“Let’s get them downstairs before they have an accident,” I tell her, picking both wiggling puppies up and carrying them downstairs, hearing her follow me out the back door of the kitchen, where I stand shirtless in the cold, vowing to have a fence put up and a doggie door put in soon so that I won’t have to do this shit forever.
Opening the back door, Hope yells, “Good morning!” to Ellie, who is standing in the kitchen, wearing my shirt as she runs past her to the living room, followed by both puppies barking at her feet as I close the door behind me.
“Three years, huh?” I say, and she gives me a knowing smile then places her hand to my abs and leans up, kissing my jaw, pressing her tits against me, making me want to lift her to the counter and tell her good morning in a completely different way. Fisting my hand in her hair, I tip her head back and dip my mouth closer to hers.
“Daddy Ax, Chocolate Chip is eating the couch!” Hope yells, breaking the moment and making me groan.
“Definitely three years,” Ellie says, letting out a breath against my mouth and dropping back down to her feet.
“Three years,” I mutter, kissing her once before leaving the kitchen and heading to the living room, where I find Chip eating the edge of the couch. Luckily it’s leather, so the damage is minimal.
Going upstairs after making a phone call, I stop and frown as I watch Ellie hang up clothes in the closet of the room she chose when she first came to stay with me…a room she hasn’t slept in for weeks.
“What are you doing?”
Jumping, she turns to look at me then holds up a shirt on a hanger. “Putting away my laundry.”
“Why the fuck are you putting it away in here?” I frown, looking at the closet and seeing it’s full of her clothes.
“Um…”
“What the fuck, Ellie?”
“I—” she starts, but I hold up my hand, walk over to the pile of laundry on the bed, and pick it up, carrying it down the hall, where I toss it on the bed then turn to face her.
“You sleep in here. Your shit should be in here.”
“Are you asking me to move in?” she asks quietly.
“Jesus, Ellie, what the fuck? Did you think you were going to move out?” I growl, watching her eyes narrow and her hands go to her hips.
“I don’t know.” She flings her arms out then swings them around. “You never asked me to live with you. I’m not a mind reader!”
Placing my hands on my hips, I lean forward, getting in her space. “You already fucking live with me. I didn’t think this was something we needed to fucking talk about.”
“Well, we did. I mean, you haven’t said anything about it until now, how was I supposed to know.”
“You live here, Ellie; you sleep in my bed, in our bed. Hope sleeps in her bed down the hall from us, and will until she eventually moves out to go to college, so go get your shit and hang it in there,” I say, pointing to the closet in our room. “Or wait until I get home in a couple hours, and I’ll help you move it.”
“You could ask me nicely if I want to live with you,” she grumbles.
“It’s not something I need to ask you. It’s already done. Now I gotta go, so stop being difficult and give me a kiss before I leave.”
“I don’t feel like kissing you now.” She frowns.
“To bad,” I rumble, closing the distance between us, fisting my hand in her hair, taking her mouth in a brutal kiss that has my cock pushing hard against my zipper and her nails digging into my scalp before pulling away.
“Hang your shit in the closet,” I command, pressing one last kiss to her mouth before stepping away, smiling as I leave the room and head down stairs where I find Hope hanging over the edge of the couch upside down.
“Daddy Ax,” she says when she spots me standing in the doorway.
“Hey, sweetheart, I have to leave for awhile, so help your mom out while I’m gone, okay?”
“Okay,” she says, flipping over then standing.
“Be good.”
“I will. Wuv you,” she says, wrapping her arms around my legs, and fuck me if that isn’t even better than her calling me daddy.
“Love you too, sweetheart,” I murmur, running my hand over her hair, kissing her forehead then placing my hat on my head and heading through the front door.
Chapter 12
Ellie
After hanging the last of my clothes in the closet, I walk down the hall to check on Hope, when I hear the puppies barking. I know they were asleep with her the last time I checked in on them, so I have no idea what’s gotten them so riled up. Entering the room, it takes a second for my brain to register what I’m seeing, but when I do, adrenaline and fear floods my system.
