by M. S. Parker
As I dug in the box for the knife, my phone rang, startling me bad enough that I almost dropped it. I hit the accept button without even really registering who was calling. I just needed the phone to stop ringing before the guy in the bar heard it and came back to investigate.
I was just getting ready to end the call without speaking when I saw who it was. If I was going to do stupid things tonight, I might as well add one more to the list.
“Hello?”
“Syll, what’s wrong? You didn’t say anything. I thought I lost you.”
I told myself not to take those words at anything but face value. “No, I’m here.”
“Look, I need to talk to you. I didn’t handle what happened well, and I want to explain–”
“Now’s not a good time,” I cut in. My fingers closed on the familiar handle and I held up the knife. “Yahtzee.”
“Syll? Why are you whispering? I can barely hear you.”
“Sorry, Jax. Someone’s in the bar, and I can’t let him hear me.”
He cursed. “What are you still doing in there? Get out!”
“I can’t,” I said as I straightened. “If I go out the back, an alarm will go off and I’ll get stuck in the alley. Sitting duck.”
“Why aren’t you on the phone with the cops?”
“I already called 911,” I explained. “They’re on their way.”
“Where are you?”
“In the living room.”
“Get back into your bedroom,” he ordered. “Get under the bed and don’t move until someone gets there. I’m on my way.”
“Stay away,” I said firmly. I desperately wanted him here, but I wasn’t going to be selfish. “You could get hurt.”
“I could get hurt?! Are you crazy?!”
The intensity in his voice made me smile. He really did care about me. What he’d said before had to have been just poor communication. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the time or place for a discussion.
“It’s okay,” I said. “The cops are on their way.”
“But you aren’t going to wait for them, are you?”
The resignation in his voice almost gave me pause, but I shook it off. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t do anything stupid, Syll. Please. Just go hide in your bedroom, in the bathroom, anywhere. Let the police do their job. I’m on my way.”
I lifted my chin, even if he couldn’t see it. “This is my home, Jax. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let some gutless bastard drive me out of it. He won’t catch me off-guard this time.”
“Syll.” My name was a warning.
“I have to go now.”
I ended the call before he could say anything else. I couldn’t stay on the phone with him, no matter how good his concern made me feel. He’d try to talk me into hiding, and I’d probably let him. I didn’t doubt he wanted what was best for me, but I had to do this. For me.
I had to prove to myself that I could defend what was mine.
No matter how stupid it was.
Twenty-Nine
Jax
What the hell was she thinking?!
I nearly tripped as I pulled on the first pair of pants I could lay my hands on. I’d been in bed, not able to sleep, thinking about everything that’d happened over the last two days. Some of it had been about my brothers and the strange realization we’d all come to that afternoon about our involvement in BDSM, but even finding common ground with my brothers hadn’t been enough to stop me from thinking about what happened with Syll.
It’d been a complete misunderstanding on her part, and I’d been stung that she’d thought so little of me. I’d never fucked someone to close a business deal, and I never would’ve done that to someone I…cared about.
I had to admit at least that much to myself. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been scrambling around to get dressed so I could go save her.
I called her on a whim, knowing she’d still be up. The plan had been to explain to her that I’d simply been admiring the space and thinking of ways she could build business because I knew it was something she worried about. I wasn’t sure when it happened, but I’d stopped wanting to buy the bar. Not because I didn’t think it was quality property anymore. It was still perfect for a club, and I still wanted to build one.
But that was all it was. I wanted to build a business that interested me. That’s what the club was to me.
To Syll, her bar was her life.
And that was what had panic flooding me. The bar was her life, and she was going to defend it with her life.
She was going to get herself killed, and that wasn’t acceptable. I didn’t want to even think about a world without her in it.
I knew that meant I didn’t simply care about her, but that wasn’t something I had the luxury of analyzing at this moment. I had to get to her before it was too late. I’d figure the rest of it out after she was safe.
I started toward the parking garage but kept my eye out for a taxi. Whichever car I saw first, I’d take. I didn’t even feel the bite of the air as I broke into a jog. A cab pulled up before I’d gone more than a few feet and I got into the back, giving the address before I even closed the door.
“I’ll give you double the fare if you get me there in ten minutes or less.”
I sat back and closed my eyes, knowing that the cabbie would be less likely to start up a conversation if he thought I was resting. I couldn’t handle talking to him, not when I was trying so hard not to think of all the things that could be happening to Syll without me there.
I never should have let her kick me out that night. If my fucking pride caused her to get hurt because she was alone, I’d never forgive myself. I should have been there with her. Better yet, she shouldn’t have been there at all. She should have been with me, at my house where I could protect her.
I promised myself that, as soon as I had the opportunity, I was going to make things right. I’d be honest with her about the things I wanted, and I’d tell her that we could come to some arrangement…
“Fuck,” I muttered.
I didn’t want an arrangement. I wanted her. She was tough and independent and smart-mouthed, all the things a Dom shouldn’t want in a sub. Normally, I wouldn’t either, but what I felt for her was different than what I’d felt for anyone else.
