Chapter Fourteen
JAX
We took no chances with Lily once the hospital finally discharged her—we took two cars—Elliot and River followed me, with Tommy and Lily in my car.
When I pulled into the underground car park leading to our flats, she was already exhausted, to the point she’d fallen asleep on Tommy’s shoulder.
Unbuckling her seatbelt, I scoop her out of the car and into my arms as carefully as possible.
“I can walk,” she whispers.
“But you don’t have to,” I reply and let out a breath as she snuggles into my chest. The guys follow me to the lift, and we all pile in. Besides our housekeeper, no one other than us has access to the flats. With our security here locked down tight, she’ll be safe until she and Tommy need to leave.
River scans his palm over the electronic sensor, and the door slides closed.
Lily looks around the small space, her eyes heavy with fatigue.
“Where are we going?” she asks groggily.
“Up to my flat. I have a guest room, Duchess. You can stay here with me or…” I don’t finish my sentence, for all I know she might prefer to stay with anyone else but me.
She glances up at me, her arms loosely hanging around my neck.
“Hmm, I don’t mind, whichever is easiest. I don’t want to put anyone out.”
I shake my head. “Not possible.”
“Jax has the biggest flat, and his guest room has an en-suite,” River says in a playful tone, causing a blush of colour to flood Lily’s cheeks. I realise he’s trying to put her at ease.
“We’ll come with you,” Tommy offers. “Make sure you get settled.” I almost laugh at that as if they’d be anywhere Lily wasn’t.
Her lips rise slightly, her gaze moving to his. “Okay, thank you,” she whispers.
“Are you hungry?” River asks, shifting from foot to foot. It’s annoying as fuck in such an enclosed space, something that doesn’t go unnoticed by Tommy, who hates small spaces, his fist clenched tightly around the straps of Lily’s bag.
“Not at the moment,” she replies. “Maybe later.”
Thankfully, the lift stops, the doors sliding open, revealing the top floor leading to our flats.
Tommy is unsurprisingly the first one out and heads straight for my front door, his palm resting over the scanner. We all have complete access to each other’s flats, and we can lock one another out, but none of us have felt the need to—well, at least not yet.
Opening the door, he stands aside, allowing me to enter first. I carry Lily over to my corner sofa and gently lower her to the soft cushions.
“Thank you,” she says softly, her voice croaky.
“Are you thirsty?” River asks.
Lily licks her lips. “Yeah, a little.”
He turns to face me. “Jax, please tell me you have something in your fridge,” he says, walking towards my kitchen, the floor completely open.
“Tap water is fine,” Lily replies.
But I quickly wave her off. “I’ll have you know, Gladys made sure of it.”
“Amen to Gladys,” Tommy says, a soft smile curling his lips.
Lily shifts until she’s somewhat comfortable. “Who’s Gladys?” she asks, looking between us. Of course she wouldn’t know who she was, would she?
“She’s basically our fairy godmother,” River says, returning with a glass and bottle of apple and elderflower. “Your favourite,” he says.
Her eyes move to mine, a look of surprise. I raise an eyebrow. Yes, Duchess, I’ve been paying attention.
He pours her a glass and hands it to her as he sits on my small coffee table.
“Riv, get your skanky arse off my table,” I say, kicking his boot.
He scoffs, moving to his feet. “That’s not what you said yesterday,” he retorts, sitting beside Lily on the sofa, his hand moving protectively to her thigh.
Elliot laughs as I shake my head.
“What did we miss?” Tommy asks, referring to him and Lily.
“Let’s just say Jax walked in on the tail end of me and El after we’d had sex.”
Lily lets out a small gasp, her eyes widening when she registers his words.
Rubbing my jaw, my cheeks heat. “Your ego really doesn’t need stroking any more than it is already getting, Riv, but yes, you have a fine arse,” I throw back, leaving River speechless.
I can’t help but smile because, damn, if the banter isn’t bloody welcome, especially after the stress of the past few days. But the sound of Lily yawning pulls my attention back to her as she winces, and it reminds me that she still needs her rest .
“Come on, you need to take your pain relief and have a lie down.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t want them. They make me groggy, and what if Mia calls again?”
River reaches for her hand. “Then we’ll wake you. Besides, you shouldn’t wait until you’re in agony to take them. Isn’t that right, El?”
Elliot nods. “He’s right, sweetheart. And we know you didn’t take any this morning.”
What? Why am I only just hearing about this now?
Her lips part, ready to respond, but River stops her, his index finger going to her lips. “Please, Lily, it hurts us to see you suffering.”
She glances around at each of us, and I already know she’s going to concede before she nods in agreement. As she stands, I move in front of her, ready to carry her, but she holds up her hand. “Jackson, I can walk… but thank you.”
“Okay, Duchess. This way.” She goes slowly, her hand holding her ribs as River grabs her drink and falls into step beside her. Elliot reaches for her holdall, and Tommy goes ahead, opening the door to the guest room. Looks like we’re all going.
“Wow,” she whispers as she steps through the threshold. “This is lovely,” she remarks, sounding genuinely surprised. She moves to the edge of the bed and slowly lowers herself to the mattress.
“Expecting a bachelor pad, were you, sweetheart?” Elliot asks, lowering her bag onto the ottoman and unzipping the side pocket for the prescription she was given on discharge. He shakes out two of the small pills from the bottle. “Here you go,” he says, reaching for her hand and dropping them into her palm.
River hands her the glass of juice, and we all stand there watching as she swallows them, chasing them down with her drink .
“As much as I appreciate your help, I think I’m good from here. I just want to lay down for a bit.”
Her words hit home, and I realise we’re crowding her.
“Shit, sorry,” River says, crouching down to remove her pumps and then lifting her legs onto the bed as she shuffles back.
“It’s okay, just a bit overwhelming,” she admits, her eyes growing glassy.
I can imagine being surrounded by four overbearing arseholes would be.
“We’ll leave you to rest,” I say, ushering the guys outside, but leaving the door slightly ajar in case she needs something.
“Do you think she’s all right?” Elliot asks the moment we’re out of earshot, his eyes skating to the bedroom and then back to me.
“Honestly, I don’t think so.”
He glances at his watch, which reminds me he has somewhere to be.
“What time did you say you were meeting Noah to pick up the keys?”
“Forty-five minutes. So, I need to go now.”
I look towards River. “Are you going with him? I’d rather he didn’t go alone.” It’s a risk I’m not willing to take.
His eyes dart to Lily’s room and then to Tommy and me. “Yeah, but you’re both staying here, right?”
“Yes.”
I’m tempted to tack on something sarcastic, like where else we would be, but I refrain because I’d feel as conflicted as he is about leaving her right now too.