“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.
Chapter twelve
Earl
“We got a fuckin’ problem!” Bash bursts into my office, dropping down in the chair in front of me, interrupting the conversation between Sam and me.
I lean back, resting my hands on the desk as I glare at him. He’s my brother, but he fucking knows better than to enter my office when the door’s closed without knocking.
“Did we forget something?” I ask, gazing past him to the door that still stands open.
Bash rolls his eyes in annoyance, causing Sam to chuckle.
“Now, what the fuck is the problem?”
“We’ve got a couple of problems. First, someone’s lookin’ into Melissa’s past.”
“What’s the issue with that? You covered all the tracks, gave her a new identity, and we handled the douchebag she was married to—made his disappearance look all legit and shit,” Sam announces proudly. He took great pleasure in ridding the world of the vermin.
“Yeah, but I wasn’t as good as I am now. I never went back in to clean up some of the shit that had holes in it. I did today. The only fuckin’ problem is someone was diggin’ into it before could.” Bash leans forward, resting his arms on his thighs. His jaw is clenched and the slight tremor of his hand tells me he’s furious at himself for not going back after all these years and making sure shit was still kosher.
“Do we know who was lookin’?” I need to know who we should keep our eyes on.
Bash lifts his hand, running it frantically through his hair. “Fuck no! I’ve been tracin’ the footprint and the dick’s jumpin’ from IP address to IP address, both here and in other countries. He’s good.”
“What makes you so sure the person’s a he?” Bash just shrugs his shoulders at my question. “Okay, well, you’ve taken care of what needed to be. We know someone’s snoopin’, so we’ll keep an eye on it. He’s gonna fuck up somewhere along the way and we’ll know who and where he is. What’s the other problem?”
Bash clears his throat and scoots forward in the seat, and I know we’re about to be hit with a fuckin’ bombshell. He runs the palms of his hand along the rough material of his jeans.
“Out with it, man. What’s got you so fuckin’ rattled?” I blurt, already reaching down and opening my desk drawer that holds my bottle of whiskey. I pick it up and set it on my desk before pulling out three glasses. I’ve got a gut feeling we’re going to need it.
“Does the name Sakalov mean anything to you?”
Sam and I look at each other with raised eyebrows.
“The family of guns for hire?” Sam questions, slightly confused.
“That would be the one.” Bash reaches across my desk, taking the glass I just poured for him and downs it.
“Why would they care about Melissa? She has no connections to them.”
Bash shakes his head, a small snort escaping him.
“That’s where you’re wrong. Seems she does. Not from the past, but currently.” Bash just shifts his eyes between the two of us. “Really? Neither of you have figured it out?”
“Obviously we haven’t, dickhead. There’s no one with the name Sakalov in this town!” I snap, an intense, piercing pain building behind my eyes as my head pounds like sticks on a drum.
“You’re wrong, Prez. There is one, but he doesn’t use that name. He’s Salazar Sakalov’s grandson.” Bash picks up the bottle of whiskey, refilling his glass.
I sit there, staring at him as I begin to put all the pieces together. Fucking christ. Jaxton Hall is Jaxton Sakalov. Why the fuck is he here and going by a different name? Something in my facial expression must give away my figuring out the puzzle.
“See you finally got it. Seems he stepped away from the family business about seven years ago. He’s been bouncing around between cities until he landed here, makin’ it his home and settin’ his sights on Melissa.”
“Fuck!” rushes from my mouth as I bypass my glass and lift the bottle straight to my lips.
“We don’t need that fuckin’ crazy ass family in our town,” Sam interjects. I know his mind is on our kids, our grandchild, and the backlash that could come from us crossing their paths. “Did you hear how they fucked up the Gabraldi family? They cut off the father’s dick and made his sons eat it before offing them. They’re fuckin’ psychopaths.”
