No matter how long Jace's men search for the fugitive, they can't find him. He still poses a threat, so Jace even decides to skip his usual visit to Walford. He can't risk revealing Jamie's whereabouts and possibly cause her harm. It's better to keep her a secret until the matter is resolved.
The one thing Jace forgets to do is warn Jamie about his plan. He doesn't tell her he's not visiting on the weekend like usual, so when he doesn't show up at the clubhouse in his chopper. The later it gets, the more anxious she is that it's her fault he's not there. She tries to remember if she maybe said something offensive during their last talk on the phone the previous night.
Her thoughts are interrupted by Ella's concerned voice. "Jamie, you look a little pale, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Jamie shrugs, putting on her happy mask to hide her inner feelings. "I'm just a little tired."
"Oh, then why don't you take a nap upstairs?" Treasure suggests with a soft smile, playing distractedly with her son's tiny feet as he sleeps beside her.
"I don't want to be a bother," Jamie retorts politely. "I think I'll just go home for today," she announces then with a small smile gets off the couch and leaves the room before anyone can stop her. "Have fun, ladies, and say hi to Ruby from me."
"Sure thing. Get some rest, honey," Maggie waves in goodbye, trying to speak quietly enough to not wake up the sleeping baby.
Since it's quite some distance from the clubhouse to the house the girls are staying in, Jamie has no other choice but to ask one of the prospects to take her there. Even though the club has been really generous and has given the girls a place to stay and helped them get accustomed to their new life away from the prison they've been locked in, they drew the line at providing the ladies with vehicles and leaving them unprotected. They were adamant about keeping the girls company at all times. Perhaps it's because of the babies in the club that the guys have gotten a little paranoid, but Jamie actually appreciates their effort. Had it not been for their help, she would still be kept by Sylvester Burns as 'entertainment' for his men.
"Will you be alright on your own, Jamie?" the young prospect asks worriedly as he drops Jamie off at the house.
"I'll be fine, thank you," Jamie smiles softly then says goodbye to the prospect and enters the house, heading straight to her room. Even though there are only two bedrooms in the house, Ella and Claire decided to share theirs, mostly because they said that Jamie needs a separate room much more than them. She spent the longest in Burns' hands.
Three years of her life... lost. She was barely seventeen when Sylvester took her and since then, she's been nothing but his sex toy and a source of relief for his men's frustrations. It was a nightmare that should've ended once she was out of that hellish place, but it didn't. The memories of those three years are still haunting Jamie and there's nothing she can do to stop it. Nothing works.
Jamie knows a sure way to get out of the dark place that is her mind, but she swore to herself that she'll never resort to it again. Drugs are what got her in that mess, and Jamie doesn't want to go through the same nightmare again. She will not jump into that rabbit hole. There's no light at the end of that tunnel.
"What am I even doing?" she chastises herself quietly then lies down in her bed, burying herself under the covers, almost as though the softness of the duvet will protect her from the harshness of the world. It's a feeble shield but it's something. It's better to hide than to give into the temptation that has once ruined her life.
Fuck, what am I thinking? I swore that I'd never use that shit again.
Jamie lies quietly in her bed, trying to enjoy the silence that's engulfed the whole house, but her disturbing thoughts don't leave her alone. She keeps remembering how her life got ruined because of her own stupidity and naivety, how easy everything she worked for got destroyed just because of a few moments of weakness. It still scares her how the same people who smiled and her and praised her for being talented could easily become her worst enemies who dragged her into the abyss of addiction.
She wonders how those people are doing now, and if they regret doing what they've done, but her concern quickly disappears and turns into bitterness. Who cares what they're doing now? They're no longer a part of Jamie's life nor will they ever be.
Jamie can't dwell on this for too long, though, as the sound of her phone interrupts her thoughts. "Hello?" she greets quietly, not even bothering to look at the caller.
"Hi, sweet angel," Jace greets, a content smile spreads on his face just from hearing Jamie's voice. He didn't plan to call her so early, but decided to tell her the reason he can't go visit her. He doesn't want her to think he's giving up on her or anything. "I know I was supposed to come to visit, but there were some... complications."
