Jax sat down in one of the chairs next to me. “So what do you want to know? I’ll take you to the other floors and show you around in a few. The third floor really is condos. Hudson, Cooper, and I all have one upstairs in case we need to stay in the city.”
“So that’s your condo within walking distance of Montgomery.”
“Yeah. Like I said, I don’t use it much anymore,” he replied.
“How in the hell does Marshall manage all this on his own?” I asked. “I know you don’t have rescues happening all the time, but when shit hits the fan, how does he collect data from everywhere?”
Jax shrugged. “We all pitch in. If we’re working, it’s busy. I hate to break it to you, but we aren’t the only wealthy brothers involved in San Diego. There’s plenty of money flowing into Last Hope, but we don’t have the people to do some of the tech work we need. I think Marshall will start being a little more open to possibilities after this.”
“How has all of this flown under the radar of the government?” I queried.
“It actually doesn’t. Not completely. Several of the agencies know we exist, but officially, we don’t. We try not to step on their toes. Any rescues or missions we take on have already been marked as impossible for the government. We get fed referrals because there’s nothing more they can do, but they’d never admit they sent the information.”
“Do you have volunteers all over the country, or just San Diego?”
“We have some scattered all over the world,” he answered. “But most of them are in different locations in the US. You’ll meet a few who participate in this area, eventually.”
“God, it’s amazing that so many guys want to help.”
He leaned back in his chair and shot me a wry grin. “I think we do it for our own sanity, too. It’s hard when you first get out of Special Forces. It’s almost like we forget how to function in the civilian world because we’re used to everything being so intense all the time.”
“So are you trying to say you were bored?” I asked as I lifted a brow.
“We were pretty busy with Montgomery when we were first discharged, but after that, we probably were. Or maybe we just wanted to feel like we were part of something, too,” he drawled.
“You are,” I assured him. “Last Hope is unique.”
“It is now,” he agreed. “There used to be another private rescue operation, but they ended up getting out because of an accident, so they don’t exist anymore.”
“How do you manage to juggle everything, Jax? Your company, Last Hope, the work you do at the dog training center?” It was a lot of responsibility for one man.
“It’s not a big deal,” he answered nonchalantly. “Rescues only pop up every so often, and I do the dog training when I have time. I have Cooper and Hudson at Montgomery, so it isn’t like I’m handling the company alone.”
As usual, Jax wasn’t going to give himself a single ounce of credit for the things he did. “Someday, you’re going to realize that you’re pretty extraordinary,” I insisted.
“I doubt it,” he drawled. “Hell, I’m actually afraid that someday you’ll figure out that I’m not.”
“Never going to happen,” I told him softly as I stroked my fingers through his hair.
It was astonishing that a man like Jax could have any insecurities, but Riley had been correct when she’d said his childhood had left a mark that might never go away.
I could feel his hesitation about me sometimes, and I hated it.
Like I was going anywhere without a really good reason to leave?
I was crazy about Jax.
I just wasn’t sure if he knew that.
“You do realize that our advisor agreement ended a few days ago?” he said in a teasing voice.
“As far as I’m concerned, it ended the first time you kissed me,” I said with a laugh. “I don’t need an advisor anymore, Jax. I have a good therapist, and we make a little more progress every day. Not that I’m not grateful that you were my advisor, but that’s not what I need from you anymore.”
“What do you need?” he asked gruffly.
“An equal partnership,” I explained. “I had to lean on you pretty heavy for a while, and that was never fair to you.”
He shook his head. “I never saw it like that, Harlow. I didn’t mind that you needed me.”