The Letter Lila Never Meant Him to Read
Chapter 03 - The Letter Lila Never Meant Him to Read
The man in the gray suit did not enter right away.
He stood beside the sedan, scanning the diner windows with the patience of someone who expected doors to open for him.
Jax slid out of the booth.
“Back room,” he told Mae.
Mae took Noah by the hand and moved him behind the counter. The boy resisted long enough to grab the old photograph.
Jax noticed that too.
The front door opened.
The man smiled as if he had walked into a business meeting instead of a roadside diner filled with people who had already decided they disliked him.
“Jax Mercer?”
“Depends who wants him.”
“My name is Calvin Price. I represent Daniel Rourke.”
Jax knew the name. Everyone in Millstone County did.
Daniel Rourke owned half the new construction downtown, sat on the hospital foundation board, donated money to school campaigns, and appeared in photographs beside every politician who visited the county.
“What does Rourke want with me?”
Calvin’s polite smile tightened. “His son was taken from a motel this morning.”
Jax stepped closer. “His son?”
“A frightened child may have been manipulated by his mother. Mr. Rourke wants him returned safely.”
“Then he should call the police.”
“He has.”
A siren sounded faintly in the distance.
Calvin lowered his voice. “You have a record, Mr. Mercer. Unlawful restraint. Assault. Probation violations. I would think carefully before involving yourself in a domestic custody matter.”
Jax had heard men use his past as a weapon before. It usually worked.
This time, he thought of Noah diving beneath the table at the sight of a car.
“Get out.”
Calvin placed a business card beside the coffee cup. “Mr. Rourke is willing to overlook your interference if the boy is brought outside now.”
Jax picked up the card, tore it in half, and dropped it into the man’s untouched water glass.
The diner regulars watched in silence.
Calvin’s expression lost its polish.
“This will end badly for you.”
“It already ended badly for somebody,” Jax said. “That’s why a kid came here alone.”
Calvin left just before the first patrol car turned into the parking lot.
Mae emerged from the back room without Noah.
“Where is he?” Jax asked.
“Safe for the next five minutes.”
She held another envelope, yellowed at the edges.
“I should have given you this nine years ago.”
Jax recognized Lila’s handwriting before Mae placed it in his hand.
May you like
On the front, beneath his name, were four words:
The truth about Noah.
