Page 31 of Jackson

Found out that Xander survived, and he too told them that Hound ambushed him and Serenity when he was taking her to the medical center, forcing them to lead him out. Whether they believed it or not, I don’t know, but so far, all the stories are lining up, and that can only work in my favor.

Driving to Janine’s place, I pull up out front and get out of the truck, slamming the door. I told her I’m coming, because I wasn’t leaving without laying eyes on my baby girl. I fucking miss her, and I know Serenity does, too. It’s killing her slowly.

“Hey, Jacks.” Janine smiles, opening the door before I can even get to it.

“Janine,” I murmur. “Thanks for lettin’ me come so late.”

“Not a problem at all. I was about to put them to bed.”

Stepping inside, I see Max and Ava in the living area. My heart immediately softens when I lay eyes on my daughter, and I walk over, reaching down and pulling her up into my arms. She smells of fresh baby soap and lavender, and fuck, my heart aches.

“Missed you, baby girl,” I murmur, pressing my face into her chubby cheeks.

She babbles something and pulls at the chain around my neck. I hang onto her for as long as she’ll let me before she fusses. I release her enough for her to pull back and look at me, her fingers going to my beard as she offers me a huge, beautiful fucking smile.

She’s precious.

“Mommy will be home soon, I promise.”

“Is everything going okay?” Janine asks, lifting Max into her arms.

“It’s not goin’ how I’d hope, but I’ll get it sorted.”

She frowns. “That sucks. Is Serenity okay?”

“She’s good. We’re all good.”

Nodding, Janine doesn’t pry any further.

“Better get goin’,” I say, pulling Ava close once more before putting her back onto the ground with her toys. “Appreciate this.”

“It’s no problem at all. She is a such a good girl. I hope you can all get back soon.”

I smile, weak, but there, and then I turn and leave.

Need to get back.

Need to face the reality of the situation Serenity created, and hope like hell we can fix it.

“I DIDN’T THINK YOUwere going to come back.”

Serenity’s soft voice comes from the darkness as I attempt to quietly kick off my boots. I didn’t want to get into this with her tonight, but I’m left with no option now, it would seem.

“Don’t want to get into it, Serenity,” I murmur into the darkness, pulling off my shirt.

“I know,” she answers, “but I need to talk to you about it, Jackson. I don’t want to sleep on a fight.”

“Need to sleep, we can talk tomorrow.”

I shove the covers back and slide into the bed. Her warmth immediately consumes me, and I know it’s killing her that I’m not curling myself around her and tucking her into me, but fuck, my mind is consuming me. It was fucking hard without her when she was in prison, and now we’ve gone two steps back with everything because she always makes decisions against what I tell her.

“Jackson, please,” she whispers.

“What do you want me to say to you?” I growl into the darkness. “I give you orders, not because I’m bein’ a dick but because I’m tryin’ to adhere to a fuckin’ plan and keep everyone safe. You continually choose to go against me.”

“It was a split-second decision ... I saw him, and I just knew I couldn’t let him get away.”

“We would have seen him.”

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