Page 79 of Chaos
“I’m fine, baby.”
“Make sure it stays that way. Jax, I mean it. If I, at any point, feel it’s unsafe for Maeve, I’ll have to take her away.”
I drop my fork and it clatters against the table as I stand.
“No.”
“No?” She pushes out her chair and stands in front of me, a grin twitching on my lips.
“It’s my job to protect you and our daughter. Let me do it. You don’t run from me, Sofia. You know that I will chase you. I’ll never stop. But you need to understand something?—”
“Oh, do I?” She tips her chin up to me and I lace my fingers around her neck, my thumbs framing her jaw.
“Yes. That I’d give up my own fucking life for you and that little girl upstairs. Without even blinking, I would do that for you. I’ll keep you safe. I’ll give you everything. Just never, ever, threaten to leave me like that again.” It would break me to pieces. I’ve just found them, yet they consume my every thought.
They are providing me a lifeline I never knew how badly I needed.
“I’ve lost people who meant everything to me before. I’ll never let that happen again.” My voice almost shakes as I say the words.
I couldn’t protect Kai. People I love die.
But this, I won’t fuck up. I can’t.
“I hear you, Jax.”
Relief washes over me. I release her and step back.
It’s not until I look up that I find passion in her eyes as she stares back at me.
“I trust you. Don’t break that.”
My heart is pounding in my chest, my brain spinning at the dark places it just sent me to.
I run my hand through my hair, trying to regain some sense of control over my own damn mind.
“Never.”
She loops her arms around my neck and drags me down, pressing her lips against mine. “Now eat. You promised me a date night.”
Stealing another quick kiss, we sit back down and finish off the rest of our food. It’s followed bystrawberry cheesecake and the rest of the bottle of champagne.
I sit back in my chair, just taking in her beauty as she speaks. Her favorite color is yellow. Her dream is to be a psychologist. Her parents died in a crash when she was eighteen. How can she talk about it so easily? I'm almost jealous. I can barely say Kai’s name still. She craved cherry yogurt when she was pregnant with Maeve. She used to do ballet, which explains why her stripper moves were so damn good.
She pauses in her talking and looks down at her hands. “I was thinking, we need to get Maeve’s last name changed–to add Carter.”
I open my mouth to speak, but the words don’t follow. I hadn’t even thought about that. Ideally, I want them both having my last name.
“I-I didn’t know your last name, so I gave her mine.”
She’s nervous, shifting in her seat. I nudge closer and rest an arm over her shoulder.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’d love that, sweetheart.”
“Maeve Garcia-Carter.” Her gaze rises to meet mine with a hopeful look. “I kinda assumed you’d have a Russian last name, seeing as you seem to speak it? Tigritsa and all that?”
“Want to know a story?” I whisper into the top of her head.
“I do.”