The Jaxon Effect Read online

  “Jaxon, there you are! Where were you all night?”

  Jason was more like a mother-hen than their birth mother had ever been when she was alive.

  “I went for a ride,” he stated very matter- of- fact, as he twisted the top off the beer he had taken from the fridge.

  “A ride?” Jason repeated, confused. “Where did you go, Boston? Jaxon, it’s almost noon.”

  Jaxon really hated having to explain himself, to anyone. In fact, the only person in the world who could get away with questioning his whereabouts was his brother. However, this time, it wasn't any of his brother’s business. He would be damned if he was going to share the details of his morning with anyone.

  “Just around,” Jaxon replied irritably, hoping his brother would get the message and stop the line of questioning.

  Jason jumped from the chair and placed his hands on his hips. “Look, you might get away with using that attitude on your other employees Jax, but don’t even think about trying it with me. If you don’t want to tell me where you were, then say so.”

  Jaxon sighed. His brother was right and he knew it.

  “Fine, I don’t want to tell you. I'm going to watch the game.” He strode out of the kitchen.

  Kate hung up her cell phone and put it back in her purse. She had called Jade five times since Jaxon left and she still hadn’t picked up. The only way she was going find out what was going on with her friend was if she went over to her house and pounded on the door until Jade had no choice but to answer. The only reason she hadn’t done that already was because she wasn’t sure if Kenny was still around or not. Kate was feeling apprehensive about another possible run in with him. She had no idea what Jade even saw in Kenny. Kate always felt he was possessive and arrogant and now after this morning, she added creepy to the list.

  She tried watching some television but there was nothing on that was of interest to her. She attempted to read a book but she realized after reading half of the first chapter that she had no idea who the main character was or what the book was even about. They were words on a page and nothing registered between her eyes and her brain. A bath was normally something that relaxed her but given that Jaxon had showered in her bathroom earlier that morning, she knew it would have had quite the opposite effect on her. Thinking about him naked while hot water rushed over him was not a relaxing thought. Even catching up on sleep would have been a welcomed treat for her usually tired self, but she was avoiding her bedroom because that was where she and Jaxon had sex only hours ago. This was not how things were supposed to be. She was supposed to feel jubilant and relieved that she finally had the guts to go through with the proverbial deed. It was supposed to be her little wicked secret, a memory she could recall from her memory bank whenever she felt inclined to do so. It was supposed to be a memory that would make her smile whenever she needed a visual interlude to cut through the monotony of her mundane life. That might have even been possible if he hadn’t stayed for breakfast so she actually got to know him a little better. Then there was that kiss good-bye that he had given her before he left, what was that even about? The kiss had been strange—urgent and hot. It hadn’t felt like good-bye at all. It had felt more like unfinished business and she couldn’t shake the feeling they would meet again. She was fooling herself, of course it was good-bye. Jaxon had been quite clear that they would only be together once. He wasn’t looking for more than a one shot deal and she would be better off if she accepted that fact now instead of trying to read something more into it.

  She decided to put off going to Jade’s for another day. Kenny had his hand in Jade’s sudden need to sever the relationship, she could just feel it, and she needed to give Jade the time to deal with the situation. Jade didn’t need Kate setting Kenny off again, making things worse. She had no idea why, but she knew Jade loved Kenny and on some level he loved her too. Just because Kate’s own plans to marry her high school sweetheart hadn’t panned out didn’t mean Jade's shouldn't. She would never try to come between them. As far as she knew, Kenny was faithful at least. Unlike her fiancée was. Her thoughts drifted back to that awful day.

  She had walked into her bridal suite the morning of her wedding—intending to spread some rose pedals on the bed to make things romantic. She never could have imagined being hurt as much as she was when she found Eldon having sex with her twin sister Kelsey. It wasn’t Eldon whom she felt most hurt by; it was her sister. She had been her best friend and her biological other half.

  Kate should have known something was up. Eldon had always tried to pressure her into sleeping with him. He’d said it was important for them to know they were sexually compatible before they got married but, staying true to herself, Kate had always refused. They had gone as far as second base but that was as far as she was willing to go. Six months before the wedding Eldon had stopped pushing her into having sex with him. She thought he finally respected her position on sex before marriage but it became abundantly clear, the morning she found them together, that he had simply found someone else willing to give in to his needs. At first Kate had been furious with both of them, and then she was angry with herself. She blamed her own rigid ideals for what happened. She used to think that if she had given in to Eldon, maybe he never would have slept with her sister. Eventually Kate had wised up to the ridiculous notion that she was to blame for the choices they made, but she was so emotionally damaged by what had happened, she made herself a promise that she would never be hurt like that again. The only way she knew how to do that, was to guard her heart. For that reason alone, she would never see Jaxon again. Manhattan was large enough that the chances of her bumping into him were slim.

