chapter 3 learning to trust
945 Words
### **Chapter 3 Learning to Trust**
Jax didn’t hesitate.
The moment the knock shattered the tense silence, he was already moving—his muscles tight, instincts honed from years of survival.
His hand closed around the grip of the **gun** beneath the kitchen counter.
Sienna stiffened beside him.
“Who is it?” she whispered.
Jax didn’t answer. His body went cold, mind sharpening as he stepped toward the door, every movement calculated. This wasn’t random. **Kane wouldn’t send someone without a reason.**
Another knock. **Harder. Louder.**
Jax exhaled through his nose, adjusting his grip on the weapon.
Then—**a voice.**
“Open the damn door, Ghost.”
Jax paused.
It wasn’t Kane.
It was **Dante Cruz**—his oldest friend, his former partner in crime, and the one man who had always been caught in the crossfire of Jax’s past.
Still dangerous. Still unpredictable. But **not an immediate threat.**
Jax slid the gun back onto the counter, jaw tightening as he unlocked the door.
The second Dante stepped inside, his sharp gaze locked onto Sienna.
“Well, well,” Dante said, voice laced with amusement. “Didn’t know you had company.”
Sienna lifted her chin, refusing to flinch under his scrutiny.
Jax didn’t like it—**Dante watching her, assessing her, trying to understand what she meant in the middle of all this chaos.**
“She’s not part of this,” Jax muttered.
Dante arched a brow. “Ghost, **you wouldn’t let someone into your apartment unless they were part of something.**”
Sienna narrowed her eyes. “I’m standing right here, you know.”
Dante let out a low chuckle. “Yeah, sweetheart, I see that.”
Jax clenched his fists.
“Why are you here, Dante?” he asked, voice controlled but firm.
Dante’s smirk faded.
“Kane’s moving fast,” he said, tone shifting. “Word on the street is that he’s putting pieces into place. Whatever debt you think you escaped? **It’s coming back for you.**”
Jax inhaled slowly, grounding himself. He knew this moment would come—**Kane wasn’t the type to let things go.**
Sienna’s expression hardened. “What exactly does that mean?”
Dante glanced at her, then back to Jax.
“It means you don’t have much time,” Dante said simply. “Whatever Kane has planned—it’s big.”
Jax exhaled. **The last fight wasn’t over. Not even close.**
He turned to Sienna.
“You still think you’re not in danger?”
She didn’t flinch.
Instead—**she stepped closer.**
“I told you before,” she said, voice steady. **“I don’t scare easy.”**
Jax studied her for a long moment.
Maybe that was the most dangerous thing of all.
---
Jax Mercer had spent years trapped in a cycle of violence, never questioning if he deserved anything else.
Until **her.**
Sienna Carter wasn’t supposed to be here. She wasn’t supposed to push past his walls, wasn’t supposed to challenge everything he thought he knew. **And she definitely wasn’t supposed to make him feel this way.**
Now—**she was in his life.**
And Kane wasn’t about to let them walk away untouched.
Jax exhaled sharply, watching as Dante leaned against the counter, tossing his knife between his fingers like he had all the time in the world.
“This isn’t going away,” Dante muttered, glancing at Sienna before flicking his gaze back to Jax. “You need a plan.”
Jax clenched his fists. **Plans didn’t work with men like Kane.**
His world didn’t allow clean exits. There was always **blood, betrayal, and a price to be paid.**
But then—Sienna stepped forward.
“We leave,” she said.
Jax turned to her, studying the quiet determination in her expression. **Like she wasn’t just suggesting it—like she actually believed it was possible.**
Dante chuckled. “Sweetheart, you don’t just walk out of a life like this.”
Sienna didn’t back down. “You do if you fight hard enough.”
Jax inhaled slowly. The words weren’t naive. **They were fire.**
And for the first time, he wondered if maybe—just maybe—she was right.
---
### **Later That Night – Hidden Away**
The hotel was cheap, tucked into a forgotten part of the city where no one asked questions.
Jax stood near the window, shirtless, bruised knuckles resting against the sill as he stared out into the dark streets.
Sienna was behind him, sitting cross-legged on the bed, her quiet presence filling the space in ways he didn’t know how to handle.
“Are you afraid?” she asked softly.
Jax’s jaw tightened. “No.”
She tilted her head, eyes never leaving him. “You’re lying.”
Jax exhaled sharply, turning toward her.
“You don’t get it.” His voice was low, rough. “Men like me don’t get second chances. There’s no walking away.”
Sienna stood, stepping closer, **heat crackling in the air between them.**
“Then take one anyway,” she murmured.
Jax didn’t move.
Her hand brushed against his **bare skin**, light, tentative, **fire in the smallest touch.**
He had spent years burying emotion—**this was dangerous.**
She looked up at him, holding his gaze, refusing to break first.
And something inside Jax **snapped.**
His hand shot out, fingers tangling in her hair, pulling her closer before he could think twice.
Their mouths crashed together—**heat, intensity, desperation.**
He kissed her like she was something **he’d never let himself want before.**
Like **he needed her.**
Like **he was burning, and she was the only thing keeping him from turning to ash.**
---
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