by Parker, Zoey
“Really? What did you think you were going to get out of coming after us?”
“I just wanted to be sure she was safe, man. That’s all.” I glance at her, taking her in with my eyes. I want to see if she’s actually okay. She was wearing a knit hat when he first pulled her from the trunk, which fell off as she struggled. There’s dried blood in her hair. She’s not bleeding anywhere else I can see. No marks on her wrists. She’s been crying, her face red.
“You want to make sure she’s safe?” He throws back his head, laughing. He sounds crazier than I thought he was. “That’s hilarious! You should have been a comedian!”
“What do you mean?” I have to stall. I don’t want to try to take this guy alone, though I know I could if it was just the two of us. I could break him in half with no problem. I want to. But Christina’s in between us. I can’t risk her getting hurt.
“You think I’m the one who’s a threat to Chrissie?” He strokes her hair. She closes her eyes, squeezing them tight, grimacing at his touch. I want to rip his hand off.
“Well, I mean, come on. You took her. There was blood on the floor.”
“Only because you’re the one who convinced her she shouldn’t be with me anymore!” He’s shouting, out of control.
“Tommy, I only met her a few days ago. I didn’t convince her of anything. She made her own decision.” I watch as his hands tighten around her arms. Okay. That was a mistake. I have to be the bad guy so that he won’t hurt her. My shoulders slump.
“Okay. You’re right. I’m the one who turned her against you.” I let my eyes flicker over toward her, hoping to keep her quiet. “I was jealous of the relationship you two had when you were together. I knew from the way she talked about you that she’d never feel that way about me. I’m not the sort of man you are. I didn’t go to college. I don’t have any friends. I’m just…a white trash biker. I have nothing to offer her.”
“You’re right. You have nothing. Hear that, Chrissie? He said he has nothing. I told you so, didn’t I?” He jerks her by the arms, pulling her to him. I see the pain in her eyes.
“But, Tommy…you have to understand how this looks. Hurting her to get her to come with you. The police aren’t very happy about that. Did you think about what might happen if they catch up to you?”
He shrugs. “Why should they? They’ll just blame it on you, right?”
I frown, squinting at him. “Why would they do that?”
“Because you’re already on their shit list. Aren’t you? Or am I thinking of a different Jax Fairbanks? The one whose wife didn’t die mysteriously in the woods one day?”
My stomach is ice. How does he know this? How much homework has he done on me?
“That’s right,” he says, reading my reaction. “I know everything about you. Your criminal record, your history with the club. Everything there is to know. And I know the cops are just dying for a reason to put you in jail for good. So, I’m giving them their reason.” He strokes Christina’s hair again. “Don’t worry. I have no intention of actually hurting her. Just making it look like she was hurt.” He laughs.
“What’s so funny?” I ask, glancing at her again before looking back at the insane man in front of me.
“It’s just…I win. I get back the girl I love while putting you in jail. The man who took her from me. It doesn’t get much better than this.”
“You’re right, Tommy. You win.” I hold up my hands, the gun pointing to the sky. “I lose.”
“Jax! Be careful! He has a gun!” He grips her so hard, she screams.
“Don’t you hurt her!” I make a move toward them, then stop myself. I don’t want to take chances if he’s armed.
Tommy only laughs. “I don’t have gun, you stupid bitch.”
“What?”
“I only told you that to scare you. Jesus. You’re so dumb. You could at least have asked to see it.”
If he calls her stupid or a bitch one more time, I don’t know if I can be held responsible for what I do. I take another step toward them.
“Not another inch, Jax. Not if you don’t want to see her get hurt. I don’t need a gun to hurt her. Do I, sweetheart?” He twists her arm. She cries out. He looks at me, sneering. “Besides, I think you should drop the gun and kick it away if you don’t want to be in even bigger trouble.”
“I can’t do that,” I say, gun still pointing up.
“Why?”
“Because Christina looks afraid.”
“She’s afraid of you!” He jerks her by the arm. “Tell him. Tell him you’re afraid of him.”