“Put down my daughter,” I say, but I’m not even sure if the words are loud enough to hear as I stand across the room from the man I met briefly at the zoo, holding a crying Hope in his arms.
“Mama!” Hope cries, bringing my attention to her as she holds out her hands to me.
“It’s okay, Angel baby. It’s going to be okay,” I choke, reaching out for her, but I drop my hands back to my sides when his hand moves up to wrap around her throat.
“Do you ever wonder how children can be so innocent, even when growing up in a life of sin?” he asks, kissing the top of her head while his eyes roam over me from head to toe.
“Please, give her to me. I’ll do whatever you want, just please let her go.”
“Such devotion; to a child who’s not really yours.” He shakes his head.
“She’s mine,” I whisper, wanting so badly to rip her from his grasp, but knowing there is no way for me to do that without getting her hurt in the process.
“Now she belongs to me, and so do you,” he states calmly then looks over my shoulder and lifts his chin to whoever is behind me, but there is no way I’m taking my eyes off my daughter, not when he still has his hand wrapped around her tiny neck.
“Please, let her go. She’s just a baby,” I beg.
“She’s coming with us,” he says firmly, running his hand over her hair almost affectionately, causing bile to burn the back of my throat.
“Please don’t do this,” I choke out. “Whatever you have planned, please don’t do this. We can work something out.”
He starts to move around me, and I reach out trying to grab Hope, who’s now screaming and kicking, but he turns his body so that she’s farther away from me, and then looks at the man who is standing in the doorway of the room. “Take her down to the car. We’ll be there in a moment.”
“No, please don’t!” I scream, trying to get Hope from him, only to be grabbed around my waist and chest and pulled back into a solid torso so hard that the air is pushed out of me. “Please don’t hurt her,” I beg the man holding Hope as he leaves the room with her screaming and kicking in his arms and the puppies barking at his feet.
“No one will hurt her. She will live a life free from the sins you have shown her,” he says near my ear as I feel his arousal press into my back.
“No,” I breathe, feeling tears fill my eyes when I hear what sounds like one of the puppies cry out and a loud bang as if it hit the wall. “Please don’t do this,” I whimper, trying to get away from him, but he’s strong, way too strong for me, even with the moves Jax taught me I can’t get free.
“You’re mine, Ellie. I own you.”
“No.”
“Yes,” he snarls, biting my neck so hard I wouldn’t be surprised if he broke the skin.”
“Please don’t,” I whisper as my legs give out underneath me and his hands wrap around my breasts, squeezing painfully tight.
“Your virginity was supposed to be mine, but you gave it away,” he growls, moving his hands from my breasts to my neck, squeezing so hard the oxygen in my lungs gets trapped as stars and tears blind me.
Trying once more to free myself, I only manage to claw skin off his arm with my nails, but it does nothing. His grip never lessens, and I feel myself become weaker as I attempt to breathe. “I
may not be able to take your virginity, but your womb is mine. You’ll give me a baby before I’m done with you.”
“No!” I shake my head in denial as darkness clouds my vision.
“Who are you? Where’s Jax?” I hear a woman’s voice ask, but it sounds like I’m under water, and then I’m released, falling to the floor and gasping for air. Feeling a sharp pain across the side of my face, it takes a moment to realize he’s smacked me.
“You’ll do as I say or you’ll die,” he threatens, pulling out a gun and pressing it to my forehead. Nodding, I agree as he yanks me roughly up to stand then drags me stumbling behind him out of the room, still trying to catch my breath.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, a woman I have never seen before is standing in the doorway with her chest heaving as she blocks the man with Hope in his arms from going outside.
“Where is Jax?” she yells then her eyes fly to me as I dizzily stumble down the last step and hit the wall with my shoulder.
