Free Sinful Resurrection (CSA Case Files 2) by Kennedy Layne

said Connor needed a change, but what about you?”
    “Connor’s the only family I have left.  I wasn’t about to lose that.”
    Jax quickened his pace as if he’d revealed too much.  But he hadn’t.  In the week that they’d had, they’d used every moment and shared intimate details about their lives.  Sometimes she swore the only reason she’d lasted this long in hiding were the memories that he’d shared with her.  Along with the hope for a future that he now seemed unwilling to renew with her.  They’d had a lot in common.  Emily was well aware that he’d lost his parents before entering the service and that he thought of Connor like a brother.  He valued loyalty above all else.  She knew that and was now terrified that her actions had pushed him too far away.
    “What is the second issue you have with what I’ve told you?” Emily asked, taking the conversation back to the beginning.  If she could erase one doubt or question h e had for her one at a time, then maybe there was still a chance to get back what they had.  “You said there were two.”
    “It’s the Attorney General’s place to investigate your claims.”  Jax stopped walking and faced her.  It was the first time that he really just looked at her and it caused her breath to hitch.  The intensity that was in his gaze seemed to consume her and she would have given anything for him to take her back to the house and make love to her for the rest of the afternoon, but she knew that wouldn’t happen.  She’d lost his trust, but the question was, could she regain it?  His hand slowly lifted and he laid his warm palm against her cold cheek.  “You’re a civilian who got caught up in something way bigger than all of us, Emily.  This is partly my fault.  I should have insisted you take this to the highest authority and had them place you in witness protection while they investigated.  Instead, I allowed our fear to cloud my judgment and went along with faking your death.”
    “Jax, it wasn’t baseless fear,” Emily said, needing him to understand they’d made the right decision.  She took her hand out of her pocket and wrapped her gloved fingers around his wrist.  “I would have been dead within the week had I done what you’re suggesting.  But I want back what we had.  Is that what you need to hear?  I want a chance to see what would have happened to us had we been given the time to cultivate our relationship.”
    “It’s not what I want to hear, Emily.”  Jax dropped his hand, forcing her to do the same.  “I want the fucking truth.”
    Emily opened her mouth to tell him that she was afraid that if she did that, she’d lose him forever.  It didn’t help that Schulz had basically forbid her to do so, not that she worked for him.  Instead, she remained silent as Jax walked away and continued his path across the growing grass beneath their feet.  Couldn’t he see how torturous this was for her?  She was so afraid that he would walk away and leave her alone.
    “The truth is this,” Emily called out, grateful when he stopped.  Jax didn’t turn around, but at least she had his attention.  “I did what I had to do to be with you again.  Now I’m in a situation where not even Schultz can keep me safe, but I have no doubt that you will.  That’s how much I trust you.”
    Jax turned his head to the side, although he still didn’t face her.  As if nature was trying to tell her that he was her sole reason for being there, the clouds parted and permitted a lone ray of sun to shine down upon him.  The birds squawked overhead, heedless of the tremulous situation below.  The wind had picked up, blowing the fresh green leaves on the trees and carried his words back to her.  They were like tiny darts hitting their target as her heart was struck with each one.
    “Trust is just an illusion, Emily.”

Chapter Six
     
    “It’s taken you long enough,” Jax said, speaking into the encrypted mobile that he and