Fighter

Her friends rushed to block her from view and help her, cursing at Haley, but Haley didn’t seem to mind. She drew up next to me with a satisfied smirk. This was how it had been when Jax and I were dating. Oh, I had not missed this.

Jax leaned over, still holding me securely in front of him, and rested his chin on my shoulder.

“Hey, Haley,” he said, and a good whiff of liquor came with his words. I wrinkled my nose.

Haley saw my reaction and chuckled again. Reaching into her purse, she took out a mint and held it up for Jax. “Congratulations on the big win.”

He took the mint and popped it in, wrapping his arm once again around me. “Thanks. I didn’t have to throw it or anything.”

“Now you just have to go to jail, huh?” She gave me a look.

“Yeah. I just want to celebrate a little bit,” he said. His hand spread out and slipped under my shirt.

Crap. He was drunk. It wasn’t illegal for him to be drunk, but it didn’t look good.

His fingers began rubbing back and forth over my stomach, and he nuzzled under my ear. One of his fingers dipped down, nestling inside my waistband. My body heat had gone up a notch as he began nibbling my skin, but when his finger dipped into my jeans, a furnace came on full blast. I started fanning myself.

Haley watched all of this with her lips pressed together. She disapproved. I didn’t care. I couldn’t care. What this man could do with a simple touch was beyond me.

“Yeah, well, now you just have to deal with Dale’s family,” she told him.

My family. My brothers. Jail.

The reminder cooled me right off, and I gave Haley a thankful look.

She harrumphed. “I figured.”

She wasn’t talking to Jax. That was meant for me, and I knew exactly what she meant. She knew we’d been intimate over the weekend.

I leaned away from Jax’s searching mouth. “What? You can’t blame me. Hello? You and Dylan. He’s my brother.”

“I haven’t jumped into the sack with your brother,” she said. Her cheeks grew pink. “And it’s called flirting.” She waved a finger at us. Jax caught the tip of my earlobe in his teeth. “That’s way beyond flirting, Dale. You can’t even lie to me about that.”

I snorted. “Not yet. You haven’t gotten into bed with my brother yet.” I ignored the rest. Jax now pressed kisses over my cheek, searching for my lips, and I struggled to maintain control.

Haley groaned, pressing her fingers to her temples. “You’re right. I’m being all judgey, but seriously, your brothers are coming here. They thought you’d take him straight to jail, and since you haven’t, they’re coming to do it themselves.”

I sighed. One more chase. Then I shook my head. Fuck it.

Jax felt my decision as my body tensed, and he lifted his head. His gaze was lidded. “What? What’s going on?”

I pulled away, took his hand, and began leading him through the crowd. Haley followed us.

Jax’s hands went to my hips. He didn’t stop me, he just weaved with me, keeping that intimate hold. When we’d pushed through the main crowd, he leaned forward and asked, “Where are we going?”

“You…” I squeezed one of his hands. “…are going to jail. Then I’ll bond you out myself afterward.”

He groaned, but didn’t fight. “I’m drunk. Jail is very sobering. This is going to suck.”

“Yeah, well.” I didn’t say anything else, but the sooner he got in, the sooner he could get out. That was my way of thinking.

Haley held her hand out. “Give me the keys.”

“For what?” She was going to help us? Again?

She lifted her eyebrows. “The keys. What car is it?”

Slowly I took them out of my bag. “You know Dylan’s going to get pissed that you’re helping.”

Haley looked down at the ground, giving me the answer I’d already known: he had been pissed. But she looked back, her chin set firmly. “Give me the keys. They’ll know you had to have parked away from Sally’s. And someone called and told them they saw you guys walking down Sixth Street, so they’re waiting for you. They’re going to block you in and make a circle. They figure you can’t fight all of them off.”

I grunted. Jax was drunk. Who knew what he would do. I didn’t relish the idea of him fighting one of my brothers, but I knew the old Jax would’ve come out swinging if he was cornered. Reluctantly, I put the keys in her hand. “It’s the black Camaro parked two blocks up.”

“Which one?”

“The only one.”

“Oh.” She ducked her head. “Got it. Okay. Be back and be ready to jump in Dukes of Hazzard style.”

Oh boy.

As she took off, Jax frowned. “Dukes of what?”

I patted his arm. “Just be ready to leap when I tell you.”

He nodded. “Got it.” A determined look passed over his features, and he lowered his head like a bull ready to charge. “Where do we go?”

“Onward.”

We hadn’t gotten far when Dylan stepped out from behind a car, stun gun drawn. He wore the whole get-up: his black bulletproof vest with his badge hanging around his neck.

I smirked. “For real? The stun gun?”

He pressed the button, letting the electricity spark, and flashed me a look. “It’s up to you. You’re going in too, sister.”