Page 71 of Save Me

CHAPTER 30

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The room isquiet except for the sound of Sam inhaling a sharp breath, and I stare at Jax, wondering if I heard him right, but struggling to hear anything over the sound of my heart hammering in my chest.

“You can’t keep me here,” she says, “I’m not even sure he likes me enough to bother coming to get me.”

Guilt overwhelms me at the thought of Sam going through anything close to what I experienced; the idea of her being held here against her will makes me uneasy as bile rises in my throat, memories of my own time held captive resurfacing quickly.

“That might be the case,” Jax continues calmly, “but I’m sure he won’t want the spotlight on him if you go missing. First some of his friends wind up dead, then his sister disappears… if he’s smart, he’ll be here before the day’s over.”

“If you keep me here, then you’re no better than Rhett,” she says, an edge of panic now in her voice.

I jump as Jax stands up suddenly, slamming his hands on the table, his self-control all but evaporated.

“You think I’m just as bad ashim?” He seethes. “After what he did to her, what he let his friends do to her…” He takes a breath, seemingly struggling to contain his anger. “Unless you’re covered in your own blood when your brother picks you up, don’t youdarecompare me to him.” I flinch at the anger in his voice as Sam gives me a wild and questioning look.

“Jax, you can’t keep her here. She is myfriend.My best friend. You can’t hold her hostage.”

I look between him and Ryan, who just gives me a casual shrug while continuing to make coffee, unbothered by Jax’s threats.

My attention turns back to Jax. “There is nothing I won’t do if it means keeping you safe, love,” he says quietly as he takes a shaky breath before continuing, reining in his temper.

“Lucky for you,” he says, gesturing to Sam, “you will be treated like a friend while you’re here. So, text your brother. Tell him you’re here and tell him if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll be knocking at that door today.”

“I’m sorry about this,” I say quietly as I stare at the phone in her hands, unable to look her in the eyes.

“What happened when you were gone? I thought… I don’t know what I thought,” she stammers. “But I’m starting to think there’s a lot that happened that I don’t know about.”

I nod slowly. “A lot happened,” I say vaguely.

“And you truly think Lockwood was involved?”

“I didn’t know Bryce was your brother at the time,” I say truthfully, meeting her gaze at last. “But I recognized him as soon as I saw your family photo. He helped keep me there at first, making sure I wouldn’t escape. But then he… changed his mind. He tried to help me.”

“I need to hear what he has to say about all of this,” she says, her voice filled with confusion and sadness. “And I guess there’s only one way to figure everything out…” She trails off, looking at her phone as she wipes her cheeks, now damp from her tears.

Her fingers move quickly across her phone screen as she sends him a text, and time seems to stand still as we wait for him to reply, or to show up here.

*

I sip mycoffee quietly as I sit across the table from Sam. She hasn’t touched her mug yet, and apprehension is etched into her features as she glances between the three of us.

I don’t like to think about everything Jax and Ryan have done in their lives, the darkness they have accepted as a part of themselves, but besides Jax’s outburst earlier they appear completely unphased by this whole situation, casually sipping their coffees and making small talk with each other, as if it’s just another normal day in their life.

This isn’t the first time they’ve done this, I think to myself,and perhaps this is the nicest they’ve been to someone they’re trying to get information out of.

There’s a loud knock at the front door and Ryan gets up, his expression changing from laid back to menacing in an instant, and I’m taken aback by how quickly this darker side of him rises to the surface.

“He helped me, you know,” I say to Jax quietly, and I don’t miss Sam’s attention snap towards me. “Just remember that. He tried to help me in the end.”

Jax nods silently.

Ryan enters the room, and my heart beats loudly in my chest as Bryce follows behind him. I can’t help the way my body sags with relief at seeing him alive, as if my mind wouldn’t believe the news until I saw it for myself.

He glances nervously around the room, his movements uncertain, his eyes finding Sam first.

“You okay?” he asks her quickly.

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