Page 53 of Fox and Nitro
Jasmine
Reading the message again I try not to be too disappointed that Fox and Zane won’t be picking me up until a little later. I was dropped off this morning on the back of Fox’s bike with the promise I’d ride home with Zane. I cannot describe how alive I felt when I walked into my classroom this morning. I never thought I’d enjoy being on the back of a ridiculously loud death machine, and yet from the moment I planted my ass behind Fox and wrapped my arms around his trim waist, I was hooked. Somehow just being on the back of a bike in the wind and feeling free was something so outside of what I would normally do. Then when Fox put his hand on my calf and rubbed it oh so gently, oh my god I almost combusted on the bike then and there. I can’t wait to do it again.
“Hey, you!”
I turn toward the voice. I’m standing outside of my school, most of the kids have gone home for the day, but there are still some floating around in the playground. I don’t know who this dad is, which is weird because I’m sure I know most of the parents of the children that attend our small school.
“Hello sir, how can I help?” I paste a smile on my face and try not to flinch when he steps into my space.
“You can tell me where my wife is, you bitch!” he spits at me.
My brows pull low, “Who is your wife? I haven’t seen any women around here, most of the parents picked their children up-” I’m cut off when he grips my arm tight, his fingers digging into the soft skin of my upper arm.
“I go away for two days and when I get home she’s gone and your fucking number is in the trash. So, did you help her? Are you fucking hiding her? Answer me?” He’s shaking me so hard now that my teeth are clacking.
I’ve been acting meek because I know there are children still on the grounds and I don’t want to scare them, but fuck this guy!
“Let. Me. Go,” I growl at him through clenched teeth before I pull him in close and knee him in his tiny balls.
He hunches forward and I use that as the gap I need to punch him in the face. As soon as my fist connects I catch the look in his eyes and I know I fucked up. I should have played it meek and soft but I’m not that kind of person. Yeah I can be soft and downright a sad sack crybaby with Fox and Nitro, but that’s because my heart is on the line. With this guy here? Well, all my mama’s words on how to protect myself and the kids in the playground come to the fore.
He stands straight, still with a iron grip on my arm, “You fucking little bitch, you’ll pay for that!” He spits before he hits me across the face so damn hard it has my ears ringing.
He moves to hit me again and that’s when I hear it. The sound of whirring and little feet on the pavement.
“Hey! Let her go, fuckface!”
“Rodney,” I gasp out, “Rodney, everything is fine, head back to the playground,” I try to hide my face so as not to worry them but dark eyes move into my line of sight.
Elio’s face tightens before returning to the expressionless mask he usually wears.
“Let her go, you bully!” Jackson rams his motorized chair into the man’s legs and he stumbles back letting me go.
He glares at me and I glare back. He’s not going to get the satisfaction of seeing me cry, no matter how hurt I am.
A soft, slightly clammy hand gently touches my cheek, “Aw shit Miss Jasmine, that looks bad. Let’s get some ice on it and call your mom or something.”
Rodney takes one hand, and Elio slips his into my other while Jackson tells us about the dangers of talking to strange men. We’re almost to the door of the school when the Principal comes rushing out, phone in hand. She holds my gaze to make sure I’m OK before running out of the entrance, probably looking for the man and his car. I don’t recall him leaving but that’s probably because adrenaline was pumping through my veins. Now the danger has passed I’m feeling shaky and light headed. The last thing I remember is Rodney’s dirt streaked face looking down at me.
Fox
I stare down at the body lying on the bed and try to get my head around someone beating her so damn badly that it took her life.
“All the paperwork says she’s married to Travis Hitchens,” Nitro mumbles.
“Since when?” My voice comes out scratchy.
Rose Grove is a small town, not too much crime, and of what there is it seems to be the MC getting attacked, not normal fucking people murdering each other.
“Since before he met Joy. This is the official Mrs Hitchens. The first one at least.”
“Why the fuck did no one know about this? Surely someone in this fucking town knew something!”
“I guess we all thought she was the side chick,” Nitro says sadly.
I scrub my hands down my face trying to erase the signs of prolonged torture this woman endured. Not even when we were deployed have I seen this level of cruelty. The markings on her wrists and ankles show where she was restrained. The burn marks under the blood and bruising show someone who was meticulous in their torture. This poor woman’s last moments would have been pure agony. My eyes close and I try to shake off the images burned into my brain. I need to pull it together so we can find who did this.
Nitro’s warm hands grip my neck, pulling me into his body as he bands his other arm around my waist. “We’ll find who did this, baby. We’ll find them and end them. For her.”