  ***

  CHAPTER 8

  Two days had passed and Kate finally worked up enough nerve to go to Jade’s. She knocked hard on the front door several times waiting impatiently for Jade to answer. The blinds were drawn and there seemed to be no sign of life in the house. Jade was either doing everything she could to avoid her, or she actually wasn’t home. Kate walked around the back of the house to see if she could get a good look inside. If Jade was in there, avoiding her, she wasn’t going to get away with it. There was a large patio door off the kitchen, Kate felt strange sneaking around but she was determined to get some answers. She approached the back of the house and it was just as quiet as it appeared from the front. Through the patio doors, Kate could see most of the kitchen and the adjoining rooms. Everything appeared to be in order, but Kate still didn’t like it. She didn’t know why but something seemed off, even though there was no real evidence to support it she knew at that moment she needed to get into the house.

  She ran back around to the front step and pulled up the corner of the tattered door mat. Jade always kept a spare key under the mat and it was right where it always was.

  Letting herself in, she called out nervously, “Jade, are you here?”

  There was no response. She walked into the kitchen but compared with what she had seen from the outside, it was a mess. On the other side of the island, which couldn’t be seen from the patio door, there were broken dishes and brown stains all over the floor. Kate’s stomach sank. The brown stains looked exactly like dried blood. Now in a panic, Kate ran upstairs to the second floor where the bedrooms were located. The door to Jade’s room was closed but Kate could hear faint sounds coming from the other side. It sounded like Jade was moaning or mumbling something. She knocked lightly.

  “Jade, it's me—Kate. Are you okay?” There was no answer from Jade but Kate could still hear incoherent mumbling. “Jade, I'm coming in.” She slowly pushed open the door and when her eyes locked on Jade lying in a pool of her own blood. Kate screamed in horror, “Oh my God, Jade!”

  Jade was lifeless, lying on the floor bruised and bloody, with a knife sticking out of her abdomen. Despite the shock, Kate immediately pulled out her cell phone and called 911. She hoped she wasn't too late. She checked Jade's pulse, and it was faint… too faint. She had been beaten; covered with deep cuts and bruises an
d the stab wound was still oozing a significant amount of blood. Kate gave all of the necessary information to the 911 operator; the ambulance was on its way. She hung up the phone and did what she could until the ambulance could get Jade to the hospital. There wasn’t much she could do for her except take mental notes to relay to the ambulance attendants when they arrived. Kate was in a state of shock. She wasn’t a doctor at the moment; she was a petrified best friend and there was just so much blood.

  Kate paced the hospital waiting room, not used to being on the other side of things. Jade had been brought in for emergency surgery over an hour earlier and, so far, there was no word from anyone. Even if they allowed her to stand in during the surgery she was in no mental condition to do so, so she felt it was best to wait outside. It would be harder for the medical team to focus on Jade if they were worried about Kate’s mental health too. She knew her rightful place was in the waiting room.

  “Excuse me, Dr. Sims.”

  Kate wheeled around to find a stern faced gentleman—who may have been in his early fifties—standing behind her. He was wearing a navy sport coat and grey trousers and his thinning black and grey hair was slicked back away from his forehead. Standing right beside him was a much younger, Latino woman who was dressed in grey slacks and a short matching waistcoat.

  “Yes that’s me,” Kate said dryly, eyeing the pair with caution.

  The older gentlemen flashed a badge in front of her face. “Detective Sheppard, this is my partner Detective Ramirez. We have a few questions to ask about your friend, Jade Styles.”

  “Of course,” Kate said, shaking the hand he had offered her.

  “I understand you are a doctor here,” he continued “Can you take us somewhere more private?”

  “Yes of course there is a room at the end of the hall where we can be alone, please come with me.”

  She led them into a small room that was dedicated to patient family members who needed a moment of privacy. The furnishings were sparse. There was a small table against the wall with a fake plant on top that looked like it had seen better days. A stack of old magazines were on the table next to the plant and the chairs could have been circa 1970, old and worn. It was pretty damn depressing and Kate made a mental note to bring it up with the hospital administrator. The room needed an overhaul. Offering an apologetic look, for the dismal surroundings, Kate motioned for the detectives to sit. She filled them in on the details of her visit from Kenny, and the completely out of character phone conversation she’d had with Jade. Detective Sheppard asked the questions while the female detective made notes in a small black book. She told them that her and Jade had gone out on Friday night to celebrate, of course she left out all of the parts that concerned her and Jaxon. That part of the evening would have nothing to do with the investigation.

  “So you said you both went out Friday evening to celebrate Jade's upcoming wedding. “What was the name of the club?”

  Shit! Kate really didn’t consider that question. “It’s called Remington's. It's on the corner of Twelfth and Solomon, across from Mercy.”

  “Never heard of it,” Detective Sheppard mumbled.

  Kate exchanged a glance with the female detective who nodded as if she knew the place Kate was speaking of. But the woman didn’t say anything to her much older partner. Kate was relieved because she really wasn’t up for any snide remarks or potentially telling looks from him, regarding the fact that her and Jade spent their evening watching naked men parade around in the buff.

  “You said you left early,” Sheppard said, jump starting the interview again.

  “Yes, Jade stayed behind with a mutual friend—Steven Fisher.”

  “Do you know where we can reach Mr. Fisher?”

