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Was thatFelix? Such a thing should have been impossible, and yet I had experienced his violent ways in the past. This was exactly something he would do. How could I have been so stupid as to think it was Marina? There was no way. It was Felix. He had attacked Jax; why? To send a message?
The world spun slightly and the wine turned sour in my gut. I scarcely had time to throw the blanket back and rush to the railing before I threw up my wine and part of my dinner out into the snow below. I coughed and choked, gasping desperately as the cold spun into my veins, and the happy bubble in my chest shattered into a thousand painful shards. Tears flooded my eyes and my hands shook violently as I stumbled back over to the couch.
Just like that, my dream was over.
Felix had attacked him because of me. Now I was responsible for the pain oftwoof those wonderful men. Poor Jax hadn’t done anything to deserve such savagery, and the thought of anyone else getting hurt at the hands of Felix turned my stomach further.
Fuck.
A million thoughts assaulted my mind all at once; from panicked crying, running away, confessing and dealing with the hatred, and more. Through it all, one thought shone stronger than the others, and I dropped my head to my hands in despair.
How the hell was I going to appease a maniac like Felix?
30
SUMMER
This was a bad idea. I knew in my gut it was a bad idea, but I was out of options. Backed into a corner like a rabbit with nowhere to run. Getting Felix to meet with me was surprisingly easy; so a couple of days after Christmas, while the guys were busy with the final touches to the Helix anniversary party at New Year’s and Tabitha was spending the afternoon teaching the kids bingo, I slipped away to meet him.
Felix had chosen to meet at the resort bar. As I stepped over the threshold into the warm, golden glow of the lights, the scent of alcohol and citrus tickled my nose, and my heartbeat started to pick up. The confidence I had talked myself into on the ride down the mountain began to fade, and I clutched at the strap of my bag to try and steady my hands as I headed further inside.
The bar was rather empty. Most people were likely still enjoying the post-Christmas high with their loved ones. One bartender hovered behind the sleek black bar, polishing glasses with a pristine white cloth. She caught my eye and shot me an expecting smile, ready to take my order if I stepped forward and slid onto one of the padded stools. If I was here of my own accord, maybe I would have.
Instead, I slowly weaved my way through the neat tables and chairs, casting admiring glances at the black table clothes and black glass vases filled to the brim with red flowers that created each centerpiece. They were a distraction from my target, and as I approached Felix in a booth, his back to me, my heart began to pound harder. Slow, powerful beats that I was sure would shatter my rib cage if I wasn’t careful. In the heat of the moment, meeting up with him to have it out with him had been a great idea.
Now, foolishness swept over me like a cloak, but I was powerless against the movement of my own feet.
“Felix.” I greeted him dryly and slid into the booth opposite him. His thin lips pulled into a sinister smile and the drink he had been nursing, a dark liquid, was placed down in front of him.
“I gotta say Summer, I didn’t think you’d actually have the balls to show.”
“I called the meeting, didn’t I?”
“You think I can trust you at your word?” Felix sneered. “You swore you’d watch my back with the cops and look how that turned out.”
“You nearlykilledsomeone, Felix,” I hissed back, clutching my bag in my lap. “That’s different.”
“Not to me it wasn’t.” He leaned forward into the table. “So your word is as strong as your loyalty.Pathetic.”
“You want to talk about pathetic? Who the fuck jumps someone on Christmas Eve?! You could have killed him!” Just thinking about Jax and his injuries flushed heat down my spine and nausea churned in my gut.
“I didn’t doanything,” Felix purred with a shit-eating grin. “But if Ihad, I would have just been having a little fun. Sending you a nice little reminder all wrapped up in a bloody bow.”
“You’re insane.”
“Me?” Felix laughed suddenly, a loud bark that briefly drew the attention of the bartender. “You’re the one shacked up in a rich chalet playing fucking nanny to the poor fucker we ran over. Does he know?”
“Youran him over,” I snapped. “I tried to help him, remember? And you fucking locked me in the trunk all night to stop me.”
“You were in the car, Summer. Signing a fucking confession blaming me doesn’t absolve you of guilt.” His eyes narrowed to dark slits. “He doesn’t know… does he?”
My lips parted but words failed me for a moment, and I pressed my back flat against the booth. “I didn’t know,” I said finally. “I never saw who he was; I never learned his name. You confessed so I was no longer needed in person.”
“That’s so fucked up,” Felix scoffed. “You’re sleeping under his roof, tending to his fucking child, and all the while…” Felix blew out a soft whistle. “And you say I’m the psycho.”
“You are!” I snapped loudly, then I hunkered down slightly in my seat as the bartender glanced over once more. “What you did to Jax… you aren’t going to get away with it.”
“What I did?” Felix picked up his glass and swirled the liquid. “I’ve learned a few things since I got here. Namely, you can’t prove shit. But if you want to start that fight, Summer, what do you think will happen when your precious rich buddies find out an ex-drug addict with a terrible alcohol addiction has been watching their kids?”
