33. Its Alive!

He's alive?

Is this real?

His ankle is chained to the wall. He's coated in scum and covered in wounds, but that's him.

That's Brandon.

The man I'm seeing through the window looks nothing like the man I knew, but did I ever really know him? The man I knew would've never tried to kill me, and from what I know of him, there's no way he would've lasted this long. Whatever Jax is trying to get out of him, he's willing to die for. Sparks light in my chest, starting a fire that I thought had long since died. Brandon was supposed to be dead. I thought Jax had killed him, but I guess that's what I get for assuming.

I clench my teeth and set my shoulders back before setting my sights on Jax again. "What's he doing alive?"

"I need information from him." Jax's feet are set apart in a controlled stance.

This is what he thought would scare me away. He's been protecting me from this, but hiding information isn't going to work for me. I'm slightly pissed he waited to show me every room before coming to this one.

"No shit! You think I didn't gather that much from your show-and-tell of all the rooms?" I cross my arms over my chest. "What is it? What exactly do you think he's hiding?"

That seems to melt the ice man because he comes to me then, placing his hands on my upper arms. Touching me. It's a soothing method for him. I've proven so far that I'm not going to run at the drop of a wicked secret.

"I had planned to bury him alive for what he did to you, but he tried to get away, and when he did, he said something about my mother. I told you she was murdered, and I thought I'd killed the man who did it, but I think I might've gotten it wrong." He continues rubbing my arms to soothe himself more than me. What I've learned here is that he doesn't kill people without a reason, and I think it bothers him that he might've killed an innocent man.

"So you think he might talk to me?" I ask skeptically. There's no way Brandon is talking to me after he almost killed me.

"I still think you might be able to get through to him," Jax says with a hint of desperation I've yet to see him show until now. "He's very sick. I've tortured him for a week and a half, and the wounds are infected. He's delirious at times and calls your name."

"Mine?" Maybe there is a chance.

"Yes. He holds a torch for you. I know there's some part of you that wishes he was gone, and I want that, too. I just need this one thing, and you can do whatever you want to him. I'll support whatever you choose."

I chew on his words for a moment before asking, "And you don't care how I get it?"

"No. This is me putting my trust in you." This is one way for us to dive head-first into a relationship based on trust. Let's hope we make it through the fiery pits of hell together. "There's one last thing I need to show you." He pulls out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to me.

"What's this?" I take it from him.

"It's something Finn found when he looked further into Brandon, and I think you should see it."

And the hits keep coming.