Jax
Back in my apartment, I sit. I sit on my lush black leather seats, watch, wait. It’s been half an hour, and still, Sarah hasn’t stirred. She’s on the other couch, covered by a woolly afghan Momma made years ago. It’s canary yellow and stands out ridiculously in this black room. Then again, so does Sarah.
She’s always been a flash of color, and this outfit she was kidnapped in is no exception: bright teal tank, neon lime skirt with a choker to match.
The others left on a beer run, knew better than to try talking to me. Until I know she’s okay, nothing else matters. Only Trip stayed; the only one who matters anyway. He’s a pre-med dropout so he can help. I wouldn’t have let him leave if he wanted to.
I pat Sarah’s head, smoothing down her soft blonde hair. Did I make the right choice in taking her here instead of a hospital? The clenching of my hands at even the thought is the answer.
No, if Sarah were there, being taken care of by strangers, being protected by no one, neither of us would’ve been able to rest. No, not when Emilio and the Russos are still out there, could take her again.
As Sarah sleeps, I scan her once more. Her clothes look dusty but intact. Her fingernails have dirt under them while her fingers are clenched. I want with everything in me for Sarah to wake up and yet, I’m afraid for her too. Afraid of what she’s been through, of what it’ll make me do.
She may look fine, but her face is tense and her every breath sounds like something of a fight in itself.
The Russos are going to pay for this. And to think, that all this time Bella knew…
I stand up, start pacing. I won’t think of it now. I can’t. Sarah is all that matters.
Sarah’s body shudders with a cough. I crouch down, and one of her eyes peeks open, blinks sleepily before closing again.
“Sarah?” I say softly, and she smiles.
The other eye peeks open, and she murmurs, “Black on… black on…”
I laugh and feel like lifting her up right here and now. But instead, as both of her eyes open, I help her into a sitting position.
Regarding me with an amused sort of stupor, she declares, “You saved me. I knew you would.”
I throw my arms around her, and she hugs me back. I hold her tight, never wanting to let her go, never wanting to have this moment end. This moment before I know... I don’t want to know what they did to her and yet, I have to.
As we draw apart, Sarah nods, seeming to read my thoughts with a grin. “Don’t worry. It wasn’t that bad.”
I scrutinize her face. “So, you… remember?”
Another prompt nod. “Everything. Though I do feel like an idiot for getting conned by Emilio when I was trying to con him.” She gets up and flops down on the couch.
I flop down beside her. “So, you knew all along?” I ask, and she nods, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.
“Thought I could help for a change.”
“Want me to give you a minute, boss?” Trip asks.
He’s risen from the other couch. I stare at him. He looks happy but uncomfortable. I’d forgotten he was here at all.
But Sarah shakes her head and sighs. “No, everyone already knows how stupid I’ve been. I mean, I thought I could get information from him, maybe mess with him a bit, but I think he knew all along. When he caught me, snooping in his phone, it was all over.” She frowns, shakes her head again, and murmurs, “Thank God you came. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if…”
Now, it’s my turn to shake my head. “Let’s not even talk about it. How are you feeling?” I gesture to Trip. “Trip, come over here.”
As he comes to sit in the spot I’ve patted on the couch, Sarah shrugs. “I feel groggy, but that’s from whatever drugs they gave me to keep me sedated in that horrible cement room. Otherwise, I’m fine.”
I nod and turn to Trip. “How does she look?”
Sarah pouts at me. “Jax, I’m serious…”
I stand up. “No, I’m serious. I almost lost you. No way am I not having you checked out.” I put my hand on her shoulder. “Or letting you out of my sight, for that matter.”
As Trip takes what looks like a stethoscope out of his bag, Sarah regards me with an unimpressed expression. “So what? I’m on house arrest in your bachelor pad until further notice, is that it?”
I smile and go over to the kitchen to get us some water bottles. “Something like that.”
When I return with three Aquarellas, Trip is shining a LED flashlight in Sarah’s eyes, peering into her mouth, then her ears. All the while Sarah’s glare is on me.
Once he’s finished, I hand both of them bottles, then turn to Trip. “So, what’s the verdict?”
He looks nervous, maybe from my intent stare boring into him. When Trip speaks, however, his voice is calm. “She’s fine, boss. A bit dehydrated but it doesn’t look like they did anything to her unless…”
His face goes red, and Sarah stands up.
