Page 18 of Marked for Obsession

“Or she could be lying.” Ivan shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time someone made a false report out of some fucked up bid for attention.

It was possible, but Jax didn’t think so.

“I watched her closely,” he told the other man.So, so closely.“She never hesitated when I drilled her about what she saw. Never so much wavered in her recollection of the facts. No matter how many times I tried tripping her up, Poppy’s story remained the same.”

It also matched the police report Ivan had emailed him earlier.

“You saying you believe her?”

Choosing his words carefully, Jax met his friend’s steely gaze. “I’m saying I believe thatshebelieves every single word she said. Problem is, I have no evidence to back it up.” Opening the folder, he began skimming its contents. “What about you? Find anything I can use?”

“Not really.” Ivan shifted in his seat. “From what I can tell, your girl’s as clean as a whistle. No priors or any sort of run-in with the law. Hell, she’s never even had a parking ticket.”

The deep background report in Jax’s hands confirmed that.

Earlier, while following Poppy out of the club and down the street, he’d discreetly shot his former teammate a text with the order to run a check on the adorable woman. Looking at the file’s contents now, Jax was pleased to find the intel he’d requested.

Included were her birth certificate, social security number, address of the farm where she’d grown up, her high school and college transcripts… Ivan had even included a copy of Poppy’s medical record.

The man is nothing if not thorough.

“Any previous police reports filed with her name on them?” The question needed to be asked because, unfortunately, Ivan’s previous comment was right.

The world was filled with people—both women and men—who’d do just about anything for attention. Including lying to the police about a made-up murder.

“Nope.” Ivan shook his head. “There’s also no history of mental illness in her family. Speaking of which, Miss Campbell’s an only child. Parents’ names are James and Stacey Campbell. Mom’s a high school English teacher, and her dad is a Navy Veteran. Worked as a constructional mechanic until he was medically separated. Recently retired as a manager at some big grain elevator there in Atchison. He made sixty-grand a year; their cars are both paid off, and they only owe twelve grand on their mortgage. On paper, they seem pretty solid. So does Poppy. Oh and I also put her most recent bank statement in there. Just in case you wanted that, too.” Ivan nodded toward the folder.

Flipping through the loose pages, Jax located the statement in question. After a quick glance at her transactions and balances, he confirmed that Poppy had more than enough in savings to cover his costs.

“Small-town girl with a good head on her shoulders,” he mused. “Anything else I should know?”

“Just that she went to college right out of high school. Attended Park University in Parkville, Missouri. Was accepted into the University’s accelerated nursing program and ended up finishing at the top of her class. She was immediately hired on at one of the biggest hospitals in Kansas City and worked there until a year ago, when she left to do the travel nurse gig.”

Jax barely held back a smile. The spunky woman was independent, financially responsible, and she had brains. All characteristics that turned him on as much as her luscious curves.

“What about her personal life?” He continued flipping through the loose pages. “Anything there that could potentially be a problem?”

“You mean like does she have a husband or a boyfriend? No.” Ivan’s thin lips curved into a knowing smirk. “According to her social media accounts, she’s had a few boyfriends here and there. Only one of those appeared to be serious, but that ended about a year ago.”

“Let me guess. This was around the same time she signed up to become a travel nurse?”

“Got it in one, Boss.” Ivan nodded. “As usual.”

Yes, well…no one ever accused him of being a dumbass. Actually, that was a lie. Declan had accused him of that very thing. Many,manytimes.

Ah, brotherly love.

Closing the folder with plans to look it over again later, Jax summarized Ivan’s findings. “So she’s a single, successful woman who, from all accounts, is of sound mind and body.”

A body he very much longed to see come undone beneath his.

“Sounds like it,” his friend agreed. “So what’s the verdict? You gonna take her case or not?”

Jax set the file down onto his desk and turned to his friend. “I want to go back to that alley. Without Poppy this time.”

Because damn if being around her wasn’t distracting as fuck.

“Then let’s go.” Ivan pushed himself to his feet.

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