Page 32 of Jax & Knox

"Backing off," Knox says. "That's how."

I look at him, surprised. Knox isn't exactly known for his patience. If anything, he's worse than me when it comes to going after what he wants.

"You're telling me to back off?" I ask.

"I'm telling you we need to be smarter about this." He pauses, his jaw tightening. "I feel the same way you do, Jax. I want her, and Owen is part of her. I want to be there for both of them. But she's not ready. And if we keep pushing, we're going to lose her."

"So what do we do?"

"We show her," Knox says. "We don't tell her. We don't push. We show her that we're different. That we're not him."

I stare at him, the weight of his words settling over me.

He's right.

We can't just tell Ainsley we're different from Justin. We have to prove it. And the only way to do that is to give her space. To let her come to us on her terms.

"How do we do that?" I ask.

Knox shrugs. "We take care of her. We take care of Owen. We don't ask for anything in return. We just... be there. And we wait."

"Wait for what?"

"For her to trust us."

I lean back in my chair, exhaling slowly. "That could take a while."

"Then it takes a while."

I look at him, and for the first time since last night, I feel like I can breathe again.

"Alright," I say. "We do this your way."

Knox smirks. "My way? This was your idea, jackass. I'm just agreeing with you."

I flip him off, and he laughs.

The rest of the day, I make a conscious effort to give Ainsley space.

She's working the afternoon shift at Perdition, and I can see her behind the bar, wiping down glasses and taking orders. She looks tired. Her shoulders are tense, and there's a tightness around her eyes that wasn't there before.

Because of me.

I want to go over there. I want to apologize. I want to pull her into my arms and tell her everything's going to be okay.

But I don't.

Instead, I stay at the far end of the bar, nursing a beer. I force myself to look away, to focus on the conversation Riot and Tiny are having about the landscaping job tomorrow. I don't let myself track her every movement.

Knox is at the pool table, but I can tell he's keeping an eye on her too. Every few minutes, his gaze flicks over to where she's standing, and I know he's thinking the same thing I am.

We need to do better.

Around three, Ainsley reaches for a glass on the top shelf, and I see her wince. She's still hurting from the beating Justin gave her. The bruises on her ribs haven't fully healed yet, and she's pushing herself too hard.

I know why she's doing it, though. Tessa mentioned earlier that Ainsley insisted on working despite being offered more time off. She said she needed the money and, even more, needed to feel useful. To prove to herself that she could stand on her own.

I stand, intending to go help her, but Knox catches my eye and shakes his head.