“Jax.” The panic in my voice leaks out. I don’t know who this guy is, but whoever he is, he’s turned Jax into steel.Jax,whokillspeople for a living. Gone is the cocky facade, the sly smirks and casual dominance, and in its place is a side that makes me shudder. Even when I stabbed him, he didn’t look like this.
“Wait.” I hate that I sound desperate. “I don’t want—”
Jax doesn’t let me finish. He throws the door open, stepping out with a slow, deliberate ease that doesn’t match the tension radiating off him. The interior light flicks on, spilling over his face just long enough for me to catch the shadow darkening his eyes.
I twist in my seat, my pulse hammering as I finally get a clear look at the man outside. Bulky and with a short beard, he rounds the car and leans against the hood like he belongs there, like he and Jax are old friends. But the way his lip curls as Jax approaches says there’s nothing friendly between them.
“Didn’t mean to interrupt your little date night.” He’s muffled, but I can hear just how mocking he is, and he casts his chin lazily over his shoulder. He locks eyes with me through the windshield. Cold and beady, my skin crawls as he winks at me. “She’s cute,” he says.
I want to gag. Whoever this creep is, he’s the type that would make me uneasy if he came into Bell’s, and that’s saying something considering Bell’s gets the most unsavory of men. My eyes dart to the house, hoping Nix doesn’t come outside.
The sound of Jax cracking his neck quickly pulls my gaze back. A tremble ripples through his shoulders. “Donotlook at her, Arnold.”
“Who, her?” The guy—Arnold—plays dumb and pushes off the hood. I catch the glint of a gun tucked into his waistband as he turns to face me, causing me to grip my seat. He twinkles his fingers at me, giving me a toothy smile.
I resist the urge to flip him off, not sure what’s really happening here.
“Don’t,” Jax steps at him, but then pauses, as if thinking better.
Arnold doesn’t even flinch and instead takes his time turning back. “Oh, kid, you know better than to show your cards like this. No weaknesses, remember?”
Jax’s eyes dart to me, as ifI’mthe said weakness.
Arnold whistles, not missing it. “Too late for that, huh, Jaxy?”
Jax’s nostrils flare before he drags his eyes from mine. “There’s nothing here for you,” he grits.
Arnold shrugs and tugs thoughtfully at his beard. “I don’t know about that.”
I swallow hard. Jesus. This is all a show, and it’s clearly only to push Jax—who looks like he’s about to detonate. This Arnold knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s baiting him, waiting for him to snap. But then what? Who is this guy? And why is Jax reining himself in for him? If the asshole didn’t have a gun, I would already be out of the car, telling him to get the fuck off my street.
“James had bad intel,” Jax says. “It’s all clear here.”
All clear? And who the fuck is James? I grip my chest as my head spins. This is all too much on too little sleep.
“Bad intel, huh?” Arnold nods. “Does James know you’re rolling in the mud?”
Oh, no.
All of Jax’s control shatters at the insinuation that I’m mud—trash—and I squeeze my eyes shut as he whips a hand around his back, going for his own gun. I anticipate the deafeningbang,the recoil of violence, the moment Arnold’s arrogance is wiped clean. But instead, I’m startled when a growl is all that comes.
“This is none of his business.”
I peek to find Jax frozen, hand still wrapped around his back. His whole body is taut as he keeps himself from actually pulling out his pistol, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Maybe… maybe not,” Arnold says with no mind to the fact that Jax is grasping his gun.
“Don’t you have—” Jax is cut off by a familiar voice.
“What are you boys doing?” Nosy Nellie’s reedy voice carries through the night, laced with suspicion. “I see you loiterin’!”
Shit.
My stomach plummets as her frail silhouette hobbles down her porch. She squints, a robe clinging to her hunched frame. She barely has her slippers on all the way.
“This is a private road,” she laments, the light of her cell phone screen glowing in her hand. “You’re trespassing. I’m going to call the police.”
I’m out of the car before I can think better of it.
