Page 85 of Frenemies

“I can see why your father picked Chase to lead.”

The muscles in Jax’s back twitched as he stopped and cocked a brow back at me. “Careful little girl—”

“Why?” I sang and jumped back to my feet. “What are you going to do?”

A fraction of a second was all it took for Jax to spin around and puff his chest up against mine.

“Trust me,” he growled. “There’s plenty I can do.”

“Really?” I lifted my chin and snarled in his face, “Because all I see when I look at you is a scared little boy throwing a temper tantrum.”

His hand connected with my cheek, twisting my face to the side. It was a hard strike that caused a stinging burn to ring in my ears and sent a trickle of blood from the corner of my mouth, but I managed to stand my ground.

Jax snickered and walked away, waving his hand. “Take her.”

Harris reached out, seizing hold of me.

“Don’t touch me.” I tore my arm out of his grip and walked to the van my damn self.

I’d rather participate in my kidnapping than let any of them put their hands on me. Ava smiled at me like we were going to the circus while Bailey threw her arms around me the second I climbed in the van.

I rolled my eyes and patted her back. “Everything will be okay.”

They took a few more minutes to get loaded up. Tanner was dropped down in the back, and Jaz was kicked over next to me. I couldn’t help but snicker when a man with a face full of scratches waved a gun warily at Ava.

“Get over there.”

She looked up at him with a dead-serious expression on her face and said, “You shouldn’t play with guns. They’re dangerous.”

The bemused look on his face was the only thing I needed to get me through what was to come. The biggest mistake they could’ve made was piling my friend in here with us.

Riding in a van with Ava was like walking across an active minefield with a blindfold. They just better hope Chase found us first cause there was no telling what Ava would do.

“Buckle up, kids,” Jax stepped up in front of the open side doors. “We’re in for a long ride.”

Jaz narrowed her eyes on him. “Tell me something, Cory. When exactly did you go from asshole to douchebag?”

“The day you walked into my life Claire,” he sang back. “Don’t think our past friendship buys you any favors.”

It hadn’t occurred to me that Jaz knew Jax, but she had grown up with them. I guess it was a good thing she was here. At least she knew the guy.

“I was never your friend.”

“Hmm,” Jax pulled out a pistol and pressed it to Jaz’s head. “Good to know.”

Bang.

Louis Kessler was the last person I thought I’d ever relate to, but as it turned out, we had quite a bit in common. We both had issues with our old men, who had thrust us into a position of power at a young age.

At least I could say I was an adult when I became Prez. Louis’s balls had barely dropped when he took the throne. That didn’t mean I liked the guy anymore—he was still an arrogant prick—I just understood him a little better.

“What exactly are you asking me to do here?” We’d spent the last hour or so going over what he expected from me, which I still wasn’t sure on—what the fuck did a wolf do?

“Well,” Louis sat back and forward and folded his hands on the table. “You would have to cast your vote at meetings and back us up should we ever call you in on something.”

The meetings I could live with. I could do that shit over video call—it was the other part I had an issue with.

“When you say back you up?”

---