Chapter Two
(Jaxson)
“You need a long, hot bath, Chloe. You’ve had a rough night.”
As we stepped into my apartment, I eyed her wet body up and down.
Her glittering blue eyes locked with mine and she nodded in agreement.
“You already sound like you’ve caught a cold. Come on, I’m sure I’ve got some clothes that’ll fit you.” I turned and locked the door behind us.
I dumped my keys and the bike helmet on the hall cabinet. Chloe’s drenched barely-there clothes clung tightly to her body – something that usually wouldn’t bother me one bit about a woman but on her? I could feel my body start to heat up with want. And that bothered me a bit. I shouldn’t want her that way.
“I’ll just be a second,” I said, holding up my hands before I dashed to the bathroom to get the water running.
When I returned, she stood in the same place, hands and feet together her nose sniffling. It was difficult to tell whether she felt nervous to be in my apartment alone with me, or simply drained from having run to the Juanita’s in menacing weather. Either way, I knew one thing for sure—I should never have let Chloe out of my sight.
I was furious at Roy for what he’d done. He had a moral responsibility not to touch Chloe, and he did anyway like the selfish bastard he was. He was no man that was for sure. Roy had beat Chloe down and was prepared to put her through hell for his own pleasure. For that, I was determined to make him pay. However, keeping Chloe calm and safe was my first priority. I glanced around at my gloomy apartment. It was no place for a woman like her, but it would have to do.
Chloe had a listless look around the front room of my characterless, open-plan apartment. It was a small but neatly kept apartment with old melamine furniture and a grubby matted carpet; it was indeed at odds with the description in the developer’s brochure. But I’d never had the time, nor the inclination to make it any less cheerless. It was only a place to rest my head at night.
“Nothing very fancy, I know. Sit down,” I said, walking over to the kitchen table. I pulled back a wooden chair from the dining table a few paces ahead of us, and switched on the television that took pride of place at the center of the back wall. I hoped she would start to feel more comfortable.
As she sat down, I grabbed a towel from the small cupboard just outside my bedroom. Fuck. It felt coarse and crisp, with a rough texture, but it was the best I had.
Chloe took off my leather jacket and placed it on the back of her chair.
I put the towel around her. “You must be hungry,” I said, with one had on her shoulder.
“I’m starving.”
“I’ll be right back,” I said calmly and directed myself to the kitchen.
Goddamn it. Not being what you could call the domestic type and unprepared for this turn of events, there was virtually nothing for me to give Chloe to eat right away. That’s what you get for eating takeout for every meal and what you do have could hardly be made into something anyone would class as a meal.
One cupboard door after the next slammed closed as I searched.
“Are you ok?” she called from the other room.
“Yep! Hope you’re hungry,” I called back as I stared at the fantastic selection of snack foods I had to offer as a sorry substitute for a meal.
In the end, frustrated and impatient, not knowing what to choose, I brought out everything I had: black coffee, one banana, Twinkies, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup’s, toast, tortilla chips, three pickles and half a pizza from the fridge.
A slight smile came across Chloe’s face when I plonked my buffet-style offering before her at the table.
“Here ya go. I didn’t know what you would like so I brought the whole menu,” I said with a grin, in a lousy attempt to explain myself. I took a slice of pizza and a handful of tortilla chips, put them on my plate, and sat across from her at the kitchen table.
“A classic pairing,” she commented, arching an eyebrow at me, and breaking the tension.
I choked out a laugh. God, I’d missed this girl. Chloe always was a smart one…her one-liners used to crack me up every time. “Have some lunch Chloe; your bath should be nearly ready.”
She grabbed half a slice of toast and munched on it, happily.
Shit. Clothes! I got up and headed to my bedroom. Inside, I stared doubtfully at the jeans in my closet. I skimmed the hangers in vain for something she could wear on her legs before I looked over at my pile of sweatpants. I grabbed a pair of those, hoping that if she rolled them up at her waist, they might just fit, then unhooked one of my white cotton shirts from its hanger.
