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The more Jynx explains, the darker the expression on Ryan’s and, in fact, all of the surrounding member's faces get. There is very clearly zero tolerance for violence against women and children. It makes my respect for them go up a fraction more.
“I see,” Ryan bites out through gritted teeth.
Jynx inclines her head slightly, “I was going to take care of the issue myself since we all know that no one gets away with harming my own,” she starts, and Ryan winces slightly. I’m assuming he’s heard the stories. She ignores his reaction and continues, “However, once I found out that he was one of yours, I figured that you would want to deal with it yourself.”
Ryan nods, “Absolutely. We have very strict rules on how we treat women and children.”
Chris seems to shrink between us as he realises how much he has really fucked up.
“Good,” Jynx nods, “we will leave him in your care then.”
Ryan nods and then surprises me when he asks, “If you don’t mind, what is the name of your friend and his mother? I would like to ensure that he has an apology directly from us and our protection from here on out. As far as the mother is concerned, my wife, as you know, runs a charity helping women who are coming out of abusive relationships and offers a multitude of help that I would like to offer her.”
Jynx smiles, a genuine one this time; she gives him their names and then adds, “Micha has a good skillset; however, he is one of mine, so don’t get any ideas.”
Ryan smiles, “I hear you.”
We hand Chris over to some of the Rougarou, who are far less careful with him than we were, and considering we weren’t careful at all, that says a lot. I’d hate to be in his shoes right now.
We say our goodbyes and then head back to the van, and I wait until we’ve turned around before I say anything, “I have to say I didn’t expect him to offer that. Can we trust that’s why he wanted their names?”
Jynx nods, “Yes, Ryan is honorable despite being on the wrong side of the law, and he takes abuse against women and children incredibly seriously. He lost his sister to her abusive partner.”
“Shit,” Mason exhales.
“Yeah, so we can trust that he’s going to keep his word.”
Suddenly I remember that I’ve got Ace on the phone, and I pull it out, putting him on speakerphone so that we can all hear. “Did you hear all of that?”
“Yeah, we got most of it. Listen, Waverly got a call from Asher; while it was going on, Micha woke up. We’re headed over there now since we heard that you were leaving.” He replies.
“Oh thank fuck,” Jynx mutters in the front seat, and I have to admit that she’s done a damn good job of hiding just how worried she really was. Sharing a look with Mason and Rip I think we all agree that we’re going to have to keep an eye on her a bit more closely when these emotional situations come up in the future just to make sure that she’s really handling it as well as she seems to be. That one is on us; we dropped the ball there.
“We’re on our way now,” Rip says since I’m so lost in my thoughts that I haven’t replied yet.
“See you soon,” Malachi answers this time, and I wonder where Ace’s mind has gone.
As soon as they’ve hung up, I lean forward slightly so that I gain Jynx’s attention; as she turns in the front seat and looks at me, I remind her gently, “You know that if there’s anything that you are ever even slightly worried about, we want to know. We want to be there for you even if it's only a fleeting worry.”
“And we’re men. We don’t always pick up on the little more subtle signs that might tell us that you’re struggling,” Rip adds with a slight frown.
“But we’re going to try to do better, Malachi and Ace will too,” I add.
Her smile is gentle as she scoots over to kiss Rip’s cheek and then looks into the back of the van and leans over the seat so she can kiss Mason and me as well. When she pulls back, she says, “I really appreciate that I have the best boyfriends. It’s not all on you though, I’m so used to just dealing with things myself that I didn’t even think to mention to you guys that I’m really worrying about Micha. I mean, I had to stay strong for Waves and tell her all the things that I hoped were true but didn’t know were true. I’ve known Micha for as long as Waverly has.”
“From now on, remember that we’re here for you,” Rip repeats.
She smiles, “I’ll try but it might take me a while to get used to it. The same goes for you guys too though; I want to know if any of you are worrying about anything as well.”
“Deal,” Mason agrees on behalf of all of us.
“Good,” she replies as we pull into the hospital car park and find a space. “Now, let’s go and check in on Micha.”
It takes us no time at all to get to the right room, and although I know she’s dying to get in there to see for herself that Micha is okay, she stops outside giving Waverly the time to properly reunite with him.
“How’s he doing?” She immediately asks Asher, who is waiting for us in the waiting room opposite Micha’s room.
“He’s fine. There’s no long-lasting damage. All of his scans look absolutely fine. They’ll want to keep him in for another day or so to make sure but he will probably be able to go home soon.” Asher reassures her.
