Jax
Three weeks later
I expected to see a hot redheaded MILF coming to pick me up from jail, but I was only slightly disappointed when it turned out to be her daughter instead.
“Get in,” Claire snapped, opening the passenger door to a new car that definitely wasn't hers.
“Wow, look at you,” I said as I sat down. The interior was light in creams and browns. It suited her. She gave me a forced smile and sped out of the parking lot as fast as she could.
We drove for about five minutes before she decided to even talk to me. I used the time to plug my phone into her USB charger. It was dead after weeks of not using it.
“I'm not mad at you,” she finally said, her eyes still on the road. “Even after knowing about you having my mom as a roomie at your apartment and certainly not sleeping in separate rooms.”
“Claire—”
“I haven’t forgotten about you either.”
“Then why aren't you looking at me?”
She turned to me as if to disprove my claim before adding, “And neither has Mom.”
The mention of her mother was like a punch to my gut.
I had waited. After the arraignment, they told me I wasn't allowed out on bail. Every day, I hoped she missed me. That she would come to visit me. But she never did.
Laura came a couple of times, never revealing much, and then yesterday I got the notice that I was being released.
Not a single peep from Liz, though. I tried to reach out. I tried to call her. Claire had picked up once and said she couldn't talk much. It was a surprise that she was even here to pick me up.
The only person I was able to really talk to was Sloan, but of course she told me to suck it up and make some friends, saying they might come in handy at some point.
My team had mostly been released, and they were out doing their work, based on what they had managed to report back.
But all I thought about was Liz. From morning to night, and even in my dreams, it was only her.
And all her silence hurt.
“Then why didn't she come?” My voice cracked at the end, even though I was trying to hold it together.
“She's been… busy. Also, I visited your mom a couple of times. Brought her some food, chatted for a bit, and I didn't tell her about you—obviously. She's been doing good. Apparently, she joined a music group, and it's helping.”
I took a shaky breath in and nodded.
“Okay. Okay. So… what is happening?”
Her fingers twisted around the steering wheel, her grip so tight I was afraid it might snap off entirely.
“There's a video circulating online. It's better for you if you don't watch it. I just wanted to warn you before you get on your phone and start looking… Damn it, Jax, I literally told you not to!”
It was too late. I was already turning on my phone, but before I could search for it, it found me. Ax, Sloan, and Mia all sent me the same link.
I can’t get in touch with Liz. Do you two need help?
Is Liz okay?
Jax, did you know about this?
Claire tried to take the phone from me, but I pushed her away and twisted to the side, away from her.
Laura had told me there had been an incident between Liz and her ex, but that Liz was okay and that it had already been handled.
That was all the information I got. Nothing could have prepared me for this.
Pure horror traveled through my entire body as I watched her ex choke her and try to kill her. It was even worse knowing it had already happened and that I’d been unable to do anything about it.
I was fucking losing my mind.
“Is she okay? Where is she? I'm going to fucking kill—”
“She's fine. She's healing and… Well, I think you should just ask her when you see her.”
My head snapped in her direction. “See her?”
She nodded. “I am here to drop you off at home.”
“At my apartment? And then we can go to her?”
“Jax, she’s there waiting for you. Your home is her home. Her home is wherever you are, and I think the same is true for you.”
Feelings of guilt came back to life inside me.
“I'm sorry I didn't tell you.”
She let out a huff. “But you're definitely not sorry you fucked my mom. And at a sex club? Ugh, the more I learn about you guys, the more disgusted I feel.”
I couldn't help but smile at her. Because there was one thing that I knew to be true, and it was that she was definitely messing with me right now. She might have been annoyed, even angry, back then, but I could tell that none of it really stuck.
“Thank you,” I said. “For not blowing up on us. You had every right to.”
“And I still could.” She gave me a pointed look before rolling her shoulders back and letting out a sigh. “But my mom deserves love, and I would never stand in the way of that. And I don’t need to tell you that if you ever even think about hurting her, I will gut you.”
I smiled and laid my head on her shoulder. She tried to push me off.
“I'm driving! Stop bothering me.”
I only snuggled into her harder. It had her swerving lightly and pulled a laugh from us both.
“But what I really want to know is… Are you going to call me your stepmom?”
“Ew!” This time, she shoved me hard, and I laughed for the first time in weeks. It felt really good to be back.
“How about this,” I whispered and leaned forward. “I know just the way to pay you back.”
She raised a brow at me.
“You want to try it? The club?”
She gave me a look. “Now this is definitely not stepmother talk.”
“You're my best friend first.” I gave her a nudge. “I bet I can get you in for free.”
“Who says I'm not already in?” Her smile was sly.
“You are?”
“Sloan gave me access.”
“Sloan?” My hackles were raised. “You do not go anywhere near—”
“Oh my God! I know! We've already talked about it. I'm only allowed at her newest club openings, and I have to send her a message first to make sure none of us see each other. Okay? She has limits.” And then she added under her breath. “And so do I.”
I sat back in my seat, but I was starting to have regrets about even bringing up the club.
I might not be a real stepmother to her, but there was no way I wanted her there.
Overprotectiveness had started to rise in me, and I was thinking of all the ways I could get Sloan to ban her from the club forever.
