Bounty:Fury Riders MC(84)

I watch Christina tremble. I see Tommy's hands tighten on her arms.

"She fired a shot. I ducked, it hit a tree. Then she turned the gun on  herself, pressed it against her chest. I jumped at her, wanting to stop  her. But I couldn't. She pulled the trigger. She died in my arms-I think  she might have gone almost instantly. I couldn't stop her, and I've  blamed myself all this time. I didn't want anyone to know she'd been in  that much trouble-especially not that she was stealing from the cartel  and the club. I couldn't put her family through that pain."

"Why are you telling this story?" Tommy asks, sounding bored and irritated.

I look at him. "Because I need her to know the truth." I hear sirens  approaching from the distance. Thank God. I couldn't have kept this up  much longer.

"What difference does it make?" Tommy asks, oblivious to the approaching cop cars.

"I wanted her to hear it before this happened." I lunge at them, pushing  Christina roughly out of the way. I take Tommy by the shoulders before  hitting him across the nose with the butt of my gun, drawing blood. I  hear Christina cry out, but I can't look back.

He fights back, head butting me, knocking us both to the ground. We  wrestle, rolling over and over. His hands are on the gun as he tries to  pry it from me. I throw myself on top of him, hoping to knock the wind  out of him and stun him into letting go. I drive my knees into his  sides, our faces inches from each other.

"Please! Stop!" Christina's screaming.

I can't listen. I can only make this bastard pay for what he's done.

"Jax, please!" The gun is somewhere between the two of us, jammed  between our bodies. I know he's still hold on, just as I am. I hear the  sirens getting louder.

Then the gun goes off.





Chapter 36

Christina

It's like a horrible nightmare has finally ended.

"We're going to be together forever," he kept saying, stroking my hair  when he pulled me from the car. I'll never forget how terrified I was.  Looking at the tower, knowing what it meant that we were going there.  Knowing he was going to kill me.         

     



 

I wanted to vomit, just feeling his hand on me. I knew exactly what he  meant. We would be together. Just not alive. He wanted to throw us both  from that tower. We'd die together. Tragically.

When he pulled me from the trunk, all I could do was pray. Please let  somebody save me. Please let me survive this. I don't want to die. I  want my mommy. I want Jax. Please don't let me die.

Now, I'm sitting in the hospital room. Jax's hospital room. He's been  sleeping for hours, ever since he got out of surgery. The nurse told me  he probably wouldn't wake up for a while.

It's a nice hospital, and a private room. I made sure everyone in  earshot knew they were taking care of a hero. "He saved my life," I said  over and over. "Please, take care of him. I would be dead if it wasn't  for him."

I sit looking at him. He's peaceful, his face smooth. And now that he's  saved my life, more handsome to me than ever. I can't believe he came  all this way to find me. The fact that he put it all together in the  first place is remarkable. I knew he had to be smart under all that  bravado.

I'm pretty much okay, for the most part. I might need to see a doctor  closer to home now that it's all over. There are a lot of things I'm  going to need to work out. Feeling safe again in my home, knowing I'm  not in danger. Flashbacks of Tommy stuffing me in a trunk. I shiver just  thinking about it. If seeing a doctor will help me get my life back on  track, I'm more than willing to do so. I'll take any steps to put this  far behind me.

He stirs. I lean toward him, putting a hand over his. He rolls his head in my direction when he feels my touch.

"You're okay?" His first words after waking up. I didn't think my heart could swell any bigger.

"I'm just fine, Jax. Thanks to you."

"Where are we?"

"In the hospital. You and Tommy were fighting over the gun. It went off, hitting you. Do you remember any of it?"

He closes his eyes, swallowing hard. I think he remembers. Instead of answering my question, he says, "Why am I not handcuffed?"

"Why would you be handcuffed?"

"Wasn't I arrested? Or won't I be, once I'm out of the hospital? I thought they'd want to keep me cuffed."

"Jax." I touch his face, rough with stubble. "You weren't arrested. Nobody is going to arrest you."

"No?" His eyes are wide. He's still somewhat foggy from the anesthesia, reminding me of a little boy.

