Jax didn’t rush. He didn’t shout. He just stood, like a storm deciding whether or not to become destruction.
His eyes locked on Officer Cross.
Cross didn’t move. But for the first time, his jaw tightened.
“Sit down,” Cross said coldly. “This doesn’t concern you.”
Jax let out a slow breath.
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
Evelyn, still on the floor, tried to push herself up. Her voice shook.
“Don’t—please… it’s not worth it.”
Jax didn’t look away from Cross.
“It became worth it the moment you touched her.”
A heavy silence dropped.
Cross’s hand moved slightly toward his holster.
Big mistake.
Jax moved faster.
Not wildly. Not chaotically. Just precise.
In one step he was halfway across the diner.
In another—
He was right in front of Cross.
Close enough that only they could hear what came next.
“You’ve been cleaning up my friend’s case,” Jax said quietly. “Badly.”
Cross’s expression flickered for the first time.
Evelyn’s papers.
Her husband’s investigation.
Something buried.
Something powerful enough to make a cop like Cross nervous.
Outside, thunder rolled.
Inside, the diner lights flickered once.
And then Cross whispered:
“You have no idea what she’s sitting on.”
Jax’s eyes narrowed.
“I think I do.”
A beat.
A long, dangerous beat.
Then Cross smiled again—smaller this time, almost relieved.
“Then you also know she’s not the only one who’ll die for it.”
Jax’s fist tightened—
But before he could move—
Evelyn whispered from the floor:
“It’s already been sent.”
Silence shattered.
Cross froze.
Jax turned slowly.
“Sent… where?”
Evelyn looked up at him.
Her eyes were calm now.
And afraid.
“To the one place he told me to send it… if anything ever happened.”
A distant siren began to rise.
Not close.
But coming fast.
Cross stepped back, suddenly unsure for the first time.
“Who did you send it to?”
Evelyn swallowed.
And said the name.
Jax’s face changed instantly.
Because that name wasn’t just dangerous.
It was impossible.
The diner door slowly creaked open behind them—
And someone stepped inside who wasn’t supposed to exist anymore.