“Get into the house now, or I’ll put a bullet in her,” the man next to me says, roughly pulling me against his chest and placing the barrel of the gun against my temple. Watching her step into the house, tears fill my eyes and drop silently down my cheeks.
“Put her down and go check to see if we have drawn attention to ourselves,” the one holding the gun to my head says, and the man holding Hope nods, setting her on the ground then walking back towards the kitchen as she runs to me.
“It’s okay,” I tell her, picking her up and tucking her against my chest as she sobs into the crook of my neck.
“You guys can go. We won’t say anything,” the woman offers, coming toward Hope and me. “I won’t let them say anything; just please leave and we’ll put this all behind us,” she pleads.
“Shut the fuck up before I shoot you,” he says, and Hope whimpers, tucking her small body tighter against me.
“No one’s outside. We can go,” the guy who left moments ago says, coming back into the hallway near the front door.
“She’s coming,” he says, pointing to the unknown woman.
“Let her and Hope stay. I’ll do whatever you want,” I whisper, trying to get Hope to let me go so I can hand her to the woman.
“She’s coming!” he roars, and the front door swings open.
“Jax,” I whisper, seeing his eyes pull down in confusion, as he takes in the scene then fly to the woman in the room.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Jules?” he asks, and my mind registers Jules is his mom, the one he went to see.
“No!” Jules shrieks, running toward Jax when the man near the door pulls out his gun. Swinging Hope in the direction of the kitchen, a loud bang fills the room.
“Run,” I tell her, unwrapping her from me and putting her on the ground, pushing her toward the kitchen. “Now!” I scream, watching her look at me with tears soaking her face before running off.
Looking around frantically for anything I can use as a weapon, I run to the stand near the front door and rip out one of the drawers, causing papers to flutter down around me as I bring it up over my head and down hard, hitting one of the men over the head. Jax wrestles with the other one, trying to get his gun away from him. Hitting the guy on the floor again and again, a shot goes off and my body jerks from the sound, and then another goes off and wetness splatters across my face. My eyes start to go to the man at my feet, but Jax’s hand tilts up my chin.
“He’s dead, baby. Go find Hope.”
Swallowing, I look around, feeling like I’m outside of my body.
“Ellie, be strong for just a little longer and go get our baby girl.”
Dropping the drawer still clutched in my hand, I nod, and his eyes search my face for a brief moment before his body turns away from me as he goes over to Jules. He bends over her, pressing his fingers to her neck and a hand to her chest, where red has soaked through her shirt. Stumbling down the hall into the kitchen, I see Pancake hiding in the kitchen under the counter, so I pick her up and hold her to my chest as I make my way through the open backdoor just as three cop cars pull into the driveway, their sirens and lights blaring.
Looking around frantically for Hope, I run past the police cars, ignoring them telling me to stop, and then I see Hope next door, standing in the yard with an old woman and man.
“Hope!” I scream, and her head turns toward me.
“Mama!” she cries, running to me as I drop to my knees, letting Pancake fall from my grasp to the grass as Hope hits my chest hard, rocking me backwards.
“Oh, God, Angel! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” I ask, pushing her away so I can check her over.
“Ma’am, who’s in the house?” an officer asks, crouching down next to Hope and me.
“Jax. His mom was shot; she needs an ambulance,” I say, and he yells over his shoulder at someone.
“Are the assailants still inside?” he inquires.
“They’re both dead,” I tell him, watching his face soften before he looks away and gives instructions to the men behind him. He then picks Pancake up from the ground and nods toward one of the cars.
“Come with me and get cleaned up then you can wait in the cruiser while we get everything worked out,” he says gently.
Helping me stand with Hope in my arms, he leads me over to one of the cruisers and gives me some wipes that smell like alcohol. It burns as I wipe down my face and hands. Then he opens the backdoor, assisting me inside before dropping Pancake onto the seat next to us and shutting the door.
