“Seyla, it’s me, Jax!”
She heard the words with unerring clarity this time. Her entire body melted with relief. On shaky legs, she rose up on her toes to peek out the window again. Her muscles jerked at the sight of a hoodie, but then she recognized the face. Jax’s face. Seyla’s eyes burned with unshed tears when they connected with his warm hazel gaze. The shovel dropped to the floor.
“It’s me,” he coaxed, his voice muffled by the glass. A small smile crooked up the corner of his mouth.
Seyla put her hand on the glass. He put his on the other side. The moment felt…intimate. She stared at their hands, then at him.
“Are you okay?” he asked. His warm eyes melted her insides like a heated scoop through ice cream.
Seyla nodded, not trusting her voice yet.
Jax’s smile hitched a few degrees higher. “Do you wanna open the door?”
Her chin jolted back. What was she doing? This wasn’t a shared moment. She was in the moment alone. Hadn’t he already said he only stuck around to help Matt? “Um…yeah.” She turned from the window, allowed herself a moment to compose herself, and unlocked the door for him. A glance behind him confirmed that he’d arrived alone. Her hand held onto the cold metal doorknob with a death grip while he stepped past her into the room, his body heat a brief comfort she wanted to grab hold of. And gone too soon.
“Are you okay? You look terrified.”
Seyla stiffened when he placed a hand on her arm, surprised by the soothing contact.
His hand dropped away as if learning she had the plague.
Seyla moved away from the door and let go of the handle.
His concerned tone gave the impression he cared. And he did. Not about her, though. He’d do anything for Matt, even watch out for his fragile little cousin. She wilted a tad at the thought.
Matt had made a comment once about Jax’s mom falling apart before Jax moved in with his uncle. Did Jax see her the same way? Weak? Easily broken? It wouldn’t be surprising, considering the memories he had of her. Her eyes closed, humiliation washing through her. The thought that he considered her weak hurt more than her family’s belief that she was.
Seyla lifted her gaze to meet his. Was she weak? Had she overreacted?
No, there had definitely been a person wearing a mask out there. A person targeting her.
She eyed Jax’s clothing. His hoodie hung down over his shoulder blades now. A blue-gray hoodie, not black.
Should she tell him what had happened? Or would he think she’d begun to fall apart, like his mother?
“Um, did you see anyone out there?”
Jax tilted his head, the green in his eyes overtaking the gold, making them darker. More intense. His gaze held hers, shaking up the butterflies in her stomach and sending them into a frenzied pace. “Uh, no. I didn’t. Why? Did you?”
Seyla crossed her arms. Was she losing her mind? Had she imagined the whole thing? With Jax’s training, he would have spotted signs that somebody had been outside. She summoned a hollow laugh. “Probably my imagination and the wind blowing something past. With the sheer amount of crazy stuff happening lately, I’m a bit jumpy.” More than a bit jumpy. The way she’d screamed when he peered through the window qualified her fora role in a horror flick. She dropped her gaze to the floor, her hair falling in a wave across her face.
Her insides fluttered when his hand tilted her chin up, her eyes meeting his. He smoothed her hair away from her face. She squashed the desire to wrap her arms around him and revel in the warm comfort and strength he exuded.
“Tell me what happened.”
His gaze shot a heated path right to her soul, tempting her to tell him what she thought she saw. He sounded sincere. She squared her shoulders and made the decision. “I think the wind combined with the woods made me a little nervous.” She couldn’t bear to see the pity in his eyes, replacing whatever lingered there now. It had to have been her imagination. Strength must be important to him, and she wanted to be strong, not a fear-filled victim, falling apart like his mom. She wanted his respect, not his pity. She pasted a calm expression on her face. “I’m fine now. No big deal.”
Jax frowned, lifting an eyebrow. “We’ll talk about it when Matt gets here.”
So he didn’t believe her. “Where is Matt?”
“We got a flat tire on the service road. Somebody threw some sharp metal tacks across it. I jogged here while they changed the tire and removed the rest of the pieces from the road. They should be here soon.”
Seyla didn’t miss the way he stressed “somebody”. And it seemed too coincidental now that Vanessa had a flat tire as well.
Should she tell him? Seyla wrestled with the thought, then realized she was staring at him. And he was staring back. Her pulse skittered, tapping against her skin like a coded warning. That dark intensity had returned to his eyes, surrounding her, shutting off the outside world. His hands skimmed up her arms to her shoulders, their warmth ushering in contentment.
Were they closer? How did they get closer?