Chapter 30 #2
Biting my lip, I fight a grin at the twins’ antics and set to work cleaning his wounds.
Their immediate defense of me, their absolute certainty that none of this is my fault, makes my throat tight with emotion.
These men have my back without question.
I can’t believe I missed out on this bond for years, but I’ll be damned if I lose it now to the likes of Penelope.
I finish cleaning Knox’s cuts and apply small bandages to the deeper scratches. “There. Good as new.”
“Thanks, Alley cat.”
The old nickname wraps around my heart like a warm hug. I pack up the first aid kit and head back to my station to finish my shift.
Please, I send up a silent prayer to whatever gods might be listening as I fall back into the rhythm of making drinks. Please find a way to give us peace. Just for a little while.
Once the excitement has settled down, Jax and I go back to working, and while he smiles and chats with the tourists like nothing happened, I can see the tension in his shoulder. The unease in his smile that wasn’t there before.
Fucking Penelope. It seems she’s good at destroying other people’s peace.
In the middle of mixing up a cocktail, I notice him heading to the back to restock ice. I shake the drink hard and fast, pour it, and practically throw it at the customer before running after him. A few people waiting for drinks grumble in protest.
“Hey! We’ve been waiting!” some chick shouts.
Dammit. My steps slow, gaze lingering on the back, torn between going to Jax to make sure he’s okay and making sure that Maura’s customers are happy.
“Go,” a soft voice murmurs.
I glance at Bree. Her hair is pulled back in a no-nonsense bun and she’s barely wearing any makeup, but there’s no mistaking the fact that Bree is a knockout. She’d make a trash bag dress look like couture. But she’s shy and soft-spoken. The bar will eat her alive. “No, it’s okay, I’ll go back.”
“Callie,” she says, eyes narrowing slightly, the most emotion I’ve seen them have. “Just go talk to him. I’ll be okay for a few minutes.”
Indecision wars inside me, but my heart is aching for Jax, so even though I have no idea if she has experience behind the bar, I nod. “Okay. Five minutes and I’m back.” That’s probably too long as it is. The bar is flooded.
I turn and slip into the room with the ice machine, watching Jax shove the scoop into the bin with a tshhh and yank it right back out with more force than necessary.
The frozen water crashes into the bucket, a few pieces scatter on the floor but he doesn’t even react.
There’s a hard line between his eyebrows.
“I swear to god if you let that woman make you feel like shit I will kick your ass myself.”
Pausing, the scoop halfway dug into the mountain inside the ice bin, he glances at me. “I’m fine.”
“Uh-huh.” I cross my arms. “You can’t lie to me, Jaxon Williams.”
“Full name, huh?” he asks with a laugh. “Guess I’m in trouble.” He shoots me a smirk, but it’s half-hearted.
Closing the distance, I place my hand on his chest and hold his gaze. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m a bartender.”
“And?”
He frowns. “I’m not doing anything good with my life.”
“Jax, I wish you could see the man that I see.” My eyes shift between his, begging him to believe me. “You treat me like a princess. You help people when they need it. You protect your family when you need to. You are a good man.”
He starts to protest again, but I cut him off.
“Not to mention, you’re working to become a fire fighter. People don’t do that for fun, they do that because they want to save people. Is that someone who’s worthless?”
“Doesn’t sound like it,” he rasps.
“Exactly.” I give him a quick, hard kiss on the lips. “Don’t forget that, okay?” When I pull back, his irises are filled with emotions, but that self-loathing is gone. That’s all that matters.
There’s one other matter we need to settle. I ran into the captain and he told me Jax was still deciding, and I refuse to let him delay his career because of me. I know the dangers, I love that he cares, but if he lives his life in a bubble, he won’t really be living at all, now will he?
“You’re taking that job, Jax.”
“Is that an order?”
“Yes,” I murmur, kissing him again. “You’ve made the captain wait long enough. Take the job because you’re good at it, and most of all, because you deserve it, Jax.”
Nodding, he says, “All right, Callie. I’ll take the job.”
Beaming at him, I kiss him again, sighing when I hear people shouting up front. I break away before we get carried away. “If I had it my way, we’d leave right now, but the bar is nuts and Maura would blow a gasket.”
“I’ll be right up.” He drops the ice into the bucket and goes right back for another.
“See you out there,” I tell him with a wink, swatting his ass and smirking when he sends me a heated, warning look. I spin on my heel and hightail it for the door.
“Callie,” he calls.
Pausing, hand on the threshold, I look over my shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Thanks for believing in me.”
“I’ve always believed in you,” I say with a shrug. “I’ve just been waiting for you to realize how amazing you are.”
He smiles, the weight lifting off his shoulders as a blush crawls up his neck. Making him happy, taking care of his brothers, giving them all the love I can, that fills me with joy. He turns back to the ice, but the tension from before is gone and I can’t help feeling like I won the lottery.
Two big dudes are waiting at my end of the bar when I get back. Bree is busy helping some other tourists, so I check on them.
“Hey, what are you drinking?”
“Two lagers.” The bulkier one with a shaved head slides a hundred across the bar. “And some information if you have it.”
Wariness creeps up my spine. “I’m not sure if I’ll be any help.” I don’t take their cash, not until I know what they’re after.
“Do you know Theo Martin?”
“Why?” I scowl. “Are you reporters?”
“Reporters,” the bald one says with a laugh. “No, sweetheart, we’re not reporters. We’re looking for Theo though. You’re his girlfriend, right?”
“Ex,” I say quickly, voice firm. “Ex-girlfriend. I don’t know where he is”—a half lie—“and frankly, I want nothing to do with whatever this is. Theo’s problems are his own.”
They study me. The guy who hasn’t said a word makes me bristle, but I cross my arms and wait them out. I have no useful information for them.
Jax wraps an arm around my waist and kisses my cheek. “You okay, babe?”
I am now. The two guys trade looks, and the bald guy pushes the money toward us. “Thanks for your time.” They leave without their beers, and I don’t bother calling them back. Whatever trouble Theo is in, that’s his problem.
“What was that about?”
“Theo. They’re looking for him.”
He hums and squeezes me. “Hope they find him,” he mutters under his breath.
I extract myself from his hold with a laugh and grab the cash, tucking it in my apron. Honestly, I kind of hope those dudes find Theo too because he deserves an ass kicking. “Back to work,” I tell him as customers start to shout for our attention.
“Yes, ma’am.” Jax winks at me, and we fall back into our familiar rhythm. Soon enough, I’m too busy to worry about Penelope and those men. Concerns for another time.