Jayce (The Chaos Chasers MC Book 2)

by C. M. Marin

  The guy is a brainless asshole if I ever saw one anyway. Delivering the letter himself was the stupidest idea he could have had. And I don’t think it’s the first time he stepped into the hospital either. The memory of seeing him near it a few months back, not long after Alex was shot, fuels the force of my kicks. And there’s no telling how many times he’s gotten close to her over the past month. But that’s a question for another time. Thankfully, it didn’t take more than a couple of minutes for Blane to find out where he must have brought her. The guy’s family doesn’t own anything around here anymore except an old house they inherited from a relative who died a year ago. And that’s where he went. He showed his face on a camera and brought my girl to the only place in the area that could easily be linked to him. Fucking stupid moron. It’s a good thing the guy won’t ever become a doctor, if you ask me.

  He isn’t even moving anymore. His muscles are now limp under my boot, and now that I think about it, he quit bracing himself for the next hit a while back. But I’m not done just yet. Though he looks dead to me, he could only be passed out. But either way, I can’t stop. I know that when the rabid animal inside of me will be tamed, I’ll have to face the reality of what happened in this dimly lit room before we got here. And right now, I can’t face it. I don’t feel strong enough to let myself find out. I’d rather stay mostly numb.

  “Jayce, snap out of it!”

  Just as Liam’s words echo behind me in a barked order that breaks through the numbness, Nate says more calmly yet as firmly near me, a hand clasped on my shoulder hard enough to get me to stop moving. “Calm down, bro.”

  My body turns to stone at the contact, ready to do some more damage, until Nate’s voice registers.

  “Snap out of it and come over here,” Liam repeats more quietly, but the obvious impatience peeking through his tone lets me know he might have tried to draw my attention more than once since I started to give the fucker lying lifelessly at my feet what he deserves.

  The largest part of my mind begs me to keep beating the shit out of this piece of scum, but I don’t resume my unrestrained kicks. I don’t turn around immediately either. I need to get back at least some of my self-control before going to Alex. My breathing is harsh and loud as my chest heaves frantically, as much because of the physical effort as because of the wrath still roaring in my veins. My hands are even shaking with it. I clench and unclench my fists a few times until the trembling subsides, and only then do I swirl around to put my eyes on what I’ve avoided since I first came in.

  A groan barely manages to find its way out of me through my gritted teeth when my gaze finds Alex. She’s curled up into Liam’s side as he holds her against him as tight as he can. I don’t have to say anything when I stomp across the small room and get to them. As if Liam knows what on my mind, he carefully separates himself from his sister, but he only lets go of her when I’m close enough to draw her to me. She nestles mechanically into me, but she stays silent. Her entire body is assaulted with quivers, and I feel sick when I take in the sight of her with Liam’s cut draped over her shoulders. Her legs are bare, and I can’t bring myself to ask if she’s completely naked underneath the cut. She was so close to that bastard when I broke into the room that I should have noticed whether or not she was still wearing something, but I didn’t. And seeing the already blueish mark on her cheekbone has my blood back to boiling so wildly that I decide not to speak.

  “He’s dead,” Nate says from the exact same spot I was standing seconds ago. Rage is floating around him as he tells me, “Take Alex to the club. We’ll handle this.”

  Alex shudders against me before she speaks, her voice quavering as much as her body does. “His father is a well-known surgeon. It’s bad.”

  “This piece of shit will never be found, sweetheart. Nothing his daddy can do about that.” Liam has joined Nate, and his eyes are dark and fierce as they burn into the bloody corpse on the floor.

  I bet he regrets that I didn’t let him have the chance to do some damage himself, but I can’t say I’m sorry. The only thing I’m sorry for is Wellington not having suffered more.

  As softly as possible, I tell Alex, “Hold on to me, baby.”

  Her arms clasp my neck, and her legs wrap tightly around my waist once I’m on my feet. She winces slightly because of my motions, and I wonder if the bruise on her face is the only one her body wears.

