RETURN

***JAX***

“Roger!” I called after him, my voice loud and cutting, echoing through the room. I heard his footsteps stop abruptly, a slight creak as he turned around.

He reappeared in the doorway, his eyebrows raised, his crooked grin not far away. “Seriously, Jax?” he asked, and the hint of irony in his voice was unmistakable.

I took a step towards him, my eyes narrowed, dark and unyielding. “Yes,” I hissed, my voice deep and dangerous. “Bring her back here.”

Roger crossed his arms over his chest and leaned casually against the frame, as if he were considering whether to provoke me further. “And how exactly should I go about doing that, boss? She left quite clearly. Do you perhaps have some magic words you'd like me to give her?”

“You're funny, Roger,” I growled, my jaw muscles flexing as I restrained myself from pressing him up against the wall on the spot. ”But this isn't a request. It's an order. Find her. And bring her here.”

Roger shook his head slowly, his grin widening. “You know she hates you, right? She won't come back willingly.”

“Then make sure she doesn't have a choice,” I spat, stepping even closer until there was only a breath between us. “I know you can find her. You're damn good at getting things done, Roger. So get this done.”

He eyed me for a moment, his expression growing more serious. “You know, boss, I can bring her back. But the question is what you're going to do with her. Because if you pull the same crap you did before... this time she won't just leave. She'll set the place on fire.”

I laughed softly, a dark, cold sound that echoed through the room. “I'll take that risk. Bring her back.”

Roger sighed, straightened up and pulled his jacket over his shoulders. “All right, Jax. But I'm telling you now: it won't be cheap. Women like Marie don't let themselves be pushed around.”

“Money is no object,” I said, cutting off my voice. “Bring her here, Roger. And quickly.”

He nodded curtly, turned around and disappeared. The door slammed shut behind him, and I was left alone, my hands clenched into fists as I stared into the silence. Marie. She was a problem, one that I couldn't let go of – and damn it, one that I would solve. No matter what it cost.

The shrill ringing of my cell phone tore me out of my thoughts, which were passing through my mind like dark clouds. My hand jerked automatically to the table, the display lit up – unknown number. A strange tingling sensation spread through my chest as I hesitantly answered the call.

“Yes?“ I barked, my voice was rough, a little too harsh, perhaps out of habit.

“Jax... Thank God, it's me, Celine.” Her voice was quiet, but I could hear the tension in it. The sound of her name was like a blow that drove the air out of my lungs. Celine. She was alive.

“Celine!” My voice softened, an uncharacteristic warmth crept into my tone of voice. ‘God, Celine... where are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt?’ My words came faster, almost breathlessly, as I tried to formulate all the questions that were racing through my mind.

“Yes, Jax, I'm fine. Everything's fine.” But something in her voice told me that not everything was fine. She breathed heavily, as if she was gathering herself. ”Listen... Damian. He told me everything.”

I froze, my grip on the phone tightened. Damian. His name was a poison seething inside me, a reminder of everything that had gone wrong. “What did he tell you?” I asked, my voice getting harder and darker again.

“Everything,” she whispered. ”I know who you are, Jax. I know you're my brother.”

The words hit me like a slap in the face. I closed my eyes, breathing out heavily as the darkness raged inside me. “Celine... I...”

“No, listen to me,” she interrupted me, her voice becoming firmer. “I want you to come here. Alone. Please, Jax. I need you.”

My breathing caught, and I realized my hand was shaking slightly. “Alone?” I repeated, my voice a low rumble. “Celine, you know this could be a damn trap.”

“It's not a trap,” she said quickly, pleading. “Damian... he wants to talk. He needs answers, Jax. He needs... you. And I need you.”

I gritted my teeth, my head a mess of rage, pain and a spark of hope I couldn't suppress. “What do you want me to tell him, Celine?” I finally asked, my voice rough, almost a whisper.

“Tell him why you left,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. ”Tell him what really happened. He needs to know, Jax. Otherwise this cycle will never end.”

The silence that followed was unbearable. My heart beat heavily, my breathing shallow, as I tried to gather a clear thought. Damian. Talk. Respond. It was a fight I didn't want, but maybe one I couldn't avoid.

“Please, Jax,” she added softly, her voice almost a whisper now. ”Do it for me.”

My jaw tightened, my fists clenched, and I felt the darkness seething inside me as I made the inevitable decision. For her. For Celine.

