21. Myles #2
“He solved my code?” I ask incredulously. “Is there anything your brother can’t do better than me?”
He huffs out a soft laugh. “Jace didn’t figure it out. I did.”
“You did?”
“Like I said, I know a lot about you. I know how your mind works, so I was able to use that to find the key.”
“Did it at least take you a while?” I ask hopefully. “Maybe a few days?”
He grins.
“A few hours?”
His grin turns into a smirk.
“You figured it out right away, didn’t you?” I ask in a flat voice.
“Maybe.”
“Of course you did.”
“Tell me what happened, Myles.”
The low timbre of his voice helps calm the momentary surge of emotions that hits as snippets of memories come rushing back to me, and I pull in a deep breath so I can tell him what happened.
“I was walking home from school, and this black van came out of nowhere and stopped in front of me when I was crossing the street. Two guys jumped out, and one of them pointed a gun at my face while the other tossed me in the back of the van.”
“The police report didn’t mention any witnesses, just the 911 call. But it happened on a busy street around rush hour?”
“Oh, there were witnesses,” I say bitterly. “But the bystander effect is real, and no one did anything to help except call it in.”
“Then what happened?” He rubs slow circles into my back that help me relax again.
“We drove around for a long time. I think they were circling because they kept taking right turns. So many right turns compared to left ones, at least a three-to-one ratio.”
He nods but doesn’t say anything.
“We ended up at a house near the outskirts of town. They parked and dragged me inside and locked me in a closet. There was a keypad on the door, and it took a while, but I was able to crack it and unlock the door without anyone noticing. Then I waited for them to leave, and I snuck out as soon as I could.”
“What happened after you escaped the house?” he prompts when I fall silent.
“I walked to the nearest subdivision and started knocking on doors until someone believed me and called the cops.”
“Why did you tell the police you didn’t see or hear anything?”
“Because the guys who took me were cops.”
Jax doesn’t react, but the flare of anger in his eyes is unmistakable.
“They wanted the ransom money,” I continue.
“They knew my parents were suddenly loaded, and they snatched me instead of my brother or sister because I was the easier target. They kept talking about their plans in the next room when I was trapped in the closet, how they were going to kill me to make sure they didn’t get caught.
I don’t even know how many of them were involved or if the officer who took my statement and was leading the investigation was part of things, so I just said I didn’t see or hear anything and they didn’t hurt me. ”
“Do you know who the cops are?” His words are casual, but I can hear an edge under them.
I shake my head. “They wore masks around me. I only figured out they were police because of what they said when I was in the closet. And I could hear them talking to other cops on a radio when we were in the van.”
“Too bad,” he says, his voice dark with anger.
“Would you do something to them if I knew who they were?” I ask, not sure what to do with my giddiness at the thought.
“Would you care if I did?”
“Not even for a second. Those fuckers deserve whatever’s coming to them. And I’m actually pissed I can’t tell you so they can pay for what they did to me.”
He huffs out a laugh and presses a kiss against my forehead. “Now that’s the man I always suspected was in there.”
“What do you mean?”
“I always knew you had a darker side, but you didn’t let yourself explore it until now.”
“You’re not wrong,” I say with a smile. “You bring it out in me.”
“Glad to be of service.” He pecks a quick kiss against my lips. “Ready?”
“For what?” I blink a few times at the abrupt topic change.
“We’re going to my room.” He gives me a little squeeze, then untangles himself from me.
“We are?” I ask as he sits up and stretches his arms above his head, making the muscles in his back bunch and pop in a way that’s way too enticing. “I know I’ve said this before, but Jesus Christ, you’re hot.”
He laughs and drops his arms, glancing over his shoulder at me with a smirk on his full lips.
“Do you live in the gym? Have you ever had a carb in your life?” I push myself up on my hands. “How do you just walk around looking that hot all the time?”
“I’m a big fan of carbs, and I hate the gym.” He climbs off my bed, completely unbothered by his nudity, and starts gathering our clothes from the floor. “I only go when Killer needs someone to work out with.”
