Vladimir placed his hand on the doorknob. “I'll see what can be arranged.” and with that, he left the room.
“Fuck me, Murdoch,” came Marnie's voice once the men had left. “You've got balls, hon; I'll give you that.” I looked over to where they stood and watched Marnie nudge Ella's arm. “Ain't he got big balls, babe?”
Ella turned crimson and distracted herself with moving chairs instead. I'd have laughed, but I was raging.
“I ain't fuckin' scared of him,” I snarled, taking a seat once more and knocking back the drink that had been sitting there.
Marnie clicked her tongue and sauntered over, joining me at the table. She was cute, in the girl-next-door kind of way, not a patch on Ella though. In a way, she reminded me of Amy, the same smart-ass attitude that's for sure. “You should be, hon, he's got your life in his hands. And your family's for that matter. He always will.”
I laughed at that. “That's the thing with the Chrobak's - always underestimating us, sweetheart.”
Marnie raised an eyebrow and grinned at me, and I gazed behind her towards Ella. Fuck. Even the way she moved was stunning. Graceful. Always barefoot, I'd noticed.
“That sounds like a threat, Murdoch, you wouldn't do something so stupid, would you?” Her tongue poked out between her teeth, but I ignored her, getting to my feet and walking over to Ella, I needed to hear her voice, not Marnie's.
Ella.
I'd always thought the black Purgatory uniform to be somewhat intimidating, with its blood-red P on the left-hand side, the huge belts the guards would wear home to all kinds of weapons, those heavy boots I'd seen the bottom of so many times. Still, as Jax strode towards me, nostrils flaring, my knees buckles, and once again, I found myself breathless, heart hammering against my ribcage.
I didn't know where to look. His eyes were always so brooding, the way he looked at me too intimate, and so I continued to stack chairs at the sides of the large room. The library was used for the auctions. It included a stage, lights you'd see on a film set hung above us, thick red curtains, and more gold engraved into the wood than you could ever think possible.
Jax reached me, his smokey yet sweet aftershave filling my nostrils, his presence dominating all my thoughts.
“Hey, bird,” he smiled. “How are you feeling?”
I tried to return the smile, but my nerves made me look insane, I'm sure. “Yes. Fine. Just busy.” I stumbled over each word, the red from Marnie's earlier comment seeped down on to my chest. The last thing I needed to think of was Jax's...ahem.
“You look beautiful.” He lowered his voice, aware Marnie was more than likely trying to hear, but instead of hearing her pipe up, the door opened with a bang, and Jax spun round.
Oh, God, Marco. I'd almost forgot about him.
He stormed into the room, his face red with anger, and marched towards Jax and me. “Ella, come. You're wanted elsewhere.”
I went to step aside and follow him, but Jax's body moved in front of mine, and I bumped into his back.
“Where does she need to be? I'll take her there.” He growled, the men now almost nose to nose.
Oh, Jax, no, I thought.
Marco chuckled. “That's none of your goddamn business, Murdick.”
They stepped closer, guns pressing against one another, and in the distance, I saw Marnie stand.
“Well, she sure as fuck isn't going with you, I don't trust you one bit.”
“I don't give a fuck if you do or don't, I've got my orders, she's coming with me.” Marco was bulky but quick, he whipped his arm around Jax and grabbed hold of my upper arm, pulling me so I stumbled into him, yelping in pain at his grip.
Jax didn't waste no time, throwing caution and sanity to the wind. I watched as he reared back his fist and pushed it forward, connecting perfectly with Marco's nose. The noise was sickening, and it was so loud it almost hid the sound of his body hitting the floor.
Jax was a dead man.
Marco roared, a deafening noise, and was soon back on his feet, rushing towards Jax. I just managed to dart out of the way as the two men collided into the wall, a picture worth thousands smashing behind Jax.
Glass must have embedded into his skin, but he didn't stop. The pair grabbed at each others throat, fists flying as they sucker-punched one another. And all I could do was stand and watch, scared beyond scared for the man who'd promised to save my baby girl.
“You're fucking dead! Who do you think you are, huh?” Marco had hold of Jax's t-shirt, blood spilling down his nose, blood oozing from both of their lips. Marco slammed Jax once more against the now bare wall, where the picture once hung. “Fucking answer me, you piece of shit!”
Jax's chest heaved, I'd never seen a man so angry before. I should have been scared by the look on his face, but he'd just risked his life for me.
Jax smiled a bloody smile. “I'm Jax Murdoch, cunt, and I'm gonna be your worst fucking nightmare.”
Just as Jax prepared to make his final blow, the doors burst open once more and in stormed several of Vladimir's men, they ran towards the pair with my husband following behind, and each cocked their guns, the noise made my skin crawl. Marnie was nowhere to be seen.
“Enough!” My husband bellowed. “Move away from each other now, or I'll kill the fucking pair of you.” When Vladimir was angry, his accent grew heavier, and it was part of what made him so terrifying. Well, to me at least.
Marco refused to let go of Jax, holding him with white fists, blood everywhere.
“Marco, I've got a gun pointed right at your head, boy, now step the fuck away.”
Marco turned to face his boss but still clung to Jax. “You're fucking choosing him over me? The fuck kind of loyalty is that, boss?”
Vladimir sighed, folding his arms across his chest. “My boy, you are the one with your hands on a member of my team, are you not? So, again, and this is your last fucking warning, step away. Don't do something you'll regret.”
Marco turned back to Jax, the time ticked by, and all I could hear was the rushing noise of my blood, my eyes trained on the floor, the red splattered across the wood.
“I'm fucking watching you, Murdoch,” Marco whispered before letting go, stepping back and holding up his hands.
Jax sagged forward, the glass embedded in his back now visible, and I couldn't contain the gasp.
“Ella, see to Jax's wounds. Marco, come with me, boy.”
My stomach dropped. Me? Play nurse to Jax? Oh boy.
It was a test. A screwed up test my husband had decided to try on me. That's the only reason I could imagine he'd want me to tend to Jax. He still must have genuinely believed I led Marco astray, teased a man to the point he had to act on his most primal instincts. Otherwise, it would have been Edith here seeing to this man and not me.
Jax sat sideways on the infirmary bed as I busied myself with finding the first aid kit. I'd no idea if he'd need stitching up, but the less time spent with his shirt off, the better.
I heard him groan as he tried to remove his shirt.
“Leave it on for now; I'll have to pull the biggest pieces out first,” I said, my voice quiet, shaky.
“What did he do to you, bird?” Jax asked as his hands gripped the edge of the bed, freezing my body in place by his words. “Every damn time you see him, you pale, paler than a fucking ghost, your entire body language changes when he's near.”