Chapter 17

Various emotions flashed on Amy’s face as Jaxon watched.  Fear, nervousness, anger, all so quickly that none of them settled into place.  He knew that she was conflicted, but about what, he didn’t have a clue.  Around him, the air was thick with tension, another thing that Jaxon wasn’t sure of the cause.  He was tired of being out of the loop when it came to this family, but he had a feeling that he wasn’t the first person to feel this way.  They were a united front, more in tuned with one another than they realized.  Even now, as Amy’s eyes flashed with emotions, her brothers were beginning to tense.

“You don’t need that,” Spencer snapped.  Jaxon glanced at the man in shock.  Out of all the brothers, Spencer was the most laid back.  He was the one that made jokes while the others glared, but the harsh tone that had just left the man’s mouth was underlined with more danger than any of the other brothers had shown so far.

The others must have picked up on Spencer’s mood, because soon, Logan was pushing off the wall he was leaning against.  Eyes narrowed and arms crossed against his chest, the man looked ready to stare down an entire army. “What's in it?”

“Me,” Amy whispered, making them all look towards her.  “He researched me.”

Carson strolled across the room, which was only a few steps with how small the motel was, and snatched the file from Marshal’s hands.  When Marshal opened his mouth to protest, a look from Asher kept the man’s mouth tightly shut.  Carson flipped open the file, and the longer he read, the more annoyed he began to look, until finally, he tossed the file onto the bed in obvious frustration.  “How did you get all of that?”

“Background checks,” Marshal answered easily.

“You’re lying,” Asher accused without a single doubt in his voice.  “Amy’s files are sealed.  They have been for a while now.  How did you get your information?”

Marshal glanced away from them all, looking uncomfortable under all of their gazes.  Jaxon didn’t blame the man.  If he had the entire O’Neal family breathing down his neck, uncomfortable would be the best feeling he had.  “I have friends that can unseal files.”

“I don’t understand,” Amy snapped, interrupting their conversation.  “You said that you researched me to see the type of person that I am, to see if I was someone who you could trust, but what does any of that have to do with this?”  She stomped towards the bed and snatched the file off the comforter.  By the slight shock on her face, Jaxon knew that it was the first time she was seeing exactly what was inside that blue folder.  “How does knowing this about me pertain to your case at all?”  Her voice rose as she slammed the folder shut and waved it in the air.  “How does knowing about my life have anything to do with Jaxon?”

Marshal took a step towards Amy, and Jaxon had to admit that the man was brave.  If he could stand up to Amy’s anger, with her brothers close behind, the man was either stupid, or someone Jaxon wanted in his corner.  “I’m sorry,” Marshal whispered as he laid his hand on her arm.  Jaxon stared at his hand, wondering what they all would do if he just pushed the two of them apart, maybe just far enough to fit him between them.  “I didn’t plan to say anything that wasn’t important.”

Amy relaxed, shocking Jaxon a little by how easily her anger disappeared.  “I still don’t understand why you had to go so deep.  You didn’t need to know everything to learn what type of person I am.”

“I didn’t,” Marshal said with a half-smile.  “I didn’t need this file to tell me what type of woman you are.  I didn’t need a background check to tell me that you’re the most loyal, strong, trustworthy woman I have ever met.”

A smile kicked up the corner of Amy’s lips, and Jaxon rolled his eyes.  He couldn’t believe she was falling for that line.  “Can we get on with it?” he snapped, making the two of them jump apart as if they had just been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.  “How do we know we can even trust the man?  As far as we know, he’s trying to stall while his partners come.”

“He’s not on the bad side,” Logan said, and when everyone turned to him for an explanation, he simply stared back at them.

Spencer mumbled something beneath his breath before nodding towards Jaxon.  “I’m with him.  I don’t trust the guy, nor do I trust his source.  How do we know that the man who gave him his information isn’t in cahoots with the bad guys?”

“Cahoots?” Carson echoed with a laugh while Logan let out a sigh.

“I gave him the information.”

Silence echoed throughout the room as everyone turned a disbelieving look towards Logan.  Amy’s arms crossed over her chest, but when Jaxon expected anger to flash in her green eyes, there was only hurt.  “Why?” she whispered, voicing all of their question.

Logan glanced towards the file still clutched in her grip.  “I love you.”

Amy closed her eyes when Logan said the words, and when she opened them back up, she shook her head at him.  “Give me the entire reason, Logan.  Say the words, because I’m tired of trying to guess what you’re thinking.”

“If I thought there was anything in there that you wouldn’t have told the marshal himself, I wouldn’t have given the man the information to begin with.  He told me he thought you were mixed up in something that you shouldn’t be, and I didn’t think twice to give him the information he needed to get you out of it.  Do I regret my decision?  No.  Do I wish I would have done something else?  A little, Amy.  If I could have thought of another way that erased your disappointment, I would have.”

“I’m not disappointed,” she said with a sigh.  “I wish you would have come to me first, Logan.”

Asher cleared his throat, shifting Amy’s attention from Logan to him.  “You want to live your own life, sis, and we understand that.  For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been trying to pull out of your life, let you make your own decisions, but you have to remember that it’s hard for us too.  Our little sister wants to grow up.  You want to handle your problems on your own, but we’re so used to helping you fight your battles that were lost as to what we’re supposed to do.”

“Logan giving Marshal that file,” Carson continued, “was the only way he could help without seeming like he was interfering.”

