Chapter 17
DRIFT
The door clicked shut behind Alanna, sealing her inside before the storm outside broke loose. I stepped off the porch, the boards creaking under my feet, and Jax’s fist slammed into my jaw.
The hit snapped my head to the side, and I tasted copper instantly. It rolled over my tongue, sharp and metallic. I didn’t move for a second—just let the shock of it settle, my jaw tight and my eyes fixed on the man who’d thrown the punch.
The air between us pulsed with fury, heavy as the humidity rolling off the ocean.
Jax’s chest heaved under his black tee, his shoulders squared and muscles rigid. His expression was fury carved in stone—eyes narrowed and teeth bared. The veins in his neck stood out like cords under his skin. He looked like a man seconds away from breaking every rule he’d ever lived by.
Kane stood a few feet away, leaning against one of the porch posts, his arms crossed, watching like a man who’d seen this play out too many times.
He wasn’t smiling. But he wasn’t stopping the fight either.
He knew we needed to burn some of this off before either of us would be able to think straight again.
His stance was relaxed in that deceptively calm way that meant he was ready to intervene if this went nuclear.
I dragged my thumb across my mouth, smearing the thin line of blood from my lip. My voice came out low and even. “Feel better?”
Jax’s glare sharpened. “Not even close.”
He swung again—harder this time—but I was ready. I caught his wrist midair, the impact reverberating through my arm. My fingers locked around his forearm like a vise. I could’ve snapped it if I’d wanted to, but I didn’t. Alanna would be fucking pissed.
“I let you have the first one,” I warned quietly. “You throw another, and I’ll give it back.”
Jax yanked free, his chest rising fast, every breath edged with rage. “You were supposed to protect her, Drift. Not fuck her!”
My blood boiled, but I kept my expression locked down. “First, don’t ever fucking talk like that about her again. Second, she’s not a kid anymore. She doesn’t need protecting from me.”
“She needs to be protected from the world you live in!” he shouted, taking a step forward, fists curling again.
“She can handle it, Jax,” I retorted fiercely. “What does Lark have that Alanna doesn’t? Why do you insist on seeing her as weak? As a child?”
Jax clearly didn’t like the logic in my statement, and he practically spat his next words. “You know what kind of enemies we have. You think you can keep her safe when you’re the target half the time?”
“Watch it.” My tone was flat, but my pulse quickened.
“Why? You think I’m wrong?” His laugh was bitter. “You’re a walking fucking weapon, Drift. You destroy everything you touch. And you brought her into that.”
That tore something loose inside me. I didn’t think—I just moved. My fist connected with his cheekbone, the sound cracking through the salt-heavy air. His head snapped back, a spray of spit and blood catching the light.
Kane exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his beard as he muttered, “And there it is.”
Jax staggered, his eyes wild, and lunged again. We collided hard, grappling on the packed sand. Both of us held back just enough not to kill each other. There was too much history between us for that—too much loyalty tangled up in the anger.
When my knuckles caught his ribs, he grunted and came back with a punch to my gut that stole the air from my lungs. We broke apart, both breathing hard, the wind carrying our curses across the beach.
“This ends now!” Jax roared, shoving at me with everything he had left.
I caught him by the collar and threw him down on the sand, pinning him with a forearm across his chest. My breath came out in harsh pulls, the metallic taste of blood coating my tongue. My voice was low and guttural when I snarled, “You wanna hit me, fine. But I’m not letting her go.”
“That’s my sister,” he ground out, his eyes blazing up at me.
“She’s mine.” The words tore from my chest before I could think better of them. “I asked Kane to order her vest the second I realized I’d die without her.”
That got Jax’s attention. His head snapped toward me, disbelief etched across his face.
Kane finally pushed off the post. “Enough.” His tone wasn’t loud, but it carried.
I stood first, brushing the sand off my hands, my jaw still aching. Jax got up slower, swiping his arm across his face. His eyes cut toward me—still furious, but not ready to throw another punch.
Jax paced a few steps away and raked a hand through his hair, his jaw tight, but the fight was still burning in his eyes. “You crossed a line, brother.”
“Yeah,” I admitted, my voice rough. “And I’ll have to live with that. But I’d do it again. I’d do anything for her.”
The fight went out of him in an instant. The tension that had been thrumming in the air snapped, leaving only silence and the crash of distant waves. Jax stared up at me, breathing hard, the anger in his expression shifting—confusion, disbelief, and maybe even a flash of understanding.
“You two done?” Kane shaped it as a question, but we both knew he expected to be obeyed.
“Yeah,” I muttered.
“Yeah,” Jax echoed after a moment, his voice rough.
Kane nodded once. “Good. Then let’s get back inside before you scare the hell out of Alanna.”
I met Jax’s gaze one more time. Whatever else was coming, this part was over. For now.
We turned toward the porch, blood still drying on our knuckles, and headed back inside.
The door clicked shut behind us, muting the crash of waves outside.
The house felt smaller now—quiet except for the uneven rhythm of Alanna’s pacing across the hardwood floor.
Her bare feet made soft sounds against the boards, her hands twisting together as she moved from window to window like she could outrun the tension still hanging in the air.
When she turned and saw me, her eyes widened. “Chance!”
She rushed across the room before I could even take another step. Her palms skimmed my jaw, tracing the bruise forming across my cheekbone. The worry in her face hit harder than Jax’s fist had.
I caught her wrist lightly, but she was already glaring over her shoulder at her brother. “You hurt him, you jerk!”
Jax blinked, clearly not expecting that. His shoulders snapped back a little, eyes narrowing as his mouth opened in disbelief.
I couldn’t help it—a low snort escaped me. The sound came out dry, laced with dark humor. Like hell he’d hurt me.
Jax’s mouth twisted into something dangerously close to a pout. “You don’t even care that he tried to beat the shit out of me? Your only brother?”
Alanna spun on him, her eyes blazing and her chin tipped up. “You’re acting like a spoiled child.”
For half a heartbeat, the room went dead quiet. Then Jax’s mouth twitched, but it wasn’t a smile. It was that thin, bitter curve he wore when he’d been pushed too far.
“Right.” His voice was low and dripping with sarcasm. “Sorry for not throwing a welcome party for the guy who’s screwing my sister.”
Alanna’s breath caught, her eyes flashing and color flooding her cheeks.
I didn’t give her the chance to answer. The sound that came from my throat was guttural—more instinct than thought.
The kind of growl that made rooms go still.
My body moved before my brain caught up, shoulders squared, fists curling at my sides.
Jax’s gaze snapped toward me, meeting mine with that same stubborn fire, neither of us backing down.
And for a split second, we were right back on that beach, one wrong word away from round two.
The air thickened, heavy enough to choke on.
Before either of us could take that next step, Kane’s voice sliced through it—calm and cold—the kind of tone that made men shut the hell up. “That’s done. We’ve got bigger shit to deal with. You can work this out once Alanna’s not in the crosshairs.”
The silence that followed wasn’t peace—it was a ceasefire.
Then the air shifted—still charged, but cooling. Jax’s jaw flexed as he looked away, the fire in his eyes dimming to embers. I forced a slow exhale, every muscle still tight, but the message had landed.
For now, we’d all focus on what mattered most—keeping her safe.