Chapter 2 Chapter 2

E L E N A

The bang of the door breaking open felt like it split my skull in two.

Everything happened too quickly for my brain to process. Two men dressed in black gear and ski masks burst into my medical bay, their heavy automatic rifles raised and ready to spray the room.

I froze, my body locking up as fear turned my blood to ice, but Jax didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second.

Before the intruders could line up their sights, Jax raised his Glock and fired. He threw his massive body in front of mine, shielding me with himself as he squeezed the trigger twice.

"Get down!" Jax roared, shoving me hard towards the floor as he fired again.

Both men hit the floor with a sickening thud, but not before one of them got a shot off.

My heart was hammering against my ribs, my palms sweating as I crouched low behind the exam table. The air smells of gunpowder and blood.

Ten years of patching up the Vipers’ stupid mistakes taught me the exact sound a bullet makes when it tears through flesh. It is a noise that is permanently embedded in my memory.

Jax staggered. He swayed dangerously to the side, his left hand clamping hard over his bleeding ribs. The neat stitches I had just placed minutes ago were torn completely open. Fresh dark blood pooled over his waistband, staining his dark jeans and dripping onto his heavy boots.

The bullet got him.

"Jax," I gasped, my voice trembling for the first time that night.

"Tunnel," he grunted through locked teeth, his jaw muscle twitching violently. "Move, Elena. Now."

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards a wooden door tucked behind my supply shelves. It was a passage I had walked past a thousand times without ever realizing it was there.

Jax kicked the latch open, shoving me into the pitch black tunnel. "Go."

He didn't have to tell me twice. I scrambled into the darkness, my hands scraping against the rough stone walls as I stumbled forward.

Jax stumbled in after me, his footsteps echoing in the narrow space. He slammed the heavy wooden door shut behind us, plunging us into total darkness.

"Keep moving," he commanded, his breathing ragged.

The tunnel was long and narrow, the walls were damp and covered in disgusting moss. We stumbled our way through the darkness, with Jax leaning heavily on me.

Halfway through the dark passage, Jax’s speed dropped. His heavy boots dragged along the floorboards. Then without warning, his knees buckled completely.

"Jax!"

I lunged forward, catching him before his body hit the ground but he weighed more than twice as much as I did as his body nearly pinned me against the wall.

For ten long years, Jax had been the untouchable terrifying heir to the Devil's Vipers throne. He had spent a decade picking on me, barking orders and treating me like a weak foolish girl who didn't belong in his violent world.

But right now, he was vulnerable and soaking wet with his own blood. He was dying, and he had no one else to rely on but me. And for some reasons, I couldn’t find it in me to let him die. No matter how much he made my life a living hell, the thought of his heart stopping made my own chest tighten painfully.

"Get up, you arrogant idiot," I sobbed through my teeth, hoisting his heavy frame up with every ounce of strength I possessed. "You don't get to die on me in a dirt tunnel!"

He had the audacity to let out a harsh raspy laugh, his breath hot against my neck. "Persistent little bitch, aren’t you?"

We stumbled out of the end of the tunnel into the back alley behind the garage, the freezing night air hitting our faces.

"Where's your bike?" I demanded, my eyes scanning the parking lot. His prized custom Harley was nowhere in sight.

He just shook his head and dragged me towards his custom black truck that was parked near the dumpsters. He fumbled with the keys in his good hand before managing to unlock the passenger door and practically shoved me into the passenger seat before I could argue.

"Jax, let me drive. You're actively bleeding out." I pleaded, reaching across the console to grab his wet sleeve.

"No," he growled, his voice leaving zero room for debate as he slammed the heavy door shut, cutting off my protest.

He pulled his tall frame into the driver’s seat and killed the exterior lights to stay hidden in the darkness, he slammed his boot down on the gas pedal. The engine roared to life, tearing out of the alley just as the police sirens wailed in the distance.

Jax drove one handed, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel. His skin was losing what little color it had left, turning pale.

Dread pooled in my stomach. I unbuckled my seatbelt and scrambled across the center console, pulling open my medical kit with shaking fingers.

"Stay still. I need to apply pressure right now," I told him, pressing a thick wad of gauze directly into his torn side.

Jax winced hard, a low groan tearing from his throat. His right hand shot down, wrapping around my wrist in a grip that was surprisingly strong for a man on the verge of passing out.

"Stop... touching me, Elena," he ground out through his teeth, his gray eyes flashing with pain and fury as he locked his gaze on mine. "Focus on... the road."

"I am trying to keep your miserable heart beating!" I snapped back, anger and hot tears burning in the back of my throat. "You are bleeding all over my shoes, Jax!"

We were so close I could feel the heat of his breath against my cheek. The tension that had lived between us for years suddenly shifted, turning into something very intimate. I hated him for how he talked to me, for how he constantly pushed me down, but right now, I was terrified of losing him.

He loosened his grip slightly, his fingers still wrapped around my wrist. His breathing was becoming more shallow.

"You're... going to be okay," I whispered, more to myself than to him as I kept the pressure on the wound.

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say. His jaw clenched, and he turned his attention back to the road.

His phone buzzed from the cup holder, the screen lighting up. It was a text from his father:

Clubhouse lost. Take her to the North Ridge Cabin. Lockdown. Nobody leaves.

The President's word was law. There was no going back.

Two hours later, we pulled up to a secluded log cabin nestled deep in the forest. The truck screeched to a halt and he cut the ignition.

Jax shoved his door open, tried to step down onto the mud and collapsed straight onto his face across the wooden porch floorboards.

"Jax!"

I scrambled out of the passenger side and rushed to him, rolling him over.

"You big stubborn idiot," I sobbed, fumbling for the house key he kept hidden under a loose floorboard. "You could've let me drive!"

The heavy wooden door swung open. I dragged him inside by the collar of his shirt, my sneakers slipping in the mud that covered him.

I kicked the door shut with my foot, plunging the cabin in total darkness safe for the torchlight in my medical kit. There was no electricity, no cell service. Just the two of us, completely isolated from the rest of the world.

I knelt beside him, ripping his blood soaked shirt and took out my bullet forceps. His fingers clamped around my wrist as he looked at me under his long lashes, his eyes were fighting to stay conscious.

"If you kill me right now, Elena..." he whispered, his chest heaving as he fought for every breath. "You'll... never get out of this life."

I stared down at him, at the sharp features I had spent a decade hating. Those perfect lips that never had a kind word for me.

"Shut up, Jax," I whispered back, leaning down until my breath brushed against his ear. "You're going to live. If only so I can kill you myself."