No Where to Run (The Story of Alexis Rose)

by Raven K. Asher

  Ryder clears his throat and I turn to see him trying and failing to hold back his grin. I cross my arms and give him a dirty look but it only makes him want to laugh harder. I turn my attention over to Jax who is standing silently by the door. He looks as if he wants to run away.

  “Jax.” His eyes soften hearing my voice. “I’m ok, Jax. I’m not mad at you for any of this.” I gesture around the room. “I’m the one who didn’t listen to you and I’m sorry that I forced your hand to hurt me. I know that either you or Ryder would never intentionally hurt me.”

  “I’m still sorry, babe, its killing me that I had to hurt you. My heart was practically ripped out of my chest last night when you passed out. I had thought I killed you.” He comes closer to me and falls to his knees. I can clearly see the pain in his eyes. He takes my hands in his and bows his head. I give his hands a small squeeze.

  “I forgive you, Jax. I forgive you.” I whisper as I look down on him. His head rises and his eyes meet mine. It’s almost as if we are looking deep into each other’s souls. He softly places kisses to both of my hands then stands to his feet never letting go.

  “I’ll never hurt you again Lexi, never, and I swear if anyone ever tries I will kill them.” His tone is so fierce that it shocks me. Hunter had told me before that he would protect me but his words had never been so fierce. I knew then that Jax would die for me, kill for me, and it scared me.

  Ryder comes up from behind and lays his hands on my tender shoulders and quickly adds. “We will keep you safe, Lexi. We will find a way to get away from these assholes.” He makes sure to put special emphasis on the words “we” and “will”. Jax nods his agreement and then lets out a deep sigh.

  “Ok, now that that’s over can one of you please help me back down on the mattress? I’m not feeling so good.” I frown and sway a little on my feet. I feel my energy run out and I practically fall into Jax’s arms. He and Ryder both let out curses. I feel pain slash through my back.

  “Shit, she just pulled out some of her stitches.” Ryder grabs the blanket that I had loosely tied around myself and pulls it away before cursing some more. Jax growls at his brother but holds me tightly. I cry out as the pain becomes unbearable.

  “Damn it Ryder, help her now.”

  “Hold on one second, Lexi. I’m going to give you a shot that will knock you out. You won’t feel any more pain, I promise.” I feel a quick pinch at my thigh. A few moments later my body relaxes and I lean my head against Jax. I listen to his heartbeat and smile.

  “Don’t ever leave me, Jax.” I whisper softly. He doesn’t respond as I drift off to sleep.

  Chapter 15

  Day 33

  I wake up lying in Jax’s lap, his fingers brush softly through my hair. He smiles down at me. I move my hands slightly finding that they are tucked under my head. I can’t feel them or much of my body really. I look to Jax and he softly laughs at my confused look.

  “Ryder gave you a shot to numb your body. It was the only way we could travel with you without you being in pain.”

  “How long have I been out and where are we?” I listen to the truck engine as it idles.

  “We are stopped at a gas station right now. Everyone is getting as much gas as we can.”

  “Oh, but that doesn’t tell me how long I’ve been asleep.” I look to him sternly and he runs a hand nervously through his hair. “Jax, how long was I out?” I growl barley holding back my anger.

  “Four days. You’re going to need to eat something soon. You woke up a few times and we were able to give you water before you passed back out but you haven’t eaten.”

  I stare at him. Then let out a loud laugh. “Four days isn’t too bad.” His brows furrow with confusion. So I explain myself. “I’ve gone longer than that without eating. I think my body is pretty use to the stress of this crazy world.”

  “What happened before that made you not eat?” My heart gets lodged in my throat at his question. I close my eyes and turn my head away from him.

  “I’m not ready to talk about that yet, but it was after I found my mom and brother had been turned into one of the dead.” I hold back my tears and take a deep breath letting it out slowly. “I really miss my brother. He was everything to me. After my dad died he was the only one who kept me going.” I confess.

  “I’m sure he’s watching over you still, Lex.” He adds then softly strokes my hair back from my face as I turn back to him and close my eyes quietly taking comfort in the warmth of his body.

