Relentless (Relentless #1) (10 page)

I almost passed out when we filmed the scene for the death of Jaxon’s character. The fake blood and scene of the accident freaked me out. Jax couldn’t say or do anything to make me feel better. His character had to die, and no amount of begging would change the script.

Everything felt like an out of body experience that entire day. The mangled truck and blood looked so real I could easily imagine him being in a fatal car accident. The image of firemen dragging his lifeless body from the vehicle wouldn’t leave my head. Watching as his limp body hung over the steering wheel was what finally pushed me over the edge. Another sob overtook me and a scream ripped from my throat; from that point I wasn’t acting.

It was terrifying to believe that I could lose Jaxon forever, just like Harper had lost the love of her life.

Thank goodness Alexis was visiting the set, otherwise they would have sedated me. After they called the scene I couldn’t stop crying and shaking. My panic attack scared everyone, myself included. They all looked worried about me, but I couldn’t say anything to reassure them I was okay because I wasn’t.

It took forever for Jaxon to be released from the stretcher so he was able to come over and convince me he was okay. I’m sure it was only a minute or two before they had him off, but when you keep seeing your husband dying over and over in your head, that’s a really damn long time to wait. Jaxon held me in his arms and softly stroked my hair to calm me down. He whispered over and over to me that everything was okay and he was fine, but the sight of the red, sticky fake blood had me crying all over again.

Eventually Jax had to go shower, but he waited until he was so uncomfortable in the sticky concoction that he couldn’t stand it. When Jaxon stood up to leave he handed me off to Stephen. He looked so torn; he didn’t know if making me stay with Stephen or making me go with him was the better option. Stephen told him to go and that he and Lexi would help get me cleaned up. They all knew it would help calm me down when the blood was gone.

Lexi drove us back to the beach house so I was able sit with Jaxon in the back seat on the way home. The further away from the set we drove, the better I felt. Stephen sat in the front seat with Lexi and he kept shooting concerned looks over his shoulder at me. He finally asked, “Are you going to be okay, Vi? You had everyone freaked out by the way you reacted. The director called off shooting for the rest of the day because he was so thrown by your reaction.”

I squeezed Stephen’s hand and nodded. Taking a deep breath I looked at Jax, “I never want to see that edited scene. Don’t ever let me see it again, please. Maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones that set me off, but I don’t want to find out. Please,” I begged. My voice was frantic and I sounded seconds away from another panic attack.

“I promise, love. I’ll do everything in my power to keep you from ever seeing it again.”

My body shuddered against his chest and he wrapped his arms around me. The rest of the drive was quiet. I fell asleep sometime during the last few minutes of the short drive. Jaxon carried me in the house and laid me down on our bed so I could rest. I felt his lips brush my forehead, but I was too exhausted to get up. Right before I fell asleep, I realized Jaxon and the baby had become my whole life.

If anything ever happened to them I would never be the same. I didn’t have two great loves in my life, there was only Jaxon. The years I spent with Aaron didn’t compare to my feelings for Jaxon. Somehow he had managed to get into my heart and place himself right in the center of it.

Amanda and Taylorpacked a huge picni
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basket full of food for our lunch. I was supposed to be helping, but I was watching instead. Stephen, Gage, and Jaxon left early that morning to go surfing, and we wanted to meet up with them and have lunch. Jaxon had already text me once saying they were starving and to bring as much food as possible.

We all had the day off from shooting while the crew looked over the film, so we thought a day at the beach sounded fun. It would be the last time for a while I would be strutting around in a bikini. My bump was finally looking like a bump and not an extra ten pounds.

“Make sure you get the apples in there Amanda, or Vi might go ballistic,” Taylor joked. Amanda smiled, but threw two more apples into the basket for good measure.

“Taylor, just so you know, I’ll be telling your niece or nephew what a bitch you are. You won’t get a free pass.”

“You love me.”

She blew a kiss in my direction and I flipped her off. Amanda shook her head and laughed at us as she closed up the basket.

Scanning the beach for the guys, I looked over and saw them surrounded by five teenage girls. I giggled because the guys looked so uncomfortable with the jailbait hanging around them. Even from the distance I could tell they wanted to run. Three hot movie stars hanging out at the beach was just asking for trouble. Amanda and Taylor followed my gaze and joined in laughing at their misery. Stephen shot us a death stare from across the beach and it made me laugh even harder.

