Page 45 of Sins of Seduction
He slowed his car down when he saw the emergency personnel surrounding a black Mustang that looked an awful lot like the one Pierce drove. A ball of unease landed in the pit of his stomach when he remembered the last conversation he had with his longtime friend. The animosity he held for Pierce had been because of his feelings toward Raven, but if something happened to Pierce—Cruz didn’t want to think about the regret that would surely cripple him.
Cruz couldn’t see any damage to the Mustang from where he was on the road, and that settled him only momentarily. He stuffed down all the possibilities that would cause Pierce’s car to be on the side of the road, and he switched lanes again so he could pull up ahead of the cop cars and fire trucks that were pulled off to the side.
He caught a glimpse of Raven talking to one of the officers in an oversized hoodie and black leggings. He could tell from where he was that something had spooked her, and Cruz debated whether to keep on driving or get out and find out what was wrong.
“I’m going to regret this,” Cruz whispered and pulled his car over to park on the shoulder. He stepped out, making sure he had his badge on him, and walked toward the officers.
Raven must have felt him approach because her eyes snapped to him before briefly moving past him toward his car. She looked back at him, her eyes narrowing into tiny slits, and he could almost see the smoke coming out of her auburn curls.
Yeah, well, I’m not happy to be here either, Cruz thought as he approached.
“You stupid, son of a bitch,” Raven growled just as she launched herself at him. She moved too fast for the officer questioning her to catch but not fast enough that Cruz didn’t have time to brace himself.
He ducked, dodging the fist that came flying at his face. He caught her wrist and grabbed her other hand when she tried to claw his eyes out and pinned her arms to her side. She was tall for a woman, and instead of him towering over her, he was staring into the fire pools of her eyes. There was no mistaking her intent, she wanted to skin him alive and then pour salt on the wounds.
“Have we moved on from verbal sparring to physical sparring and I didn’t get the memo?” Cruz could feel her anger grow, and he couldn’t understand why she was ready to tear him in two.
“Hard to spar when you have my hands pinned to my body. What’s the matter, Cruz? Afraid of a girl?” He heard the taunt in her tone, but it did shit to mask the venom coating her words.
He knew the second he let her go she was going to go for his neck, and when he glanced around, he noticed none of the other emergency personnel helped contain her. They all had either amused looks on their faces or wary ones.
Raven reared her head back like she was going to smash her face into his, and Cruz’s hold on her tightened. “I wouldn’t, Rave. It’ll hurt you more than it will hurt me, and it’ll ruin your pretty face.”
Cruz heard the sound of a car pulling up close to him. He heard the doors slam shut, but it was the voice that spoke that made him drop his hold on Raven immediately.
“What the fuck is going, Cruz?”
Jax was out of the car before Greyson even put it in park. He flexed his hands, trying to control the emotions coursing through his body at that moment. He’d been scared out of his mind when Raven told him the brakes on his car had given out. His mind spiraled, knowing how disastrous things could have turned out. Even though she called him and let him know she was physically fine, his mind wouldn’t accept it as the truth, at least not until he saw her with his own eyes.
It had taken Jax two tries before he could get his hands to stop shaking and call Greyson to come get him. He wanted to reach out to Cruz, but considering how they ended things, he wasn’t sure he’d pick up let alone be willing to drive out here. Though, given that he was currently staring down at Cruz, maybe his old friend should have been his first call.
The fear Jax had felt early on seemed to be replaced with a fiery anger as he watched Cruz quickly let go of Raven and take a step back. Whatever Jax had driven up on made his hands clenched into fists as he took a step toward Cruz.
Greyson stepped in front of Jax, cutting off his path. “Let’s not have a repeat of the station.” He gently shoved Pierce back, and Jax looked at him briefly before his gaze shifted toward Raven. The relief that flooded through him nearly made him stumble.
She was fine and in one piece.
He whispered her name and opened his arms for her. She closed the distance between them with quick and sure steps, throwing herself into Jax’s embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling her warmth seep into his bones.
She’s fine.
He kissed the top of her head, and when she pulled back, her eyes were bright, glistening with tears she wasn’t ready to let go of yet. “I’m sorry about your car,” she whispered to him.
Jax let out a pained laugh. “You could have thrown my Mustang in the river for all I cared, so long as you’re fine. The car’s replaceable.” He cupped her face, pressing his lips towards hers, his body needing to taste her. She kissed him back, slow at first and then an urgency took over that he understood—the need to feel something other than fear, but now wasn’t the time to find ways to chase away her dark clouds.
Jax pulled back, remembering what he’d driven up on. He looked back at Cruz who rolled his eyes before crossing his arms over his chest. Jax could practically feel the slick comment coming off of Cruz’s tongue, but whatever Greyson whispered in his ear made him think better of it. “What did I walk in on? Why did Cruz have his hands on you?” Jax tried to keep his voice even, but the fact that Cruz thought to even touch her after Jax put his fist in Cruz’s face made him see blood.
Raven completely pulled out of his hold and turned to face Cruz. “The dipshit tried to run me off the road.”
The air around them chilled, and even though they were outside, there was a quiet that settled over the group as everyone turned to face Cruz. Raven could feel Jax’s anger seeping off of his skin. It was the only thing that warmed her against the chill in the air. His anger matched hers; she still wanted to wrap her hands around Cruz’s throat and claw his eyes out as he stood there looking at her like she had lost her ever-loving mind.
That fear Raven felt when she couldn’t get the car to stop and then seeing his black car get close enough that she thought for sure he was going to push Jax’s Mustang off the side of the road choked her. She wouldn’t have been able to stop the car then—worse, she might have flipped and got hurt, but that was probably what he wanted. The only thing that saved her was the sounds of the sirens before he sped off and she caught a glimpse of his license plate.
“Did they check to see if you were drunk or high?” Cruz grounded out just as Greyson stepped in front of him, like that was going to stop anyone, herself included, from launching herself at him again. “Is that why you attacked me when I walked over here? I didn’t do shit,” he snapped.
She should have kneed him in the nuts when she had the chance, but she’d been caught off guard by his pretty face remark. Cruz had never said anything remotely nice or acknowledged her attractiveness, and while he was probably being a dipshit when he called her pretty, it still wasn’t something he would have done.
Maybe he’s the one who’s drunk and high.