“You can’t really blame us for still trying to fight your battles,” Spencer said with a smile.

“But you can blame me for doing it behind your back.”  Amy glanced towards the last speaker, and with a simple smile, put Logan out of his misery.  The man visibly relaxed, and surprisingly, sent Amy a large smile.  “I thought you’d hold that over my head a little longer.”

“Oh, I plan on it,” Amy said in a slightly evil voice before turning her undivided attention to Marshal, who shifted under her scrutiny.  “Say what you have to, Marshal.  I’m taking you by your word.”

She snapped her hand out, almost smacking Marshal in the chest with the file.  Marshal eased it from her grip while sending her a thankful smile.  “I won’t even open it,” he promised before tossing it towards the bed.  “There’s just one name that popped up when I was reading through your file that stuck out to me.”

“Whose?”

Marshal glanced towards Jaxon as if wanting to know if he could speak freely.  When Amy nodded, Jaxon felt a triumphant grin fall onto his mouth.  “Your ex-fiancé’s.”

 “I knew the bastard was shady,” Carson said with a smirk.  “None of you would believe me.”

“He was a doctor,” Spencer said in defense.

“He’s not bad,” Marshal blurted, before another member of the O’Neal family could say a word.  “It’s his boss.”

Asher mumbled a curse before reaching into his pocket.  Without a word, the man drew out his wallet, slipping a twenty from it before slapping it into Logan’s open hand.  “I can’t believe you knew.”

“He felt off,” Logan said in explanation before stuffing the money into his pocket.  “Didn’t think it’d be drugs.”

“How did you know…” Marshal started before shaking his head.  “Never mind, don’t answer that.  You’re right though. The man who runs the clinic has been selling prescription drugs for about five years now.  He runs the operation in the back office, one that has a door leading to the outside.”

“I always wondered why that door was locked,” Amy mumbled before shaking her head.  “I knew my ex couldn’t be involved in any of this.  He doesn’t even know, does he?”  When Marshal shook his head, she smiled.  “He may be an ass, but he’s a good man.”

Spencer snorted while the others shook their heads.  Even Jaxon had to admit that he didn’t think Amy’s ex was a good man.  A good man didn’t leave a woman just because she couldn’t have children.  A good man didn’t leave Amy at all, because a woman like her was hard to come by.  If he was Amy’s ex, he would have done everything in his power to make sure that she could never leave.  Sending her away wouldn’t have been an option and walking away would have been even more impossible.

“I still don’t understand what this has to do with me.”

Everyone turned towards Jaxon as the words left his mouth, but by now, being under all of those stares felt normal.  Making eye contact with Amy, he shrugged.  “The man is dirty, and he needs to be put to justice, but why does the marshal need to tell us that if all he was doing was trying to track me down?”

“I’ve been trying to nail this guy for years,” Marshal said in frustration as he ran a hand through his hair.  “Until you, I didn’t have any leads.”  Nobody said a word as Marshal’s eyes landed on Jaxon, making the man sigh.  “That flash drive that you have has some extremely powerful information on there.  You have an entire list of people who are involved in this mess, but without proof, we can’t prosecute them.  It’s why I need that flash drive.  I need evidence of the doctor’s crimes so I can finally put that man where he belongs.”

 “This is personal for you,” Asher said, again stating his words like they were fact.

When Marshal nodded in agreement, Jaxon wasn’t even the slightest bit shocked that Asher had guessed the man’s motives.  “My younger sister was caught up in drugs.  We did everything we could to keep her clean, sent her to rehab, and she was doing well for a while, until she sprang her ankle and went to that damn clinic.  Maybe I shouldn’t just blame the doctor for my sister’s OD.  She made her own choices, but I won’t let her die in vain.  I won’t let what happened to her happen to anyone else.”

“I’m sorry,” Jaxon said, truly meaning the words.  “I know what it feels like to lose someone that you love, but there is nothing about your doctor in my files.”

Complete defeat fell onto the man’s face as he closed his eyes.  He rubbed a hand across his eyes, looking as if he was going to fall apart at any moment.  “Nothing?”  Jaxon shook his head.  “All these years,” Marshal mumbled beneath his breath as he drew his hand away and opened his eyes.  “They were useless.”

“I can help.”

“Amy,” Asher said in a warning tone, but the woman ignored him.

Taking a step towards Marshal, Amy grabbed the man’s hand in comfort.  “I can help you get what you need on the doctor.”

“How?”

A weak smile formed on her face, one that was not even close to being genuine.  “I guess it’s time I finally had that talk with my past.”

“Amy,” Spencer whispered.  “You don’t have to do this.”

“You’re right,” she agreed before glancing towards Jaxon, “but this won’t only help Marshal.”

“Don’t do this for me,” Jaxon said as his throat clogged with emotion that he had thought he buried long ago.

Her smile turned less sad and a little more confident.  “I’m not doing it just for you.  I’m doing it for myself too.”  Throwing her hair over her shoulder, she raised her chin in determination.  “Time to go home.”

Jaxon smiled at her, wishing that he could feel even the slightest bit of the confidence that seemed to fill Amy.  Because at that moment, nothing but worry churned in his stomach, worry that she would get herself into more trouble, worry that he would do something to get her hurt.  He pushed the feeling aside, knowing that he had to be strong, not only for himself but for Amy too, because there was no doubt in his mind about what was coming next.  There was no doubt that by the time this entire mess was sorted, there would be more than one person suffering from the consequences.