Jax (The Protectors Series) Book #8 (5 page)

"I know exactly what you are and it won't hurt anything, so shut up and let me take care of this." Her focus was on bandaging him without causing pain, and yet she was causing him pain beyond anything she or he could ever imagine. Caring for him could mean the end of her life and that was something he couldn't overlook, no matter how badly he wanted to.

Chapter 5

After bandaging Jax's thumb, Caroline went back inside to help Lana set out the food she'd returned with.

"You planning on feeding an army?" Caroline opened the bread, setting it next to the platters of lunch meat on the table.

"Yes." Lana laughed, nodding. "You've never seen those Warriors eat before. I seriously doubt I bought enough."

They continued to work in silence, except for the radio playing in the background. She loved the oldies station and her students always made fun of her. During study times in her class, she would let them play the radio on one condition: at least once during the week, they would listen to her favorite station. They moaned and groaned about it, made fun of most of the songs and yet, they respected her because she understood them and allowed them to be who they were: high school students. Kids who loved rock, rap, and something in between—she still hadn't figured out what that exactly was yet. She let them be individuals.

"So, what was that call about this morning?" Lana asked without looking at her, busy setting out drinks, plates and utensils.

"Just me being dumb." Caroline kept her gaze on the task, knowing if she looked at her sister, Lana would call her on the lie she was spouting.

"You might be able to fool Sid, but not me." Lana stopped what she was doing to stare at Caroline. "Spill it or I'll have the Warriors interrogate you."

"Seriously, Lana." Caroline rolled her eyes. "It was just a weird dream and I wasn't fully awake when I called. It's nothing."

Caroline knew for a fact if she told Lana the details of her dream, she would tell Sid, who in turn would tell Jax, and she didn't want to tell Jax. Maybe she should, but in all honesty, she was afraid he would leave, disappear in some heroic man thing to keep her safe. He was so strange about his brother, and the last thing she wanted was for him to vanish from her life because he felt it would keep her safer.

"Our dreams are different, Caroline, and you know it." Lana eyed her thoughtfully, then looked behind her. "If the threat of the Warriors interrogating you doesn't work, then I'll just have to ask the little boy who keeps peeking around the corner."

Dammit!
Caroline turned to see the dead little boy, who she still didn't know anything about, staring at her with his sad eyes. Knowing her sister couldn't see her, she mouthed "'no'" to him. When he gave a slight nod before disappearing, she sighed with relief. Turning back to her sister, she frowned.

"He doesn't know anything because there isn't anything to know, and you just scared him." Caroline decided not looking at Lana was best because her sister always knew when she was lying. The boy did know something, and Caroline needed to figure out what that something was.

"Bullshit." Lana pointed her fork, with an olive speared on the end, at her.

"Oh, thank God." Steve walked in the door and Caroline wanted to hug him. Her sister was tough and Caroline had a hell of a time lying to her; she always got caught. "I was about to perish out there, slaving away on that roof."

"You nailed one board." Blaze shook his head as he passed Steve.

"Yes, I did, and I did an awesome job if I do say so myself." Steve huffed with pride. "I want to make sure that it's perfect for Caroline. Plus, it’s almost dinner time if my stomach is correct, which it always is. I totally missed lunch."

Caroline laughed at Steve when he batted his eyes and gave her a sappy grin. "Eat." She handed him a plate.

Soon Caroline's house was full of Warriors, and Lana was right: she hadn't bought enough food. Caroline didn't even get a sandwich, but she wasn't really hungry anyway. For a little while, she had forgotten about the dream, but with Lana bringing it up, it was at the forefront of her mind, making her jumpy. Her eyes kept going to Jax, who stood alone. She noticed he hadn't eaten anything either.

If anyone had told her a year ago she would have a group of VC Warriors helping her rehab her home, she would have laughed and called them crazy. But because of Lana and Sid, they were a part of her family now and she couldn't be happier.

"We need to fill in Jax, Steve, Blaze, and Sid," Sloan announced, his voice filled with authority.

"Fill us in on what? We finally going to get to do something more exciting than fix a roof?"  Steve was in the middle of making himself another sandwich. His eyes popped up to Caroline's. "Not that I mind fixing your roof."

"You nailed one fucking board," Blaze added again with a shake of his head. "You haven't fixed shit."

"Hey, stop the hate." Steve pointed his sandwich at Blaze. "Perfection takes time."

"No, dumb asses take time." Blaze glared at the sandwich Steve pointed at him and it started to smoke.

