Page 41 of Ours to Keep

Pressing the button for the garage doors, I wait for them to open and pull inside before shutting off the engine. It’s not quite as grand or spacious as the one at Lily’s, but it’s a close second.

“True.”

He falls quiet, but I can still hear him breathing. “And is she all right?”

I let out a deep sigh and run my palm over my jaw. “No... she blames herself.”

“Of course she does.”

I can hear the frustration in his voice. Like me, there’s a lot of self-blame going around.

“I need to get the bags inside. I don’t want to leave her alone longer than I have to.”

“Go, look after our girl.”

Our girl.

“And you’ll keep me updated, yeah?”

“Will do.”

I disconnect the call and take a deep breath before climbing out of the car and retrieving our luggage. Avery didn’t fuck about packing Lily’s cases, though I do know that River managed to sneak in a few of her books from the library. I’m hopeful they’ll offer her some comfort, at least.

With my rucksack over my shoulder, I grab her cases and return to the house, locking the door and setting the alarm. The propertyis enclosed, and the securitysystem is second to none. Elliot wouldn’t have allowed us to come here if it wasn’t, and I intend to make the most of it.

When I return upstairs, it’s to the sound of silence. I glance into Lily’s room. She still has the phone clutched into her palm, but she’s lying down, her eyes closed.Leaving her cases just on the inside of the door, I go over and carefully remove the phone from her grasp and leave it on the bedside table.

I take a deep breath and watchher sleep. The lines of worry and pain etched into her face, making it impossible for me toignore my self-condemnation. I gently cover her with the throw, her fingers twitch slightly, gripping the soft fabric. A soft sigh escapes her lips, and I wonder what she’s dreaming about. Is she in her safe place, or is she also being haunted by the demons that chase me into the shadows?

I stand there staring at her for longer than I probably should before I have to force my feet to move and leave her room. My thoughts are tangled with the weight of my failures. I just hope being here will offer her some comfort and solitude, that I’ll be enough to keep her from the darkness.

Chapter Twenty

ELLIOT

It’s been two weeks of going back and forth, chasing leads that keep leading us nowhere. We know they’re in France, but he keeps moving them around, so we might as well be chasing our tails. He’s a cocky bastard, I’ll give him that. River has made his feelings clear with Jax on multiple occasions, if we don’t make a move soon, he’ll go at it alone if he has too. I get it, Jax has been getting things in place, calling in favours, trying to be strategic, but even I have to admit I think it’s time we made a move.

But right now, it’s a recent email that has my hackles rising. I stare at the screen and have to read it twice before it sinks in.

“What the actual fuck?”

Diminished responsibility.

Pulling my glasses off, I throw them onto the desk and press my palms into my eyes.

“That absolute wanker.”

I sit up and wave, getting Jax’s attention from his office opposite, and signal for him.

He pushes his chair back and walks over.

“What, what is it?”

I tilt my chin towards the chair and wait for him tosit.

“I just received correspondence from the lawyer representing that low-life George... he’s claiming diminished responsibility due to intoxication.” Of course, the cunt would try to say he wasn’t in his right mental state when he attacked Lily. He doesn’t want to diminish his reputation and take responsibility for his actions.

Jax’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, his usual stoic demeanour replaced by a spark of fury. “You’re kidding me,”he mutters as I turn the screen towards him. He leans forward to read the email.

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