"I appreciate it. Let me know after you've talked to Steven. Hopefully, I’ll have better news for the both of you."
We both signed off and I fell back into the chair with a heavy sigh.
"You okay?"
Jack twirled the chair, so I was facing him. Instinct had me scooching forward so I could wrap my arms around his waist. When did I get to the point where I felt comfortable enough to seek reassurance from this man?
I didn't have the slightest clue on how to answer that, but I wasn't about to worry about it now.
"Sam's right. I can't ask him to stay hidden forever. I need to deal with this Davis nonsensenow."
The million-dollar question was how though? It wasn't like I hadn't tried going to the police. Everything he’d ever done wasdocumented, but money talked, and Davis had a personality that led people to believe him over me. It was the way of the world, even if it wasn't fair.
"You aren't asking him to for forever. Just a little while. Matthew's company has some of the best cyber people in the world working for them. If anyone can dig up information, it's them. We just need to give them time to work."
Halfway through that little speech, Jack's hands had moved to my shoulders and were now massaging them. It felt heavenly. I let my eyes fall closed as I enjoyed what he was doing to me.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shut my brain off. It was a damn curse. So instead, I let what Jack said filter through my mind. I had tried the proper route. It had shocked me when the police department in my hometown had sided with Davis. Then I really thought about it. The new police cruisers the borough suddenly had room in the budget for. The extra officers they hired over the past six months, despite claiming for years that it wasn't feasible. I should've seen it then. Money was coming from somewhere, and even if I didn't have proof, it made sense that someone was Davis.
My eyes popped open with realization.
"Have them look for police departments or towns that suddenly had a lot of extra money to spend."
Jack's fingers froze in the middle of what they were doing and the look he gave me said he wasn't tracking where I was going with this.
"Right around the time Davis and I started dating, the local police department suddenly had an influx in money. Well, I guess not them specifically since the borough pays for everything, but you know what I mean. For years, council complained they didn't have the money to provide the resources the police department needed. Then, all of a sudden, they could hire more officers and get a slew of new cruisers. I'm thinkingDavis was pumping money out knowing what he planned to do. He was covering his bases."
Jack's hands fell off my shoulders and he dug in his pants pocket to pull out his phone. He didn't say anything until after he typed out a quick message.
"You're a genius. Matthew is going to get his team on it. Shouldn't be too hard to track the money. From what my brother told me, they were already looking into Davis' finances, so this will narrow it down for them." He dropped a kiss on my forehead, and yeah, that made me swoon. Those damn things were addictive.
"Now, enough talk about assholes. I have a better way to clear your mind for the evening."
"Oh, yeah . . .?" The words transitioned to a fit of giggles when he scooped me up and carried me over to the bed, only to unceremoniously toss me down. But he immediately followed me and planted kisses along my jaw.
"Hell, yes. By the time I'm done with you, it won't just be your body that's Jell-O. It’ll be your mind too."
My mind was already turning to mush, but I looked forward to seeing if he could, in fact, do as he promised.
Spoiler alert:Jack didn't lie. By the time we both passed out, my mind wasn't just mush; I was pretty sure I couldn't even tell someone my own name.
Shannon who?
TWELVE
Jack
I wanted to wake up like this every morning. If someone had told me a month ago that I would be thinking that, I would've told them they were insane. It didn't matter that my parents had an amazing relationship, I never saw that for my future. Work was who I was married to, and I was okay with that.
Now I wondered if that was just my immature self because suddenly I saw my future clear as day and it didn't involve just work. It was centered around this woman in my arms and hopefully the children she would one day want to have with me.
"Why does it feel like you're thinking so hard?" Shannon's gravelly voice had me dipping my chin to catch a glimpse of her beautiful eyes. I loved the fact that she didn't wake up with smeared makeup all over her face like the women I hooked up with. She was comfortable enough in her own skin to go all natural and that was sexier than any made-up face could ever be.
"Do you want to have kids?" I blurted the question out with no fanfare.
Damn, my lack of a filter first thing in the morning. A better man would've taken the question back immediately. Or at least attempted to backpedal but I wasn't a better man. Mostly because I really wanted to know the answer. It didn't matter to me either way, but now that the thought crossed my mind, I was curious.
"I have nothing against children."