  “Take someone with you to drive,” Nate says before I walk out the door.

  The guys are all here, already turning everything upside down in the small house, but I don’t pay any attention to what’s going on. I just follow Brent outside after he makes a sign with his head, pointing to the front door and silently telling me he’ll drive us back to the club. Alex doesn’t take a look around the place before we leave it either. Her face is hidden in the crook of my neck, her eyes most likely closed.

  I climb in the backseat of the SUV, and even though Alex’s legs have to unwind from around my waist, her arms keep clinging to my neck as she straddles me. Brent drives away as soon as I close the door, and after inhaling a couple of quiet deep breaths, I muster all the courage I can and finally ask Alex, “What did he do?”

  Do I want to hear the answer to that? Hell, no. But I need to know so I can help her. This isn’t about me. It’s about her and about what she needs right now.

  “I shouldn’t have left the hospital,” she whispers. Tears are now flowing down her cheeks; I feel them clearly on the skin of my neck. I’m left speechless, no words coming to my mind, because that isn’t what I expected her to say, and she takes advantage of my shocked silence to keep talking, “I’m sorry. He had a letter, and I could have sworn―”

  “I know. I know, babe,” I stop her right there. She could have sworn it was my writing. “Nothing to be sorry for. But I need to know what happened. Did he touch you? Other than hitting you in the face.”

  “He hit me in the ribs and stomach when I wouldn’t let him touch me. Right before you came in,” she says softly.

  Right before we came in. If only we had arrived just one minute sooner… Fuck.

  Brent stays silent as he speeds up on the highway, but his hands are clutching the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles have turned white.

  Alex doesn’t say more. Even though I should, I don’t ask her anything else either, and the rest of the drive passes in silence. I only know that’s she’s awake because every so often her hold on me tightens as if she needs to make sure that I’m still right here. Her head rests on my shoulder, her face still buried into the hollow of my neck, and I stroke her hair, my hand only putting a stop to its gentle movements once Brent turns off the car inside the warehouse.

  Alex doesn’t loosen her hold on me while I climb out of the car and make my way upstairs, and when she tells me that she wants to take a shower, I walk directly to the bathroom. Only then do I let go of her, putting her back on her feet cautiously, as if she was on the verge of breaking. Some faint relief hits me when I slide Liam’s cut off her shoulders and see that she’s still wearing her underwear underneath. She takes them off herself quickly and throws them into the trashcan before stepping in the shower, turning it on immediately.

  “I’ll be back in a minute, okay?” I tell her over the water stream.

  As I gauge her face, she nods. She even offers me a faint smile that is most likely touching her lips just for my sake. God, I don’t want to leave her. What I want is to wait right here, my eyes on her, until she’s finished, and then I want to take her to my room and engulf her in my arms for as long as she’ll let me. But she doesn’t need an audience right now, so even if it’s a struggle, I walk out of the bathroom and sit on my bed. I’ll be right here ready to help her deal with what happened, once she’s ready, too.

  Chapter 29

  Alexia

  Through my quiet sobs and the strong stream of water tirelessly thumping on the floor, I hear the sliding door open behind me. I hear Jayce step into the shower as much as I feel his pres
ence.

  Since there’s no point in trying to hide my deplorable state, I turn around. I blink through my tears until my vision clears some, and then my eyes widen at seeing Jayce fully dressed as he approaches me. Water has already started to dampen him, but he doesn’t seem to care about drenched clothes. He engulfs me in his arms, not bothering to turn off the water, and I just lean into him, my forehead resting on his shoulder, and I savor how fully safe I feel against his solid body.

  “Did he touch you, Alex?” His mouth is very close to my ear, his voice strained, almost raucous with emotion.

  I’ve dreaded hearing those words from him again. When he asked me the same question in the car earlier, I sort of dodged it. Well, he threw me a line without knowing it by alluding to the bruise on my cheek, leaving me with the opportunity to pretend he was only talking about punches. I thought that I could keep the rest of the awful time in that repellent room buried deep in my mind, never to be unearthed again. I wanted to protect Jayce from details that can’t be changed anyway.

