“Uh… that Death was here to see her.” I give him a big smile, shoving my keys into the ignition to get the hell out of here.
“Wait, can you give her a message for me?” he says. I nearly groan. All I want is to go home and forget this whole creepy exchange ever happened.
“Sure, what’s the message?” I ask, watching as he bends back down so his face is level with mine in the window. Catching sight of his cut, I notice a patch similar to Axel’s—Enforcer.
“Tell her to let her new MC friends know the Reapers are moving in, and if they don’t want a war, they’ll leave our fucking brothers alone,” he snarls at me. I gasp at the venom he spews with every word.
“Oh, and Jenna,” he says with a straight face, obviously catching on to my lie, “you really shouldn’t be out here alone this late at night. Never know what could happen.” With that, he taps my window with his knuckle and saunters back to where he parked. I can’t breathe, my hands are shaking and I feel like I’m going to throw up. How the hell did I get wrapped up in all of this?
In less than 24 hours of Marley taking me to that party I’m accosted by a terrifying stranger who is using me to send his threatening messages? Of course, because this is what happens when you hang out with bikers.
“Jenna!” Jax’s voice roars through the car. I grab my phone off my lap, staring at the call I completely forgot about.
“I’m okay. Did you hear all of that?” I say, my voice still shaking. God, I hate how scared he made me.
“I heard it all. I already called the club. Are you okay to drive?” Jax’s voice is a mix of worry and annoyance.
“Yeah, I think I’m fine,” I reply softly, though I need a moment to process what just happened.
“Okay, get to the apartmentnow. Don’t make any stops. You hear me?”
I take a deep breath, counting my breaths until they even out and I feel like I can drive again. “I hear you. Be there soon.”
The line goes dead, and I sit in my car in silence. What the hell have I gotten myself involved in? I shake my head, trying to pull it together, and put the car in drive. I need to get out of here.
I drive in silence until I’m in front of my apartment building. While looking for a parking spot, I notice four motorcycles parked in front of the door that leads up to our apartment.Part of me doesn’t want to go up. I want to get far away from whatever mess I’ve been dragged into.
I park, turn off the car, and hear my phone chime in the passenger seat.
Axel
Where are you?
Clearly, he’s already heard about my new “friend” Death. I’m not in the mood for Axel right now. I already have to go into my apartment and deal with the other members of his club. I lightly bang the back of my head against the headrest and curse myself for even thinking I was going to have a chill night in with Marley. The universe just loves to watch me squirm. My emotions are all over the place, so I settle on sending a short text to let him know I’m safe.
Jenna
I just pulled up to my apartment. How did you get my number, stalker?
I hit send and rest my head back on the seat. I just need a few moments to myself before facing the onslaught of questions waiting for me inside.
Just as I relax, the door to the apartments flies open, and a large figure barrels out, heading straight for me. What is it with large men accosting me in my car tonight?
The figure gets closer, and I realize it’s Axel… here at my apartment, looking extremely pissed.
“Open the door, Angel,” he orders even before reaching my car.
I hesitate but ultimately unlock the door and get out.
“Okay, before you get all macho-man on me, you should know I did nothing wrong. I literally just walked to my car?—”
Before I can finish my sentence, Axel’s hands are on my body, and his mouth is fused to mine. This kiss isn’t sweet; it’s intense, soul-crushing.
After the evening I’ve had, I don’t want to fight Axel or push him away. I melt into his body, letting his embrace soothe my frayed nerves. When I try to pull back and catch my breath, Axel pulls me closer. Having his arms wrapped around me makes me feel like they can protect me from anything or anyone.
He finally moves back just enough so our foreheads are touching. I take a deep breath of his masculine scent and try to focus on what I was saying before he interrupted me. “Scared me tonight, babe.”
I blink up at him, confused. We’ve known each other for less than 24 hours, so why is he so worried about me? And what’s with all the pet names?
