He grabs my arm. “Hold on, buddy. I understand, but we have a plan and we need to stick with it. The goal is to get her out of there alive. Stop thinking with your cock, mate.”
I hate it when he is fucking right! “Okay, what’s the plan?”
THE BREEZE IS SO nice. I love to look out over the sea and wonder what it would feel like to be swimming with Jax. My mind wanders to him always, but today something seems different. I feel him around me. It’s probably the baby.
A really ugly looking boat just pulled up. Who would ever want a bright orange boat? I try to see the people on board, but I can’t. I decide to close my eyes for a little bit, but all I can see are the bluest eyes. God, I miss him. As I drift off, all I can think of is how much I love that beautiful man.
“OKAY, JAX, HERE IS the plan. You and I are going back to shore. We’ll glide toward the villa. When we are above it, we parachute in, landing on the roof, in the dark. We rappel down the backside where the bedrooms are located. We get Raven, and then we’ll BASE jump out towards the boat.”
I’m looking at Max like he has three heads.“Jax, just hear me out. I know you have done BASE jumping before, and I have done it enough that I can tandem Raven with no problem. Once we get to the boat, they won’t be able to catch us.”
I sit back, trying to think of the different options, and there really aren’t any. “My concern is, finding her once she is inside the villa, Max. What if she’s not in her room or what if we pick the wrong room?”
“The men on the boat are watching her, and they have determined that her room is on the back, left corner. She has a balcony.”
I sit there, stroking my chin. I wish I could come up with something else, but we’re out of options. “Okay, but I don’t have to tell you I’m not leaving without her. I will lay down my life for her.”
He hands me my chute. “Jax, I promised your mum and Mrs. Osla that I would bring you both home, and they scare me a hell of a lot more than Vincent and his goons.”
THE MORE I READ the book, that my mother made, the more upset I get. She believed she would never see me again. Vincent, mentally and physically, tortured her daily, and yet, she found a way to go on. I don’t understand why she killed herself. Joseph said she couldn’t look at Duke, but she gave him up for adoption. She fought to stay alive through two months of nonstop torture, yet right after she gave birth, she killed herself? Something isn’t right, but I guess I’ll never know.
Joseph knew about Duke, and yet, his answer was to ship me off to boarding school? Maybe if I was around, my mother might have survived. Joseph did all of this, thinking he was protecting me, but all he did was make this mess even bigger.
I think about Marco, and part of me wants to grieve for him while the other part of me is still in shock by his actions. I still can’t believe he did all of this for money, trying to kidnap poor little Michael. If he really needed money, I would have given him all of my trust fund with no questions asked. Now, so many people are dead, and lives have been changed forever.
I skipped dinner tonight, feeling nauseated, but now I’m getting hungry. I get up, but I hear a noise on my balcony. I turn just as the doors swing open. In walks the most beautiful sight; two men, all in black.
My eyes only lock on to one thing, the bluest of blues. I stifle a yell and feel my knees buckle. He is on me in a second. “I’ve got you, sweetheart; I will always have your back.”
I throw my arms around him, flooding him with kisses, and then I realize he put himself in danger when I specifically told him not to. I don’t know what gets into me, maybe the fact I’m pregnant and highly emotional. I reach back and smack him across the face! He gets a shocked look on his face, and Max is trying not to laugh.
“You crazy man, I told you not to put yourself in danger, but you just don’t listen to anything! Do you think you’re Superman or something? Do you realize how dangerous this is?”
He grabs me and kisses me hard. Oh fuck, I’m done! “Sweetheart, as long as there is life left within me, I will always come for you!”
“Jax, Raven, this is all nice and stuff, but we have to go now.”
I’m trying to catch my breath. “Just how do you boys plan on getting me out of here?”
“Well, right now, everyone is asleep, including the guard that I hit with the tranquilizer dart. We are going to rappel down to the garden and BASE jump out to sea, where a boat is waiting for us.”
I freeze. They both turn and look at me. “I can’t do this.”
Jax’s eyes bug out, but Max is calm. “Miss Raven, I understand your fear of heights, however, I promise, I will get you to that boat safely.”
