“Well, I’ll be damned.” I turned my head toward the voice. “Long time no see.” Lara pushed up off her seat and moved toward me, slapping me on the back in greeting. “We weren’t sure if you’d actually show, but here you are.”
“Here I am,” I replied, my tone clearly stating I hadn’t thought I’d be here either. “Mav here yet?”
“Sent him out for coffees and breakfast,” Jez announced, moving toward Lara and me.
My stomach rumbled. “Good call.” I glanced around the shop, my gaze halting on the back hallway. “Wanna fill me in on what’s happened while I’ve been gone?” I walked toward my station and sat in the tattooing chair.
“Nothing much,” Jez started, wheeling his stool closer to me. “The door got replaced. We tried to put everything back to where it was before.” His gaze roved around the inside of the shop. “Got some new shelves.”
“And your dad and brother emptied the apartment upstairs.” My breaths sped up. “They said you wouldn’t want to go back up there.” Lara shrugged. “How’s Elodie doing?”
“She’s…” I trailed off, not sure what to say. She was doing better than she had been, but I knew it would be a long road until she was back to her normal self. I wasn’t even sure she knew what her normal was anymore. So much had happened. She’d been fighting for so long. But now she didn’t have to, at least, not for a while anyway. “As okay as she can be.” I stood, wincing as I got closer to the hallway. “I need to contact my clients and—”
“Mav already did it for you when you messaged to say you were coming home,” Lara supplied, following me toward the back of the shop. “He’s put them all on the system starting next week.”
I didn’t answer her. I couldn’t, not while I was focusing on the back of the shop. I wasn’t sure I could spend my days with the door leading to the stairs of the apartment right there.
“We could block it off,” a new voice said from behind me. I spun around, coming face-to-face with Mav. His hands were full of four coffees and a white paper bag. “It’d only take some woodwork, then you could rent the space above and not have to see it every day.”
I didn’t take my attention off him, working his idea around in my head. He was right, we could block it off. It would still be there, but I wouldn’t have to see it. And the income from above the shop would mean I’d be able to work fewer hours, at least until Elodie was fully back on her feet.
“That’s not a bad idea,” I said, taking the coffee he held out to me. “You know anyone who could do it?”
“I could.” He shrugged and handed Lara and Jez their coffees too. “My dad is in construction. I used to work with him during the summers.” He sat on one of the rolling stools and opened up the white bag. “It’d only take me a couple of days.”
“Do it,” I told him, not taking a second to think his plan through. I needed the memories to be blocked off, not just for me, but for Elodie too. That was if she ever decided to come back here. I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t. “Take the measurements and make a list of supplies we need.”
“On it.” He shot past me into the back office, and I sat back in my seat, blowing out a breath. I’d only been here thirty minutes, and already, I was exhausted. I hadn’t thought how it would be coming back here. All I’d been thinking about was how Elodie would be without me by her side, but now my own memories of that night were taking over. The way the glass was smashed in the front door, the sounds I heard as I walked up the stairs to her apartment. They were a constant echo in my mind.
“Bring me my laptop!” I shouted to Mav, closing my eyes, and scrubbing my hand down my face. He appeared a couple of seconds later, and I opened the laptop, checking on my schedule and seeing nothing booked in until Monday. It meant I had nearly a week to get back into the swing of things until I had a proper client back in my seat.
I closed my laptop and took a swig of the now lukewarm coffee. Part of me wondered whether I should have just closed the shop altogether. If my lawyer couldn’t get the DA to bring the charges back down, I wouldn’t be a free man after April. I’d be locked inside a cell for god knows how long. And Elodie wouldn’t have me by her side. She’d be alone again. Fuck. I couldn’t let that happen. I needed to find a way to figure all of this out.
I pushed to the edge of my seat, about to see if Mav had finished measuring up, but the door to the shop swung open, and a panicked Aleste darted inside. “You’re here,” she breathed out. Her head turned left and right as she looked around the shop. “Where is she?” Her voice was panicked, and it had me rushing out of my chair. “Where is she, Asher?”
