Page 57 of Jax

What the hell is happening?

A wailing shriek burst through the air.

“MAX!” I screamed.

I ran a hand through my hair, the thick mess clinging to my face as I spun around, looking through the dark. I couldn’t see her. The dark was too thick.

Her panic cries and pained whinnies had my heart racing in my chest, my body feeling so heavy as if it was sinking into the mud beneath me. “Max! MAX!” I cried. “MAX!”

Growl.

I froze.

My mind, my body, the world around me… it all drowned into silence. All except for that sound. Soft breaths coming closer, the faint slash of it passing through the puddled rain… the deep iconic growl.

I heard it coming closer behind me. As I began to turn, time slowed down.

Don’t look.

Don’t look.

I saw them. Two yellow eyes stared back at me through the darkness. Its pointed teeth and sharp claws wielded.

It lunged.

* * *

“Ronnie!”

“RONNIE! WAKE UP!”

Pounding threw me up from the depths of my unconsciousness. A dry throat, burning eyes, and pain all along my left side assaulted me all at once, and the urge to throw up soon followed. “Shit,” I groaned, rolling onto one side before something pricked my stomach and I realized that it was a mistake. “Ow…,” I whined.

“Thank God,” Jax huffed, dropping back and away from me in the bleakness of the room, a hand dragging through the mussed damp hair. As he pushed it back, it remained where it was, and the combed-back look was rather intriguing on him.

Well, it would have been if I had been dosed up with a painkiller or two.

“What the hell happened?” I groaned. “Where are we?”

“In the barn,” Jax grumbled. “Max kicked your side. I’m pretty sure your ribs aren’t broken, but it’s going to leave a pretty bad bruise.” My gaze followed his large hand as it moved above my chest and down to the patch of pink and red skin, crisscrossed with long white marks that were bare to his view.

My scars!

“No!” I shrieked, shoving my body up and away, causing a wave of black to cross my vision as the pain shocked my body.

“Shit, Ronnie!” Jax snapped, his familiar hands clasping around my shoulders, covering the broad length with ease. “Don’t move.”

“Don’t look at them!” I hissed, pushing away one of his hands while trying to cover the aching, mutilated skin with my other arm.

Shit. Where is my shirt?

“Ron—”

“No!” I fought against him as his hands tried to catch my flailing ones, eyes going everywhere but his face as I looked for my goddamn shirt. My breath was getting heavy, and my side wasn’t letting up, but he wasn’t supposed to see them. He shouldn’t see them.

Nobody should.

“Listen to me!” Jax growled with frustration. I didn’t care.

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