CHAPTER41
JAX
Iunwrap Lucia’s arms from around my waist and kiss her forehead.
“Please let me come with you, Jax?” she pleads, staring up at me with those huge brown eyes that will usually get me to agree to absolutely anything.
“No, Angel. This is between me and your father. I have to do this alone. Surely you understand that?”
She blinks at me. “But what if you start fighting again? What if you hurt him?” she blinks at me.
“I won’t.”
“What if he hurts you?”
“He won’t. I’m not going to lie to you, he’s going to hit me. And we’ll probably fight, but we’ve fought plenty of times. I broke his trust, Luce. No matter the reason why, it doesn’t change that fact.”
“But, Jax…” I see the uncertainty in her eyes. That she still doubts my commitment to her stings, but I know it will take a long time to undo a lifetime of her feeling like she’s not good enough.
“I don’t regret a single second of any of it. Being with you is a decision I would make one thousand times over, Angel.” I brush her hair back from her face.
“Just don’t do anything stupid, okay?” She leans her head against my chest.
“Stupid? Me?” I kiss her head again. “I’ll see you later.”
Istep out of the elevator and nod to the two armed guards who always stand outside this suite when Alejandro is here. I half-expect them to draw their guns and shoot me, but they greet me as they always do. I suppose he hasn’t sent the memo that his most trusted employee and best buddy is no longer welcome.
I walk through the suite and his office door is open. He looks up at me when I step into the room. “I wondered when you’d finally have the balls to show up,” he snarls.
“Well considering it’s only 10 a.m. you didn’t have to wait very long, did you?”
“What the fuck, Jax? She’s my fucking daughter!” he bellows, standing up and planting his hands on his desk.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” he growls. “Sorry is when you dent my car or break my fucking watch or something. It doesn’t cut it when you are screwing my fucking daughter.”
“It’s all I have, amigo,” I say, aware that my apology is futile, but I needed to say it anyway.
“When you were supposed to be working together these past few weeks, have you really been sneaking around? Laughing at me? Thinking I am some sort ofidiota?”
“No!” I shout back at him. “Is that what this is really about? Your fucking ego?”
“Don’t you fucking dare.” He vaults the desk like an Olympic gymnast and punches me in the face. I stagger back and rub my chin. That stung like fucking hell, but I deserved it.
He comes at me again, but this time I defend myself, ducking to avoid his punch while landing a right hook on his jaw. Then we go at it again, like two brawlers in a street-fight, neither one of us prepared to back down, too matched in strength and agility for either of us to best the other. We have sparred together for over twenty years. We know each too well.
When my lungs are burning with effort and the sweat stings my eyes, I drop to my knees and hold my hands up in surrender.
“Alejandro,” I shout. “I love her.”
He staggers back as though I’ve just punched him in the gut. Surely he knew that? Surely he knows me well enough to know that I wouldn’t put us through this if it wasn’t for something real?
He glares at me. His tongue darts out of his mouth as he licks the blood from the cut on his lip. I stand now too. My head is pounding from where he has just landed me a right hook on my temple and my blood thunders in my ears as my heart races in my chest.
“When did it start?” he growls.
“A few weeks ago. Just before Dallas?”