Chapter 14: Jessica
I was about to fall on my face in utter exhaustion. That short nap wasn’t enough. Add to it the nerves of coming back here and then being in a car with Ajax for over an hour and I was ready to drop. On top of it, I was feeling lightheaded and queasy. I knew I should eat something, but I wouldn’t ask them for anything. The sooner we got this over with, the sooner I could get out of here.
They sat staring at me. I fought not to look away. They all looked tough and less than happy. Well, welcome to my world. I returned their looks with stern ones of my own. Bull was the one to interrupt the staring contest.
“Jessica, we don’t want to hurt you, honey. We want to help you. Talk to us. Tell us what has been going on these last three months. We know why you left. We need to know how you got to Colorado and why we couldn’t find you. Why did we get a call out of the blue saying you needed help?”
“I made a mistake. I should never have called Madisen. I thought I could get some of you to help me. I see now that isn’t possible, so I’d like it if you’d give me a ride to town or let me call someone to pick me up. I’ll be out of here as soon as possible.”
“You’re not leaving, Jessica, so get that shit out of your head!” Ajax growled. I didn’t bother to look at him. He could freeze in hell first. Every time I looked at him, all I saw was him looking at Melody and walking off with her.
“Sweetheart, please, we can’t let you go. You need help. We’ll help you but we need to know why. You’re an old lady, Ajax’s old lady. Of course we’ll help,” Bull said soothingly.
I shook my head. “No, I’m not an old lady. I was coming here to ask for your help as a prospective employer. I wanted to hire you as my bodyguards. I didn’t know of anyone else off the top of my head who did that kind of work.” Ajax growled when I said I wasn’t an old lady, but Bull raised his hand and he stopped.
“Okay, tell us why you need bodyguards. We’ll start there.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. I can see you won’t leave Ajax out of this. That was my hope.”
“I can’t keep him out of this, Jess. You’re his woman, even if you say you’re not. It’s his right to protect you. You’re our family. We will do nothing less than protect you.”
I narrowed my eyes at Bull. “I refuse to be an old lady to someone who fucked my own stepsister, and I won’t be bullied into it. You want to keep me here, go ahead. I’ll eventually get out. I got away from them and I can get away from you too,” I sneered. I saw them all go rigid. Ajax jumped up and knocked over his chair.
“I told you, I didn’t touch Melody! And what the hell do you mean you got away from them? What happened to you?” he yelled. His continued protestation of his innocence was wearing on my nerves. After what I’d put up with these past months and then the last two weeks, I’d had enough. I blew up.
“You want to know what happened? Well, let me tell you. I left here and went to Colorado. I was lucky enough to find a kind woman who took me in and paid me under the table and let me rent a small apartment over the diner I was working in. With her help, I started over. I had nothing in my name. I thought I was good to go.
“Imagine my surprise when two weeks ago, I looked up and there stood my stepmom and stepsister. She was smirking just like she did the day she got led off by you for some privacy,” I told Ajax. “They convinced me they needed to talk to me. After work, they showed up to my apartment. It was dark. Imagine my surprise when I opened the door not only to them but two goons they had with them. They knocked me out.” Hisses of displeasure sounded around the room. I kept going. I wanted to get this over with and then get on my way.
“I woke up being held in a house. Most of the time it was Melody and her mom there, though the two goons were too. They liked to come at night.” I saw Ajax stiffen. “For some reason, they weren’t allowed to do what they wanted to do to me, however, they didn’t say why they were holding me either.” I stood up and began to pace. I couldn’t stay still for the rest of this.
“Then last night, I overheard them talking. They were waiting for me to turn twenty-three in a month. When that happened, they were going to have me sign over my inheritance and then they’d get rid of me. They intended to let their goons have fun with me before they killed me.” Curses rang out around the room. Ajax looked enraged. His hands were crushing the back of his chair. I looked away from him.
