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T he room is quiet except for the sound of Sam inhaling a sharp breath, and I stare at Jax, wondering if I heard him right, but struggling to hear anything over the sound of my heart hammering in my chest.

“You can’t keep me here,” she says, “I’m not even sure he likes me enough to bother coming to get me.”

Guilt overwhelms me at the thought of Sam going through anything close to what I experienced; the idea of her being held here against her will makes me uneasy as bile rises in my throat, memories of my own time held captive resurfacing quickly.

“That might be the case,” Jax continues calmly, “but I’m sure he won’t want the spotlight on him if you go missing. First some of his friends wind up dead, then his sister disappears… if he’s smart, he’ll be here before the day’s over.”

“If you keep me here, then you’re no better than Rhett,” she says, an edge of panic now in her voice.

I jump as Jax stands up suddenly, slamming his hands on the table, his self-control all but evaporated.

“You think I’m just as bad as him ?” He seethes. “After what he did to her, what he let his friends do to her…” He takes a breath, seemingly struggling to contain his anger. “Unless you’re covered in your own blood when your brother picks you up, don’t you dare compare me to him.” I flinch at the anger in his voice as Sam gives me a wild and questioning look.

“Jax, you can’t keep her here. She is my friend. My best friend. You can’t hold her hostage.”

I look between him and Ryan, who just gives me a casual shrug while continuing to make coffee, unbothered by Jax’s threats.

My attention turns back to Jax. “There is nothing I won’t do if it means keeping you safe, love,” he says quietly as he takes a shaky breath before continuing, reining in his temper.

“Lucky for you,” he says, gesturing to Sam, “you will be treated like a friend while you’re here. So, text your brother. Tell him you’re here and tell him if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll be knocking at that door today.”

“I’m sorry about this,” I say quietly as I stare at the phone in her hands, unable to look her in the eyes.

“What happened when you were gone? I thought… I don’t know what I thought,” she stammers. “But I’m starting to think there’s a lot that happened that I don’t know about.”

I nod slowly. “A lot happened,” I say vaguely.

“And you truly think Lockwood was involved?”

“I didn’t know Bryce was your brother at the time,” I say truthfully, meeting her gaze at last. “But I recognized him as soon as I saw your family photo. He helped keep me there at first, making sure I wouldn’t escape. But then he… changed his mind. He tried to help me.”

“I need to hear what he has to say about all of this,” she says, her voice filled with confusion and sadness. “And I guess there’s only one way to figure everything out…” She trails off, looking at her phone as she wipes her cheeks, now damp from her tears.

Her fingers move quickly across her phone screen as she sends him a text, and time seems to stand still as we wait for him to reply, or to show up here.

*

I sip my coffee quietly as I sit across the table from Sam. She hasn’t touched her mug yet, and apprehension is etched into her features as she glances between the three of us.

I don’t like to think about everything Jax and Ryan have done in their lives, the darkness they have accepted as a part of themselves, but besides Jax’s outburst earlier they appear completely unphased by this whole situation, casually sipping their coffees and making small talk with each other, as if it’s just another normal day in their life.

This isn’t the first time they’ve done this , I think to myself, and perhaps this is the nicest they’ve been to someone they’re trying to get information out of.

There’s a loud knock at the front door and Ryan gets up, his expression changing from laid back to menacing in an instant, and I’m taken aback by how quickly this darker side of him rises to the surface.

“He helped me, you know,” I say to Jax quietly, and I don’t miss Sam’s attention snap towards me. “Just remember that. He tried to help me in the end.”

Jax nods silently.

Ryan enters the room, and my heart beats loudly in my chest as Bryce follows behind him. I can’t help the way my body sags with relief at seeing him alive, as if my mind wouldn’t believe the news until I saw it for myself.

He glances nervously around the room, his movements uncertain, his eyes finding Sam first.

“You okay?” he asks her quickly.

“I’m fine, truly, but please tell me you had nothing to do with what Rhett did to Evi…” She trails off as tears glisten behind her eyes, and Bryce has enough decency to look ashamed. “Fuck, seriously, Lockwood?” She wipes a tear away.

“I’m sorry,” he says, looking straight at me.

I open my mouth to respond to him but am cut short as Jax stands up, and I can feel the anger rippling through him. Suddenly it’s as if a switch has been flipped, and Jax’s personality shifts.

