NOTE: I don't own any of the characters, of course.
The woman seemed to always be in motion, Sam mused idly. The doors of McCall and Jackal had barely opened before Carly stormed in, arms tossing and eyes sparking with anger.
Sam was a little taken aback, but soon resigned herself to the idea that Carly, not content with barging into Jason's penthouse whenever she pleased, was now showing up at McCall and Jackal, PI; this was the third time this month. Sam sipped her coffee, letting it warm her and wake her. She'd had a jam-packed schedule yesterday, filled with client meetings and a stakeout at a cheap motel. Sam flushed a little, remembering what happened after she got home that night. Jason sure did know how to distract her after a long, hard day…
Carly waved her hands, irritated that Sam wasn't paying complete attention. Snapping her fingers, the tall blonde moved forward until she was practically in Sam's face. "Are you listening? I need to find this out now, before Jax springs any other surprises on me."
Sam sighed, clasping her hands together over her knees and leaning back in her chair. "What's the problem?" she asked.
"Okay, so Shawn was involved in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan, and he was dishonorably discharged as a result. After leaving the Marines, he started to work for Theo. You know the rest from there. Jax was the one to dig up the information. He was looking for something to use against me in the custody hearing," Carly replied, tossing the file folder she'd been clutching since she arrived at the office across Sam's desk. Sam picked it up, eyebrows raising at the "Classified" stamp gracing the front.
"After Jax shoved that file in my face, I went to Shawn and asked him about it. He offered to leave, but I wanted him to stay and protect Josslyn."
"So far, I'm not sure what you want me to do," Sam said.
"Well, it turns out that wasn't the only unexplained issue in Shawn's past. You can see the missing information for yourself; it looked to me like 20 pages were completely redacted. I like Shawn, and I feel safe when he's watching over my daughter, but I can't let him be the reason she's taken from me. I need you to look into this and tell me what I'm up against," Carly demanded.
Sam nodded, a pang of sympathy shooting through her at the mention of Josslyn. "I'll get Spinelli on this too. He can find just about anything."
"Thanks, Sam. Jason's got a lot on his plate right now, and I didn't want to add to his problems." Turning abruptly, Carly marched out the door, on her way to harass someone else. Probably Brenda, Sam thought with a snicker.
She briskly fired up her computer, left Spinelli a message to meet her at the office, and started methodically running searches on Shawn Butler, ex-Marine. She'd have to get to the bottom of this, and soon. God knew she didn't want Carly dropping by any more than necessary.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Josslyn's chest rose and fell as she slept, cuddled into her blanket with a stuffed rabbit tucked under her arm. Shawn watched from the doorway, smiling slightly as the little girl snored.
He looked down the hallway, noting the lack of movement and quiet throughout the house. Morgan was at school, and Carly had left early this morning. The only other person there was Josslyn's nanny, who was fixing herself some breakfast downstairs.
It was a beautiful day, sunny and breezy, so Shawn walked across the room to let in the warm June air. A traffic helicopter motored overhead just as he slid the window open. A quick flash of metal, the smell of dusty, hot mountains, and the thunder of urgent voices rang in his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut, then snapped them open, willing the memories away. It was a long time ago, and that life was behind him.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Jax sat at his normal table in the Metro Court, a newspaper propped open and resting against the vase in front of him. He scanned the headlines, checking for anything that might affect his holdings. Metal prices were up, the housing market was still down, unemployment numbers weren't improving… Jax pursed his lips, considering the best investment moves in this economic climate. Sipping the last of his orange juice, the tall Aussie folded the paper, stood up, and headed upstairs. He greeted the secretary, strode into his office, and sat down to go over a few financial briefs.
After only a few minutes, a call from his secretary interrupted Jax's concentration.
"Mr. Jax, Jason Morgan is here to see you."
Great, thought Jax. "Send him in."
A familiar black-clad figure walked through the door, and without preamble, got right to the point. "Carly told me about Shawn. I'm checking into it, but he is still the best protection Josslyn could have," Jason said.
"Gee, I can't tell you how much that means to me. Listen, Jason: YOU may be perfectly fine with a trained killer guarding Josslyn, but I'm not. Carly clearly can't be trusted to provide a safe environment for our daughter."
"Fine. Hate Shawn all you want. But don't use him to take Josslyn away. Back off, or you'll lose everything," warned Jason.
Jax snorted, his eyes never leaving the other man's. "If you think I'm backing down, you're crazy. I'll never let my daughter be contaminated by the violence that follows you and Sonny wherever you go. If that means protecting her from an irresponsible mother, so be it."
Jason glared at Jax, then shook his head and turned to leave. He had given the Aussie one last chance to compromise; now Jason would help Carly keep her little girl by any means necessary. As he was leaving, the hit man pulled out his cell phone and dialed Diane's number. He would start with legal channels; he hoped that would be enough.
Jax pounded his head on the desk a few times, letting the frustration out in a childish, though satisfying display of temper. He heard a chuckle behind him and sat up quickly, surprised to see a figure step out from the adjoining conference room.
"What's new, brother of mine?" said the man.
"Jerry?"