Page 28 of Deviant

“Jax.”

“See? No one is going to hurt you for using his name.”

“He did.”

I clenched my hands, already envisioning my fists pounding on Jax. Granted, our history was a rocky one, and he’d certainly put his hands on me in the past per Rafe’s instruction, but I didn’t think he’d sink so low as to hurt someone as fragile as Angel.

I wanted to fucking kill him.

“How did Jax hurt you?”

“Not Jax. Master.”

I gulped, the urge to vomit returning. Instead of speaking, I gave her hand a quick squeeze, hoping she wouldn’t shrink back from the contact this time, and silently encouraged her to open up about her past, no matter how horrific.

She seemed to deliberate for a moment before parting her lips. “I can talk to you?”

“You can always talk to me.”

“Master beat me. Sometimes, he wouldn’t feed me for days. Other times, he locked me in a dog kennel for…I’m not really sure how long.” Her voice cracked, and she implored me with her blue eyes. “I can’t go back to that. If Jax will be my Master—”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” I interrupted. “You don’t need a master. Jax just wants to help you. So do I.”

We locked gazes for several moments, until a bird squawked, and Angel jumped. I watched her retreat into herself again, helpless to stop it.

No more eye contact or conversation for us. It appeared the heart-to-heart was over. I got to my feet. “We should probably head back.”

She merely nodded, her movement fluid and graceful as she rose to stand, almost as if she had the body of a dancer. I wanted to ask if she’d ever danced, but I kept the question—and many more—to myself. Maybe over time, she’d come to trust me. Maybe we could even be friends.

We were halfway to the cabin when I realized how much I missed having a real friend. In school, I’d had a few people I called friends, though they were more like acquaintances. Keeping the kind of secrets I’d held on to for so many years made it difficult to form bonds.

The secrets I’d kept made it difficult to trust.

Rafe was my best friend. He was my everything, and on most days, that was enough.

But today brought that gaping hole of a social life to the forefront. How crazy that a simple walk with another woman had the power to change how I viewed my life.

I missed this.

The simple act of hanging out and chatting. Even a heavy conversation like the one I’d shared with Angel was better than no conversation at all.

Every so often, I shot her a sideways glance, hoping she’d throw a socially starved girl a bone. Seemed she’d shared all the bones she had for the day.

Patience, I reminded myself. She’d come around. Healing took time.

We approached the cabin, and the front door stood open, the screen shut to keep the flies out. Just as I lifted a foot to climb the first step of the porch, Rafe’s voice slammed my feet to a halt.

“I don’t want Alex to know about this just yet.”

“I don’t know why I’m surprised,” Jax said, and I motioned for Angel to stay silent, index finger pressed to my lips. “So what are you gonna do?”

Rafe didn’t answer right away. “Get married. The wedding should be enough to keep her occupied.” Any hope I’d had that he wanted to marry me sank to the bottom of my gut.

“But what if she does find out? Dontcha think we should have a backup plan?”

“The shackle in the bedroom is my backup. If she flips out that’ll keep her out of trouble.”

My breath hitched, and I planted a hand on the railing to steady me.

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