Then she walked over, because of course, it was her job.The closer she got, Wolf noticed the dark shadows under her eyes.Sure, she looked much better than the exhausted waif he spoke to when they first met, but still.Was she having trouble sleeping lately?Maybe Jane was keeping her up?
Wolf’s gaze lingered a second too long.She finally stopped at the table.
“What do you need?”she asked.Her voice was even, but her eyes flicked to his for just a moment, brief, almost questioning.
Wolf was too pissed off at Briggs to provide her with an answer.Jade looked at Briggs instead.
“Another round,” Briggs said, pushing his empty glass forward.
Jade nodded, reaching for it.
“And,” Briggs added casually, like it didn’t matter, “you doing anything after your shift?”
Everything inside Wolf went still.
Jade paused slightly.She tightened her fingers around the glass, before straightening again.“Yeah, I’m busy—”
She didn’t get the chance to finish.Wolf shot his hand out, grabbing Briggs hard by the shoulder.That moment, the control he always prided himself on having, finally shattered.
“Don’t,” Wolf said again, lower this time.
Briggs glanced at him, amused rather than concerned.Rafe gave Briggs a panicked look.
“Relax,” Briggs repeated.“Just asking a question.”
“Stay away from her,” Wolf warned, tone sharper.
Briggs only widened his grin like an idiot, like he was really asking for it, or perhaps he was curious to see how far he could push Wolf.
“Or what?”Briggs asked him.
“Or I’ll break that pretty face,” Wolf said.“She’s mine.
Silence slammed down around the table.The noise of the clubhouse didn’t stop, but it shifted.It was as if a ripple moved outward as people started paying attention.Jade went completely still.Her breath caught as she stared at Wolf, but he refused to take his gaze from Briggs.
Briggs blinked once, then let out a low laugh.
“Well, damn,” he said.“That’s new.”
Wolf didn’t move his hand from Briggs’s shoulder or ease the pressure.What would it take for his message to come across?
“You heard me,” Wolf told him.
Briggs leaned back slightly, testing the grip.
“You told me she meant nothing to you,” he said.
Wolf tightened his fingers.“Don’t try me.”
Briggs did the exact opposite.The tension snapped.Briggs moved first, he was fast, but not fast enough.Wolf shoved him back hard, chair scraping violently against the floor as Briggs came up swinging.
The first punch caught Wolf across the jaw.It was a solid hit and pain flared, but Wolf hardly felt it.
He drove forward instead, slamming into Briggs, the table between them tipping, glasses crashing to the ground as bodies collided.Shouts broke out around them.Some bikers made bets, someone else swore and told them to cut it out.Rafe, maybe.
Wolf landed a punch to Briggs’s ribs, then another to his face, the impact snapping Briggs’s head back.
Briggs retaliated immediately, fist slamming into Wolf’s side.They went down hard, hitting the floor in a tangle of limbs and momentum.Wolf came out on top.Briggs might look like a muscle head, but Wolf was trained in martial arts.
