Page 24 of Marked for Obsession

Seething with anger, he took in the bruise already forming on her red and swollen cheek. Doing his best to lock down the murderous rage threatening to overtake him, Jax’s voice lowered to a near-lethal level.

“What did he do to you?”

“W-we fought. I-I tried…” Her voice cracked but she cleared her throat and continued. “I tried to get away, but he was t-too…” Poppy licked at a fallen tear that tore through his hardened heart. With another glance in her attacker’s direction, she whispered, “He was too strong, and I…I tried, but I couldn’t—”

“Hey.” With an oh-so-careful touch, Jax used her chin to guide her focus back on him. “You did good, Kitten,” he assured her. “Really fucking good.”

It wasn’t a lie or meaningless platitudes. Jax didn’t believe in all that bullshit.

That man, whoever he was, broke into Poppy’s apartment with only one goal in mind: to shoot her dead. The fact that she managed to make it out alive was a fucking miracle.

One Jax found himself to be very,verythankful for.

Despite the slight tremble in her chin, Poppy looked him square in the eyes when she said, “I want to see his face.”

“Poppy, I don’t think—”

“Please, Jax. Ineedto see it.”

Hearing her beg like that damn near undid him. After a slight hesitation, Jax glanced over at Ivan and dipped his chin.

Following the silent order, Ivan squatted down next to the body. He reached for the bottom edge of the black woolen mask, pulling it up over the bastard’s face. He stopped just shy of the entry wound on the man’s forehead.

He’s trying to protect her, too.

The decision to keep the wound covered didn’t come a surprise. Like him, Ivan lived with demons, too.

“Do you know him?” Jax asked Poppy softly.

She shook her head, her delicate brow furrowing. “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

“Could this be one of the guys you saw in the alley Thursday night?”

Ivan’s question—and presence—clearly took Poppy off guard. Sliding her confused gaze in Jax’s direction, her unspoken question prompted him to make an introduction.

“This is Ivan Petrov,” Jax explained. “He works for me.”

“Oh. Um…it’s nice to meet you.” Poppy immediately frowned as if she’d chosen the wrong words at the wrong time. But her focus quickly returned to the dead man’s lifeless form. “I…I’m honestly not sure if he was there that night. I mean, hekind oflooks like one of the guys I saw, but like I told you before…” Her chocolate brown eyes slid back to Jax’s. “It was dark, and I was several yards away.”

Disappointment seemed to fall over her in waves, and Jax had the sudden urge to take her back into his arms and never let go. Instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from doing just that.

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “We’ll find out who he is.”

“We need to call it in.” A knowing look filled Ivan’s blue eyes as he glanced in Jax’s direction. “No way someone didn’t hear those shots.”

He was right. By now a neighbor had probably reported hearing gunfire. And even though it was clearly a justified shooting, it was in their benefit to get the cops on their side.

“I’ll do it.” He turned to Poppy. “First, we need to get you off of those feet.”

As if she’d forgotten her own wounds, Poppy blinked before looking down. “Funny, they don’t even hurt.”

“That’s the adrenaline. Trust me, it’ll wear off soon and when it does, you’re gonna want to—”

“I was in my bedroom,” she spoke as if he hadn’t. “I was having trouble sleeping, and I thought…I thought I heard something moving around.” Her lips curved ever-so-slightly. “At first, I wondered if maybe there was a mouse or something. One manages to sneak into my parents’ farmhouse every so often. But I never imagined something like this could…”

She’s breaking my fucking heart.

“It’s okay, Pop,” Jax tried to stop her, as much for himself as for her. “You don’t have to do this now.”

---