No Where to Run

by Raven K. Asher

  Hunter drops his hands, and I turn to look at his shocked face.

  “What happened to you? Where the hell did you run off to, and who the hell are these guys?” He points behind me as he fires off questions.

  Jax walks up behind me, gun still aimed at Hunter.

  I needed to diffuse this situation, and quick.

  “Jax put the gun down. He won’t hurt me. This would be one of the guys I told you about.” Jax laughs while lower his gun.

  “My guess is you’re the one who didn’t get punched.” I laugh and Hunter growls.

  “Where have you been, Lexi?” Hunter asks again.

  “I ran away, Hunter. I don’t want to be around this place anymore, and I’m leaving as soon as I can get these guys and myself some supplies and guns. You can have the rest, for all I care. I’m done with you and this shit.”I answer harshly.

  Hunter bows his head and just walks away past us and out the door.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Striker?” I hear Hunter yell a moment later.

  Jax gives me a confused look and we all make our way to where Hunter and Striker are standing face to face.

  “Now, that’s not the way you greet your long lost brother. How have you been, Hunter?”

  “Go to hell, Striker.” Hunter yells and punches Striker, knocking him unconscious.

  “What the hell, Hunter? Was he really your brother?” I ask in shock.

  I knew they looked too much alike.

  “Yeah, unfortunately he is my asshole brother.” Hunter nods.

  “I don’t know you at all, do I?” I ask quietly before turning back into the barn.

  I open up the hidden door in the game room and show Ax and Ryder where to carry Striker. “We can all stay down here for the night.” I walk back into the barn and lean up against the door as I watch the house.

  Jax comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, I lean back into him. “So, this is where Blondie grew up, huh?” I laugh and nod.

  “Yes.” I pull away from him, turn and kiss him before walking to where my family is buried. He follows along silently.

  I kneel at my brother’s grave, barely glancing at the two fresh graves next to his.

  “This is where we buried my brother, Duncan.” I pat the rocks as Jax kneels beside me.

  “Are you sure you want to leave all of this behind, Lex?”

  “Yes, I can’t be here anymore.” I whisper sadly. “Too many bad memories are here.”

  Jax nods. “You know that guy, Hunter. I can see he still loves you. You should give your people here a chance, before running off again.” I stand, and he quickly stands with me.

  “I can’t watch the people I love and care about die anymore. I just can’t, I need to be as far away as I can be.” Jax nods and takes my hand.

  As we walk back to the barn I look back to the house and spot two dark shadows on the back steps. “Were they standing there the whole time?” I whisper to Jax.

  He looks back and sighs. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure they heard everything.” We make our way down into the hideaway and shut ourselves in.

  I pull Jax to a back room.

  “Please, make me forget again.” I beg him.

  He nods and pulls me in for a hard kiss.

  I moan tearing at his clothes, as he tears at mine, and soon we make our way to the bed.

  ****

  Still laying on top of me Jax pulls his face away from mine. “You’re never going to love me, are you?” He asks sadly.

  “If I do, I’ll run away.” I sigh sadly.

  “I’m not saying I won’t fall in love with you, because more than likely I will, but I won’t stay around if I do.” He nods sadly and kisses me one last time before lying on his back.

  I snuggle into his side and we both fall fast asleep.

  Chapter 16

  Day 35

  “Rebel, wake up babe.” I open my eyes to Jax shaking me. He grins down at me. “Someone’s knocking on the door. Should I let them in?” I look to the door then down at myself, I’m still naked under the blankets.

  “I’m still naked, Jax. I need to get dressed first.” He nods and gets out of the bed with only a pair of dark jeans hanging low on his hips.

  I groan and fall back on the bed, covering my face with the blankets.

  I hear the door open and freeze.

  “Dude what the hell, can’t you wait for a few minutes?” Jax growls out.

  “I need to talk to her now. I’m not going to sit outside the door all day waiting like some damn puppy dog. For fucks sake, she’s my damn friend.” I peek out from the covers.