“Okay,” I finally said, my voice cold, determined. ”I'll come. Alone. But Celine... if Damian tries any kind of shit, I'll kill him.”

“Thank you, Jax,” she whispered, and before I could say anything, she hung up.

I let the phone drop, staring into space in front of me as the words she had said echoed in my head. Damian. My brother. My fault. And now I had to go back to face the past.

The door swung open and Roger entered the room, Marie in tow. Her gaze was cold, her posture tense, but the sparks in her eyes betrayed that she was still in fighting form.

“Very charming of you to send your gorilla, Jax,” she began, her voice full of derision as she looked around pointedly. ”And you know what? He actually has more decency than you.”

I pressed my lips together, fighting the impulse to contradict her immediately. Instead, I took a deep breath and answered in an unusually calm voice. “Marie, please sit down. I really need your help.”

She crossed her arms, raised an eyebrow and looked at me as if she were waiting for the catch in my words. “Do you really need it? Or do you just want to snap at me again when you don't like my pace?”

I held her gaze, although every muscle in me was giving way. ‘I'm sorry,’ I said softly, and the words felt strange. “I've been an ass. But wait a minute. I'll get you something, as a small compensation. Please... don't run away, okay?”

Marie looked at me for a moment, then nodded slowly, but her expression was clear: last chance, Jax.

I went into the small kitchen next door, hearing Roger mutter a suppressed comment that I deliberately ignored. How the hell did I get into this situation? I looked in the cupboards for something to offer, and finally my eyes fell on a bottle. A small smile twitched at the corner of my mouth as I decided to put all my eggs in one basket.

With the glass in my hand, I stepped back into the room. Marie had sat down in the meantime, but her posture was still tense, alert. I carefully placed the glass in front of her. “Here,” I said simply.

She looked at the drink, then at me, and her eyes narrowed slightly. “Bloody Marie?” she asked, her voice soft but full of unspoken irony.

I scratched the back of my head, embarrassed, a feeling that was completely foreign to me. When the hell had I ever been embarrassed in my life? “Well,” I finally mumbled, my voice lower than I wanted, “just leave out the ‘bloody’.” A wry grin stole onto my face that I couldn't quite suppress.

Marie scrutinized me as if she was looking at me properly for the first time. Then she took the glass, lifted it slightly in my direction and took a sip. Her eyes remained on me, and I could see the slight sparkle in them, which both irritated and fascinated me.

“All right, Jax,” she finally said, her voice still sharp but a little softer. ‘That's a start. But don't think that I'll forgive you for everything now.”

I nodded, sank into the chair across from her, and held her gaze. ’I don't expect forgiveness, Marie. Just your help. After that, you can send me to hell if you want.”

She grinned crookedly, took another sip and leaned back. “Maybe I'll send you to hell twice, Jax. Just to be sure.”

And for the first time in days, the room didn't feel so oppressive anymore. Maybe I had a chance – if I didn't mess everything up again.

Marie leaned back, glass in hand, and looked at me with that typical mocking sparkle in her eyes. Her posture was relaxed, but the energy she radiated left no doubt that she still felt in control. Damn, she knew exactly how she played the game.

“So, what do you have for me, Jax?” she asked, her voice calm, almost bored, but I sensed the sharpness behind it.

I leaned forward, propped my elbows on my knees, and held her gaze. “Celine called,” I began, my voice soft but tense. “I know she's alive. But I need the exact location, Marie. She said to come to Damian. Alone. But I don't trust him an inch.”

Marie raised an eyebrow, her fingers playing with the edge of her glass. “So I'm supposed to play the miracle healer again, right? Fast and accurate, right?”

“Yes,” I replied curtly, my voice taking on a hint of urgency. “You're the only one who can do it.”

She rolled her eyes and took a sip from her glass before leaning forward and running her fingers over the keyboard of her laptop. “I get it, I get it. Fast and accurate. That's what I always hear.”

I watched her work intently and couldn't help but ask, ”You're really good, Marie. How long have you been doing this?”

She gave me a quick glance, a slight grin playing around her lips. “A while,” she said casually. “Hacking systems is kind of my passion.”

I snorted, leaned back, and folded my arms across my chest. ”Then, in theory, you could also hack the club's surveillance cameras? At least what's left of them?”

Marie paused, her fingers hovering over the keyboard, before she looked at me with a disparaging glance. “Theoretically, it should work,” she finally replied, her voice was matter-of-fact, but I could hear the slight amusement in it.