  “Can you help me sit up, Jax? I want to see where we are.” He nods then gently helps me to a sitting position in the middle of the trucks bench seat. My back feels tight and I’m thankful that I can’t feel anything because I know just from that little bit of movement that I would have been screaming in pain.

  As I look around at the town my jaw drops. I know exactly where we are. It’s my town. We are just on the outskirts of it. I cringe, I know I have to tell Jax where we are but I don’t think I’m ready to face home just yet. I roll my eyes at my own cowardice and reluctantly look to Jax.

  “I know where we are.” I state quietly. He stares at me and raises his eyebrows wanting me to say more. I sigh. “It’s my town. My house is fifteen minutes from here.” He nods absently.

  “You don’t want to go yet, do you?” I shake my head. “Ok then we can camp out here for the night. I’m sure Striker won’t mind too much and if he does he’s just going to have to deal.”

  “That sounds good, but I don’t know if I’ll ever really be ready to face home or the people I was running from.” He nods in understanding then turns his attention to where Ax and Striker are talking near a gas pump.

  “I’ll be right back, babe.” I nod and he gets out of the truck just as Ryder hops in from the drives side.

  “How are you feeling, Lexi?” He makes me turn my back to him and he pulls it up to look at my back.

  “I’m ok I guess. I can’t really feel anything.”

  “Well, you’re healing up really good. I won’t have to give you the numbing shots again, a mild pain killer should do.”

  “That’s good news because I’m going to need to be able to move since we are close to my home.” His eyes widen and he runs his hands through his hair as I turn to face him.

  “I didn’t realize we were that close.” He glances out at the burnt up town. It’s a sad sight and I know he’s feeling sorry for me.

  “Yeah, Jax is talking to Striker now. We are going to camp out here and leave for my house tomorrow. I’m not quite ready to deal with everything yet.” He nods. We both watch silently as Jax speaks with both Ax and Striker.

  Moments later Jax comes back to the truck and climbs in. “Striker isn’t happy about waiting but he will since he knows it’s a guarantee that we will get supplies. Do you know of a secure place that we can head to?” I nod and direct Ryder to drive toward Lucca’s old home. I wonder if he’s ever came back to see it?

  We pull up to the house and get out. Jax carries me since I don’t have the strength to stand. I grit my teeth as Striker comes up to us with a grin. Oh, how I’d love to slap that grin off his face. Before he can say a word I speak up. “We can stay here for the night. No one will mess with us here.” Ryder comes up beside us and I turn my attention to him. “You can put my horse in the garage. There are supplies already in there for him so you won’t have to unload anything.” He nods and walks away. “Jax take me to bed, I’m beat.” Jax tenses under me and I instantly feel bad for my choice of words. I place my hand on his cheek. “I’m sorry, Jax. Let’s just go to bed, ok?”

  “That sounds good, babe.” He turns to Striker who stands watching us closely. “We will see you in the morning.” He nods and Jax carries me away. We make our way to Lucca’s old room but before we go in I redirect him to a guest room. It would have been awkward to have taken Jax into the same room that I had spent time with Lucca in. He lays me down on the bed and soon snuggles in behind me. I lay like that for what feels like forever, my mind
races over the past few weeks. I feel Jax’s breathing even out and I know that he’s asleep. At least one of us will be well rested. I sigh softly.

  I lay awake in bed through the night. The sun begins to rise, shining its rays through the window. I sit up and stretch my arms carefully above my head. I feel a tiny amount of pain, but it’s bearable. Jax groans beside me and his hand feels around for me. I giggle a little before he abruptly sits up panicked. Once he sees me he calms back down and flops back onto the bed.

  “You just scared the shit out of me, babe.” His voice rough and scratchy from sleep, the sound of it floods my mind with all sorts of naughty thoughts. I hear him laugh out and realize my face must show exactly what I’m thinking. He grabs my waist and flips me under him. He curses as he remembers the wounds on my back. “Shit babe, I forgot. I hope that didn’t hurt.” I shake my head and pull his lips to mine for a deep kiss.

