Lena had worried during the whole ride that she might be too late, that Eric had beaten them to the punch before she had a chance to save him. Just seeing him was nearly enough to allay her fears, but as soon as she heard the click of a trigger and felt a gun at her back, she whimpered and struggled to find his eyes.
“Maybe it’s all a fairy story,” Brutus said. “Timing seems just a bit too precious.”
An older woman tried to protest, and as Lena felt Jax’s body dragged away from her side, she fell into his chest and hid his head under her arms as she peered up at the men that seemed ready to tear them apart at the first chance.
“Timing is everything,” Lena spat. “Looks like he needs me now.”
Fearing the end might be at hand despite Jax’s best efforts, Lena leapt up and clung to his neck. As soon as she felt him under her arms again, tears of joy and relief sprang to her eyes. Kissing his skin, she started back as soon as he flinched. And she took note of his bruises. “Oh my God,” she moaned. “What happened to you?”
“It’s nothing,” Jax assured her as he fell into the feel of her hand. “Hardly hurts at all now that I see you again.” Bringing his bruised lips to hers, he kissed her lightly when they were pulled apart again, a scarred man forced Jax to his face as he flicked a knife into his face.
“And like magic your little girl, your best friend just shows up to confirm your story?” he asked. “And what about this one?”
He kicked Artie hard, and Lena’s soul shattered at the sound of his moan. Suddenly hating the fact that she had dragged him into the breach without his wanting, Lena fell to the bald man’s side and seized his shoulders as she stared into scarred man’s eyes.
“This is my friend,” she said. “And Jax’s.”
“Sweetheart, you’re gonna have to come up with a way better endorsement if you think that we’re just---”
“We all want the same thing, boys.”
“Lena, no!”
As soon as the other bikers surrounded Artie’s chopper, she had taken care to push Jax’s gun between her legs and prayed that it would not backfire as she was pulled into a strange new fate. It was luck and nothing else that kept these men from finding her out. No. More than luck. Maybe it was something that they hadn’t pushed their hands up her skirt at the first chance. Definitely not the move that Eric Stiles would have made, but there was still Jax’s battered face and the feel of Artie shuddering under her hands.
“Lena!”
Aiming the gun squarely at the scarred man’s head, Lena inched to her feet as Artie clung to her ankles.
“I’m sorry, Jax,” he said. “I tried to make her---”
“But I’m not leaving you.” Lena’s words were only for Jax as she stepped to his side and narrowed her eyes on the strange man’s scars. “Eric Stiles raped me,” she said, surprised at the strength in her voice on account of the audience surrounding her. Lena swallowed hard as she continued. “And he needs to be stopped,” she said. “So you guys want to help us or what?”
Suddenly feeling as if she was born with a gun in her hand, Lena turned her body around the crowd and looked each man square in the eyes. She stopped short at the sight of a chiseled jaw with light brown hair, and the stranger stoked his chin. He was obviously on the hook, and Lena licked her lips as she waited for an answer when a softer voice crashed through the air.
“Think this is someone we need to listen to, Milo.”
Lena saw a tall woman with gray hair, speckled with dabs of orange stepping out of the shadows. She held her breath as the woman waved the scarred man away and pointed to his boot.
“Put it away, Chief.”
He obeyed her order, and Lena kept the gun in her hands as the woman strode towards her. She left Lena’s sign of sight and glanced down at Artie’s fallen form. “Long time no see, cue ball,” she said.
Artie smiled weakly and shook his head. “Wasn’t my idea, Aggie,” he said. “None of it.”
Lena could kick him for showing weakness when so much was at stake, but, before she could make the move, long fingers surrounded her hands. She tried to keep the gun in check when it was whipped away from her grasp.
“Mom, stop!” Jax cried.
“I know, little man,” she said. “Just have to get a look at her up close.”
So this was his mother. Seeing the resemblance, wanting to blast her for abandoning him, she clenched her fists to her side. I’ll fight her if I have to. Her thoughts came to a crashing halt when the woman touched her cheek and met her gaze.
“So you’ve been keeping my little man’s heart in check?” Lena tried to look to Jax again when Aggie’s fingers turned her eyes back to hers. “Are you the reason that he did this damned fool thing?”
