Page 32 of Challenging Jayce

"Special Agent Andrew Thornton. I'm here to speak with Michael Davis about his mother."

"You're here to speak with a fifteen-year-old boy without a parent present? I'm no special agent but even I know you can't speak to a minor without parental consent."

"And you are?"

He crossed his arms over his chest and ignored the hand the agent put out. "Jayce Pierce. Michael's biological father."

The agent dropped his hand but not his annoying smirk. "I show a Shaun Davis as the father."

"As I said,biologicalfather." He emphasized the word so maybe the too-good-looking agent would get it through his thick skull.

"Alright, then. Do you mind if I speak to Michael?"

"I do actually. As you might know, Michael recently lost his mother, and he's taking it hard. I don't think talking to him about her right now is for the best. How about you tell me what this is about?"

Andrew lost some of his charm and a hard glint in his eyes took its place.

"I wanted to speak to him about his mother's frequent trips to Mexico and if he ever accompanied her."

Jayce tried to keep the annoyance out of his tone when he answered. "Last I heard, that was over two years ago, so I'm not sure why you're bringing it up now, and besides, she was there seeking medical help for cancer."

"Just trying to follow up on a few things."

Right. Follow up, my ass.

"Well, like I said before, now isn't a good time but how about you give me your card and I'll make sure to set a time up."

The agent pulled a card from his pocket and handed it over. "Make sure that you do."

Jayce waited until the man got in his vehicle and pulled away before he walked the rest of the way up to the house. His foot hit the first step when the door flung open.

"What did he want?" Michael blurted out.

"Let's get inside. I want to text Shaun and then see what Luke found out."

He pulled his phone out and shot Shaun a message to get home as soon as he was done with his crisis. Then he pulled Luke's number up and gave him a call.

"I was just about to call you," Luke answered after one ring.

"What did you find out?" There was no point in wasting time with idol chitchat.

"Special Agent Andrew Thornton is a pain in the bureau's ass. He's always looking for the next big bust but doesn't want to put the work in. He would rather intimidate witnesses to give him what he wants. Supposedly he's had a hard-on for the Diego Cartel for a while now, but since they do most of their work in Mexico, his hands are tied."

Jayce clenched his left hand in a fist and had to force his right hand to stay lax so he didn't break his phone. The asshole came here to intimidate his son. It was a damn good thing Michael knew better than to open the door. "Well, he picked the wrong fucking family to mess with."

"I told my old supervisor as much. He's going to make some calls. Let Special Agent Thornton know Michael is off-limits. That all questions from here on out can go through me."

Jayce let out a relieved sigh. "I appreciate it."

"Trust me, it's a selfish gesture. I'm sure it took a lot of restraint not to punch the asshole. I don't want to test that control again."

Jayce laughed. His friend was right. If he hadn't known Michael was watching from inside the house, there was a good chance he would've knocked the agent on his ass. That would've gotten him in more trouble than he needed.

"I texted Shaun to get here after he's done with the VA. I want this shit dealt with sooner rather than later. I know the FBI can't do anything about the cartel since their base is in Mexico, but isn't that why they hire us? To clean up the messes they can't?"

"It is," Luke answered hesitantly. "What did you have in mind?"

"I say we cut the head off the snake once and for all. I read the files you sent over. No one is going to be sad if we take out the Diego Cartel. The amount of cocaine they are pumping into the States is reason enough."

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