Chapter 3
I f Jax or anyone else came to the house I didn’t see them which I was thankful for. The snowstorm let out eventually and I was able to peer down the window to see the snow covered city buzz with life. The window behind the vanity became my favorite spot to hide in. I spent my days lounging in nothing but a large t-shirt and sweatpants and scrolling endlessly on my phone on social media.
After three days of snacking on nothing but fruit I got from Louisa, I finally caved in and decided to seek out proper food. The house was quiet and dark. My stomach was screaming at me and I felt slightly dizzy climbing down the stairs, my knees shaking with each step. Why does he have three floors in this stupid house anyway ? Cursing my own stubbornness I tiptoed into the kitchen, opened the fridge and began to rummage through its contents.
I found a bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice and poured myself a glass immediately to sip on while cracking open the various containers of prepped meals. Mentally I scolded myself for not trying them out sooner since the house came with a personal chef that had prepped all these delicious looking foods. Would it be bad if I tried a little bit of everything? Is that meatloaf?
I must have been too occupied with the meals since I didn’t hear the approaching footsteps and a gun safety being clicked off. Only when the light flicked on, did I finally turn to find myself staring at the barrel of a gun.
“Put your hands up!” A man in black shouted.
On instinct I dropped the glass I was holding and grabbed a handful of knives from the block. The glass shattered at my feet just as I threw the first knife that would have landed square in his eye had he not ducked behind the counter. The gun went off with a bang making my ears ring. The bullet flew just below my ear as I flung another knife to knock the gun out of their hand. I hissed when something stung my sole just as I threw another knife in his direction.
“Stop!” He shouted from his cover as I flung another knife near his head. “Put the knives down! ”
“Put the gun down, mudak !” Holding up the knife I readied myself for a strike. Training with multiple combat knives I knew exactly where to aim and how fast. My favorite to use was a pair of karambits but the chef knife would have to do in this situation. I flipped it in my hand directing the pointy end towards the shooter. “Now, or I swear I’ll gut you like a fish.”
“I’m already bleeding you fucking bitch, put the knife down!”
“What the fuck is going on?!” My eyes flew across the kitchen to find my husband standing at the doorway with an army behind him, all holding their guns up at me. The kitchen was a mess. There were glass shards everywhere and blood splattered across the tiles, like a murder scene. He didn’t seem phased at all, but instead walked calmly towards the counter and looked down at the man and the blood covered knife discarded on the floor. “Wilson? Report.”
“She got my fucking hand, boss.” Boss? Well that explains how he got into the house but not why he attacked me. I knew I had to be wary of my husband but I wasn’t expecting everyone else to want me dead as well. “Bitch, you’re dead! You hear me? Fucking dead.”
“I’d like to see you try. Next time I’ll cut your fucking tongue and feed it to my dogs!” Not a completely empty threat since father kept a pack of Huskies at our lodge and a Toy in the city, but I wasn't going to tell him that. My heart was drumming so fast it was hard to think straight.
I watched as Jackal crouched down, took the knife and to my shock stabbed Wilson in front of everyone. Over and over the knife entered his body, spraying and spilling the coppery syrup everywhere. He wiped the knife on his shirt and then calmly stood up, snapping his fingers at the other men. His face was void of emotions as he stalked towards me, knife still in hand.
“See to his wounds. I need him at the party tomorrow.”
I kept my knife up and watched as he stepped over the glass and into my space. The blade pressed on his throat but he simply put his bloodied knife back on the block. Then he proceeded to take my throwing knife and put it next to the first one. When he didn’t make an attempt to remove my last defense, I felt slightly relieved.
“Oh and just so we are clear, Wilson, next time you or anyone else calls my wife a bitch, I’ll be the one cutting out your tongue. Understand?” Swoon.
His actions and words made me weak in the knees that had nothing to do with my hunger. Twisted as it may be, Jax looked sexy as hell covered in blood, like the death incarnate, the devil he was known as.
