Page 54 of Save Me

“Mr. Turner.” Mike’s boisterous voice echoes throughout the space. “So good to see you again. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble to get here today,” he says as he wobbles towards us, using a cane for assistance. He sounds nervous, as though Jax’s presence alone sets him on edge, though he tries to hide it by talking even more.

“And Evi, so good to see you!” he says with a wide smile. “We’ve missed you around here. We were all sad to hear you needed some time off—but totally understandable, of course. I’m just so glad you’re feeling better,” he says quickly, and I freeze, wondering what exactly he knows about my time away from work.

Jax squeezes my hand gently, and it’s only then that I remember he made up a vague story of me being sick and needing time away from work while I recovered.

“But so good to see you back and working in this new… role,” Mike says, looking between Jax and myself as if trying to figure out the exact dynamic going on.

I give him a brief smile. “Thanks, I’ve missed being here,” I lie as I breathe slowly, trying to calm my racing heartbeat.

“Mike, Evi will no longer be bartending here,” Jax says, his tone leaving no room for debate, and I shift nervously as I wait for Mike to respond.

“Oh, okay, no problem. Was there a different position you want, Evi? We’re hiring a few new dancers—”

“Her role will be strictlyadministrativefrom here on out,” Jax says, cutting him off. “You’ll hear from her about our business endeavors, and she’ll be coordinating our visits. Ofcourse, if you need to get in touch with me, you have my number, but Evi will be taking on this role for me,” Jax explains briefly.

“Oh, umm, yeah, of course. That works for me,” Mike says, stumbling over his words as he pieces everything together.

“We really don’t have all day to be here,” Jax says, a gentle reminder that we’re here on business.

“Oh right. Let me go get the bag.” Mike turns and hobbles back towards his office. Jax looks at me and I give him a quick nod, and he follows Mike.

I look around the room, trying to remind myself that I’m safe, and I’m okay; that the events that happened here had nothing to do with the place itself, and this is just a building. I steady my breathing and force myself to look at the bar in front of me, focusing on the deep color as I make myself continue to take slow, even, breaths. I know exactly why I’m staring at the bar, exactly why I won’t let my eyes stray and look towards the other side of the room. I don’t want to give myself the opportunity to see the back door, to remember everything that happened after I pushed it open to take the garbage out that night.

“Time to go, love.”

I jump at the sound of Jax’s voice so close behind me.

“Jesus Christ, you scared me,” I say, clutching my chest. “Where’s Mike?”

“Sorry.” He presses a kiss on my forehead. “I told him to stay in the office and rest his leg. Are you okay?”

“I will be once I get my heart rate back down.” I scoff, shoving everything I was thinking about aside.

He gives me an assessing stare.

“I’m fine, truly,” I say. “There might be some bad memories here, but no one that’s here right now was responsible for what happened to me. So, I’m fine. This is just a place I worked at,” I say, summoning all the false bravado I can muster.

“You are the bravest person I know,” he says as he takes my hand, his other now carrying a duffel bag. “Now let’s get going.”

I follow him back out the front door, and a wave of relief washes over me once we’re outside, as if I couldn’t actually relax the whole time I was inside the building, the memories too recent to hold at bay for much longer. I need a distraction, need something to stop the flood of emotions from spilling over.

“Mike seemed to take the news well,” I say, my voice coming out higher than anticipated.

Jax smiles at me as he holds my hand, rubbing his thumb reassuringly over my skin. “He doesn’t really have a choice, but regardless I’m glad he was amicable.”

“He did mention there was another position open though. But you didn’t let him finish telling me about it.” I nudge him.

“If you want to be a stripper, then by all means, just let me know and I’ll have a pole installed in our room by tonight,” he says as his hand moves around the back of my neck, pulling me in for a kiss.

I relish the taste of him as our mouths meet, letting myself be pulled under by the surge of euphoria he seems to be able to provide instantly.

I pull away slightly and look up into deep green eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re too jealous to let me dance in front of other men, Mr. Turner.”

“When it comes to you, there isn’t a way to describe just how jealous I’d be,” he says softly, his mouth meeting mine again briefly. “Now, let’s get going home.”

He helps me up on the bike and I relish the time I’ll get to spend pressed up against him as we make our way home, even though this time around I can feel the looming presence of panic pressing in on me as memories from that dark night in the gravel parking lot resurface again.

CHAPTER 24

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