I ignore him, feeling a bit desperate as I claw at the cardboard, the tailgate digging into my stomach as I try to reach for more. The pieces are long, whole boxes that we ripped one seam of to elongate over Marshal, and they bunch up against me, sleet drenching my shirt. But I have to bundle them up, shove them in black trash bags, take them to a dumpster somewhere. Ihaveto.
“Kira.” Jax’s voice is faraway.
I bring up a knee and scramble onto the cold bed, unable to free a corner from one of the old, mounted toolboxes. I don’t know if all of them have blood, or just the one, but I’m not taking any chances. I can’t… I can’t go through it all again. But it’s really wedged in there, and the damp fibers rip in my grip.
A screech leaves me just as warm hands clamp my waist. I’m hauled back against an even warmer chest. “Baby, baby, baby,” Jax breathes into my ear. “It’s okay.” He drags me off the bed of the truck and wraps his arms around me from behind.
“No.” I tug against him. “We have to get rid of them.”
“Okay,” he says. “Okay.” He reels me in, locking me against him. “I’ll burn them. Just breathe.”
“Now.” My voice is weak and desperate. “Please?”
“Right now.” He quickly presses his lips, and then his cheek, to the top of my head before letting go. His movements are sure as he steps beside me and starts gathering the boxes. He makes quick work of the pile and folds them under his arm, no concern for his nice shirt as he takes them through the house.
He pauses by the island with the spread of psychology books I have open, a brow quirking before continuing into the backyard. I flip some of them closed, feeling embarrassed. Bell’s let me come back despite my long absence, but with Nix going off to college soon, I’ve started entertaining the idea of attending college myself. Nothing fancy. Probably just the communitycollege. But I would like to be as prepared as possible if I make that move, and I’ve been trying to study when I can.
I follow after Jax into the yard. There are patches of snow, and while the cold weather might have taken the grass from green to beige, it’s a beautiful space. The trees have lost most of their leaves, but their delicate branches are a soft contrast to the graying sky, and the wide open space is backed to more hearty trees.
Jax tosses the pile of cardboard into the built in stone fire pit. There’s a small heaping of logs covered by a tarp, and he throws back the plastic to grab one. Producing a lighter from his suit pants, he flicks the flint and holds it to one of the shaggy ends. It takes a moment, but it eventually starts to burn. Curling into his side, I watch as the flames ignite the last shred of Marshal, the last thing holding me down.
The smoke is acrid as it billows, but I welcome it. I’m ready to put this part of my life behind me. No more will I have to live with the threat of prison over my shoulder. This is a fresh start. One with a new house and someone to protect it with me.
I’m not alone anymore, carrying everything on my own. I have Jax, who has proven to me over and again that he will do anything for me. Meandmy sister. It’s in the way he carried me down Horizon Bluff even when I gave him lip, and the way he covered up his own father’s murder when it was Nix who killed him. It’s in the medications he picks up from the pharmacy for my heart and the way he comes back to Cloverwick every other day despite how much easier it would be for him to stay in the city.
And to think I almost wrote him off as dangerous when he’s become the only safe thing in my life.
“Thank you,” I whisper, pressing my cheek against his chest. He’s warm and solid, and I close my eyes against the smoke andheat, knowing he’ll make sure it burns and that I don’t have to watch.
He huffs a laugh, a rumble against my cheek.
“What?” I peek up at him.
“It’s just funny.” His eyes flash with amusement as he looks down at me. “That first night, you were against certain…things…getting lit on fire.” His lip twitches. “Now you’re thanking me.”
I let out a soft groan and bury my face in him. He laughs again and rubs his hand up and down my arm. After a quiet moment with nothing but the crackle of fire, he tilts my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze. The flames catch in his eyes, gold and dangerous and achingly raw.
“You don’t have to thank me,” he says. “I would burn the whole world down for you, Kira Noland.”
Chapter Sixty-Two
Jax
My Hellcat has a full house as we make our way to the service, and yet the silence is deafening. Kira sits shotgun in a black dress while Caleb and Nix pretend each other don’t exist in the back, and the dead air makes me want to shoot a bullet through the roof. Cracking the window to break the ringing in my ears, I let the cold in and tap the steering wheel.
“Hey, Kira?” I ask idly.
“Hm?” She turns.
“Did I ever tell you ‘I’m sorry’ for burning down your house?”
Her brows come together with genuine confusion, and I give a subtle jerk of my head toward the backseat.
Realization dawns on her pretty lashes, and she rolls her eyes. She doesn’t think this is going to work, but I give a look that saysindulge me.
“You did,” she concedes, tone dry.
“Would you say that’s one of the main reasons you forgave me?” I speak louder than necessary.
