Page 111 of Jax

I spun, my eyes catching the mess that even a blind man would notice as I turned to see his figure leaning against the doorframe. His hip popped out to one side, the side of his leather cut falling behind the protruding bone. The thin shirt he was wearing gave an inside view to his sculpted V, and the black and tanned skin that decorated it.

I was stupid to be eyeing up that piece of skin, but it caught my eyes and it was a better option to looking at his face.

Maybe I could just say I wanted to do some spring cleaning. In the middle of October.

Or maybe I just didn’t like my clothes anymore. The clothes that I had been overjoyed to have received a few weeks ago when he had let me choose them at the department store in the middle of town.

“Did a bomb hit this place?” Jax purred, his hip pushing from the door frame as it swaggered toward me, hidden once again by the fabric of his shirt and the leather of his cut. I continued to stare a burning hole into it, as if I could pierce through the thick materials with just will power alone.

“I was just doing some… uh, spring cleaning?” I coughed, shrugging like it was just a normal thing for me to spontaneously throw my clothes across the room.

“You? Cleaning?” Jax chuckled. “I highly doubt that.”

I didn’t have to look at his face to hear the long drawl of sarcasm dripping from his words.

“Hey!” I snapped, my eyes jumping to his face without thought as I opened my mouth to let rip about how I do clean and can clean…sometimes. I couldn’t get the words out, though.

Not when I saw his expression.

His tone may have been full of laughter and ease, but the expression on his face… it was one of pain. His weary head hung from tight shoulders curled into his chest. His hands tightened around the loops of his jeans, elbows pressed into his ribs. And his hair, the curled mess that was left to fly free had been pushed back by a headband. One I hadn’t seen before. It revealed his dark, sad eyes and heavy furred brow staring down into my face.

“Jax… did something happen?” I stepped forward, my hand reaching out to touch his arm as I forgot about my own dilemma. Something bad must have happened to have changed him so much.

My hand met his firm arm, and I felt the twinge of his muscles.

I felt the flinch.

Confused, I stared down at the limb, like it hadn’t just happened. Maybe he was just surprised or shock to be touched or—

“Ronnie.” Jax’s firm tone had my head snapping back to his. His head still hung, but now it was above me, a small distance, but in that moment, it felt as if he was staring from miles away. Like an echo reaching me from an endless cavern.

“Jax?” I could hear the caution slipping into my tone, feel the slight quiver over my lips as a heavy rock weighed down on my stomach.

Something was wrong.

“We need to talk.”

“No.” I shook my head, my heavy feet taking a heavy step away from him. “We don’t need to talk. You just need to tell me what happened.”

Jax took one step closer.

I took one back.

“Was it the club?” I blurted, my head shaking as I kicked a pile of clothes with my heel. “It was the club, right? Something happened to one of your brothers?”

Jax shook his head.

“Then the girls? Something happened—”

Jax shook his head again, following my steps.

My foot stumbled as the duffle caught my heel. I jerked upright, throwing my center of gravity backward and hitting the wall hard enough to remind me of my ribs that had bruised a few months ago. The same breathless feeling was taking over my chest, as every instinct inside of me screamed to run. To get away from whatever it was that Jax was bringing toward me.

“Is it Max?” I whispered, in a last desperate attempt, selfishly hoping that the news he bore on his face was that something had happened to my best friend as opposed to the only option left.

Jax shook his head again.

“I found the phone,” Jax whispered.

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