Heart of Dixon(14)
Pressing with my thumb, I open the message, scanning over it quickly to see if it’s possibly a wrong number. But my body turns cold, and my head begins to spin as I read the message.
Don’t get too comfortable.
I’m about to wreak havoc on your perfect little world.
Sleep with one eye open...because you never know when I’m going to strike.
I will get revenge for Jacob, and I won’t rest until I do.
Savannah will pay for what she’s done.
I’m going to take away from her everything she loves.
You’re victim #1 on my list.
- Zak
With shaky fingers, I set my phone down on my lap and run my hands over my face trying to keep it together, so I don’t freak Savannah out. I glance up, and spot Jax coming back over with my wine glass half-filled. I lick my now dry lips and whisper, “Jax, hurry, come look at this!” He immediately notices something is off when his eyes land on mine. He sets my wine glass down, hard, causing the liquid to slosh back and forth in the glass, threatening to spill over.
“What’s wrong?” He asks with a concerned tone as he squats down in front of me. I pick up my phone, shoving it into his chest.
“This is what’s wrong. I just found a text from Zak in my inbox!” I emphasize his name stressing the seriousness of what is happening.
His eyes grow large as he looks down at my phone and reads the message. His fingers move at a lightning fast pace before he hands me back my phone. “I forwarded it to myself and the FBI agent working the case. Let’s hope they can find out where he messaged you from. More than likely, he used a burner phone, but maybe they’ll be able to see at least where in the country he is from the cell tower the phone he used was maybe pinging off of.”
I nod slowly as I listen to everything he is saying. I scoop up my wine glass and take a large gulp because I am suddenly needing the wine to calm my nerves.
“I’ll fill Kayden in on all of this in the morning. I don’t want him stressing over it tonight when Savannah needs him focused on her. She’s having a hard enough time. The last thing she needs is the added stress. So let's keep this quiet for now until we hear back from the police.”
I swallow hard, “Sure. I won’t say a word. My lips are sealed.”
We spend the next hour finishing the movie before calling it a night. Savannah and Kayden head up in front of Jax and me. I’m trying to keep my mind from thinking about the text, but it isn’t working. All I can think about is where Zak may be and what it is he has planned. The idea of sleeping alone terrifies me especially after the whole ‘you better sleep with one eye open’ comment.
I can’t randomly say, ‘Jax sleep with me’, because Savannah knows me too well. She knows I prefer to sleep alone so I can sprawl out across my bed and sleep in peace without fighting for room from a guy. I’m usually the 'wham, bam, Thanks dude for the hot sex, now see ya later' kinda girl.
I grab Jax’s hand and wink at him so he’ll play along. Dragging him down the hall, I pull him around Savannah and Kayden, giggling before turning towards them yelling, “Night, you two!” and disappear into my bedroom for the time being with Jax in tow.
“What was that about?” Jax asks looking from the door back to me with a wicked grin plastered across his face before wrapping his arms around my waist hugging me to him.
“That was me keeping my word and not letting Savannah know about that text I got earlier. I know I’m usually tough as nails Brooklyn. But I have to admit I’m kind of freaked out by it. I don’t want to sleep in here by myself after the threats he made.”
I melt into his arms and find that my fears are slowly easing out of me as he rubs his hand slowly up and down my spine. “I understand and will gladly spend the night if it’ll help you sleep easier.” He presses a kiss to my neck, and I can’t ignore the butterflies that flutter in the pit of my stomach as his soft lips connect with my warm skin.
“Thank you.” My words come out soft and breathy. My mind and my body are all over the place. My brain is saying this is wrong. You don’t feel anything for this guy, and he deserves more than that. You want Dixon. But my body is saying Jax is safe, he is here, Dixon isn’t. Take what you can get.
“No need to thank me.” Breaking away from his embrace, I walk over to the closet where I set all of my suitcases earlier today and dig out a pair of Victoria’s Secret sweats and a cami to slip into before bed.
Not being shy, I strip out of my clothes and slip into my pajamas before joining Jax, who’s already in his briefs and under the blankets. My blood pressure skyrockets as I take in his finely toned body. He’s uncovered from the waist up and looking even better than I remembered. It’s summer in Australia, and I can tell he spent his time away soaking up the rays on the beach because he has the perfect sun-kissed look going on and looks like a damn Aussie Adonis.
