Page 19 of Marked for Obsession

A few minutes later, both men stood near the same dumpster under which Poppy claimed to have lost her phone. A phone that, according to Ivan and his mad computer skills, had pinged off a nearby cell tower late Thursday night. Unfortunately for them, it had apparently been turned off completely since early Friday morning.

Jax studied the area for the second time that day, giving the other man a verbal run-through of the alleged events.

“Poppy’s account of what happened that night matches the police report exactly. She nearly falls, dropping her phone in the process. Goes looking for it under the dumpster, hears male voices, glances around said dumpster, and sees two men carrying a dead guy to the trunk of a car.” One lined with plastic. “Shocked, she nearly falls again, which alerts the men of her presence. They go after her, she abandons the unreachable phone, and runs half a block to my club where her co-workers are expecting her.”

“You mentioned before that she bumped into you.”

“She did.” Jax thought back to that glorious moment. “Then her friend Kyle finds her, drives her to Declan’s police station where she tells them what she saw. They send a patrol unit to check it out, and—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Ivan cut him off. “I’ve read the report, Boss. My earlier question still stands. Are you going to take the case or not?’

Jax thought about Poppy’s claims. Remembered the fear he’d seen swirling around in her beautiful brown eyes when they’d met his for the very first time.

He thought about her perseverance in the pursuit of what she truly believed to be justice. Justice for a man she didn’t know. A man who, to hear her tell it, had been murdered.

Something else crossed his mind…

Taking Poppy on as a client would mean spending more time with the gorgeous nurse. And if he was lucky, once the case had been solved, he might even get a chance to taste those full, bow-shaped lips of hers.

Make no mistake, Kitten. I will taste you.

“Uh..Jax?”

Jax blinked, only then remembering Ivan—and the question that still needed an answer. “Yes.” He headed for the office door. “I’m taking the case.”

“Hang on.” The other man rose to his feet and followed. “Aren’t you going to call and let her know?”

“I’m going to do her one better.”

“What’s that?” Ivan caught up to him.

With his hand on the knob, Jax turned and faced his most trusted friend. “I’m going to deliver the news in person.”

“Hang on, I’ll grab the file so you have the address where she’s staying.”

“Don’t bother.” Jax tapped his temple as the two men exited the room. “I’ve got it all right here.”

Her Denver address was listed on one of the forms included with the intel Ivan had gathered at Jax’s behest. Knowing it would be information he’d likely need again later, he’d committed that shit to memory on the spot.

And the fact that Poppy’s apartment was only a few blocks from Sin, well…

That makes my job that much easier.

* * *

Poppy punchedher pillow as if it were life’s worst enemy, using the guise of fluffing it to release her frustration. It had been hours since she’d left Sin—and the sexy Jax Monroe—to come home and rest, yet she’d barely slept at all. And why?

Because I can’t stop thinking about him.

Him and the play-by-play she’d gone through with him in that alley.

She knew what she’d seen. That she hadn’t imagined it. But for some reason hearing herself as she’d walkedhimthrough it made her feel almost self-conscious. As if she was worried about what he might think of her.

Funny…you didn’t seem to care what the cops thought of you.

No, she hadn’t. Not when she’d first gone to the precinct to report it, nor during her subsequent visits there. But with Jax…

I don’t want him to think I’m crazy.

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