  Hunter looks pissed.

  “From where I stand it sure doesn’t look like she’s your friend anymore.”Jax laughs.

  “Jax stop. Let him talk.” Jax turns to me then nods and comes over to sit on the edge of the bed. I pull the blankets up around myself. “What do you want, Hunter?”

  He points to Jax. “Does he have to be here?”

  I nod. “I have nothing to hide from him, and I’d rather him be here, so say whatever you’re going to say.”

  “Fine, have it your way.” He rubs the back of his neck and looks at me sadly.

  “Sweetheart, please come back to me and Lucca. We both miss you. I don’t know why you ran away, but please come back, we can fix whatever’s wrong.” He pleads with his eyes.

  “Hunter, there is nothing to fix, I don’t want this anymore, and if you both really wanted me back, then why isn’t Lucca here with you?”

  “Shit Lex, he’s all torn up about you leaving. He thinks it’s his entire fault, and that you hate him. He’s too scared to confront you.”

  I bow my head. “I’m sorry Hunter, but I’m not staying here.” Tears fill my eyes.

  “She doesn’t want to lose anyone else she loves. That’s why she’s with me. She knows she’ll never love me, so it won’t matter to her as much when I die.” Jax grunts.

  He stands and walks over to Hunter. He lays his hand on his shoulder. “It’s best if you don’t push her. She will come back to you guys, in time. I’ll keep her safe until then. I can promise you that.” I sob silently as Jax speaks.

  Hunter looks to me with tears in his own eyes. “Please Lex I love you, don’t make me walk away.” He begs, letting his tears fall.

  It breaks my heart so I hide my face. “Damn it Alexis, look me in the eyes and tell me to walk away.” He demands.

  “Hunter, dude, you’re doing more damage than good. Go, now. Let me talk to her for a bit. Then I’ll come up and talk to you in a few. Ok?”

  I feel Hunters gaze on me for a few moments before the door slams shut.

  Jax sighs. “Shit.” He walks back to the bed and lays back.

  I look down to him. “Babe, you’re going to have to talk to him about this. I know it’s hard, but at least say goodbye to them, just in case you don’t come back or god forbid something happens to them. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

  “Your right, I do need to say goodbye. I just hate how much my heart is breaking. Maybe I should stay.” I sigh. “I don’t know what to do.” I wipe away my tears.

  “No matter what you do it’s not going to be easy, just do what your gut tells you.” He brushes my hair behind my ear and I lean into his hand.

  “What would you do if I did stay here? Would you still leave?”

  “I don’t know, this is a pretty cool place but I do like the road, the freedom it brings. I don’t know what I would do honestly.”

  I nod. “I should get dressed.” I don’t move. He looks at me and laughs.

  “You could just stay in bed with me all day.” He leans up on his elbow and looks down at me biting his tongue ring between his lips. “I bet I could take away all your pain for the day.” I smile at him.

  I would love to spend the day with him in bed.

  “I can’t Jax you know I’ve got to go talk to them.” I lean up and give him a quick kiss.

  “Will you come with me to ta
lk to them? I don’t want to be alone with them.” He nods and lays back.

  “Yeah, I’ll come with you, but I won’t talk for you, you have to do that on your own. Do we have a deal?”

  “Yes, we have a deal.” I get up and let the blanket slip off my body.

  I let out a squeal when he pinches my butt and quickly get dressed.

  Just as I am sliding my boots on, Ryder storms through the door. “We have got a big problem, Jax. Striker and Ax are out of control. They want to kill everyone here and take over this place. I don’t know how we are going to stop them. I can’t keep this shit up. They kill everyone we come across.”

  “I know, Ryder. I’ll come up with some idea. Go keep an eye on them. Rebel and I will come up with a plan.”

  Ryder looks to me and I nod. “I’ve got an idea. I just need to talk to Lucca and Hunter.” Jax nods and Ryder leaves.

  I look to Jax. “Let’s go. I don’t want to leave this problem alone too long.”