“So, you’re the infamous Bryce, or should I call you Lockwood?” he says with a smile and feigned confusion as he walks towards him, extending a hand.

I freeze at the gesture, knowing Jax, and wondering just what game he is playing right now, and what his end goal is.

Bryce reaches forward to return the greeting, the hesitancy clear in his movements, and rightfully so. As soon as their hands make contact, Jax launches himself towards him.

Sam screams, but I’m too shocked to make a noise, my hand quickly covering my mouth as he turns into someone completely unrecognizable. He’s a flurry of fists, moving so fast I can’t even see the next punch coming before it hits Bryce with a sickening thud or crunch.

I’ve never seen Jax fight before, never even thought about what he might look like, but now I would caution anyone before doing something that would land them on the receiving end of this.

Blood spatters as Bryce drops to the floor, and yet Jax shows no signs of stopping. Sam rushes towards them both, to do what I’m not sure, but Ryan wraps his arms around her tightly, holding her back despite her thrashing against him, wanting to get to her brother.

He’s going to kill him.

I look at Ryan, desperate for him to intervene. “Stop him before he kills him.” The panic in my voice is audible.

“Would that be so bad?”

“Ryan!”

Ryan gives a sigh, as if bored. He leans over, placing his mouth beside Sam’s ear and says something quietly to her.

Whatever he says has an immediate effect. She stops fighting him and he releases her, quickly pulling Jax off Bryce, who lays on the kitchen floor, groaning and clutching his—probably broken—nose as several cuts on his face drip with blood.

Jax shakes out his fists and walks out of the room, and I’m quick to follow behind him.

“Jax!” I yell after him, and his footsteps slow, allowing me to catch up to him.

I stand between him and our bedroom door, my eyes searching his.

“Before you say I went overboard, I want you to know the only reason I didn’t kill him is because he tried to help you. He did a shit job, but he tried. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let Ryan stop me.”

I nod, not sure what else to say, reaching my hand down to hold his.

He winces as my fingers interlace with his.

“You’re hurt.”

“I’ve had worse.”

“Come on, let me take a look.” I lead him into the bedroom, the door shutting softly behind us. “Sit,” I say, pointing to the bed.

“I like it when you’re bossy.” He smiles at me playfully, the familiar green fire dancing behind his eyes.

I roll my eyes in response as he moves towards the bed, sitting on top of the dark duvet, his legs wide and his eyes devouring every inch of me as I move towards him.

I lift his hands in mine, examining them carefully, both sets of knuckles are red, and a few spots have split open from the impact of his punches, blood pooling within the cracks of his skin. I bring my lips to one of the cuts, kissing it gently, and Jax watches me intently. As I move my lips to his other hand, I notice just how swollen it already is.

“You know, this could have been avoided if you were a little more rational and a little less… unhinged.”

“If you think that was unhinged, then you don’t want to see my definition of the word. Plus,” he adds, “if I had been more restrained, then I wouldn’t have you here, taking care of me.”

My heart skips a beat as I look at him, his fingers brushing softly against my lips.

“If you think this is me taking care of you, then maybe you should see my definition of it,” I retort with a smile.

His eyes roam over me, and I feel like a moth drawn into a flame.

“They’re probably waiting for us you know,” I say, my voice raspy, using all my willpower to take a step back from him.

“Let them wait all day,” he says, pulling me into him and kissing me deeply. “I would much rather be here.” He smiles.

“You sure? Because it seemed like you were very happy beating the shit out of someone not too long ago.”

“He deserved it,” he says simply. “But, in case you’re wondering, this is how I’d rather spend every day for the rest of my life: with you… preferably naked and moaning my name.” He winks. “But this is nice too.”

“Down boy.” I laugh, before reality starts to close in on us. “We should probably go talk to them…” I trail off as his lips find their way to my body, kissing me tenderly, as if not quite ready to let go of this moment, not ready to leave the oasis of our room.

A few minutes later he sighs before standing up, and we go to the bathroom. He points to one of the cabinets, and I find a fully stocked first aid kit within it. I try not to press too firmly on his knuckles as I apply an antiseptic to the cuts, several of which are oozing blood slowly.

Once I’m finished, he gives me a tender kiss.

“Let’s go see what Bryce has to say.”