Jax by E. M. Moore
29
Psycho’s stance mirrors Jax’s, tightening my stomach. They look comparable. Equals. I assumed Jax would outclass him by a long shot. Psycho’s a con man. He dupes people for money—or gets other people to do it for him—so I wasn’t expecting him to look as well-trained as Jax does.
I swallow a lump in my throat as Finn grabs the metal cage, shouting advice to his brother as the two men circle. It’s suddenly so hot in here that my stomach sours and shifts. Sweat gathers at the edge of my hair. We’re literally fifteen minutes away from Jacob’s FBI team coming in here and shutting Psycho’s little cult down for good.
My interrogator was the first person to use that word in front of me. I Googled it on Jax’s phone late last night as he was sleeping next to me, and I’m completely embarrassed to think that that’s what he was. Someone who was so damn manipulative he got people to do things that they never would have dreamed of in a million years. A cult leader.
So, when Jax throws the first punch, and it whips Psycho’s head around, I can’t help the “Yes!” that bursts from my mouth. Psycho turns his head and glares at me but the only thing his inattention does is give Jax another opening. He follows up his punch with two more, knocking Psycho back against the side of the ring.
I jump up and down, ignoring the dull aches and pains all over my body, and scream into the cage as Jax meticulously tears him apart. Body punches, jabs to the nose, he covers nearly every square inch of his body with punishing blows while I’m yelling for him the whole time. It’s as if every punch he lands is scabbing over a scar on my body. On my emotions. On my peace of mind.
Leenie moves to my side and rubs my back as hot tears fall over my cheeks. They’re angry, bitter tears, and I’d like to think it’s all the damage Psycho has done to me expelling out for good. Like a cleansing of epic proportions.
When the bell rings, signaling the end of the first round, Psycho has a gash over his right eye to match the one Jax gave him from the headbutt. Psycho got in some punches but not enough to make it an even fight. Not by a long shot.
Psycho glares at me as he walks toward his guys on the other side of the cage. Jax kneels before us, taking my attention away from the sick bastard to my avenging angel. His muscles ripple as sweat drips down his forehead and over his chiseled features before rolling off his stern jaw. He beckons me closer, and I lean toward the cage. He sticks his thumb through the wires and wipes my cheeks. “He’s not going to make you cry again, baby, I promise.”
“I’m just happy,” I tell him honestly. It’s so good to see Psycho get taken down a peg or two. So damn good. I’d love to be the one doing it myself and that will happen as soon as the FBI comes but I also know my drawbacks. There’s no way I could go toe-to-toe with Psycho in a fight so I’m lucky enough to have someone want to do it for me. I peek over Jax’s shoulder and watch Psycho’s followers narrowing their gazes at us. “Hey, be careful,” I tell Jax. “He won’t want to be seen as weak in front of everyone. Plus, he really wants the damn gym and bar. He’ll do anything,” I warn.
“No faith,” he taunts, grinning.
“I’m trying,” I tell him. That’s one thing that’s failed me my entire life. It’s like his knuckle tattoo. When you hope less, you don’t feel the fall as heartily as you do if you’re so filled to the brim with faith. The fall after hope is devastating.
“Hey,” he says, his gaze following mine. “I was wrong, you know? Hope is good. I have so much hope about your future right now. All we have to do is get through today and then not to sound cheesy as fuck, but the sky is the limit.”
“That did sound pretty cheesy,” Finn snarks.
“Shh,” Leenie shushes him. “They’re having a moment.”
I grimace. “Guess you’re going to have to get that tattoo removed.”
He shakes his head. “Nah. Tattoos are just reminders of who and what we were at a certain point in time. It’s like telling the memory of our lives, and when I look at this now, I think about how glad I am that I was fucking wrong about you.”
I tangle my fingers with the few he can fit through the cage. “Kick his ass, Jax. Make him feel how he made me feel.”
“My pleasure.”
Jax stands and faces the other side of the ring. He shifts his weight from foot to foot, clapping his hands together like he’s a gladiator from Roman times about to head into the Coliseum. When the bell rings, Psycho turns as well. I scan him from head to toe because I don’t trust one hair on his head. He won’t play fair. I just don’t know how yet.
Psycho comes into the fight much smarter this time. He throws short punches to test his reach. He has long, dangly arms so he can reach Jax before Jax can reach him. He gets in a few good punches as Jax covers up but then Jax explodes like a bull coming out of the chute. He grabs Psycho’s hair, holds him there while he rains punches down on him. Psycho manages to wiggle out of his grip and then throw himself on his back. Jax backs away. “Come on, get up.”
