The Dangerous Curves Series

Chapter 66

Annie handed Jax his over-full coffee, trying not to spill it all over both of them. After almost fifteen years of waitressing, her hands were practically made of dragon hide, but burns from hot water still smarted.

“Thanks,” he said, and gingerly took a sip. It was atrocious, as always.

“I want to talk to you about Dave,” Annie said.

Jax leaned back against the wall. He’d spent quite a lot of time thinking about Dave, and he’d been in close contact with a few local cops he knew well. They were keeping him in the loop about the hunt for Dave, but so far, the piece of s**t had apparently fallen off the planet. Jax was sure that Daddy had the little f**k safely hidden away in a golf buddy’s country estate in France, or some beach house in Aruba.

“OK,” he said calmly. “What about the fucker?”

Annie didn’t even wince at the bad language. “The cops in New York finally talked to his family.”

“Oh, yeah? That took long enough, huh?”

“Well, Mr. Townsend is a very generous contributor to some local political campaigns, and he’s big in commercial property development. Nobody’s in much of a rush to upset him, I’m guessing, and his lawyers are experts at stalling and delaying.”

“Uh-huh. And what did Mr. Fucker have to say about his darling son?”

“That he hasn’t seen him or heard from him in over a week. I’d say that he’s telling the truth, actually.”

“You would?” Jax stared at her.

“Sure. Notice that he didn’t say that he doesn’t know where his asshole offspring is – just that they haven’t directly communicated. Legally, he’s in the clear so long as Dave stays holed up, and doesn’t talk to his family. Dave can, of course, still talk to the lawyers, who are bound by attorney-client privilege, and who can then pass on any information to Daddy. See?”

Jax sighed. “Yeah.”

“Speaking of which… I got a call from the Townsend family lawyer this morning.”

Jax’s gaze sharpened. “Did you now?”

“I did. The guy said that the Townsends wanted to pay for Sarah’s treatment at some exclusive Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Center. Apparently, the waiting list to get in is two years, but they have contacts, and can get her a spot as soon as I say the word.”

“Where is this place?”

“In Germany.”

“f**k off.”

“My words, exactly.”

“And? What did he say back?”

“Told me to think about it long and hard. Told me that the family wanted to help her – she’s such a sweet girl, you see – and they can make things happen that I can’t, that nobody else can. I’d be foolish to pass up this offer of help.”

Jax paused again. “You feel like it was a bribe? Back off Dave, and Sarah gets transferred to some world-class TBI Center?”

“Of course.” Annie stared up at him, furious. “But I’m not playing that game.”

“You sure, Annie?” Jax was gentle now. “This is your daughter we’re talking about, and I don’t think many people would blame you for wanting to get the best for her.”

“You think dancing with the devil who did this to her is what’s best for Sarah?"

“No. I don’t. But she’s not my kid, and it’s not my decision.”

Annie sighed. “No damn way, Jax. No way I let those people anywhere near her. You hear me?”

Thank God. Not that I’d hold it against her, but man, I’d hate every second of Sarah being taken care of by those parasites.

“I hear you.” He shifted on his feet. “Any word from Mac?”

“Not yet.” Annie bit her lip. “He’ll be here in about an hour, he said.”

“OK. So we wait.”

“Yeah.” Annie rubbed her eyes, and looked exhausted. “We wait. Some more.”