Steve looked away from Blaze to his smoking sandwich. "Dude, so not cool." Steve stared at his sandwich, then shrugged, taking a big bite. "Then again, toasted ham and cheese is pretty amazing."

Caroline laughed, watching in awe. "I still can't believe you have the power to do that." She glanced at Blaze who had a half smirk on his face, watching Steve demolish the rest of the sandwich.

"Yeah, he's a walking, talking toaster oven," Steve answered for him before grabbing a handful of chips and heading away from Blaze quickly.

"Are you done?" Sloan glared at Steve, who had just shoved a whole handful of potato chips in his mouth.

Steve's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but he might as well have been trying to whistle with a mouthful of crackers, because all that came out was crumbs of potato chips. He held up a finger as he chewed quickly, but Sloan's growl had him backing up behind Lana.

"Jared and Duncan went on a call. I'll spare you the details," Sloan began.

"Ah, damn, Sloan, the details were the best part of the call." Jared frowned. "A horny shifter—"

"I definitely want to hear about the details." Sid raised his hand. "All in favor of hearing about the horny shifter details, raise your hand."

Caroline just stood back watching the Warriors in action, and she had to say it was entertaining. Not only were they the fiercest men she had ever met, but the funniest. She watched as Steve raised his hand. Adam and Jill just laughed as Damon, Slade, and Duncan all wore matching serious faces. And Jax was watching her, his face emotionless.

"Enough!" Sloan shouted, making her jump. "We may have a lead on Mika."

Caroline's eyes shot to Jax, whose face was no longer emotionless. He had the look of the intense Warrior she knew lay close to the surface of the man she knew so little about. Her eyes moved from him to the rest of the Warriors. The change in their demeanors was impressive. No longer were they in a joking mood. It was as if they were ready for war.

"Where?" Jax's voice cut through the room with a tenseness that matched the stern look on his handsome face.

"There's a club downtown, a shifter hangout called the Venue," Sloan began, eyeing Jax. "And before you go running off, we already have a plan set up."

"Has he been seen there?" Jax didn't back down from Sloan's warning.

"The horny shifter gave a positive ID of your brother," Jared replied. "Seems like Mika has become comfortable and doesn't think he has to hide his identity."

"He's making himself known for a reason," Jax warned, his eyes going to each Warrior. "Believe me when I say everything he does is for a reason, his end goal, and he does have an end goal. If you don't start realizing how smart and evil my brother is, we lose. And what we lose is what we hold most dear to us."

Caroline actually shivered, images of her dream playing across her mind. Jax wouldn't even look at her, but as hard as she tried, her eyes wouldn't leave him.

"He can fucking try." Sid growled the words, pulling Lana close to him.

"Yeah, well that's not all," Jared added, glancing at Sloan then Jax. "Seems he's recruiting a bunch of shifters to start a council of their own."

"I have already contacted some of the local shifter leaders to let them know. They're obviously not happy, but we can't wait for them to do something about it. If Jax feels that he's a threat to us and those around us, we need to stop him now," Sloan replied, his eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, well, there's only one council," Sid sneered in anger. "And we're fucking it. So what's the plan to stop this bastard?"

"We're going to draw him out by sending Jill in," Sloan began.

Jax immediately shook his head. "And you will be playing right into his hands. That's exactly what he wants." Jax walked toward Sloan. "He's showing himself to bring us out on his terms. If we send in Jill, he will know that we're there for him."

Sloan thought for a minute. "Okay, then what do you suggest?"

"I can do it," Caroline blurted, wondering if she had totally lost her mind, but to her it made sense.

"No!" many male voices rang out in unison.

"If any of you are seen anywhere near the place, he will know." Caroline shrugged, as if she didn't care whether they listened to her or not. She wanted Mika caught almost as badly as the rest of them, if not even more so because she strongly felt that was exactly why Jax hadn't made a definite move for her.

"Not happening," Jax replied, his tone final.

"I would be safe." Caroline didn't back down. "My date would make sure of it."

"And who the fuck would that be?" Jax took a step toward her, his voice going from final to deadly.

"Caroline, this is Warrior business." Lana tried to defuse the situation. "I don't think bringing up—"

Caroline didn't even look at Lana, but stared at Jax. "You."

"Uh, Caroline." Steve broke in with an exaggerated shake of his head. "I think you need to leave the Warrior stuff to us because I think Mika would know his own brother."

Caroline broke eye contact with Jax and moved her eyes to Steve with a cocked eyebrow. "Wow, it takes a Warrior to figure that out?" She turned her attention back to Jax. "And he wouldn't know it was Jax if Jax wasn't Jax."