“Too scared to face me on the ground?” Psycho taunts.
I roll my eyes so hard I’m afraid they might fall into the back of my head. Jax just grins though. “Not of a pussy who’s afraid to face me on his feet. Get up and let’s go. I’m not finished with you yet.” Psycho stays on the ground while Jax gets angrier and angrier. His hulking, sweaty body turns crimson as his temper rises. “Get the fuck up!”
Psycho places his hands behind his head. “I’m good down here.”
I move my gaze to Psycho’s group, watching them. When I find Lyla, I nod at her again. When all this shit goes down, I’ll find her right away and tell her how to get out of here unnoticed. Or I’ll see if she wants to stay and face the music with me. Truth be told, she isn’t in as deep as I am.
Next, I inspect Tiron. His gaze is shuddered but I track it anyway. For some reason, he seems to be watching Psycho’s feet. As I turn my attention back toward the ring, Jax lunges at him, roaring. With only a slight movement of Psycho’s ankle, the overhead light glints off something. A blade. “Stop!” I shout.
It’s too late. Jax is already committed. With a quick swipe of his feet, Psycho slices the blade through Jax’s midsection. It isn’t a full-on plunge as Jax parries the blade affixed to Psycho’s toes away but it’s enough to make Jax hiss.
Jax levels his arm over Psycho’s throat. “You’re a cheat,” he growls. “A rapist. An abuser. You’re fucking scum.”
Jax’s blood drips onto Psycho and the light blue floor below the both of them. Psycho thrashes. “I do what I have to.”
“This is who you want to follow?” Jax bellows, staring at Psycho’s side while his opponent gasps for breath. “Someone who only cares about himself? Ask yourself when the last time he actually did something for you was? Or did he always ask something of you?”
I catch Lyla’s gaze again, my heart racing. If Jax is still talking, I guess I shouldn’t be all that worried about his current wound. I motion for her to come stand next to us. She looks at the group and then at Psycho before shaking her head quickly. Widening my eyes at her, I motion for her again. She shifts her feet one way but then Psycho’s girl grabs her hand, keeping her firmly in place.
“Fuck,” I whisper under my breath.
“That’s the girl?” Leenie asks.
I nod, trying not to make my movements noticeable by those on the other side of the cage. I don’t need them thinking that something is up.
Jax crying out makes me spin my head back toward the fight. Psycho’s feet, along with the blade, is on Jax’s thigh. He lets up, allowing Psycho room to get away with his feet thrashing. Jax manages to block most of his kicks but he gets scratches and scrapes on his arms in the process.
Luckily, the bell rings but when Psycho turns his back to move to the other side of the cage, Jax runs after him. He grabs the back of his neck and forces his head into the metal wire. He holds it there with his left hand and then starts punching him again and again, keeping all of his weight on his right foot while blood pours from his left thigh.
Psycho’s side starts yelling, throwing accusations at Jax that he doesn’t hear or doesn’t care about. Psycho was the first to bring a knife to a fist fight so all bets are off now. Jax kicks Psycho’s legs out, and the fucker falls to his knees.
Jax doesn’t stop there. He lifts his leg up and stomp kicks him right in the face. Psycho crumbles to the mat, and Jax backs away slowly, limping.
We all watch Psycho as he slowly gets up, shaking his head like he’s trying to wake himself up. My gaze darts back and forth between Psycho and the blood dripping down Jax’s side and thigh. His limp scares me. If Psycho hurts him enough so that he can’t train or fight anymore, that would be devastating to Jax.
My heart sinks as he tests weight on it and cringes. Finn calls his brother back but Jax will not turn his back on Psycho again. Not with two slicing stab wounds.
Psycho stumbles toward the cage. He grips the side and shouts, “Now!”
“Watch out!” Lyla yells.
Jax whips his head in my direction, mouth opening in horror. I look past him to Tiron holding a gun in his hand, shaking so much the barrel aimed straight at me wiggles in his grip.
“Now, Goddammit!” Psycho growls.
A hard body hits my side, and it’s then that I hear Jax’s roar. He wasn’t yelling at me, he was yelling at Finn. “Get her!”
I crash to the ground shoulder first, pain exploding. A gunshot goes off, and I squeeze my eyes closed.
Immediately following the shot, chaos breaks out. Doors slam open, orders are shouted, glass breaks. “Lower the weapon. Lower it now.”
I stay down, worry pinging through me as I frantically search for Jax. Finn and Leenie are on the ground with me. He tackled both of us when they showed their hand. I try to get up, but Finn grabs my arm. “Remember what they said. If we’re down, we’re not targets.”