"No. I told the police everything. Once they saw the wound on my head,  it was pretty clear I wasn't making anything up. And once they get a  look at Tommy's phone they'll see the messages he sent me. You're in the  clear."

He drifts back to sleep, a smile on his face. Now he can rest.



***



I wake up with a stiff neck, curled up in the chair at Jax's bedside. This time, he's the one who's been watching me.

"Good morning," he whispers, smiling softly.

"Wow. Morning already?" I sit up, stretching.

"You slept through two visits from the nurse. They were going to bring a  cot in for you, but didn't want to wake you. You were out cold."

"I guess I was." I remember the hours I spent awake, cold, terrified.  Yes. Sleep was what I needed. I take stock of him. He already looks  better than he did when he first woke after being wheeled up from  surgery. His color is better. He's more alert.

"How's your wound?" I ask, motioning toward his abdomen. When the EMTs  said the bullet hit him in the stomach, I nearly fainted. I know how  dangerous that can be, even if I've only seen it on TV.

"The nurse says it looks good. Stitches are holding fine."

"The doctor told me you made it through surgery like a champ."

"Would you expect any less?" He grins.

I lean down to kiss him softly. There's no mistaking the way the beeping of his heart monitor speeds up. I laugh.

"Guess we can't be doing much of that for a little while. I wouldn't  want to tax your system while you're healing." I wink, and he groans.

Then he becomes serious. "I don't remember anything after being shot."

"I'm sure you don't. You were barely conscious."

"I hate to ask you this … but … did he … ?"

"Rape me, you mean?" Jax's face hardens, but he nods. I shake my head,  smiling. "No, nothing like that. He never even got close to it. I don't  think it was on his mind at all."

"What did he say to you? Did you ever speak with him, besides when you got to campus?"

I nod. I'll never forget that surreal breakfast. "We stopped at a diner.  It's where we first met. I had to sit there and force food down my  throat. I had to pretend to be happy he'd finally come to get me. He  talked the entire time. I'm sure even the waitress thought he was nuts.  He wouldn't let me out of his sight." I leave out the part where he came  to the bathroom with me. I don't want to relive that humiliation just  yet.         

     



 

"I guess that's how I was able to catch up to you."

"I'm glad he got hungry." I smile, but it's a shaky smile. Soon I'm  crying. I lay my head on the side of Jax's bed, letting it all out. I  feel his hand stroke my hair, so different from Tommy's rough touch.

I cry for a long time. Once it's all over, I feel better. Not one  hundred percent, but better. After splashing my face, I return to Jax's  bedside.

"Where is he now?"

I don't have to ask who he means. "Jail. They have him on a bunch of different charges."

Jax closes his eyes, relieved. "You said something when I first woke up," he reminds me. "About telling the police everything."

I nod. "Yeah, every bit of it. I can't believe you thought they would arrest you for saving my life."

A shrug. "I guess it's a habit, assuming I'll be blamed for things."

"Believe me. Nobody could blame you for this. You're the only reason I'm here right now. Sincerely."

"And when we get home?"

"What about it?" I'm confused.

He tells me everything he went through, just trying to get the cops to  pay attention to my kidnapping. I can't pretend I have any faith in our  police force if they were so quick to blame Jax for my disappearance  without listening to what he tried to tell them.

I smile, though. "I can't wait to get back to town and throw it all in  their faces. How wrong they were about you. By the time I finish,  they'll be throwing a parade in your honor."

He chuckles, then winces in pain. "Don't make me laugh," he groans.

"I wasn't trying to. I mean it. They're going to eat their words, every one of them."

"Wow." He looks me up and down. "Who's this assertive girl in my hospital room? Where did she come from?"

"She was always assertive. Remember how we butted heads when we first met? How crazy I drove you?"

He smiles. "Yeah, I do."

"It wasn't just you, though you did bring it out in me. You have a  talent for that. I can be just as pigheaded with others, too. They're  all on my shit list until they apologize. I'll take out a full-page ad  just so the whole town knows what you did. You took a bullet for me,  Jax. They need to know."