Page 77 of Roots of the Wicked

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Chase

If he licked his lips at Jax one more time, he was going to find out I was more than a suit. I glanced at Jax who appeared oblivious to the longing in TK’s eyes, and his obvious interest in her. She tolerated him because he spoke her language.

The team my father had working on the situation hadn’t turned up any suspects either, but like Jax and TK, they managed to keep eyes on all the major networks in an effort to prevent anything else from being leaked.

“So, baby, dinner tomorrow? I’ll make you whatever you want,” I said to Jax as I spied him in my peripheral.

The way his jaw flexed, I could tell I was getting on his nerves. Good.

Jax covered my hand with hers, and I could feel my smile deepening. Her pretty little purple-nailed fingers wrapped around mine before she squeezed.

“I would like that, but we should be careful around these media hounds from hell. God forbid they find out who I am and latch on to me too.”

My lips parted, ready to continue talking with my woman, but TK interrupted again.

“J, look at this. He did a digital sweep to hide his trail, but his broom is broken because I see right through the shit.”

“J? Who the hell was J?” No, he hasn’t given my woman a nickname.

“Didn’t know your nickname was J, Jax. It doesn’t suit you,” I told her while my eyes were locked on TK’s.

She let my hand go and walked around to his side of the table. Concentrating on something on his screen, she stared above his shoulder. He had stolen her attention again, and it had my blood boiling in my veins. When he glanced at me with a smirk, it took everything in me not to punch his lights out.

“I was talking before you rudely interrupted me,” I told him. I was coiled with so much tension, I was ready to rip out the jerk’s spine. Jax and I had enough outside influences threatening our relationship, we didn’t need want-to-be boyfriends adding to the confusion.

“And I’m here attempting to find the asshole who intends to mess up Jax’s life, which is more than you’re obviously doing. Is there a specific reason for you being here?”

I shoved an angry finger in his face. “You have some fucking nerve asking me what I’m doing here. I’m here to check on my girlfriend, and it’s a good thing I did. The way you’re eye-balling her, she appears to be in the midst of being bitten by a rabid stray.”

“It’s not me she has to worry about,” TK responded. “You’re so fucking thirsty, I wouldn’t be surprised if you planned this whole thing just to keep your claws in her. I’m sick of you rich assholes thinking you can do anything you want and get away with it.”

We both leaned across the table, like two snarling wolves, ready to rip each other’s throat’s out.

“And I wouldn’t be surprised if you set this up to get her attention. You’re probably sitting there covering your own trail right now.” I pointed an accusing finger at the laptop sitting in front of him.

Jax walked around TK and stood between the two of us.

“Guys, cool it. I don’t need the two of you bickering. It’s my fucking life on the verge of falling apart.” She huffed out, folding her arms over her chest. Five days had passed, and although nothing else had gotten leaked, tracking down the suspect was proving more difficult than we expected.

Jax focused her attention on me. “Chase, TK’s help in finding this drone spying bastard is invaluable.”

At those words, TK’s smirk grew deeper as one of his eyebrows twitched. I wanted to knock that brow clean off is face.

Jax turned and focused her attention on TK. “Chase is my boyfriend, TK, so he has a right to be around me.”

“Thank you baby.” I couldn’t contain my smirk. Hearing her refer to me as her boyfriend was a dramatic step up in our relationship, and I loved the sound of those words coming from her mouth.

After fifteen minutes of listening to them peck the hell out of their keyboards, I prepared to leave my woman with a man who clearly wanted her.

When I glanced at her and was met with a sincere smile, I knew she wouldn’t cross the line with the flea-infested stray sitting across from her. However, it wasn’t her that I was worried about. I realized I was distracting Jax, but a part of me didn’t want her alone with TK. He was just the type to poison her mind and have her thinking I was involved in the drone situation. If he could do half of what she claimed he could on a computer, he could certainly make it appear that I was.

She walked me to the door. I left her with a passion-laced kiss, I’m sure TK hated, and made no attempt to acknowledge him as I walked out.

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