“Come on, let’s go save them,” I said through my giggles. We crossed the beach and when the guys saw us they bolted from the little girls. Jaxon was signing something for one of them, but I could tell he was just as thankful for the intervention as Stephen and Gage had been. Grabbing his arm, I pulled him over to where Amanda and Taylor set up camp. As we walked up, I made the mistake of making eye contact with Amanda and we collapsed in giggles all over again.

“You guys have to admit, you were terrified of those teeny boppers.” I clutched my stomach as I laughed. Jax lifted me up over his shoulder and carried me into the freezing water. I screeched and laughed even harder. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Gage throw Amanda over his shoulder and follow Jaxon’s lead. Taylor had a head start, but Stephen caught her easily and soon we were all splashing around in the water.

After our water fight we lounged around in the sand. I leaned back into Jaxon’s chest and watched Stephen try to teach Taylor to surf for the millionth time. He had been trying since she was eight, but the girl was hopeless. They seemed a little more flirty than normal. Stephen had always had a crush on Taylor, not that he would ever admit it. It was nice to see them hanging out and having fun. The afternoon was calm and relaxing, definitely something we all needed.

Jaxon brushed his fingers along the top of my bikini bottoms. The movement was driving me nuts and he knew it. I shot him a look because if anyone paid attention they would definitely notice my bump. He smirked and kissed my neck, but his hand continued the movement, ignoring my warning. Two could play this game; he was toast when we got back to the house.

The longer we kept our marriage a secret, the worse I felt, but selfishly I still wanted that time for just the two of us. Sharing the secret made us feel closer. Jaxon and I constantly talked about how we would tell everyone, but each idea was as absurd as the next. We’d made our marriage a huge secret, when all we wanted was a few weeks of peace in the beginning. As soon as the tabloids found out, we wouldn’t be left alone for months. If the news of my pregnancy came out at the same time, we accepted it would be epically bad. Panic crept in each time I thought about what might happen.

It was horrible being back in the eye of the paparazzi after staying out of the limelight for so long. My career choice made it something I had to deal with every day. I had chosen to come back to this life when I accepted the role, so I had no one to blame but myself.

Jaxon hated the tabloids even more than I did, but with his background I understood why. No one would blame him for being weary of the media with everything that happened. All we wanted was to be normal.

Jaxon thought we should just wear our rings and not say anything, but that would be worse than coming straight out and announcing it. None of my ideas were better than that though. We needed to decide what to do soon, but until we did, I would enjoy keeping our little secret.

“Are you sure this dress hides my bump?” I asked looking in the mirror. The long empire wasted gown was beautiful, but I was still nervous about my growing bump. Silver beading detailed the sweetheart neckline of the black sheath dress. I had on matching silver Jimmy Choo stilettos and a little silver clutch. Tonight would definitely not be an appropriate night for everyone to find out about our secret.

“Yes, love. Don’t forget to take off your ring,” he reminded me, tapping the band with his finger. I became a little more bitter every time I had to take it off my finger. Sighing, I slipped it into the jewelry box.

“Are you planning on taking yours off?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” He winked. “We need to leave soon. The car is waiting outside, love.”

During the drive, we walked about how to handle the media attention. This wasn’t the first event we had attended together, but it would be the biggest. Arriving together would cause an uproar, but we were prepared for that. We weren’t sure how we should act without triggering a huge paparazzi storm for days to come though. Tonight would be a risk, but it was worth it to support Jaxon’s brother.

Connor’s premiere would be the first time Jaxon had seen his brother in a little over six months. He was thrilled to be supporting him tonight. Both men had been so busy that they hadn’t had time to catch up. Jaxon had also never kept something so important from his brother before. He was nervous about how Connor would react to the news of our marriage and the pregnancy.

The car drove up to the press line entrance. I grabbed Jaxon’s hand, took a deep breath, and tried to smile. Jax stepped in front of the flashes first. People craned their necks to see behind him. Taking Jaxon’s hand, I gracefully stepped out of the car and listened to the barrage of questions that flew at us.

“Jaxon? Are you and Violet dating?”

“Can you two confirm how long you’ve been together?”

“Violet, are things serious between you two?”

“Can we get a picture?”

