Page 32 of Jax

“Don’t sass me, woman,” I grunted, sticking my tongue out at her. “I’m going to need it.”

* * *

Five hours later, I was proved right. Unfortunately, I had a high tolerance for alcohol and the vodka might as well have been water as I was cruising down the main road in Hunter’s brand-new cage I had to pay for last week, wishing that I was still drunk as the girls’ singing rang through my ears.

“Can I go bury myself in a hole yet?” I asked, turning to Mallory in the passenger seat, chuckling to herself as she watched the girls. At least I had one semi-sober.

“Pineapples!” She broke out into a fit of giggles and I realized that perhaps I was alone on our journey home.

Whatever Mallory meant must have been an inside joke, because the whole rear end of the car shook as the girls broke out into hilarious fits of laughter, tears ruining their panda eyes and running mascara.

Mallory, Anna, Baby, and Georgia were living it up, and I was slowly dying.

Girls’ night sucked.

“Why me?” I whimpered, slamming my head into the steering wheel as we pulled up to a red light.

I watched in the rearview mirror as a black Jeep pulled up behind us, noticing Anna’s blonde hair, which stuck up in all sorts of directions thanks to the bar fight she’d be in. Some girl had made a comment that set all sorts of red lights in Anna’s eyes. According to Mallory, it had been something that made Anna think of Ash, and I didn’t push for an explanation after that. Anna had her problems she was working through and there was nothing we could do to help.

“Because you didn’t tell us that you’re a hot cowboy!” Mallory screeched into my ear, and at 4 a.m., that was not what I wanted to hear.

“Would you sleep with me if I’d told you that when I met you?”

I met Mallory on the same day as Hunter, having carted his truck over three state lines to pick up his hot-as-fuck baby momma and nephew.

“No,” Mallory scoffed. “Look but don’t touch has always been my motto.”

I couldn’t help my laugh at that one. If anybody heard Mallory’s life story, they’d soon learn that that quote was most certainlynotMallory’s motto. She could have saved herself a lot of trouble if it had been.

“Getting back to point.” Anna popped her head between us, looking frighteningly clear-headed as she stared at me through the rearview mirror. “When do we get to meet your mysterious girl?”

“You don’t,” I replied, cutting her off with a little more abruptness than I’d have liked.

Mallory looked at me like my eyes had fallen out of my head. Okay, maybe it was a bit more than I had intended.

“All right, whatever.” Anna waved her hands in defense, and thankfully, the light turned green and I put my foot down, forcing Anna to sit back.

Georgia and Baby watched the interaction but otherwise didn’t interfere. Where Mallory and Anna were old ladies in this club, which in some twisted way, gave them a free pass for sticking their head in my business and giving me shit for it, the club girls didn’t have the same luxury. Drunk or not, they understood that.

I took a turn toward the club and became very aware that the black Jeep that I’d seen at the lights had made every single turn we had. This was a small town and although it was possible that it was just coincidence, I had a bad feeling that it wasn’t.

“Mallory, call Hunter,” I said, keeping my eyes on the road as I pressed my foot down slow and steady on the gas. Anna’s head snapped one hundred and eighty degrees around, spotting the black Jeep behind us. Fortunately, the windows were tinted so they couldn’t see her suspicious activity.

“Shit,” she hissed, Baby and Georgia turning to look themselves.

“Who the fuck are these geezers?” Georgia snarled.

“No one good,” I growled, glaring at the car as it matched my urging speed. “Tell Hunter to have the gates open and ready,” I commanded to Mallory.

She was speaking fast into the phone and after Mallory repeated my message, she turned back to me, her red hair stuck to her damp face, eyes wide with worry. “Hunter said what’s up?”

I looked to each girl in the car as I saw the crossroad coming up ahead. “Y’all better hold on to something.”

Gravity lifted our stomachs as the girls tipped to one side; the right side of the car lifted from the ground as we swung around the corner, nearly sending us rolling into a building. I caught the breaks just in time and the jerk slammed us back onto all fours and shoved us forward.

I grunted at the impact, my foot jerking against the pedal. We were picking up speed but although the Jeep behind us was lagging, it made up for it due to the sheer size and weight of Hunter’s car.

I put all my knowledge into play as we swerved around corners, cut through wide alleyways, and blew past every red light.

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