“I think my bath is ready,” Chloe called from the doorway to the bathroom.
I snagged a fresh towel from the cupboard and knocked on the bathroom door to hand her the towel and clothes. I stood outside, until she opened the door a few inches inch to grab them. I feel like goddamn randy teenager.
“Thanks, Jax,” she said in a weary tone.
“Take your time.” I smiled.
When she shut the door, I walked to the table and grabbed my food. I threw my body down onto the sofa in front of the television; let out a heavy breath and laid one hand back above my head.
‘Fuck. What a shitty day it had been. I exhaled loudly.
I hadn’t thought it would be possible to feel any more tense and restless than I’d felt that morning before I went to the biker’s bar. Well, wasn’t I fucking wrong? My clash with Antonio De Luca, son of the president of our MC, had been nearly catastrophic. It was an intense standoff. I had to get out of the place before that unstable nut lost it completely. Although, I knew I was only delaying the inevitable – a full-blown assault on me, when, or sometime after being elected as club president in a few days. I had a feeling even if I did get the vote, I wouldn’t enjoy my new status very long if Antonio had anything to say about it. I was hoping if he did take me out, my brothers would return the favor. Not that I feared him, but he was a slimy asshole that would ambush me or knife me in the back the first chance he got.
Bruno, the club’s president, whose sharp eye for talent had spotted me and taken me on as a prospect at seventeen, believed I was only person who could take his place. I was fairly certain that my brothers’ thought so too. Antonio, however, was in Bruno’s words, ‘a minor player and not the brains,’ in the club’s operations. No matter who the best man for the job really was, I knew that Antonio’s thirst for revenge would rear its ugly head if I were voted in.
Antonio was half my size, and two years younger than me, along with being Bruno’s only son. I would often warn my brothers’ that Antonio wasn’t kind of man you ever wanted to turn your back on. Just in case, I always kept one eye on him whenever we were in the same room. He was unnerving – period. Given the chance, Antonio would send a bullet into my chest and take pleasure in watching my life slip away. He had a charming way of killing men without guilt or remorse. He was a real dickhead that way.
Most of the time, Black Devil law was strict enough to keep Antonio in check. But no law could change the person he was inside‒a man of moral relapse and rampant selfishness. My life’s track record had been far from perfect, but at least I had a foundation of decency to build from. My mother had tried to bring me up right even if it didn’t always stick, she had tried.
My mind was begging me for five minutes of rest. I picked up the television remote and flicked over to the discovery channel as a temporary escape. It played footage of a baby zebra standing within a few minutes of birth. I’d always been astounded by that sort of thing, but it was no use.
No damn use at all.
I feel like I’m losing my fucking mind.
My head pounded with a nauseating headache. The pressure of all the shit that had gone down today thudded against the inside of my skull. My impossible problems had started a war of their own in my brain, fighting for priority.
My vow to protect Chloe was in direct conflict with my vow of loyalty and respect to my club too. And I loved them both like family. My MC had given me my job, my brotherhood, and my passion for bikes. The issue was, although nobody knew it, Chloe’s father had saved my life.
I sat up and bent over to my knees, pinching the bridge of my nose. I wondered whether I would have had a life worth living if Bruno De Luca hadn’t taken me on at seventeen. I was sure that answer would be a resounding no. I also knew I wouldn’t have a life at all if it hadn’t been for Chloe’s dad.
Suddenly, I imagined Chloe’s terrified face as she’d fought and wrestled in Roy’s grasp. The son-of-a-bitch would have raped her against the wall. This horrifying thought gave me the answer my mind had been searching for… Chloe is my priority. She was always my priority—no matter what.
The bathroom door opened with a creak and I snapped back into reality.
“Looking good, Chloe,” I said, as she stepped out of the bathroom in my shirt and sweatpants; and I sure as hell meant it. Damn, she looked good in my clothes. She had that kind of curvy, toned figure that every guy dreams of fucking and every woman dreams of having.
