No Mercy / Book Three

Chapter Six: Broken Record

Damion resisted the urge to put his hand on Juniper's lower back when Jaxon entered the room, her spine snapping straight and bringing her to her full height right under his chin. He could practically feel the anger radiating off of her body, could see her hands physically shaking before she stuffed them into the pockets of her skirt. He had a feeling that she would try to eat him for breakfast if he touched her while she was in her current mood.

"We got nothing from the bomb," Jaxon informed them, motioning for them to sit in the chairs in front of his desk. "No fingerprints, no DNA, nothing. Landon is trying to get video footage from in front of the school you work at, but it seems like most of them are either broken or for show."

Juniper sank into one of the chairs and folded her hands in her lap, spine still taunt. Damion watched her wearily while he sat in his own chair and nodded for Jaxon to continue.

"There's not much to go on. No witnesses. No evidence. The complaints were all made by someone who has a history of mental instability, and to be quite honest I think this is a waste of time."

Damion gawked at the man sitting behind the desk, a man he considered a friend, and shook his head in disappointment. Jaxon was steadfast in his belief that Juniper was creating her own problems and he knew that it would take nothing short of her being seriously injured for the cop to believe her.

"Mr. Daniels, have you ever lost a parent?" Juniper asked, voice frosty and hands squeezed together in her lap. "What about the both of them?"

Damion watched in silence as Jaxon kicked his feet up on top of his desk and quirk an eyebrow up at Juniper's questions. "Can't say I have, no," Jaxon drawled, crossing his arms over his chest in a relaxed position.

"Well then, it's safe to assume that you don't know the first thing about a loss like that; especially when you're still a child. My parents passed in a plane crash, one that I was supposed to have been on with them. I got ill and my grandfather offered to stay behind with me until I felt well enough to book another flight and meet them at our destination," Juniper explained softly, and Damion could see her hands were shaking all over again despite how tightly she held them together.

He put his hand on her shoulder in a silent show of encouragement and smiled at Juniper when she turned towards him to search his face. She took a deep breath and nodded at him, whatever she had been searching for obviously found.

"They let us try to identify the bodies. They were mostly covered in burns, we couldn't even identify my mother by her face since it was so damaged, and it stuck in my head. A teenager should never have to witness something like that and it haunted me. It still does. So I suppose you could call it mental instability, my therapist called it PTSD, but I'm willing to bet most of the men you work with have it as well and you wouldn't ever say a word about them being mentally unsound."

Jaxon dropped his feet to the floor and snapped his spine straight, eyes frosting over while he glared at Juniper. The air around him practically crackled with rage when Juniper did nothing but raise a single brow at him.

Damion didn't know much about the process for identifying bodies, but he knew with absolute certainty that whomever had allowed Juniper and her grandfather to look at bodies burned beyond recognition had fucked up. Something like that could, and had, scarred her for life and nothing Jaxon said could take away that knowledge.

"Now, I'm unsure as to why you're being a real jackass about this. It's obviously not a race thing. Damion is darker than me and you don't have an issue with him," Juniper said sweetly, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips. "So it's either because I'm a woman, wealthy, or you simply don't believe that someone who doesn't lead a dangerous lifestyle could possibly be anything other than crazy."

He watched as Juniper gathered her purse into her lap and had to mentally applaud her for not throwing the damned thing at Jaxon.

"I suggest you get over whatever prejudices you may have, Mr. Daniels. The oath to serve and protect doesn't just apply to white men with their lives together," Juniper tutted, standing up from her chair and smoothing her skirt over her hips after pulling the strap of her purse over her head.

"Now wait a damned minute!" Jaxon growled, planting both of his hands on the surface of his desk and using them to push himself up out of his chair. "This discussion is far from over, so you can sit your ass back down and listen to what I have to say."

Damion held his breath when Juniper's entire body stiffened up and let it out slowly when she loosened her death grip on her purse strap. He just blinked at her stupidly when she turned to look at him instead of sitting like Jaxon had demanded, so interested in what she would say or do next that he didn't even have time to think of a semi-intelligent response to her raised eyebrow.

"The conversation with me is over, and will continue to be over until you can pull your head out of your ass. Your conversation with Damion, however, is up to him. I'll be at the vending machine when you're finished."

He watched as she walked out of the room, head held high like a regal queen, and turned to shake his head at Jaxon.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, man? Since when did you start acting like the judge, jury, and executioner instead of a damned cop?" Damion demanded, running a hand over his face and settling into his chair so Jaxon would know that he was serious about an answer.

"When I started looking at the bodies of dead children at least three times a week. I have bigger things on my plate than making sure some nut case feels safe from an enemy she created in her own fucking head."

"And how the shit do you know she made it up in her own head?" Damion asked, face twisted up in confusion. "Did her file say anything about delusions, or are you just pulling that out of your ass to make yourself feel better about the fact that you don't give a shit and dropped the ball for someone who genuinely needs your help? Because let me tell you, Landon believes her. Logan believes her. Shit, even I believe her and I've only known her for less than a day."

"You have no fucking idea what I'm dealing with right now," Jaxon growled, slamming his hand down on top of his desk. "I haven't read her goddamned file, I didn't need to. I know her fucking type."

Damion let out a tired sigh and glanced out of the window to see Juniper taking a bag of chips out of the bottom of the vending machine.

"Not everyone is like your mom, you know. Not everyone who has been hospitalized is crazy. Until you can care about Juniper as a person and not some fucked up remake of your mother, we'll just deal with Landon."