Page 46 of Underworld

They rush over to me, hands outstretched to touch me but hesitant. Their worried eyes roam over my body, and I can only imagine what they see. Silas grunts as he says, “Of course we came, Jane. We’ve been looking for you for two weeks!”

“Where are the guys?” Not that I’m not thankful for Jax and Silas, I just wanted to know where my guys were.

“They are currently dealing with your father,” Jax growls out.

I nod. That makes sense. Not that I wouldn’t be happy if they were the ones to save me, but I’m glad they aren’t here to see what I look like right now. “I need a shower, please.” I try to raise my voice, but it only comes out as a hoarse whisper.

The brothers look at each other before Jax turns to me and nods. “We seem to be in the basement of this guy's house, but he has a bathroom upstairs.”

I grit my teeth as I try to force myself to get up. Jax seems to see my struggle, so he softly wraps his arms around me. Putting one arm under my shoulders and the other under my knees, he lifts me into the air, and I try not to grimace in pain. My whole body fucking hurts.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

“It’s okay.”

He slowly carries me out of the room I’ve been held in and up some stairs. Silas leads the way, opening the door to what I assume is the upstairs. I don’t even realize that I’ve closed my eyes until Jax whispers, “You okay, Jane?”

I open my eyes to find that we are in a large bathroom. I look around to find a shower. Nodding, I whisper back, “Yes. Just tired.”

He nods as he sets me down on the bathroom counter. I guess he doesn’t trust that I can stand on my own. He isn’t wrong, though. He walks to the shower and opens the sliding glass door to start the water. It takes only a few seconds before there's steam billowing into the room. Silas comes into the room with some clothes for me, and I raise a brow in question.

He shrugs. “I figured you probably didn’t want to wear those clothes anymore. I found another bedroom with some women's clothes in it. Figured it was better than wearing that rapist's clothes.”

He has a point. Setting the clothes down on the counter beside me, he turns to walk back out of the room. “DON’T LEAVE,” I cry. My throat hurts, but I don’t care.

He turns to look at me with wide eyes. “I was only going to wait outside the room.”

I shake my head and beg, “Please, don’t leave.” As I look toward the shower, I feel my panic growing. Jax is still next to the shower, and my eyes meet his. “I can’t get in there. The water . . . I . . . can’t.”

His eyes narrow for a moment before widening. His voice comes out hoarse as he asks, “He forced your head underwater? That was what was in the basin?”

I nod. “It’s closed in. I’ll feel trapped. I . . . I don’t know if I can handle my head being under the spray.” I feel like I’m about to have a panic attack as my heart starts to race, and I can’t catch my breath.

A loud growl sounds beside me, and I turn my head to watch as Silas stomps over to the shower. Without a thought, he rips the glass doors off with a grunt. Wow. Fucking hell, that’s impressive. He looks at Jax in silent question. Jax bites his lip and nods. He leaves the room briefly before coming back in, in what I assume are clothes from Doyle’s closet.

Walking over, he lifts me off the counter and lets my toes settle on the ground right outside the shower. He looks back over to Silas, and I follow his gaze to find Silas bringing over a towel. Handing the towel to Jax, he turns so he’s no longer facing me. I look back to Jax, raising a brow in question. I’m too exhausted to do anything else.

He gives me a sad smile and gently explains, “Here’s the plan, Sweets. I’m going to hold up this towel, and you’re going to strip. Once you’re done, wrap the towel around you. I’ll get in and help with your hair and face. I’ll get out after that, and you can wash the rest of your body.”

My eyes widen. “You’ll get soaked!”

His smile turns more genuine as he says, “That’s why I changed into the fucker’s clothes.” He raises the towel up so he can’t see me. I quickly strip out of the disgusting clothes and grab the towel from his hands. I notice his eyes closed, and I can’t help but smile. Wrapping the towel around me quickly, I say. “I’m covered.”

He squints one eye open to verify before opening both and nodding. He helps steady me as we walk into the shower. Grabbing the shower head, he slowly runs it over my hair. My eyes close, and my breath quickens each time he gets close to my face, but he always makes sure the spray never hits. The spray pauses in my hair; then gentle fingers wipe at my face softly. I open my eyes slowly to see Jax’s pensive expression, his eyes full of concentration.

He must feel my eyes on him because his eyes meet mine briefly before going back to my face. “What?” he asks.

I can’t stop the small smile as I say, “You’re acting like an older brother.”

He snorts and replies, “I am an older brother.”

I close my eyes and whisper, “But you’re not my older brother.”

His hands pause for a moment on my face. “We're family. So . . . that makes me your older brother.”

I bite my lip and nod. I can’t let my emotions out yet; I need to stay strong for a little while longer. He continues to clean off my face before starting on my hair. He had to wash it three times before he said it was clean. Pressing his lips to my forehead, he pulls away. I open my eyes to watch him step out and immediately sit on the ground beside Silas, facing away from me.

“Don’t you want to change out of your wet clothes?”

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