  “I’m fine, I hardly feel any pain.” I grin between kisses. He growls and deepens the kiss grabbing frantically at my clothes to pull them off. We are quickly lost in each other and the blankets tangle around us. I lose myself in him and forget all my worries. He’s the best drug I could ask for.

  ****

  The room is bright with the sunlight when we finally decide to get up and out of bed. I grin as I watch Jax dress. His arm muscles ripple as he pulls his pants on. He spots me watching and his gaze gets heated once again before he grabs me and pulls me back to the bed. Again I quickly lose myself in him.

  A loud knock disrupts us and Jax growls as he pulls his pants back on. He grabs the door and swings it open, ready to unleash his anger on whoever’s on the other side. “What the hell do you.......?” His voice trails off at seeing Ryder standing there with a knowing grin.

  “Its late afternoon, and Striker wants to get moving.” Ryder looks over Jax and points to me. “I see your feeling better.” I blush and cover myself with a sheet. His face gets serious. “I have a few pills I need you to take. One is to keep away infection and the others are for pain. Can you take them for me now?” I nod and he walks over to me with his hand held out. I take the pills and put them in my mouth. He hands me a bottle of water and I chug it all down. He lets out a laugh and I look to him confused.

  “What?” I question, but it only makes him laugh harder.

  “Damn it Ryder, answer her now.” Jax growls out. Which only makes Ryder fall to the floor clutching his stomach, laughing.

  “You didn’t even notice I gave you four pills and not the three I told you about.”I scrunch my face and point at him.

  “What the hell did you give me?” I grab him by his goatee hair and he quickly stops laughing. “What else did you give me, Ryder?” I growl and he visible gulps. Jax comes up behind Ryder to stand over us. “Now Ryder, tell us what you gave me.” I demand.

  He looks up to Jax before I tug on his goatee forcing him to look directly at me. He gulps again and lowers his head. “I gave you birth control.” He says it so quietly I almost don’t hear him.

  I let him go and fall back to sit on the bed and burst into laughter. I point at Jax’s clueless face and laugh harder. It’s all too much. At least someone was thinking properly. “I’m glad you were thinking straight Ryder, but you don’t have to worry about me too much, at least not for a few more months. I had a shot for that before everything went to shit.”

  Jax’s face scrunches even more in confusion and both Ryder and I break out into another round of laughter.

  “I give up with you two.” Jax throws his hands in the air and laughs with us. I shake my head still laughing.

  “He gave me birth control, Jax.” His face goes from confusion to horror in less than five seconds and it causes me to burst out again. I stand holding the sheet tightly around myself and go over to him, placing my hand on his bare chest. “Don’t worry, I have already been protected. I had a shot to take care of that before all this happened.” I explain and he lets out a sigh of relief. I don’t blame him for being scared. I wouldn’t want to bring a kid into this cruel world. I think back to poor little Ace. I wonder how he’s doing since Kane....... I let my thoughts trail off. I don’t want to think about it, I refuse to think about it.

  “Are you ok, babe?” Jax grabs my chin looking deep into my eyes with concern. I nod.

  “Yes, I’m fine. Let’s get ready to go. I’m ready to get this over with and to move on.” Both men nod silently and jump into action.

  ****

  Soon we are on the road and on our way to my old house. As we get closer my stomach ties into knots. I direct the guys to park down the road from the front gate so we don’t alert anyone of our presence on the farm.

  We wait for dark and make our way in. I lead Tornado to his stall and shut him in for the night. The others stand guard at the barns entrance. I’m walking back out when someone grabs me from behind.

  “Who the hell are you?” Hunter asks.

  “It’s me, Hunter, now let me go.” I demand. Jax, Ryder and Ax come running in with guns drawn. Hunter drops his hands. I turn to look at his shocked face.

  “What happened to you? Where the hell did you run off to, and who the hell are these guys?” He points behind me as he fires off questions. Jax walks up behind me, gun still aimed at Hunter. I need to diffuse this situation and quick.

  “Jax put the gun down. He won’t hurt me. This would be one of the boyfriends I told you about.” Jax laughs while lower his gun.

