Page 95 of Kiss Marry Kill
He pushed her back into the bed and climbed in too, hovering above her. He took her face in his hands. He needed her eyes on his when he told her, correctly this time: “That song . . .” He shook his head, overcome with emotion. He wanted to say so much, but he pushed through the lump in his throat and instead he just chose the words that mattered most. “I love you too, sweetheart.”
Her phone began to ring and they both looked at each other, puzzled. It was late.
“I swear to God, we have the worst timing. When this is all over, I’m packing us up and taking us on a vacation where there are no goddamn phones.” He looked over at the screen and then to her. Shit, it said “unknown caller.”
“Oh, damn,” Megan said, pushing him aside and sitting up. “I forgot to tell you and the guys that someone called and hung up this morning.”
They’d switched out phones last week and she had a new number. So this was more disconcerting than the original hang-ups. “How could you forget to tell me? Did you give anyone the new number?”
“My parents called right after and I totally forgot,” she looked at the screen. “Speaking of . . . give me a second, Rambo’s sick and I want to know how he’s doing. And no, the only people who have my new number are close family and friends.”
Megan reached for her phone. “Hi, Mom.” Rolling her eyes, she put her mom on speakerphone when he gestured that he wanted to hear the call. Let her think he was being paranoid, as long as she was safe.
“Megan, I have some bad news.” Rose began, but her father took the phone.
“Megan, you there?” For the second time that night, Jax’s spine tingled. Whatever her father was going to say, it wasn’t going to be good.
“Dad? What’s going on?” Megan stood and her hands trembled as she paced.
Jax neared, listening intently.
“We took Rambo to the vet.”
“Yes, and?”
“I’m sorry, Megan, but he’s not doing well. He lost a lot of blood.”
“What? ” A sob broke out as she said it. “I-is Rambo going to die? H-how . . . wh-what?” She sat back down. “It was just a bug. All he did was throw up. What do you mean he lost a lot of blood? You took him to the vet, and he—” She couldn’t finish the sentence.
Jax came to her and took the phone from her hand, taking it off speaker. “Mr. Cruz, this is Jackson Irons, what’s going on? . . . I see. . . . And the vet confirmed that? . . . Someone from my team will need the chart and more info. . . . Yes, sir. Of course. Expect my call tomorrow.”
Jax put the phone on the table and slid a palm over his face before squeezing the back of his neck.
“It was rat poison. Someone gave him rat—or mouse—” He emphasized the word so that she would understand the connection. “Poison. He’s in critical care. If he makes it through the next few days, he should be okay. But, Megan, it’s not looking good.”
“Holy shit.” Megan trembled before sliding down the floor.
Chapter 17
PRESENT DAY
Feeling light-headed, Megan reached behind her and held on to the nearest wall. “Rambo was poisoned.”
“Megan . . .”
“I just . . . how? I mean . . . what?”
“I’m sorry about Rambo, sweetheart.” He opened a water bottle and handed it to her. “Fuck. That just confirmed it. There’s someone else.”
Jax Skyped Joey and told him about Rambo while Megan sat on the floor listening to the conversation and trying to wrap her head around the fact that someone had poisoned her dog. “Joey, I need you talking directly to Martinez.”
“On it,” Joey replied.
“I want to know what exactly was given to Rambo. I want to know where we are with the search warrant, and I want you there when they search the house. I’d go myself but I’m not leaving Megan. And I want to know every single thing we can about Ryan Milano. Where he grew up, where he went to school, who his friends are . . . everything.”
“Already on it,” Joey said. “I’ll call as soon as I have anything. Be safe. Jax, man, take care and try to keep your head on straight.”
When they hung up, Jax went to the huge bathroom and drew Megan a bath. “Come on, Meg. Why don’t you go take a nice long soak? Try to relax. I’ll order us some food.”