This is not how I would have ever pictured telling someone something this important, but I don’t have a choice. “I’m pregnant.”
They both stop, and I swear both their chins are on the ground. I instantly see the fear in Jax’s eyes and I realize what he is thinking—that Vincent did to me what he did to my mother.
“Jax, it’s your baby. I’m a little more than three months along; Vincent never touched me, especially when he found out.”
“Miss Raven, do you trust me?” Max asks.
“Yes, without any doubt, I do.”
He puts his hand out “Good. Give me your hand. This might be a little bit unconventional, but I need to have you wrap yourself around my front like a monkey hold. Can you do that for me?”
Jax is frozen.
“Okay.” I climb on Max.
He heads towards the balcony, “Hey, Jax, snap out of it, we are leaving now! Jax, I need you to go first and guide us down,” he calls softly.
Jax doesn’t say anything. He just does everything Max tells him. When we get to the bottom, Jax unhooks us, and we head towards the cliff. I think I’m going to puke. No, I know I’m going to puke. Jax is holding my hair back while I empty my stomach.
“Miss Raven, we really need to go. Climb back on me. If you have to puke again, just do it, I won’t care, believe me I have seen a lot worse than that.”
“Raven, you’re jumping with Max. He’s trained for tandem jumping.” Jax finally finds his voice.
We hear yelling and running. “The party is over, we have to go now!” Max grabs me under my ass and takes off running. I close my eyes. Now I understand the statement ‘take a flying leap.’ I swear I scream the whole way down. I look up, and Jax is above us, gliding.
Max is gliding us towards the boat, and I realize it’s the ugly boat I saw this morning. I hear gunshots, and they are whizzing past us. I feel something hot and wet, but it doesn’t register that it’s blood. We all land. The men from the boat get us on board, and in seconds, we are off.
Jax unhooks himself and comes running towards us, and I realize Max is shot. “Max, don’t you dare die on me!” I yell at him. I don’t know what that is supposed to accomplish.
Jax unhooks us, “Raven, you’re shot!”
I look towards Max. “It’s not me, Jax. Max is shot in the shoulder!”
“Make this fucking boat fly!” Jax yells to the captain.
Jax starts to take off Max’s shirt, and they both look at his wound before turning to look towards me. “What, why are you both looking at me?”
They both jump up and grab me, but I don’t understand why. I feel that wave of nausea, and the world starts spinning. “Max, it’s a fucking through and through and she’s hit!” I hear them yelling and my shirt being ripped off.
Then, nothing, but a quiet hum.
I’M SLEEPING AND HAVING the most wonderful dream, those beautiful eyes are staring at me, and I see that crooked smirk. I love when I dream of Jax. I go to stretch, and I have a sharp, burning pain in my left shoulder. My eyes fly open, remembering what happened and I’m instantly hit with the bluest, most calming eyes. “Jax,” I whisper.
He grabs me. “I’m here, sweetheart, always here.”
I try to jump up. “Max!” I’m looking around, but I don’t see him.
“He’s fine, just res
t.”
Realization hits me “Oh my God, the baby!”
“Hush, the baby is fine, everyone is good.” He’s really here smiling at me.
“LOOK, I HAVE SOMETHING for you.” I hand her the scan of the baby. “See, the baby is just fine.”
She stares at the picture, smiling. “I want to see Max. Where are we? How did you find me?”
I have to keep her calm. “One thing at a time, okay?”
“Okay.”
I open the door and call Max and Jackie in her room. “Oh, Miss Raven, you're awake. I’m so sorry.”
“Max, what on earth are you sorry for? You risked your life for me and you were shot! If anything, I’m sorry for putting you in that position.”
BEFORE I CAN SAY anything more, the door flies open and Mrs. Phillips comes storming in.
“Maxwell, you should be sorry. I told you to bring her and Jaxson back safely. Jumping out of planes and leaping off of cliffs is not bringing them back safely. Plus, you were both shot!”
Max is looking down at his feet. “Yes, Ma’am, I am very sorry.”