"Not a bad idea." Damon gave her an impressed nod.

"How could Jax not be Jax?" Steve snorted.

Everyone ignored Steve, who looked totally confused.

"It won't work." Jax shook his head. "Mika would know."

"I think you give your brother too much power," Caroline whispered, but knew he heard her if the glare he sent her way was any indication.

"Well, we can't let this opportunity pass. It has to be checked out, so it's either Jill or Caroline. I wasn't for letting Caroline anywhere near the situation, but she actually has a pretty good idea, and your brother doesn't really know her as he does Jill. Seeing Jill walk in without Slade would be a dead giveaway. And if you shift, you'll be there to keep her safe," Sloan added, as Jax continued to glare at Caroline. "So what's it going to be, Jax? You know your brother better than anyone."

"Ahhhh!" Steve said loudly with a snap of his fingers. "I get it now." Adam smacked him on the back of the head.

"When are we wanting to do this?" Jax turned away from Caroline.

"The quicker the better. We don't want him to move on, if it actually is him," Sloan said, then looked around at every Warrior. They nodded in agreement. "Tomorrow night. It's Saturday and will be busy."

Jax didn't say a word as he slammed out of the house. In the next minute, the sound of pounding from the roof echoed through the house. Soon, all the Warriors left until only Caroline, Jill, and Lana remained.

"Guess you get to play Warrior." Jill grinned at her.

"Hope you're ready for this, Caroline," Lana replied, eyeing her. "This isn't a game."

"No shit, Lana," Caroline hissed at her sister, then glanced up at the roof. She hoped she was ready also, since it was her stupid idea.

Caroline began cleaning up. Grabbing the empty platter, she headed for the sink. With only the sounds of hammering in the now quiet house, the radio played clearly in the background. The platter dropped from her hands, shattering across the floor, as the opening lyrics to "Sweet Caroline" filled her with terror.

Chapter 6

Jax saw red as he hammered furiously, angry enough to crack the hammer right off the wooden handle. "Shit!" He tossed it off the roof. He'd heard Caroline's whispered remark about him giving Mika too much power. She didn't understand, none of them understood.

"Hey, man, relax." Sid came up behind him, taking a place on the roof. Soon, the roof was full of Warriors. "We got this, and Caroline's idea is pretty fucking smart. We can hit him and he won't even know it's coming."

Jax didn't say anything. He didn't shift often, hated shifting if he were being honest. But what bothered him most was putting Caroline in danger, actually
more
danger. Mika may not know the full extent of her relationship with him, but if their plan didn't work, then Caroline's involvement would be fully exposed. He wasn't sure he wanted to chance that. The risk was too great. Hell, he was already putting her and everyone else around him in danger just by being a part of their lives. Mika needed to die. He should have killed him when he had the chance, but that was the past. He hadn't, and he was now paying for that moment of mercy he'd given his brother.

"She'll be fine, man," Slade added as he carried a stack of wood, careful of where he stepped.

"And I'm sure you were all for Jill going in there knowing she could run into Mika again?" Jax glared up at Slade.

"She's my mate," Slade replied, his eyes narrowing. "Anytime my mate and danger are mentioned in the same breath, I'm not happy. What's your excuse?"

"Ehhh, ahhhh." Steve cringed, looking between Slade and Jax. "So, ah, Jax, who do you think you'll shift into? Man, how cool would that be? I'd shift into one of the One Direction dudes. All the women love them."

"One Direction?" Adam glanced at Steve. "Who in the fuck is that?"

"Are you kidding me?" Steve looked at him like he was a moron. "You don't know who One Direction is?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Adam gave him a blank stare.

"It's the boy band that fills arenas with screaming women." Steve sighed. "Seriously, to have a gig like that. How do they get so lucky?"

"You want to throw him off the roof or you want me to do it?" Blaze glared at Steve, but asked Adam.

Sloan walked over, ignoring Steve, and started ripping off old wood as if he knew what he was doing. He checked over the side of the house, and then threw it down. "We'll have the place covered, Jax, and you'll be right there with her." Sloan took the new piece of wood that Damon handed him. "I don't like the idea any better than you do. Letting a female who's not Warrior status be involved in an operation is not ideal, but it's a pretty solid cover."

"If I have any feeling of unease, I'm getting her out of there. To hell with the plan," Jax stated, his voice indicating his statement was not up for debate.

