Chapter 34
Jax
I pulled off my helmet and mask, sucking in a lungful of fresh air and taking a second to shake off the claustrophobic feeling of being in that place and the shock of seeing one of our night crew, who'd been out with friends, injured like that. The pain in her voice as she'd whispered my name would be hard for any of us to forget.
“You good?” Jimmy asked as he stepped up beside me.
“Close call,” I breathed out.
“Na, you were on a shout with me. They don’t call me ‘Lucky’ for nothing, you know.”
I shook my head with a smile, sucking in another breath and tilting my face to the sky to allow the first rays of the sunrise to sink into my skin for a second before we got back to work.
“Jax.” My name came out as a desperate cry from an unknown source. I looked around.
“Sir, sir, you can’t go in there… sir.”
Conner breached the police cordon, avoiding the officers who tried to stop him as he ran toward me like his life depended on it. “Ma?” he cried.
“What about her?” I asked, panic flaring inside me.
“She’s in there. She was going tonight. I can’t get in touch with her.” He burst into tears. “Tell me you found her, that someone’s seen her…”
I shook my head, not believing what I was hearing. I looked between him and the building and then back to him. “She was here? Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Jasper told me about it. She was out today buying a new outfit and they got a limo here or something… full VIP treatment.”
I turned to Jimmy. “The paramedics had a list of all the VIPs who showed up. Get me it. A-SAP.”
Jimmy nodded, his face solemn, before he vanished into the crowd.
Conner crumbled. “I didn’t apologise. I was going to, but I thought I’d let you both sweat. See if you were serious about her and then… well, I met someone. I’ve been too busy fucking her and not taking time to apologise to my own mum for being a dickhead.” He hiccupped as his tears worsened. “What if I never get to tell her I love her? What if she’s—”
I pulled Conner to me. “Don’t… Don’t say it.”
Jimmy appeared, breathing heavily, his eyes wide.
I raised my eyebrow, while internally praying that he was going to tell me she didn’t show up, but before he could speak, a mayday signal sounded out on everyone’s radios.
“Clear the building. Now!” a voice instructed. “We’ve got cracks appearing in this far wall.”
Although we were out of the building, we were way too close, so I grabbed Conner’s arm and ran, dragging him with me as the sound of rubble falling along with a cloud of dust chased us, snapping at our heels.
Breathless and back behind the safety of the police line, Conner and I turned as Jimmy pressed a hand to my shoulder, and we stared back at what was left of the club.
“Her name was on the list, Jax. She was in there.”
The air went from my lungs and I had to crouch down to brace my hand on the cold concrete of the car park while the world spun around me.
“We’ll find her,” Jimmy announced. I knew he was right, but I couldn’t stop myself wondering if we’d find her alive.
Hours passed, and we continued to search through the rubble for survivors. Body bag after body bag was carried out and while I wanted to check each one to make sure it wasn’t the woman I was in love with, I had to focus on the job at hand.
Conner was escorted back to behind the police cordon, and at some point, I noticed that Jasper and Callum joined him.
A couple of hours later, Eddie pulled me to one side. “We have a specialist team coming in with heat cameras and seismic sensors to check for any survivors. It’s not safe for us to continue the way we are. Take your team home, Jax. Get some rest.”
The emotions I’d been pushing down since Conner showed up broke free. “I had a friend in there,” I whispered.