“Oh shit.” Lara cleared her throat. “I forgot to tell you about Aleste.”
“Tell me what?” I asked, not taking my attention off Aleste. Her face was pale and panicked. She had her dance clothes on as if she’d rushed out of the middle of a lesson.
“She’s been looking for Elo—”
“Where is she, Asher?” Aleste stepped forward, her eyes wide. “I heard what happened and—” She made a choked sound. “Is she okay? I tried calling, but there was no answer.”
“She’s okay.” I took another few steps toward her. “She’s at my place with my mom.” I swallowed, trying not to let the emotions take over. Being back here was harder than I’d thought it would be, and although my skin was crawling and my heart was telling me to bail, my brain refused to give in. If Elodie was seeing through coming home, then I could spend the day here and put plans in motion.
Aleste blew out a breath and swiped at her face. “Has she been dancing?” I shook my head. Elodie hadn’t mentioned it once. “Tell her…” She placed her hands over her chest and sighed. “Tell her the studio is here for her when she’s ready.”
“I’ll tell her,” I whispered, but I knew Elodie wouldn’t come back here. Not yet, anyway. She had more healing to do, more steps to take, and being opposite the shop wasn’t one of them. “I’ll get her to call you.”
“Thank you,” Aleste sighed out. “Thank you.” She took another breath, waited a second, then twirled around and left the same way she’d entered. I watched as she crossed the street, took one last look at the front of my shop, then headed back inside her studio.
“She’s been leaving notes under the door nearly every day,” Lara said from behind me. “Think she was close to calling the cops if you weren’t back by next week.”
“That’s good,” I commented, blinking several times to get out of my own head.
“Good?” Jez laughed. “How’s that good?”
I turned, facing the entire shop and the three people who worked here. “Because it means there’s someone else who cares about her.” I left that hanging in the air, not willing to say more than that. “Come on, Mav. Let’s head to the hardware store. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can relax in my own fuckin’ shop again.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
ELODIE
Leo: Can’t wait for you to be back at school. It’s so boring with no one to talk to.
My stomach bottomed out at Leo’s text. I’d told him a few days ago that I’d be back at school after Christmas, but I wasn’t sure I’d be ready. Time felt like it was whizzing by at a pace I couldn’t keep up with. We’d been back from the lake house for over a week, which meant it was only a couple of weeks until Christmas. Each day that passed was a day closer to me having to go back to that school.
Elodie: Same.
It was a lie. A lie I knew he’d be able to see through, but I wasn’t willing to tell him I was nervous about going back. Lola had been in to speak to the principal, and they’d told her Knox wasn’t allowed back at the school due to his bail conditions, but that didn’t mean he still didn’t have friends there. I had no doubt they’d make it known how they felt.
It didn’t matter though, because both Knox and I knew the truth, no matter what lies he’d spun to his friends. All I needed to do was attend my classes and let each day pass by uneventful. It was a temporary situation, one t
hat would be over before I knew it. I hoped.
Leo: You’re a liar lol.
Leo: Want me to come over after school, and we can study?
I glanced at the time at the top of my cell screen, seeing it was already one in the afternoon. School would be out in a couple of hours, and Asher had his first proper day back tattooing with clients today, so he wouldn’t be home until around six.
Elodie: Yeah. Bring snacks.
Leo: Always.
I grinned and switched to a game on my cell. I’d completed all my work for today, and I’d get a head start on tomorrow’s when Leo came over, so I deserved a break for a little while. I settled back on the sofa, determined to get to the next level, and just as I managed it, several knocks on the door rang out.
My heart jumped into my throat, my hands started to shake uncontrollably, and my fear kicked in full force. Lola wasn’t coming over today, Asher was at work, and Leo was at school, so there shouldn’t have been anyone else knocking at the door.
