Page 22 of Traitorous Lies
Jax knew he was only doing what he had to do to find answers and keep his family safe. He hadn't known much about Monique other than that she was Samson Kerr’s daughter and what the media portrayed her to be. This decision to come and meet her hadn't been made maliciously or with the intent of hurting her.
But he was going to.
She was a genuinely sweet person, and he was using that against her.
It wasn't right and it wasn't fair, but there was no way to go back in time and do things differently. What was done was done, and they were both going to have to live with the consequences.
“Here, let me see if I can do a little something about your body aching,” he said, settling down into a more comfortable position and grabbing one of Monique’s legs, massaging out the tightness in her muscles, needing to do something to alleviate his guilt before it choked him.
November 2nd
3:44 P.M.
Exhaustion was pressing down on her this afternoon.
So far, she’d been doing okay, managing the headache and the slight dizziness. The leaves and berries she’d been foraging for them had been good for her stomach, and the nausea had subsided. The massage Jax had given her earlier had helped ease the tightness in her sore, overused muscles.
But the last hour or so she’d gotten so tired it was getting harder and harder to put one foot in front of the other.
Not that Monique had any plans to tell Jax that.
If she did, she knew he would stop immediately. Build them a camp and let her rest for as long as she needed to.
The problem with that plan was that it kept them right where they were.
Lost.
In the middle of one of the largest forests in Europe.
With the temperatures getting colder by the day as winter approached.
They needed to be out of there sooner rather than later, and any delay could cost them their lives.
She was well aware of the fact that they might not be able to find their way out of the forest. They had no idea which way the van had driven, or how deep into the forest it had gone. There was no road to follow, and it had quickly become impossible to follow the path the van had made through the trees.
People got lost and died in the wilderness, and she and Jax could soon be two of them.
Shivering at the thought of never making it home to all her animals, as much as her heart hurt at never seeing them again, it hurt worse for Jax. While she had a family who wouldn't really care if she died, not that they’d outright wish it on her, more that they were just ambivalent, Jax had five brothers who loved him and would miss him if he were gone. Miss him, the person, not the lack of an heir to a fortune she didn't even want.
“You okay, princess?” Jax asked, obviously noticing her shiver.
It wasn't just fear and sadness making her shudder, but the cold seemed to be really hitting her hard this afternoon. Probably because of the exhaustion draped over her like a heavy cloud, because they were walking almost nonstop, which should in theory keep her body temperature up enough to hold off the cold.
Managing a smile, she nodded.
Slowly, his gaze roamed her body, and then Jax took a step closer, crowding into her personal space. Not that she minded in the least. In fact, she’d love to have more of him in her personal space. That kiss earlier hadn't been nearly enough, she wanted so much more with this man.
So much it would have scared her if she didn't feel so unexplainably safe with him.
Capturing her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he tilted her head back so she had no choice but to meet his gaze. Where she couldn’thelp but feel he was reading every nuance of her expression and looking right down inside her to her very soul.
“You're lying to me, princess,” he murmured. “Tell me the truth.”
There was something so compelling about Jax’s tone that the words were spilling out of her mouth without conscious thought. “Just everything catching up with me, I think. I don’t know why I just feel so tired.”
“Why didn't you say something?”
“Because I know you’d insist we stop and rest, and we have to keep going. We have to find our way out of here and back home.”
