The urge to scream for help has been hard to suppress ever since he parked the car and we walked through the parking lot and then the hallway. But what good would that do? Wolf carries at least one knife and one gun and those are just the weapons he allowed me to see. Who knows what else is underneath that jacket.
Jax said Wolf is lethal and not someone you want to have around on one of his good days. This is clearly not one of his good days. Screaming would only get me killed faster as well as anyone who might try to help.
The more I think about it, the less plausible it seems that he’d bring me back to my place to kill me. Why go into all that trouble when he had me right there, outside Tanner’s place? There must be something else he wants.
He shuts the door behind him and then he yanks my arm and spins me forward until I crash down on the couch. My heart beats out of control.
Wolf bends his face down to my level. I’ve never seen a harsher expression on a face. His breath is surprisingly minty and fresh. I sense endless darkness behind his eyes. Nothing I say would make a difference. He has seen and heard it all and then some.
“Why are you not in hiding?” he growls at me. “Are you a stupido?”
Nothing. I have nothing to say to that. My teeth chatter when I try to open my mouth so I keep it shut.
It doesn’t look like he’s expecting an answer. He straightens himself up and throws glances around the place. His eyes focus on a picture on the coffee table. It’s a picture of Madison and me as teenagers, having just come home from school and posing in front of Jim’s sedan.
Wolf picks up the picture and stares at it for a long while, almost forgetting I’m right here. It’s hard to believe that Madison dated this animal but I guess she saw something in him. Something that would come in handy right now if I could find it.
His contemplation is interrupted by noises at the door that sound like nails scratching. Wolf lets the picture drop and quickly draws his gun.
He gets to the door in two long strides and opens it swiftly, gun in hand. Jaxson is standing on the other side, key in hand, about to unlock the door. The two men stand there, face-to-face, totally still.
Oh God, don’t let him shoot Jax!
All the screams I’ve been holding down come to the surface. “Jax, run!” I yell. “Get out of here!”
Wolf lifts his big fist and puts his hand casually on Jax’s shoulder. “Get the fuck in here, bro, and shut her up.” Wolf steps aside to let Jax enter.
Jax winces with pain as Wolf pats his back. What’s going on? I give up. The sobs begin beyond my control. No matter how much I try, I can’t stop them, they just pour out from some deep well.
“She looks alright,” Wolf growls, “but I’m not sure she has much sense in her head. She makes a racket and processes everything too slow. Shut her up or I’ll give both of you a beating.”
Jax barely listens to him. “Was all this completely necessary?” He touches my temple which hurts mightily under the soft pressure of his finger.
“We’d have both been dead if we’d done it her way,” Wolf says.
“It looks like it,” Jax says. Does he even know what he’s saying? Is he taking Wolf’s side in him assaulting me? “The important thing is she’s in one piece,” he continues. “Where did you collect her?”
One piece? Collect me? I give up and collapse. “Fuck both of you,” I manage to say. “The way you talk about people. How do you even know he collected me?”
“In this business we notice these things.” Jax says. “Did Wolf hurt you?”
“What are you? A stupido?” I tell Jax. I’m surprised to see a white picket fence of teeth emerge from Wolf’s mouth. I think he’s grinning.
“She’ll be fine,” Wolf says, indifferently. “She’s slow and weak. A normal person would have made it out easier. It was like trying to get a panicked eel into my car. I had to do some quick convincing.”
“He brutalized me,” I say.
“Wolf has a suddenness about him,” Jax says, stroking my hair.
“She was a heartbeat from catching her death,” Wolf says. “I collected her up near Canyon Road outside that Tanner dude’s crib.”
“What’s your angle in this?” Jax says. They somehow understand each other in ways I could never imagine.
“She’s lucky she’s Maddy’s sister or I would not have gotten involved,” Wolf says. “I’m just here to give you what you want.”
*
I pick up the picture of Maddy and me off the floor while Jax and Wolf sit at the dining table to talk. I yearn to be in Jax’s arms but it will have to wait.