Shattered (LOST #3)(26)

Ron was crawling for the door. He was trying to make a break for it while that woman did her best to claw into Jax.

Is that Molly? The woman’s red hair hid her face. She looked to be the right size, the right age . . .

She’s fighting so hard.

Only . . . Jax wasn’t fighting back. He was holding the woman, but not hurting her. He was talking, saying over and over, “It’s okay. He won’t hurt you. It’s okay.”

The redhead stilled. Her head lifted and Sarah saw her face. Not Molly. But . . . the woman had a black eye. Bruises were on her neck. Purple, blue marks that sure looked like fingerprints against her too pale skin.

Rage poured through Sarah’s body and she ran toward the door. She put her body there, blocking Ron before he could escape. “You’re not going anyplace! I’m getting the cops out here!” She yanked out her phone—a backup that Gabe had given her because the cops had confiscated Sarah’s original phone at the station—and she started calling 911—

“Stop!” It was the redhead’s desperate voice. “No cops! Don’t call them!” She wasn’t fighting Jax any longer. She just stood there, looking terrified.

Ron glared up at Sarah. “Bitch, you need to get out of my way.”

Sarah shook her head.

In a flash, Ron surged up toward her. His fist was clenched and—

Jax tackled him. They both hit the floor, hard, and Ron’s face smashed down into the tile. He howled when he made contact, and Sarah was pretty sure he’d broken something. Maybe even a couple of somethings.

She finished calling 911. She told them to send a patrol, to contact Detective Brent West, and to get there right away.

When she looked up again, Ron was swinging a fist at Jax. Jax dodged the blow and delivered a sharp right hook that connected with stunning impact. When Ron went down that time, he didn’t get up.

“Baby, no!” the redhead screamed. She ran toward Ron and cradled him in her arms. “Baby, baby, look at me!”

After a long moment, Ron’s eyes opened. He spat out some blood. “When . . . when the cops get here . . . tell ’em you like rough sex.”

The redhead flinched.

“Tell ’em . . .” Ron had blood on his chin. “Tell ’em you asked for it.”

Very slowly, the redhead nodded.

“You’re done in this town.” Jax’s voice was lethal. “Pack your bags and run. Because if you don’t . . .”

Fear flashed on Ron’s face.

Jax just smiled. “You know what will happen.” He straightened his shirt. Wiped dust off his pants. “This bar is mine. Everything you have is mine.” Then Jax looked at the redhead. “You want free of him, then you say it now. You aren’t the first one he’s hurt. Maybe he fed you some bull about you being special, but he’s lying. If you stay with him, he’ll just hurt you again.”

The redhead’s knuckles were white as she clung to Ron. “He . . . loves me.”

“No,” Sarah said, her voice soft and sad. “He doesn’t.”

The woman stared back down at her lover.

Sarah inched closer to Jax. His body was so tense. Fury was stamped on his face. And the way he was staring at Ron . . .

Jax looks as if he wants to kill the other man.

Ron grabbed a nearby table and heaved himself up. “C-Cops won’t hold me . . .”

Jax nodded. “Then you run.”

Ron’s eyes darted around the room, as if already seeking an escape.

“Run fast,” Jax said. “And run far.”

Sarah heard the sound of a police siren.

The redhead started to cry.

THEY WERE BACK at the police station. Only this time, Jax was being arrested.

“This is insane!” Sarah said for what had to be the tenth time. “Jax was defending me! You can’t lock him up!”

Detective West sighed. “Ma’am, we have procedures to follow. A witness accused Fontaine here of throwing the first punch, and with his history . . . that man isn’t going anyplace but to holding right now.”

She shook her head, frantic. “But I need him!”

And at her words, Jax’s head snapped up. He’d been standing about five feet away from her, talking with two uniformed cops. His face was grim, his eyes narrowed, but when he looked at her, a heat seemed to light his blue eyes.

Sarah sucked in a breath because that heat was scorching. “A woman is missing, and Jax knows this city. He can help us to find her!”

“Time is of the essence,” Wade said from beside Sarah. “We checked the woman’s house. She wasn’t there. None of her neighbors remembered seeing her, and she didn’t show up for classes today. That guy—he has her, and he’s hurting her, right now.”

Brent glanced over at Jax.

“My lawyer is already on the way,” Jax murmured. The guy didn’t seem to have a care in the world. It was like he wasn’t even standing there, cuffed, with cops all around him. “I’ll be out within the hour. But, Detective, by all means . . .” He inclined his head toward Brent. “Do lock me up until then.”

What? He wanted to be locked up?

“That guy is one crazy bastard,” Wade muttered.

Brent hesitated, but then he reached for Jax’s elbow. “Procedures,” he muttered. “Sorry.” And then he led Jax away.