“How about you let Ryder’s buddies worry about being onthe look out,” I say, squeezing her hand. “You just focus on having fun. No one is going to let anything happen to you.”
Her expression softens. “I know. I trust you.”
Those three words hit hard, making my chest tighten in the best way. After everything she’s been through when it comes to the men in her life, trust doesn’t come easy. And the fact she’s giving it to me now means everything.
“There is one thing that doesn’t make sense,” she says, pinching her brows together. “If the Triple Six were going to send someone after me, why not just take a plane?”
“Harder to track maybe? Even if they do have their own plane, they’d still have to keep a record of it. Some sort of flight plan or whatever.”
“I guess so. But why take their time getting here? Dylan said the phone is stopping for a couple of days before moving on. Why?”
“No idea.” My brain is tumbling with so many scenarios, it’s making me jumpy as fuck. “Just... let Dylan do his thing, okay? He’ll give us a heads up if whoever it is gets close.”
“Right. So what’s the plan for today?” she asks, tone brightening in an obvious effort to lighten the mood.
“I’ve got appointments scheduled until four,” I tell her. “You?”
“I’m meeting with some potential instructors this morning, then I need to finish setting up for tomorrow’s demos.” She takes a sip of her coffee. “Noia’s coming over to Summit to help out again later.”
“Perfect. You won’t be alone.” I run my thumb over her knuckles, thinking. “How about, instead of me following you, we ride together today.”
She rolls her eyes but smiles. “That’s a little overprotective, don’t you think?”
“When it comes to you?” I raise an eyebrow as I lean in, giving her a soft kiss. “Always.”
fifty
“Holy crap! This line is insane!”
“Told you,” I grin at Reyna as she cranes her neck to peer at the long line of people stretched out behind us. “I’m just thankful we got in line for Dunk-A-Hunk as early as we did. Jax says it’s one of the booths that brings in a huge chunk of the donations every year.”
“Think we’ll make it in time to dunk him before he takes a break?” Noia asks.
There’s another splash and a loud cheer rolls through the crowd as I check my phone. “We should. He still has like, fifteen minutes.”
I’ve been itching to do this. Jax has been shooting me side glances the whole time we’ve been in line, not even trying to hide the fact he’s undressing me with his eyes.
Now that we’re official, he’s all about PDA, which is something I’m not quite used to. But if it means Jax is touching me, I guess I’ll just have to put up with it. Which means I’m going to have get back at him for it in a more creative way—like dunking his sexy ass.
Little by little, we shuffle forward, until it’s finally my turn.The teenager running the booth hands me three softballs with a flirty grin.
Perched on a tiny wooden seat, Jax’s skin glistens. Mohawk plastered to his head, his dark eyes lock onto mine with direct challenge. “Think you got the arm for it, babe? Or are you just here to admire the view?” he calls out over the loud rock music they’ve got playing.
“Nah, I just think you’re starting to look a little too comfortable up there,” I shout back, a wicked smirk spreading across my face.
A familiar tension works its way into my shoulders as I test the weight of the ball in my hand. I’ve spent enough years teaching power yoga to know exactly how to channel my strength. More than confident I won’t need to use the other two balls, I take a deep breath, focus on the bullseye, and let it fly.
CLANG!
When the ball hits the center of the target, the mechanism releases instantly. With a startled shout that ends in a massive splash, Jax disappears under the water.
The crowd erupts in a roar of cheers. Noia lets out a high-pitched whistle, and Reyna is clapping happily behind me as I let out a triumphant cackle.
Seconds later, Jax’s head breaks the surface like a sleek, tatted-up sea monster. His slick skin catches the afternoon light as he swipes a hand down his face to get the water out of his eyes before he points a finger at me. The look he gives me is pure, unadulterated heat—a silent promise he won’t be the only one getting wet today.
My heart skips a beat, and I blow him a cheeky kiss before stepping aside for Reyna, who’s next in line.
Noia bumps my shoulder. “Looks like someone’s gonna get some payback later,” she whispers.