Different. Stronger.
I’d been miserable this week. Snapping at my brothers had just been the last straw. When I was with her, things weren’t easy, but I felt like I could be me around her, more than I could be around anyone. Hell, half the time, I didn’t really know who I was, and I definitely didn’t like him. But when I was with her…
“You okay, Mister?” the driver asked. “You don’t look so good.”
I made a dismissive gesture that probably came off as rude, but I was too focused on the revelation that was slowly opening up in front of me.
I was falling for her.
No. I had fallen for her.
I was in love with Syll.
“What the hell is that?”
I didn’t look up, not caring about whatever it was that had caught the cabbie’s attention. A moment later, however, I did look up because we’d come to a stop. I handed over three twenties even as I opened the door. I stepped out into the cold night and noticed two things, one right after the other. The first was that there weren’t any cops here yet. The second was that I’d seen what caught the driver’s attention.
Smoke.
Thick smoke billowing out of the open door. Of the bar. Where Syll was.
I started forward, only to be knocked aside when someone came running out of the door. I caught a glimpse of Billy’s panicked expression before I turned and ran inside. If he’d done something to Syll, I’d deal with him later.
The heat hit me hard, and I sucked in a breath. The smoke that was stinging my eyes filled my lungs, and I started to cough. I hunched over, trying to get to some of the cleaner air. It wasn’t much better, but I could see where the flames were now. The e
ntire right side was in flames, and the air was so thick with the smell of gasoline, I could taste it.
“Syll?!” I yelled her name as best I could. “Syll?!”
I ran into a chair and cursed. How was I supposed to see anything in here? I moved around it and spotted a dark shape on the floor. Syll was on her stomach, blood trickling from a cut on her temple. Her eyes were closed, and I couldn’t tell if she was even breathing. I didn’t want to think about that though. I needed to get her out of here, and then I could deal with whatever came next.
“I’ve got you.” I scooped her up and started back to the door.
I was almost outside when the blast of an explosion hit me, and I stumbled forward, sharp pain blazing across my back and shoulders. I ignored it, taking the last few steps I needed to get us outside. I didn’t stop there though. Behind me was a building full of alcohol that wouldn’t fare well soon. I couldn’t let Syll be anywhere near that.
I’d gone another half-dozen steps when I realized that I was hearing something other than the roar of flames in my ears. Sirens. A few moments later, two cop cars came screeching around the corner.
I ignored them and knelt on the sidewalk, still cradling Syll in my arms.
“Syll, you have to wake up, okay? There’s so much I need to tell you.” I brushed hair back from her face. “Please, Syll. Don’t do this to me.”
I only hoped I wasn’t too late.
Thirty
Syll
It hurt to breathe. Like the sort of excruciating pain that made my bruised ribs feel like a pulled muscle. I coughed, the movement wrenching injuries that weren’t quite healed. I made a pained sound, and that was when I realized that I wasn’t on the floor of the bar. I was on someone’s lap.
“Shh, easy. Slow breaths.”
Jax?
Why was Jax holding me?
Wait, I’d called him. No, he called me. He said he was coming over.
“Open your eyes, sweetheart.”
That did it. I blinked, tears filling my stinging eyes, then spilling down my cheeks. I frowned. Why was I crying? But I wasn’t crying. Was I?
“There you are.”
The relief in Jax’s voice had me shifting my gaze to his familiar face. Familiar, and filthy.
“What happened?” Wow. Was that my voice? Why did I sound like a fifty-year-old chain smoker?
“What do you remember?” He shook his head even as he asked the question. “Wait. Don’t try to talk. You inhaled a lot of smoke.”
Smoke? Why was there smoke?
I felt like I had smoke in my brain.
What happened? I remembered that I’d heard a noise and that I called the police. I talked to Jax, right before going out into the bar, armed with my dad’s old boning knife.
The smell of gasoline had made my eyes water, but I’d still seen someone standing near the cash register. I’d taken just a step or two toward whoever it was when a burst of pain had exploded in my head, and everything had gone dark.
“Is my bar burning?”
I tried to sit up, and Jax wrapped his arm around my shoulders to help. When I was in an upright position, I found myself wishing that I’d kept my eyes shut.
My bar, my home, was burning. Two cops were shouting at a fire truck that was just now pulling up, but I knew they wouldn’t be able to save it. The tears that streamed down my cheeks now had less to do with the smoke and more to do with the fact that I was watching everything I owned burn.
Everything my dad had ever owned or touched. Every memory I had of him. Every memento.
“I’m so sorry,” Jax said as he held me. “I wish I could’ve done something to stop it.”
A paramedic stepped into my field of vision. “Let’s take a look at you two.”
“I’m fine,” Jax said. “Make sure she’s okay.”
The young man knelt in front of me and began going through all sorts of questions and tests. A light shone in my eyes. A stethoscope listening to my raspy breaths. But I wasn’t really paying attention to anything he was doing. I just kept watching the fire.