Gurgling sounds came from the man’s direction as he was dragged away bleeding profusely all over the polished floor. Jax’s eyes never left mine as he spoke to his men. His expression was hard to read and I wasn’t sure if he was angry or impressed .
“Is this how you and your men are going to treat me? Am I to expect a bullet to my head for leaving my room?”
“You are quite dramatic for a woman of your caliber.”
“Excuse me? Dramatic? He tried to kill me.”
“And out of the two of you, he is the one getting stitches tonight. Are you hurt?”
“Uh.. no. I’m fine.” A lie that didn’t sound believable even to myself.
He took my hand and moved the knife off his throat but didn’t make an attempt to remove it from my grasp. Certain that he could’ve easily disarmed me, that move seemed oddly soothing. Crouching down, he picked me up with one big swoop and proceeded to carry me upstairs like a sack of potatoes.
“What the hell are you doing? Let go of me.”
“Your feet are bleeding. Please don’t create more mess for Louisa to clean before the party tomorrow. She will bring my coffee cold as a protest.”
“Serves you right for treating your wife like this. Put me down.” He was surprisingly strong, carrying me up the stairs without getting winded. He didn’t seem to be affected at all when he finally placed me on top of the vanity and crouched down to rummage through the cupboards. He emerged with the medkit I had been using to bind my injuries. “I could have stabbed you.” I hissed.
“But you didn’t, which I’m thankful for. Now stay still while I look at your feet.”
“Seriously I’m fine. Ouch!” I was not fine. The adrenaline had worn off and the sting from earlier turned out to be a huge piece of glass stuck to the bottom of my foot; and it hurt like a motherfucker. I cursed in my native tongue which only made Jax’s chuckle as he tended to my feet.
His touch was yet again tender. I watched as his warm hands carefully removed all the shards, softly pressed alcohol swipes to clean the wounds and wrapped them up in bandages.
When he was done, there was a moment of silence as he stood in front of me with his hands in his pockets. I couldn’t help but admire how handsome he looked despite being covered in blood. What would I give to strip him right now? No. What am I thinking? Stop that.
“I’m sorry for Wilson. He didn’t know.” He said, his tone low. I sensed a hint of humility and regret, though his expression hadn’t changed.
“I’m sorry too, you know, for the hand.”
“Don’t be. You were just defending yourself and he was doing his job. I’d be fucking disappointed if he didn’t try and charge an intruder. I can only assume he thought you were a squatter.”
“A squatter in a penthouse?”
“It’s a nice house. People have squatted for a lot less.” A smile tugged at the corner of my lips. It was out right criminal this man was both handsome and funny at the same time.
“Thank you, by the way, for what you said. ”
“Don’t think nothing of it. Just a simple fact. You are my wife. Even if it’s just temporary.”
His words stung even though I knew them to be true. It didn’t mean anything. I didn’t mean anything to him , he just had to keep me alive till the deal was done. Then he could get rid of me. For some reason that thought bothered me more than it should have.
“Anyway, tomorrow I’m hosting a New Years eve party for all of my employees. I’m going to introduce you to them all so there is no mistake in who you are.”
“Fine.” In my current condition I wasn’t keen on parading around all evening but for the sake of keeping the peace between us I had no choice but to comply. I could keep up with the appearances for another night.
“Can you walk?”
“Yes. I’ll be fine.” Another white lie. It was becoming a habit. I was far from fine, but I had caused enough trouble as it was. And Jax had been surprisingly kind to me. I’d hate to see that change. With a mask of false smile, I hopped off the vanity, suppressing the pain on my feet. “I’ll be good as new with just a little sleep.” Unlikely.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night, Katy.”
“Night. Jax.” A flutter of hope began to build in my stomach. Maybe, just maybe Jax was different from what I was expecting. And maybe my marriage to him would be uneventful from now on. Maybe I wouldn’t hate staying here indefinitely and for once I wouldn’t have to fear the inevitable abuse of a man.