Page 38 of Triple the Danger

Jax snickered when he saw the Esme and Rogue were once again in a heated glaring contest. The further she got into her pregnancy, the more irritated at them she became. Especially Rogue. Though he had a feeling that was more because Rogue was constantly telling her to stop working and go be with her man, but of course, the stubborn woman would point out that if she had to sit at home for too long, she was going to end up shooting said man; she’d hold Rogue responsible, and end up shooting him, too.

“Now, babe, don’t go threatening us with a good time,” Jax joked, drawing her angry stare. “But if you want to spend some time with me, you come on into the shop and tell me all about the problem. And if I have to kick your man’s ass, you just let me know. He’s big, but I’m fast.” He winked at her, and he saw her lips twitch, trying not to smile. He grinned, pleased. He liked his reputation as one of the jokesters in the club, mostly because otherwise everyone else would be damn growly and grumpy all the time.

“She’d probably end up shooting your ugly ass,” Rogue growled, still ticked off.

“Now, Rogue, we both know you don’t think my ass is that ugly,” Jax chided. “You stare at it enough every day. Honestly I was getting a bit nervous.” Rogue’s blue eyes narrowed icily. Jax just grinned at him, knowing full well that Rogue wouldn’t do shit to him while Esme stood there.

“Fuck off,” Rogue ordered, then turned on his heel and stormed back into the garage, letting the door slam behind him.

“What’s up his ass today?” Esme asked, clearly exasperated as she moved to sink into her chair. Jax didn’t miss the relief that washed over her at being able to sit. After seeing Royal and Harlow go through the same thing, he could only imagine how nice it was to not have so much pressure on her body by standing.

“No clue, but probably something with the twins or Scarlett,” Jax guessed.

Esme sighed. “Probably. I’m starting to think I don’t want to be around during the year the girls go to college. He’s going to be worse than he is now, mark my words.”

Jax winced. Yeah, he could see that happening. He wasn’t looking forward to it either. “Why were the two of you fighting this time?” he asked, leaning against the desk.

“He’s pushing me to stop working again,” she whined. “I’m serious that I don’t want to stop until I absolutely have to, Jax. I need to do something or I’ll go crazy. And we both know that as much as Rogue is saying it, it’s Fury pushing it through him because he knows I’ll ignore him.”

Yeah, that sounded like Fury. “You still got what, three months left?”

“Probably, but babies come when they want to. I need this baby to cook for at least another two before we’re in the safe zone. Gabe came early, so I have a feeling that this little one will too.”

“When do you find out what you’re having?” Jax asked curiously. There was a bet going on whether Gabe would have a little brother, or if the club would welcome another infant girl to their ranks.

Esme’s face split into a wide grin. “I already know, but I’m keeping it to myself until I can do something fun to tell Fury,” she replied. “He’s been after me to find out, but he freaks out the ultrasound techs with how overbearing he can be so he’s not welcome back to the ultrasound clinic until we’re closer to delivery.” She laughed. “He wasn’t happy, but I told him that if I have to find a new clinic so late in my pregnancy, I really will shoot him, so he’s relented. For now.”

Yeah, Jax couldn’t see that lasting for very long either. “I got my bets on a boy,” he told her with a grin. “So, see what you can do to help me out, huh?”

She grinned back. “I’m surprised you didn’t pick girl. Pretty much everyone else has.”

He winked. “I like to go against the grain. You know, like my entire personality.”

She snickered. “Yeah, you’re different alright.”

“Well, if you don’t want to stop working, then we’ll figure shit out, but you need to meet your man halfway or we’re going to be up shit creek, and I could do without a busted nose when he gets pissed off,” he warned her. She gave him a confused look. “He’s not going to be mad that you’re working, he’ll be pissed that we’re busy enough that you need to work to keep up,” he explained. “You know we call him Fury for a reason, right? When he gets pissed, he’s about as bad as Rogue, just a little less crazy. He would kick our asses just for thinking that you should do any more work.”

Esme sighed. “I swear, that man is a pain in my ass. How the hell is you doing your job and doing it well a reason to be pissed at anyone?” She shook her head. “Men don’t make any fucking sense.”

He grinned at her. “But we’re a lot of fun, and we keep you on your toes.”

“So do dogs,” she drawled. “And we have one, who just this morning decided the best nap spot for his muddy, dirty ass was right on top of the pile of clean clothes on the bed. I had to wash them all over again.”

Jax chuckled, unable to help himself. “He wanted to make sure you didn’t forget about him.”

“I could have done without that reminder.”

Before Jax could reply, his phone rang, and he frowned when he saw Tom’s name on the screen. “Prospect,” he answered. “Problem?”

“There’s a guy here at the gate insisting he needs his car checked over,” Tom said briskly.

Every hair on the back of Jax’s neck stood up, but he didn’t want to alarm Esme. “Did you tell him that we’re full and can’t take any more clients right now?” he asked. That was the story that the Prospects got, anyway.

“I did,” Tom confirmed. “But he’s insisting that he needs it looked at because he can’t drive any further. Told him to call one of the tow companies in town to come and help him, but he’s refusing. I tried calling Rogue, but he didn’t answer, and Razor’s returning that other car back to Ms. Kitty.” Ms. Kitty was a regular customer they helped out constantly. She was a sweet older lady whose car was always breaking down on her. She had lost her husband a few years ago, who had been a mechanic back in his day.

“What’s he look like?” Jax asked. His phone buzzed, and he looked to see Tom had sent him a picture of the man when he was looking away. He didn’t look like either Leon or Felix from the pictures Glitch and Code had searched up. Still, he didn’t have a good feeling about this, and he never doubted his instincts. “Keep him there,” Jax ordered. “I’ll be down to have a look in a few minutes.”

“Got it,” Tom acknowledged and hung up.

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