“I’d know if they did that. And at any rate, I’m not having either of you check that, so there!” She storms off to the hallway, then pauses. “So, you’re saying I’m stuck here, then?”
I follow and pass her, coming to a stop in front of her with a nod. “Yes.”
She stretches herself to her full height. “Here in your bachelor pad, even when you have your guests? Who is it lately – or should I ask who are the latest ones?”
I shrug. “No one.”
My sister’s jaw drops. “Seriously?”
I shrug, and she lets out a low whistle.
“Damn, me being gone really hit you harder than I even imagine. You okay? You didn’t…”
The image of that second whiskey a few days ago appears, and I shake it away with my head.
“No, no, don’t worry.”
A warm smile spreads across her face, and she throws herself onto me in a hug. “I love you, Jax.”
“Love you too, Sarah.”
As we separate, she heads for the guest room. “My usual room’s okay?”
“Yep and Sarah?”
She stops.
“Who was it, other than Emilio, that you saw when you were there? Did anyone else come to see you?”
Sarah turns and shakes her head. “Nope. Emilio was the one who dumped me in that godforsaken little room, and he was the only one who came periodically to lord his victory and sneer at my helplessness. There was a hole in the wall too. Sometimes I’d stare out of it, but the only other person I saw was this woman – his sister, I think – who came down, but didn’t seem aware that I was there. The walls were pure cement, too thick for my yelling or banging to get through.”
“Oh,” I say. I steady myself on the wall, resisting the sudden urge to sit down. Bella might have been telling the truth.
“Jax, what’s the matter?” Sarah asks, peering into my face.
I slide down the wall until I’m sitting on the hardwood floor, staring at the black wall ahead of me. Damn it, Bella couldn’t have been telling the truth, could she?
“Jax?” Sarah sits on the floor beside me.
“About before... when you asked if there were any women while you were gone, I wasn’t completely honest. There was a woman. Bella. Bella Russo.”
“What?” Sarah asks, her voice a shocked hush.
I nod. “I’ve been seeing her for a few weeks, but I had no idea who she really was until today. I found out when I came to rescue you, she was there – said she didn’t know anything about you being there.”
“Shit, Jax, did she know who you were?”
I nod again. “Don’t know for how long, but yeah she admitted she knew – said she wanted to tell me but… Sar, she’s a Russo, this had to be part of them screwing with us, trying to get information out of me.”
“Probably. Just… what was she like?”
The words come out before I can stop them: “I don’t know. She was an enigma: passionate yet subdued, fiery yet playful. I always wondered why she was so closed-off, but I guess that mystery’s solved for now at least.”
I frown at the wall.
“And when I was with her... Sar, it was crazy, it was like I wasn’t myself, like time slid away. It was like, everything was perfect.”
I stand up and offer Sarah my hand.
“Though it doesn’t matter now. Everything she told me was basically a lie, so our entire relationship probably was too.”
Sarah stares at my hand and doesn’t take it. “I don’t know, Jax.”
I shrug. “Well, I do. The Russos have caused us enough problems to last us decades. Now that you’re home safe, I’m going to end it. I’m going to put them down for good.”
Sarah raises her blue-eyed gaze to mine. “Is that what you really want to do?” I don’t respond, and she continues, “Put them down – just how they’ve been trying to do to us, continue this never-ending conflict?”
I look at her, my rosy-cheeked, clear-eyed little sister. My Sarah whom I almost lost. “You don’t get it,” I say, “They almost took you from me. I almost lost you, Sar.”
She puts her hand on my shoulder. “But you didn’t.”
I turn away, back to the living room. “I’ve got to get to work.”
I’m halfway there when Sarah adds, “Oh and Jax?”
I pause.
“Yeah?”
“I’ve never heard you talk about any woman like that. How you just did about Bella. I’d think about what you’re going to do. Bella’s different and you know it.” I say nothing, and Sarah continues, “I’m not saying to trust her or go back to her. I’m just saying, maybe make sure she’s lying before you dismiss her altogether.”
I walk back into the living without another word, then sink down into the leather couch. Sarah doesn’t understand just how intense this casual “fling” with Bella has gotten.
I’m not worried that Bella is a liar; I’m worried what I’ll choose if she is.