On The Devil, We Ride

14

I woke up tucked tight in Jace's arms, a feeling I had definitely missed. I shuffled back a little so I could look at him, my movement making him stir. He opened his eyes and let them focus on mine.

"Hey." I said softly, glad that this time he didn't hastily remove his arms from around me. I needed them.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" He said in his usual husky morning voice. I loved how deep his voice was.

"Can I get back to you on that?" I laughed humourlessly, then burrowed back into his chest.

"Take all the time you need." He spoke into my hair while rubbing soothing circles on my back. We lay in silence for a moment, just wrapped up in eachother's arms. It was just like old times.

"Hey, did you hear from Axel at all?" I lifted my head and looked at him with worried eyes.

"No, nothing yet." I sighed and nodded, figuring it could've been worse.

"No news is good news, B." He added encouragingly, reaching out to tuck my hair behind my ear.

"Thanks for being here, Jace. I don't know what I would've done without you." I full on smiled at him, seeming to take him by surprise.

"There's no place I'd rather be. Now come on, let's get you back to your mom." He kissed my forehead lightly before sliding his arms away and getting up. We got dressed quickly and departed from my room, heading towards the door. Joe was sat at the table reading the paper with a pair of glasses on the end of his nose and a mug in front of him. He glanced up as he heard us approach and lowered the paper.

"How're you feeling this morning, Brooke?" Joe asked, pulling the glasses from off his nose and folding them on the table.

"Much better, thanks." I smiled at him.

"Debbie's gone to the hospital to check on Axel. I'm sure he'll be glad to see you." Joe stood up and took his mug into the kitchen, rinsing it before placing it in the sink.

"I'm taking her over there now." Jace spoke up as he tugged his boots on. I slid my feet into my pumps and shouldered my bag.

"Not today, Jace. We've got some business to attend to." Joe replied firmly, fixing Jace with a hard stare.

"You can manage without me." Jace shrugged. I looked between them nervously as tension sizzled in the air.

"It's fine, I'll just drive there. I don't want to cause any problems." I offered, but Jace spoke before I'd even finished speaking.

"No it's fine, I'll take you."

"Brooke would you give us a minute?" Joe said through gritted teeth, his tone anything but friendly. I shot Jace a nervous glance, unsure what to do.

"Just wait outside, I'll be out in a minute." He squeezed my arm before gently pushing me towards the door. I shot them both one last anxious look before heading out the door towards Jace's truck, leaning against the door and waiting patiently for him. Jace's relationship with Joe had always been complicated. Joe had always put a lot of pressure on Jace, getting him involved in club business way earlier than he should've. There was a reason Jace had always been a force of nature, and it wasn't just his personality. He was brought up to be tough, and was discouraged from showing weakness in the least constructive way possible. When he was 13, he began to hit back. He and Joe didn't always see eye to eye on things, and the older Jace got the more defiant he got, which only pissed Joe off more. The older Jace got, the more severe his injuries were. The worst was when he'd ended up with 2 broken ribs, and Joe had ended up with a dislocated Jaw. The memory was forever embedded in my mind.