"I wouldn't expect you to do anything else," Sloan replied, tossing Jax another hammer. "Now, let's get this fucking roof done before it rains again."

The Warriors worked in silence until a loud sound of breaking glass blasted from underneath them. Jax was the first off the roof. Slamming inside, he spotted Lana and Jill staring at Caroline, who stood in the middle of broken glass. She was staring at the radio, her face pale.

Lana grabbed his arm, stopping him with a shake of her head. She also stared at the radio. Jax stopped, but kept a close eye on Caroline surrounded by the shards of glass. Everyone had filed into the house, but no one said a word as Lana closed the distance to her sister.

"Why is the little boy pointing to the radio, Caroline?" Lana looked from Caroline back to the radio. Sid quietly came closer, but stopped when Lana raised her hand.

"I don't know," Caroline whispered, her voice quivering, as did her body.

"I know you're lying," Lana hissed harshly, but kept her voice low. "You hate this song, I know, but you look terrified and that little boy is trying to tell you something."

"What the fuck is going on?" Jax ignored Lana's outstretched hand as he moved forward, the glass crunching under his boots.

"Dammit." Lana sighed. "You scared him."

"Jax didn't scare him." Caroline still stared that way.

Jax had had about enough. He grabbed Caroline, gently turning her toward him. The paleness of her face worried him, making him want to conquer whatever terrified her. "What's going on, Caroline?"

Caroline swallowed visibly, doing her best to hide her obvious fear, but it was no use. Jax could smell the fear rolling off her in waves. "Could your sister shift?"

His eyes narrowed as he forced his eyes off her to stare over her head toward the radio, then back down at her. "Yes."

*******

"Alisha?" Caroline called out, looking away from the radio to stare around her. She walked through the Warriors to a corner and opened up a closet door to peer in, calling out to Jax's sister again.

"Is she okay?" Steve leaned over to whisper to Adam, but kept his eyes on Caroline, as did everyone else. "She's acting a little… whacko."

Caroline knew they all probably thought she was crazy, heard their whispered comments and felt their stares, but she didn't care. If she was right, this was really, really bad.

Lana glared at Steve as she passed, heading toward Caroline. "How can you be sure that was her?" Lana also looked around, searching. "Why would she come to you as a little boy and not herself?"

"A little boy?" Jax asked, understanding lighting his angry eyes. "The little boy who was here the night Blaze, Hunter, and I were here?"

Caroline gave a short nod, but kept her eyes from him. She knew she was going to have to bring up the dream.
Guess it's time to see which way Jax will go
. Unfortunately, she had a sick feeling that she knew exactly what his reaction would be.

"The dream I had. The little boy was there… in my dream." Caroline glanced around at everyone except for Jax. "And so was Mika."

"But that doesn't mean…," Lana began, but stopped and bit her lip when she made eye contact with Caroline.

"It's her," Caroline said without hesitation. "The little boy suddenly shows up as soon as Alisha disappears. Spirits can manipulate dreams. You know this, Lana. Someone is controlling her and my guess is Mika. The dream was a warning."

"You dreamt about my brother?" Jax asked, his voice compelling her to look at him. The rage boiling inside him was unmistakable as his eyes turned black as night.

"I didn't think it was a big deal," Caroline replied, but in all honesty, that was a lie. She'd known it was a big deal and had tried to keep it to herself. "With all the talk about him, I just figured that's what it was, but now I'm not so sure that's all there is to it. Could your brother control Alisha? I mean, would she allow that to happen?"

Jax didn't say anything for a few seconds as he stood, as if letting it all sink in; that, or he was trying to calm his rage. She wasn't sure which. "My brother is capable of anything and if he's threatened anyone, she would do anything to keep that person safe. She was,
is
a gentle soul."

Caroline figured as much, but needed to hear it. She bit her lip, knowing and dreading what was coming next.

"What was the dream about, Caroline, and do not lie to me?" Jax asked with clear warning.

Clearing her throat, she prayed she was wrong about Jax Wheeler. "I was being led down a hallway by a man in a white lab coat and into a large room, which now I realize was a morgue. There was a body on the table covered from head to toe. I kept asking the man who was under it, but he just gave me a smug, stupid grin and kept
tsking
in the back of his throat." She shivered as she remembered the dream that was still so clear in her mind. "I tried to get to the table but it felt like I was walking in sludge, but finally, I gripped the sheet. I was too terrified to pull it at first. The whole time, all the man did was stare at me making that awful
tsking
noise, before he turned silent as he watched me, as if in excited anticipation."

