Losing Control : His Madness, His Cure Chapter 41

Addy’s out cold, head tipped back, lips parted. I shake her shoulder once, twice...nothing.

“Christ,” I mutter. I try Xander next, shaking him harder, saying his name close to his ear. He stirs, a faint groan, but his eyes stay closed. They’re both too far gone. Wasted to the bone.

I glance at the club entrance in my mind, the chaos it’s likely gonna take to get out of here with two bodies. My bike’s parked on the curb, but hauling both of them on it is a fast track to all of us ending up in the ER.

I remember the cabs. There was a whole row outside, vultures waiting to pick up drunks. Perfect.

It’s harder than it should be to let go of him. My hands linger on his face a beat too long, my thumb brushing along his jaw without thinking. I don’t want to set him down, but I do. Carefully. Head back on the table, slow enough that it doesn’t so much as thud. He doesn’t even flinch.

Addy’s light, easy to scoop up into my arms, and carrying her out first feels… appropriate. This place is crawling with creeps. Leaving her here alone will be like laying out a buffet for drunk starving assholes.

Still, I glance back at him before I move, the heat in my chest flaring again. “Don’t fucking go anywhere,” I mutter, as if he can even hear me.

The line outside’s still there. And there’s the bouncer I dropped on my way in...upright now, face twisted, fury in his eyes. He steps in my path.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?!”

I stop just short of him, shifting Addy’s weight in my arms. My voice is low enough it doesn’t need volume to hit. “I’d move, if I were you.”

He doesn’t. His eyes dart to Addy. “You even know this girl? Where you takin’ her?”

I sigh, lacking the energy for this bullshit. “I'm taking her home. Now move.”

Something in my tone must land, because he doesn’t grab me, but his hand goes to the earpiece clipped to his shirt. He mutters into it, and I catch the words “ Found him, need backup.” Great. Reinforcements.

I shoulder past him, head down, until I hit the first cab in the row. I open the backdoor and place Addy inside. “She stays right here. You don’t move until I get back.” The driver starts bitching, expected.

“Hey, buddy, I’m not running a—”

I cut him off by peeling off a stack of bills, way more than his night’s worth. I toss them onto the passenger seat.

His tone changes instantly. “Oh, take your time, man. I’ll be right here.”

I slam the door and turn back toward the club....and here they come. The two big guys in black, moving like they think they can stop me.

The first reaches for my arm. I break his grip, drive an elbow into his ribs, and bring a fist up under his chin. He goes down hard. The second hesitates, and I use it...low kick to the knee, then I shove him into the wall. He slides down, clutching his leg.

I roll my shoulders, scan the entrance again, breathing hard but steady. Xander's still inside.

And no one’s keeping me from him.

The bouncer curses and rushes over, swinging at me, all wide arms and sloppy form. I duck one punch, drive my fist into his gut...second time tonight, and watch him double over like a folding chair. Before I can finish it, there’s shouting behind me....people from the queue have clocked that no one’s guarding the door, and they start flooding inside like animals.

The bouncer starts barking orders, his voice filled with obvious pain. He rushes and tries to shove them back, but it’s useless. The place is about to be a stampede. I leave the other two groaning idiots on the ground and push through the chaos, because every second he's still in there makes me twitchy.

Inside’s worse...thick with sweat, booze, and that pounding garbage they call music. It drills into my skull until my jaw aches.

I find the booth again, and there he is—exactly where I left him. I tap his cheek, say his name close to his ear. Nothing.

“Okay,” I mutter, and haul him up over my shoulder in one go. He’s dead weight, warm and heavy against me, and it’s both infuriating and....God help me, something I don’t want to let go of.

The bouncer’s outside again, bent over with one hand on his ribs. He looks up as I pass, eyes full of poison. I give him a grin sharp enough to cut.

“Got what I came for,” I say, and then pause just long enough to twist the knife, “You should get yourself some ice.”

The cab’s still where I left it, driver wide-eyed but silent. I open the door, lower Xander into the back seat, sliding him in slow so his head doesn’t hit anything. Then I get in beside him.

I give the driver Addy’s address first. He nods, starts pulling away. Xander’s head lolls toward the window, his neck at an angle that’s going to have him in a brace if I leave it. I reach over, and guide him toward me until his head fits into the crook of my neck. His breath’s warm against my skin. My arm comes around him on instinct, holding him steady.

I close my eyes. I told myself I'd stay away. But with him right here, leaning into me like he belongs there… yeah. That’s done.

My phone buzzes in my pocket just as the cab turns a corner. I pull it out, see Adam’s name flashing, and groan under my breath. Last thing I need right now. Still, I swipe to answer.

“What?”

“Jax—” Adam’s voice is jagged, fast. “She found out. Layla found out the truth. I...she ran with.... I can’t—” He’s breathing like he’s been chasing her. “I can’t find her. I need your help.”

I glance down at Xander, my arm tightens without me thinking about it.

“Yeah… I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you tonight.”

“What? Jax, this isn’t—”

“She’ll come back to you,” I cut in, voice low. “She won’t be able to help herself.”

There’s a pause on the line, and Adam sounds confused when he asks, “ What else could you possibly have going on?! Don't you understand, she's fucking gone..”

“ She'll be back. I'm dealing with something,” I say, any other day I'd have dropped everything to go help, but not tonight.

"Can't it wait?" He asks, worry and fear laced into his tone.

"No it can't, it's too important."