As her pulse began to calm, she looked at Jax and said, "Okay. Enough is enough. You need to tell me who you are and who the hell was chasing us just now."
He turned his head and met her gaze. And for a moment, she couldn't help wondering if she'd put her trust in someone who did not deserve it.
Chapter Eleven
"Jax," she pressed when he remained silent. "I just helped you evade someone. It better not have been the law."
"The person chasing us works for a gossip site," Jax said finally. "And the photos he took of us will be online within the hour."
His words were measured and said without any emotion, but she could see the anger and frustration burning in his blue eyes.
"Why would the paparazzi want a photo of us?" she asked. "Are you famous? When I looked you up online, I found nothing."
"I'm not famous under the name Jax Ridley."
She wasn't surprised by that. "What name are you famous under?"
"Jason Barnes."
She stared at him. "That name sounds familiar, but it doesn't really jump out at me. What are you famous for?"
"I'm part of a country music duo called Blackbird with Wren Carmichael. You might have heard of her. She's the face of Blackbird."
"Wren Carmichael," she echoed in surprise. "Yes, I've heard of her. She won a Grammy."
"We won two," he corrected.
"Both of you?"
"We are a duo, or we used to be. We're not anymore."
So many things clicked into place: why he'd been in a record store, why he'd turned off the car radio, and looked at the piano in the old lounge as if it were a treasure. And she'd heard him play the guitar last night. He'd been great. Which made sense, since he was a professional musician.
"What happened?" she asked. "Why did you change your name? Why are you in hiding? What's going on?"
"It's a long story."
"Well, we have time, and you owe it to me. Now that I know your real name, I can probably also figure it out."
He let out a heavy sigh. "I knew that this day would come."
"That you would have to talk to me?"
"That my past would catch up to me. In some ways, I'm surprised it took this long."
"Jax, what happened?"
He gave her a long, measuring look. "We got into trouble with one of our songs. We were accused of plagiarism, and there was a tremendous amount of fallout and lawsuits from that."
"You and your partner stole a song?"
"Well, most people believe I did it. That I hurt Wren, destroyed her career, because I didn't like being in her shadow. That's the most popular story."
"I'm not asking for the story; I want the truth."
"Why don't you think that's the truth?"
"Is it?" she challenged.
