rip it all away.” She lifts her head and tired eyes meet ours. “Look, I’m so thankful for all you’ve done for me, I really am. But my contact at WITSEC said I had to leave if I was ever afraid for my life. When I contact him, he’ll come get me and I’ll be safe.”
“No fucking way,” I say. “You’re not leaving.”
She stands and pushes her sleeves up her forearms like she’s preparing for a fight. “You can’t stop me.” she challenges, and I smirk. Jax stands and kisses her forehead before looking down at me. “Let’s talk outside.”
I get to my feet, kiss Oakley’s cheek, then follow Maddox out the door.
When it closes behind me, I know damn well Oakley’s in there repacking her goddamn suitcase. “We’re not letting her go,” I state, almost as a challenge.
“Of course not,” Jax says, like I’m an idiot. “Do you trust me?”
I give him a look. Really?
“Follow my lead.”
“Got it.”
CHAPTER 21
JAX
“Ready to go?” I ask Oakley.
The look of pure sorrow on her face kills me and makes me feel like the biggest fucking dick on the face of the earth. But if this is the only way I can get her to agree to get into the car with us, so be it.
Shelly gives her one last hug and swipes the tears from her eyes. “I really wish you’d reconsider, Oak,” she says. “I’m gonna miss you.” She smooths her hand down Oakley’s hair, says a quick goodbye, then rushes to her bedroom.
Oakley looks up at Maddox, and her eyes are begging. For what? I’m pretty sure she’s waiting for him to fight for her. Make her stay. Don’t worry, little one, we’re not letting you go.
I place a hand in the small of her back and lead her down the front steps to my truck. I throw her suitcase onto the tail bed while Maddox climbs into the front passenger seat, Oakley climbs in behind him.
The ride through town is silent. My rear-view mirror gives me a front row seat to Oakley’s heartache. Sorrow and agony weep from her features as she stares, unseeing, at the buildings and streets passing her by. As much as it hurts to witness her misery, her mental absence works to our advantage. Even still, the pain in my heart matches her own as it cries out for me to hold her, fix her, love her.
It’s not until we’re pulling into the parking lot outside my apartment building that she seems to come out of her stupor. “What...? What are we doing here, Jax?” she questions.
Maddox laughs at her genuine confusion as he climbs out of the truck and turns to open her door.
I cut the engine and turn in my seat, staring at Oakley. “Did you actually think we’d let you leave? That we’d put you on a train or a bus and send you away?”
“Well... yeah.”
I shake my head. “That’s not going to work for us, sweetheart,”
Maddox leans into the truck and cups the side of her face. “Baby, I know you haven’t quite gotten this yet, but you belong to us, and you’re not going anywhere.”
Oakley’s eyes widen and she sits up in her seat. Her finger waves between us. “Oh my God, you set me up.” Eyes narrowed, she glares at us, “You were never going to let me go.”
We shake our head and give her some time to come to terms with her new normal. While Maddox and I have been together for years, we understand that this is all new to Oakley. It’s going to take time for her to realize she’s not in this alone anymore.
Her eyes fill with tears and she bites on her bottom lip. “You should have let me go.” she whispers before dropping her head into her hands, hiding her face from us. “I’m scared,” she admits. “What if he finds me and one of you gets hurt? I’ll never forgive myself.”
“That’s not gonna happen,” Maddox promises her with certainty.
“You don’t know that,” she argues.
“He knows,” I counter.
Maddox leans over Oakley to unbuckle her seatbelt. “Now come on, let’s get inside, we need to call Shelly, then we need to talk.”
“We?” she asks hesitantly.
I nod. “We. As in you, me, and Maddox.”
She glances between us nervously before climbing out of my truck. Over her shoulder, Maddox and I share a knowing glance. We’ve known where this was going for some time. Now it’s time we let Oakley know too.
***
OAKLEY
Oh my God. This cannot be