  “My guess is you’re the one who didn’t get punched.” I laugh and Hunter growls.

  “Where have you been, Lexi?” Hunter asks again.

  “I ran away, Hunter. I don’t want to be around this place anymore. I’m leaving as soon as I can get these guys and myself some supplies and guns. You can have the rest for all I care. I’m done with you and this shit.”

  Hunter bows his head and just walks away past us and out the door. “What the hell are you doing here, Striker?” I hear Hunter yell a moment later. Jax gives me a confused look and we all make our way to where Hunter and Striker stand face to face.

  “Now that’s not the way you greet your long lost brother. How have you been, Hunter?”

  “Go to hell, Striker.” Hunter yells and punches Striker knocking him unconscious.

  “What the hell, Hunter? Was he really your brother?” I ask in shock. I knew they looked too much alike.

  “Yeah, unfortunately he is my asshole brother.” Hunter nods.

  “I don’t know you at all, do I?” I ask quietly before turning back into the barn.

  I open up the hidden door in the game room and show Ax and Ryder where to carry Striker. “We can all stay down here for the night.” I walk back into the barn and lean up against the door as I watch the house.

  Jax comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. I lean back into him. “So, this is where Blondie grew up, huh?” I laugh and nod.

  “Yes.” I pull away from him, turn and kiss him before walking to where my family is buried. He follows along silently. I kneel at my brother’s grave. I barely glance at the two fresh graves next to his.

  “This is where we buried my brother, Duncan.” I pat the rocks as Jax kneels beside me.

  “Are you sure you want to leave all of this behind, Lex?”

  “Yes, I can’t be here anymore.” I whisper sadly. “Too many bad memories are here.”

  Jax nods. “You know that guy, Hunter. I can see he still loves you. You should give him a chance before running off again.” I stand, and he quickly stands with me.

  “I can’t watch the people I love die anymore. I just can’t, I need to be as far away as I can be.” Jax nods and takes my hand. We walk back to the barn. I look back to the house and spot two dark shadows on the back steps. “Were they standing there the whole time?” I whisper to Jax.

  He looks back and sighs. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure they heard everything.” We make our way down into the hideaway and shut ourselves in. I pull Jax to a back room.

  “Please, make
me forget again.” I beg him. He nods and pulls me in for a hard kiss. I moan and tear at his clothes. He tears at mine and soon we make our way to the bed.

  ****

  Still laying on top of me Jax pulls his face away from mine. “You’re never going to love me, are you?” He asks sadly.

  “If I do, I’ll run away. I’m not saying I won’t fall in love with you, because more than likely I will, but I won’t stay around if I do.” He nods sadly and kisses me one last time before lying on his back. I snuggle into his side and we both fall fast asleep.

  Chapter 16

  Day 35

  “Rebel, wake up babe.” I open my eyes to Jax shaking me. He grins down at me. “Someone’s knocking on the door. Should I let them in?” I look to the door then down at myself, I’m still naked under the blankets.

  “I’m still naked Jax I need to get dressed first.” He nods and gets out of the bed with only a pair of dark jeans hanging low on his hips. I groan and fall back on the bed and cover my face with the blankets. I hear the door open and I freeze.

  “Dude what the hell. Can’t you wait for a few minutes?” Jax growls out.

  “I need to talk to her now. I’m not going to sit outside the door all day waiting like some damn puppy dog. For fucks sake she’s my damn girlfriend.” I peek out from the covers. Hunter looks pissed.

  “From where I stand it sure doesn’t look like she’s your girlfriend anymore.”Laughs Jax.

  “Jax stop. Let him talk.” Jax turns to me then nods and comes over to sit on the edge of the bed. I pull the blankets up around myself. “What do you want, Hunter?”

  He points to Jax. “Does he have to be here?”

  I nod. “I have nothing to hide from him and I’d rather him be here, so say whatever you’re going to say.”

  “Fine.” He rubs the back of his neck and looks at me sadly. “Sweetheart, please come back to me and Lucca. We both miss you. I don’t know why you ran away but please come back we can fix this.” He motions between himself and me.