Dream Phantom

Chapter 29

"I got the call," Jax said, looking over at Lilah. "It seems that your sister is being abused."

He watched her close her eyes for a moment, swallowing a knot of anger before pulling out her phone and sending a text. She glanced around, watching Dr. Wilcox and a few of the other officers leaving, "Listen, I'm going to head out."

Jax's brows knitted in worry, "Where are you going?"

The corner of Lilah's mouth lifted, "Are you suddenly worried about me?"

"You're my partner, remember?"

"So nice of you to finally acknowledge me," she said dryly. "It's too bad you're too late."

"What do you mean?"

"Detective Montoya is taking over this case as of tomorrow. He's being reinstated."

"Are you serious? Why wasn't I told?"

Lilah shrugged, "I don't know. I guess the captain wanted it to be a surprise."

"They'll assign you a new partner," Jax said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. He had never intended to make Lilah feel unwanted despite his dislike for her. "Not one as amazing as me..."

"Spare me," Lilah grinned. "I'm actually taking a break."

"A break?"

"I put in my notice a couple of weeks ago."

"You put in your notice without telling me?" Jax had his hands on his hips, clearly taken aback by her statement.

"Don't act offended. You never liked me."

"I wouldn't say that—"

"It's okay. I have some family business to take care of. I also have to talk to Roberto's wife."

"Gladys? What are you going to tell her?"

"Just that her husband loves her. I'll also show her the recordings of my conversations with Tristan."

Jax chuckled, "You're a better cop than I thought. She has to believe that her brother has been feeding her garbage about Roberto."

"Yeah, well she still may not take him back. Detective Montoya seems like a handful."

"Nah, they're perfect for one another."

She put her phone away took a deep breath, "This may be the last time we see one another."

"You still need to clean out your desk at work," he reminded her.

She turned her head away and took another deep breath, "Do you think family is everything?"

Jax frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Would you do anything for your wife?"

"Most definitely. She's everything to me."

"Would you sacrifice yourself for her?"

"Do you mean would I die for her? Of course, I would. It's not even a choice for me. I'd have to die for her because I know I'd die without her."

Lilah rolled her eyes, "Okay, now you're just exaggerating."

"I'm not."

"I know. It must be nice to be loved like that. I've always wondered if things would've been different."

"Different how?" Jax asked, not following her conversation.

"If I had been loved that way."

"Lilah," Jax took a step closer to her, "is something going on?"