Chapter Seven
Jax awoke the next morning and stretched, surprised to find that Layne had already woken up. She had been staying in bed later and later lately, probably because of those journals she was working on until all hours of the night. He admired her tenacity, but it was still a little bit lonely when she was going about her day on her own during the hours he was either busy or asleep.
Layne was probably out with Sam, talking about some scientific theory or another that he had never heard anything about while he was listening to his friends joking about sex in his woodworking classes. It had been a stroke of good luck to find such a compatible friend for Layne. Especially when they needed a doctor the most. He would be so lost if anything ever happened to her.
“Good morning,” Jax said, smiling at Tobi as he passed her to head into the kitchen. But Tobi wasn’t smiling back at him. She was staring down at a white piece of paper in her hands. It looked like one from Sam’s extensive medical journals.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, walking toward Tobi.
Tobi shook her head in disbelief, handing the paper to Jax. She wanted to speak, but didn’t seem capable of getting the words out. For Tobi, that meant that there must be a big problem.
Jax took the paper from her trembling hands and read over it quickly. He was sure that his brain wasn’t processing the information correctly. It couldn’t be. So he re-read it, a little bit slower this time.
“What does this mean?” Jax asked, handing the paper back to her and taking a step backward. He squeezed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, staggering toward his bedroom.
“Layne?” Jax bellowed.
Tobi was still sitting on the floor in a stunned silence as Jax tore through the house, shouting Layne’s name. Finally, he found the little note on the desk that she had left him and gripped it tightly, slinking down beside Tobi and dropping it on the floor between them.
“They’re gone…”
Tobi nodded, her eyes wild and full of a grief that Jax hadn’t seen in them since she got news that her sister had been killed by a rival tribe.
“You know what? Fuck this. We’re going to go find them. If they don’t want to get themselves killed out there, they should have asked us for help. Did they think we were that useless?”
Tobi finally spoke up.
“Damn it. The note says they were afraid if we left, the people from Hex would get us. And we need to protect the resources here at the homestead while they go off on this ridiculous wild goose chase. What the fuck.”
“No way. My – Layne is pregnant. I’m not just going to sit here and let her go fucking around with Sam. Maybe if it was with you, but Sam?”
“What are you trying to say, Jax?” Tobi growled, standing up and glaring down at him. “Sam can take care of herself!”
“You’re stronger than she is! You’re a better fighter. Make a better body guard.”
“Not since I got shot,” Tobi reminded him.
Tobi’s ex, Kelsey, had found their settlement when he had led Sam and Tobi to Layne to make sure that if she was sick or pregnant, she would have a doctor to help her along the way. Kelsey had brought henchmen along with her and it had resulted in two bodies being buried outside of the garden. But it had also resulted in severe nerve damage. Tobi’s left arm was almost useless. She was still going through rigorous physical therapy, a regimen that had been prescribed, and usually enforced, by Sam.
“Well that might be true. And I know that Layne is tough and fast and bright…and so is Sam. They’re both all of those things. But Layne is pregnant and Sam doesn’t strike me as the kind who would take a life. She’s the kind who saves them. Right? Isn’t that what you love about her?”
Tobi’s anger seemed to melt away. Without it, she looked too vulnerable, and Jax sighed, wishing that things could go back to the way they were when he had woken up the day before. Tobi and Sam entwined together on their makeshift bed in the living room. Layne walking moodily throughout the house, checking on things that weren’t out of place and scribbling in her notebook.
“Sam says there’s a chance that they can set things right. What do you think she means by that?”
“I don’t know,” Jax sighed, looking down at the note in Layne’s flowing script. “I don’t know but I wish like hell they would have said something instead of going off and doing something reckless. You know I have to stop them.”
“Then I’m going with you.”
“Somebody needs to stay here to take care of Gilly.”
“Why can’t she just come along?”
“Tobi…”
“But what if they’re right?” Tobi mumbled, almost so quietly that Jax couldn’t hear her. “What if they’re really going to save the world?”
Jax and Tobi sat numbly on the floor as the situation truly began to sink in. The women they loved were gone, and the only way to bring them back would be to put their lives at risk and go find them.
***
Layne woke up with a start, and the sickening guilt she felt from leaving Jax behind the night before was the first thing she became aware of. Sam was already awake, stirring a small pot of beans over a crackling fire.
“Morning,” Sam said. “There’s some water beside you.”
Layne didn’t snap at her this time and took a long, deep swig of water. It helped her fight back some of the nausea she was suffering from her guilt, but it wasn’t enough to make her forget their situation. But she and Sam were determined, and nothing would get in their way. She would turn as vicious as need be to protect herself and the baby.
“That smells good,” Layne said quietly. She felt bad for being so impatient with Sam. She owed everything to Sam. If it weren’t for her, they never would have cracked the code and embarked upon this ridiculous adventure.
“I’m surprised you can think about eating,” Sam said, laughing wryly.
“Well, it comes and goes,” Layne said. “Right now I happen to be craving whatever it is you’re cooking.”
Sam grinned and brought a bowl of food over to Layne. They ate quietly before packing up camp and heading out on the trail. It was nice having a traveling companion. They slept in shifts and kept an eye on each other. Layne hadn’t had that luxury when she had scavenged for the baby’s things. It had nearly cost her her life. Fortunately, she had survived and was able to get an adorable puppy out of it too.
She was starting to make peace with the fact that she had left Jax behind. It was nice to remember that she could take care of herself, without needing him or anybody else. Still, it was a relief that Sam was along for the ride. Together, they would get their goal accomplished, no matter what.