Page 21 of Challenging Jayce

"I can't answer that for sure, but my guess is no. He would be stupid to reach out to you if he was hiding from the cartel."

"Unless he assumed we would help him."

"Maybe . . ." Caden dragged the word out. "But I wouldn't buy it. Too many variables."

“I can’t take that chance. I need to go over there and find out."

"You really think that's a smart move?"

Nope, but he was going to do it anyway. He hung up on Caden without answering him and five minutes later was on the road to Shaun's house.

When Jayce pulled into the driveway, he couldn't remember most of the ride over. For all he knew he ran every red light and broke every speeding law known to man. He didn't care if he did.

With determination spurring him on, he charged up the sidewalk and banged on the door. There was no mistaking the confusion on Kennedy's face when she swung the door open.

"Jayce? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"

"Where the hell is Shaun?" he asked as he pushed past her and marched straight into the house.

"I'm not sure what the hell happened since I last saw you, but what gives you the right to charge in here demanding things?"

Kennedy was pissed and rightfully so. They had left things on good terms and now he was acting like a gigantic asshole. If he wasn't so worried about his son, he would care more about how he was treating her.

"Just tell me where the hell Shaun is!" he barked.

"I'm right here," Shaun hollered down from where he stood at the top of the stairs before walking down them to join them.

"Did you know what she was doing?" he questioned before Shaun made it all the way to the bottom.

"Who?" Shaun looked genuinely confused by the question.

"Jasmine. Did you know she was smuggling drugs for the cartel across the border?"

Shaun looked like someone had punched him in the face. His head snapped back and his body faltered. "What are you talking about?"

"Her trips to Mexico. She was smuggling drugs back for the cartel."

"No . . ." Shaun shook his head violently. "She was going down there to meet with a hormone doctor because of the cancer. She was in remission but some of the side effects from the tumor still lingered. It made her self-conscious, and when she couldn't find anything here in the States to help, her friend recommended a doctor in Mexico."

He scoffed at the thought of Jasmine being self-conscious. That woman was the most egotistical woman he had ever met.

"Yeah, well, she was smuggling drugs as well. Then she moved you here to Seattle. Caden is looking into it more but his guess is she was either on the run or helped move the operation north."

"Wait, does that mean someone is after Michael and Shaun?" Kennedy pushed herself back into the conversation. He had almost forgotten she was in the room.

"That's what I'm here to figure out."

"I swear I didn't know. Jasmine refused to talk to me about her diagnosis. She was too embarrassed and God forbid I asked or spoke to anyone else about it. She insisted we kept it quiet, so that's what I did."

“That makes no sense. Why would she want to keep it quiet? I would've thought she would thrive on the attention it gave her." Hiding news like that was never his ex-wife’s strong suit.

"Did Caden tell you about her diagnosis?"

"He told me the name. Andro something or other. Not gonna lie, I was only half listening to the medical jargon. I know he said it had to do with her ovaries."

"Androblastoma. And yes, it's a rare tumor in the ovaries. It's when testosterone is produced. They caught it because of the signs and symptoms. Jasmine's voice suddenly got deeper and she grew facial hair."

Now things started to make sense. A woman like Jasmine, who prided herself on how she looked, wouldn't accept the fact that was happening. And she definitely wouldn't want people to know about it.

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