officers and Jax into her home. The thief had been messy. The drawers in the desk in her living room had been pulled out and tossed on the floor. Same with the cabinets under the TV, and her bedroom showed similar signs of a search. The police took notes and asked her repeatedly if anything had been stolen, but she couldn't say what, if anything. She didn't have much to steal.
"I had three twenties on the kitchen counter," she said finally, realizing those were gone. "I was going to pay the gardener tomorrow. The cash is gone. But my laptop is still on the table."
"We probably interrupted him," Jax told her.
"You got lucky," the older cop said.
"Do you think you can catch the person who did this?" she asked.
"With that partial license plate and hopefully some luck with a security camera in the area, we might be able to do that," the officer replied. "Your front door lock is broken. You'll need to get someone out here to fix that."
"I will."
"Call us if you have any other problems," the officer added.
She followed them to the door, watching as they answered questions from nosy Ellen and her usually disinterested husband, who seemed surprised that his wife had actually stumbled upon something real. She shut the door, not wanting to deal with her neighbors now.
Turning around, she looked straight at Jax and realized his eye was swelling. "You're hurt. Your eye is bruised."
He put a hand to his face and winced. "It's fine."
"Let me get you some ice."
"It's nothing."
"It's the least I can do. You got hurt because of me. I should have given him my purse. I don't know why I didn't."
"Instinct told you to hang on to what was yours."
"Then you jumped him. You gave me a chance to get away."
"I was glad you took it."
"Why did you go after him?" she asked curiously.
"I thought I could at least get a license plate."
"You're very brave."
"Heat of the moment," he said with a shrug. "It was probably a stupid idea."
"I can't believe this." She felt suddenly weak, and she moved over to the couch, taking a seat.
Jax sat down in the chair next to the couch, his watchful gaze on her face. "Are you all right?"
"I'm just realizing how scary that was. I don't understand why he chose my house to break into. I don't have much worth stealing. All that trouble for sixty bucks?"
Jax's gaze darkened.
When he didn't say anything, she felt a new tension. "What are you thinking?"
"I don't know. It doesn’t seem like a simple thief would have made such a mess."
"You think he was looking for something besides cash?" she asked, her gut twisting with that thought.
"Maybe."
"Like what?"
His gaze met hers. "You were making people nervous at the club tonight. I heard Jagger's son and the owner of the club talking about you causing trouble. And Wallace was certainly upset by what you'd given him."
"You think someone at the club did this?"
"I don't know. Where else have you been? Who else have you been talking to about the mysterious death of your grandmother?"
"I've been to a few places the last couple of days. I've talked to probably six or seven people."
"The pages you gave to Wallace were photocopies. Where are the originals?"
"They're in my grandmother's journals."
"And those are?"
"Not here," she said, her heart racing as she saw the truth right in front of her. "Someone wanted the journals."
"Possibly. Where are they?"
She started to answer and then hesitated. She didn't know Jax. Should she tell him? Could she trust him? He had risked his life to help her. But still…
"It's fine," he said, before she could answer. "You don't have to tell me where they are. Just tell me if they're somewhere safe."
"I think so."
"Tomorrow you'll need to make sure."
"Yes, I will." She clasped her hands together, then unclasped them, shifting on the couch as her body still raced with adrenaline, making her feel reckless and scared.
"Tea," he said.
"What?" She gave him a blank stare.
"Do you have any calming tea? Decaffeinated, chamomile, lavender…"
"You want tea?"
"I don't. But I think you might need it."
She gave him a long stare, not quite sure what to make of him. He was bruised but still ruggedly handsome. And he was calm, far calmer than she was. But he'd been fighting for his life only a few minutes earlier, saving someone he didn't even know.
"Why did you stay?" she asked. "Why did you jump that guy?"