Page 33 of Triple the Danger

Mater was silent on the other end of the line, but she could practically feel his concern. “You really do like to go balls to the wall when you put yourself in trouble, don’t you?” he finally groaned. “And you said they’re going to help you figure out who that bastard was that shot at you?”

“Yeah. They have some really tech-savvy people looking into it.” She didn’t bother adding that she was pretty sure one of them was a hacker, because otherwise, how would she have found that information? Some things were just better left unsaid.

“Hmmm. Are you sure you’re safe? I’ve known some bikers in my time, and they were good people, but in that world, there are far fewer good than bad.”

“They seem to be good,” she said after a moment. “All the kids running around are happy and healthy, the women don’t take shit from the men, and the men clearly love the women around them. I don’t know much about them otherwise, but how many clubs would take someone in that they didn’t know and offer them a safe place to hide out while helping them?”

“Everything has a price, Saylor,” Mater cautioned her. “Just because you haven’t heard them mention one yet, doesn’t mean they won’t expect to be paid somehow. I just don’t want you to get hurt. If I have to come down there and bash some heads together, I will.”

She bit back a laugh at the thought of Mater going up against some of the guys. She had no doubt he could hold his own, but she already could tell that these guys fought dirty. There were no rules like there were in the ring. “I’ll be fine,” she promised him. “I’ll call you if I run into any trouble, okay? Hopefully by the end of the week this will all be behind me, and I can head home.”

“Hhmmm. Yeah, we need your scrawny ass back in here. These sons of bitches are getting cocky and need to be knocked down a couple of pegs. You always seem to be able to do that in a way that I can’t.”

She snickered. “Probably because to most of them, being taken down by a girl is an insult to their manhood and they can’t stomach it. They expect it from you. Me, not so much.”

Mater chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so. Be careful, kid, and if shit hits the fan, you run, got it?”

“Got it,” she promised. “I’ll talk to you later?” Her only answer was a grunt before he hung up. She chuckled. It was typical Mater, and she didn’t get upset. He was a man of few words, normally. But, of course, sitting here thinking that, she felt a heavy sense of homesickness.

Sure, this place was nice enough, and she liked not having to spend all day on the road, but it wasn’t home. It wasn’t her apartment she spent time picking out every piece for, and she couldn’t go to the gym for a workout, or just for the company of Mater and the guys. This was a temporary stop.

The door to the apartment opened, pulling her quickly out of her thoughts, and had her head snapping around to find a very tired-looking Jax walking inside. She arched a brow at him when his gaze landed on her. Something flashed across his face, but it was gone too quick for her to figure out what it was. Still, it set her on edge. Why did he come back just now? Where was he for the last few hours? Not that it was any of her business, but she doubted that Church lasted this long.

“We need to move you into the clubhouse,” Jax announced, his tone calm and even, but there was fatigue there, along with a stress that she couldn’t quite understand.

“Why?” she asked carefully.

“The club decided that the apartment’s not the safest place for you. If your ex, or whoever the other bastards are looking for you, get on the grounds and figure out you’re here, there is a very good chance they could kill you before we could get to you. Even though the garage is close by, we can’t hear things over the noise in there, and unless someone is walking directly under the apartment windows, they may not hear anything happening up here. So to be extra safe, we’re going to move you into the clubhouse.”

“Or you could just give me back my gun,” she suggested calmly, watching him.

He sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face. “Saylor, as much as I would love to tell you I can do that, there’s no point in lying. Savage is not giving you that gun back until you’re off the grounds. None of the women have access to weapons, and you won’t be an exception.” Before she could argue again, he held up his hand. “Look, I know you’re not happy about it, but I’m fucking tired as all shit from doing patrols all night, and I need to get some sleep before I head to the garage, so grab your shit, and let’s go.”

“Wait, you want to go now?” she asked incredulously. “It’s barely dawn. Why can’t I move over later?” And, you know, figure out a way to avoid this. The idea of staying in the clubhouse put her on edge. She wasn’t sure why, but here, she had privacy and some semblance of freedom. There, she was never going to be alone. Could she put up with it for a week? Sure, but if she had another option, she was definitely going to try for it.

“Saylor,” Jax said with strained patience, “we can fight all you want about this later. But I need to sleep, and that means you need to get your shit and follow me back to my room at the clubhouse.”

“Why your room?”

“Because you’re under my protection, and for now that means you’re in my room with me. You can work at my desk while I sleep, if you want.”

She wanted to argue more, but she could also see how tired he was, and she stopped herself. There would be plenty of time to argue later. Instead of replying, she got up and went to grab her bag to put on some comfy clothes that were more appropriate for walking across the compound. Five minutes later, they were heading to the clubhouse.

The common area was deserted, and Jax led her up to his room without another word. When she walked in, Jax shut the door quietly behind him, locked it, and then moved to the edge of the bed as she set her bag on the chair at his desk. He pulled his boots off and then stripped out of his pants, socks, shirt, and cut, leaving him naked as he crawled into bed.

She watched him, unmoving, unsure of what to do. Part of her wanted to climb into bed with him, while the other part told her she needed to get some work done.

“Get your fine ass in here,” Jax growled, making her arch a brow.

“I have work to do,” she reminded him, though she didn’t move to take her laptop out of her bag. She just stood immobile in the darkened room, staring down at the man in the bed.

He lifted the sheet and waited. She hesitated before she finally sighed, took off her shoes and then slipped out of her pants, leaving her in only her shirt, bra, and underwear before she climbed beneath the covers. As she curled into him, she tried to tell herself that she would just wait until he fell asleep before she got up and got to work. She didn’t have time to lay around too much, since she was already behind. Not to mention, she shouldn’t be sleeping in this bed with him. She was only here for a week, and despite the fantastic sex, she needed to keep him at arm’s length. Feelings were not a part of her journey.

Jax wrapped his arm around her waist, buried his face in her hair, and let out a soft sigh. Within a minute, she heard his breathing even out and he was asleep. Now would be the perfect time to slide out of bed and get to work, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She just wanted to lay there for a couple more minutes, enjoying the warmth, before getting back to reality.

The next thing she knew, she felt Jax trying to gently pull away from her, and her eyes popped open in surprise. “Shit, I fell asleep,” she groaned as she watched him smirk at her. “Shut up,” she sighed before rolling and getting out of bed. “Now I’m even further behind.” She moved toward the desk, but stopped when she felt his arms wrap around her and pull her back against him. “Jax,” she warned, looking up over her shoulder at him.

He gave a low, husky chuckle that had her blood heating. “Maybe we should both be a little late for work,” he suggested silkily, pressing his mouth to her neck just below her ear.

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