McKayla

Jax looked at me expectantly. I haven’t talked about this to . Not even my own family. But if Jax was willing to be 100% with me, it was only fair that I do the same. I took a deep breath and looked down at my hands.

“McKayla?” He asked softly.

He took my hands in his and held them tight.

“I used to live in Michigan with a guy named Derek. He was…a monster,”

I looked up at Jax. He was focused on me, his grip on my hands tightened.

“What happened?” He asked slowly.

Ha! Where to begin? I didn’t want to go through all of the messy details, so I stuck to the basics.

“Jax, I was his slave for three years.”

You could’ve heard a pin drop in that room. His eyes never left mine as he let my words sink in. All at once, he let out a slow breath and pulled himself up so that he was sitting.

“What the hell do you mean his ‘slave’?” He asked.

I could tell he was trying to keep his voice steady but it wasn’t working too well. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes.

“Sex slave, Jax. I did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it and if I disobeyed, I was punished. Severely.” I said.

Jax shook his head and dropped my hands. He kept closing and opening his fists and started breathing deeply. He was pissed.

“I’ll kill him. I will cut his heart out! He is fucking dead!” He shouted.

I shook my head quickly and grabbed his hands tightly in mine. No! That is exactly what I don’t want to happen! Suddenly I was regretting telling Jax anything. I knew he would react like that. I had to make him understand that finding him would just get me killed, or worse.

“No! Jax no! You can’t!” I shouted back at him.

He looked at me with wild eyes. Pure rage had filled them and it scared me. Fear and anxiety welled up inside me and tears started spilling down my cheeks.

“Jax, he doesn’t know where I am and if you go after him, he’ll find me and I can’t go back Jax, I won’t please, please-“

He cut me off by taking me in his arms and pulling me to his chest. He rested his chin in my head and held me tight as I cried. His heart was hammering away in his chest and I knew he was furious. But I couldn’t let him react. Once I was calm enough to pull away, I put both of my hands on his face and made him look at me.

“Jax, I need you to promise me that you won’t try to find him or go after him. That you’ll let it go. That you won’t tell anyone, not even Gemma.” I said seriously.

He rolled his eyes and looked away from me.

“I mean it, Jax. I didn’t come this far to ruin it now. I have a chance to be safe and happy and to start over. Please just try and forget about it.” I told him.

Jax sighed and fixed his eyes on me. He nodded reluctantly and took my hands and kissed them.

“So, that’s what the nightmares were about?” He asked after a minute.

I nodded and closed my eyes. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I wasn’t carrying this bombshell anymore and I felt like I could relax finally.

“Why didn’t you just tell me before, when I walked in on the first nightmare?” He asked me.

I shrugged and played with my hair.

“I wasn’t planning on ever telling you, Jax. I haven’t even told my own family yet.” I said.

He raised his eyebrow and slid back down on the bed so that he was lying down.

“Wait, your family doesn’t know where you are?” He asked.

I nodded and crawled in the bed beside him. He pulled me so that my head was on his chest and his arm was securely around me.

“I can’t tell them. If they know, he could find me.” I whispered.

Jax shook his head and pulled me closer to him.

“He’s never gonna find you baby. Not while I’m here. I’ll never let that bastard near you again.” He whispered in my ear.

I smiled a little and closed my eyes.

“Do you promise?” I asked.

The steady rhythm of Jax’s heartbeat pounding in my ear was lulling me to sleep and I knew it wouldn’t be long until it pulled me under.

“I promise.” He whispered back.

~ ~

“Well, at least you didn’t slip into a coma.” I heard Gemma say.

I forced my eyes open and was blinded by the sunlight creeping through the blinds. Jax chuckled and nodded.

“I told you I was fine Ma.” He said.

She rolled her eyes and closed the door. Jax smiled down at me and kissed my forehead.

“Morning baby.” He said.

I smiled back and kissed him.

“Good morning. Are you okay?” I asked him.

He nodded and rolled his head around from shoulder to shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just a small headache.” He said.

I nodded and sat up on the bed. Jax stood up and held out his hand for mine.

“Come on, let’s go home and get cleaned up.” He said.

I put my hand in his and let him pull me off of the bed. He smiled as he pulled me close and kissed me softly. A knock on the door pulled us apart. Opie opened the door and smiled when he saw Jax up and around.

“Good to see you up brother.” He said.

Jax grinned and hugged Opie.

“Good to be up bro. I think I’ll sit the next explosion out though.” He said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes and they both laughed. Opie walked us out and handed Jax his cut.

“Clay here?” Jax asked.

Op shook his head and flopped down on a couch.

“Nah, it’s early.” He said.

I looked at the clock on the wall and groaned. It was only 7:30. Jax chuckled and wrapped his arms around me.

“Let’s get outta here.” He said in my ear.

I nodded in agreement and he waved to Op.

“I’ll be back later.” He called as we walked out.

Jax handed me his helmet and helped me with the buckle. He gave me another kiss before firing the bike up and speeding towards home. Neeta was mixing a bottle when we walked inside.

“I’m glad to see you up and about Jax.” She said with a smile.

He smiled back and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks for staying with him.” He said.

She nodded and I took the bottle from her.

“Why don’t you go home and get some sleep?” I told her.

Neeta just smiled and shook her head.

“It’s fine. I slept like a baby last night. I’ll just take him to the park if that’s okay. There’s not too many people there this early so it’s peaceful.” She said.

I smiled and nodded.

“Alright, if you want.” I said with a shrug.

I liked Neeta. She was so friendly and cheerful and always willing to help us out with Abel. I also loved to talk to her about life and God and just whatever was on my mind. She could tell something was bothering me, but she never pressed me to talk about it. I like to think of her as an Aunt that you can talk to about anything.

When she came out with Abel, he reached for me and she handed him over while she packed the stroller.

“Good morning little guy.” I said to him.

He smiled and cooed. I smiled and kissed his cheeks. Jax stepped over and I handed Abel to him.

“Hey, how’s my little man?” He asked him.

Abel just made little noises and Jax kissed him.

“Alright, we’re all set.” Neeta said.

Jax kissed him again and helped her strap him in. He was really getting used to being a dad. Maybe, someday we won’t even need Neeta’s help but right now, I was grateful for it. We watched them pull out of the driveway and then Jax put his arms around me.

“Why don’t we take a shower?” He asked me in a husky voice.

I raised my eyebrow and gently pushed him away.

“Together?” I asked playfully.

Jax smirked at me and then all at once bent down and threw me over his shoulders. I screamed and laughed as he carried me into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.