Page 55 of Jax

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ash’s head tilt back, her smooth tanned neck exposed as she tipped the beer to her lips and chugged the dregs before slamming the glass back down. “Just buckle in for the ride, cowboy.”

With that Ash slapped down a couple dollar bills and turned on her boots, heavy footsteps walking away from me. I stared at her empty glass….

“Lamb’s not me, Ash,” I called after her, the footsteps freezing. “He’s looking for you. And if he finds you… he won’t let you escape again.”

I waited for a response, for anything. But the only thing I heard was the footsteps walking away, followed by the swing of the door slamming shut.

Not long after, I followed her out the door, unable to stay still in my seat. But as I stepped into the empty parking lot, I wasn’t surprised to find her gone.

I wondered if perhaps she had even been there in the first place.

But I wasn’t stupid enough to doubt myself.

Instead, I pulled out my phone and keyed in the number.

“Hey, Lamb,” I said. “You’re not going to like it, but I need you to listen to me….”

Chapter Fourteen

Ronnie

Jax had been quiet since he’d gotten back.

I was now hiding behind Max like a coward, running a hand through her soft mane as I took my time brushing out each knot that had managed to build up in the months she hadn’t let me groom her. With the current length, her soft, coppery colors had begun to show beneath the rays of sunlight that caught it, and the dark roots looked thicker and healthier than it had been in a long time.

I ran my fingers through it again and Max leaned a little into my side, pushing me a step back. “Oof, you fat oaf!” I grumbled, scuffing my hand through Max’s mane and mussing up my own hard work. “You almost pushed me over!”

In response, Max just leaned into me again, bashing me a little bit harder.

“Max!” I growled, desperate to push her back, but even as I leaned all my weight against her, nothing happened.

I stood back with a huff, my hands on my hips as Max did everything she could to look innocent as she chewed on the basket of grass we’d installed on the side of the pasture.

“Bi—” I began to grumble before Max’s huge huff interrupted me.

I fixed her with a glare before she moved her backside, and I spotted Jax watching us with an amused smile from his perch on top of the faraway fence. The way his figure cut through the midday sun made his silhouette look like that of a raven spying down on us. Their commonality didn’t end there, however. With the way his eyes had stalked me ever since he turned up an hour earlier than Max’s training and fiddled around in the barn before coming to silently watch me go about my new routine with Max (petting, grooming, feeding) I got the same intelligent chill that ravens also gave me.

Never can tell what either of them are thinking….

I had woken up with vigor this morning, ready to clear up that the other day was a mistake, and it wouldn’t happen again, and blah blah blah, but when he’d been so quiet, I found myself at odds on how to approach him.

Come on, Ronnie Marsh. You’re no coward.

The old words my dad used to use to get me to do anything I didn’t want to didn’t seem to have the same effect as they once had. Probably because back then I was the type to face my problems head on until I came crashing out the other side, bruises and all.

Now I ran from my problems. Ran all the way into the arms of someone I shouldn’t.

“RONNIE!” Jax’s voice boomed across the pasture, startling me seconds before I felt the hard, forceful blow punch into my side, sending me flying to the ground.

I struggled to catch my breath as I heard the huge rumble of thunder above, and then my heart began to race. My body throbbed and burned all down my left side. I writhed on the floor as I tried to drag myself away, seeing Max thrashing harder into the side of the fence and then bolt past me. “Ronnie!” Jax snapped just as all the light disappeared. Jax’s pale face floated above mine, and I felt the sharp prodding pains down my side.

“Stop!” I shrieked as Jax pressed down on one side, but, Christ, he might as well have taken a sledgehammer to my ribs.

“Crap,” Jax hissed. “I think you’ve broken a rib.”

No shit.

“Come on, let’s get you—”

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