Several knocks rang out again, this time louder than the first few. I stood, backing into the kitchen to get a weapon. I’d let myself get comfortable—allowed myself to think it was over—but it wasn’t. It’d never be over, not inside my head.
“Elodie?” a gruff voice shouted. “I know you’re in there!”
My heart hammered in my chest but for a different reason this time. I didn’t want to walk to the door and open it. I didn’t want to face what was on the other side. It wasn’t just Jax I was ignoring, I hadn’t seen Aleste either. Asher had told me she’d come over to the shop to see him, but every time I stared at her name in my cell, I couldn’t bring myself to click “call” or “send message.” I didn’t know what I was supposed to say—didn’t know what I could say.
“Open up, Elodie.” He knocked again, this time softer. “Lemme in, it’s freezing out here.”
I inhaled a breath, feeling the burn at the back of my throat. It was Jax. The same Jax who had looked out for me when he’d lived in the trailer park. The same Jax who had given me a job when no one else would. The same Jax who had been blowing my phone up constantly.
“If you don’t open up, I’ll go get the keys off Asher,” he warned, and I knew from his tone he was serious.
“I…I’m coming,” I croaked out, loud enough for him to hear, but I still couldn’t get my feet to work. My legs felt like Jell-O, and I was afraid one step would have me collapsing to the floor.
I didn’t know why I was so afraid to see Jax’s face. Maybe it was because he was the closest thing to my family? Or maybe it was because I was scared he’d see the change in my eyes. I wasn’t the same Elodie I’d been before. I wasn’t the Elodie who could flip a switch and become Lotus in the club. I was a new kind of Elodie, one whose moods went up and down like a yoyo.
“I’ll wait all day if I have to,” he said, his voice lower so only I could hear him.
I gripped on to the counter and used it to help me to the edge of the kitchen, and then I was alone, only my own two feet to stand on. The first few steps were wobbly, but the closer to the door I got, the more strength flowed through me. This would be the first time I saw Jax since that night, and as I unlocked the door and opened it for him, I knew I shouldn’t have been scared.
Relief flowed through me at the sight of his face, and no sooner was the door fully open did he have his arms wrapped around me, keeping me standing.
“Fuck, El.” He squeezed tighter, causing my ribs to ache a little, but I didn’t care. He lifted me off the floor, my feet dangling in the air. “I knew I should’ve come down to the fuckin’ lake house to see you.” His voice was gruff, but there was a softness to it that I only heard when he spoke to certain people. He pulled back a little, my feet hitting the floor, and his hands moved to either side of my face. “How are you?”
“Good,” I whispered. It wasn’t a total lie, not like it had been when I said it a few weeks ago. “I’m doing okay now.”
“Are you really? Or am I talking to the Elodie who protects herself from everything around her?”
I smiled so wide my cheeks hurt. “Really. I am.” I blew out a breath. “You just freaked me out a little.” I slapped his chest, laughing. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to try and break a door down when you knock?”
He chuckled, a sound I hadn’t heard in what felt like forever. “I blame my big hands.” He winked, held them up in the air like he was showing me the evidence, and wiggled his brows up and down.
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.” I pulled back and pointed at the still open front door. “Lock that behind you.” I took a few steps back, not looking away as he closed and locked it. I had to make sure no one could get in, even though he was here with me. “You want something to drink?”
“I’ll take a beer,” he said, following me into the living room and then the kitchen.
“Of course you will.” I opened the refrigerator and pulled out one of Asher’s bottles of beers, then handed it to him. “I didn’t hear your bike pull up.” I frowned as the words left my mouth because I really hadn’t heard it. You always heard him or a member of his club before you actually saw them.
“I’m in the cage.”
“You mean car.” I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms over my chest. Jax had only been here a few minutes, and already, I felt more and more like myself. My old self.
