Even if it meant killing again.
7
Hours later,Poppy woke with a start. Finally breaking loose from the heart racing nightmare where her subconscious mind had been trapped, she sat up in bed and looked around the dark room. For a moment, she forgot where she was…and why she was here.
Jax. I’m at Jax’s apartment.
Positioned on the upstairs floor above Sin, she half-expected to hear loud, thumping music escaping through the floorboards. Then she remembered what day it was and that the club wasn’t open.
Thank God.
Poppy turned to her right, the bright red lights on the digital clock an annoying taunt reminding her that there were far too many hours of darkness left for this particular night. Knowing sleep wouldn’t be coming again soon, she decided to make a quick—and hopefully silent—trip to the kitchen for a glass of water.
She wasn’t thirsty. Not really. But just the act of walking to the other room and sipping on the cool clear liquid could sometimes help to clear her mind of whatever plagued it.
Praying she didn’t wake Jax in the process, Poppy tiptoed across the wooden floor and exited the room. A soft glow from a nearby light illuminated the space at the end of the hall, and she realized it was coming from the kitchen.
Jax probably left it on in case I got up in the middle of the night. Kinda like now.
As she got closer, her eyes immediately went to the couch. The living room was dark—save for the kitchen’s filtering light—and the T.V. was off. She couldn’t see Jax, but that wasn’t surprising, given that she was facing the back of the couch.
Please don’t wake up. Please don’t wake up.
The man had not only earned the monstrous cheeseburger he’d eaten earlier, but he also deserved a good night’s sleep. The last thing she wanted was to disturb him, especially since she’d already upheaved his life as it was.
Her footfalls were nearly non-existent as she turned the corner to enter the kitchen. She was reaching for the cabinet she’d seen Jax pull a glass from earlier when a deep voice sounded from behind.
“Need something?”
With a squeal, Poppy spun on her heels, her hand slapping against her chest to cover her pounding heart. On reflex, she opened her mouth to apologize to Jax for having woken him, but his eyes weren’t the ones staring back at her.
“Ivan?” She blew out a breath. “You scared the crap out of me.”
Dressed in a gray zip-up hoodie, jeans, and sneakers, he walked without haste to the other side of the bar. Handsome in his own right, Ivan’s sandy blond hair and light blue eyes were the exact opposite of Jax’s dark features.
His strong jaw was covered with short, well-groomed stubble that was slightly darker than the hair on his head. Between his chiseled features, nearly perfectly straight nose, and muscular physique, the guy probably made most women swoon the second they laid eyes on him.
Poppy could appreciate a good-looking man as well as the next gal, but for some reason, Ivan didn’t give her the same electrifying reaction she felt when looking at Jax. A fact that she refused to spend her time pondering too deeply.
“Sorry.” Ivan’s voice rumbled. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
With a quick glance around at the otherwise empty space, she asked, “Where’s Jax?”
And why are you in his apartment in the middle of the night?
“He’s…out.”
“Out?” She remembered the time on the bedside clock. “At two in the morning?”
“Jax is a busy man.”
That was all he gave her. Nothing more, nothing less.
Okaaay…“Where did he go?”
“He had some business to attend to. Asked me to stay here until he got back.”
“Business.” Poppy didn’t buy that. “What could he possibly be doing at two a.m.?” Then it hit her. “Oh, wait. Never mind. Forget I asked.”