We took a few minutes to pose, but moved on from the cameras quickly. Jax walked up to Connor and clasped him on the shoulders. Connor turned around and wrapped his brother up in a huge hug. A smile tugged at my lips as I watched the two interact. It was strange to see them both standing there together. Sure they were twins, but I recognized every difference in their appearances. Jaxon reached back and tugged me forward to meet his brother and his beautiful wife.

“Connor, Sophia, this is Violet Montgomery.”

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Sophia said taking my hand.

“Vi, I’m excited to get to know you,” Connor said as he took me into a side hug.

“Not too excited I hope,” Jax said dryly. “She is your sister after all.”

My body went stiff and Connor choked out a laugh. “Jaxon,” I whispered under my breath. Panic filled me as I turned away from the press.

“Don’t worry, love. The cameras are behind me and they are far enough away they can’t hear anything I’m saying.”

I shot him a dirty look, and he pulled me into his side. He kissed my temple and the sound of hundreds of camera shutters filled the air.

“Any other surprises for tonight, Jaxon?” Connor asked chuckling.

“Umm, actually,” I started, biting down on my lip before continuing.

Jax cut me off before I could continue. “Well, maybe a few, but mom should probably find out she’s going to be a grandma before you do.”

“Fuck, Jaxon. You move fast.” Connor reached over and wrapped me up in a huge hug. The smile on his face spread from ear to ear.

“I’m so excited for you guys.”

Everyone was called into the theater and we made our way to the entrance. Connor made sure Jaxon and I were seated with him and Sophia. The movie started and within minutes it was clear that Connor was every bit as good of an actor as his brother.

An hour into the movie, the baby started to kick and it seemed harder than normal. As I put my hand over where the baby was kicking, I realized the movement was hard enough you could feel it from the outside. It wasn’t the first time, but it was good luck it was happening right now. I subtly reached over and took Connor’s hand, placing it over where the baby kicked. He looked over, shock registering on his face. A huge grin spread across his handsome face as he realized what I was doing. Nudging Jaxon with my elbow, I pointedly looked down to where his brother’s hand rested on my stomach. Jaxon beamed up at me and the corner of my lips turned up in a small smile.

Jaxon finished up filming on our movie and started traveling to promote the movie he had finished filming before ours. The movie he made with Silver, just her name alone was enough to cause me to gag. Knowing he was with her now made me want to poke myself in the eye with a fork.

I filmed with Gage and Stephen daily and they tried their hardest to keep my mind off Jaxon. His premiere was only a month away, and he was gearing up for a whirlwind of travelling. Jaxon texted the guys nonstop, asking them to keep an eye on me and make sure I was taking care of myself. I loved that he wanted to take care of me even when he was so far away, but I’m sure Gage and Stephen wanted to punch him.

The rumors started slowly, and I might have missed them altogether if I hadn’t seen one of the tabloid magazines one of the makeup artists left lying around. The picture on the front showed Silver and Jaxon sitting way too close for comfort. They sat in a restaurant booth. Jaxon’s arm slung casually over the back of where they sat. Silver was laughing, curled up into his side with her hand resting on his chest. The picture might have been totally innocent, but my pregnancy hormones took over. I stormed into Stephen’s house carrying the magazine, telling him what a cheating bastard Jaxon was and I hated him.

“Do you hear yourself, Vi? That man worships the ground you walk on. I have at least fifteen texts from today alone checking up on you.” He grabbed his phone and listed them off. “Is she drinking enough water? Has she sat down and put her feet up? Is she eating too many sweets? You know that makes her cranky. Don’t forget to remind her to take her vitamins. Do I need to go on? You’re acting insane.”

“I can’t stand her. She’s so fucking conniving and I don’t trust her. I just know she’s going to try to get Jaxon to sleep with her. Fucking slutty bitch.”

Stephen laughed and pulled me into a hug. “You’ve got to calm down prego. It’s not good for the baby. Quit freaking out, you trust Jaxon right?” I nodded, and he continued, “Go post some anonymous troll stuff all over Silver’s social media if it’ll make you feel better.”

I choked out a laugh at his absurd suggestion, but it wasn’t that bad of an idea. It would make me feel better. Thanks to Stephen I blew off the stupid stories that kept popping up all over the internet. Something about them nagged at me though. Why would someone keep pushing the idea of Jaxon and Silver if there wasn’t something going on between them?