18. Jax
18
JAX
S he saved me.
Not only that, but she also tended to me so diligently…
Jax couldn’t help but wonder how differently his life would have turned out if he’d met Emma much sooner in his life.
Jax was so lost in thought that he didn't realize Emma had entered the room until she was standing right before him with her head tilted at him as if questioning his sanity.
He shot up out of his chair the moment he noticed. “Good morning, Emma! I have an errand to run today, and wondered if you would accompany me.”
Emma looked around confused. “Of course, whatever you need, but don't you think you should be taking one of your assistants with you? I'm not sure what kind of help I’ll be to you.”
“You'll be plenty help, don't worry,” Jax reassured her.
The truth was, he didn't really need any assistance, but he wanted some time alone with her. He wanted to talk about the other night when he’d showed up on her doorstep on the precipice of death.
It had been days since that happened, and he still hadn't found an opportune time to bring it up.
Jax and Emma left the office together, but they didn’t say a word to one another until they were outside the city.
“The task you needed me for was all the way out here?” Emma asked, understandably apprehensive.
“If I'm being honest, it was just an excuse to talk to you.” Jax turned to Emma, catching her gaze and stopping her in her tracks. “I wanted to thank you properly for saving my life the other night. You really didn't have to, and you could have turned me away, but you didn't.”
“I would have done it for anyone. Helping others is part of why I became a Potionist in the first place.”
Jax could tell Emma was speaking straight from her heart. It only made him fall more deeply for her. “You are the most singular woman I've ever met.”
Emma tucked her head down nervously, unsure of what to say.
“You don't have to respond. Just know that I'm here for you, whatever you need.” Jax reached out and clutched Emma's hand in his.
She remained completely still, as if she didn’t welcome his touch.
He realized this and released her. “Let's continue then—we're almost there.”
Jax would be lying if he’d said her reaction wasn't disheartening. He’d never had to do anything to get women to fall for him. It had always been a given… But Emma was different.
He didn’t know how or when it’d happened exactly, but slowly, she’d been consuming him.
And the worst part was, she didn't even know it.
It wasn't too long before they arrived at the police station.
“What are we doing here?” Emma asked, but seemed to be a lot more relaxed now that we were around other people.
“We're picking up one of my uncle's stupid shifters. He managed to get himself arrested, and I’ve been given the honor of bailing him out.” Jax rolled his eyes.
Jax approached the counter and talked to the receptionist while Emma looked around, seeming somewhat unsettled again.
I wish I could get her to open up to me more. I've known her for months now, but she's still such a mystery.
“Yes, I have him right here,” the receptionist confirmed, opening the shifter’s file. “It looks like his charges are grand larceny, as well as distributing illegal contraband across city lines.” He studied Jax over the rim of his spectacles, and scoffed, “I don't see this man getting out any time in this century. Sorry.”
“You must be new here, so let me explain. This man is under the employment of Diesel Ransom. Diesel Ransom’s men don't get arrested.” Jax tried to speak quietly so Emma wouldn't overhear. The last thing he wanted was to have her know that he was shaking down the legal system in order to bend the rules for his uncle.
The receptionist looked at Jax, unmoved by anything he’d just said.
“How about you go get your supervisor for me? I'd also like to speak to the arresting officer.” Jax narrowed his eyes at the receptionist, willing him to comply.
Who knows what Diesel will do to me this time if I fail to get his man out? Not that punching a hole in someone’s chest wasn’t one of the worst things one could do to a person.
“I’ll go get them for you.” The receptionist had a twinkle of annoyance in his eyes as he turned to leave.
Officer of the law or not, this guy clearly doesn’t understand the terror that will rain down on his head if he defies Diesel.
Other people were like puppets in his quest for domination… Jax’s mother, and even Kiyan, weren’t absolved of that.
Jax glanced over his shoulder to see that Emma was rubbing her arm nervously.
Maybe it was a bad idea to bring her. I need to wrap this up so I can get her out of here.
