Chapter 5 – Questions You Don’t Want the Answers To

The words hung in the cold air like smoke.

Ask him why he really cares about that girl, sweetheart.

Sienna’s heart was still racing from the adrenaline, her fingers white-knuckled on the bike seat. “What does he mean?” she called, voice shaking.

Jax didn’t answer. He vaulted onto the bike in one smooth motion, grabbed the handlebars, and started the engine with a roar that drowned out everything else.

“Jax!” she tried again.

“Hold on,” he barked.

She did—more because she had no choice than because she wanted to. The bike shot forward, tires spitting gravel as they tore out of the alley. Wind slapped her helmet, the city blurring past in streaks of neon and shadow.

She kept replaying that blond man’s smirk in her head, the way he’d said that girl like it meant more than just Emily Reyes.

They didn’t stop until they were across the river, the hospital and its questions far behind. Jax pulled the bike into the covered space behind an old brick warehouse. The engine cut out, leaving them in thick silence, broken only by the ticking of cooling metal.

Sienna swung off the bike and yanked off her helmet. “You going to tell me what that was about?”

“No.”

She stared at him. “No?”

He took off his helmet, setting it on the seat, and gave her a look that said he was done talking.

“Jax, I just got chased down an alley by knife-wielding psychos. One of them hinted you have a secret about Emily. And your answer is no?”

He started toward the warehouse door.

“Oh, hell no,” she said, moving to block his path. “You don’t get to keep me in the dark. Not anymore.”

He stopped, inches away, his eyes shadowed. “You think you want the truth. You don’t.”

“That’s not your decision to make!”

“It is if the truth gets you killed.”

She felt like she’d been slapped. “You can’t keep using that as an excuse.”

His jaw clenched. “I’m not using it as an excuse. I’m using it as a reality check. You’re not built for this.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, am I supposed to just nod and smile while you drag me through a biker gang war and keep dropping breadcrumbs about some missing kid?” she shot back.

His eyes locked on hers, unblinking. “If I told you, you wouldn’t be able to walk away.”

“Maybe I don’t want to walk away.”

Something flickered across his face—something sharp and almost pained—but it was gone in a heartbeat.

“Go inside,” he said, brushing past her.

The warehouse turned out to be more than just storage. Inside was a surprisingly clean space—concrete floors, steel beams, and a corner that looked suspiciously like a makeshift living area. A couch. A battered coffee table. A fridge with a dent in the door.

She set her helmet down, still fuming. “So this is where you hide when you’re not playing bodyguard?”

“It’s where people know not to look for me,” he said, shrugging out of his hoodie.

“Except those guys found us just fine.”

“They weren’t looking for me here,” he said. “They were looking for you.”

Her stomach turned. “Me?”

“You think that picture they sent was just for decoration?”

He poured himself a glass of water, drank half of it, and leaned back against the counter. “They want you scared. They want you distracted. Makes it easier to move without you noticing.”

“Move what? Or who?”

He didn’t answer.

“You’re impossible,” she muttered, dropping onto the couch. “You drag me into this, and then you refuse to—”

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, cutting her off.

She pulled it out. Unknown number.

Against her better judgment, she answered. “Hello?”

A pause. Then a man’s voice—low, gravelly, unfamiliar.

“Dr. Blake?”

Her pulse kicked. “Who is this?”

“You don’t know me. But I know where the girl is.”

She shot to her feet. “Emily?”

“I’ll tell you what I know,” the voice continued. “But you need to get away from Maddox first.”

Her eyes flew to Jax, who was watching her like a hawk. “Why?” she asked, her voice tight.

“Because he’s not looking for her to save her,” the man said. “He’s looking for her to trade.”

Her grip tightened on the phone. “That’s not true.”

“You want to bet her life on that?”

“Who are you?” she demanded.

The line went dead.

She lowered the phone slowly. Her ears rang with the sudden silence.

“What was that?” Jax asked.

She shoved the phone into her pocket. “Nothing.”

“Bullshit,” he said, pushing off the counter.

“Just—someone looking for trouble,” she said.

“Trouble has a name?”

She didn’t answer. She didn’t know why she didn’t tell him. Maybe it was the way he’d refused her questions earlier. Maybe it was the memory of that blond man’s smile in the alley. Or maybe it was because, deep down, she wasn’t sure which side Jax was really on.

The tension between them lasted through the evening. Jax paced the warehouse like a caged animal. She sat on the couch, replaying the call in her head over and over until she didn’t know what to believe.

Finally, she stood. “I’m going home.”

“No, you’re not,” he said without looking at her.

“Watch me.”

He turned, blocking the door before she even reached it. “You walk out there, they’ll grab you in ten minutes.”

“Maybe I want answers more than I want safety,” she said.

His jaw worked. “You don’t.”

“Stop telling me what I want!” she exploded. “You don’t get to control me, Jax.”

His voice dropped. “I’m trying to keep you alive.”

“And I’m trying to find a little girl who’s probably scared out of her mind!” she shot back. “So if you’re not going to help me, get out of my way.”

They stood there, toe-to-toe, breathing hard. For a second, she thought he might actually move.

Instead, he said, “You have no idea how deep this goes.”

“Then tell me!”

“I can’t.”

“Won’t,” she corrected.

His eyes flashed, but he didn’t argue. He stepped aside. “Fine. You want to go? Go. But if you step out that door, I’m not coming after you.”

Her chest tightened, but she forced herself to nod. “Noted.”

The night air was colder than she expected. She wrapped her arms around herself and started walking, her breath fogging in the dark.

She made it three blocks before a black SUV rolled up beside her.

The back door swung open.

“Dr. Blake,” said the same gravelly voice from the phone. “Get in. We don’t have much time.”

Every instinct screamed don’t.

And yet—if he really knew where Emily was…

She slid into the back seat.

The door shut, and the SUV pulled away.

Two blocks later, she realized the driver wasn’t the one who’d spoken to her on the phone.

He was blond.

And smiling.