  “You can try over at Mercy. He is an oncologist there.” He asked a few more questions about Jade and her life style. Kate answered everything to the best of her ability.

  “If you think of anything else doctor, please give me a call. Here is my card.”

  “Yes of course detective,” Kate said, as she took his card and put it in her pocket. She was anxious to get back to the waiting room.

  Kate escorted the pair back to the hall and watched them disappear around the corner. A moment later Detective Ramirez returned alone.

  “Dr. Sims, I don’t want to alarm, well actually maybe I do; I think you’re right about the boyfriend. Until we are able to bring him in for questioning you should be careful. The fact that he broke into your house once leads me to believe he would do it again.”

  The shocking and unnerving truth of what Ramirez said didn’t sit well with Kate. “I will be careful,” she replied, wishing she felt as confident as she sounded.

  The female detective placed a comforting hand on Kate's arm. “I’m really sorry about your friend. I will do everything I can to find the boyfriend.”

  “Thank you, detective.”

  Once the detective was gone, Kate went back into the waiting room. She hadn’t really thought about the fact that she could be in danger.

  “Kate!”

  The surgeon who had been operating on Jade had finally appeared through the door way. He was wearing pale green scrubs and light blue shoe coverings, and a face mask that hung just below his mouth, covering his chin.

  Kate rushed over to him. “Tom, how is she? How did the surgery go?”

  Removing his face mask completely, he assured her that everything went as well as they had hoped it would have.

  “We were able to repair the damage the knife did to her liver. She is very lucky to have you as a friend. You saved her life, if she had lost any more blood it would have been fatal.”

  Kate couldn’t have disagreed more with him. She should have checked on Jade long before she did, she was an awful friend, but then she couldn't think about that now.

  “Thanks, that’s great news.” Kate sighed with relief and gave him an appreciative hug.

  “Why don’t you go home and get some rest?” he suggested. “Jade will be under anesthetic for at least another four hours, we want to bring her out slowly. I can make sure someone pages you when she wakes up.”

  “Thanks, maybe I will,” she replied.

  She was exhausted but she had no intentions on resting. Now that she knew that Jade was out of surgery, she could breathe easier. She began to process the turn of events in her mind. Yes she was certain Kenny did this to Jade.

  Hopefully Steven could shed light on what happened. Technically he would have been the last one to see her before Kenny had gotten to her. Kenny could have been waiting for Jade when she got home from the club Friday night and if Steven saw or heard something, he could help answer some questions. It wasn’t really her job but she felt compelled to do something. If Kenny knew Steven dropped Jade off that night it could have been his motive and things could have gotten very ugly, very fast. Kate was supposed to look after her that night, not spend the evening lusting after Jaxon Remington; proof positive that, when it came to men, Kate couldn’t make a good decision to save her life. It was also another reminder of why she had no business getting involved with anyone, especially a man like him. The things she had said and done since meeting Jaxon were baffling.

  Kate called Mercy General and was informed that Steven was on holidays for the remainder of the week. Even though Kate was a doctor as well, the staff refused to give her his personal contact information. With the new privacy act in place nobody wanted to share a person’s private information. In Kate’s opinion some people took that law a little too far.

  Feeling like she was powerless, a feeling that she didn’t like, Kate decided to go to the club on the off chance that he was there filling in again. She needed to figure this thing out for her own piece of mind.

  ***

  CHAPTER 9

  The parking lot outside Remington's was packed with cars, which surprised Kate, considering it was a Monday night. She opened the heavy front door to the now familiar club and the music coming from the cacophonous speaker system filled
the air around her. She walked past the coat check, as she wasn’t planning on staying long enough to worry about using it. She only had intentions on finding out if Steven was around.

  The main room was crowded with lively customers. Just like Friday night, ladies were sitting at all of the tables and occupying the stools around the stage; the dancers were milling about trying their best to earn tips. Kate hadn’t realized that so many people actually went out on a week night, especially to a place like Remington’s.

  As much as she told herself she wanted to avoid him, Kate immediately looked to the “Employees Only” door. This time—much to her disappointment—Jaxon wasn’t there. She reprimanded herself. It was for the best, really. She wasn’t there for him. No she was not and she needed to remember that.

  She approached the bar where the young bartender was busy making drinks for a couple of women who were flirting outrageously with him. He actually seemed receptive to their advances but he was probably just hoping to get a big tip out of them. The pair of ladies were mid-forties and were both well-endowed and highly made up; big hair, lots of makeup and tight clothing. Kate felt very plain in comparison, but then again she was used to that feeling, she felt plain next to most women.

  “What can I get you?” He finally noticed her and sauntered over flashing a million dollar smile. A smile she was certain earned him big tips.

  “Actually, I’m looking for Steven Fisher. I was hoping maybe he was here tonight.”

  “Sorry doll, he isn’t in tonight.”

  Of course not, that would be too easy. “I'm a friend of his, a doctor, and I was hoping maybe I could get his phone number from you. I need to reach him immediately. It's a medical emergency.”

  The bartender laughed. “Sorry doll, we don’t give out personal information like that around here.”