16. Jax
Chapter 16
Jax
“Is there a reason you’re standing out here, Jax?” Tiny asked as he handed me my coffee while I stood by the fire engine staring over the road at the Pilates studio where I could see Helen in the class. Bent over, wearing the hottest black leggings and top I’d ever seen, I was trying not to get hard in front of the world, but she was making it impossible, and the thought of having her to myself later tonight wasn’t helping.
“Listening out for a call, of course. What else would I be doing?” I replied before taking a sip of my drink, letting the scalding liquid hit my tongue, hoping the caffeine would wake me up after a pretty exhausting night shift.
“You ready to go back to the station? You never know, things might be quiet and we have a relaxed end to the shift.” I spun on my heel as his eyes widened because he’d said the dreaded words. And just to prove why we never mentioned a 'quiet' shift, a call came in on the radio for a warehouse fire on the edge of town.
“Motherfucker,” I hissed as I leaped into the cab and accepted the call as Tiny ran to get the rest of the team.
I staggered through the doors six hours later, exhausted and in desperate need of a shower, glad that I’d sorted everything for tonight earlier in the week, because having worked nearly eighteen hours, I was broken.
The warehouse fire had taken hold quickly and the goods they stored in there were at risk of exploding, so we stayed to help the next crew get it under control.
Stripping off my uniform, I threw it into the hamper in the bathroom before locking the door, taking off my underwear, and stepping under the hot water, loving how it instantly soothed my aching muscles.
I washed and conditioned my hair, before tipping some shower gel into my hands, dragging the soapy suds over my skin, wincing when my hand edged between my thighs. Deciding not to let my thoughts go where they were trying to pull me, I turned the shower on as cold as it would go, letting it batter my body until my thoughts dissolved because I didn’t want to end up in that place again.
When I felt sure I was okay, I turned off the water, my body shivering from how long I’d been in the cold jets. Wrapping a towel around my waist, my fingers caught the raised scar on my stomach. I huffed out a breath as memories slammed into me so hard that I had to grip the sink to stay standing while I pushed down the well of emotion that remembering what put that mark on my body evoked.
“Shake it off, Jax,” I mumbled to myself as I walked from the bathroom to my bedroom, where I pulled on my underwear and a pair of joggers, set an alarm, and passed out in bed.