Breaking Cannon

7.

Cannons POV

Something about her.

Meeting a girl who is more fearless than I am is just intoxicating.

Shut the fuck up.

I need to put as much distance between me and her as I can.

So naturally, I get out and follow her into the house.

The minute I hear her scream, I'm running. I enter the house and see her small body curled around her twin's. Her father stands above them swinging a whip. He goes to take another swing but my man, Calen, grabs his hand and stops it mid swing. He looks at me and I nod, giving him the okay to knock the bastard out. I look towards Maddox and see her slowly start losing consciousness. I walk over and start lifting her up. I walk towards the car, her body limp in my arms and her blood staining my shirt. I go to get in when this annoying little voice in my head won't let me.

You can't leave him there. He'll die.

And? Why should I care? I've got what I came for. The boy can die.

She'll be upset.

Once again. And?? That's not my problem. I step into the car. We start to drive off when her eyes flutter open for just a second. She makes eye contact with me and all I see is fear and pain. Just as quickly as her eyes open, they're shut again.

Damn it.

"Stop the car." I say to Calen.

"Sir, we already have the girl, we-" he stops mid sentence and seems to remember who he's talking to. He snaps his mouth closed and slams on the breaks. I hop out and storm back in the house. I go to get her brother's broken and bloody body. It's obvious he was being whipped for a good amount of time. His eyes open and he immediately starts to try and crawl away.

"No. Don't touch me. Where's Maddox? I swear if you have her I'll kill you. I swear." He stares up at me with those same icy eyes that she has. I stare back and reach to grab him once again. The fucker tries to fight back so I simply knock him out.

There. Much easier. I throw him over my shoulder and unceremoniously deposit his body in the trunk.

•••

Jax's POV

I wake up in a stark white room with two hospital beds. I try to move but I quickly realize that my body was torn to shreds.

A wave of pain threatens to knock me out yet again, but I force myself to stay awake. It's hard to look around on my stomach, but I manage to locate a door to my right and Mads in the other bed, still unconscious.

I start to feel the panic rise when the door swings open. I decide the safest thing to do is to pretend I'm still out. I snap my eyes closed and stay as still as I can.

Two voices speak about our condition and the conversation ends with a "yes, sir."

Just when I think I'm in the clear, a hand grabs the back of my neck and I feel a voice in my ear.

"I know you're awake. Threaten to kill me again, and I'll kill your sister and make you bury the body."

My eyes slam open just in time to see Cannon stroll out of the room.

•••

I must've passed out again, because before I know it, Maddox is calling out my name.

"Jax? Are you okay? Please be okay." She says almost desperately. I groan and turn my head to face her.

"Hey Mads. Richie went all out this time, huh." I say. It's not the first time he's used the whip, but it is the first time I've been whipped to the point of unconsciousness. I wish I could say the same for Mads. But that's her story to tell. Not mine.

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I see anger flash across her eyes.

"You're going to burn yourself up if you keep allowing that anger to run you." I say.

"I'll kill him. Then I won't be angry." She retorts. "Where the hell are we? What happened? How'd that start?" She says, peppering me with questions.

"We're with that big asshole somewhere. He came in and took us while Rich lost his mind. And I don't even know what set him off this time, dude. Must be the drugs." I explain. She looks at me suspiciously but then slowly starts to nod her head. She knows I'm lying, but she doesn't need the guilt of the truth. Richard got angry that she had left without him knowing. I yelled back. And here we are.

"Well shit." She grumbles out. "What now?"

"That's up to you."

We whip our heads around to identify the voice. Cannon stands, leaning against the divider. How the hell did he get in here without us noticing?

Maddox sends him a glare, meeting his icy gaze with one of her own.

She's going to get us killed.