A small part of me wishes it wasn’t my time of the month so I could get reacquainted with his thunder down under, but another part of me feels wrong for thinking that way. Jax is the sweetest guy I know. When we agreed to the whole being friends who hook up thing, I was excited. I’ve been on this streak of having to continuously go out to clubs back in L.A. to find a guy so that I wasn’t having to orgasm every damn night with my battery operated boyfriend for years.
I am usually not one who’ll go back to a guy after we hook up. It’s too risky. Things can turn bad fast. I hate drama and avoid it at all costs. But since moving here with Savannah and dealing with a crazy work schedule, I’ve found it more exhausting than fun going out trying to find a guy to have a wild time with. Too many have been duds in the bedroom making the whole process depressing. So finding Xander and Jax seemed like a freaking jackpot in my eyes. Things were perfect. We were all content with how things were.
Then Dixon had to waltz into my fucking life. He’s flipped everything upside down and messed with my head. I dream about him every damn night. My body craves his touch every second of the day. For the first time ever, I actually feel guilt. I don’t think it’s fair for me to be with Jax intimately when subconsciously I’m thinking of Dixon. It happened to me the other night with Xander. Ever since, I’ve felt like the biggest bitch ever.
I have a few wild hook ups with Dixon, and now I'm questioning everything I thought I ever wanted. I hate this. Life was simple before Dixon had to make me go all girly and oh-so-needy. I’ve never felt like this...ever.
“Are you okay?” Jax asks pulling me from my thoughts.
I tilt my head and stare at him questionably. “What?”
He lets out a husky chuckle that makes a wave of warmth wash over my skin, “You’re just standing beside the bed with this faraway look in your eyes. I didn’t know if you were still thinking about Zak.”
Pulling the blankets down on my side of the bed, I slide under the warm blankets and curl into Jax’s side. He wraps his arm around me and gently runs his fingers up and down my arm, soothing me and helping push my thoughts away for now.
“I’m okay. I was letting my brain run wild for a minute there, but I’m okay now. Thanks again for staying with me tonight.”
I feel Jax shift and then feel his lips press against the top of my head. “It’s nothing, really. Everything going on right now is scary, but I promise I won’t allow anything to happen to you or Savannah.”
This time the butterflies in my belly feel like a swarm of bees as I feel sick to my stomach. Using him for comfort feels wrong. I pray he doesn’t get the wrong idea. The last thing I want is to lead Jax on then feel like an evil bitch for pushing him away. Right now, I have no idea what I want and don’t want. Dixon isn’t talking to me so I need to try to do what I can to forget about him. He isn’t worth my time or my trouble. Jax is here. He’s willing to be the knight in shining armor I need at this moment.
It’s been four days since Savannah came home and since I received the text from Zak. Since that night, I haven’t gotten any more messages from him, and the cops have had zero luck tracking where the message came from. So we’re still left in this bubble of confusion wondering where he is and what it is he’s plotting.
Jax filled Kayden in privately, and he agreed it was best to not tell Savannah. There’s no reason to give her one more thing to worry over when there is no helpful information coming from Zak contacting me. For now, all we can do is try to move on with our lives, get things back to as normal as possible, and leave the stress of worrying about where Zak is to the police. I’m grateful I get to fly to Vancouver Monday because working will help distract me. Kicking the shit out of people will definitely be therapeutic.
I just finished up a kickboxing class here in Sugar Land, and every inch of my body hurts, but at the same time I feel amazing. I needed to blow off some steam and release the aggravation built up inside of me. Savannah was bummed she couldn’t go, but we have a fun spa day planned with Mya while Kayden and the guys head up to the Beaumont Cabin and do some fishing.
I usually go to one the in Galveston, but Jax thought it was best to find one close to the house to be safe since no one knows for sure where Zak is. He said it was best to not go to places Zak knows we regularly visit. Before heading back to Kayden’s house, we stop first at Dunn Bros swinging through the drive-thru to get iced coffees. I order my white chocolate mocha and get Savannah a mocha iced coffee.