  “We are going to have to kill them, you know that, right?” Jax looks at me with a frown.

  “Yes, I know that, I’ll do anything to protect those I care about.” Jax nods.

  We both head up the ladder and out the barn to the house.

  “Do you have any idea where they are?” Jax asks as we walk through the kitchen.

  “Yeah, I know exactly where they will be.” I jog up the steps and Jax follows.

  I stop at the door to the master bedroom when I hear voices coming from the other side.

  “Damn it Hunter, I can’t lose her.”

  “I know Lucca, but there isn’t much I can do. She has her mind set and you know better than anyone how stubborn she is.”

  “Is she really sleeping with him?”

  “Yeah, I’m afraid so, but he doesn’t seem like that bad of a guy. The little I did talk to him he seemed concerned about her.”

  “Damn it, I don’t know what to do. I love her so damn much. I swear I’ll lose it if she leaves us.”

  “Go in already. I don’t think you should eavesdrop on them anymore, babe.” I jump as Jax places his hand on my shoulder.

  He knocks on the door and we hear heavy footsteps before it opens.

  Lucca’s face appears in front of me, and he’s got one hell of a black eye.

  I freeze up, Jax gives me a nudge and I stumble forward.

  “I need to talk to you and Hunter, Lucca.” He looks to Jax and nods holding the door open for us to enter.

  Hunter stands and studies my face.

  “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” He whispers to me. Lucca stands beside him.

  “Well, first off we have a problem we need your help with.” I glance to Jax and he mouths for me to go on. I sigh and continue. “It’s your brother, Hunter. He wants to kill everyone here and take over the farm. We can’t let him do that.” He nods.

  “I had a feeling he would become a problem. Don’t worry about him I’ll take care of it, sweetheart.”

  “Hunter, we should work together on this.” I state sternly. Again he shakes his head.

  “No, I said I will take care of it, and I will.” He states with anger.

  “Fine, I just hope you know what you’re doing.” I back up to leave but Jax’s arm wraps around my waist, to stop me before I can get too far.

  Damn it I just wanted to get away.

  “Anything else, Lexi, I don’t have all day to waste?” Hunter spats out.

  “Well, I was going to say that I was sorry for running away from you, but it seems that you don’t want to talk to me, so I’ll be on my way.” I turn to leave, but Jax blocks the door again.

  “Damn it Jax, just let me out. They don’t give a shit if I leave or not.”

  “Turn around Lex, then tell me they don’t care.” He points behind me.

  I’m afraid to look, but I do anyway.

  Both Hunter and Lucca look completely heartbroken.

  “I’m sorry sweetheart, I don’t want you to leave, and I never did. I promised you that I’d never leave your side, it’s killing me that you’re running away from us.” Hunter moves towards me slowly. “Please, let’s just talk this all through, at least help us understand why you feel you need to leave.”

  “Please pumpkin’, just talk to us. I know it’s been hard losing everyone we’ve lost recently, but you’re not the only one going through this. Kale isn’t doing so well either. He needs you.” I had completely forgotten about him.

  Poor Kale I could only imagine the hell he was going through, and I just left him all alone.

  I turn to Jax. “If we take care of the problem with Striker do you think we could stay a few more days?”

  “Yeah, we can stay for a bit if you want to, babe, I don’t think Ryder would care.” I turn back to Hunter and Lucca and I can see the relief in their eyes that I might stay a little while longer.

  “Hunter, I don’t want you to take on your brother alone.”

  “I’ll help him, babe, I know Striker and he won’t be easy to take down.” Jax comes to stand beside me.

  Suddenly the door slams open and Striker and Ax walk in with guns drawn at us.

  Each of us lets out a string of curses.

  “So, your planning on getting rid of me huh, little girlie?”

  “Well, I was planning on it, but I guess you busted me.” I turn to face him and I mentally rack my brain trying to come up with a quick idea of how to get rid of him, without getting myself or anyone else shot.

