Page 28 of One Good Crash
After all, he'd threatened the limo driver, too. And he hadn't been bluffingthattime.
Desperately, I looked to Tabitha and said, "Well, obviously, he was speaking metaphorically." I forced a nervous laugh. "I mean, he wouldn'treallybreak your arm."
I looked to Jax and waited. For what, I wasn't sure. For him to say that I was right? Or to inform me that I was wrong?
If Jax were a normal guy, he'd simply explain that his threat was mere hyperbole, like,"I'll kill you if you eat that last cupcake."
But he didn't say anything remotely like that. In fact, he didn't say anything at all, even as he turned the full force of his gaze on me. Under his intense scrutiny, I felt myself squirm, and I had to ask myself a very disturbing question.
What if hewasn'tjoking? What if hewoulddo such a thing?
What kind of person would he be? A hero? Or a villain?
I had no good answer, which of course, had me questioning my own ethics. They must be seriously slipping because the answer should've been easy. Nobody but a villain would make good on that threat.
Finally, it was Tabitha who broke the uneasy silence by telling Jax, "I know who you are."
With his gaze still locked on mine, he replied, "No. You don't."
Undaunted, she insisted, "Sure, I do. You're Jax Bishop." Her voice became nearly breathless. "And this isyourhouse. Am I right?"
My gaze snapped in her direction. This couldn’t be his house. Oh, sure, he was obviously wealthy. I'd guessedthatalready. Butthiswealthy? I couldn’t even imagine.
When he made no reply, Tabitha sidled closer to him and whispered, "I hear the bedrooms are fabulous."
Oh, God.She wasn't going to –
And then, she did.
In a voice filled with all kinds of innuendo, she said, "If you wanted to show me one, I wouldn't say no."
And with that, my humiliation was complete.
I glanced around and was mortified to see the redhead watching with obvious satisfaction. When she saw me looking, she gave me a smug smile before turning to whisper something to the socialite standing next to her. The woman's only reply was a loud snicker.
Well, at least someone was having a jolly good time.
When I looked back to Jax, he was staring straight at my aunt. If nothing else, she had his full attention.
With a sultry smile, she gave a little shimmy. "Well?"
He didn't smile back. "One minute."
I felt my eyebrows furrow.One minute for what?
My aunt giggled. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah," he said. "You heard me before."
She blinked. "Sorry, what?"
"I gave you two minutes," he said. "And one of them's gone."
She glanced around. "But wait—"
"Which means," he interrupted, "you've got about sixty seconds to get the hell out."
"But I can't leave," she said. "I don't have a ride."
