Chapter 3

I needed a quiet place, a sanctuary.

My family' s secluded lake house, with its natural hot springs, seemed perfect.

I intended to offer it to Jax, a place for him to soothe his old war injuries, a gesture of genuine care.

When I arrived, my blood ran cold.

Beau' s car was parked brazenly in the driveway.

I found him, Daisy Lynn, and her oafish brother, Billy Bob, on my terrace.

Billy Bob was actually in the hot tub, splashing around.

Daisy Lynn was draped over a lounge chair, sipping lemonade, looking perfectly at home.

Beau smirked when he saw me.

"Savannah, darling. So glad you could join us. We were just discussing how lovely this place will be once it' s mine."

He gestured around, a proprietary air about him.

Daisy Lynn giggled, a sickeningly sweet sound.

"Beau says it has such good bones."

My security detail, two men who had been with my family for years, hesitated.

I could see the uncertainty in their eyes, the lingering effect of Beau's past influence, his family's once-unquestioned power.

"You're trespassing, Beau," I stated, my voice tight.

"Get out. All of you."

Beau just laughed.

"Make me."

My security guards looked at each other, then at me, clearly unwilling to physically confront a Hamilton.

The old Savannah would have backed down, flustered.

Not this one.

"You two," I said, pointing to the guards, "you're fired. Get off my property."

They stared, shocked.

"But Miss Savannah..."

"Now!"

Beau' s amusement faded.

Daisy Lynn, ever the actress, chose that moment for her next performance.

She "tripped" near the edge of the lake, letting out a shriek as she "accidentally" tumbled into the water.

"Savannah pushed me!" she screamed, flailing dramatically.

Beau' s face turned purple with rage.

"You bitch!" he roared.

He lunged, not towards Daisy Lynn, but at me.

He shoved me hard.

I stumbled backwards, hitting the stone paving, the air knocked from my lungs.

I fell towards the lake.

As I fell, he snatched the locket from my neck, my late mother' s cherished locket, and smashed it under his heel on the stones.

"This is what you deserve," he snarled.

I hit the cold water of the lake, the shock stealing my breath.

Just as I surfaced, sputtering, a strong arm grabbed me.

Jax.

He pulled me out, his face a mask of concern and something else, something harder.

He quickly assessed my minor scrapes, his touch surprisingly gentle.

Then he looked at the scene – Daisy Lynn "drowning" theatrically, Beau raging, the smashed locket.

He misinterpreted everything.

"Savannah," he said, his voice rough, "if you're doing this to... to use me, to make him jealous... I understand. We can call off the engagement."

He thought I was still the foolish girl playing games.

Tears welled, genuine tears this time, of frustration, of pain, of a desperate need to be believed.

"No, Jax," I choked out, grabbing his arm.

"It's not like that. I choose you. I want you. It's him, Beau... he' s the monster."

I confessed my genuine feelings, my voice raw with an emotion I hadn' t expected to feel so strongly.

Jax' s eyes, usually so guarded, searched mine.

He saw the truth there.

He saw the broken locket.

He saw Beau' s sneering face.

A muscle twitched in his jaw.

He pulled me closer, shielding me.

"Alright, Savannah," he said softly, his gaze shifting to Beau with a coldness that promised retribution.

"Alright."