The unlikely bond

Chapter seven

Amelia's POV:

The SUV jolted as Jax drove us away from the chaos. The roads were empty, the night deepening around us. I sat in the passenger seat, my thoughts a whirlwind of confusion and fear. Jax's grip on the wheel was tight, his jaw set in a determined line.
He finally pulled up to an old, secluded house nestled in a dense forest-a far cry from the cramped cabin we'd left behind. It looked abandoned but seemed solid enough.
He turned to me, his eyes serious. "This is where we'll stay for a while. It's off the grid. No one will find us here."
I nodded, feeling a mix of relief and apprehension. "Why are you helping me?" I asked. "Why risk everything for me?"
He hesitated, then sighed. "There's something you need to know. About why I'm doing this."

Jax's POV:
The house was quiet, the only sound the distant chirping of insects. I needed to explain, to finally let her in on the truth. I couldn't keep her in the dark any longer-not when she'd seen so much already.
I led Amelia inside, and once we were settled in the living room, I finally spoke. "I need to tell you everything. About why I took you."
Her eyes were wide with curiosity and something else-empathy, maybe. I could see the struggle in her expression, the conflict between the anger she felt for her father and the confusion about me.
"I grew up in the shadows," I began, trying to keep my voice steady. "My brother and I were close. We had dreams, hopes. But Marcus destroyed that. He used his power to tear apart our lives. My brother was caught in his crossfire. He was killed because of a deal gone wrong. It was supposed to be a simple transaction, but Marcus-he betrayed us."
Amelia's face softened as she listened, her eyes never leaving mine. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I had no idea. I only knew him as the powerful figure in my life, not... not as someone who hurt people."
I nodded, feeling a weight lift slightly from my shoulders as I spoke. "I wanted revenge. I wanted to make him feel the same pain he'd caused me. That's why I took you. But... it's not just about that anymore."
She studied me for a moment, her eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," I said, "the longer I've been with you, the more I've started to see the human side of this. You're not just a means to an end. And now that you know the truth, I don't know what to do with it."

Amelia's POV:
Hearing Jax's story was like opening a door to a room I hadn't known existed. The anger I felt toward my father shifted into something more complex. I felt a deep sadness for Jax, and a desire to help him-not just out of pity, but out of a genuine need to right some wrongs.
"You've been through so much," I said, my voice trembling slightly. "And I can't believe what my father did. It's wrong. What he did to your family..."
Jax looked at me, his expression guarded but hopeful. "I didn't expect you to understand. I didn't expect you to care."
"I care," I said firmly. "And I want to help you. I don't know how, but I want to."
He looked at me, a mix of relief and skepticism in his eyes. "Why?"
"Because," I said, taking a deep breath, "I can't just stand by and do nothing. If my father did this to you, then I have to make it right. And if helping you is the way to do that, then I'll do it."

Jax's POV:
Her words surprised me, but in a way, they made sense. Amelia wasn't just a prisoner-she was someone who had a heart, someone who cared about the wrongs done to others. It was disorienting but also strangely comforting.
"I'm going to give you more freedom here," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "You can roam around the house, get some fresh air. I don't want you feeling like a prisoner."
"Thank you," she said softly, her eyes meeting mine with a sincerity that made my chest tighten.

I thought this would be easy.
Kidnap her, hold her for ransom, make Marcus feel the kind of pain I'd lived with for years. Simple. Clean. But nothing about this was simple anymore.
Amelia was supposed to be a means to an end, nothing more. And for a while, I kept it that way. I stuck to the plan-kept my distance, made sure she had food and water, made sure she wasn't hurt. It wasn't personal. It couldn't be. But every time I saw her, that fire in her eyes, that stubbornness-it did something to me. It made it harder to keep my distance.
She didn't act like a victim. She wasn't scared the way most people would be in her position. Oh, she was angry, yes-angry enough to spit venom when she spoke to me. But fear? No, not really. And that made things... complicated.
I was supposed to break her father by using her. But every time I saw her, it was like I was the one unraveling. The more I watched her, the more I saw the person behind the girl with the famous last name. She was smart, sharp-tongued, and tougher than I'd expected. She wasn't some delicate princess sheltered from the world-she was stronger than that. Stronger than I'd ever given her credit for.
And that was the problem.
Because the longer I spent around her, the more I started to see her not as Marcus's daughter, but as Amelia. The more I noticed her quiet strength, the way her gaze challenged me every time I walked into the room. She wasn't like anyone I'd met before, and that scared the hell out of me.
Because I wasn't supposed to feel anything.
I wasn't supposed to care.
But there were moments-small, fleeting moments-where I caught myself hesitating. When I lingered at the door, watching her, wondering what she was thinking. Moments where I considered saying something, explaining why she was here, why I had to do this. But I didn't. I couldn't. It wasn't part of the plan.
She was still the key to breaking Marcus. That's what I had to remember. But the more time I spent with her, the more the lines blurred, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep myself from crossing them.