“I knew I had to get out while I could. If I waited too much longer, the danger would only worsen. The room I was in had one tiny window in the bathroom. It was so small I didn’t think I could get out of it, and if I did, it was too far to fall. I’d have to try for a tree which looked really far away from the house. I decided to take a chance. Better dead by my own hands than theirs.” More looks were exchanged.
“I squeezed out the window and by some miracle made it to the tree. I walked for hours, heading toward where I thought town was. When I got to a woman’s house, I called Dolly. She came to get me and that’s when we decided to call Madisen. You know the rest. Now, when can I get out of here? I want to find a hotel and get some sleep.”
Rebel came over and gently pushed me down in my chair. Ajax was facing away from me, not moving. I tried to ignore him.
Bull cleared his throat. “Jess, what inheritance are you talking about? And why would it get more dangerous for you to wait?”
“When my dad died, he left all of us a sizable fortune. I couldn’t get mine until I turned twenty-three. Over the last couple of years both Melody and May have blown through theirs. They now think they should be entitled to mine. Apparently, mine ended up being more than theirs which pissed them off to no end. I needed to get out of there before I couldn’t get out and before those men raped me. I had heard for two solid weeks all the things they wanted to do to me. No thanks, I’d rather be dead than suffer that.”
Hearing this, Ajax swung around and grabbed me. He jerked me into his chest and kissed me. I fought to keep from opening my mouth or responding to him, although there was nothing I wanted more than to kiss him back. But I couldn’t do that and maintain my dignity. He pulled back.
“No one is going to kill you or rape you. I promise you that. I’ll kill every single one of them, baby. I just don’t understand why you thought you might not get out later. Were they threatening to do something sooner?” I pushed against his chest, but he didn’t move a millimeter. I kept my eyes on the room and not him.
“It doesn’t matter. What does matter is I have to get some protection until I can figure out how to get them out of my life for good or set up ongoing protection. If you could recommend someone else who does that kind of work, I’d appreciate it. I can pay them, that’s not an issue. As soon as my birthday is here, I get all of the money.” He sat down and pulled me down on his lap. I tried again to get away from him without success.
“Sit still. You’re not going anywhere. I’m tired of repeating myself. You’re staying here and we’ll protect you. I’m your man and it’s my job to ensure you’re taken care of. That means if these bitches and their goons need to be taken out, then they’ll be eliminated. There will be no more talk of you leaving. Is there anything else you can tell us? If not, you and I need to have a private conversation.” His arrogant declaration had me seeing red. I stomped down on his foot. He yelled out in pain as I jumped off his lap and put several chairs between him and me. His brothers all got to their feet.
“I’m not going to become your fucking prisoner any more than I was going to be theirs. For the last time, you’re not my anything. If you’re anyone’s, it’s Melody’s. Hell, maybe you’re in on it and this is just a ploy to get the money out of me easier. And you and I aren’t having any kind of private anything.” He roared as he jumped up and came at me. Rebel, Slash, and Joker grabbed him. I stood my ground.
“You think I’d hurt you? What the hell, Jessica? I love you, goddamn it! I’ve been losing my mind trying to find you, wondering if you were alright. Then I find you and you spew this shit! I need to get the hell out of here before I do something I regret. Keep her here. I’ll be back later.” He stormed out of the room. The others were mumbling and giving me pissed looks. I couldn’t handle it anymore. I shut down. I just needed to get a little rest and then plan my escape.
“Let’s take you to your room. Don’t try anything, Jess. We’ll have guards outside your room. You won’t be allowed to leave the compound. When Ajax gets back, I suggest you talk to him and fix this. Come on,” Bull said with a disappointed look on his face. Screw him. He had no idea what I had at stake. None of them did.
I let them lead me to the common room. Madisen came toward me. Bull stopped her and the other two ladies. “Sorry. She isn’t to have visitors yet. She’s going to go lie down.” The ladies protested but he wouldn’t give in. I ignored it. I needed to lie down before I fell down. They marched me to a room right down from Ajax’s. As I stepped inside, Bull looked at me.