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“Okay, Wren. What else? Think! You don’t have time. Grab what you can and run.” I mumble out loud, mentally running through a checklist of things I have and can’t leave behind. “Fuck it. Time to go.” I grab the bag, turning to leave, when I hear the scraping of a chair. I freeze.
That wasn’t me. Are they already here? My heart seems like it’s about to go thumping out of my chest. I hear a footstep from behind me and spin quickly in that direction. That’s when I hear the heavy breathing. Heavier than mine and rough sounding. Male. The scent of cologne hits my nose, and it’s so familiar, but in a sensual way.What the fuck is wrong with me?This guy or guys are here to fucking kill me.With that kick start of a thought, I grip my bag tighter, and wasting no time, I spin to rush from the room.
“Where do you think you are going Princess?” His voice is almost a deep threatening growl but also, I know it. I stumble over my feet at the realization of who is here. I know he sounded similar to the guy that night, but I didn’t want to believe it. My bag is yanked back, sending me flying as it slips from my ironclad grip. I lose my balance as a sharp pain shoots through my ankle, and I know I’m going to land hard again.
I hear Jax yell out, but it’s too late. My head slams against the ground, my head going fuzzy. Faintly, I feel my body being lifted off the ground, but the damage is done. I feel the blood rushing from my head wound as my eyes get heavier. I swear I hear Jax say, “Hang on, Princess. Please han-“ before I can hear the rest of his words through my pounding head, I have one last thought of my own.Maybe this time I will finally stay dead.Then I pass out.
Chapter seventeen
Jaxon
I get to Wren’s place a good fifteen minutes early. Which gives me time to snoop a bit. I mean, I already know where everything is, but I like to make sure nothing has changed. Plus, I enjoy being surrounded by her scent. I even left one of my shirts in her drawers so she can wear it to bed. She likes loose-fitting shirts when she sleeps and I love it when she kicks her blankets off, showing off all her creamy white skin on full display.
I just finished inhaling her scent from inside her closet when I hear her struggling to open the front door. So I head to my normal watching spot in the corner to get comfortable and wait. I can hear the inaudible whispers of her speaking to one of her neighbors, but not what is being said. After a second, I can tell she finally opens the door, then quickly slams it shut.
I know she never bothers with the lights; it wouldn’t help her see either way. I never turn them on either, not that I think she would notice, but I’m also used to the dark. It’s where I like to play. It’s not the same as hers but I thrive in the darkness me and the guys have made for ourselves.
I am one of the three most feared men in this city and for good reason. I don’t take shit from anyone. I’m the city’s enforcer. Cross me and you’re more than likely to end up in an unmarked grave in the middle of nowhere.
I listen closely, but the only thing I can hear in this tiny apartment is the sound of Wren’s heavy breath. I think about getting up, but by the time I decide to go check on her, I hear her finally move. As time ticks by, I grow increasingly eager for her arrival, but she never enters the room. The sound of soft thumps filled the hall as things hit the floor, followed by the sound of the shower being turned on. I frown when I hear her get right in. Her shower usually takes ten minutes to even warm up enough not to freeze.
Slowly rising, I can feel a sense of unease building in my chest. This isn’t like my Princess. She tends to stick to routines, and I know she hates anything cold. I shift towards the bedroom door to peek down the hall. Her clothes are thrown everywhere, like she couldn’t wait to get out of them. I frown harder. This isn’t like her at all. I go to take a step towards the bathroom, wanting to check on her but decide to hold off. She did have to deal with Maverick and Xander today so, I’m sure she is still just pissed at them.
It doesn’t take her long to finish her shower and when I hear the water finally shut off; I go take my seat back down in the corner chair. Maybe her meeting with the guys really did make her emotional and angry. I hope she puts Mav through the wringer once he pulls his head out of his ass. He better be ready to beg on his knees to this woman.
Wren enters the room in a tiny thin bare towel that doesn’t do shit to hide her mouthwatering curves. She runs her hand along the wall to her dresser, grabbing an underwear and bra set. I know she thinks all her clothing is plain Jane, but we have all been slowly adding items to it. Like the set she just grabbed, I picked out. It’s a deep royal blue color, but I made sure it was a soft cotton so she wouldn’t notice it. It’s a beautiful color against her smooth, creamy skin.
I wait for her to grab herself a baggy t-shirt and climb into bed, but she surprises me when she also grabs a pair of black leggings. Pulling them up over her thick thighs, jumping to pull them up over her juicy round ass. She then proceeds to pull a big dark gray duffel bag from her closet.
She continues to empty drawer after drawer in a rush. Not caring when she drops an item or just doesn’t grab it from the drawer. After she is done with her dresser, she moves into her closet. I watch her with slitted eyes as she runs her delicate little fingers over different items, pulling out random ones to hang over her arm.What the hell is this woman doing? Packing is obvious, but where does she think she is going?
