Shatter Me (The Jaded Series, #1) (29 page)

“Shit Anna, give her a minute would ya?” Nick says as he leisurely strolls out onto the deck behind the hurricane that is his girlfriend.

She shoots daggers at him and points to his chest. “Not another word from you. I’m still pissed that you waited until this morning to tell me.”

“Aww...come on baby.” Nick playfully whines. “I was only trying to give her and Jaxon some time before you came barreling over here to demand what happened.”

That was most definitely not the right thing to say. Anna gets right up in Nick’s face and pokes his chest so hard it wouldn’t surprise me if he has a bruise later. I’ve never seen her this worked up before. Anna is a force to be reckoned with when riled.  “Nickolas Reed, I know you did not just say that to me. Bailey is my best friend and she could have needed me. You had no right keeping that from me.”

Trying to defuse the tension that’s radiating off Anna I grab her hand to get her attention. It was very thoughtful of Nick wanting to give Jaxon and me time. I hate seeing Anna mad at him because of me, especially when he’s leaving tomorrow.

“Anna, sweetie, I’m fine okay? Nick is right. I needed time to think. Please don’t be mad at him. If you’ll give me a few minutes, we’ll sit down to talk and I’ll tell you everything.”

Anna surprises me by bending down and kissing my cheek. “Okay, Bailey. It just hurts me thinking you may have needed me and I wasn’t there.”

I pat her hand and give it a squeeze. She releases my hand and I watch her walk over to Nick. Once there, she winds her arms around his neck to bring his head down for a kiss. I can barely here a murmured, “I’m sorry” before their lips are sealed.

I turn my head back to Jaxon and find an affectionate expression on his face as he watches me.

“What?”

He shakes his head and smiles tenderly at me. “Thank you for reassuring her. She’s always been the mother hen of the three of us. Always feeling like she has to be there for everyone.”

“Except for Chris, I’ve never had people care about me before. It’s a strange feeling and it’ll take some getting used to. But Anna’s very special. She has such a kind and sensitive heart. I couldn’t let her think that I wasn’t okay.”

He reaches over and grabs the back of my head to pull it closer to his. He lands a soft kiss on my lips before pulling back and saying, “You do have people that care about you. Me, my family, and a lot of other people in this town. Never doubt that, Angel.”

Jaxon brings his legs down from the railing and stands up. Grabbing my hand, he helps me stand as well. “I’m going to ask Nick if he’ll stay here while I take care of a few things in town. I don’t want to leave you both here by yourselves. Is there anything that you need from your apartment?”

“No, I think I have everything I need for a few days.”

“Okay.” After giving me another brief kiss, he goes over to speak to Nick. Ten minutes later Jaxon is gone and I’m still out on the deck with Anna. Nick decided to get in a workout session on Jaxon’s equipment in the basement to give us time to talk.

I turn to Anna and start telling her about my childhood and then about Steven. At some points Anna cries while during other times she seems extremely mad on my behalf. She interrupts me a few times to ask questions and I answer as honestly as I can. Once I’m finished rehashing everything that’s happened to me, including the phone calls and me seeing Steven in the bar last night, she leans over and gathers me in her arms.

“I’m so so sorry, Bailey. I knew that something happened to you, but I had no idea it was that horrible. Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

“I couldn’t. It was my problem and I was trying to deal with it on my own. Well, more like run from it. I was so worried, and still am, that if Jaxon gets involved he’ll get hurt. You have no idea what Steven is capable of.”

“Oh Bailey, you have to learn to let people in. You need to realize you don’t have to do this alone anymore.” She gazes at me with soft eyes, which causes my throat to close up with emotion.

“So, what’s the plan?”

“I don’t know yet. Jaxon’s pretty much forbidden me to leave.” I give off a slight chuckle. “He says he can help me. I don’t know how he can but, I trust him.”

“Maybe Steven will lose interest and go home?” Anna suggests hopefully.

I laugh harshly at Anna’s words. There’s no way Steven will just leave. He’s not the type to give up easily. When he wants something he feels he’s entitled to, he stops at nothing to get it. To him I’m his property.

“I can almost guarantee that won’t happen. I just don’t know what his next move will be. Jaxon wants me to stay here, and as you’ve seen with him asking Nick to stay here while he goes to town, he doesn’t want me left alone. I don’t know what to do or expect. I hate it. I hate knowing there’s a chance Jaxon or anyone, might get hurt because of me.”

