Page 1 of Ours to Keep

Chapter One

JAX

I can barely breathe. The world around me narrows to the small, fragile body crumpled on the floor. Her skin is covered in blood with dark bruises and lacerations. Blood seeps from a gash on her temple, mixing with the strands of her hair, turning the ash blonde to a wet claret.

The sight of her fills me with a crushing sense of foreboding and white-hot rage.

“Lily,” I whisper, my voice cracking with a mix of both horror and helplessness.

I’ve been through a lot in my life. Things I’ve been subjected to in the military, but nothing could have ever prepared me for the sight of Lily’s body looking broken, lifeless before me.My hands tremble as they hover over her body. I can barely bring myself to touch her, fearing the worst possible scenario. What if she’s not breathing?

It might only be seconds, but it’s seconds too many as I battle with myself.

If ever someone needed me to be strong, it’s Lily. Right here, right now, at this moment, she needs me.

I let out a harsh breath and brush my trembling fingertips over her cheek. Fuck! She’s cold. Too cold. I move them lower to the pulse point on her neck.

“Jax?” River’s question cuts through the fog in my mind, his usual playful tone replaced by something much darker. “Please tell me she’s fucking breathing?”His voice is barely above a whisper, as if speaking too loudly will break what little of Lily is left intact.

And that’s when I feel it—the faintest pulse.

“Call an ambulance, now,”I bark, my voice regaining some strength. I snap at the others, needing to pull myself together and be the leader they need me to be—not just for them, but for her, too.

Elliot is already on his phone, his fingers flying over the screen as he dials.

“Duchess, can you hear me?”I gently cupped her cheek. Nothing. No response. Not even a flutter of her eyelids or a movement. Fuck.

My heart pounds in my chest, fear threatening to overwhelm me, but I push it down, focusing on her fragile pulse under my fingertips.

A noise behind me has my head snapping up, my senses on high alert, my eyes dart around our surroundings, even though it’s only us.

“Elliot, hurry up with that call,”I urge, my voice rough.

I vaguely hear Elliot relaying basic information and requesting an ambulance.

“How bad is it?”Tommy asks, his voice cracking.

I shake my head. “I don’t fucking know.”And I’m afraid to find out.

“Should we move her?”River asks.

It’s at this moment that I hate more than ever that I’m the one they’re looking to for guidance.

But I owe it to all of them, especially now, to be the man andthe leader they need me to be. As much as I’m worried moving her could cause her more injury, she’ll need to be moved when the paramedics arrive, and there’s no way in hell I’m leaving her on the ice-cold floor until they show up.

I nod, and as carefully as I can, I scoop her into my arms and carry her out of the bathroom and over to her bed. Her familiar scent is hidden by the metallic smell of blood in the air, its potency so thick I can taste it.

Gently, I lay her down, and a low whimper escapes her lips, her eyelids fluttering but not opening. One eye is already swollen, and I wonder if she’ll even be able to open it. Her cheek is a mottled mess, and I have no idea as to how severe her physical injuries are.

“Here,”Tommy says, appearing with a first aid kit. He passes it to me, his hand shaking.

River takes it, unzipping it as I begin to search Lily’s body with my hands as gently as possible. Each touch elicits another whimper.

“It’s okay, Duchess, we’ve got you,”I say around the tight ball of guilt, tightening my chest and windpipe.

I can feel the anger rolling off River as he tears into some of the gauze and moves to hold it over Lily’s arm—an apparent defensive wound.

“What the fuck happened?”Tommy asks, pacing beside us.

---