Page 24 of Alpha Jax

I’m not sure what that means in the context of everything, but I do know now that it was more than a casual hookup for him, too. There was something special about it for both of us, even if that something was just that it was really, really good sex. Clearly, we both wanted to do it again- so much so that I was looking for him in the faces that walked into the brewery every day, and he was actively searching for me. There was a real connection between us that night, one that’s still there. I feel it every time I look at him.

The question remains as to whether it’s worth exploring, though. I’m still trying to build a relationship with my brother, so I’d rather not do something that would totally flip him out. Also, he’d probably kill Jax, and like I said before, I prefer him breathing. And I’m sure Jax has his own conundrum of remaining loyal to his friend and, y’know,notdicking down said friend’s little sister.

The writing’s on the wall that things could never work between Jax and I. It’s too complicated; too many moving parts and binding ties. Jax all but said that on Saturday, and damnit I should listen. But part of me is just…curious. Curious to see how this all plays out, and whether both of us can continue to resist this obvious attraction between us and allow rationality to prevail.

I wish I could talk to Brooke about it. She’s one of my closest girlfriends, someone I would’ve gone to in the past with a conundrum like this. Now that she’s mated to my brother, though, I can’t put her in that position; it would make things too… complicated. Ugh, since when did everything become so damn complicated?

“Hold up,” Brooke says, leaning closer to my computer monitor and squinting. “Does that say…?”

Her voice trails off as she leans forward off of my desk, stepping around beside my chair, and from her demeanor I immediately know that something’s up.

“Justin, have you done any inputs on my program since Thursday?” Brooke asks, looking to a guy seated across the room at the desk in front of hers.

“None,” he replies with a shake of his head, pushing back in his chair and rising to stand. “What’s up?”

Brooke moves away from me and to her own desk, taking a seat and clicking around furiously on her computer screen as Justin moves to stand behind her and watch. Theo’s across the room chatting with Erin, but he takes notice and starts making his way over, too.

“What’s going on?” I ask, slowly rising from my computer chair. It suddenly feels tense in the hub as the rest of the IT staff stops what they’re doing to see what the commotion is all about.

“Someone get Denver on the line,” Brooke snaps, and Carly pops up from her chair, moving to the back of the room and turning on the large monitor situated on the wall above the conference table.

“Is there any way it could be a glitch?” Justin asks, still watching Brooke’s computer screen over her shoulder.

“That’s what we need to find out,” Brooke replies simply, spinning in her chair to face the monitor that Carly turned on.

Right as I glance up at it, the video chat connects, a girl appearing on the screen. She looks to be a few years older than me, with the prettiest dark eyes, caramel skin tone, and light brown curls. She’s a dead ringer for Zendaya- I’m immediately struck by how stunning she is.

“Hey, Astrid,” Brooke greets, wheeling her desk chair a little closer as the rest of us hang back.

“Hey!” the girl-Astrid, evidently- chirps back, a bright smile on her face. “To what do I owe the pleasure? Not that I don’t love hearing from you, of course…”

Brooke leans forward in her chair, clasping her hands together. “Have you guys input anything new into the tracer program since last week?”

Astrid shakes her head, soft curls bouncing around her face. “No, nothing. Why, what’s going on?”

“Can you pull it up on your end?” Brooke asks. She looks nervous- whatever’s going on, it can’t be good.

“Sure,” Astrid breathes, turning to a computer that can’t be seen from the video feed. She clicks around for a few moments, frowning.

Brooke frowns, too. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“Yeah,” Astrid nods. “They’re moving east.”

“Not all of them, but definitely some of the heavy hitters,” Brooke agrees. “Southeast, which means…”

“Denver.” Astrid finishes, looking back into the camera. “Maybe they did get our location in that server hack after all.”

A silence falls over us and there’s a tension that can be felt both in the IT hub and from the video feed of Denver.

“If that’s true, they’re still a ways out,” Brooke finally says, breaking the silence. “We’ll need to continue monitoring the situation to see if they keep moving.”

Astrid nods slowly.

Theo moves beside Brooke, setting a hand on her shoulder and speaking up. “Like I told your Alpha the last time we were there, if it’s Denver they’re headed for, we’ve got your back.”

On the video screen, Astrid presses her lips together into a tight line, giving another curt nod. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let’s just keep monitoring and keep each other informed.”

“Sounds good,” Brooke agrees. She gives Astrid a little wave. “Talk to you soon.”

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