"Who was under the sheet?" Despite the softening of Jax's voice, it still held a dangerous edge.

"Before I could pull the sheet away, something touched my hand. It was the little boy. He was staring at me with so much sadness and shaking his head, as if telling me not to do it. Yet, I couldn't seem to stop myself. I had to know who was under the sheet." Caroline stopped again, her eyes going to Lana then Sid before looking quickly away.

"Who the fuck was under the sheet, Caroline?" Sid's voice made her cringe.

"It was you." Caroline looked back at Lana with such anguish she felt it to her very soul. She would never forget the picture of her sister on the cold steel of the table, bruised and beaten. "You had been…" She couldn't even bring herself to say it.

The growling coming from Sid was not easy to ignore, but Lana did as she placed a comforting hand on Caroline's shoulder. "It was only a dream, Caroline. Nothing is going to happen to me."

"No, it was a warning." Caroline shook her head, wanting to finish this ugliness. "I looked up from you and the room was filled with tables that weren't there before. When a sinister laugh echoed in the room, a rush of wind blew the sheets away and you were all"—she looked around the room at the Warriors before her as she spoke—"on the tables, as well as your mates."

Caroline finally looked at Jax, who was staring at her, his eyes more black than anything she had ever seen, but his face remained emotionless. She wanted nothing more than for him to take her in his arms; just a touch of comfort from him.

"I pleaded for you to wake up," she told him, her voice wavering. "I begged. And then you did. You told me to run. When I didn't, you yelled, ordering me to run. I looked up toward the man who had led me to the room and right before my eyes he shifted to Mika. He started singing "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond in such an ugly evil voice." She shuddered at the memory. "And I thought I hated that song before." She snorted, trying to lighten the very dark mood that surrounded her, but it didn't work. She knew her next words were going to send Jax away from her, and it tore at her heart more than she wanted to admit.

"What else?" Jax hadn't looked away from her; his lips barely moved as he asked his two-word question. "Do not lie," he added as if reading it in her eyes that she thought about it.

She looked him straight in the eyes as she straightened her shoulders. "He raised a knife and began tapping his cheek, drawing blood. When a stream reached his mouth, he licked it and said…" She cleared her throat. "He had been wondering what I taste like."

"Is that all?" Jax's voice didn't sound human. It came from a deep dark place that neither Caroline nor anyone in the room had ever seen, she was sure of it.

"After that, everyone started yelling for me to run and I did. When I burst through a door into pitch-black, I woke up," Caroline added, hope filling her as Jax continued to stand and stare at her.

When Jax finally looked away, then turned to walk out the front door, her hopes were dashed… again. He was leaving. Anger so deep hit her with a force that propelled her out the door behind him.

"Where are you going?" Caroline actually jumped the steps trying to catch up with him. "Jax, wait."

When he continued to head toward his motorcycle without giving her any indication he was going to stop, her rage got the better of her.

"You're a coward!" she shouted, letting it all out. It didn't stop him, but it slowed him down. She could tell she'd hit a nerve when his shoulders tightened. He climbed on his motorcycle just as she stumbled up to him. "I didn't tell you about the dream because I knew you would do this. You would take off with some heroic notion that you're protecting me, us. But you're not. You're giving in to your brother and allowing him to run your life by keeping you away from people who care for you. Stop giving him that power, Jax."

Jax took his sunglasses off his handlebars and put them on before starting his bike.

She grabbed his arm, but he jerked it away as he used his boot to lift the kickstand. "If you do this, he wins… again. Please, don't leave." When the bike inched forward, Caroline stepped in front of it. "Please."

Jax looked away, his head shifting slightly, for a split second. When it looked like he was going to give in to her shameless pleading, he shook his head and, without a word, used his feet to back up his bike, turned, and took off without saying a word.

"Fuck you, Jax Wheeler!" Caroline screamed before picking up a rock and throwing it. She knew she was acting like one of her high school students, but dammit, she was pissed. She was beyond pissed; she was livid and hurt.

After standing staring after something that would never be hers, she turned to see Lana a few feet behind her. Her eyes shifted to see the Warriors back on the roof, doing their best to look busy, as if they hadn't witnessed the spectacle she had made of herself. All except for Sloan and Sid, who stood watching her closely from her front porch.

Lana walked up and put her arm around her, then pulled her into her arms for a hug she desperately needed. "It's going to be okay, Caroline." Lana whispered the soothing words as only a sister could do, but this time, they fell short. It wasn't going to be okay because her heart was already shattered.