“You can’t think about it like that, Bailey. You don’t know if anyone will get hurt. You don’t know if Steven will do anything harsh. Besides, Jaxon’s plenty capable of taking care of himself. Just take it one day at a time and see what happens.”

I know she’s right. There’s nothing I can do right now. There are too many scenarios to consider. I still can’t help but feel dread deep down. I have this feeling that something awful is about to happen, I just don’t know what. Steven is unpredictable and there’s no telling what he’ll do. I just have to keep praying that everyone stays safe in the process. Even if I have to sacrifice myself to make sure they do stay safe. It’s not something I want to do, but something I’m more than willing to do. I’ll do anything to keep harm away from the people I care about.

All of a sudden Anna squeals and grabs my arm shaking it. “Oh my God! I almost forgot to tell you.” Her voice started out loud but then lowers. “Grams hired a new girl a couple days ago. She has waitressing experience so she should catch on pretty quickly. As you know Nick leaves again tomorrow. In a few days, if the new girl works out and feels confident to work on her own I’m going to take a few days off and go stay with Nick on one of his jobs.”

I reach over and give her a quick hug. When I pull back Anna has an enormous grin on her face.

“I’m so happy for you, Anna!”

“Nick doesn’t know it yet so let’s keep it between us. I plan on surprising him.” I see the pure excitement and joy on her face and I can’t help but be excited for her. Nick will definitely be surprised and very very happy. I know that it eats at him that he has to leave her so much.

Nick walks out a few minutes later looking very sweaty and hot. He’s wearing a pair of black basketball shorts and a dark gray tank top. Muscles are bulging from his arms, which are littered with multiple tattoos, including the spider web on his hand that I noticed the first time I saw him. With his tank top plastered to his stomach I can see the ripples from his washboard abs. He really is a very good looking man.

For the first time, I notice a ring on his right ring finger. It looks to be Native American. I’ve always had an interest in the Native American culture.

Neither Nick nor Anna notices my appreciative perusal of Nick but I still look down at my hands and blush profusely.

“Hey ladies, are you hungry?” Nick asks in his deep voice.

“Yes!” Anna says loudly and jumps out of her chair. “I can make sandwiches.” She turns to me. “Do you want one, Bailey?”

I pull the blanket from my lap and fold it as I get up. “I would love one. I’ll come help.”

All three of us make our way inside and head to the kitchen to get a much needed lunch.

––––––––

I
t isn’t until a couple hours later that Jaxon is back home. He walks in carrying several folders of papers and a medium sized box. He sets them down on the bar in the kitchen and walks over to the back of the couch where Nick, Anna, and I are watching a marathon of The Big Bang Theory. He leans down and kisses the side of my neck.

“How’re things here?” He asks in my ear.

I turn and offer my lips to him, which he takes advantage of by giving me a quick open mouth kiss.

“Things are great. We’re just enjoying watching the shenanigans of Sheldon and his crew. These guys are hilarious!”

He laughs at my enthusiasm.

A few minutes later, after a sick Sheldon is put to sleep by his mother singing ‘Soft Kitty’ to him Nick and Anna get up and get ready to leave.

At the door, Anna gives me a hug saying softly in my ear, “Call me if you need anything. And remember we’re all here for you. Jaxon won’t let anything happen, okay?” She pulls back waiting for my response.

I give her a small smile and reply, “Okay, Anna. Thank you for listening to me.” I pull her back in for another hug and whisper, “Let me know before you leave.”

We break apart and Nick steps into my line of sight. Kissing me on the cheek, he says, “Don’t worry about Steven, okay? Let Jaxon take care of everything. You’ve dealt with this long enough. It’s time to let others in and do it for you.” At my nod, he turns to Jaxon. “Call me if you need me. I’ll only be gone a week at the most, but I can be back sooner if you need me to.”

“Thanks, man.” They one arm hug and thump each other on the back before he and Anna leaves.

As soon as the door closes Jaxon grabs my hands and tugs until I’m plastered against his body. His head immediately swoops down and he steals a scorching, very passionate kiss. Lacing my fingers in his hair, I pull his head even closer. Our tongues interlock and tangle with one another. This kiss is more forceful than all the others we’ve shared.