  Striker turns his anger to Jax. “You got a piece of ass, and now you’re going to turn on me too, such a fucking waste. I should have killed you and your brother when I first found you two. I knew you’d turn on me, I just never thought you’d turn on me for a girlie like her.” He spits on the floor and aims his gun at Jax.

  Lucca and Hunter step up next to me. Ax laughs out. “Damn girl, you sure do have a way with men. You must have one fine ass to have these three fighting for you. I guess I’ll find out after we kill them first.”

  I glare at Striker and Ax.

  I want them both gone for good.

  I feel Lucca slip a hunting knife into the back of my jeans.

  And, now I have a plan.

  “Who says you have to wait to find out. I don’t really care about these fools. So, how about you and me go to the next room while Striker takes care of them for us?” I walk up to Ax and grind myself against him provocatively.

  Barely hold back the vomit coming up my throat, I smile seductively at him.

  He looks to Striker.

  “Can I, boss?” He begs.

  “Fine, whatever Ax, just make it quick then you can help me with these idiots.” Ax grabs my arm and I glance back to the three men.

  Jax steps forward, but Striker aims his gun to his head. “I’ll kill you right now if you make one more move, Jax.”

  I walk out the door and into the next room with Ax.

  He quickly starts to unbuckle his pants and as he turns his back to me I grab out the knife.

  I walk towards him and when he sets down his gun on the bed, and when he turns back to me I plunge it into his heart.

  He gasps and looks to me with shock.

  “I didn’t think you had it in you to kill, girl.” He falls to his knees and I twist the knife to the side. He gasps again.

  I pull the knife out and he falls to the floor dead.

  I stare down at the bloody knife in my hand.

  I couldn’t believe that I had just killed him, but it felt good. I smile to myself. A few moments go by before I hear Striker pound his fist on the wall from the other side.

  “Damn it Ax, you better hurry your ass up.” He yells.

  I grin and whisper. “You’re next, asshole.” I wipe the blood off the knife on my jeans and walk quietly out of the room.

  Taking a deep breath I storm through the door.

  Hunter, Lucca and Jax are all on their knees with their hands above their heads.

  I rush up behind Striker and bring up the knife.


  He turns to me suddenly and I plunge the knife into his chest.

  I twist it to the side and he curses.

  A gunshot rings out as I pull out my knife and watch as he falls dead to the floor.

  Pain washes through my body and I drop the knife and fall to my knees clutching my stomach.

  I look down to the blood coating my hands.

  He shot me.

  I look up as Jax scrambles over to me.

  His mouth is moving, but I can’t hear anything he’s saying. I look over to Lucca and Hunter, and their faces are filled with horror.

  Jax wraps his hands around mine and pushes on my stomach, causing me to cry out from the pain.

  “Damn it baby, don’t you dare die on me.” I hear Jax whisper in my ear.

  “I won’t leave you, Jax.” I whisper back and he smiles down at me sadly.

  I close my eyes for a few moments and swallow back my tears. I open my eyes and see tears silently streaming down his face.

  I cup my bloody hand to his cheek and smile.

  “It doesn’t hurt so much anymore, Jax. I’ll be ok.” A sob escapes him.

  Then everything goes black, I feel as if I’m falling, but I never hit bottom, then suddenly I don’t feel anything anymore.

  ****

  “Is she going to make it, Ruby?” I hear voices, but they seem like they are coming from a far distance.

  I try to speak but nothing comes out.

  My entire body feels numb.

  “I did the best I can. It’s all up to her now.” The voice pauses. “You boys may want to prepare for the worst, if she doesn’t wake up soon. She’s going to need more help than what I can give her.”

  “Thanks, Ruby.” The other voice says quietly.

  The voices fade and I feel myself falling again.

  Chapter 17

  Day 49

  “Damn it, we have to do something it’s been two weeks, and she hasn’t gotten any better.”

  “You both are acting as if she’s already dead.” I hear the voices yelling nearby, but I still can’t respond in any way.