Page 34 of Traitorous Lies
Footprints.
About three yards from where they were standing.
Someone had been there, and recently.
“What?” Monique asked, looking around them, instantly picking up on his change in demeanor.
“There,” he said, pointing as he stepped closer to try to determine how many sets of prints there were.
“Looks like … footprints?” Monique asked as she followed close behind him.
“Yeah.”
“Someone is out here.” The thread of fear in her voice was obvious, and he wished there was something he could do about it. But until he knew who the prints belonged to he couldn’t.
“At least four someone’s.”
“Do you think we’re near a house, or a road, or a village, or something?” she asked hopefully.
“Could be. Or it could be …” Jax trailed off, not needing tofinish the sentence. It could be more of her father’s men, sent out to find them. If it was, he wasn't going to look for them with Monique and the fox in tow. “I want you to hide.”
“Hide?”
“Up a tree. Should keep you out of sight until I know what's going on.”
“I don’t want to leave you.” Her eyes pleaded with him, but this was the safest option. If it was help and safety he’d come back for her, but if it wasn't then he at least bought her some more time, which was about the best he could hope for right now.
“Don’t want to leave you either, princess.” Leaning in, he touched a kiss to her forehead, then took the fox from her arms. There was no way she was going to leave it behind so he may as well help her out with it. “If it’s them then as soon as you hear gunshots, I want you to wait up here for as long as you can, then climb down and keep walking. I’ll tell them that you died, and I left your body behind days ago. They’ll want to confirm that so they’ll head off in the opposite direction. That should buy you enough time to keep walking in the direction we were heading.”
“You're talking like you're not coming back. Jax, I don’t want you to trade your life for mine.”
“I absolutely will if I have to,” he told her honestly. Since he didn't want to waste time arguing, the men could be nearby still and hear them, he wrapped an arm around her waist and boosted her up to a branch on the closest tree. “Since you’ll have to get down on your own, I’m going to give you the little guy now. Don’t go too high, just a few more branches and you’ll be hidden. Here, take this as well,” he added, shoving one of the weapons into her arms.
Doing as he asked, when she and the fox were another three branches up, he took one last look at her, aware that this could be it. The end of what could have been the best thing to ever happen to him. Cut short far too soon.
“Be careful, Jax,” she whispered. “Come back to me.”
“I’ll do everything I can to make that happen, princess.”
With that, he turned and crept away, a weapon in his hands, keeping his steps as light as he could to make the minimal amount of noise.Failure wasn't an option, not when Monique’s life was dependent on him.
He had no plan, he couldn’t until he knew what he was up against. All he had was a fierce determination to protect his girl. Because, hell yeah, she was his, and he’d do anything he had to prove it to her.
But first, he had to find out if this was a threat or the break they’d been praying for.
Jax got his answer a moment later when he passed a tree, only to come face to face with the barrel of a weapon.
November 5th
12:03 P.M.
How long was she supposed to stay there?
Not only was Monique freezing just sitting up there in the tree in the middle of the forest, but she was hurting and uncomfortable. Balancing herself on the branch would have been hard enough, but keeping hold of the wriggling little bundle in her arms, plus a weapon, made it almost impossible.
Already, she’d almost tumbled off her perch three times.
Of all the times for the fox to decide he was ready to move about on his own, which was a good thing because it meant his injury was healing, it had to be now.