When she finishes there, she tosses what’s in her arms in the duffel. Not caring to fold anything, just stuffing it in like she is on a time limit. I shift in my seat and she snaps her head up. I freeze like a deer caught in the headlights, waiting for her to finally realize someone is in the room with her, but she shakes her head and turns back towards the overstuffed bag.
“Okay, Wren. What else? Think! You don’t have time. Grab what you can and run.” She mumbles out, but I hear it clear as day. She is running, but from what? She didn’t seem to recognize me today at the coffee shop and Xander mentioned nothing about her recognizing one of them. So, who or what is she afraid of? “Fuck it. Time to go.” She grabs the oversized bag, struggles a bit before she stabilizes herself. She can’t leave me, I just found her. I stand quickly as the chair scraps across the floor. Fuck. She freezes, not moving, just listening. I know this is not how I want to start a relationship with her, but what if I wasn’t here to catch her trying to leave? We wouldn’t know where she would have gone.
I’m breathing heavily and I know she hears it because her body goes tense, the prey sensing the predator, not that I would ever hurt her. I see it the second she decides to run. Her grip tightens on her duffel bag straps and she somehow tenses even more before she rushes forward in an attempt to escape this big, bad wolf. It takes two of my steps to reach forward and grab her bag, halting her attempt. “Where do you think you are going, Princess?”
She stumbles forward, tripping over her feet when her bag doesn’t move with her forward momentum. I yank a little, trying to pull her back towards me but I forget how small my little princess is. I pull too hard and she loses her grip on her duffel bag. She stumbles over her footing, making a small sound of pain as I watch in horror and what feels like slow motion as she falls back. It’s then that I notice blood running down her forehead and her busted lip.How did I miss that?
She falls back, hitting the back of her head as it bounces on the ground, and I swear I hear it crack. I rush forward in a blur, panic seizing my chest as I stare down at this small fragile woman. I didn’t see wrong. There is blood running down the side of her head and down the middle of her bottom lip like she might have bitten through it. What happened to you, princess?
I slowly lift her head to check for injury. She hit hard, but I’m hoping I imagined the cracking sound. My fears are confirmed when my thick fingers come away covered with the red of her blood. I look down at her face, noticing it wasn’t a small crack either. Blood is pooling around her head in a red halo I never wanted to see on her. I’ve never had to worry about stopping the bleeding. I am usually trying to make someone bleed more, so a wave of worry and panic flashes through my mind. She needs a doctor.
I gently lift Wren up with one arm under her knees and the other just across her shoulder and below her neck. I lean her head against my chest, rushing from her apartment. Her eyes flutter for a second, and I think that is a good sign. “Hang on Princess. Please hang on.” I race down the stairs, making it to my jeep within minutes, but I noticed Wren is now limp in my arms. “Fuck.” I roar into the night.
I place Wren in the back seat as gently as possible and jump into the front seat, throwing in the key. “Call Xander.” I yell at my dash. “Calling Xander.” It replies as I slam my foot down on the gas, shooting us forward. I’m about to make this drive the fastest I have ever done.
“You better have a good reason to be calling me when yo-“ He starts when he picks up, but I don’t have time for his bad boy boss bullshit.
“Wren is hurt. Get Doc to the house now!” I growl through the Bluetooth as I weave in and out of traffic, running red nights but not giving a fucking damn. I dare someone to test me right now. It’s quiet for a second. “This isn’t a joke Xander, she is bleeding from a head wound. I’m ten minutes out. You better get Doc there by then or we will need to find a brand new doctor.”
I hear him in the background yelling at Maverick to call the Doc and to get him to the house in the next ten minutes or he will be the one in the hospital. “What happened?” He finally replies in his deadly calm, cold manner.
I take a deep breath to try to calm down my pounding heart, but it’s not working. I chance a look back in the rearview mirror, seeing the blood still dripping from her head wound onto the light tan carpet of the Jeep. Gripping the steering wheel tighter as I look down at my hands covered in blood from carrying her and frown. I’ve always relished the deep red color of blood painted on my hands. Enjoyed it in fact, but this feels wrong. It shouldn’t be her blood.
“Jax! What the fuck happened?” Xander all but roars, this time losing his shit at the thought of our woman hurt. I realized I didn’t answer him yet, too lost in my own thoughts.
“She got home and immediately took a cold shower. It was strange because she hates everything and anything cold. When she got out, I figured she was still pissed about your guy’s meeting. She started to dress, but not in her usual pajamas. She grabbed a duffel bag and started packing.” I say, while swerving around a car to breeze through another red light.