“I’m—I’m afraid,” she says, her voice a tiny squeak.
“You’re afraid of him! Tell him!”
“I’m afraid of you!” She cries, tears flowing down her face. “Please. I’m afraid.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, staring at her. “I’m sorry you’re afraid. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it so you felt safer.”
“Looks like you can’t keep a woman, Jax.” Tommy sneers.
I glance at him, then back at Christina. “I have a story to tell you.” I keep my eyes on her, ignoring Tommy except to ensure he doesn’t pull any quick moves.
“What is it?”
“I’ve never told anybody the full story. Not even Adam. Marissa tried to kill herself that day. She went to the woods to kill herself.”
She’s staring at me, eyes full of tears. “Why?”
“Because she was a sick, mixed-up person. She was into drugs, stealing from the cartel the club was working with. She had an affair with the man who was president of the club at the time. Only the stealing wound up getting him and a bunch of our guys killed. She couldn’t handle it. So she took my gun into the woods. I ran after her as soon as I knew what she was doing.” I take a deep breath, getting to the part I didn’t tell Adam. “She pointed the gun at me first, to keep me away from her while she told me the story…then to shoot me. She was going to kill me, rather than let me stop her. She wanted to die that badly.”
I watch Christina tremble. I see Tommy’s hands tighten on her arms.
“She fired a shot. I ducked, it hit a tree. Then she turned the gun on herself, pressed it against her chest. I jumped at her, wanting to stop her. But I couldn’t. She pulled the trigger. She died in my arms—I think she might have gone almost instantly. I couldn’t stop her, and I’ve blamed myself all this time. I didn’t want anyone to know she’d been in that much trouble—especially not that she was stealing from the cartel and the club. I couldn’t put her family through that pain.”
“Why are you telling this story?” Tommy asks, sounding bored and irritated.
I look at him. “Because I need her to know the truth.” I hear sirens approaching from the distance. Thank God. I couldn’t have kept this up much longer.
“What difference does it make?” Tommy asks, oblivious to the approaching cop cars.
“I wanted her to hear it before this happened.” I lunge at them, pushing Christina roughly out of the way. I take Tommy by the shoulders before hitting him across the nose with the butt of my gun, drawing blood. I hear Christina cry out, but I can’t look back.
He fights back, head butting me, knocking us both to the ground. We wrestle, rolling over and over. His hands are on the gun as he tries to pry it from me. I throw myself on top of him, hoping to knock the wind out of him and stun him into letting go. I drive my knees into his sides, our faces inches from each other.
“Please! Stop!” Christina’s screaming.
I can’t listen. I can only make this bastard pay for what he’s done.
“Jax, please!” The gun is somewhere between the two of us, jammed between our bodies. I know he’s still hold on, just as I am. I hear the sirens getting louder.
Then the gun goes off.
Chapter 36
Christina
It’s like a horrible nightmare has finally ended.
“We’re going to be together forever,” he kept saying, stroking my hair when he pulled me from the
car. I’ll never forget how terrified I was. Looking at the tower, knowing what it meant that we were going there. Knowing he was going to kill me.
I wanted to vomit, just feeling his hand on me. I knew exactly what he meant. We would be together. Just not alive. He wanted to throw us both from that tower. We’d die together. Tragically.
When he pulled me from the trunk, all I could do was pray. Please let somebody save me. Please let me survive this. I don’t want to die. I want my mommy. I want Jax. Please don’t let me die.
Now, I’m sitting in the hospital room. Jax’s hospital room. He’s been sleeping for hours, ever since he got out of surgery. The nurse told me he probably wouldn’t wake up for a while.
It’s a nice hospital, and a private room. I made sure everyone in earshot knew they were taking care of a hero. “He saved my life,” I said over and over. “Please, take care of him. I would be dead if it wasn’t for him.”
