Simulacra

Jax had never claimed to fight for the greater good. No, he had always been very honest about what he fought for: the promise he would never have to go back to his past. And he wasn't the only one running from something. In fact, the only person on the team who actually seemed to be there through some misguided sense of ethics and morality was the Ragdoll. Everyone else? Well, vigilante work was never the place for the clean-handed type.

And then Kaufmo showed up, bleeding thick blood onto the floor and yelling for Caine, dragging some poor, young thing behind him. She was scared, that much was obvious (as well she should be; smart girl). Then Kaufy died (very sad, boohoo), just keeled over on the floor like a wind-up toy all out of potential. And maybe he had passed all that potential on to the newbie, because when Caine finally showed up, he seemed intrigued, invested, entranced. There was something about her... and Jax knew just what to do about it.

He was going to keep his eyes forward, his head down, and his fists ready. Because that's how you survived this blasted circus.