Jax
I slumped into the plastic chair by the lift and forced down the bile that burned in the back of my throat. I’d seen dead bodies in my career, but lifting back that sheet, knowing that the woman I loved could be beneath… it was almost too much to bear.
Tears filled my eyes as the realisation that she wasn’t in there settled, but with it came another thought… that if she wasn’t one of the injured or in the morgue, then she was still trapped in the building.
Regret rushed me. Regret that I’d not told her the truth, regret that I’d walked away, regret that I didn’t fight the demons of my past so I could create a future with her. Lifting my head to the ceiling, as if I was talking to God himself, I prayed and promised and begged, offering anything I could in return for her being okay.
“Please,” I whispered. “I can’t lose her before I ever really got to have her. Let her be alive. Give me a chance to love her like she deserves. I’ll tell her everything. I need a chance to make this right.”
Dragging myself up from the seat, my feet carried me to the lift so I could go and tell Jasper and his brothers the news that she wasn’t here, knowing that I would have to make sure they understood what that meant—if she was still trapped it was unlikely she’d make it out alive or if she did she would have significant, probably life-changing, injuries.
Pain ripped through my chest and I let myself feel every stinging sensation before I forced a lid on my emotions, because I needed to hold it together long enough to speak to them.
The lift doors opened slowly, and a woman mumbled something about being on the wrong floor. I was so focused on keeping my grief under control that it took me a second to notice her familiar blue eyes.
Helen?
“Jax?” She sounded confused, and then I realised I was crying. Not the odd tear that I could hide, but streams of them rolling down my cheeks as relief flooded me.
Not believing what I was seeing, my gaze scanned over her body, checking for injuries, but she looked perfect; dressed for a night out, her red sparkly jumper and matching shoes glinting in the harsh lights of the basement.
Unable to hold back, I launched myself toward her, cupping her cheeks and slamming my mouth to hers as if my lips needed to check that she was really alive. The force sent her stumbling back against the lift wall, making her whimper, but the movement of her mouth matched mine as our kiss deepened.
Eventually, she pushed me away gently. “What the hell, Jax?” she whispered, her fingers tracing the tracks of my tears.
“The club… I thought you were dead.”
Her brows furrowed. “What?”
“The club… you were there when it collapsed. I… Jas and the boys. We thought you were dead.”
An understanding dawned on her face, and she shook her head slowly. “I was about to go in there when I got a call I couldn’t ignore. I was so shocked that we all left. What do you mean it collapsed?”
“Explosion… gas probably. Brought down a floor and part of the wall.”
She pressed her forehead to mine. “I’m so sorry I worried you. I’ve been here all night. My phone died and I’ve not seen the news as I was… well, I was trying to get my head around the phone call I got.”
“Who was it from?”
She let out a sigh. “Thomas.”
Helen
The music from the club thumped through the walls, making hearing Sean impossible, so I moved further away from the doorway and tried again. “Sorry, Sean. I didn’t hear a word of that. What did you say?”
“I said I’m sorry, Helen.”
I almost dropped the phone when I heard the voice that I instantly knew wasn’t Sean’s.
“I knew it. I bloody knew it. Motherfucker.”
“Language, Helen. You’ve changed since I’ve been dead.”
I huffed out my annoyance. “It’s way too soon for jokes,Thomas. I can’t believe you. I knew you weren’t dead.”
He let out a short laugh. “So I’ve heard. Sean said you were on to me the minute I left. I am really sorry. When I explain why, you’ll understand.”
“Someone was after Melissa. You fitted a tracker to the engagement ring you left for her so you could keep an eye on her while you eliminated the threat.”
