Page 48 of Jax

“Yeah,” I croak. “He’s...all about me again.” My skin buzzes, and I hate myself for talking about Jax like he’s a steppingstone in our game when really, he’s everything.

“You’re giving it to him then, huh? He probably likes your sweet pussy. I bet you miss me though.”

“Of course,” I say, but my reply comes out a little too high pitched. It’s harder to play this game when I’ve been removed from it for a bit.

“I missed you,” he replies, his gaze like a vise on me, gripping me too tight. “Why don’t you come over and ride my face?”

“Can’t,” I bark out. “Period.” The man thinks a little period blood will kill him. I’m banished to the couch when I’m on the rag. I actually look forward to that time of the month.

“Of course,” he sneers. With a sigh, he snags his gaze on my shirt. “New clothes. You must really have him wrapped around your finger. I hope that means you have good info for us.”

“You know me,” I say, finally settling down. I sit in my seat, searching my surroundings. One of his fighter pals is in the driver’s seat. The car is most likely stolen. “I’m getting there. It was rough in the beginning but he’s starting to come around.”

“Come on,” Psycho goads me. “I gave you the perfect bleeding-heart scenario that night at the club.”

My jaw tightens on instinct. “That helped for sure,” I say, forcing a smile. I’m still nursing tender skin because of him but he doesn’t care.

Several moments go by and Psycho doesn’t say anything. His gaze is like a hot poker on my temple. I brace for whatever is about to come next but pretend I’m looking at the scenery as we drive out of the Heights.

“Well, this isn’t the homecoming I expected.” He peeks at the driver and then back at me. The driver takes that as his cue to agree with him. Everyone always agrees with Psycho. Disagree with him at your own peril. “Maybe you forgot how to act while you were away.”

“Sorry,” I say, shaking my head. “You just surprised me. I wasn’t expecting you to come pick me up. I was coming to you.”

“I was worried when you hadn’t checked in with me, Sade. I thought you’d gotten something else into your head.”

My mouth dries. “No, just picking the right moment. You know, as soon as he dusts himself off after nearly getting run over, he’ll want to know where I am.”

“Since you brought it up, I thought of a different game.” He scoots next to me on the seat. “If you didn’t get me the information I needed—which it looks like you haven’t—I thought he might need a nudge. Maybe if he gets to play the knight in shining armor, he’ll be more inclined to spill everything to you. What I need from you, is to know that you’ve done enough of your job so that he’ll come after you.”

All the warmth leaves my face. Of course Jax will come after me, and that’s not good. “He will,” I tell him. “It’ll be easier if I go back there once I update you though.”

“It might be easier, but not near as much fun. Here we are, pretending like you’re really in danger. His protective instincts will kick in. Then, you’ve pretty much won him over by doing nothing. And here you thought he’d never come back to you.” Psycho starts laughing. “This might be the most fun I’ve had with one of our schemes. I’m going to enjoy spending his money.”

What he likes is dangling something he has in front of someone else who wants the same thing. It makes him feel important. What he doesn’t realize is that I never belonged to him.

My heart is back with the guy who trained himself to hope less because of me.

I broke Jax, and I don’t intend on doing that again.

21

As unhinged as Psycho is, I don’t really know what I’m going to be walking in on when we get back to the storage facility. His plans change from one whim to another. Whatever pops into his mind goes, so I’m not surprised when he drags me past the main room and into the back hallway in front of everyone. His stinging grip on my hair has my feet struggling to find purchase as he yanks me past his rustic bedroom and into the last room I spent days in before. It’s nothing but concrete, the smell of urine, and us in the dank room.

“You thought you could get away from me, didn’t you?” he growls as soon as we’re alone.

I scramble away as soon as I feel the slightest release on my hair. “No,” I say forcefully.

He moves like a shadow around the perimeter. My eyes stay peeled to the dark silhouette. “Pants off,” he huffs.

“W-what?”

“You said you were on your period. Let’s see it.”

“Psycho,” I warn as the dark figure prowls closer.

He gets in my face. The smell of his stale breath hits me. “You’re trying to make a fool out of me, but you know that’ll never happen, Sade.” The backs of his knuckles brush along my cheeks before he pulls them to his shoulder and brings them forward, cracking me across the face. My cheek stings, throbbing at the surface. “Pants. Off.”

“No,” I tell him, making my voice as firm as possible. I’m playing with fire but if I take my pants off, he’ll know I’m not on my period. The mere thought of him touching me sexually again now that I’ve been back in Jax’s bed makes my skin crawl. I’ve traded my body for many things, mostly safety, but I can’t bring myself to do it now.

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