Jax
My office phone rings and I answer it as soon as I see the number.
"Roxanne?"
"Oh thank God," She whispers and I chuckle. "I was so worried. You weren't answering your phone."
"I know, love. I'm sorry. I smashed it," I tell her honestly as I rub the back of my neck. "Kinda lost my temper. We lost two of people and two regulars of the bar."
"Shit," She says. "I'm so sorry, Jaxon."
"It will be fine."
"I'm so sorry."
"Shh, love. It's not your fault," I say as I lean back in my chair. I'm fucking exhausted.
"I..." She trails off, only the sound of her breathing can be heard. "Jaxon, I need to tell you some things."
I furrow my brows. "What things?"
"Can I come see you? I would rather tell you these things in person. I-I don't want it to be said over the phone."
"Roxanne, I'm not sure-"
"Please! Jaxon, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."
I sigh. "Fine. Ryder should be there or almost there. Ride with him back here."
"Okay," She whispers nervously. "I will see you soon."
"Please be careful."
"Always."
She hangs up the phone and I do the same. Leaning forward, I rest my head in my hands. My head is pounding. Rubbing my temples, I allow my brain to wander. Thoughts of Roxanne flood my mind. My heart is racing right now without her here. I'm absolutely petrified something is going to happen to her. I need her here. She's safe here with me.
A gunshot pierces the silence and I don't even jump. It doesn't shock me anymore. I've been in this life since I was fifteen years old. I've heard it all. I've seen it all. I've done it all. Nothing scares me anymore.
Well, that's not entirely true. The thought of Roxanne getting hurt or killed sends a knife right to my heart. Just thinking it makes it hard to breathe. If something happened to her, I could never live with myself. She's my everything right now.
I love her.
I freeze entirely the second those words pop into my brain. My blood runs cold and my heart stops completely.
"I love her," I repeat - aloud this time. "I love her."
I can't help the smile and chuckle that escapes me with the realization. I do love her. She makes me happy. She fills me with so much life - so much hope - and I cannot see my life without her.
I love Roxanne.
A knock at the door interrupts my admission and I say, "Come in."
Axel storms in followed by Slade. Axel looks like he could rip the throat from someone just by looking at them. He's dangerous right now. Unstable. I feel my body grow tense in preparation of another fist flying in my direction.
Slade, on the other hand, looks nervous. His eyes dart around the room, avoiding me entirely. He's pale - which is unusual for his dark skin. He looks like he's going pass out.
Lovely.
"How badly did you fuck him up? You made poor Slade here sick!" I say with a humourless chuckle.
Axel shakes his head. "He's fucking dead and the least of my worries. Where's Roxanne?" He asks angrily.
"Not here. Ryder will be bringing her shortly," I reply, raising my brow. "Why? Should I be worried? Did he threaten her?"
He bursts into laughter - a dark, insane laughter - and Slade looks down at the floor. "Yeah fucking right."
"What the fuck is going on? Stop dancing around and fucking say it?"
He shakes his head and his laughter dies down. His expression turns serious as he stares at me for a moment before speaking. "She's involved."
"What?"
"Roxanne. She's involved. She's the mole."
"What the fuck are you going on about?" I demand.
He runs his hand over his very short hair a few times. "It's exactly what I said, man. She's dirty. She's one of them."
"And where did you get such a fucking stupid idea?" I question him, my voice low as I try to hold in my anger.
Axel frowns before pulling a small slip of paper from his pocket. "The Myers kid had this in his wallet," he says as he turns it around, revealing a picture of my black haired goddess.
"What?"
"Yeah," He says placing it on my desk. "She's in this. She's played you."
"No," I deny. "There's no fucking way."
"Look at the fucking picture, Jaxon. That's her."
"Maybe they have a hit on her. Maybe they know what she is to me."
He shakes his head. "No way."
"Or maybe she dated him or something. An old friend. She does live in the city."
Again, he shakes his head.
"Turn the picture around, Boss." Slade says, still looking down at the ground.
I take in and release a slow breath before leaning over to pick up the picture. I flip it over and almost lose it when I see the words written in faded purple ink.
'Best sister ever! Love always, Roxy Myers'
"No fucking way! She wouldn't lie about that!"
"Well, she fucking did."
"There has to be an explanation," I say, throwing the picture away from me. I couldn't touch it anymore. It's like it burns me just to have it near me. "There has to be. Maybe she's not involved with them anymore. Maybe-"
"No," Axel says firmly. "Trevor told me that his father was listening to his sister right now. He attacked today because his sister had taken off for the day and he saw an opportunity."
"No," I say in disbelief. "No fucking way."
"I'm sorry, man. It's the fucking truth."
"There's no fucking way. He's lying. He's setting her up so we turn against her. He-"
"Will you fucking listen to yourself? The woman's a heartless bitch! She played you like a fiddle. She was just waiting to stab you in the back or put a bullet through your skull!" He yells, pointing to his head. "She got close to you so she could kill you. Probably thought it was her way into the President's chair."
"She's not like that."
He laughs darkly, shaking his head. "You are in denial," He states. "She's a fucking snake. She's-"
"Stop."
"She wanted to get close to you. She wanted you to tell you everything. She knew that the best way to do that was to use her feminine charm. Once she had you in bed, that's it. You were putty in her hands. You-"
"Stop!"
"You are at fault here. Adalyn and Tanner are dead because of you!"
"Enough!" I roar as I dive at him - both of us falling to the floor with a loud thud. I drive my fists into Axel over and over again as he holds his arms up in an attempt to block my hits. I feel Slade pulling at my shirt in an attempt to peel me off of Axel, but he's not strong enough. I push him off of me with ease.
