Page 129 of Because of the Dar

He waits for me to confirm his statement, and I dip my chin. Where is he going with this? I lean farther into Wes, his hand between both of mine in my lap.

"I apologize that it took this long to verify the evidence, but we had to be one-hundred-percent sure. The coincidence was suspicious, to say the least."

I can feel my pulse pumping through my veins and wish he'd finally say it. Before I can voice my irritation, though, Mags does it for me.

"Spit it out, pretty boy. None of us have any patience left after the last few days."

Jaxon cocks an eyebrow, but not in an annoying way. He holds Mags's eyes for longer than necessary before he settles on me again.

"Isaiah Ellis's body was found by a hiker a few weeks after you…defended his victim." His words are careful, and I peer at Mrs. Sheats. She doesn't seem fazed, which is unnerving. What have they told her about me?

"His body had been unearthed by scavengers and used as their personal all-you-can-eat buffet—"

"Jax!" Lilly scolds.

"Sorry." He throws her a sheepish grin.

How on earth did this guy pass the bar?

"Anyway, due to the state his body was found…" He throws aIs this better?look at Lilly, to which she moves her hand in a go-on motion.

"A thorough autopsy was performed. The cause of death was a stab wound to the neck. The knife that was used nicked his C4 vertebrae, and forensics concluded that, based on the angle and marks on the bone, the blade was curved." He stares at me, and my stomach sinks—my Du Hoc.

I roll my lips under, unable to form words, and Jaxon continues. "Their investigation found that the security footage of the night Ellis disappeared was erased. The evidence found on-site showed a struggle and that the victim lost a lot of blood. They eventually tracked down the girl you dropped off at the ER, but she had been drugged out of her mind. All she could recall was coming into the club for a second interview, finding Ellis and his guard there, and that a woman drove her to the hospital."

Everyone in the room is tense as he recalls that part of the night, and I experience a wave of relief that the girl doesn't remember what E did to her. The scene will be forever burned into my brain.

"In short, she was of no help as to what had happened—until his body turned up. The police started interviewing staff and—I guess—regulars, and when a unique blade was mentioned, your name was dropped. There was a lot of footage of you on the club's website and social media presence, and despite you using a fake ID, Ellis had your full name in his records."

"Why did they not arrest me when I started working for Grizz?" I used the fake ID, but if they knew that name as well, wouldn't they've been able to track me down? Isn't everything online these days?

Jaxon's gaze lands on Mags, and I lean forward to get a good look at her. She fidgets under his scrutiny before she makes eye contact with me. "Grizz never filed your employment papers. The stuff you filled out… He never reported you as an employee. He paid you out of his own pocket. Don't ask me how he did the books on his end, but I know you are not on them. And you cashed the check every month, so…officially, you didn't work there."

What?

My jaw drops. "Why?" Why would he—?

"You need to ask him." Her gaze is back on Jaxon.

I need to figure out their relationship. This makes no sense.

"Anyway," Jaxon pulls everyone's attention back to him. "That's why you flew under the radar until last week."

"This is all my fault," Lilly speaks up. "I made you come to the wedding." Rhys places his hands on her shoulders in support, and Mrs. Sheats pats her knee.

"No, it isn't. I was living on borrowed time," I tell no one in particular. If they had E's body and knew about my knife, someone would've eventually found me—tied the knife wound to me.

"Why was I released if they knew that my knife killed him?" I don't have it in me anymore to talk around it.

Marcus steps away from his spot and positions himself next to Jaxon. "They found the real killer Friday night."

My heart halts. Everyone is silent. They all watch me closely while I stare at Marcus, then Jaxon. My brows pull together as I repeat his words in my mind.The real killer?

"I don't understand," I whisper.

Wes interlaces our fingers, and I keep my other hand wrapped around both of ours. His touch is the only thing that keeps me anchored.

Jaxon nods at Marcus, who first looks at Lilly, then back at me. "Lilly received an alert late Friday night. We have watchers in place for everyone involved in her case. The body of a male was dumped in an alley two blocks down from a police station in New Mexico. Then, a caller anonymously reported the body from a burner phone."

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