“Then how do you look like that?” I trace my gaze over the full swell of his ass as he bends over to scoop up his hoodie. “I know they say genetics plays a part in how people build and maintain muscle, but there’s no way all that is just good genes.”
“I climb and do calisthenics with Jace. And we have other hobbies that keep us active.” He tosses me my clothes.
“Climb? Like rock climb?”
He nods.
“Yeah, that would do it.” I rake my eyes up and down him elevator-style. “I used to run cross-country with a guy who was really into climbing, and it was insane how strong and cut he was. Do you use the rock wall at the gym?”
“No, we found a natural rock wall in the woods we use to free climb.”
“Wait,” I say as I finally register what he said when he first got up. “We’re going to your room, like at Hamilton House?”
He nods and pulls on his black boxer briefs.
“But I’m a first gen. First gens aren’t allowed on Rebel property…” My gaze gets stuck on how his massive thighs stretch the thin material of his underwear.
“I’m a founding legacy.” He tosses me a smirk. “I’d like to see them try to deny you if you’re there as my guest.”
“But what if they won’t let me on the grounds? They could just reject my card at the gate.”
“They won’t.” He pulls on his pants and does them up.
“How do you know that?”
“Because Jace already granted your ID full access.”
My jaw drops like it’s been unhinged. “He did? But why?”
He laughs and shakes out his shirt. “One thing you need to know about me and Jace is that we’re a package deal. Not in a weird way or anything like that, but if you’re in my life, then you’re also in his. He’s not just my twin, he’s my other half, and that’s one bond that can never be broken.”
“Yeah, of course,” I say quickly. “I totally get that.”
“Now,” he says as he pulls his shirt on. “Are you going to get dressed? I don’t think it’s the right time of year to be walking around in the nude.”
I snort-laugh and climb out of my bed. “Walking around campus in my birthday suit is my literal nightmare. Well, one of them, so that’s never going to happen.”
“Good.”
I glance over my shoulder at Jax as I go to my dresser to grab some more appropriate clothes than the old, threadbare sweats and tee I put on after my shower. “Good?”
“Good.” His eyes are dark with something I can’t quite read. It looks like heat mixed with possession, and even a little ownership. “When I say you’re mine, Myles. I mean, you’re mine . No one else gets to see you the way I do. No one else gets to share any part of you. Understand?”
His intense stare and possessive words should freak me the fuck out, but they just don’t. I like that he’s so protective of me. It makes me feel special, but more than that, it makes me feel safe, and that’s something I haven’t felt in what feels like forever.
“Thank you again for the gifts.” I toss him a quick smile over my shoulder, and my face flushes hot at the way he’s staring at my ass.
“You’re welcome.”
“I’ve never seen knives like those before,” I say as I dig through my dresser. “Is there a reason one of them is dull?”
“It’s a practice blade. Your actual gift is in my room.”
“What’s a practice blade?” I close the drawer and carry my clothes to my bed.
“It’s just a dull version of the real one so you can practice using it without the risk of slicing yourself open.”
“I take it the real one is sharp?”
“Extremely sharp.” He opens the smaller box and takes out the practice blade. “Have you ever heard of a Karambit?”
I shake my head and pull a wet wipe out of the package I keep in my night table so I can wipe down before I get dressed.
Jax doesn’t look away as I quickly clean myself up, but he doesn’t make a big deal out of it, so his scrutiny doesn’t make me self-conscious.
“That’s what this is.” He holds the knife up to show me. “See these?” He points to the little tabs on either side of the blade.
I nod and pull on a pair of underwear.
“Those are the opening mechanisms. This one is the flipper.” He points to the top one. “All you have to do is push down on it, and the blade will flip out.” He holds the knife up and flips the blade out with the tab.
“The other one is the wave mechanism. It self-deploys the blade when you draw it from your pocket.” He closes the knife and slips it into his pocket.
“You just secure it with the clip on your dominant side. Then your index finger goes through the ring.” He demonstrates.
“And make sure your other fingers are out of the way so you don’t risk cutting yourself.
