Chapter 11
11
JAYDEN
Jo is dropping out. Her entire body slumps, and it makes me hard. I should fuck her when she’s like this.
Cole shuffles her so her head doesn’t fall forward. He gives me a look. “I think you took it too far.”
I grab the first aid kit. Jo’s knees are scraped and bleeding, and her hands are blistered. She looks so beautiful, completely torn apart for us.
“She’s fine.”
I crack open a water.
Jo’s eyes snap open, focusing on the water in my hand. Her entire body locks up. “No! No, no, no.”
“Shhhh,” Cole tightens his grip. “We have to get you cleaned up.”
I splash water over her knees. Jo fights, the clarity in her eyes gone, pure fear taking its place.
“Easy,” Cole mutters.
Jo doesn’t listen. Or can’t. She thrashes her whole body.
“Get my bag,” Cole grunts.
Jo looks at me but doesn’t see me. It’s like she’s looking through me.
I watch in fascination. I’ve seen Jo afraid before, but it’s just as intriguing every time it happens. Will I break her this time? What will she do after she breaks? Will she fall apart in my hands and let me hold the pieces?
Doubtful.
Which just means I haven’t worked her just right yet.
“Get me a candy.”
I glance at Cole.
“A lemon drop.” He gestures impatiently.
“You can eat after,” I grunt. He’s distracting me from Jo’s downfall, and it’s pissing me off.
“Not for me, asshole. For her.”
I chuck Cole’s bag at him, thoroughly annoyed that I was pulled out of the moment. Cole shuffles around while trying to hold her still.
“What are you doing?”
“The sour will pull her out of her panic.” Cole struggles to hold Jo still but slips a candy between her lips, clamping his hand over her mouth.
It takes Jo a second to register, but when she does, her nostrils flare. Her eyes flash to mine, and she’s partially back again. Instead of submission, I see fire in her eyes.
My temper flares. Does she not know what’s good for her? I could easily kill her, and yet, she’s still poking the bear.
Cole mutters in Jo’s ear, “You’re going to hold still so we can treat your cuts.”
Jo fights, trying again to pull out of Cole’s arms.
“No,” he winces, a look of vulnerability flashing over his face. “Let me hold you.”
I glance at Cole. “Are you hurt?” I check him up and down for injuries.
“No,” his face flushes.
I frown. “Why’d you wince?”
“Fuck off.” Cole glares at me.
I frown again. Is he upset she’s fighting him? Join the fucking club.
I get to treating Jo’s knees. There are a few open scrapes, and the rest is just roughed-up skin. The bandage on her arm is soaked and dirty. I pull it off, checking the barely scabbed wounds underneath—the marks of her ownership.
The marks she goaded us into making because she doesn’t know when to fucking stop.
“I have more pain meds in my bag,” Cole says.
I raise an eyebrow. She doesn’t need those. Natural consequences. How else will she learn?
Cole glares at me and fishes in his bag.
“You’re getting soft,” I mutter.
Cole grabs the pill bottle with one hand. “And you’re being a dick. Hand me a water.”
Jo immediately panics again.
“Never mind, it’s okay. You can take it without.”
Cole gives Jo the pills while I clean the cuts on her arm. They look good, still angry and inflamed, but not infected. They’ll heal nicely into little pink scars. She’ll wear our initials for the rest of her life.
My dick jerks.
I walk around the car to grab my phone so I can take a picture of Jo. As I do, I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror, and for a second, I see Pat’s face.
My world grinds to a halt. I stare at my reflection.
He’s gone again. It’s just me. The same face I’ve stared at for years.
I squint my eyes, trying to see what it was that made me see him. There’s still something wrong with my reflection.
My gut churns. Pat’s not here. He’s not here—I killed him.
I jab my finger at the reflection in the car. “I killed you, motherfucker.”
Familiarity hits me, and I see it. It’s the eyes. They look mean and excited. Like he did. Like Pat.
Fear rolls through me, and I slam my fist into the reflection. Once, twice, three times, until pain jabs up my hand and down my arm.
“Jayden?” Cole says.
I step back, gasping for breath.
Fuck. Killing Pat was supposed to make it go away. Supposed to make it all go away.
So why in the hell is he still here?