Page 102 of Jax

“Me.”

The whole room stilled. Eyes were wide, mouths dropped, and bodies turned to stone.

Prez is going to be bait?

“You got to be fucking kidding?”I yelled, launching myself out of my seat with such speed, my chair went flying and crashed into the brother standing behind me.

I didn’t give a shit at his pained groan; my eyes were too busy being fixed on my president. His eyes didn’t stray from the edges of the room. They were steady, scanning over the faces of the other club members as if I hadn’t just exploded.

My hands slammed hard on the glass, shy of enough force to smash the thing. “Wolf!”

“What do you want me to say, Jax?” Wolf sighed, and in a steady, smooth turn met my gaze with even, clear eyes.

“That you’re joking right now!” I snapped, the heat rising to the front of my chest. “You’ve got a kid at home. A woman. A club relying on you to lead them. What if something happens?”

“Jax,” Hunter’s deep voice warned in my ear, a hand going on my shoulder. I was aware of Pretty standing up next to me as well, his arms twitching at his side as if they could hold me back if needed.

“You just going to abandon Anna? After all the shit you put her through?”

Wolf’s face went red. He flew up from his chair, the heavier, bulkier thing managing to stay upright as it went flying backward. It wasn’t as loud as my own explosion, but Wolf’s held more weight as he rose to his full height, back straight and dark eyes looking down on me like I was nothing more than an ignorant child.

“Do you think I am weak?” Wolf pushed around his brothers as he came toward me. His footsteps were like a rumbling thunder as the others cleared out of his way. Even Hunter stepped away as the president came through.

“It’s not a matter of—” I tried to argue, but his deep Russian voice cut me off.

“Do you think they will get the better of me?”

“No, bu—”

“Do you think I’m a coward?”

“Of course not!” I exclaimed, not backing down as Wolf came chest to chest with me. His beard almost in my face as he was more than a head taller than me. He made me feel tiny and fragile underneath his heavy, domineering glare. I couldn’t stop his intimidating aura pinning my body down at the floor. “I just—”

“Just think I should put one of my brothers in danger in my stead? Because I’m more important? Because my life is worth more than theirs?” Wolf’s fat finger pointed around the room, and my eyes followed it, at each brother looking on with unease and uncertainty as Wolf handed down the law to me.

“No!”I snapped back, shaking free of his hold on me and shoved at his chest. Fucker didn’t even move an inch. “But we’re a team, asshole!” I shoved again, and this time, he at least had the curtesy to take a step back. “We don’t want to sacrifice you either! Not when you’ve got a family to go back to. Not when there’s people who need you more. Let me be the bait! Let me do this for the club.”

“So, your girl’s not worth going back to then?” Wolf frowned, his heavy glare gone, but an even more snide and dissatisfied one in its place.

“That’s not it,” I hissed. I turned across the room to see the one empty chair in the middle of Pres and Hunter… the one that had been empty for a long few years. And then my gaze went to my brother beyond the club and beyond blood. Hunter frowned at my heavy gaze, his green eyes and dark hair shaking in confusion.

I looked back to president. “There’s been too many kids who’ve lost their dads,” I confessed. “I don’t want to see another one.”

Wolf’s head snapped over his shoulder to the chair I had stared at, and at that point I saw that Wolf got it. Got the point I was trying to make.

Silence flooded the room and every brother looked down at the chair with bowed heads and a moment of quiet as they regarded Noble’s chair. Our lost brother. Lost but not forgotten.

“You idiot,” Wolf grumbled, his hands tugging down the length of his face and beard before he turned back to me.

Whatever atmosphere had overtaken the room dissipated as Wolf’s hand extended out and the heavy thing dropped hard on my shoulder.

“That doesn’t change my decision. They want me for executing one of their members. I’m still going to be bait.”

I opened my mouth, ready to raise my verbal and physical fists, until Wolf’s huge hand gave me a painful, hard squeeze.

“But you’re misunderstanding something.” Wolf smirked. “I’d never said I’d be going in alone.”

“What?” I choked, confused at the amused expression my president was pulling. “What are you—”

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