Fighter

“For what?”


He gestured to Jax with the stun gun. “Aiding and abetting a criminal, that’s what.”

Jax looked around. Dylan wasn’t alone. Dean brought up the rear, walking right in the middle of the road. He struck an imposing figure since he was three times the size of all of us. The people walking to their cars from Sally’s now realized something big was going down. When they saw it involved Jax, they began to shout.

“Shit’s going down!”

Someone else yelled, “Pulverize ‘em, Cutler.”

“You took down Monroe! These guys are nothing.”

“Come on, Jax!”

I felt Jax growing tense, pressed up next to me. I glanced down to see his hands in fists and his biceps flexing. He was getting ready to fight.

Oh dear.

Then it got worse. Word must’ve gotten back to the crowd at Sally’s, because a surge of people came sprinting from the parking lot down the block to us. They filled the sidewalks and started banging on the parked cars, slamming fists on hoods and slapping trunks.

“Let’s go! Another win, Jax.”

No one stepped out onto the street, so it was only Jax and me in the middle. Dean stood at one end, Dylan at the other and then, slowly, the rest of my brothers stepped out from the crowd to close in a circle around us.

David.

Daniel.

Derrick.

Damon.

Darren.

Darius.

I counted. Eight of them. Wait, the last one stepped out and closed the circle right next to Dylan: Deacon.

Jax grunted. “I knew you had a lot of brothers, but they’re a little scary when they’re all together.” He paused and let out a soft laugh. “Especially with you and me being on the other side of things.” He touched the back of my arm. “I’m sorry they’re being dicks to you.”

“I can handle myself,” I growled. They were going to arrest me too? They took out a warrant on their little sister? The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. That’s something we used as a threat, a ploy to get people talking—no one wanted to go to jail. But knowing they’d actually followed through and gotten a warrant on me? That was low.

I was going to bust my brothers up. “I could really use my Taser right about now…”

Jax cracked his knuckles. “No need, Doily. Let me handle this.”

“Wha—” He wasn’t going to take them all on....was he?

Nope. Jax was looking past my brothers to where a set of headlights bore down on them, coming fast. When Dylan didn’t seem to hear the car behind him, Jax shouted, “Watch out!”

Dylan, Deacon, and Damon all looked back at the same time, and they saw the same thing I did: my rented Camaro soaring right at them. The bass was going, and the engine revved.

Haley had really meant it about the the Dukes of Hazzard entry, and I turned to warn Jax, but I didn’t need to. He wrapped an arm around my waist as my brothers scattered, and the Camaro barreled toward us. Haley slowed down just enough for us to see both side doors open and ready. Jax threw me into the backseat, and as soon as his hands left my waist, he leapt for the front seat, slamming the door shut.

“Go!” I yelled, holding on to a seatbelt, and Haley jerked the tires around. There was enough room, just barely, for her to do a complete 180. Dylan and two of my other brothers had started into the street, but when they saw the Camaro coming back, they leaped out of the way again, and we sailed right past them.

I wound my window open and yelled Dylan’s name. When he looked up, I extended my middle finger. For good measure, I lifted my arm as high as I could and hollered, “Merry Christmas to you, too!”

Haley laughed as I pulled my arm back in. She slowed at the stoplight and turned right to travel to the police station. “That was the most dramatic escape ever to only go a few blocks, but it was awesome. I think your brothers are more pissed that they got outwitted by their little sister than anything else.”

“Male egos.”

“Hey.” Jax turned around. “Why do I feel like that was an insult?”

“Because it was.” I gave him a grin. “But you’re exempt. For a guy who should have an ego, you don’t.”

He laughed, turning back around. “I’ve messed up too much to get a big head.” He patted the dashboard. “Take us to jail, Haley. It’s a good day to wear orange.”

She barked out a laugh. “I don’t think you’ll have to wear orange. You shouldn’t be in there too long.”