Page 15 of Sins of Seduction
“The thing about history is that I know you. I know when you’re scared and when you’re trying your hardest to push me away hoping I’ll run away.” Jax took a step closer, smelling himself on her skin and he fought his groan. “In case I didn’t make it clear at the beginning of the night, you can’t push me away this time. Now, if you don’t want to tell me why that message and those rose petals freaked you out, I can’t force you. But you’ll have an easier time talking to me than dealing with Cruz.”
Raven threw her head back and laughed, but it had a taste of bitterness to it. “I thought you weren’t a detective anymore, Pierce? Besides, I can handle Cruz just fine.” She turned on her heels and marched straight for Cruz but stopped when she realized Jax hadn’t followed her.
She looked over her shoulder. “You should come. I think your boy might need the help in handling me.”
Raven continued toward Cruz who was in a stare off with Danielle. Going by the tick in Cruz’s jaw, Danielle hadn’t gone easy on him in Jax and Raven’s absence, and Jax hoped Cruz kept the conversation on what happened here and not his opinions on Lush or Lush’s owner.
“So nice of you to join us, Ms. Wright,” Cruz grounded out, never taking his eyes off of Danielle. “Are you willing to speak now, or shall we head to the station?”
Raven stood beside Danielle, putting as much distance between Jax and herself as possible. Jax wanted to throttle her, and yet he couldn’t entirely fault her for pushing him away this time. Jax wasn’t sure how he would feel after what he experienced tonight. It could have been a one off and he realized that his parental figures had been right and this wasn’t the life he thought he wanted. The sun could have come up and with it exposed a truth he fought his whole life to agree with.
It would have been the final nail in the coffin of his relationship with Raven if he walked away from her after tonight, but at least he would know once and for all if his desires matched hers and if there could ever be a future between them.
“Ask your questions, Detective Cruz. I was never the one with something to hide.” Raven smirked before her gaze slid to Jax and back to Cruz. The insinuation behind her words were clear and made Cruz grit his teeth. The sound of a pen snapping had Raven’s smile widening. It felt like she was purposely goading him, and Jax wasn’t sure if he should intervene yet.
Cruz flexed his hands and took a deep breath before he switched into Detective mode. Jax saw the hardening of his jaw and the narrowing of his eyes, getting ready to poke holes in whatever Raven had to say. It was ridiculous, given Raven wasn’t the murderer, and Jax knew her well enough to know that she wouldn’t be a dick on purpose to jeopardize finding the killer.
“Right. We’re going to need access to your files of everyone that has been here tonight.” Raven went to open her mouth but Cruz pushed on. “A warrant has already been requested because I knew how pleasant you were going to be. We need access to your cameras as well but your assistant here, Danielle Cunningham, says they don’t record? Why is that?”
“Because while my security system is top notch, there’s always the chance someone can hack into it. The last thing I, or the guests of Lush need, is leaked footage landing on the World Wide Web. This is their private time and should be treated as such. I’m sure it’s escaped your notice, no one has their phones on them either.”
Cruz sneered. “If they were ashamed, maybe they shouldn’t partake in such activities. You know that saying, what’s done in the dark always comes out in the light.”
Raventskedand took a step closer to Cruz. “Did you know that free porn site you frequent because you’re too cheap to pay for it and give sex workers their due allows people to randomly upload videos without all parties consent? You’re probably jerking off to some woman’s or…” her gaze slid to Jax’s, “man’s assault,” her gaze went back to Cruz, “but you don’t care, do you?” The words were barely audible, but they packed a heavy punch.
“You fucking bitch,” Cruz seethed under his breath, and Jax took a step to stand in between them, knowing they could spend the rest of the night verbally sparring with each other if no one stepped in between them.