  “Alexia,” he pleads with me for an answer when I stay stuck inside my own head for too long. This time, I barely hear him over the gushing water, but anguish is coating his voice. “Please, talk to me.”

  Very reluctantly, and only after another long pause, I take a calming breath and speak. “He just… His hand just brushed my breasts and between my…” Another sob racks my chest, and I stop mid-sentence, already knowing I won’t finish it. I don’t want to say those words, so instead, I say, “But I can’t seem to be able to forget about it. His touch won’t go away.” Secured in his tight grip, I can feel the tension pouring from him in waves. I keep going anyway. “I knew he was about to do more than just that, and he said he would bring me to his penthouse in Dallas. He really seemed to believe that I should have been grateful for him to take me to whatever luxurious place he lives in. He just sounded so crazy, and I was so terrified.”

  It takes me a moment to understand why subtle but noticeable shivers have started to gently jolt my body, but my brain finally registers that the water gushing over my skin has become cold.

  “Let’s get you out of here,” Jayce decides softly while already turning off the shower. I know from how taut his muscles feel through his clothes that his anger is only bottled-up.

  He takes a firm hold of my hand to guide me out of the shower, not caring about his drenched jeans and shirt dripping on the floor. And, as if I couldn’t take on the simple task myself, he grabs a towel and religiously dries me off in silence.

  “Wait here a second,” he tells me, and then he walks out of the bathroom.

  I can hear him fumbling with several drawers, opening and closing them in turn, before he comes back with new clothes for the both of us.

  After putting on underwear that doesn’t feel filthy, I slip into my favorite yoga pants, that Jayce knows I’m comfortable in, a loose white top, and his club hoodie. I wait for him to get changed, too, and we leave the bathroom.

  He turns on the TV, which means he’s decided we’re going to stay here, at least for a while. I sit on the bed, but it’s like I don’t even know what to do with myself. I’m thoroughly drained. That’s all I know.

  I turn around to see Jayce dropping himself more comfortably on the bed and leaning on a pillow he propped against the headboard.

  “Come here,” he tells me, his arm stretched toward me.

  Gladly, I crawl on the bed until I can lie in his arms.

  “You want me to go get you something to eat?” he asks me.

  I shake my head as it rests in the hollow of his shoulder. I’m not the slightest bit hungry.

  After a brief moment of silence, I finally voice what’s been on my mind since I came around in that room, half naked and a prisoner. “I read the letter, and I could have sworn it was your writing, Jayce. The possibility of it being a set up didn’t even cross my mind. What was written… How anyone could have written it except you? I mean…” I trail off. “I just never thought it might not be you that wrote it. All I could think about was how badly it hurt to read it.”

  I let out a harsh breath. I’m so angry with myself. If only I hadn’t reacted the way I did…

  “Where were you planning to go when you left the hospital?” he asks me, bringing me out of my thoughts.

  “Here. Then, if you weren’t here, tracking you down by threatening the guys. After stealing Liam’s gun to shoot you in the balls once I found you.”

  The soft laugh I earn from my teasing is comforting. I know my man well enough to know that he’s still dealing with the rage I witnessed back in the place I’ve dubbed as the hell house, in my mind. To be honest, I’m still dealing with a ton of regret myself, but hearing him laugh and loosen up, even just slightly, feels nice.

  “I shouldn’t have left the hospital on my own anyway,” I sigh. “I wasn’t thinking straight. I just could have sworn it was your writing,” I repeat, actually still dumbfounded by how perfect Malcolm had managed to imitate it.

  Malcolm. Letting his face cross my mind sets off so much anger in me that even breathing is difficult.

  Jayce snorts. “If I hadn’t known I didn’t write the thing, I would have sworn it was my writing, too.”

