Page 41 of Dangerous Lies

This was not the kiss in the trees, a brief runaway moment of recklessness. This was something else entirely. Jax’s mouth claimed hers with a slow, deliberate intensity, like a man who had finally stopped fighting what he wanted. His lips were warm, his touch sending waves of heat through her. There was no hesitation, no second-guessing. Only raw, unfiltered need wrapped in something deeper—something that stole the breath from her lungs.

Megan pressed closer. She felt the rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her fingertips. It pounded in time with hers. Jax kissed her like she was something precious. Something he couldn’t bear to lose. And she answered with everything inside her. The longing. The hope. The quiet fear that this moment might be all they ever had.

It shocked her. The depth of their connection. When the kiss ended, Jax looked as stunned as she felt. He swallowed hard, but didn’t release her. “That wasn’t smart.”

“No.” Her breath was ragged. “But it was honest.”

His lips curled into a shadow of a smile before pressing against hers once more. Then he pulled her into his arms. Megan rested her head against his chest, her eyes closing as she soaked in the warmth of his embrace. His shirt was soft beneath her cheek, and the way he cupped the back of her head—cradling her like she was invaluable—made her heart ache in the best way.

It’d been a long day. A confusing one. But Megan couldn’t let it finish without saying what was in her heart. “I care about you, Jax. I might…” She breathed out. “I might be falling in love with you.”

His body tensed for the briefest moment before relaxing. He exhaled, then pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. “I can’t go against my family, Megan. Right now?—”

“I know. It’s okay.”

Silence settled over them, broken only by the crackling fire. Megan didn’t want the moment to end, but knew it had to. With God all things were possible, but it would take a miracle for her and Jax to find a way forward. She pulled away. “It’s late. I should go to bed.”

Jax nodded. It looked like he wanted to say something, but then he tucked his hands in his pockets. “Night.”

Megan turned and started up the stairs, but an idea struck her mid-step. She paused on the landing. “Jax.” Her voice was a whisper, but he still heard her and came around the corner. “The accident. I’ve been trying to remember everything that happened, but can’t. Whatever it is, I know it’s important.”

The police suspected Zeke was the one who ran them off the road, but Wesley had been responsible for the threats against her. Now that Wesley had been cleared as a suspect, it left them floundering. Who was trying to kill her, and why? Was it Zeke? Or someone else?

Jax had always believed the cases—Oliver’s death and these attacks on her—were connected. Megan did too. Figuring out what happened that night would require her to be brave and face one of the worst experiences of her life. But it was the only way to unlock her memories.

Rain beat against the roof. The storm wouldn’t last. Megan knew they had a small window to put her plan in motion. “I have an idea.”

TWENTY-THREE

Headlights cut through the inky night, illuminating sheets of rain as they pelted the asphalt. Jax tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his gaze flicking to the rearview mirror. The country road stretched behind them, empty. For the hundredth time since Megan had shared her idea, he second-guessed this plan.

“Are you sure about this?” His eyes shifted from the mirror to Megan. She sat tucked into the passenger seat, dressed in a ski cap and dark gray rain jacket.

“Dawson and Noah have tracked down every lead they can, and nothing has helped. We still don’t even know if Zeke is the man after me, or if it’s someone else. I’m done being afraid. Running from my memories of the accident has only made things worse. I want to do everything I can to figure out what happened that night. Sometimes revisiting the scene of an accident can help with memory retrieval and trauma processing. It allows the brain to reconsolidate the memory in a way that might bring clarity.” She turned to face him. “That’s why we have to do it now. At night, in the rain. I want the conditions to be as close to the same as possible.”

Jax admired her bravery, but this move bordered on recklessness. He hadn’t spotted any sign of a tail, but the storm was coming down hard, making it impossible to know for sure. Noah had agreed to meet them at the accident site with the case file, but even that didn’t settle Jax’s nerves.

He checked the mirror again—still nothing—then tapped the brakes to slow for the turnoff onto the narrow country road. Towering trees flanked either side, their rain-heavy branches sweeping together overhead, forming a dark tunnel.

Beside him, Megan stiffened.

Jax eased the SUV to a stop. He reached for her hand without thinking, his need to protect her outweighing any desire to uncover the truth about Oliver. What he’d said earlier in the chief’s office was true—finding out what happened that night wouldn’t bring his brother back. Nothing could. But Megan was alive. And vulnerable. She had to come first.

“You don’t have to do this, sweetheart.” Jax knew the accident site would be difficult for him to revisit, and he hadn’t been in the car crash. Megan had been pushed to the emotional brink this week. She was strong, but her grandfather’s warning rang in Jax’s ears:everyone has a breaking point.“Noah and Dawson will figure it out. It may take them time, but they’ll get there.”

She met his gaze. Half of her face was cast in shadow, the other side illuminated by the light from the dashboard. Megan smiled and squeezed his fingers. “I know you want to protect me, but I’m strong enough to do this. I wasn’t always. But I am now.”

His heart tumbled over. Megan was the heady mix of sweetness, brains, and fortitude. Kissing her this evening had unlocked the truth Jax had tried desperately to bury. He was falling for her too. But saying so, admitting the words out loud, would only hurt them both. After everything his parents had been through, Jax refused to pour salt on their wounds.

There was no future for him and Megan. No matter how much Jax wished otherwise.

He leaned over and brushed a kiss on her lips. Soft and tender. Then he squeezed her hand. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

Megan straightened in her seat. “I’m going to talk through it. Saying things out loud can help….” She stared out the window into the night. The headlights illuminated the wet road and the wild overgrowth on either side. “I was driving slowly, worried that I’d miss Oliver. He didn’t give me a specific meeting point. Just told me he’d be waiting somewhere near the fallen tree after the bend.”

“That’s coming up.” Jax slowed. The road curved and an oak tree, toppled in a previous storm, listed precariously close to the road.

“Stop here,” Megan ordered. She reached into the pocket of her raincoat and pulled out her cell phone. “I tried calling Oliver, but he didn’t answer. His phone went straight to voicemail, like it’d been turned off or he didn’t have good signal. I waited here for what seemed like forever, but was probably only five minutes. It was cold. My sedan didn’t have good heating, and the storm was gaining intensity. I was worried about hail or tornadoes. At the same time, I didn’t want to leave Oliver out here in the woods. He’d sounded so scared on the phone. So desperate.”

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