Oh my God, Max is afraid of Jax’s mom. I start laughing and I can’t stop. Everyone turns towards me, probably thinking I have totally lost my mind, and I realize I need to say something. I snort, “I can’t believe big, bad Max is afraid of you!”
Max turns beet red, and I start laughing again. I really can’t help it. Max grumbles, “Miss Raven, you should be too, she’s really tough.”
Before I can answer, she reaches up and pulls him by the ear! “Maxwell, you’ll mind your manners, if you know what’s good for you!”
Jackie hugs me, “I’m so happy that they found you, and you’re safe.”
“I missed you too, Jackie.” I have so many questions for everyone. I look around and I realize that I’m not sure where I am. “Jax, where are we?” I ask.
He squeezes my hand. “We’re back in New York. Max’s wound was a through and through. Yours, however, was not. The doctor got the bullet out, and I had a plane on standby to take us back to the States. The doctor said you could go home tomorrow.”
Wow, I can’t believe we are already in New York. “Jax, we need to talk.”
He’s shaking his head. “No we will talk when we get home. Right now, I need you to rest; you’ve been through too much.” He brings my hand up to his lips and plants a kiss on the back. I allow myself to be distracted by his affections for a moment, but I need some answers.
“What about Duke and Vincent, where are they?”
The mention of their names makes Jax grip my hand even harder. “Vincent escaped but Duke was apprehended, however, the Italian government has not decided what they are going to do with him. Now, enough! I said rest, Raven, and I mean it.”
I can’t even argue, my eyes feel so heavy, and I fall back to sleep, knowing for now, my baby and I are safe. Safe with Jax.
I WAKE AGAIN AND look at the clock; its 3 am. Jax is beside me, asleep. He is so beautiful, and I can’t help but stroke his face. I hope the baby has his chiseled cheekbones and his soft lips. He has such long eyelashes, and they are so dark. I take my finger and run it along his cheek, so very beautiful. I let my fingers roam down his chest and slowly make my way down his happy trail.
“Busted, sweetheart,” he whispers.
I yelp, “Jesus, Jax, you scared daylights out of me.”
I can see him smile at me via the moonlight shining through the window. “You’re supposed to be sleeping, and yet, my beautiful girl is copping a feel.”
“I was not copping a feel, mister!” I squeal. Then, he opens his eyes and hits me with that crooked smirk and I can’t help but giggle. “Yeah, I was, but it’s your fault.”
He laughs at me “Wait, I’m sleeping, you’re copping a feel, and it’s my fault?”
I’m never getting out of this one. “Yes.”
He takes a breath. “Okay, how is it my fault?”
I stammer, “Well I can’t explain it, but trust me, it just is.”
He looks in my eyes and growls, “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not taking advantage of you in a hospital bed, and besides, you were shot! Curl up next to me and I’ll stroke your back so you can go back to sleep.”
As I drift off to sleep, I hear him sing in almost a whisper, and it is such a beautiful song, one of my favorites, “Little Things” by One Direction.
MORNING COMES. I OPEN my eyes, and Jax is gone. Oh no. Was last night a dream? I start to panic. My body trembles and my breath quickens. Please dear God . . . please don’t let it be a dream. I’ve got to get up. What if Vincent finds me? I’m half out of bed when the door flies open, and Jax comes in. “Where do you think you’re going?”
I take a few steadying breaths, “I woke up and you weren’t here.” My teeth are chattering, “I was going to look for you?”
He’s in his ‘take charge’ mode. “I was just outside, signing you out of this place. The nurse will be in a few minutes to take out the IV.”
All I want to do is get clean. “When can I take a shower?”
He laughs. “I know you are in love with my shower, however, when we get home, you can soak in the tub, no shower until the stitches come out.”
I am just about to ask him about work, when the nurse comes in. After she leaves, Jax gets me dressed and then the nurse comes back with the wheelchair. Jax ignores her, scoops me up, and walks out with me in his arms and the nurse following behind us, yelling about rules. I just laugh. Jax and rules don’t mix well.
When we get outside, Max is there with an SUV. “Hi, Miss Raven, how are you feeling today?”