  Lazily, I start tracing random patterns on his hard pectorals over his black shirt as I speak. “When I woke up in that room, I was so certain it was the Spiders that took me. When Malcolm opened the door, I expected to see CJ. I didn’t understand what was happening. It was just so surreal, I don’t know.”

  “I get it,” he says and places a kiss on my hair. “Even I didn’t give two thoughts about his presence here a few months back. You told me he was from around here, and that was it. And if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine,” he adds, his tone holding remorse. “The only reason you thought I’d push you away is because I’ve done it before. Otherwise you would have second-guessed that letter immediately. But I won’t leave you again, baby. I just won’t.”

  “I know that, now. It’s a bit too late, but I do trust that you won’t leave me again.”

  Quietly, he releases a breath as though he has been holding it for a very long time. “I’m so fucking happy to hear that,” he whispers. With a gentle palm, he caresses my hair as he adds, “I’m going to call Doc. He should check on you.”

  My head shakes quickly. “No, I’m fine. The bruises don’t even hurt much. I’m okay. I’ll tell you if it starts hurting, I promise.”

  He doesn’t agree with decision, but he doesn’t insist either. Instead, he hoarsely apologizes, “I’m so sorry we didn’t get there sooner.”

  “Don’t,” I say firmly. “I’m glad you came at all. I was afraid you wouldn’t figure out where I was. And I sure didn’t expect you to figure out I was gone before the end of my shift. How did you find out, by the way?”

  “Erin called Liam because she was worried about you. We were at our house when she did,” he explains, and my heart does a flip at hearing him call his place our house. “She said that you got a letter from me, and that you left. Something was obviously wrong, so we drove to the hospital straight away, but half an hour passed between her call and the moment Blane was able to hack the hospital camera. But once I caught sight of that fucker on the screen, wearing a courier uniform, things went fast. Blane found about his aunt’s passing a year ago, and about the house his father inherited but apparently decided to just let rot here,” he summarizes.

  I nod, taking everything in.

  “You’ll remind me to thank Erin. I owe her one.”

  “Same here,” he admits, letting out a heavy breath. “Same here.”

  He kisses my hair once more as I absently glance at some show playing on TV.

  “Look, babe,” he starts at some point, reluctance clear in his voice. “I need to know what he said about the club. What he knew. I know you’d rather stop thinking about it, but the guys and I will have to be prepared to deal with any possible fallouts.”

  “Well, what he knew about you, he found
out through the letters you used to send me when I left for college. He broke into my place here and the one in Dallas several times. But there was nothing about the club in them, obviously. As for what he seemed to know about the club, I’m afraid I can’t help you much. He didn’t seem to care about club business, though. The problem is, he heard everything you guys said around me, because he put some sort of bug in my bracelet. I don’t even know when,” I suddenly realize. “He didn’t say. And I have no idea what he knew or if he told anyone about anything he may have heard.”

  His eyes fall to my left wrist. “Where is it?”

  “He took it off. It must be somewhere in that house, if he didn’t lie about it.”

  “The guys have probably already found it by now. The place was small. They must have turned it upside down in no time before torching it.”

  “Did they call you? Do you think everything’s okay?”

  “Nate texted me. They’re good, and they’ll probably be back soon. Don’t worry. It’ll all be fine, Alex. Just don’t worry about any of this.”

  I nod, but only hesitantly, because how could I not be worried? And not only about Liam and the rest of the guys with him. About Jayce, too.

  He killed him. Malcolm is dead, and it’s Jayce who killed him. Yes, he did it to protect me, but that wouldn’t matter to a jury. Malcolm was the son of a famous surgeon, and a brilliant student, well on his way to following in his father’s footsteps. And Jayce is the president of a motorcycle club. Any jury member would make their mind up before the trial even started.

  Suddenly, I remember something that I’m not sure the guys figured out. Unless they found something in the hell house.

  “Did they find anything about the shootings and the SUV that ran you and Nate off the road?” I look up at him.

  “What?” he frowns.

  If they guys found something, he doesn’t know it yet.