I’m shoved as a body knocks into me.Maverick moves, slapping his hand over Jaxon’s mouth.“Not here.Not fucking here.Cameras.”
Jaxon struggles, fighting against Maverick, so Wyatt and I step in, pressing him against the wall.
“Jaxon, calm down.Please, calm down,” I rasp, and his murderous gaze lands on me.Veins bulge in his temple and forehead.
Wyatt leans in, his words hurried.“For Lily, Jax.For Lily.Don’t lose it now.She needs you.”
His breathing slows as he takes deep, calming breaths.His eyes clench shut as he wills his body to quell the storm brewing inside of him.As his posture relaxes, we let him go, one by one, and take a step back.I nearly bump into Myles and Mason when I step back to give Jaxon some room to breathe.I didn’t know the two brothers had followed us out.
“Now tell me why the fuck you sent my wife in there and not me,” Maverick orders, his voice sharp.“She’s my daughter.Please.Tell me.”
“She was pregnant,” Jaxon whispers, his hands clenching at his sides.
“What?What did you say?”Maverick demands, his eyes sharp on Jaxon, like he misheard him.
Jaxon meets his father-in-law’s eyes.“She was pregnant.”
“Was?”Myles quietly asks, stepping away.
Oh man.
“Jaxon,” I start, reaching for him.
“Don’t!Don’t touch me,” he groans out.“Just don’t.”
“I’m sorry,” Wyatt tells him.
“It’s all my fucking fault.”He lets out a dry laugh, glancing at Wyatt.“How the fuck am I going to tell her I’m the reason she miscarried our child?”
“This isn’t your fault,” I assure him over the lump in my throat.
“It’s not,” Wyatt agrees when Jaxon goes to argue.
“Listen to them,” Mason orders.
“It’s my fault.”
“How is it your fault?”Maverick barks.
“Because I should have given him everything.Everything!”Jaxon roars.“She is worth more than a business or a piece of fucking land.I should have given him what he wanted.Now my wife lays unconscious, beaten beyond anything I’ve ever seen, and she’s miscarried a child she didn’t even know about.A child she would have loved and will love.Don’t fucking tell me it’s not my fault.Don’t.”His voice breaks as he rips at his hair.“I promised to protect her.I...Oh god.This is my fault.”
“It’s not,” Maddox tells him, and I tense when he reaches the group.“It’s Black’s.Lily knows that.She will still think the same when she knows about the baby.And for the record, I blamed you today.I wanted to kill you if I’m honest.But hearing you just now, I see what every fucker here sees.You love her and would do anything for her.”
“I would die for her,” Jaxon rasps, his head bowed.
“As much as I wouldn’t cry over it, she wouldn’t survive it.The day Rose was born proves that,” Maddox points out.“Plus, there’s someone else who deserves to die more.”
“She fought for you today,” Maverick tells him, his expression twisting with grief, like the words pain him.“Charlotte pointed out that the destruction wasn’t just what happened to Lily.It’s what Lily did to survive.”
Jaxon watches Maverick for a beat before he slides out his phone, pulling up the app for the cameras.“What are you doing?”I ask.
“I need to see what happened,” he explains, rewinding the footage.
My eyes widen.“Listening to it wasn’t enough?”I choke out.“Jaxon, don’t do that to yourself.”
“She fought.Maverick is right.But her clothing...I need to know so I can fucking help my wife.”
Bile rises in my throat when I hear what he’s suggesting.He hits play.“We finally meet, Mrs Hayes,” I hear and look down at the phone to see the back of Black enter the home.Lily staggers back, her gaze unfocused.