“Car. Cage.” He shrugged and leaned against the counter opposite me. “Same difference.” I didn’t reply because I knew I’d never win. He had a special name for everything, like the leather vest he and the rest of the motorcycle club wore. “So…” Jax’s gaze slid from mine, and he glanced around the room. “You moved in with Asher, huh?”
“Yep.”
He nodded, took a pull of his beer, then placed it next to him. “He looking after you?”
“He is.”
“Good.”
The silence stretched between us, and I knew there was something else he wanted to say, but I wasn’t willing to pull it out of him. He’d come to me, not the other way around. “Asher won’t be home for a few hours,” I told him, not sure what else to say.
“I know. He told me you were here alone.” His gaze met mine again, and I could see the concern in his eyes. Asher hadn’t wanted me to be home alone for the whole day, and each day there seemed to be another person who turned up an hour later than the day before.
“Figured as much.” I waited again, but when he didn’t say anything else, I conceded. “Say it.”
I watched the emotions on his face go from sadness to concern and then finally anger. “You want me to kill him?”
I spluttered, not expecting that to come out of his mouth. “Wh-what?”
“Say the word, and he’s dead.”
“Who? Asher?”
“No.” He chuckled and picked his beer back up as if he was having a run-of-the-mill conversation. “Knox.”
Just hearing his name had goose bumps spreading over my skin, and not the good kind. I’d only said his name in my head. I hadn’t heard it out loud, not since I’d given my statement to the police.
“I mean it, El.” Jax stood to his full height, the same height as Asher. He was a foreboding kind of man, one that told you with a single look not to fuck with him. But I’d never seen Jax like that. “Nothing will come back on you or me. I’ll make sure it’s done properly. You’ll never have to worry about him again.”
I stared at him, wondering whether to take him up on his offer. With Knox no longer in this world, I’d be able to start over. I could put it all behind me and not have to live in fear that he could be just around the corner, waiting for me. But…I couldn’t. I wasn’t that person. I’d never be that person.
“No.” My voice was shaky, my words unsure. “That’s the easy way out.” I clutched the bottom of my neck, trying to center myself. “If he dies, he doesn’t have to serve out his punishment.” I inhaled a breath. “And he should be punished for what he did. He should have to spend h
is days locked up in a cell with nothing to do but think about why he’s there.”
Jax stayed silent for several minutes, his attention not moving off of me. “I get it.” He drank the last of his beer and placed the bottle in the sink. “But just know, if you change your mind, all it takes is one call.” He stepped toward me. “And it’ll be taken care of.”
I didn’t second-guess what he was saying. The seriousness of his tone told me he’d be true to his word, and the stories Asher had told me from when they were on tour reiterated what he was saying.
“The courts will take care of it,” I told him, trying to keep my faith, but I knew rape cases weren’t convicted as often as other crimes. But I had to keep my hope up because, without it, I had nothing to rely on.
“But if they don’t…” He raised a brow, waiting, and with a clip of my head, he grinned. “Good. Now that that’s over.” His chest moved as he took a breath. “I need to tell you something.” My eyes widened. I wasn’t sure I could take any more of this conversation, not with what he was talking about. “I have a girlfriend.”
I blinked, sure I’d heard him wrong, but nope. He’d said what I thought he said. I couldn’t stop the laughter escaping me, so intense and loud my stomach hurt. Jax always knew how to break the ice and get rid of a serious atmosphere. “You’re funny.” I pointed at him, holding my stomach to stop the stitch.
“I’m serious,” he deadpanned.
My laughter turned to chuckles and slowly to nothing. His expression was the most serious I’d ever seen it. “You’re…serious?”
“Yep.” He frowned and backed away a step. “Why did you laugh?”
“I…I thought you were joking.” I cleared my throat and tried to ignore the burn of a blush on my cheeks. “Sorry. I just…didn’t expect it.”
Burned Duet: Asher & Elodie: Fast Burn & Deep Burn (Easton Family Duet Boxsets Book 4) Page 35
