Page 71 of Jax

“Shit,” I hissed, a hand grappling me as I withered on the step.

“Shit is right.” I heard the deep, malicious tone of Mint hovering above me. He had his hands propped on his hips, eyes downright fierce as they pinned me to the stairs. I felt like a naughty child all over again. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“Um... I was thinking about fixing the stairs?”

“With your face?” Mint didn’t look convinced, and even I had to admit, it was a pathetic excuse.

The big guy rolled his green eyes before he grumbled some more shit and reached down to pluck me from my position on the floor. He did it with ease that I had once been blissfully unaware of before Jax had dumped three big brothers on my doorstep.

“You nearly broke your ribs, for Christ sake, V,” Mint grumbled, setting me down on Pretty’s bench, where all his books were scattered.

“I know,” I grumbled, looking down at his scuffed, dirty boots. “You’ve told me a thousand times already.”

I didn’t mean to add the last part, and the silence that followed was heavy. Fuck, I’d have done anything to have the chair swallow me right then. It was like I had reverted to my teenage years and I was getting caught sneaking out the house.

“Lighten up on her, Mint.” Pretty peaked from around the doorway.

Coward.

“She’s bored as hell.” Pretty shrugged. “We can’t keep her cooped up forever.”

“It’s not forever,” Mint grumbled. “It’s until her ribs heal properly. You bump them again before they’re fixed, and you’ll have a broken one, not a bruised one.” He wagged his finger between the both of us. “That hurts a hell of lot worse.”

When Jax had told me that Mint was the quiet one, I managed to confirm a theory of mine.

Jax is a lying bastard.

I rolled my eyes, and Mint must have a pair in the back of his head or something, because his head snapped back to me with such a speed, I almost screamed. Not to mention that expression.

If looks could kill….

“But she’s driving me crazy. I get Jax said we had to keep an eye on her, but that doesn’t mean we have to do it here. We could take her to the clubhouse, so she can bother someone else?”

“Jeez, thanks, Pretty,” I grumbled, sulking.

“Come on, V. You know I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Your looks won’t work on me, traitor,” I hissed.

“In that case, swing those eyes my way, baby boy.” A sweet, sharp voice came from inside the house, and not just me, but the two brothers froze with an undeniable expression of dread.

“Hello, boys,” Anna swaggered out of the threshold and onto the back porch, patting Pretty’s arm on her way out. The small blonde had the two men take a quick retreating step, eyes weary and body on guard.

Her baby blue eyes, dolled with dark makeup to match the corset, showing off the assets that would make any dairy cow jealous. Though I wasn’t sure that they’d appreciate the leather black leggings that sank into a pair of well-worn red boots as much. “I heard my services were needed?”

“No,” Mint snapped. He was already over by Anna’s side, arms on her shoulders, pushing her toward the door, not even hiding the fact he didn’t want either of us anywhere near each other. Anna was a bad influence, or so I was told. On multiple occasions. By multiple people.

“I have permission, asshole.” She pinched him, sharp and quick and he dropped her as if she’d bitten him. He held the wounded hand to his chest, keeping the glare.

“I don’t believe you.” Mint raised a dark eyebrow, and I sat watching the exchange as Anna reached down into her cleavage and pulled out a dark phone. Damn. I wouldn’t be able to hold a pencil between my tits, never mind a cell.

“That’s harsh, but here you go.” Anna’s long nail flicked across the phone, dialing in what must have been a one-thousand-digit code before turning the screen toward Mint.

Paranoid, much?

The huge man bent forward, minimizing the tall difference between himself and the petite woman. His brows furred as he scrutinized the screen for a long while before he righted himself.

“The number matches,” Mint grumbled. “I still don’t get why Jax would let you girls go out. I’m calling him to double-check as soon as I get a chance, you get that, right?”

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