Page 50 of Her Silver Fox Firefighters
My blood boils as I look at her. My nausea has subsided, making room for what seems to be quite a lot of pent-up rage. “You’re punching way above your category here,” I tell her.
“I can see that. Way too many pounds for me to handle,” she shoots back.
“Wow, you’re really reaching for a triple trophy,” I say, genuinely stunned by the gratuitous garbage she keeps throwing my way. “For someone claiming to be a part of a civilized society, someone in a noble position such as yours, Miss ADA, you sure fling shit around like a circus monkey.”
“Let’s get something straight here,” Jocelyn shifts her entire focus on me. “I may not be able to do much from a legalstandpoint because you’ve got these strapping fellas wrapped around your chubby, grubby fingers, but I can still make your life a miserable fucking hell. I like my town quiet and clean of crime, so I suggest you get the fuck out of Ember Ridge sooner rather than later, so Dax, Leo, and Beck won’t have to suffer through watching you getting arrested again.”
“Or else what?” I ask, standing up to face her.
My hands instinctively ball into tight fists, though I can’t recall the last time I actually threw a punch. But Jocelyn seems intent to rise up to every occasion, straightening her bony back as she whips out a broad smirk.
“Don’t forget—I can still pick up the phone and let the Devon sheriff come in and do his job, if Carlos here is too spineless to do his,” she says.
“Jocelyn…” Carlos tries to warn her.
She won’t back down, though. “What? Do you think I’m afraid of a little public spectacle? I’ll survive. And when it’s all over, you’ll be in jail, paying for your crimes, and I’ll get my well-deserved praise. Right now, I’m giving you the chance to walk out of here on your own and not in cuffs. How’s that for civilized?”
“Jesus, you sure are ugly on the inside Jocelyn,” Dax says from behind her.
I didn’t even see him approach. Jocelyn whirls around and jumps back, startled by his proximity. “Dax…”
“I don’t know what happened over the past week for you to think that you could come up to us and behave like this, Jocelyn, but maybe it’s time I remind you that this isn’t your town,” he says, then nods at a table next to ours. “See those people there?”
“Yes,” she mutters. “Judge Lockhart and his family.”
“His daughters are with him. They are having a nice day out, just like we are. Would you like me to tell Judge Lockhart about how you screwed your own prosecution buddies and tried to get them into a threesome with complete strangers while cheating on your boyfriend? I know you think you’ll weather the scrape if Olivia gets arrested and convicted, but something tells me you’ll never manage to get any motion past Lockhart, especially in any of the heavily political cases that you’re trying to bring before the district court in the months to come.”
There is so much to unpack from that statement, I need a literal minute.
“Wait, what?” I ask, genuinely confused.
“Jocelyn’s springing for the district’s chief DA seat in the next election in two years,” Dax replies, prompting a cool grin out of Beck. “It’s ambitious but doable. She’s a smart woman and a very capable prosecutor. She’d make one hell of a chief DA if she could keep her personal and professional lives separate.”
“Where are you going with this?” Jocelyn asks, her earlier drive slowly fading.
“You’ll be arguing some heavy political issues before the district court this year,” Dax replies. “And Judge Lockhart will be on the bench for at least two of those cases, if I remember correctly. You don’t think he’ll be biased against you if he learns of your… let’s call them proclivities?”
“Lockhart is a conservative man; everybody in Ember Ridge knows that,” Beck adds with a slow shake of his head. “I doubt he’d be able to rule in a neutral manner.”
There are plenty of overlapping conversations happening around us at the same time. Laughter. Cheers. Gossip. Each table of townspeople talking and sharing their thoughts and experiences under the hot summer sun while their kids play around in the water. Even Judge Lockhart seems engaged in a tete-a-tete of his own with his wife and his sister-in-law.
But it’s a delicate balance, I soon realize as I glance around at these folks. All Dax needs to do is speak louder, loud enough for anyone to hear, and pick up on the spicy, damning context.
“Whatever gave you the courage to come up to us today and try to stir yet more shit, Jocelyn, I suggest you swallow it and walk it back before I really make good on my promise of ruining your fucking career,” Dax tells her in a low, icy tone. “You think you’ve got power in this town? I have gone against bigger beasts than you, and I always win. Take your bitterness and unresolved issues elsewhere before I fucking end you.”
“And for the love of God, let us enjoy what’s left of this day with our goddess in pink here,” Beck adds, lovingly tucking a lock of hair behind my ear.
I do like the way my soft pink one-piece bathing suit hugs my full figure. And the way my men look at me only serves to further fan the flames of my desire and the glow of my self-love. By contrast, it makes Jocelyn look small and petty, and very miserable.
Looking back at the pool, I see Leo giving us a concerned glare as he helps Luke out of the water. I whip out a bright smile and try to end this confrontation before it goes any further.
“I could eat a pizza,” I quip.
“Bet you could,” Jocelyn mutters, damn near stomping her feet as she walks off.
“She had to have the last word,” Dax sighs and sits beside me. His arm snakes around my waist, and he captures my mouth in a swift, meaningful kiss. “You’re all we’ll ever need, Olivia. Don’t ever forget that.”
“You’re just trying to make me feel better after that deluge of Jocelyn’s nastiness,” I reply, half-joking while part of me tries to smother the pain of her ugly, hateful words.
