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“You didn’t have to. I can hear it in your voice.”
“I’m going to hang up on you.”
“Don’t. I’m just messing with you,” she giggled. “Well, kind of.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Not much you can do, girl. The cat is out of the bag, and he ain’t going back in, even if you wanted him to.”
“Just shoot me now.”
“Emery, listen.” Her voice softened. “It was Jax’s job to watch over you and protect you… to make sure you grew up safe and happy. He did that.”
“I know.”
“He gave you a home and surrounded you with people who loved you.” I could feel the emotions churning inside of me as she continued, “He made sure you had a family.”
And just like that, the tears started to fall once again. All I could muster was a mumbled, “Um-hmm.”
“It’s time for him to realize he did a fanfuckingtastic job.” I could tell she was smiling as she told me, “You’re an amazing woman, Em. He should be proud of you and what you’ve accomplished.”
“He is furious with me.”
“And that’s okay. He can be furious.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.”
“I’m not finished,” she cut me off. “He can be furious, but he needs to realize that protecting you doesn’t mean he gets to control you.”
“You make it sound simple.”
“Because it is. I mean, come on. He’s not blind. He can see how incredible you are… He shouldn’t be surprised that one of his brothers sees it too and wants you for himself.”
“But Cole is his best friend.”
“Yeah, well, that’s too bad… If he didn’t think Ravage or any of the Fury brothers were good enough for you, he shouldn’t have raised you around them.”
She said it like it was the simplest thing in the world. It wasn’t. Not even close, but there was some truth to it. There was no denying that. Maybe somewhere underneath all the anger, Jax would remember who Cole really was and why they’d always been so close. But that was a big maybe.
“Do you think he’ll ever forgive us?”
“Knowing Jax… it’ll take some time, but yes. I think he will come around.”
I looked down at the drink sitting in front of me, and for the first time since they’d walked out of the clubhouse, the knot in my chest loosened. Just a little, but it was enough for me to feel like I could breathe again. We talked a while longer, and I was feeling a bit lighter when I ended the call.
I drank my shot, then put the bottle away and the glass in the bin. I couldn’t take the silence, so I headed back to my room. I tried to watch a movie and doom-scrolled on my phone, trying my best to take my mind off of the guys and the danger they might be in.
An hour later, I was sitting on the edge of the bed, a complete nervous wreck, when I heard the gate open, followed by the sound of an SUV pulling in. Then another and another. They were back. In a blink, I was up and rushing over to the window. I pushed the curtain aside and watched as the first SUV came to a stop.
The others pulled in behind it, and the guys started climbing out. From the looks of it, they all seemed okay, but something was wrong. They were moving too fast, the expressions too hard, and I couldn’t see Jax or Cole. Then, the back doors of the first SUV flew open, and Jax jumped out with Reaper. They stayed at the rear for several seconds, and several of the other brothers came over to give them a hand.
I had no idea what they were doing until I saw them pull a limp body from the back. At first I couldn’t tell who it was, and then I saw his face and my whole body was consumed with panic.
Cole’s head hung low and rolled to the side as his body sagged between them. I leaned in closer, and that’s when I saw that his shirt was soaked in blood. He was hurt. Bad. The sound that came out of me didn’t even feel human.
I didn’t remember opening my door.
I only knew I had to get to him.