Then you put your thumb on top of the ring to keep it steady and draw forward.
” He pulls it free of his pocket, and the blade flips out with a soft click.
“Then you wrap your hand around it like this.” He settles the handle against his palm so the blade is coming out from the bottom of his hand instead of holding it so the blade is pointed up.
“And you don’t stab with this blade, you slash.
And make sure to keep your finger in the ring so you don’t risk losing it or someone knocking it out of your grip. ”
He does a few twists and slashes that are as impressive as they are terrifying, then flips the knife around his finger in a complicated pattern that makes my heart skip a few beats, and not just from how hot he looks.
I figured he knew how to handle a knife after what I saw the night I was attacked, but the ease with which he uses it and the fluidity of his movements are as beautiful as they are scary.
“Yeah, I get why you gave me the training wheels version,” I say. “I’d one hundred percent lose a finger or slice off a piece of my leg doing any of that with the real version.”
He flips the knife around by the handle, then snaps it closed. “They’re good for combat, and they’re scary as fuck, so they give you an advantage, even if you’re not great with it.”
“That’s a bonus.” I smooth down the front of my shirt. “I’m not sure anyone has ever described me as scary before. But if I can learn to do half of what you just did, then I’ll at least have a fighting chance.”
He puts the knife back in the box. “The other one is a tsunami dagger. The wounds it creates are devastating. The main issue with it is that it can be taken from you more easily, and it can be clunky and hard to handle if you’re not used to the size.
The biggest advantage is that because it’s a dagger, you can display it in plain sight and keep it accessible without raising suspicions if people see it. ”
“No one but you and the cleaners comes into my room, but I do like the idea of having it out and looking all badass in case someone who isn’t you breaks into my room.”
He shoots me a smirk and walks over to the chessboard. He studies it for about ten seconds, then moves his rook. “Check.”
“The hell it is,” I rush over to the board. There’s no way he got me in check.
“How did I miss that?” I mutter when I see what he did. It’s not a traditional countermove, and I was so focused on getting him into check that I didn’t notice his rook was in the perfect spot to get me first.
Still smarting from my obvious oversight, I move my king out of check.
“Ready to go?” he asks.
I nod. “This is going to sound really random, but how do you get in and out of my room when you sneak in?”
“The door.” He slings one arm over my shoulder.
“Thanks,” I deadpan. “I never would have figured that one out on my own.”
“The security in this place is terrible,” he tells me as he leads me out of my room.
“The swipe log can be tripped up with a dummy card, and there are enough blind spots in the cameras that I can easily slip in and out without any of them catching me. And your door locks are ridiculously easy to tumble.” He waits as I lock the door behind us.
“What’s the dorm policy on adding your own locks?
I don’t like how vulnerable it leaves you when I’m not around. ”
“I don’t know. I never looked it up.”
“I’ll take care of it,” he says and steers me down the hallway toward the main stairs. “And I’ll deal with anyone who might take issue with upgrading your security.”
“We’re not going out the back?” I ask. This way will lead us right through the main foyer.
“Nope.”
“You don’t mind if people see us together?”
He pushes open the door to the stairs and holds it for me. “Of course not. I want everyone to see us.”
I toss him a confused look over my shoulder and head down the first flight of stairs.
“You’re mine, Myles. That doesn’t just mean in your room or when we’re in private. The sooner it gets out, the better it is because I want everyone to know that anyone who fucks with you is fucking with me, and they’ll be dealt with accordingly.”
I try to hide my smile at not just his words, but the dead serious way he said them. It means a lot that he doesn’t want to hide me away or keep things on the DL.
My smile disappears the moment we step through the doors to the foyer. It’s way more crowded than usual, and every head snaps toward us when Jax puts his arm over my shoulder in a possessive hold.
I don’t like being the center of attention, and I really hate being stared at. But then again, I’d stare too if I saw Jax in our dorm, no matter who he was with.
Jax doesn’t spare our audience a glance as he leads me through the foyer like he owns the place and right out the door.