I smile, “I’m good, but how are you?”
Max is worried about me, but he was shot too. “I’m fine, nothing to worry about, just another chink in the armor.”
After we get into the vehicle and drive away, my mind wanders to Marco. I feel so hurt, and tears fill my eyes. I’m trying not to cry in front of Jax because it really makes him crazy. “Aren’t we going back to my place, Jax?”
Jax’s jaw gets tight “Raven, we’re going to The Tower.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh,” he whispers.
In the usual record time, we arrive at The Tower. Max comes upstairs with us, so they probably have some business. “Max, has the place been swept?”
Max nods as Jax steers me towards the bedroom. “I’m going to get you set up in the tub, and then I have some stuff to go over with Max. Are you okay?”
I’m searching his eyes “Yes, I’m fine.”
He fills the tub and puts in some mandarin spice bath oil. The bath feels wonderful. I think I may have had fallen in love with Jax’s bathroom even before I had fallen in love with the man! I open my eyes when I notice the water is starting to get cold, and find Jax, leaning against the counter, watching me.
He smiles, “I’m here to wash your hair for you. Scoot forward a little”
I do as I’m told. He turns on the water, wets my hair, and works in some shampoo. He is so gentle. It’s a simple thing, but it is such a turn on! He conditions, then rinses, and then he towels me dry with heated towels. A girl could get very spoiled with all of this attention. He seats me at the vanity and dries my hair. “Jax, are you ever going to talk to me? You haven’t said much of anything, since yesterday. Why?” I need him to be his usual bulldozer self.
“You’re right. We have a lot to talk about, but I don’t want to overload you or pressure you. I’m trying to figure out what you need. You are my main focus. As for me, it’s simple; all I need is you, sweetheart.”
We lock violets to blues. “Jax, what I need is your usual fast and furious self. I need the Jax that asks whatever he wants, whenever he wants, and damn anyone to hell that gets in his way.”
“Okay, let's start from the beginning then. Why did you run away that night?”
I let out the breath I was holding. “I heard you and Max talking. I was hurt. You can’t keep stuff from me; only telling me what you think I can handle. T
hat’s not life, and it’s not fair to me.”
He nods. “Okay, you’re right, but you never gave me a chance. I only just found out that stuff, and I would’ve told you, but you ran, again,” he defends himself then lets out a big sigh. “I thought you were on the pill, so how did you end up pregnant?”
I don’t want him to think I got pregnant to trap him. “I was on the pill, but when I was kidnapped, I missed them, but we never abstained. I didn’t plan this. I expect nothing from you. Look, maybe I should just go back to my place.”
His jaw tightens. “There you go again, deciding for me what I can or can’t handle! I didn’t say I didn’t want the baby, so if that’s what you’re thinking, just get it out of your head! Those three months you were gone, I died a little every day. And then to find you and find out you’re carrying our child; It’s overwhelming.
“Raven, so much happened in three months, but I don’t want to overload you, so can we take it a little at a time, please?”
“Yes, but you must know I have so many questions, and I need to talk to Joseph,” I plead and watch him quickly turns pale. “Jax, what happened?”
I HAVE TO TELL her. I just don’t know how much more she can handle. “Joseph died three weeks ago from prostate cancer. That’s part of why everything happened with Marco,” I lay it out for her. I take her in my arms and just let her have a good cry. I don’t know how the fuck I’m going to tell her that her mother is alive. “Joseph told Marco he was sick, and Marco convinced Joseph to tell him who your half-brother was and where he was living. Marco was heavy into gambling, and he hooked up with Erica in a chat room. They plotted to kidnap Junior, and when Marco found out you were his teacher, it just made things easier for him. It made it easier, that is, until he realized that Junior’s uncle was also your Starbucks guy.”
I WIPE MY TEARS. “Jax, if Marco wanted money, all he had to do was ask me. I would have given him my trust fund. When we were in that cabin, Marco said Joseph was sick, but I didn’t know the difference between truth and lies with him anymore, when he was trying to justify his actions.”
The Unraveling of Raven (The Unraveled Trilogy Book 1) Page 22