"You don't need to explain yourself, Jace," Jamie quickly retorts, stopping the man from continuing. "You're not supposed to come here every week, I know you're a busy man."
Jamie's dejected tone for some reason strikes a chord in Jace. He thought Jamie liked it when he came over, so to hear her so indifferent about his absence is a little upsetting. "I promised to see you as often as possible, Angel, and I intend to keep my word. Unless you don't like it?" he trails off hesitantly, toying distractedly with his knife as he sits in his office, completely ignoring the piles of reports on his desk.
"It's not that I don't like it when you come..." Jamie sighs quietly. "I just feel like it's a waste of your time to go back and forth all the time..."
"You're being silly, Angel. If I could, I would fly to Iowa every day to see you," Jace chuckles. "You know what I'd like even more?"
"No," Jamie trails off confusedly.
"If you moved to Montana. Then I would be able to see you whenever I wanted."
"Jace... I told you I can't do that. I don't want to be a bother," Jamie breathes out, rubbing her forehead tiredly. What a hypocrite I am... I tell him I don't want to be a bother, yet I'm still bothering the bikers.
"Angel, darling, you wouldn't be a bother, you know that. I've told you that many times," Jace admonishes gently. He doesn't understand why Jamie is so reluctant to leave Iowa. Perhaps it's because she feels grateful to the bikers for saving her from the hellhole she was trapped in, or perhaps she wants to stay with the other two girls that were saved alongside her. Unless she simply doesn't like Jace and that's why she doesn't want to go with him. The mere thought of that is heartbreaking.
"Jace, I can't move to Montana all of a sudden," Jamie tries to argue, but even she knows her reasoning is weak at best.
"Why not? Can you please just tell me the reason?"
Damn it, he got me. I've been avoiding this topic forever, but I can't run away anymore. He deserves to know. "I was originally from Montana before I was taken by Burns. I made some... bad decisions and now I'm... I'm afraid to go back there."
"Why didn't you tell me that? You know I wouldn't let anyone hurt you. If there's anyone you're scared of, I'll get rid of them for you. You have nothing to worry about, Angel."
"I can't ask you to solve my problems, Jace. It's not fair to you to use you like this."
"You can use me however you want, love. I want to help you, to be there for you," Jace declares sternly. He immediately decides to have someone investigate Jamie's past to find out what she can be hiding from, but then chooses against it. He doesn't want to pry into Jamie's life behind her back.
"Why?" Jamie implores, slightly bewildered by the man's persistence.
"What do you mean why?" Jace frowns in bafflement, even though Jamie can't see it. "Angel, do you really not know why I'm like this?"
"I'm... not sure."
"I don't want to play hide and seek with you, and I thought I made my intentions clear. I've fallen for you, Angel," Jace confesses truthfully.
Unfortunately, because of the distance separating him from Jamie, he can't see the shock on her face nor the tears streaming down her cheeks. She absolutely cannot believe what she's just heard. He's in love with her? How is that possible? He barely even knows her!
What's even weirder is that she also has feelings for him. Love may be too strong of a word to describe what she feels, but there's something.
"I... Jace, I don't-" Jamie stammers pathetically, roughly wiping the tears off her face with the back of her hand.
"I know, Angel," Jace cuts her off. "Don't worry, love. I won't ask you to reciprocate my feelings right away and I won't burden you with them either." He knows he's being rash by saying this so early, but he's at the end of his tether. It's been months now and his patience is wearing thin. He's a man of action, and the constant game of hide and seek Jamie's playing with him is getting a little... exasperating. He can hardly concentrate on his work because he keeps constantly thinking about his Angel, and the more he thinks of her, the more he wants to see her, and the less he can concentrate on work. It's a vicious cycle that he just can't escape from unless he has his Angel with him for good.
Jamie can't help but be surprised by the man's benevolence. He really is nothing like she thought he was. He may be a little... blunt, but overall he's not a bad man, despite being a mafia boss. It's astounding, really.
If he's like this, then maybe it might not be a bad idea to trust him. Maybe this time, she won't be so unlucky.
"Jace... if I changed my mind about moving from here, what would you do?"