Jase’s expression darkens. “Did you take care of the bastard?”
“As much as I could for now.”
This appears to appease him. He turns to me and his expression lightens. “Let’s have a look at you. See what we need to fix you up. I’ll just get my bag.” He turns and walks out.
Alex turns to me. “I need to make a call.” My breaths labour. “I’ll only be in the kitchen.” He walks over to me and cups my hands in his. “Breathe. I promise Jase won’t hurt you.”
I search his eyes and see his conviction. The pressure in my chest releases a little. “Okay,” I reply quietly.
He smiles at me, squeezes my forearm, then leaves. His voice rumbles in from the other room. I can’t hear what’s being said, but the security of the sound of his deep tone calms me.
Jase returns with a backpack and settles at my feet. “Okay, let’s take a look at you.”
My dress is draped over my knees and he touches the hem to lift it. “No.” I push his hands away. Clenching my legs together, I bend and wrap my arms around my knees. The whole movement hurts like hell.
There’s a clatter as Jase falls backwards and Alex rushes in, phone in hand. “What the fuck?”
Jase holds his hands up in the air. “Mate, I just went to lift her dress over her knees.”
“Liz?” Alex waits for my confirmation.
Heat rises, overtaking my whole body. “I… um…” I take a deep breath and rush the words out. “I have no underwear on.”
Both men visibly relax. Jase gets to his feet and leaves the room.
“I’m sorry,” I call out after him. I’m so ashamed.
Alex smiles at me. “No need to be. It’s not your fault.”
But it is my fault. I got caught out. Now I’m facing the consequences. “I think someone wants you.” I point to his phone. I can hear a voice shouting on the other end.
He lifts the phone to his ear and speaks. “Give me a sec… Yeah, everything’s okay, just hold on.”
Jase returns and holds out his hand to me. “Here. I know they won’t fit right, but it’s something.” He shrugs.
I look at what he’s holding out.
Both men glance at each other, and Alex smiles at me. “Everything okay now?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Good. I need to finish this call and I’ll be right back.”
Jase’s face flushes. “I, er, I’ll just go with him for a minute.” He follows Alex out.
I open up the neatly folded boxer briefs, spreading them over my knees. My heart misses a beat. The kindness of these two men helps to erase the horrors from earlier. But neither of them can help erase the scar of Noah on my heart. An image of him walking in, half naked, flashes in my mind. His dirty words, his gentle touch, his deep love. I let myself bask in the memory before it’s replaced with dark, haunted eyes as he walked away. That’s a scar I wouldn’t want erased.
I drag myself from my thoughts and struggle to pull on Jase’s underwear. They’re a loose fit, but cover up the area needed. It’s hard for me to ignore the bruises forming on my thighs, but I try.
There’s a tap on the door and Jase pokes his head around. “Am I safe to come in?”
His question provokes a small smile from me, until my cheek stings. “It’s your home.”
Jase strides in and again kneels at my feet. “Okay, you ready to do this?”
After I give him my consent, he rummages in his bag and pulls out dressings, spray plaster, and a folded pouch, amongst other things.
He goes about unwrapping Alex’s makeshift dressings. His brows pinch when he removes the final wrap, and his lips form into a thin line.
“Right. First things first. Have you had any painkillers?”
“No. We haven’t really had time.”
“Let’s get that sorted then. I’m going to have to work on you for a while.” He rubs his forehead with his fingertips. “There’s a fair amount of glass in these wounds.”
Again he leaves the room but comes back with a glass of water and a couple of tablets in his hand.
“Don’t worry, they’re just over the counter painkillers, but I think you’ll need them to take the edge off.”
I take them from him and swallow both down with the water. If Alex trusts Jase, that’s enough for me. And since the adrenaline has seeped from my system, the pain in both my hands and knees has increased tenfold.
He makes small talk for twenty minutes while he waits for the painkillers to take effect. I find him kind-hearted, even if he is a little rough around the edges, but equally there’s a darkness about him. When he’s happy that enough time has passed, he undoes the pouch to reveal a series of medical implements. Choosing a pair of tweezers, he sets about removing the shards from my knees. Alex enters the room and sits down opposite me.
“How’d it go?” Jase asks Alex, without looking at him.
“About as good as you’d expect. He was pretty pissed, but he understands.” I wonder who they’re referring to but have no time to ask.
“Yeah, I bet. What are you going to do now?”
“I’ve pulled in some favours and arranged a house for us. Also, I think it’s best we change Liz’s identity too. I’m not sure how far Mac would go to find her.”
Jase nods and continues to clean and redress my cuts. He’s gentle, and every time I take a sharp breath he halts and inspects my face before he carries on.
“Who’s he?” I finally ask and wince as Jase wraps gauze around my palm a little too tight.
“My boss,” Alex replies.
“Mac?” My voice rises.
He shakes his head and gives me a small smile. “No, sweetheart. He was never my boss. I work for Pegasus. The firm that runs your… runs his internal security.”
Jase finishes up, wipes his hands down his jeans, then stands. “There, all done.”
There must be more I can say to him but all that comes out is, “Thank you.”
“Anything for —” he begins.
“Time for us to go,” Alex cuts in, and gives Jase a hard stare.
I’d wonder if there’s a problem between them, but Jase seems unaffected and grabs his backpack off the floor. He sorts through it and gives us some more painkillers and spare dressings. “Replace these in a few days. Try not to get the others wet either.”
Jase gives me an awkward hug. The men shake hands and give each other one of those back-smacking man hugs.
Alex turns back to Jase as he leads us to the front door. “Thanks for everything, mate.”
“No worries… He doesn’t know, does he?”
Alex shakes his head and Jase’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t reply. I’m too tired to wonder what they’re talking about.
When we get to the car Alex helps me into my seat, then hops in the driver’s side. “Do those feel better?” He gestures towards my new bandages.
“I guess so. The painkillers worked pretty well.” Or maybe it’s the numbness in my heart spreading throughout my body.
He reaches into the back and then hands me my bag. “So, are you ready?”
I have nothing left here, or anywhere. “Yes.”
When Alex pulls away from the curb, my heart constricts. I want to tell him to turn around, to take me to Noah. But this is for the best, it’s the only option. Instead, I find my phone, scroll through the pictures of him, of us, and let a single tear fall.
There was never a choice for me to make.
Seven Months Later
“HEY, BUD. HOW’S it going?” Bear shouts in my ear as his large hand slaps my shoulder.
The music is loud as fuck and the atmosphere is buzzing. The usual for a Friday night in Khan’s. I glance around me at the vast array of scantily clad women and fix him with a wolfish grin. “Never better, mate. You?”
It’s a bold-faced lie. My life is a fucked-up mess since I walked away from Lizzie. Bear knows it too. He’s picked me out of the gutter more times than I even fucking remember. I see, rather than hear him, laugh as his eyes wander the surrounding area.