Read Online Payable On Death: A Jax Rhodes Novel, Book One (The Jax Rhodes Series 1) by Rachel Rawlings - Free Book Online
Authors: Rachel Rawlings
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leave, his sneaker squeaking on the linoleum floor.
"Hey, where you running off to, kid?" One of the officers left Dane answering his partner's questions about the religious items on the floor and headed our way.
I barely heard Dane's explanation of communion and last rites over Tommy's muttered cursing.
"You got something more important to do right now than giving us a statement?" The officer gave Tommy a once over, visually sizing him up.
"No, sir."
"I'm hearing the right words, just the wrong tone."
"No, sir, I'd be happy to give my statement now." The words dripped like honey from his lips as daggers flew from his eyes. Tommy was fired up and I wasn't sure why but he finally told the cop what he saw.
I waited for my turn, repeating for the most part what everyone else said. I added a few details about how she seemed to know me, that perhaps she knew my mother. Recognition dawned in the officer's eyes at the mention of my mom. Every cop in the city showed up at our house the night she killed my stepfather.
I left out the part about demons and the Elioud, because the first he wouldn't believe and the second I didn't know how to explain. And he wouldn't believe it even if I did.
After what felt like days, we wrote down all of our contact info and were deemed free to leave. Everyone except Dane. His missing person case had become a police investigation and they wanted to know more about the dead woman. Tommy and I walked out with just enough time for me to make my shift at the bar and for him to meet his mom for dinner. I wanted to talk to him about why he'd been acting so weird, but unfortunately it had to wait, along with the conversation about his feelings for me.
Bad Decisions was, thankfully, uneventful. My tank top, as I figured it would, proved to be a wise choice. The conversation, beer, and tips flowed freely. Any other night, I would have been exhausted after a shift like that. Instead, I felt relieved for the reprieve, for the normalcy after one of the weirdest days of my life. And that was saying something, believe me.
After the last inebriated patron found his way into an Uber car, I wiped down the bar top and tables, counted down the till, and headed home for what remained of the night.
I tossed my keys and cell on the nightstand, stripped down to my bra and panties, after I closed the blinds and hit the sheets. Dreams of winged creatures, feather and leather alike, tormented my sleep. Twice I woke screaming, certain I felt something brush my cheek. Another time it was from a backdraft-like breeze despite all the windows being closed.
I woke the next morning to find down strewn about my room, the small white feathers fluttering across the floor. I must have tossed and turned more than I thought. I smacked the comforter, watching more of its soft filling fluff out. Time for a new one, I supposed, making my way to the bathroom. I caught sight of a larger feather with a strange opalescent sheen and a chill ran down my spine. Someone else might have panicked but my life got weirder and weirder every fucking day that passed.
I was getting used to it.
TEN
The morning flew by without any visits from Lazarus or his friends. He'd haunted my steps for so long I'd grown suspicious of his sudden indifference to my existence. After my third cup of coffee and still no signs of the Devil's favorite tormentor, I decided waiting for a trap to spring was a pretty unproductive way to spend my day.
Joan's last words were on repeat in my mind. I fired up my laptop and refilled my mug. I'd just settled in to do some hardcore googling when my phone rang. Not recognizing the number, I let it go to voicemail. Before I could figure out how to search Elioud without even knowing how the hell to spell it, my cell rang again.
"Yeah?"
"Uh, Jax?"
"Dane?"
"Yeah, did I catch you at a bad time?"
"Huh? Oh no, I'm just trying to look up something Joan said to me before she, before she um, well, you
"Hey, where you running off to, kid?" One of the officers left Dane answering his partner's questions about the religious items on the floor and headed our way.
I barely heard Dane's explanation of communion and last rites over Tommy's muttered cursing.
"You got something more important to do right now than giving us a statement?" The officer gave Tommy a once over, visually sizing him up.
"No, sir."
"I'm hearing the right words, just the wrong tone."
"No, sir, I'd be happy to give my statement now." The words dripped like honey from his lips as daggers flew from his eyes. Tommy was fired up and I wasn't sure why but he finally told the cop what he saw.
I waited for my turn, repeating for the most part what everyone else said. I added a few details about how she seemed to know me, that perhaps she knew my mother. Recognition dawned in the officer's eyes at the mention of my mom. Every cop in the city showed up at our house the night she killed my stepfather.
I left out the part about demons and the Elioud, because the first he wouldn't believe and the second I didn't know how to explain. And he wouldn't believe it even if I did.
After what felt like days, we wrote down all of our contact info and were deemed free to leave. Everyone except Dane. His missing person case had become a police investigation and they wanted to know more about the dead woman. Tommy and I walked out with just enough time for me to make my shift at the bar and for him to meet his mom for dinner. I wanted to talk to him about why he'd been acting so weird, but unfortunately it had to wait, along with the conversation about his feelings for me.
Bad Decisions was, thankfully, uneventful. My tank top, as I figured it would, proved to be a wise choice. The conversation, beer, and tips flowed freely. Any other night, I would have been exhausted after a shift like that. Instead, I felt relieved for the reprieve, for the normalcy after one of the weirdest days of my life. And that was saying something, believe me.
After the last inebriated patron found his way into an Uber car, I wiped down the bar top and tables, counted down the till, and headed home for what remained of the night.
I tossed my keys and cell on the nightstand, stripped down to my bra and panties, after I closed the blinds and hit the sheets. Dreams of winged creatures, feather and leather alike, tormented my sleep. Twice I woke screaming, certain I felt something brush my cheek. Another time it was from a backdraft-like breeze despite all the windows being closed.
I woke the next morning to find down strewn about my room, the small white feathers fluttering across the floor. I must have tossed and turned more than I thought. I smacked the comforter, watching more of its soft filling fluff out. Time for a new one, I supposed, making my way to the bathroom. I caught sight of a larger feather with a strange opalescent sheen and a chill ran down my spine. Someone else might have panicked but my life got weirder and weirder every fucking day that passed.
I was getting used to it.
TEN
The morning flew by without any visits from Lazarus or his friends. He'd haunted my steps for so long I'd grown suspicious of his sudden indifference to my existence. After my third cup of coffee and still no signs of the Devil's favorite tormentor, I decided waiting for a trap to spring was a pretty unproductive way to spend my day.
Joan's last words were on repeat in my mind. I fired up my laptop and refilled my mug. I'd just settled in to do some hardcore googling when my phone rang. Not recognizing the number, I let it go to voicemail. Before I could figure out how to search Elioud without even knowing how the hell to spell it, my cell rang again.
"Yeah?"
"Uh, Jax?"
"Dane?"
"Yeah, did I catch you at a bad time?"
"Huh? Oh no, I'm just trying to look up something Joan said to me before she, before she um, well, you
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