Page 85 of Save Me

“Hours.” Jax’s voice sounds quietly, and both of us look at him. “It will take me a couple of hours.”

Ryan tilts his head in question for a split second, before a sadistic smile crosses his face.

“A couple of hours to do what exactly?” I ask slowly.

“To kill the other two in the video,” he says quietly, his voice dripping with violence as if he has already allowed his mind to think of exactly how he’s going to seek his own form of justice.

“That won’t look suspicious at all,” Ryan drawls, taking a breath and another sip of coffee. “A video of these four guys surfaces, only for two of them to wind up dead hours later, and the other two go missing as soon as mommy and daddy call them to come home.”

“A lot of people don’t like rapists.” Jax shrugs, and his tone doesn’t leave his decision up for debate.

I take another sip of my coffee, the hot liquid waking me up but not doing much to soothe my nerves or settle the frustration deep within me.

I stand up, feeling confident in my decision, trusting that this is the fastest way to bring them down, though I can’t help but feel nervous all the same.

“Let me know when you’re done with Bryce,” I say quietly. “And, um, just make sure my face is blurred really well.”

Jax nods, his hand brushing against my side as I walk away from the table, taking my coffee with me.

“I’m sorry they did this to you, Evi.” Ryan’s voice sounds gentle.

I stop and turn, looking back at him. “I know we’ve said it before, I know you know it, but you didn’t deserve how any of your time with Rhett played out. And I promise you, he will pay for everything he put you through.”

I give Ryan a sad smile before I keep walking to the bedroom. I suddenly feel like I need to paint exactly what I’m feeling right now.

CHAPTER 34

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Jax walks inan hour later, but I’m too immersed in what I’m painting, too focused on the parts of my soul I’m trying to let bleed onto the canvas, that I don’t look up from what I’m doing. I need a moment, several moments, to work through everything that has happened this week. I’m still reeling from seeing Bryce and Sam, and I am more than uneasy about the idea of that video, the video of me, being leaked to the world. And as I keep painting, as I keep dipping my brush into the dark colors, I feel an anger I’m not used to feeling start to bubble deep within me.

I paint for the better part of an hour, despite Jax moving around the room, clearly giving me the time and space I need without interrupting me. It’s not until I hear a loud clicking sound that I look up from my work, only to find Jax studying the gun in his hand, before tucking into the back of his pants.

I raise an eyebrow at him, completely lost for words.

“Work,” is all he says, as if that’s enough of an explanation. When I don’t say anything else he sits on the bed, motioning for me to come join him. I wander over to him, until I’m standing between his legs, and his hands are resting on my waist.

“When I said I needed a couple hours to kill them, I wasn’t bluffing, love,” he says, looking at me. His tone is serious, but his eyes are alight with something I haven’t seen before: bloodlust.

“You’re actually going to seek them out like this?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you weren’t in the business of hurting people?”

“When it comes to you, love, my business—my rules—change.”

I nod as I shift my weight to my other foot. I’m not sure how to explain what I’m feeling, what has been bubbling under the surface, and I’m scared. Scared to admit what I’m thinking, what I want, and what that says about me, and who I am as a person.

“I can see you thinking,” Jax says quietly.

“I want them dead,” I say quietly, my own confession causing an uneasiness to settle deep within me.

“Considering what they did to you, I’d say that’s a normal reaction.”

“Considering your track record for always being so level-headed,” I start, the sarcasm light in my tone, “excuse me if I don’t feel reassured by your acceptance of what I’ve just said.”

Jax smiles at me, his lips kissing my chest, and I lean into him, wishing my shirt wasn’t between us.

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