Page 39 of He Found Me

“Jax, it’s great to see you. But I have plans right now. Can I catch up with you later?”

“I suppose.” He looks upset, and I feel terrible.

“You still have the same mobile number?”

“Yep.” He waves his phone at me.

“Great, speak soon,” I shout back as Leo pulls me away, grunting. He doesn’t speak to me the whole way back, just mutters under his breath. When we get to the house, he lets go of my hand and goes into his office. I take a deep breath and follow him. He pours himself a drink, downs it then pours another. He then goes to his desk, pulls out a cigar, lights it, and sits down. I feel like I’m in serious trouble.

“Jaxon Adams?”

“Yes, how do you know him?”

“I told you; I make it my business to know whom my wife-to-be has recently been around. What is he doing here?”

“Well, I’m not quite sure; you pulled me away before I had the chance to speak to him.”

“I will not have other men touching my wife!” He slams his hand on his desk. I keep my calm.

“Calm down. There’s no need for this” He squeezes his fist in anger. “Firstly, I am not your wife yet, and second he was hardly touching me; he just gave me a hug as he was pleased to see me.” He sits back in his chair and takes a long drag on his cigar.

“Look, I don’t know how much you know about him, but I’m going to tell you the truth. Jax and I were in a relationship before I came here.” Leo's eye twitches, and he forcefully blows out his smoke.

“He was arrested days before I left for something he didn’t even do. The reason I came here was because some guys came round to his house, and Jax told me to leave and not return. I thought these guys were following me, and I panicked. That’s why I accepted your plane ticket. I needed to get away.”

Leo sits forward in his chair as he questions.

“What guys? What did they look like?”

Hold on a minute. Is Leo the reason Jax was in prison?

“Did you frame Jax?”

“He doesn’t love you.” He drains his drink, stands, and pours another.

“It was you, wasn’t it!? Seriously Leo, have you been controlling my whole life?” I’m furious. My breathing is erratic. My heartbeat pounds in my ears.

“Do you love him?” The answer to that question is easy. No, I don’t love Jax. I don’t think I ever did. But for some reason, I say…

“Yes.”

*Crash* his glass hits the wall to the side of me. There’s pain in his eyes, and I instantly regret that tiny word. I’m just about to beg for forgiveness and tell him the truth when he opens the safe behind him and throws my passport at me.

“Get the fuck out!” He means it. He looks like he wants to kill me. So, I leave. I run to my room, throw everything in my case as quickly as possible, and make my way to the front door. Marco stands in front of it. He doesn’t say a word, just winks and lets me pass. I run down the driveway as fast as I can before he changes his mind. My mind wonders whether Jax was sent by Damien, that this was the way to get me home. Either way, I’m finally free, finally going home. A taxi drives by, so I wave it down. As soon as I’m in, I ring Jax.

“Hi, Jax, it’s me. Where are you?”

“Katie, sooner than I thought. I’m in a bar near the beach where you left me.”

“I'll pick you up in two minutes; that ok?”

“Sure.” two minutes later, Jax joins me in the taxi, and we are on our way to the airport.

“Are you sure you don’t need to pick anything up?”

“No, I only brought this bag. You’re all I need. But did you manage to pack everything?”

“I hope so. I just shoved everything in my case. It doesn’t matter if I didn’t; I suppose I can buy new.”

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