Page 112 of Roots of the Wicked

Chapter Forty-Seven

Jax

Chase kept me close and tucked into his side with a protective arm around me. My kidnapper’s anguished groans lured my face from Chase’s strong shoulder to TK’s rough handling as he continued to search Amanda.

“Let me go, you fucking lunatic. I told you I don’t have any more weapons!”

I suppose Amanda hadn’t been expecting Chase to find me so soon, especially at the one place he would not think to look. The knowledge of him reaching out to TK for help proved how desperate he was to find me. When he ran up on Amanda pointing a gun into his chest to save me, to save us, it was crazy, but proved he loved us more than his own life.

Seeing TK with a gun and how well he handled it was a surprise. I was starting to believe the illegal life I suspected he lived was being revealed.

The fact I was taken to Chase’s family home and witnessed Amanda gain access, led me to believe Blake had been working with her. However, it was the older Taylorson standing in front of us that my gaze landed on.

“Dad? What the hell is going on? What is Amanda doing in this house?” Chase’s face was masked in confusion. TK stood staring at James with one hand keeping Amanda pinned to the wall, as she squirmed and fussed under his hold.

“Chase, tell him to let me go,” Amanda called back, but received no reply.

James hadn’t answered Chase’s question, instead he hobbled a few steps closer, thumping along as his cane knocked against the floor.

He continued to ignore Chase as he aim his attention at TK and Amanda. “You.” He pointed at TK. “Would you remove your hand from that young lady’s neck?”

TK didn’t acknowledge that James had given him an order. He shot the older man a pointed look and continued to hold the back of Amanda’s neck, pinning her face to the wall. The position looked painful. Good.

Chase stood deadly silent, staring at his father like he had never seen him before. I attempted to take a step, but it did nothing to break Chase’s hold on me. With a finger aimed at Amanda, my attention was focused on James.

“Do you know this woman? Did you hire her to kidnap me and hold me at gun point?” I attempted another step, but all that moved were my feet, as I was pinned to a brick wall. Amanda continued to call out for Chase. And I thought I was crazy.

“Yes, I know her, but I would have never advised her to hold you at gunpoint. I simply told her to bring you back here so we could all talk,” he answered without an ounce of remorse. Me, Chase, and TK gawked.

“You dirty ass dog!” I yelled at James. He’d been playing me and Chase, pretending to be on our side when he’d been plotting against us the whole time. Since Chase was holding me in place, I leaned forward so I could glare into James’s eyes.

“You did all of this, didn’t you? The drone, sending the paparazzi to attack us, hiring someone to break into my apartment, intercepting my Uber and sending that mental patient to pick me up, spying on me and Chase, the video…”

At this point my tears restarted, but not from sadness or fear. My tears now fell from pure unadulterated anger. I lunged at James, but a set of strong arms stopped me.

“You goddamned bastard! How could you do this to someone and stand there, smug, and arrogant like your actions didn’t rip apart two lives. You selfish son of a bitch!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as Chase held me around my shoulders, and TK kept a raging Amanda in place.

Chase growled at his father. “I will find a way to send you to prison for the rest of your life. It will become my mission to see you suffer. Why would you do this? Why?” Chase questioned, his words choppy from the deep well of hurt his father had caused. His body trembled, and I didn’t know if it was from rage or hurt.

James smiled. The old rotten Billy goat stood his ass there and cracked a smile, making my anger flare higher as I attempted to get away from Chase.

“You dug up an illegal video of me being tortured to use in your plot to keep us apart. When that wasn’t enough, you hired someone to break into my apartment.” TK glared at me, his eyes squinted with curiosity. He had no idea about my childhood horrors. The fact that James had dug up my past proved, how sick and devilish he was.

“Just a few times, Chase. Let me bust him upside his fucking head a few times with TK’s gun, and I promise I’ll be okay,” I asked as James, for the first time appeared afraid. I knew I resembled a mad woman, hair all over my head, wild yelling, and attempting to break away from a man who towered above me and was a mass of muscle and unbreakable strength.

“Jax, please calm down. You’re going to hurt yourself and the baby,” Chase said, but his calming words had no effect. I wanted to lay hands on James Taylorson. It was clear he’d manipulated Amanda, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to put a foot in her ass too.

“Why would you do this?” I barked in his direction. “Why would you play with our lives like this? Risk the life of an unborn child…” I was so upset, I couldn’t finish my sentence, as my tears continued to fall.

He pointed at us. “You two are too upset right now to understand my reasons. My grandchild was never in danger. That was my gun she took, it was empty.”

“But mine isn’t,” TK pointed out. “I could’ve killed her. Chase would have killed her. What’s wrong with you?” TK spit his words at the older man, sneering at him.

“Have you lost your fucking mind?” Chase snapped. His words had knocked the wind from the room and his father’s chest. James had jumped at the sound of his son’s booming voice, his steps faltering as he moved back.

For the first time, Chase moved his hand from my waist. He roared in anger, a deep resounding growl that called for complete silence. He took a step closer to his father, every muscle in his body pulled tight enough to snap.

His gaze had gone blank like he’d hidden his soul away from his evil intentions. He was going to kill the old fart, I could feel it. I gripped his arm, his powerful muscles flexed so tight they felt like iron under my fingers. There was enough rage flowing through him to scare me, but I couldn’t let him go to jail for murder.

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