my cell on Erebus jobs, so when Ryder brings it over, please keep it for me. I didn’t tell you I was leaving because you think you have a say in where I go. That’s something we will talk about when I get back. Do you want a say in what I do? Think about that question. I will be back soon.

Trust me,

Hayden

Jaxon crushed the note in his hand and then smoothed it out against his chest before he sank to the bed. Erebus job? The hell?

The room smelled like Hayden’s light cologne and Jaxon gripped the pillow and brought it to his face.

Shit!He released his grip and bounced up and away from the bed.

Hayden pissed him off! Did the man really think he was going to sit and wait for him to come back? Didn’t Hayden realize who he was? Who he used to be? He used to fucking run Erebus for Dave. There was no place in that organization he couldn’t infiltrate and if Hayden thought he could stay hidden, he was sorely mistaken.

His phone rang on the heels of that thought and he answered it seeing Logan’s name flash.

“Hayden took off,” he said through his teeth, not giving his boss a chance to speak.

“I know. Dave called me. He sent Hayden an email.”

Jaxon released a ragged breath. Fucking Dave! “I’m going to beat that son of a bitch to a pulp!”

“Calm down. It’s an easy job for Hayden and I have a job for you.”

“What job did Dave give him?” He scowled as he walked back to the front room of the condo.

“Instead of a hit job, Dave gave him a protection job.”

“Erebus doesn’t do protection jobs,” Jaxon said flatly.

“They do today.”

He swallowed around the lump that felt like a fucking rock in his throat.

“I have a job for you,” Logan said again.

“What.” Yeah, the word was clipped out and rude sounding, but he didn’t give a shit, he didn’t want a job right now, he needed to find Hayden.

“I need you to be Hayden’s bodyguard.”

That caught him so off guard, he couldn’t formulate a word. Why the hell would Logan put him on guarding Hayden?

“What are you not telling me?”

“Nothing. I just feel that keeping you two together while we figure out this bullshit is the best thing for everyone.”

On that, they could both agree.

Jaxon stalked to the counter near the kitchen and slipped on his shoulder holster while he cupped the phone between his jaw and shoulder.

“Where is he?” he asked, slipping in his weapon and lifting his leather jacket.

“I’ll send the details to your phone, and Jaxon?”

He waited but didn’t speak.

“Be careful,” Logan ordered and ended the call.

He was always careful, damnit. It was Hayden who was the reckless one. That mouth of his got him into more trouble than Jaxon could remember.

Now, he just had to find him.

But by the time Jaxon caught up with Hayden, it was three days later.

Beyond pissed would not even do justice to his state of mind right now, and he had to admit that Hayden had outfoxed him at every turn.

Hayden wasn’t at the address Logan had given him, but the man had left enough vague clues to his whereabouts to make Jaxon’s blood boil.

At one point over the past few days, he would have sworn he’d heard Hayden’s laughter.

The little shit.

When he got his hands on him, he was going to wring his neck, after he fucking got his kiss.

Yep, he’d decided after the first and very long twenty-four hours, that this shit was over. He wanted…no he fucking needed Hayden and nothing or no one was going to get in his way.

Not even Hayden.

Do you want a say in what I do? The words Hayden had written came up. Fuck yes, he wanted that. He wanted a say in every damned thing Hayden did from this day forward. That thought was now burned into his very being.

It’s only been three days.

So the fuck what?

Just a few days of being denied Hayden was driving him fucking nuts. It was one thing when Hayden was within his reach and another when he wasn’t.

Honestly, it had been fucking hell while he’d been in California.

With Hayden close, Jaxon could reason himself out of starting a relationship that could potentially ruin their friendship. However, when he was without Hayden, all he could fucking think about…no, obsess over, was being close to him and holding him and kissing him.

Besides, if he were being honest here, he’d been heading down this path with Hayden for years. He’d gotten rid of that fucking prick Thomas fast enough, hadn’t he? And it had been easy to do after beating the shit out of the guy and threatening to make him disappear if he ever approached Hayden again.

At 4 AM in the morning, he parked his truck in the hospital parking lot and locked it before striding through the parked cars until he reached the building.

“Jaxon.”

The whisper came from somewhere behind to his left and he spun, weapon out, and slipped against the wall of the hospital. Still feeling exposed, he eased into a crouch and then ran to the end of the building and across another short parking lot, keeping out of the light, until he could slip into a narrow walkway.

