“Jax, you and Mrs C get yourselves fixed up, right? I need to dump this fucker's car or torch it. I don't fucking know.”
I staggered inside and collapsed on to the bed, coughing, aware of blood trickling down the back of my neck.
He went to walk out, but I managed to hold on to his arm. “Benny... thanks.”
He shrugged me off. “Whatever, man. Let's just get this over with; I'll be back in fifteen.”
The door slammed, and I heard Ella's voice as the world around me blackened until I couldn't see at all.
Ella.
The door to the motel room swung as the winds continued to howl, my eyes looked at the trail of blood coming from outside, across the carpet, and up on to the bed where Jax laid unconscious. I was in shock. I'd seen horror and experienced so many injuries in thirteen years, but the sight of this perfectly beautiful man so bloodied and broken terrified me.
His blue shirt was crimson, his fists cut and oozing red liquid, his face was bruised and swollen, and even from standing by the bathroom door, I could see the blood in his hair.
A noise made me jump, and then I realized that the sound was me. Crying. Howling. There was nothing I could do for him here, there was no first aid kit hidden in the bathroom, I'd checked, and I knew the last thing he'd want is to go to the hospital. So, in a hysterical panic, I grabbed some towels from the bathroom and ran them under the warm tap, ripped the thin nets down from the bathroom window, and used my teeth to make some kind of semblance of a bandage, and then ran back out into the room.
“Jax? Jax, can you hear me? Please, wake up,” I cried as I used a wet towel to clean the wounds I could see. A nasty gash went from his left eye down to the corner of his mouth, and I dabbed at that, the white towel turned red within seconds.
After ten minutes of taking care of Jax, once each towel was soaked with blood, he still hadn't woken up. And just when I was beginning to accept that I'd die here, headlights from a vehicle lit up the room.
I gasped, running to the door I used it as a shield to see who was coming. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Benny exiting Jax's truck, him running inside and asking me this question and that, him lifting Jax into his arms and ordering me to get in the truck. I followed, numb and shaking, and before I knew what was happening, we were back on the road with Jax slumped across the back seat.
We'd been driving for a little while, and I'd been staring wide-eyed out the window, watching as the beautiful world I'd seen earlier morphed into a barren wasteland. The sandy banks beside the highway were now muddy, long gone were the bright yellows and greens, and I twisted my fingers, anxiously preparing myself for whatever was waiting for me back at The Mansion.
“Jax was attacked by a junkie.” Benny declared, his voice startling me.
I frowned and looked over at him. “I'd heard Marco...”
He shook his head, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “No, Mrs C, you're not hearing me.” He met my gaze and raised his eyebrows. “Jax was attacked by a junkie. He'd gone out to get us a drink, and the junkie and his friend tried to rob him, okay?”
Oh. Stupid, Ella. “What about the mess we left behind?” I choked.
Benny sighed. “You don't worry yourself, Mrs. I got a fella on his way, okay?”
I nodded, but I didn't feel okay. Jax wasn't okay. None of this was okay.
“Ella?” Came a shattered voice from behind me.
I cried out loud at hearing his beautiful voice once more, spinning around on to my knees in the seat to see him. Dark eyes, swollen and bloody, tried to open and look for me. I reached forward and took hold of his hand, mindful of all his cuts.
“Jax, you're awake,” I said through hiccups and tears.
He groaned and lifted his free hand to touch the back of his head. “My head is pounding.”
“We're on our way home, Edith will be able to fix you up,” I said, my heart racing.
Jax squeezed my hand. “I love you, bird.” He murmured just as sleep took him from me again.
I stiffened, knowing full well Benny had heard Jax's admission, and I felt his stare on the side of my face as I settled back into my seat.
“He's confused,” I said by way of an explanation.
“Mrs C,” Benny sighed. “Did you know I was a Marine back in the UK?”
I shook my head.
“Well it's true, I only left because of health reasons. Not because I'm stupid, yeah?” A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips. “I won't say a damn word to anybody, but after tonight? I'm not sure how much my silence is going to help. If Vladimir has sent Marco, then he's going to be awful suspicious when we arrive home with a beaten Jax, and he never hears from Marco again, ya hear me?”
Oh, I heard him alright. I heard him loud and clear. “Thank you,” I whispered.
The rest of the drive was made in silence. Nothing but the sound of the truck over the gravel road, the pitter-patter of rain as it grew weaker, the ragged breathing of Jax.
Before long, the glowing, forboding sight of The Mansion came into view. I'd never seen it from beyond the walls in the dark. It reminded me of a gothic castle, with the road leading to the main gates flanked on either side by towering trees, thick with dark green leaves, and then the building itself. You couldn't see much, seeing as Vlad has built high walls all around the property, but from my seat and with tired eyes, I could make out the top of The Mansion. The dark terracotta bricks, the flat roof, the closed windows that showed no light or signs of life.
I shuddered.
“You okay, Mrs C?” Benny asked as he navigated the twisting roads that would bring us to the gates.
“No, not really,” I admitted.
“Anything I can do?”
I shook my head and almost cried out as the metal gates came into view. “You've done enough, thank you.”
Benny rolled his window down, and then reached his arm out and pressed a button on the intercom. A fizzing noise rang out, waking Jax a little, and then there was a voice I recognized all too well.
“Yes?” Jozef's voice said.
Benny rolled his eyes. “It's us, open the gates. Got a man down here.”
There was a loud click noise, and the gates opened, dragging metal across the gravel, and my hand gripped the door handle. For the first time today, I was tempted to run. How far would I get? Would Benny come after me and drag me back to the lion?
And then the truck moved forwards, killing any stupid thoughts I had.
Vladimir was waiting at the open front door, and he looked murderous. Dressed in a white shirt, black slacks, he held a bottle of scotch in his left hand, every so often he'd take a long swig as he watched the truck pull up.
Jax was trying to sit up, somehow aware of where we were, and it hurt me to see him desperate to help me. Because of me, we were in this situation. Because I, even if it was subconsciously, lured Jax to me. My head and heart's civil war continued within me. He loved me, though. Didn't he?
“Ella, you head indoors, I'll help Jax,” Benny said.
I stole a glance at Jax on the backseat; he was half sitting up, one hand resting against his ribs, the other one shaking under his weight. Fresh blood was now trickling from the cut near his eye. I didn't want to leave him.
“Bird...” he groaned. “I'll be okay.”