5

Little Toy Bikers and a Woman on the Run

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Chapter 398 Bloody

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Jax knew there was something wrong the second he heard Scarlett's voice. When she asked him to come to her and stay, he knew something bad had happened. He hoped nothing was wrong with her dad. He really liked the guy and it would devastate Scarlett if anything happened to him.

He left immediately, putting on his helmet before climbing on his bike to go to Scarlett. All he wanted to do was comfort her, wrap her in his arms and make her feel better.

As he drove the short distance to her condo, he noticed Tig at a stop light in his white pick up. Jax thought Tig would hear his bike and see him, but Tig stared straight ahead. As he passed Tig, Jax thought he saw blood on Tig's shirt. It wouldn't be the first time Tig had gone out and returned bloody. Bar fights were common for an outlaw biker especially a lone biker. Guys wanted to prove they were tougher than the big bad biker and the guy usually ended up getting a beat down.

He turned off at the split that led to the gated condo complex and lost sight of Tig. His turn into the large sprawling complex he lived in was a couple of blocks away.

A car was going into the complex so he went in behind the car saving him from having to call Scarlett from the phone outside the gate to get her to open it for him. She was going to get him his own gate remote. They were getting closer. She'd given him his own drawer and closet space.

She must have heard the roar of the big Harley because she was standing with the garage door open. By parking her Corvette tight against one wall and the van against the other wall, there was enough room for him to park his bike between the cars. It protected his bike and it was no one's business how many nights he spent with her. Parking his bike inside her garage kept that information a little more private.

As soon as he parked, she pressed the button to lower the door behind him. Her face was deathly pale. He walked through the open door. She shut and locked it behind him before he gently gathered her into his arms holding her tight, her face pressed against his chest.

"God, you feel so good," she whispered. "Thank you for coming."

He tightened his hold careful not to move her spine. It was moving her spine that triggered pain. It had taken him awhile to learn that.

"You know you can always depend on me."

She nodded her head still against his chest. He could feel her shaking slowly begin to subside.

"Do you want to tell me what happened or do you need some time?"

She lifted her head from his chest.

"Kohn's dead."

"I'll help you get rid of the body," he said without thinking. There was nothing to think about helping her get rid of a body was an automatic response. It was all part of protecting her. That's what you do for the woman you love.

She looked deeply into his eyes.

"That's the most romantic thing a man has ever said to me and it's one of the reasons I love you so damned much Jax Teller."

He lowered his head and gently kissed her as he stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Maybe I should go take care of things."

"Tara killed him. Hale's handling it. I called you because . . . her voice broke, "I needed to feel safe and you make me feel safe."

He cradled her against him, warming her with his body and strengthening her with his presence.

There would be plenty of time to talk about what happened. For now, she just needed physical comfort. He longed to make love to her not for purely sexual reasons but as a way to get closer to her and provide more comfort.

He had grown a lot as a man since they met. Sex used to be recreation for him, but waiting had brought out a stronger emotional connection.

"I can't stand much longer," she whispered.

"Why don't you go sit in the bedroom and I'll bring you something to drink? You want some ice water, a beer or some Coke?"

"Ice water and some Coke please."

Jax was becoming more at home in Scarlett's kitchen than his own. He spent more time there these days. He filled a glass with ice cubes and another with just two cubes. He added water to the glass full of ice and Coke to the other glass. He grabbed a beer opened it and then brought everything to Scarlett's bedroom.

When he'd watched her walk to her bedroom, he could tell her pain level was higher. She took shorter steps when she was in more pain and he saw a quick grimace cross her face.

He put the drinks on the tray on the nightstand. He sat facing her on the bed. If he sat next to her, it hurt for her to turn to see him. It was all about helping her keep her spine straight without twisting.

"Sounds like you and Tara had one hell of a dinner. You ready to talk about it or do you need more time?"

He remembered how kind and thoughtful she'd treated him the night he'd come to her motel room after Bela died, he found out he wasn't her father and Gemma and Tara had a fight. He wanted to give her that same space to tell him her story when she was ready.

"It isn't what happened that has me so messed up. It's kind of everything."

"I know you are in a hell of a lot of pain. Why don't you take your pain meds now and tell me and then take your sleeping meds?"

She nodded. He handed her the bottle of muscle relaxers and the bottle of pain killers. She shook out four pain killers and three muscle relaxers and washed them down with some water.

"Stress also raises my pain level. I'm glad I've got physio tomorrow."

"I can see you making some progress especially since you started using the recumbent bike."

"Tomorrow if I'm not stiff, she's going with me to the gym. I always thought you recovered from an injury and then went to physio to regain strength. Now, I know physio is supposed to help speed recovery."

"Every time I go that place impresses me. The staff is always nice and I see people getting better. Your father did a hell of a job finding that place."

"My dad is great. He's the only person I've ever been able to depend on."

"And now me."

Scarlett nodded.

"And now you. That means everything to me."

"And it meant everything to me when I was shot and all I could think of was seeing you again and knowing that if I sent for you, you would come."

Jax had never felt this close to a woman the way he did with Scarlett. It was a mature relationship based on respect something that he was sorry to say he never felt for Tara.

She told him what happened that night beginning with dinner. She finished with coming back to her condo and calling him.

"OK, that's the story for Hale," Jax said. "Tell me what really happened."

Jax took a long pull on his beer bottle and waited for the truth.