From here, he could watch and wait.

Maybe the whisper had been from Hayden, but on the heels of that thought, he knew the answer. That voice was not Hayden’s. He knew the man’s lilting tone like he knew his own. He couldn’t recall how many times he’d wished over the past few weeks to have Hayden whispering to him and preferably against his skin.

Which brought up the question…did Hayden want that? Jaxon couldn’t be sure, Hayden was a flirt, but played his emotions close to his chest and it always left Jaxon floundering.

God damn it!

Clenching his teeth, he pressed a hand to his dick and got his brain back in the game. He still had to find Hayden and they still had to find out who the fuck bombed his friend’s deli.

But right now, he needed to know who the hell had whispered his name.

“Stand down, Jax, it’s only me.”

“Fucking hell, Wrath. What the fuck are you doing out here whispering my fucking name?” he growled, clenching his hand around his weapon, tempted to shoot the darkly dressed figure who had melted out of the shadows just for spite.

“Keeping you on your toes.” Wrath’s mouth tipped at the corner. “Someone needs to.” The damned smirk was the only part of the man Jaxon could see with the assassin’s hood pulled low. The edge of glow from a distant light pole gave a slight wash of illumination.

“I’m on my fucking toes, you ass.”

“Right.”

Was that a snort from Wrath? Jaxon narrowed his eyes and finally slipped his weapon back inside his shoulder holster beneath his leather jacket.

“You’ve been hunting Hayden for days,” Wrath rasped. “What’s the problem?”

“He’s…crafty,” he admitted, rubbing a hand against his mouth, feeling the growth of his beard.

“He’s good.” Wrath had yet to move from where he stood in the darkest black shadows.

“Wait…” Jaxon scowled. “The last time we talked, you said that Hayden didn’t belong with Erebus.”

“Watching him evade you and take care of business at the same time has changed my opinion.” Wrath slightly shifted his stance. “He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen. Except for the new guy.”

“New guy?”

“Mhmm. He stays well hidden, and I can’t get close enough to get a look.”

Wait…Wrath couldn’t get close enough? Jaxon didn’t know a man on earth who could elude Wrath.

“Did you ask Solomon?”

“I did.”

Jaxon clenched his teeth when Wrath didn’t continue. “And?”

“He declined to answer.”

“That’s odd.”

“Mhmm.”

“Do you know where Hayden is?”

“He’s finished the job since you started hunting him.”

“Yeah, I know that,” Jaxon said through his teeth. “I’m supposed to be his bodyguard.”

Wrath made a noise that sounded suspiciously like amusement.

“Fuck off, Wrath.”

“Look to the bomb site, he was searching there yesterday.”

Jaxon frowned, he’d been over that site the past few days. The whole team of Cobalt bodyguards were scrambling to find shit out and Jaxon didn’t like it. Felix and Brick had hit a dead end with their suspect and had moved on to other possible perps.

Gunner was onto something, but hadn’t checked in with them in a few days. Logan had advised they keep searching and that Jaxon find Hayden.

His ass still felt the chewing from Logan.

“Where’s Hayden?” Logan had said in a deep, commanding voice.

“I haven’t found him yet.”

“What do you mean?” Logan had growled and Jaxon straightened his spine even though the man wasn’t in the room with him. Logan had that way about him. The man commanded respect and fear at the same time. And while his boss could be easygoing at times, Jaxon never wanted to test the limits of Logan’s patience.

“He’s giving me the slip.”

“You had one fucking job, Jaxon.” The snarl tightened his gut.

“I’ll find him.”

“See that you do,” Logan ordered before hanging up the phone.

“Keep your head in the game,” Wrath snapped, bringing him back to the dark alley.

“Yeah, yeah,” he grimaced because Wrath was right. “What the hell is Hayden searching for at the bomb site…” he murmured more to himself. They’d combed through everything.

“Evidence?”

And just like that, Wrath was gone.

Excitement smacked hard in Jaxon’s stomach.

Finally! Fucking finally, he was going to get his hands on Hayden. But first, he turned toward the hospital entrance.

Jesse had had the tube removed from his throat and regained consciousness that morning. His friend was now taking visitors and while there were several more hours until visiting hours, Jaxon needed some possible answers.

Maybe the bomb had been about Jesse and not him or Hayden.