Page 17 of Jax

A knock at the bathroom door interrupted her. “Mia? You okay in there?”

“Yeah, just coming!” she called, getting out of the shower and wincing as she dried off her sore skin. She put on the fresh clothes Jax had provided for her, surprised at how cute they all were. White panties with unicorns on them, frilly white socks, a purple hoodie with a jungle picture on it, and black leggings with a white bow pattern.

In the main room, Jax busied himself with organizing the canned food he had brought along. Mia glanced at the assortment, her stomach tightening with memories of her poor nutrition over the years.

"Is this all we have?" she asked, her voice wavering.

Jax looked up, concern furrowing his brow as he realized her hesitation. "Hey, you're right. You deserve better than canned corn and sardines." He scratched his stubbly chin. “You like pizza?”

Mia swallowed. “I . . . don’t know. I never had it before.”

Jax arched a brow at her and gave her a look of utter disbelief. “You never tried pizza? Oh boy. Well, do you like bread? And tomatoes? And cheese?”

Mia nodded.

“How about toppings? Anything youdon’tdig?”

Mia bit her lip. “I don’t know. I’ll try everything.”

Jax nodded. “Well. In that case, I’m gonna get you everything.” He grabbed his coat and started to head out the door.

“Wait!” she called. “Are you just leaving me?”

“Probably best you don’t come,” he said. “Keeping a low profile and all.”

Mia frowned. “But . . . don’t you need to . . . watch me? Make sure I don’t escape?”

“You already escaped, babygirl,” said Jax, flashing her a wide grin. “I’m not keeping you here. Your life is your own.” She noticed the dimples in his cheeks when he smiled and felt a warmth run through her.

He was right. Shehadescaped. And all she had to do now was stay that way.

“Tell you what,” said Jax. “Keep the television on while I’m out. Watch some cartoons. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Mia nodded. "Thank you, Jax," Mia said softly, watching him leave with a mix of admiration and gratitude.

Mia put on the television, something she hadn’t done for years, and she was shocked by the loud voices and bright colors, which felt completely alien to her. She switched it off again, and lay on the bed, curled up with Baloo the bear. Alone, she felt her thoughts start to spiral. Fear crept back in. What if Jax had decided to leave her? What if Chad had followed them here and was about to burst into the room and hurt her? What if the guy who worked at reception had seen Jax go out and knew that she was in here alone and now he planned to come in here and do things to her against her will?

She shuddered. It was hard to know if she’d ever truly trust a man again. Even Jax, who she had no option but to trust, who appeared to be helping her, was still a source of anxiety. What if he let her down? Grew bored? What if he was lying about knowing Savannah?

She screwed her eyes tight shut, trying to find her happy place. Ever since she was kidnapped, she retreated to her happy place as much as she possibly could. It was an English Oak Meadow, as it happened. Not a real one. But she and Savannah used to visitthe Chicago Botanic Gardens on free admission days. They loved the English walled garden and used to spend hours lying in the wildflower meadow, dreaming up all the things they’d do with their lives once they grew up. Savannah wanted to be a writer, and Mia wanted to own her own bookstore. They used to joke that Mia would only sell books Savannah had written. They were only about twelve at the time, and for that reason, Mia’s Little was about that age. The time when she felt like life had the most to offer.

The doorknob turned and Mia was startled. She flinched, waiting for something awful to happen, but in fact, Jax walked in with two large cardboard boxes and a couple of cans of soda balanced on top.

“You okay?” he asked, looking over at the television, which wasn’t on.

Mia nodded. “Just wanted to, uh, enjoy the peace.”

“That’s cool. Well, I hope you were serious about wanting literally every topping on your pizza because that’s what I got you.” He put the boxes down on the bed. “I got lemonade and coke too, because I wasn’t sure what you liked best.”

Mia chuckled. “I don’t know, either.”

Jax looked at her with soulful eyes. “I guess we’ll find out then.”

Jax opened up the pizza boxes, noting gratefully that he’d ordered one pizza with no extra toppings, just in case she didn’t like her pizza witheverythingon it, after all. She tried slices from each one, plus some sips of different types of soda, and quickly concluded that she liked all of it, every damn mouthful, but it all tasted so rich and good that she felt full after two slices of pizza and a few gulps of soda, and let Jax have the rest.

“We’ll save some for morning,” he told her. “Cold pizza is the bomb.”

He leaned back in his chair, his eyes studying her with a mix of curiosity and concern.

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