I sit looking at him. He’s peaceful, his face smooth. And now that he’s saved my life, more handsome to me than ever. I can’t believe he came all this way to find me. The fact that he put it all together in the first place is remarkable. I knew he had to be smart under all that bravado.
I’m pretty much okay, for the most part. I might need to see a doctor closer to home now that it’s all over. There are a lot of things I’m going to need to work out. Feeling safe again in my home, knowing I’m not in danger. Flashbacks of Tommy stuffing me in a trunk. I shiver just thinking about it. If seeing a doctor will help me get my life back on track, I’m more than willing to do so. I’ll take any steps to put this far behind me.
He stirs. I lean toward him, putting a hand over his. He rolls his head in my direction when he feels my touch.
“You’re okay?” His first words after waking up. I didn’t think my heart could swell any bigger.
“I’m just fine, Jax. Thanks to you.”
“Where are we?”
“In the hospital. You and Tommy were fighting over the gun. It went off, hitting you. Do you remember any of it?”
He closes his eyes, swallowing hard. I think he remembers. Instead of answering my question, he says, “Why am I not handcuffed?”
“Why would you be handcuffed?”
“Wasn’t I arrested? Or won’t I be, once I’m out of the hospital? I thought they’d want to keep me cuffed.”
“Jax.” I touch his face, rough with stubble. “You weren’t arrested. Nobody is going to arrest you.”
“No?” His eyes are wide. He’s still somewhat foggy from the anesthesia, reminding me of a little boy.
“No. I told the police everything. Once they saw the wound on my head, it was pretty clear I wasn’t making anything up. And once they get a look at Tommy’s phone they’ll see the messages he sent me. You’re in the clear.”
He drifts back to sleep, a smile on his face. Now he can rest.
***
I wake up with a stiff neck, curled up in the chair at Jax’s bedside. This time, he’s the one who’s been watching me.
“Good morning,” he whispers, smiling softly.
“Wow. Morning already?” I sit up, stretching.
“You slept through two visits from the nurse. They were going to bring a cot in for you, but didn’t want to wake you. You were out cold.”
“I guess I was.” I remember the hours I spent awake, cold, terrified. Yes. Sleep was what I needed. I take stock of him. He already looks better than he did when he first woke after being wheeled up from surgery. His color is better. He’s more alert.
“How’s your wound?” I ask, motioning toward his abdomen. When the EMTs said the bullet hit him in the stomach, I nearly fainted. I know how dangerous that can be, even if I’ve only seen it on TV.
“The nurse says it looks good. Stitches are holding fine.”
“The doctor told me you made it through surgery like a champ.”
“Would you expect any less?” He grins.
I lean down to kiss him softly. There’s no mistaking the way the beeping of his heart monitor speeds up. I laugh.
“Guess we can’t be doing much of that for a little while. I wouldn’t want to tax your system while you’re healing.” I wink, and he groans.
Then he becomes serious. “I don’t remember anything after being shot.”
“I’m sure you don’t. You were barely conscious.”
“I hate to ask you this…but…did he…?”
“Rape me, you mean?” Jax’s face hardens, but he nods. I shake my head, smiling. “No, nothing like that. He never even got close to it. I don’t think it was on his mind at all.”
“What did he say to you? Did you ever speak with him, besides when you got to campus?”
I nod. I’ll never forget that surreal breakfast. “We stopped at a diner. It’s where we first met. I had to sit there and force food down my throat. I had to pretend to be happy he’d finally come to get me. He talked the entire time. I’m sure even the waitress thought he was nuts. He wouldn’t let me out of his sight.” I leave out the part where he came to the bathroom with me. I don’t want to relive that humiliation just yet.
“I guess that’s how I was able to catch up to you.”
“I’m glad he got hungry.” I smile, but it’s a shaky smile. Soon I’m crying. I lay my head on the side of Jax’s bed, letting it all out. I feel his hand stroke my hair, so different from Tommy’s rough touch.
I cry for a long time. Once it’s all over, I feel better. Not one hundred percent, but better. After splashing my face, I return to Jax’s bedside.
