Read Online White Collared Part One: Mercy by Shelly Bell - Free Book Online
Authors: Shelly Bell
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her body toward Jaxon and bounced from foot to foot. “Can I get you a refreshment? We have bottled water, juice, and a variety of pop.”
“No, thank you.”
The secretary blew out a huge breath and bolted back to her desk.
Nick ushered Kate and Jaxon inside his office. They sat in silence as Nick perused the fax.
When he lifted his head, she read the agony on his face. “This is from the medical examiner’s office. He’s preliminarily ruling Alyssa’s death a homicide with cause of death asphyxiation by ligature strangulation. Do you want me explain the report to you or would you prefer to read it yourself?”
Blanching, Jaxon started to reach for the fax but then dropped his hand to Nick’s desk. “Did she . . . suffer?”
She wanted to hug him close, massage her fingers into his thick hair, and ease his torment. Judging by the photos alone, Alyssa had endured a horrific death, and it hadn’t come quickly.
At least Kate’s father had died instantly. Only the people he’d left behind had suffered.
“I’m sorry, Jaxon.” Nick’s skin had taken on a slightly green tinge. “According to the medical examiner, the killer must have first tried to get her to strangle herself. The way he’d bound her, if she’d tired and dropped her head forward or passed out, the rope would have strangled her. As it was, it severely decreased her oxygen levels. But it was the addition of the collar that cut off her ability to breathe. Based on the blood evidence, the stab wounds were inflicted postmortem. Most of the bruising was determined to have been caused within an hour of her death, but the medical examiner did note prior bruising on her posterior.”
Jaxon breathed heavily as he processed the information. “I don’t understand why I’m still a suspect. I have an alibi.”
“They might believe you hired someone to do it for you,” Kate said, curling her fingers into her pants to keep from touching him. “The police will subpoena your bank records to look for any large or unusual withdrawals of money.”
“They can look all they want. They’re not going to find anything.” Jaxon stared at her almost as if he could read her thoughts. As if he knew how much she wanted to help him. Please him.
What would he think about her if he discovered she’d fantasized about fucking him and Nick at the same time?
Nick’s baritone voice drew Jaxon’s gaze away from her, and she realized she’d been holding her breath. “It doesn’t matter. If they can’t get you for murder, they’ll charge you with battery based on the fact you were Alyssa’s Dom. The newspapers are filled with letters from outraged women’s rights organizations crying for justice and swinging support to Ford in the upcoming election. The pressure is on Savage to file charges or he’s out of office come November. Right now, you’re political fodder. They’re out for blood. Your blood. It’s my job to keep you from making it easy on them, and, if they arrest you, I’ve got to find reasonable doubt. Because you know the whole fucking ‘innocent until proven guilty’ phrase you’re always hearing about? Well, it doesn’t work that way. Occam’s razor: the simplest explanation is usually true.” Nick leaned forward, planting both hands on his desk. “I have to ask. Were you and Alyssa having marital problems?”
Other than a muscle jumping in Jaxon’s jaw, he went completely still. “We shared a house, but not a bed. The day I left for Chicago, I asked for a divorce.” He spoke softly, as if each word pained him, and she heard what he didn’t say.
What if . . .?
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Nick asked gently.
“What was I going to say? Alyssa and I haven’t made love in eighteen months? That I wasn’t enough for her sexually, and so she had to go out and hire a professional Dominatrix to beat her so she could have an orgasm? That I’d failed both as her Dom and her husband?”
Nick held out his hands. “How the
“No, thank you.”
The secretary blew out a huge breath and bolted back to her desk.
Nick ushered Kate and Jaxon inside his office. They sat in silence as Nick perused the fax.
When he lifted his head, she read the agony on his face. “This is from the medical examiner’s office. He’s preliminarily ruling Alyssa’s death a homicide with cause of death asphyxiation by ligature strangulation. Do you want me explain the report to you or would you prefer to read it yourself?”
Blanching, Jaxon started to reach for the fax but then dropped his hand to Nick’s desk. “Did she . . . suffer?”
She wanted to hug him close, massage her fingers into his thick hair, and ease his torment. Judging by the photos alone, Alyssa had endured a horrific death, and it hadn’t come quickly.
At least Kate’s father had died instantly. Only the people he’d left behind had suffered.
“I’m sorry, Jaxon.” Nick’s skin had taken on a slightly green tinge. “According to the medical examiner, the killer must have first tried to get her to strangle herself. The way he’d bound her, if she’d tired and dropped her head forward or passed out, the rope would have strangled her. As it was, it severely decreased her oxygen levels. But it was the addition of the collar that cut off her ability to breathe. Based on the blood evidence, the stab wounds were inflicted postmortem. Most of the bruising was determined to have been caused within an hour of her death, but the medical examiner did note prior bruising on her posterior.”
Jaxon breathed heavily as he processed the information. “I don’t understand why I’m still a suspect. I have an alibi.”
“They might believe you hired someone to do it for you,” Kate said, curling her fingers into her pants to keep from touching him. “The police will subpoena your bank records to look for any large or unusual withdrawals of money.”
“They can look all they want. They’re not going to find anything.” Jaxon stared at her almost as if he could read her thoughts. As if he knew how much she wanted to help him. Please him.
What would he think about her if he discovered she’d fantasized about fucking him and Nick at the same time?
Nick’s baritone voice drew Jaxon’s gaze away from her, and she realized she’d been holding her breath. “It doesn’t matter. If they can’t get you for murder, they’ll charge you with battery based on the fact you were Alyssa’s Dom. The newspapers are filled with letters from outraged women’s rights organizations crying for justice and swinging support to Ford in the upcoming election. The pressure is on Savage to file charges or he’s out of office come November. Right now, you’re political fodder. They’re out for blood. Your blood. It’s my job to keep you from making it easy on them, and, if they arrest you, I’ve got to find reasonable doubt. Because you know the whole fucking ‘innocent until proven guilty’ phrase you’re always hearing about? Well, it doesn’t work that way. Occam’s razor: the simplest explanation is usually true.” Nick leaned forward, planting both hands on his desk. “I have to ask. Were you and Alyssa having marital problems?”
Other than a muscle jumping in Jaxon’s jaw, he went completely still. “We shared a house, but not a bed. The day I left for Chicago, I asked for a divorce.” He spoke softly, as if each word pained him, and she heard what he didn’t say.
What if . . .?
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Nick asked gently.
“What was I going to say? Alyssa and I haven’t made love in eighteen months? That I wasn’t enough for her sexually, and so she had to go out and hire a professional Dominatrix to beat her so she could have an orgasm? That I’d failed both as her Dom and her husband?”
Nick held out his hands. “How the
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