“Where’s Chocolate Chip?” Hope sobs, gathering Pancake between us.
“I don’t know, Angel,” I murmur, holding her against me, watching the front door of the house as policemen and paramedics go inside. Then I see Jax walk out the front door, holding Chip in his hands as he scans the yard. I bang on the glass of the door and his eyes come to me, and he jumps down the steps and runs toward us.
As soon as he reaches the car, he swings the door open and gathers Hope and me in his arms. “I’m so fucking sorry…so fucking sorry,” he repeats over and over, while he rocks us against him.
“It’s okay. We’re all okay,” I cry, leaning back to see his eyes. “We’re okay,” I echo as his eyes close and his forehead touches mine.
“She’s dead,” he whispers, squeezing us tightly, and my heart breaks.
*
“Do you need anything else?” Lilly asks, standing in the open doorway of Jax’s old room with Cash’s arm around her waist.
Placing Hope on the bed, I tuck her in under the covers and press a kiss to the top of her head. After answering a few questions from the police and getting things settled, I knew there was no way I would be able to stay at the house. Not tonight, and probably not for a long time. I couldn’t even force myself to go into the house to get the clothes and stuff we would need to hold us over for a few days, and I don’t know what Jax packed.
“We’re okay, Mom,” Jax tells her, wrapping his arms around her, and his dad gives them another hug, one of the many he’s given them since they found out what happened. I think Lilly and Cash are still in shock. No one besides me knew Jax had recently been in contact with Jules, and I don’t believe anyone would have guessed she would’ve given her life for his, knowing their past history.
“Thanks again for letting us stay here,” I say quietly, taking a seat on the bed and rubbing my eyes.
“We’re family,” she says, and my eyes fill with tears.
“Are you sure you all want to sleep in here?” Cash asks.
“I need my girls close,” Jax explains quietly, moving his gaze to the bed, where Hope is a sleep, then to me.
“Whatever you need, bud,” Cash says, and I hear the rawness in his voice, which only serves to make the pain in my chest expand. “Get some sleep and we’ll see you in the morning.”
“Night,” I say, getting off the bed, hugging Cash then Lilly, and watching Jax do the same before closing the door.
“Are you tired, baby?” he asks as I
go to the suitcase in the corner of the room and grab one of his shirts.
“Yes, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep,” I tell him as I take off my clothes I put on after the shower I took when we got here and put on his shirt.
“I fucked up today.”
“You didn’t,” I whisper, sitting on the side of the bed, watching as he trades his jeans for a pair of sweats.
“I did, Ellie,” he argues quietly, coming to stand in front of me, running his hand over the bruises on my throat.
“He was crazy, Jax, and now that he’s gone, all the women he’s held hostage are free from him. They have a chance to start over; their children have a chance at a normal life,” I tell him, feeling sorrow wash through me for those women and their children and what they have yet to face.
After the medical examiner ran the prints of the dead men, they found out the main guy’s name was Tobias Benedict. He was the son of a prostitute who lived in the mountains of Tennessee on a six hundred acre plot of land, which he had turned into a compound of sorts. He had reportedly said he spoke to God and that God told him it was his duty to bring forth pure children into the world, and his offspring would lead in the war against evil at the end of times.
He had a harem of women, all of them he had either kidnapped or bought, and they were all virgins, who he then had children with. I was stunned when Jax’s uncle told us he had over two hundred followers who all believed him. But knowing the world we live in, and how badly some people want to believe in something, anything, I know it’s possible.
“You were almost taken from our home. I could have lost you and Hope, and I would’ve had no way to find you,” he says, getting down on his knees in front of me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his head in my lap.
“You would have found us.” I whisper, forcing his eyes to meet mine then holding his face in my hands. “You wouldn’t have stopped until you did,” I say then drop my forehead to his. “I don’t want to play what if, not when we’re here together, not after what happened,” I whisper, closing my eyes, feeling his arms wrap around me.
Until Jax Page 21