"You are going to kill him, Jaxon! You need to stop!"
"Let him kill me!" Axel yells, his voice jargled as he spits blood from his mouth.
I push up off of him, gripping my hair in my hands.
I hear Axel spit as he scrambles to his feet. "You know I'm fucking right," He says and I look at him. He's bloody. His face is already swollen and I think his nose is broken. "You know damn well I'm right and you know what you have to do."
I shake my head, fighting with myself internally.
"There has to be an explanation."
"Ha!" He blurts out. "My fucking God, you are such an idiot. Look at the fucking facts here, Jaxon. She's a Red Devil. She lied to you about that. She hid her true identity because she knew you wouldn't give her the time of day if she told you who she was. She played you."
He pauses, silence washing over us as I take in his words. I run my hand over my face, stretching it down painfully. My head is throbbing. My chest is aching with the pressure building within it. I feel like my heart is going to explode any second.
"You love her," He states suddenly and my attention snaps to him. "You fucking love her." He chuckles, shaking his head. "Un-fucking-real. You need to fix this."
He shoots me one more look before exiting my office, leaving me and Slade alone.
"Boss?" Slade says quietly and I nod my head. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but he's right."
I nod my head slowly and he exits my office, shutting the door behind him. I step over to my chair and slump down into it.
What the fuck am I going to do?
"You have a lot of fucking nerve stepping foot in here!" Axel's voice says catching my attention.
"What the fuck are you talking about? I'm here to see Jaxon, asshole."
Axel's laughter followed by the sound of tables or chairs being knocked over reaches my ears next and I run out of the office.
In the centre of the bar, I see Axel standing over Roxanne. She's holding her cheek as she looks up at my best friend in confusion and fear.
"You think we are all idiots, don't you?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about?"
"Thought you had all of us fucking fooled, didn't you?" Axel spits before kicking her down as she tries to stand. "You thought fucking wrong, Roxanne Myers!"
The look on her face says it all. She looks up at him with so much fear and...regret? Of course there's regret. She's been caught.
"It's true?" I speak up, making her attention snap to me as I step out of the shadows. "Is it true? Please tell me it's not fucking true, Roxanne."
Tears brim her eyes and that's all I need to see. "I-I came here to tell you!" She says, her voice high pitched and wavering. "I couldn't keep it from you anymore. I couldn't live this lie. I lo-"
"You have had weeks to tell me, Roxanne."
"I know, but I couldn't. I was scared you would kill me or-"
I laugh darkly. "Of course I would fucking kill you."
She sniffles. "Jaxon, I swear I didn't keep it from you for any reason other than the fact that I just wanted to get to know you and-"
"So you could tell your father everythng about me? So he could put a bullet in my head like he did my father?"
She visably pales as a gasp her escapes her lips. She didn't know that and I smirk knowing that she's now realizing her father isn't as perfect as she thinks. "I didn't know. I'm sorry, Jaxon. I had no idea he had anything to do with your father's death," She stammers out. "But I swear on everything that I would never and have never said anything to my father about you. He does not know that I've been seeing you at all. I swear to fucking God that this-" She gestures between us. "-had nothing to do with this rivalry you two have going on. I-"
"Bullshit." I sneer. "So much lies."
"I swear to you that I'm telling the truth! I swear it, Jaxon!" She says, her voice louder and panicked. "I could never do that to you. Look in my eyes! I could never do that to you. I couldn't live with myself if you died. Please, you have to believe me!"
"No. No I really fucking don't."
A sob escapes her. "Please, Jaxon, just listen to me! I didn't sell you out at all! I told my father to not attack you right away in hopes that I could convince him to not attack you at all! I knew nothing about the attack today! I-"
"She isn't lying. Trevor said even his father didn't know about the attack." Slade says from beside him. "He said that he took the opportunity when he realized she wasn't around."
"Trevor?"
"Yeah, Trevor. You're fucking brother," Axel says, stepping up to her. He leans down and lifts her chin to make her look at him. "You know what he did? He put a bullet right in Adalyn's heart!"
"No!" Roxanne shrieks and the tears start falling.
"Yep," Axel says, popping the 'p'. "And it's all your fault."
"Adalyn's dead?" She asks, turning to me and I nod. "No." She sobs. "No, you're lying."
"We're not the liars here, bitch!" Axel yells, kicking her down again.
"Enough Axel!" I yell. "Everyone out! Everyone out now! I will deal with her. She's my responsibility."
"Fucking right she's your responsibility," Axel sneers. "Don't fuck it up."
He walks over to the bar and grabs a bottle of rye before leaving the bar. Slade and the others follow shortly after.
It's just Roxanne and me now. Her soft sobs echo around me and I look down at her. She looks genuine, but how can I tell anymore? She has lied about everything. How do I know what's real and what's not anymore?
I grab a chair and sit in it, staring at the girl I thought I knew as she cries on the floor of my bar. My heart is fucking wrecked. She's ripped it from my chest and stomped on it with those leather boots she loves so much. I feel like my entire soul has died.
I'm fucking broken and so is she. Maybe we're meant for one another after all.
"I swear to you that I would never betray you, Jaxon." Her voice says quietly through tears. "I may not have told you who I am, but I didn't do that to be some secret agent or whatever it is going through your head. I just wanted to know you.
"Remember the night we met?" I nod my head. "I genuinely didn't know who you were. Lacey, my friend told me as she dragged me out of the bar. I had zero intention of ever seeing you again. I knew then that if you knew who I was, I would be dead. I wasn't about to put my life on the line no matter how attractive you were.
"But that all fucking changed when you found me on the side of the road."