But then Claire turned to me with a real smile.
“I'm glad you're back. I missed you.”
I sent her one back as all the panic and annoyance melted away.
“I missed you too.”
Claire dropped me off, only letting me know I needed to go upstairs now.
Not that she needed to. Of course I ran as fast as I could inside my apartment, knowing Liz would be there to greet me.
But when I burst through the door, I found that I was completely alone.
Maybe she's hiding for me.
But as I looked around the house, her stuff was not here. Some clothes in the closet were the only evidence she had been here. There wasn’t much food in the fridge. No hair tie on the counter. She forgot her glasses sometimes on the little table near the entry hall, but they weren’t there either.
She’s not here.
I leaned against the kitchen counter, despair spiraling around in my chest. It thickened into my throat and made tears prick my eyes.
The video of her ex-husband hurting her kept playing in my mind.
Did she leave because I wasn't fast enough? Because I wasn’t able to protect her?
Was that what had made her finally realize that we weren't compatible?
Jail had been a dark place for me. I’d been completely alone.
It reminded me all too much about how it had been growing up.
I felt unsafe. I made sure not to talk to anyone in case they got the wrong idea about me.
I made it through, but my constant worrying about Liz and Claire and everything happening outside made me feel a bit crazy.
I ran my hand through my hair, remembering the way Liz would do it.
Just as I was about to get my phone out to try to call her, the door opened.
My breath caught in my throat when I caught sight of Liz. It had only been a few weeks, but it was like no time had passed at all.
Her red hair was pinned up into a professional updo. She was wearing a more formal dress that went all the way down to her knees, nothing like she would usually wear. In her hand, she had a leather briefcase type of bag that seemed heavy, which she set down on the floor.
And then she looked up at me… and everything that had been going on in my head vanished.
She was looking at me with the biggest smile I'd ever seen.
She slammed the door behind her and ran toward me as I ran to her.
We crashed in the middle of my apartment, arms wrapping around each other, hugging each other as close as we possibly could.
I pulled away so we could force our lips together.
We met in a breathless kiss. It was clumsy and uncoordinated, but I couldn't bear to waste even one more second.
Her hands tangled in my hair, and I picked her up, grabbing her by the back of her thighs and forcing her legs around me.
“Oh thank God. You’re home. You’re home.”
“I missed you so much," I said against her mouth. I couldn't even see where we were going, and my memory of my apartment was shot, thanks to my Liz-filled thoughts.
I pushed her against the nearest wall and pulled away just to look at her. One hand caressed her face, and I ran my thumb across a cheek just as she looked up at me with those beautiful brown eyes I’d dreamed of every single night we'd been apart.
“I've been waiting for this,” I whispered. “Every day. Every moment. You were all I thought about. Why… why didn't you visit me?”
Her face dropped as tears welled in her eyes.
“There's so much I need to tell you," she said, her voice cracking. “I wanted to come, but I was… busy. Claire and I have been taking turns with your mother. She’s had more good days than bad. You’ll be happy to see her. I also got her moved to a room that overlooks the garden, and it seemed to help. Your team has not so sneakily been getting me to run point on some things, but don’t worry—I set them straight. And with Trevor… Well, have you seen the video?”
I nodded just before my hand gently slid down to her throat. I was so grateful for her. I had no idea she was behind the scenes doing all this, especially for my mother. But that bastard… A burst of anger ran through me when I saw the bruise that hadn’t quite healed yet.
“I'm going to kill him for what he did.”
Liz smirked.
“Well, I appreciate the thought, but… I just came back from the courthouse, and I have one more interesting video. Do you want to see it?”
I didn't know where this was going, but I set her down anyway and watched as she went into my room and came back out with a tablet.
She came up to me and took my hand, bringing me to the couch. When I sat down, she started playing the video on the tablet, and anger soon turned to outrageous laughter.
Because there was a girl hitting her ex in the face and then in the back… with a shovel.
Wait. I know that girl…
“I staged it,” she said in an excited whisper.
“My friend Andy came to help. With Sloan's help, we faked text messages between me and him, which led me to texting my friend saying that I felt like I was in danger and asking her to come.
Usually, this wouldn't hold up in court, but the public pressure was a lot, and we were able to settle.”
Reckless. Just like when she’d driven to that asshole's house to give him a piece of her mind. Maybe this had been brewing for a long time, and when I was gone and unable to stop her recklessness, she went ahead and did it.
But I couldn't fault her for it.
Pride grew in my chest as my eyes fell to her throat. “But you still got hurt.”
She waved me off. “I also burned down the house.”
And then it clicked. “He pleaded guilty to everything, didn't he?”
She nodded and sat up on the couch, excited to share everything.
“Of course this wouldn't hold up in court enough for a conviction, but they did get a little scared, so we used it as a bargaining chip, as well as the video the team had of his car driving away from the scene of the window breaking at the gallery. We said we would forgo the violence charges as long as he got tried for violating his restraining order and vandalism, including arson for burning down the gallery.”
I pushed our faces together, my nose brushing against hers.
“I didn't know you had it in you,” I purred. “It kind of turns me on.”
Her smile widened and she took the tablet out of my hands so she could straddle my lap.
“How about you show Mommy how much you missed her then?”