Billionaire Unexpected~Jax -J. S. Scott Page 0,4

a body bag. Neither Taylor nor Marshall had ever told me exactly what shape she’d been in when she’d been found. But I wasn’t a total idiot. I knew she hadn’t got up and walked out of there on her own.

Desperate, Taylor had made a feeble attempt at escape once I’d left the compound, and she’d been severely beaten for her actions.

I couldn’t blame her for trying to self-rescue when she’d had the chance. I probably would have done the same thing, but the punishment she’d gotten for that offense had just weakened her condition even more.

I had no doubt if Jax and Hudson hadn’t gotten to her in record time, there would have been no way to save her.

Last Hope, and the advanced capabilities of the operation, had managed to pull off what had seemed like an impossible rescue.

Marshall had contacted Crown Prince Niklaos, the current ruler of Lania, and arranged for basic medical care for Taylor before Hudson and Jax even left the dock in Lania. Taylor had gotten the life-saving IV fluids and basic medical care necessary to keep her alive on the long flight back home.

I had no idea how Marshall had formed any of his connections in high places. What normal person knew the Crown Prince of Lania?

Marshall fixed his dark-eyed stare on me as he asked, “Why wouldn’t they be part of Last Hope? Before Hudson, Jax, and Cooper came back to San Diego to take over Montgomery Mining, every one of them were damn good Special Forces officers.”

I shook my head. “I guess it just doesn’t make sense. Most billionaires don’t go into the military in the first place, so I guess the whole idea of them being part of a secret, volunteer, private rescue operation doesn’t fit, either.”

Marshall shot me a disappointed look. “I never took you for the type of woman who judged a man by how much money he had,” he grumbled. “Your mom isn’t like that, and she definitely raised you right, so I’m a little surprised.”

“You barely know my mother,” I protested.

Sure, Marshall had come to Carlsbad to visit me while I’d been recovering at my mom’s house, but that hardly made him an expert on my mother.

Unless…

“Are you two still communicating?” I asked suspiciously, and immediately got a nonverbal answer when he averted his gaze. “I knew it. I knew you had a thing for my mother.”

Marshall cleared his throat. “I don’t have a thing for your mother. We’re friends. And yes, we still talk occasionally, but that’s all we do. She’s way too attractive to be interested in a man who can barely walk,” he said in a disgruntled voice. “And stop avoiding my question, Harlow.”

Seriously? Marshall was far from disabled. Yes, he had a pronounced limp from the injury that had ended his career in the Navy SEALs, but he was still an attractive man.

“I’m not judging Jax and Hudson because of their net worth, Marshall. I was just saying that them being part of Last Hope was…unexpected,” I explained. “What employee would ever imagine that their three billionaire bosses rescued hostages in foreign countries in their spare time?”

Marshall leaned back in his chair. “Maybe it is unusual, but the Montgomery brothers are a unique group that I’m damn happy to have on my side. So tell me what you have against Jax Montgomery, other than the fact that he dates, and is never photographed with the same woman twice. You seem to like Hudson, and I’ve never heard you say a bad word about Cooper.”

“I’ve actually never met Cooper,” I confessed. “And how could I not like Hudson? He makes it very obvious that Taylor is the center of his world now, and he’s making her incredibly happy. Plus, he’s never been a man-whore. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever read a single word of gossip about him or Cooper.”

Hudson, the eldest Montgomery brother, had taken care of Taylor while she was recovering, and the two of them had fallen madly in love. They were living together in an exclusive relationship now, and Hudson had convinced Taylor to take a permanent position as a geologist at the Montgomery Mining Lab.

There was no way I couldn’t adore the man for giving Taylor all the happiness she very much deserved.

“They’re all good men, Harlow, whether you’ve realized that yet or not,” Marshall rumbled.

I took a sip of my coffee before I answered. “Jax Montgomery asked me out on a date once about two years ago.