Jaxon leads me backwards until my back hits the door. Grabbing my leg, he hitches it over his hip. I feel his hardness hit my center and my body instantly starts to grind down on him, sending sparks flying throughout my limbs.

Jaxon slows the kiss and releases my leg. He runs his tongue lightly over my lips before he pulls back to rest his forehead against mine.

“I missed you.” He says while tucking an errant lock of hair behind my ear.

“I can tell,” I say with a giggle.

He releases his hold on me, grabs my hand, and starts pulling me towards the kitchen.

“How did it go with Anna?” He asks once we step into the kitchen. He lets go of my hand and walks to the fridge to pull out a beer for himself and a bottle of water for me.

Leaning my back against the counter, I twist the lid open and take a swallow before answering him.

“She was understandably upset but she knows why I didn’t say anything sooner. She was very adamant that you could help me. Actually, everyone seems pretty sure that you can. Do you have some kind of super powers that I don’t know about?”

He puts his beer down on the bar and starts towards me. A twinkle is in his eye by the time he makes it to me. Placing his hands on the counter on either side of me, he cages me in. He dips his head and runs his nose up my neck until he reaches my ear. Once there he takes little nibbles and I moan in response. Releasing my ear, he whispers, “Oh, I have super powers alright, but not the kind you’re referring to.” My body quivers at the innuendo. He’s certainly right when he says he has super powers. The man really knows how to set my body off and makes me forget everything else that’s happening around us.

Pulling back but keeping his arms on the counter Jaxon’s expression turns serious.

“Steven isn’t the only one that has connections. The sheriff here is a good friend of mine. I also have some acquaintances in the FBI that owe me some favors. Please don’t worry, Angel. Everything will be okay.”

I nod my head and take his words to heart. It makes it a little easier knowing that Jaxon isn’t going in blind and that if he needs help he’ll have it.

Taking a step back Jaxon reaches over and grabs the box he brought in earlier. There’s a magazine and what looks like a flyer sitting on top of it.

“This came for you in the mail.” He says and hands it over to me. It’s pretty light.

Turning around and placing it back on the counter, I remove the magazine and flyer to look at the return address and don’t find one. No one knows where I live except for Chris and I haven’t been here long enough for anyone local to be sending me anything in the mail. I just spoke with Chris last night and I would assume she would have let me know that she was sending me something.

Having a dreaded feeling in the pit of my stomach I look around for something to open it with. Jaxon reaches over and hands me a pair of scissors. Hoping that I’m wrong and that Chris just forgot to tell about the package I run the edge of the scissors under the tape. Putting the scissors down I slowly open the flaps. What I find inside has me clutching the counter in an effort to hold myself up.

My breathing instantly starts to come in pants and my legs become rubbery. I can feel my heart wanting to pound out of my chest. Tears form in my eyes and start sliding down my cheeks. I can’t stifle the sob that erupts from my lips. I throw one of my hands over my mouth and cry, “No, no, no!”

Jaxon hears my cry and is suddenly by my side clutching my arms. “Angel, what is it?”

I barely hear him. My focus is solely on the contents of the box. Jaxon follows my line of sight and lets out a string of curses. “Son of a bitch! What the fuck is that?”

I know what he sees. And there’s only one person sick enough to send it.

Inside the box is a soft, familiar pink blanket with a baby doll wrapped inside. The blanket and the baby are enough to tear me up inside, but that’s not what has me on the verge of mentally breaking down. No, it’s what’s done to the baby that has me nearly tearing my hair out in grief.

Its eyes are gone. It looks like someone gouged them out with a dull knife. It has a cut on its face from its right eye down to its ear, an exact replica of my own scar. The clothes, or what’s left of them, are dingy and stained with what looks old blood. There are slashes throughout the entire doll. There also seems to be burn marks on the arms and legs. The marks look just like the one’s Steven used to love putting on my body with his cigars.

I dig my fingers into my hair and pull hard. I double over, crying uncontrollably. I’m beginning to see black spots in my vision. I hear Jaxon running through the house, but have no idea what he’s doing. A few seconds later he bends and scoops me up into his arms. He walks through the kitchen into the living room and gently places me on the couch.