“Wow, okay, that's great, Marie.” I leaned forward again, my expression serious. ”If you do this... what do you want from me in return?”

Marie laughed, a rough, short sound that echoed through the room. She leaned back, folded her arms and looked at me with an expression somewhere between amusement and contempt. “From you, Jax? Nothing.”

I stared at her, surprised by her answer. ‘Nothing?’ I repeated in disbelief. ”You can't be serious.”

“Yes, I'm damn serious,” she said with a wry grin. ”What could you possibly give me that I couldn't take myself?”

Her words stung, but instead of getting angry, I could only grin at her damn arrogance. Marie was different. She was dangerous in a special way.

“You're incredible,” I murmured, my voice a deep rumble. ‘But I'll take your word for it. If you don't want anything, I won't question it.”

She grinned, raised her glass and drank a toast with me before focusing on the laptop again. ’Smart, Jax. Maybe you'll learn something after all.”

I leaned back, folded my arms across my chest and looked at her silently for a moment. Marie, absorbed in her work, didn't let my gaze bother her in the slightest. Her fingers glided over the keyboard, each of her movements precise and confident, as if she did this every day – which she probably did.

I gritted my teeth, relaxed my shoulders and took a deep breath. Marie. She was a damn mystery.

“Okay, you win, Marie,” I finally said, my voice calm but full of seriousness. ”You're one in a million, and I take my hat off to you.”

She paused briefly, her fingers hovering over the keys, before looking at me with raised eyebrows. Her expression was one of suspicion, but there was also that spark – that hint of satisfaction that she couldn't quite hide.

“Hats off, yeah?” she asked with a wry grin that was more challenge than reward. ‘This is coming from you? The great, mighty Jax?”

I laughed softly, a dark, raspy sound that filled the room. ’Yes, exactly. You have all my respect, Marie.”

Before she could say anything, I raised my hand and tapped her lightly on the shoulder – a friendly, casual gesture that I would never normally make. It felt strange, but with her it seemed right. Marie was different. She demanded respect – and deserved it.

“Thanks for your work,” I added, my voice dropping, almost solemn. ”We'd be lost without you.”

Marie stared at me for a moment, her eyes searching my face for a trap, for a sign that I was kidding. But when she found nothing, she shrugged and went back to her work.

“Hats off to you, then,” she murmured, a slight smile playing around her lips. ”Well, boss. Maybe you're not as hopeless as I thought.”

I leaned back, continuing to watch her, while the silence between us was heavy and yet somehow pleasant.

Marie raised her head, her eyes fixed on me with that challenging glint that always threw me off balance. She leaned back slightly, the hint of a smile on her lips, before suddenly saying, “Chocolate... do you have any?”

I paused, blinked briefly, and then a dark, rough laugh burst out of me. It was a moment I hadn't expected, one of those rare moments when she took me by surprise – and she did that all the time. I sank down into the chair next to her, my posture relaxed, but my eyes locked with hers.

“No,“ I admitted, a grin tugging at my lips. ‘But I would get you one. So, what flavor would you like?”

She studied me, a hint of skepticism in her gaze before she answered. ’Jax... you're starting to freak me out.” But then she leaned forward, her smile widening. “Yogurt.”

I nodded as if I had just received the most important assignment of my life. “Anything else?” I asked, my voice dripping with ironic politeness.

Marie paused, her eyes narrowed slightly, and I sensed the air between us change. The game that always raged between us took a different direction. She looked at me directly, her posture became firmer, more challenging. “Yes,” she finally said, her voice was soft but sharp.

I raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

“We weren't finished... earlier,” she said, her words like a knife slicing through the silence.

The meaning of her words hung heavily in the room as she looked at me, her gaze fixed on mine like a net from which I could not escape. My muscles tensed involuntarily, and I could feel the darkness flaring up inside me, the desire, the tension that she repeatedly triggered in me.

“Oh, we weren't done?” I repeated quietly, my tone a deep, dangerous rumble. I leaned forward slightly until my face was only a few centimeters away from hers. ”Then tell me, Marie... what exactly did we forget to clarify?”

Her smile grew wider, but there was a hint of triumph in it, as if she knew exactly that she was unsettling me – and enjoying it. “You can guess, Jax,” she whispered, her voice a breath that both tempted and provoked me.