“But Jax,” I protest.
Finn squeezes his eyes shut, shutting away the panic. He stays where he is but he calls out, “Jax? Jax!”
“I’m here,” he groans.
“Are you alright?” I call out.
Footsteps move all around us. Psycho shouts belligerently about being half beaten to death and wanting to press charges.
A warm hand touches my shoulder, and I glance up at Jacob. He helps me to my feet. Finn and Leenie follow after. My gaze tracks toward Psycho and his guys getting put in handcuffs first but then immediately, they search out Jax. An agent is in the cage, but he’s with Psycho who’s resisting arrest. I run around the side, climbing up the steps on all fours, and jog toward Jax who’s on his side. “Are you okay?”
He gets himself up, then pulls me down next to him, hanging his arm over my shoulder. He tips my chin up so that I’m facing Psycho. “Just watch this, baby. You deserve it.”
“Daryl Loomis, you’re under arrest for larceny, grand larceny, abuse, rape, embezzlement, and more. Your full charges will be explained to you while you’re being processed.” From there, the man with the black tactical vest reads him his rights, and I get to watch as Psycho’s face of disbelief turns into a scowl.
He finds me there, sitting and watching. “You did this,” he accuses. “You think you’re going to get out of it? I’ll tell them everything you did. Everything,” he shouts, spittle and blood flying from his lips.
“You can go ahead,” I tell him, pulling my back straight. “I already did.”
Psycho laughs, turning on the crazy. “You’re nothing, you know that? A bitch. A whore. I’m disgusted that I stayed with you so long. You were just a cunt to me. A cunt,” he growls as the FBI agent wrestles him down the cage steps.
Jax turns my head toward him. “You’re everything, you know that? Sweet. Loyal. Strong. I’m so happy that you came back into my life.”
I grin. “So I’m much more than a cunt to you?”
“I mean, I like your cunt but if that’s all I wanted, do you think I would’ve done all that?”
I pull him toward me, sealing my lips to his. His are salty from sweat and mine probably taste the same but from tears.
He hisses, and I pull away. “What?”
“I’m bleeding,” he grimaces.
I stare at his side and thigh, pulling my lip between my teeth. “I know. You got stabbed because of me.”
“I got shot because of you, too.” The realization makes him pale. His words slur, almost slowing to a stop at the end of his sentence while my eyes bug out of my head. He goes white as a sheet, eyes rolling into the back of his head. I scan his body, watching as his back dribbles blood.
“Help!” I scream as I aid Jax to the floor. It’s more like I try not to drop him as he passes out. “We need an ambulance. Jax has been shot!”
Jacob races into the cage, followed closely by Finn. Immediately, Jacob finds the wound, tears his shirt off, and holds it to his side. With his free hand, he turns his phone screen on but in the background, we hear one of the agents talking into a coms system, asking for EMS to report inside.
“Kyla’s going to kill me,” Jacob says, lips thinning as his shirt turned bandage becomes drenched.
Finn grips his brother’s hand, face solemn. “Why?”
“She told me not to let any of you get hurt.”
He breaks a smile but at the same time, his voice cracks. “Tell her I want to see her. She can come visit this guy when he recovers from this.”
Jacob nods as I watch the rising and falling of Jax’s chest. I keep staring and staring, willing it to keep moving. I know nothing about gunshot wounds. Is the side a good place to get hit? A bad place? What’s the probability that he’ll live? All I can go by is Jacob’s face, and I don’t like how worried he looks.
“Miss Lovell?” I gaze up at the agent who interrogated me. “It’s time.”
Panic shoots through me. What if this is the last time I see Jax? I start to shake my head. It can’t be time. I have things to say to the man lying in the cage.
“Can’t you wait?” Leenie pleads. Her face is so distraught that I want to hug her. I want to hold her and make her feel better like she did for me.
“I’m afraid I can’t.”
I throw myself at Jax. “Please, please, please,” I beg, my fingers slipping all over his sweaty skin. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Miss Lovell,” the agent says again, this time more firmly. “You’re under arrest for grand larceny. Please get to your feet.” I do as he asks, rising on shaky legs as Jax gets whiter and whiter. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law.”
I tune him out as soon as the cold metal of the handcuffs slip around my wrists and tighten. He starts walking me away. “Finn!” I call out. As soon as he looks up, I say, “Tell him I wanted to be there. Tell him I love him. I’m so sorry.”
“He knows,” Finn says, giving me a wobbly smile. “He knows.”
Being walked out of the Ring in cuffs and away from a hurt Jax will go down as the worst possible moment in my entire life.
