Page 125 of The Broken Keys

It’s been days since the accident, and I still can’t catch my breath. It’s the same hopeless feeling I had when my so-called uncle brought me home from my family’s funeral.

Which reminds me. Axel’s latest report sits unopened on my desk. More details about the black SUV. More evidence pointing to people who want me dead and used her to send their message.

I can’t read it. Not yet. Not when knowing who’s responsible means facing what I have to do about it.

The office door opens, and Natalie peeks in.

“Jaxon, the Singapore team is asking about rescheduling.” She stops when she sees my face. “I can tell them next week, if that works.”

“Next week is fine.”

She lingers in the doorway. “Is there anything you need?”

What I need is sitting in a house with a man who thinks he’s won, living a life built on lies we’re both telling to keep her healthy.

“No. Thank you, Natalie.”

She leaves, and I’m alone again with the growing certainty that watching Livianna rebuild her life without me might be one of the hardest things I’ll ever do.

A couple of hours pass, and my phone buzzes. It’s not Cash this time. It’s a photo of security footage from Livianna’s gate. Cash’s rental car is pulling into her driveway.

Axel is doing his job and keeping me informed, like I asked the night before her accident. I should delete it and tell Axel to stop sending updates.

I should let her go instead of being haunted by the phantom of her. But I don’t because this is all I have left of her, and right now, I’m clinging to it.

Sunday

Now

I roll to the side of my bed, swing my legs out, and scrub my face in the palms of my hands. “It’s time to get your shit together, Jaxon.”

My head pounds from the abuse I put it through last night by drinking more than enough of The Macallan 24. The same whiskey Livianna one-upped me on when she was eighteen.

Everything I do has a direct link back to her. My soul is laid bare, and I’m reeling in my losses.

A baby. I didn’t even know I would feel the agony of something like losing it, but it’s a knife in my heart.

I didn’t realize I wanted kids until one was stripped away from the woman I love. Maybe that’s why the grief is so raw. I lost them both, and I have no one to blame but myself.

My phone rings. I grab it off my nightstand and answer it.

“Hello, this is Jaxon.”

“Jaxon, it’s Greg Hemings.”

I’m on my feet, adrenaline taking over. “What is it, Greg? Is this about…”

I stop myself. I can’t ask about Livianna when he has no clue we were in a relationship.

He breaks through my thoughts. “I’d like you to stop by the house today. We have some important things to discuss.”

“Such as?” I drag myself to the kitchen.

“Nothing that should be talked about over the phone.”

“This sounds ominous. Is everything okay?”

“No. You owe me a favor, and I’m ready to cash in.”