Jax (Titan #9)(74)

Seven hung on to the phone in silence, and Victoria didn't add much. There wasn't much to say. The doctors insisted her mom wasn't suffering, but her quality of life seemed miserable, even if she didn't complain… maybe because she couldn't complain.

"And I got a phone call… from my dad."

Maybe that was one of the reasons why Victoria was in the mood to bicker with Ryder, because her dad could spoil any mood depending on what he had to say and how he said it. There were times when he seemed like a normal, nice person. Those times weren't often.

When Victoria didn't expand on the conversation, Seven's stomach tied in knots. It was a doubly dreadful feeling, given that she was hours over her hangover, and raw nausea wasn't a great feeling. "What's the matter?"

"Your dad is… Somehow, Cullen got word sent to my dad while they were in prison. You know how that goes… Your dad's powerful. He can make things happen, and I didn't expect to hear from mine when I answered the phone."

Seven's nausea morphed into anger. The dread that swirled in her stomach snapped into tension, and she closed her fists. "I don't care. I don't want to hear what they talked about. I don't want to know anything." Seven shook her head and could feel blood pounding at her temples. "Tell him to keep my dad far away from my life."

"I'm sorry I said anything."

She let her fingers flare out then relax, trying to shake away the stress of Cullen Blackburn, when Seven caught sight of her left hand. That was a whole new barrel of stress. Why she hadn't taken off the wedding band yet? Jax had when he left to meet his boss.

"Don't worry about it," she grumbled, unsure if she was more aggravated that she wouldn't take off her ring or that her dad had reached out. "Have you ever picked up any legal know-how when helping out on your divorce cases?"

Victoria hummed. "Maybe a little. I'm not sure."

"A little, like about annulments or divorces? Papers involved with that stuff?" Seven held the wedding band in front of her, moving her hand up and down, unable to look away like a cat drawn to a laser beam.

"Well, actually, I think it's all—wait, why?"

She dropped her hand quickly, tucking it under her back as though nothing had happened if she couldn't see it. "No reason."

Victoria sucked a deep breath into the phone. "Holy shit."

Seven rolled her eyes because that was what she would've said. "Heard that before. Don't—"

"Did you get married?" Victoria asked in her most curious, most accusatory voice. "To who? Johnny again?"

"Oh my God, no. Are you insane?"

Victoria gasped. "Holy shit. You married Jax."

Seven groaned and slapped the hand that she had hidden over her face. "I blame the rope. This is all your fault."

"Oh my God. I can't—I can't even—oh my God!"

"He really knew what he was doing, and it built so much trust. I trusted him before that anyway, and he's really sweet and romantic to start—" Wait. Was she defending her marriage?

"Dying. Seven, I'm dying. Right now. I wasn't one hundred percent sure that you two were hooking up. But now you're married? Ryder's going to die too."

Ugh! "Don't you dare tell him."

"I'm texting him now," Victoria said from the far away sound of speakerphone.

"Dammit, Victoria, stop! We're going to fix it! Soon as we can figure out how to get divorced."

There was a long pause, and Victoria's lack of response made Seven sit up. "Why would you do that?" her friend finally asked.

Her face skewed in confusion. "Why wouldn't we? I don't know his middle name. We can't even have a solid foot-stomping, middle-name-calling argument."

"This is the first thing I can think of that you've done because you've wanted to do, not because you've had to do. You married Johnny because you were told to. Cleaned up all the messes your father made because he said so. You fix everything Mayhem asks you to because you feel responsibility for them. You love your kids to death, but you never saw them coming. You didn't plan on taking care of your mother before she had a stroke, and you had no intention to run a coffee shop before then, either. You have major responsibility in your life, and none of it was your decision. I don't know if you realize this, Seven, but you did something pretty huge on your own. Before you try to erase it, I'd try to figure out why. Even if there's alcohol involved." Victoria laughed quietly. "I'm just saying, don't rush, or at the very least, enjoy your honeymoon."





CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN


Diplomacy had never felt more like bodyguard status. Jax stood in the back of the Vegas conference room with Jared as he took in the scene and hoped that Boss Man would never force him through such a bullshit life lesson again. Whether this was punishment or he was actually supposed to learn how to keep his attitude in check, there wasn't much to be said for office work.

At this point, Jax wasn't even sure what was to be said for Seven. He wasn't looking for a relationship. Certain complications came with that kind of responsibility—and it wasn't just her, but Bianca and Nolan too. It was almost more important that he thought about them first. All Seven wanted for those kids was a normal life, and him popping in and out because of her wasn't fair.