“Where is he now?”
I don’t have to ask who he means. “Jail. They have him on a bunch of different charges.”
Jax closes his eyes, relieved. “You said something when I first woke up,” he reminds me. “About telling the police everything.”
I nod. “Yeah, every bit of it. I can’t believe you thought they would arrest you for saving my life.”
A shrug. “I guess it’s a habit, assuming I’ll be blamed for things.”
“Believe me. Nobody could blame you for this. You’re the only reason I’m here right now. Sincerely.”
“And when we get home?”
“What about it?” I’m confused.
He tells me everything he went through, just trying to get the cops to pay attention to my kidnapping. I can’t pretend I have any faith in our police force if they were so quick to blame Jax for my disappearance without listening to what he tried to tell them.
I smile, though. “I can’t wait to get back to town and throw it all in their faces. How wrong they were about you. By the time I finish, they’ll be throwing a parade in your honor.”
He chuckles, then winces in pain. “Don’t make me laugh,” he groans.
“I wasn’t trying to. I mean it. They’re going to eat their words, every one of them.”
“Wow.” He looks me up and down. “Who’s this assertive girl in my hospital room? Where did she come from?”
“She was always assertive. Remember how we butted heads when we first met? How crazy I drove you?”
He smiles. “Yeah, I do.”
“It wasn’t just you, though you did bring it out in me. You have a talent for that. I can be just as pigheaded with others, too. They’re all on my shit list until they apologize. I’ll take out a full-page ad just so the whole town knows what you did. You took a bullet for me, Jax. They need to know.”
He shrugs. “Maybe they don’t need to know. Maybe they’ll always believe what they want to believe. What difference does it make in my life?”
Here I was thinking he wanted to be with me. Maybe he’s not ready for that yet.
“What’s wrong?”
My face must give away my emotions. “Nothing.”
“Don’t say that. What is it?”
It’s time to be brave. If I can face down Tommy, I can do this, too.
“Maybe you’re not ready for this yet. If you’re not, I completely understand. After everything you t
old me, I get why you wouldn’t be in this place. It’s just…I love you.” I say it all in one big breath. Now it’s out there. I can’t take it back.
“I love you, too, you idiot.” A huge smile breaks over his face.
“You do?”
“You can’t be seriously asking me this! Christina, why would I go through all this for you if I didn’t love you? If anything, I didn’t think you loved me. I couldn’t imagine why you would.”
“But you did it all? Not knowing how I felt?”
“Of course I did. That wouldn’t change how I felt for you. Just because I didn’t know how you felt. That’s crazy.” He reaches for me, taking my hands in his. “I love you. I want to be with you. If you’ll have me.”
“Now who’s being an idiot?” I can’t say anything else. I have to kiss him. The heart monitor goes crazy again.
Chapter 37
It’s been a week since Jax entered the hospital. An entire week since he saved me once again. He’s healing beautifully, as well as anyone could expect. Now he’s climbing the walls, aching to be out of here.
“Why did they have to keep me for so long, anyway?” He’s only asked me this question roughly two dozen times today.
“Because,” I repeat, as I have so many times, “they had to be sure you weren’t infected. Infection’s a pretty big deal, you know.”
“Sure, sure. I didn’t have a fever. The bullet hardly grazed me. It was superficial.”
“Hardly superficial. There was muscle damage. You got very lucky.” My mom smiles at him. He calms down. Mom has been here for four days, taking care of both of us. It seems like she has the magic touch. One word from her and he’s a different person.
“You’re right,” he admits. “I just can’t wait to get out of this bed.”
“You’ll have to take it easy for a while,” Mom reminds him. “No lifting heavy things. You could hurt yourself even worse.”
Jax nods. I feel like I’m witnessing a miracle.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come back with us?” I say, making her laugh. “I’m serious. You’re the only person he listens to.”
“He’s a lot of bluster. Inside he’s just a little boy. All men are—no matter how big they are on the outside.” We snicker together quietly.