“Cruz,” Jax stared at his longtime partner and friend in the eye, “you need to relax,” he growled. “Do you need to finish these questions now, or can I bring her down to the station tomorrow?” Jax knew the protocol but everyone’s emotions were running high, even for Jax. He was feeling lethargic like he usually did after he nutted, but there was something heavier that was creeping under his skin. Playing referee between Cruz and Raven all night would keep it at bay, but eventually he would have to deal with it. Even if he didn’t want to, it was better to put Raven and Cruz in their respective corners.
Cruz let out what sounded like a disgruntled sigh before he looked up to the sky, seeming to silently ask for patience or guidance that Jax knew was never going to come so long as the two of them sat on opposite sides. Cruz finally looked back at Jax, “Ten sharp and don’t be late.” His gaze shifted past Jax’s shoulder to look at Raven. “One last question, Ms. Wright. Where were you all night?”
Raven’s haughty laughter wrapped around Jax’s dick as if it were her hands. The greedy ligaments jumped at attention, ready to give Raven the alibi she needed, but as soon as Jax saw Cruz’s eyes narrow, he cursed under his breath, knowing this was just another way to push Raven’s buttons.
Jax crossed his arms over his chest, further blocking Raven from Cruz. “She’ll answer all your questions tomorrow, Cruz. How about you call it a night?” Jax didn’t have to verbally spell it out. Cruz and him had been partners and friends for too long that sometimes words hadn’t been needed to have a conversation between them.
“I will never understand the hold she has on you, Pierce. It’s like you enjoy getting burned by the fire she wields. I know the devil is tempting, making promises of pleasure, but those promises can’t be sustained. You know that better than anybody. You wanted to be a priest at one point,” Cruz scoffed before he walked off. Jax tried not to let the words of his friend rattle him, but they had gotten under his skin anyway.
Jax was once His loyal saint and he fell to his knees worshiping a paradise that dwelled between Raven’s legs, but Raven wasn’t the first time he walked off the beaten path. He’d fallen plenty of times in his youth, but it was Raven who kept him on his knees, forsaking the very God he was taught to obey.
He turned around to face Raven and Danielle, pushing down Cruz’s opinions on him and Raven.
“I’ll get Diane on the phone and let her know to meet you at the precinct and to get ahead of the lawsuit we’re probably going to get hit with by the family of the deceased,” Danielle spoke fast, clicking off everything like a to-do list, and Raven just nodded.
Jax noticed now that the fight in Raven had walked away along with Cruz. She wrapped her arms around herself, seeming to draw inward as she nodded at whatever Danielle was saying. She looked exhausted as if standing on her own two feet was taking all of her strength, and Jax was having a hard time reconciling what he was seeing and who he’d known Raven to be.
Raven had been vulnerable in their relationship; she wasn’t immune to the days that the world decided to see how much pressure it could put her under before she broke, but even on her worst day, Raven always stood steady. The woman he was looking at now looked ready to bury her head in the sand.
“And I’ll call you cab. I don’t think they’re going to let you crash here tonight.” Danielle’s words had pulled Jax from his inner turmoil.
“What happened to your car?” Jax had known from their shared past that Raven spent some nights in Lush when she was too tired to drive home.
Raven waved a hand in front of her face. “It’s out of commission, again. I told the mechanic what was wrong, but he saw my tits and thought I didn’t know what I was talking about. I need to take it somewhere else, I just kept putting it on the back burner.”
“I’ll drive you home.” Jax didn’t even hesitate to offer her a ride. His pulse picked up at the idea of spending more time with her, and he prayed she would accept his offer. He wanted to unpack what happened tonight between them and what happened at Lush.
Raven turned to stare at him, and Jax held his breath waiting for her to decide. He saw her eyes narrow briefly and he thought she was going to turn him down, but she shook her head and nodded instead. Whatever internal struggle she was having seemed to pass quickly. “That’s fine.” She turned back to Danielle. “My cell’s at home, so you’re good to call me if anything changes, and have Diane reach out to me directly.”
Danielle nodded, giving Raven a reassuring squeeze on her shoulders before she was off in the direction that Cruz had gone in, leaving the two of them as alone as they could be in a packed Lush.