A commotion on the other side of the room distracted both Emma and Jax. “Cry all you want, but I’m going to make you obey!”
The commotion involved one of the guards. He had a young woman chained as if she was on a leash.
That alone was enough to tell Jax the young woman was a shifter. Unfortunately, that was how most guards treated shifters after being captured.
The guard balled up his fist and was about to hit the young woman, but before he was able to, she was a wolf already. She’d shifted even faster than Jax could. She caught hold of the guard's fist and bit down, causing him to scream in agony. She then released his hand, and backed away fearfully.
“That’s it! It’s time to put the pup down!” The attacking guard reached for his weapon as the other guards surrounded the young wolf, blocking off any escape.
Jax’s chest tightened.
He couldn't believe he was witnessing the kind of abuse he’d only ever heard was going on in these types of establishments.
Adrenaline rushed through his veins.
There was something in him that felt compelled to do something, but as much as he wanted to, his feet wouldn't move.
It will only complicate my life further if I intervene.
Jax was fully prepared to do what he’d always done; turn a blind eye. But then he noticed Emma. Her demeanor had changed entirely.
Her fists were balled up so tightly that blood dripped from her knuckles.
Jax could even hear the low growl rumbling from her chest.
She took one step toward the guards, and Jax knew he had to do something. Fast.
If she tried to stop them, she would surely end up in prison.
I can't let that happen… Not again!
Jax sprang into action, charging toward the group of guards and the young woman. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Mr. Ransom! We had no idea you were here. I'm sorry you had to witness such insolence.” One of the higher-level guards who had been here for a long time recognized Jax immediately. The man then made his way over in a groveling manner. “We will get rid of this nuisance right away.”
He began reaching for the young woman, preparing to drag her back to the cells.
Jax looked down at her and their eyes met. He saw a mixture of sadness and unending fire in her eyes. It reminded him so much of her .
“You will do no such thing. This girl works for me as well. How could you buffoons have missed that?”
The guards all stopped and looked around at each other in shock.
“We had no idea, sir,” one of them mumbled pathetically, looking at a loss of what to do.
“Well, now you do, so release her.” Jax crossed his arms as he stared them down, the very image of power and confidence, his eyes flashing dangerously.
Silence swept over the room.
The guards didn't move a muscle.
“ Now ,” Jax reiterated, and the guards scrambled into action at the same time. “And while you're at it, I need Markus released from the holding cell as well. One of your arresting officers needs to be dealt with.”
“Yes, of course, Mr. Ransom. Right away.” A handful of the guards left the group and ran to release Diesel’s lackey.
Jax turned to look at Emma, who appeared too shocked to move.
Her lips were slightly parted as she drew in an uneven breath.
Her claws retracted back into her nail beds, and her shoulders dropped.
She feels so deeply for people… Especially for those locked up and mistreated it seems.
He remembered how she’d reacted meeting the warden of Ryklira, General Achlys. She’d looked disturbed and frozen, with an undertone of anger, just like she had a moment ago. Jax had found it suspicious at the time, but now he’d gotten to know her better.
Jax walked up to Emma and leaned over to whisper in her ear. “I freed her, but you will have to take her under your care, and make sure she doesn't get into trouble again. My wife will skin me alive if I brought home a stray.”
Emma twisted her face in disgust at the sentiment that this young girl was a stray animal and not a person, but she quickly hid it with a smile.
Jax realized much too late that the rhetoric he’d gotten used to using against the poverty-stricken wouldn’t work with Emma. She genuinely cared about them, even though she was of a much higher class.
Before he was able to retract what he’d said, she responded, “Thank you for sticking your neck out for her like that. I will make sure she's taken care of.”
She gave him an affirming nod, and for the first time in a very long time, Jax felt good.
It wasn’t a feeling derived from fame or fortune. It wasn’t due to his accomplishments which were widely accepted by the affluent around him.
No, this was a more subtle sense of fulfillment.
Even if no one else would ever know the good he’d just done, he didn’t care.
Or perhaps it was because of the new way Emma was looking at him now…