Firefighters had hoses out now, but it didn’t matter.
My home was gone.
“Miss, we need to get you to a hospital.”
I shook my head, then coughed against Jax’s shoulder.
“You should go, sweetheart,” Jax said softly.
I barked out a laugh that sounded more like another cough. “When did you start calling me ‘sweetheart?’”
“It’s a long story,” he said as he smoothed back my hair. “And I plan on telling you everything, as soon as you get checked out.”
I glared at him. What the hell was he doing? I kicked him out after he’d tried to use sex to buy my bar out from underneath me. Why had he called me in the first place?
And why was he holding me on his lap like I meant something to him?
“No hospital,” I said.
The paramedic sighed and held up a mask. “At least put this on while I take care of your boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said, but the words were distorted by the mask, so I wasn’t sure anyone understood me.
Or if it was even important.
The paramedic walked around behind Jax. “You’re going to need to go to the hospital too.”
“What happened to him?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Jax said. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Is that glass from a whiskey bottle?” The paramedic’s voice was incredulous.
I pulled the mask off. “What?!”
“Breathe,” he insisted, putting the mask back on my face. “It’s nothing.”
I glared at him.
“One of the bottles exploded,” he said. “That’s all.”
“No,” the paramedic said. “That’s not all. You have shards of glass stuck in your back.”
“Can’t you just take them out?” he asked, his tone impatient.
“You need to see a doctor.”
“I have a friend who’s a doctor,” Jax said. “Just yank out the pieces, and I’ll have him come by to stitch me up.”
“Are you taking them to the hospital?” A cop came over, and Jax’s arm tightened around me.
“They don’t want to go.”
“Well, I’ve never known anyone who could make Jax Hunter do something he didn’t want to do,” the cop said. “He’s got quite the reputation in some circles.”
“I’ll get the paperwork,” the paramedic said, resignation evident in his voice.
“While we’re waiting for that, how about we get you two off the ground, and I’ll take your statements while we wait.”
I stood up, and the world spun. I would’ve fallen over if Jax hadn’t caught me. As soon as he was on his feet, he picked me up. I tried to tell him that I was perfectly capable of walking, but it was only a few feet to the cop car, and then he was putting me on my feet.
He opened the back door and then, to my surprise, sat down, leaving his feet on the ground. I remembered the glass in his back and hoped he wouldn’t forget and lean back.
Before I could offer to pull out the pieces, he reached for me and pulled me onto his lap. I should have stayed standing, or asked for another place to sit, but in that moment, I needed comfort.
And I wanted Jax to give it to me.
“All right, who wants to go first?”
“I will.” My voice sounded so strange in my ears as I told him everything that had happened up until the point where I’d been knocked out. “If you talk to Detective Lambert, he’ll get you up to speed on the rest of my case.”
“Here,” Jax said quietly. He helped me put the oxygen mask back on before he turned to the cop. “Like she said, I called her, and she told me that she heard someone in the bar. I told her to hide and that I was on my way. I caught a cab, and by the time I got here, there was smoke already coming out of the building. The front door was open.”
He hesitated, and I felt him tense under me, telling me that there was somethin
g he didn’t want to say out loud.
“Mr. Hunter?”
He glanced down at me, blowing out a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Syll.”
What was he apologizing for this time?
“When I was heading inside to get Syll, someone came running out. He ran into me.”
Even as the cop asked Jax if he recognized the guy, I knew what Jax was going to say.
“It was Billy Outhwaite,” Jax said. He looked at me, another apology in his eyes.
“Who’s Billy Outhwaite?”
“My ex-boyfriend,” I volunteered the answer. “We broke up earlier this week.”
“And you saw him too?”
“Hey, now,” Jax leaned forward.
I held up my hand. “It’s okay. It’s a legitimate question.” I turned back to the officer. “No, I didn’t see him. I saw a figure, and then someone knocked me out from behind.”
“So, he had a partner?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“He’s been seeing one of the waitresses at the bar,” Jax said. “Ariene something.”
I gave him a sharp look, and he had the decency to look sheepish.
“Do you think she could have been with him?”
“I doubt it,” I said. “She didn’t strike me as the arsonist type.”
“That’s enough,” Jax said as he put the mask over my mouth again. “You don’t know how long you were breathing that shit.”
“Mr. Hunter.”
Jax looked up at the officer. “I’m not done with my statement. I’m sure you want to hear about how I went into a burning building and found her laying on the floor, knocked out and bleeding from that cut on her head. I picked her up and carried her out. And it took another five minutes for you guys to show up. What’s up with that? Wrong part of town to get a quick response?”
My eyes widened.
“Mr. Hunter.” The cop looked just as surprised as I was. “We ran into an accident. We couldn’t get around it.”
“I guess I’ll just need to suggest to the commissioner that if he wants my continued support, he’ll need to make certain more cars are assigned to this part of the city. If you guys had been doing your job in the first place, none of this would’ve happened.”