Page 37 of Twisted Hearts

I didn’t know whether to be impressed as hell or disappointed she hadn’t trusted me when Jaxon stepped back and gestured for us to enter his office.

“Perhaps you should come in and I’ll explain.”

Explanations would be good. Definitely. I set my hand on Addi’s back to guide her forward, but she pressed back into it. It was then I realized she was trembling.

No—she was shaking so bad an earthquake might as well have been occurring directly beneath her. “You know,” she said, and her words shook as badly as the rest of her. Her eyes darted all around, and she turned in the direction she’d come from. She stepped back into my hand again, and all the color drained from her face. “You know. Did he call you? Oh my God…is hehere?”

If she kept panicking, she’d pass out, like she almost had in the elevator.

“Adrianna,” Jaxon called, “no one’s going to hurt you.”

Her head whipped in his direction, strands of her auburn hair slashing across my cheek. What in the hell was going on?

I asked that very question while she continued to quake, and Jaxon looked directly at me. “The mayor.”

“What?” It took a beat. “Friday’s call.” It finally connected. I’d forgotten all about it.

“Oh God,” she murmured, and her legs collapsed. “Does he know? Did you tell him? Is hehere?”

She asked the questions in rapid fire, running out of breath. Even if I could have answered them, she didn’t give either of us time. Her body shook so much she was in danger of collapsing, so I did the first thing I could think of.

I grabbed her, one hand at her back and one behind her knees, before she fell into a pile on the rough carpeting, and I glared at Jaxon when his brows jumped sky high.

“You’re okay. It’ll be fine.” I tried to console her, but she fought in my hold. I only held her tighter and headed straight to Jaxon, and as I passed him, I spit out, “Explain. Now.”

“Gladly.”

He shut the door behind us, and I took Addi to the black leather couch in his seating area. Two chairs sat across from the couch, separated by a black lacquered coffee table.

Addi, pale as a ghost and still trembling like a leaf, jumped up as soon as I set her down and stepped back.

She spun in a circle and faced Jaxon. “Did you tell him where I am?”

“No.” He shook his head, walked toward a mini fridge, and pulled out three bottled waters. With his back to us, he continued, “And I won’t.”

Addi’s hands went to her cheeks, and she slid them toward her mouth, eyes still wide, his words seeming to calm her somewhat. I stayed standing close to her in case that changed, but she brushed another hand through her hair, blew out a breath that held the force of a hurricane, and then bit her lip. “How do you know who I am?”

It was a vital question, but based on the way Jaxon had said her name and her reaction, I was more curious as towhoin the hell she was.

Jaxon moved toward us with a gentleness that should have been impossible due to his large frame and held out the bottles of water. I took two when Addi stared at him like she didn’t see the water, and I set both down on the coffee table.

“Sit.” He gestured to the couch.

Addi didn’t listen, instead facing him while he lounged back in one of the chairs like he was getting ready to discuss what he’d eaten for lunch and not what in the hell was going on right now.

Without preamble, he glanced at me first and then stated, “Friday night, before my team headed to Dreammaker’s, I received a phone call from a mayor. He told me he wanted to hire me to find his son’s runaway fiancée.”

“Oh God.” Addi’s knees buckled and she collapsed onto the couch. “No.”

Knowing she wasn’t at risk of falling down, I took a seat at the far end of the couch, turning my body toward hers but giving her some space.

“Let me explain something,” Jaxon started. “I get a lot of calls. I have a team I trust, and we divvy up assignments based on whose talents fit each case. We’re also extremely busy doing a wide variety of investigating and protection services.”

“Okay…”

I grabbed a water and opened the top. Taking a healthy swig, I sat back while Jaxon continued.

“All this means is I have some men highly trained in tracking people and finding them, and before taking any case, I first have to figure out if it’s something I can allot an appropriate amount of time for, and second determine who can handle that case. So, I asked questions.” He leaned forward and set his elbows on his knees. The very size of his body could be threatening to some, but Addi was too focused on his words to notice his movements, even though I knew he was trying to be gentle with her. “And I didn’t like how he answered those questions, Addi. Not one single bit.”

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