Was she beaten? Did Artie have it right? Lena muttered the truth and expected a bullet crashing into her brain before she knew what else was happening when Aggie suddenly pulled her into a warm embrace.
“Then you’re a better woman than me, Lena.”
Stunned by the warmth in her hold, Lena accepted her arms and blinked through her tears. Pushing away, Aggie smiled and patted her cheek as she brought her back to Jax’s side. “We heard what he did to you,” Aggie said. “But you were still strong enough to come after him.”
Jax was close enough to touch, and Lena started to grab his face when Milo stepped between them and scanned her carefully. “Would you have really smoked us, honey?” he asked.
Was it a test? And would she pass? But when she looked into Jax’s eyes, she couldn’t lie, and she fell to her knees as she presented her bare hands. “Only if you keep hurting Jax,” she said. “I’m telling you we’re on your side.”
Milo continued to hesitate when Aggie snapped her fingers. “This one’s words are good enough for me,” she said. “And she’s already been through enough.”
Lena was about to take the opening, wanting to feel his face in her hands when Brutus pulled Aggie away and pressed his finger into her arms.
“Could still be a trap,” he said.
“You heard what Eric---”
“And I know what he did to you!” Brutus said. “What if this just brings it all back home?” Brutus kissed Aggie’s brow and took her hand. “I swore I’d kill any man that tried to hurt you,” he said.
Aggie’s face softened as she stroked his skin, but when she looked to them again, she pinched Brutus’ cheek and left his side. Taking hold of Jax’s hand first and then Lena’s, she pushed their palms together and smiled softly. “But these ain’t those people,” she said, her voice sure as she spoke. “My little man found himself a fighter, and I think it’s high time we leant them a helping hand.”
Lena’s heart thudded at the thought that they were on the verge of a new kind of sanctuary, one with ample backup, when Milo whistled his crew to attention and stepped to the center of his club. Lena took note of his swagger as he stared each man down, and the fact that they all waited for and hung on his next word made her nervous. If he were anything like Eric, she might find her body dragged into a back room and violated all over again. A quick glance at Artie suggested his plan was the right one all along. But now there was no turning back, and she squared her shoulders and looked to Milo.
“She’s right,” Lena said. “I ain’t those people. I’m Lena Sullivan. And I’ll do whatever I have to do to take a certain bastard down.”
Milo chucked, and he scooped the fallen gun from the ground and pressed it back into her hands. “Would you lay waste to all of us if I gave you the chance?”
Lena felt as if she was back at the creek, moaning into Jax’s broad chest as he stroked her sides. In the present moment, their eyes locked, and Lena sighed into face and nodded her head. “I’ll do anything for him.”
Jax smiled as he worked his way to her side. As soon as she was back in his arms, Lena told herself that everything would be alright. She just needed to be near him. Nothing else mattered.
“Milo?” The man in charge still seemed unconvinced when Aggie took his hand. “At least let me talk to you,” she said. “Let them sleep it off.”
Milo nodded at her suggestion, and Lena felt them pushed together up a creaking staircase through a swinging door. A woman appeared with short dark hair and violet eyes, and she smiled at Lena as she brought them towards a closed door.
“I cleaned the room up,” she said. “Your room. Sort of looks like two are sticking around for a while.”
Jax flinched under her arms, and Lena moved fast to smooth the tension from his back as she sat him down on a freshly made bed. The room was dark, but at least they were together and close. She started to kiss his bruises when she heard the sound of Aggie’s voice commiserating with Artie.
“So you took care of his girl?” Aggie asked.
“Not like I had a hell of a lot of choice. Lady knows her own mind.”
Aggie peeked through the open door, and Lena kept Jax in her arms as his mother nodded. “Good match then,” she said.
She stepped into the room and took her son’s hand. “Not a fairy story,” she said. “This looks like the real deal.” Jax nodded and made no other move as Aggie patted Lena’s cheek. “And I can trust you to look after him?”
“It’s why I’m here.”
Smiling through her wrinkles, Aggie slapped her boy’s back and called out into the open space. “How about we get you a drink, cue ball.”