I had to wonder, did she realize how damn hot she’d gotten? Back at the bar, I bet she thought I gave her my jacket because she was cold, but that wasn’t the only reason. Her white tank top was so drenched it had gone practically see-through. It wasn’t a day for her to be wearing a black and pink polka-dot bra. I had to give her my jacket so those sleazy motherfuckers in the place didn’t see any more of her than they already had.
“Feeling good, Jax,” she replied with a forced smile, her voice laced with nervousness.
I knew what she was doing. Chloe was a smart young woman, but I could always tell when she was hurting inside. I knew her too well for her to be able to fake anything.
“Jax, I was thinking. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with—”
“You’ve had an emotional day,” I interrupted her protest and patted the space on the sofa next to me.
She walked over to me and took a seat. She sighed heavily. “Roy just made me so mad. I’m angry more than anything else and I’m so upset that he could even think about betraying my mom like this, especially with me. He’s made a fool of her. He’s made a joke of the marriage he’s offered mom too. God knows how many other women he’s made a pass at while they were together.”
“If Roy treats your mom so bad, then why doesn’t she leave him?”
“I don’t think she knows he’s like that. I’m sure she doesn’t,” Chloe replied.
“You sure about that? After eight years together?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
Chloe shrugged in the place of a response.
I could tell she was hurting for what had happened to her too. The pain that had been in her eyes since I’d seen her at the bar tore up my insides. “I can’t believe that shit head touched you. He had no right.”
Chloe paused for several seconds and stood up. “Look, Jax, I really appreciate you helping me and all, but I can’t stay here overnight. I don’t think it’s a good idea, you know?”
My gut registered my dismay. Fuck! Did Chloe not even feel safe with me?
I suddenly got the crushing feeling that she saw me as nearly a stranger. Who could blame her? The poor girl had received barely so much as a phone call from me in the past three years. Not to mention that in that time, I’d also become vice-president of the Black Devils. Plus, the world of a motorcycle club and its members was hardly forthcoming. It was no surprise she felt anxious about being locked in with me for the night.
Chloe took the towel off of her head and walked over to the dining table to put it down.
“Look, Chloe, just one night? Like we agreed?” I rose from my seat and made my way toward her.
“I’d like to go back home now, please,” Chloe said.
“Chloe—”
“No, Jax.” Her warm smile had vanished as she’d turned cold and firm.
“I can’t let you leave after what’s happened.”
“I said no Jax. What’s your problem?” Her voice rose but she was hardly going to intimidate me.
“I need to know you’ll be safe,” I said, clutching her forearm in my hand as though I was never going to let go.
Chloe let out an aggravated sigh. “I’m going back home Jaxson!”
‘Jaxson,’ that’s when I would know I was in trouble. I calmed my voice and took a breath. “You’re making a mistake, Chloe.” What is she doing? My heart rate picked up, my breathing became heavy, and I was sure I could feel every nerve ending in my body tingling with worry.
“Why do you even care? I’m adult now. I’m not your responsibility.” She broke my hold of her arm and walked to the door.
“Yes, you are. Now get back her Chloe!” I shouted as I strode toward her.
“No. For God’s sakes.” She turned and stared at me steadily, her voice a warning.
She clearly had no idea she was dealing with a man who wasn’t about to let her leave on her own tonight. “He’ll kill you if you go back there. That’s what he said.”
“I’ll be all right.” She shrugged, as if to say, maybe I’ll be all right maybe I won’t. As though she wasn’t worth the trouble.
“Then why, Chloe? Why come running to me when you were in trouble if you don’t want my help?” I yelled, feeling as though I could tip over the edge at any moment.
“Because!” Chloe shouted; she wasn’t backing down and continued to stare levelly at me.
“Because what?” I barked.
“Because you’re all I’ve got!” she yelled.
“Then let me help you!” I yelled back.
She paused by the door, and her voice softened. “Mom will be home by now. Roy can’t touch me while she’s there. Either you give me a ride, or I’ll find my own way back.”
Chloe walked out. The door slammed behind her.