Page 31 of Marked for Obsession

Going after Poppy? That was the dumbest game that bastard could’ve chosen to play today.

Maggie’s hazel eyes softened. “As long as you’re okay. I do have to ask, though… who is this woman to you?”

“A client.” Why did everyone keep asking him that?

In a different time, maybe—a differentworld—he’d rather enjoy it if she was more than that. Much, much more. But she wasn’t, so he needed to focus on doing his job.

And part of that job just became keeping her safe.

“Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

“You know me, darlin’. Careful is my middle name.” Jax gave Maggie a quick wink.

“Sure it is.” Laughing softly, she stepped around him to return to her official duties. Speaking to Declan and Grady, she told the two detectives, “We didn’t find a wallet or any other form of I.D. on our vic, but we did find a cell phone in his pocket.” Maggie held out her hand as one of her techs handed her a smart phone sealed in a clear evidence bag. She gave it to Declan. “Maybe you can find something on it that will help.”

“Thanks, Mags.” Declan looked it over as best he could. Studying the phone’s decorative case, his lips curved into a half-smirk. “Doesn’t really seem like the dragonfly type, but to each their own, I suppose.”

“Dragonfly?” Poppy rushed to join them with Grady following closely behind. When she got her first good look at the device in question, she blurted, “That’s my phone.” Her voice became elevated with excitement as she looked back up at him. “That’s the one I lost in the alley.”

“You’re sure?” Maggie took the bag from Declan and held it out for Poppy to get a closer look. With a sweet smile, she added, “I’m Dr. Killion, by the way.”

“I’m Poppy.” She grabbed the protected piece of evidence and flipped it over to look at the back. “This is it. See this crack in the case right here?” She pointed to a slight fracture in the protective case. “That happened the day I flew into Denver. I was at the airport trying to help my Uber driver put my luggage into his trunk, and it slipped out of my hand and landed on the curb.” Testing the button on the side, her shoulders fell with a disappointment when the screen remained black. “It’s dead. But I’m telling you, this is my phone.”

“Makes sense, Dec.” Jax looked at his brother. “She left it behind that night, and either this guy or someone he’s working with retrieved it before they left the alley.”

Declan shrugged. “Or he bought it off the street and hasn’t had a chance to try to jailbreak it.”

“You can’t seriously believe that?” Poppy’s brow furrowed with an incredulous frown.

“She’s right,” Jax came to her defense. “Can’t be a coincidence that she reports what she saw, and then three days later, a man who just happens to be carrying that same phone breaks into her apartment and tries to kill her.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Grady chimed in. Raising a quick hand to stave off further arguments, he added, “I’m just saying, the two incidents could be tied together, or—”

“Or what?” Jax took a step closer. “I get that the DPD isn’t used to sharing their investigations, but if we figure out who this guy is, we might be able to also figure out who those two men killed that night. And if we can I.D.him—”

“He could lead us to his killers,” Declan finished for him. “We don’t disagree with your logic, Jax. All we’re saying is we need to take this thing one step at a time. Right now, that means taking this”—he held up the bagged phone—“and everything else we’ve collected back the lab to be processed.”

“Along with him.” Grady glanced at the dead guy who was currently being loaded onto a gurney.

Seeing Poppy’s face blanche, Jax stepped between her and the body to block her line of sight. “You need to go pack a bag. Get enough clothes for a day or two and any toiletries or any of that stuff you might need.”

“Where are we going?”

“You can’t stay here, for obvious reasons. Too many people come and go through hotels too easily, making them a security nightmare.”

“So where am I supposed to stay?”

Ignoring the others in the room, Jax locked his eyes onto hers and said, “You’re staying with me.”

6

“Wow.”Poppy took in what she could see of Jax’s spacious apartment. “This is amazing.”

“Thanks.” Jax flashed her a panty-dropping wink and a smile as he set her bag down by the door.

Looking around again, she couldn’t help but be impressed.

Jax had gone with a modern-yet-comfortable feel with each piece of furniture and other décor complimenting each other with perfection. The walls were a stark white which contrasted beautifully with the dark wooden floors running throughout.

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