Shaded ✔️

CHAPTER 14

SCARLETT POV

When I woke up I was in a moving car. My moving car, with Jax in the driver's seat. I looked out the window, squinting my eyes against the sun. I didn't recognize where we were. I looked at Jax. He had one hand on the steering wheel, the other brought a cigarette to his lips. His sunglasses were on. He looked fucking good. I moved my hand to feel my face, catching his attention.

"Ow." I could feel that my eye, cheek and lips were swollen. My throat hurt, along with my ribs and pretty much the rest of my body. I groaned.

"How you feeling, darlin'?"

"Like shit. Where are we?"

"Heading to a hotel." My heart skipped.  

"What's going on? Why aren't we going to the clubhouse?"

"Val said they're working a job, so we need to chill for a while before going back."  I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling like he was hiding something.  

"He doesn't need his VP for this job?"

"Apparently not since I got stuck on babysitting duty.  Club business, you know the deal." He shook his head and threw his cigarette out the window. I sighed.

"Sorry you got stuck with me. You should've told him to send a prospect or something." I hated feeling like I was a burden.

"Like Val would trust a prospect with you. Look I didn't mean it like that, it's not a big deal." I tried not to notice as he ran a hand through his hair after it got messed up by the wind, or the rings on his fingers that made his massive hands look even better, or how his cut fit his shoulders perfectly. I looked out the window, letting out the breath I was holding.

"I'm sorry you got caught up in this."

"Don't worry about me. I'm glad I was there to get you out." I nodded. I placed my hand over his where it rested on the gear shift.  

"Thanks. For getting me out, I mean." His eyes caught mine briefly before he pulled his hand away. I returned to looking out the window, reaching into the glove compartment to grab the mickey of Jack I had hidden in there for emergencies. 

This was an emergency. I took a long swig.

"Maybe you should start with some water? You hungry?"

"Not really."

"Great, I'll pick something up." I rolled my eyes, about to take another sip when the bottle was pulled out of my grasp and thrown out the window. I looked at him, my jaw on the floor.

"What the fuck?"

"You just got the shit kicked out of you. You need food and water before you start drinking."

"You're an asshole. I just got kidnapped and now I can't even go home and Ace-" I stopped myself, letting out a sigh. "What I need right now is a drink to try and forget that this sorry ass situation is my fucking life."  He let out a deep breath.  

"I think I liked it better when you were sleeping." I tried to hide my smile. We pulled into a shitty motel about an hour later, getting a room with 2 beds. I threw myself on the bed, groaning at the pain in my ribs.

"You want to shower first?" Jax called from the bathroom.  I was dying to get out of my clothes that were caked in dirt and blood.  

"Please." I heard him turn on the water. He came out a second later, running a hand through his hair.

"How you feeling?"

"Fantastic." He gave me a look. I just smirked, making my way to into the bathroom and shutting the door. I slowly faced the mirror, getting a good look at myself for the first time. The bruises that covered my face and neck had darkened, but at least the swelling had gone down a bit. I went to take my shirt off, the pain in my ribs making me grip the sink. I turned to my side, gaping at the bruises that covered the whole side of my body. If I thought my face was bad, this was ten times worse.

"Fuck me." I poked them a little, wincing and letting out a groan.

"You okay in here?" Jax barged through the door before I had a chance to cover myself. His eyes darkened as he saw the bruises.

"Jesus Christ."

"It's not a big deal. Honestly. It looks worse than it is." I awkwardly crossed my arms across my chest, trying to cover myself.

"Not a big deal? We need to get that shit checked out. They could be broken."

"They aren't. I said I'm fine." I went to shut the bathroom door but he held it open. He looked angry.

"Just let me look at them Scarlett." I sighed and nodded, letting him in the bathroom. I tried not to think about the fact that I was in just my bra and jeans in the bathroom with him. I was a sucker for shower sex. I looked at him and quickly looked away, my face feeling hot. I tried to convince myself that it was from the steam coming from the shower. I cleared my throat when he smirked at me like he knew what I was thinking. Like he was thinking the same thing.

"Just hurry up, I want to shower and go to bed." I didn't look at him as he made his way over to me. I tried not to look at him as he pulled my arm up, taking a closer look. I took in a sharp breath when I felt his fingers run over my ribs. My body felt like it was burning. I kept my eyes glued to the floor. When he didn't move his hand away, I was forced to look up. He was studying the tattoo that was there, it blended in with the bruises.  His fingers ran over the ink before his eyes met mine. Up close I could see that his green eyes were flecked with gold, his eyelashes were long and thick. I could see a small scar that disappeared into his hair, the few freckles across his nose, the beauty mark on his jaw that was covered by his stubble. I felt my breath hitch as he licked his full lips. His hand was now resting on the curve of my waist, his touch leaving my body feeling like it was burning despite the coldness of his rings against my skin. I squeezed my hands into fists to keep myself from reaching out to him. I forced myself to look away. I heard him clear his throat.

"They aren't broken, I'm going to get some ice for you to put on them." He left without another word, and I released the breath I was holding in. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, looking hot and bothered. My face was flushed, my pupils dilated, all from his hands barely touching me. I shook my head at myself. I took a shower, feeling 100 times better as the scorching hot water burned my skin. I put on some shorts and a big sweater, crawling into my bed and drifting off.

I was woken up by the shrill sound of Jax's phone ringing.

"What's up Val?" He sounded tired and annoyed.

"Yeah man she's fine, she's asleep. Did this person you won't say anything about leave yet?" I felt my eyebrows scrunch in confusion. Who was he talking about?

"Can't you kick them out? I need pussy and my bike or I'm going to go fucking crazy." I could hear Val responding, but I couldn't make out what he was saying.

"One more day and we're coming back, whether you like it or not." He hung up after, going out for a cigarette before settling in his bed and falling asleep. I lied awake, wondering who could possibly be there that Val didn't want me to see. He hadn't even called me despite what had happened. What could possibly be so bad that he would rather I stay alone in a motel with Jax? I tried to go back to bed but I couldn't sleep. The more I thought about it the angrier I got. Me and Val didn't keep secrets, ever. What was so bad that he couldn't tell me?

I got up, tiptoeing over to where Jax was sleeping. I shook him a little. He didn't budge. I grabbed my bag and my keys, heading towards the door. Jax was going to kill me for this. After everything he had just done for me I felt bad, but I needed to know what was going on with Val. I took one last look at him before taking off. Part of me hoped he would hate me for leaving him stranded there, because I didn't know how much longer I could stay away from him.

It was close to midnight and I was relying on a cup of shitty coffee I got from the motel lobby to keep me awake. I was about ten minutes away from home and I was getting anxious. My phone was turned off, so I didn't know if Jax had woken up and realized that I was gone. My hands were sweaty against the steering wheel. I pulled into the clubhouse, seeing Val's bike beside a car I didn't recognize.

I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't to see Val sitting at the table, his hand intertwined with my best friend who I hadn't seen in 6 months. I dropped my bag on the floor, making them both look at me.

"What the fuck?"