But nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing could have prepared me for what I was going to see when Benny opened the doors.
Chapter Thirty Three
Ella.
It didn’t quite register at first, that the man stripped naked, beaten and bloody and chained to a metal contraption was Jaxon Murdoch, and when it did my legs moved on instinct, and I ran to him, barging past Benny, and to my surprise not one person stopped me.
His arms and legs were chained, leaving him completely vulnerable, his face swollen, beautiful dark eyes puffy, his head hung down so his chin touched his neck, and blood oozed from a cut across his forehead. Sweat covered his body, and his chest rattled with each breath he took.
I cried out, touching his bare chest with soft fingers. “Jax…”
“Ella, honey, I’m glad you could join us at last.” Amy’s voice was contrite, sickeningly sweet. “Benny, get Ella a chair, would you, babe? I want her right next to Jax for this.”
I turned on my heel, face flushed with anger. “Why, Amy? Why Jax? What has he done to deserve this?”
She laughed. “Aside from fucking you, you mean?”
I cringed, watching as Vlad slid next to her, gazing at her like a love-sick puppy.
Benny ushered me into yet another chair, and I could feel my temper rising. Listening to the shaky breaths of a man who had shown me so much in such a short amount of time was breaking me in two. Looking at the faces of all the evil around us, I’d never wanted to fight so much before. From somewhere a determination to survive this blossomed; it crept up my throat and swirled around my mouth, a feeling so potent I could taste it.
Hang on, Jax, I thought, please, hold on.
Jax and I were flanked either side by several men, there was no getting out of whatever this was, but my eyes were searching, looking for a weak spot in their formation. Jaxon had sacrificed so much for me; now, it was time for me to try for him.
Vladimir and Amy sat a few feet away now, waiting for the room to silence. Up until I met her, I never thought I’d meet another human being who loved a show as much as Vlad, and I couldn’t keep the sneer and shake of my head hidden as my thoughts plagued me.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “You’ve both got what you wanted, why all this? Does more blood need to be shed?”
Amy’s nostrils flared as she got to her feet, heels hitting the floor, she stormed towards me and gripped the arms of the chair. Her mouth was so close to my face I could smell the lipstick, the strawberry shampoo of her hair.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Jax groaned, his voice made my heart soar. “Bird?” His head remained cast down, but his arms moved a little, metal clanging loudly, and Amy’s head snapped to the intruder.
“Bird?” She laughed.
“Jax, I’m here, I’m right here,” I said, paying no mind to Amy’s rising temper.
Amy grabbed my chin and forced me to look into her green eyes. “He led me on and then pushed me away, leaving me with no choice but to accept Carter’s twisted version of love.”
She was trying to provoke a reaction from me, one I wouldn’t give her. It wasn’t easy hearing about Jax’s past, but I couldn’t lose focus. Not now.
“How I opened my heart to him, told him every part that was dark and ruined and trusted him, and, like every other man in my life, he pretended to care, pretended he understood, but once he’d had what was between my legs I was worthless to him.”
“Fuck…you,” Jax said through mouthfuls of blood.
“So, this was all for revenge? For something that happened years ago?” I asked, trying to pull my head from her grip.
“Oh, Ella, I’m just getting started, honey.” She stood tall once more, moving over to Jax. Her manicured nails traced lines down his abs and he pulled, with what little energy he had, against the chains. “So, life went on, didn’t it, Jax? There was absolutely nothing stopping you from admitting your feelings for me, nothing other than your constant need to make Carter happy, and yet who was it you ignored yet came to when life got tough? It was me. You knew that with one look, one touch I’d fall for it without question. To you, I was only good to fuck.”
“Ella,” Jax groaned. “Ella, don’t listen to it.”
In one fluid motion, Amy raised the back of her hand and struck him across the face; blood flew from his already bleeding lips, splattering the floor with a sick squelching noise. “I spent years being ignored by you, by Carter, and I will not be silenced anymore.” Her voice grew louder; my whole body shook and trembled.
She turned and cleared her throat, her back straightening and green eyes alight with retribution. “So, when I’d discovered Carter was fucking that piece of shit, Marnie, I snapped. I went to Vladimir, and we came to an agreement.”
Vladimir joined her, both of them looking out towards their captive audience.
“I wanted power, a voice, revenge, and Vlad wanted an heir-” she gave me a cold glare. “An heir that he could use.”
“And you’re so sure you’re going to have a son?” I snapped..
Vladimir laughed, the first noise he’d made in a while. “Of course not, but, you see, Ella, Amy is someone I will happily reproduce with, I love her, and she will be a better mother than you could ever have dreamed of being.”
Anger surged me forwards, and I flew towards them both with clenched fists, I was inches away from Amy, my hands outstretched ready to snap her neck between my bare hands when a gunshot rang out, stilling me.
Jozef held a gun in the air and then pressed it against Jax’s head. “Sit down, Ella. I will blow his goddamn brains to Nevada if you take another step forward.”
We were trapped. Again. Jax and I in the room I’d been the day before.
The party was underway now, and Jax hadn’t said a word to me. He’d sat on the floor, back pressed against the wall, hands hanging over his knees, half-naked, and every time I looked at him, I cried. There’d been a few times I thought my words were getting through to him, but it seemed nothing was going to pull him from this hole he was inside.
I couldn’t get through to him, and we were running out of time.
Amy and Vlad wanted his blood.
They wanted to tear the Murdoch’s apart for all the years of secrecy and betrayal, heartache, and lies, for Jax not being able to love Amy.
That was something I’d tried not to think about; her words tried their best to rattle me and second guess everything I knew about him, but we’d come so far, and I’d have been naive to think that he didn’t have a past before me.
We all did, and it was up to us to not let them dictate the rest of our lives; if I could find the strength, then I prayed Jaxon could, too.
The party was going ahead as planned, but after that, both of our fates would be sealed.
I had to try.
We’d been left in the room together, free to roam the cell, and I’d left it as long as I could; this was my last chance.
With silent steps, I trod carefully towards this beautiful man, dropping to my knees before him and, with trembling hands, reached out to take hold of his hands. I rubbed my thumb along his knuckles, dried blood coated his strong hands, and I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Jax?” I whispered. I waited to see if he’d acknowledge me, but he didn’t, he remained motionless, only his chest moved. “Jax, I’m begging you. I can’t do this alone.” One hand pushed his hair from his face, mindful of the parts matted with blood, and I stroked his cheek. He was ice cold. Colder than I’d ever felt him before. “I need you. Remember the motel?” I paused, waiting for a reaction once more. There was none. “I said, ‘I think I love you?’ Well, I don’t think it, I know it. Jax, I love you so much, you can’t leave me now.”