Chapter Twenty-Six Zephyr
I press the phone against my ear, trying to make out what Callum’s saying through the static and heavy breathing.
“We’re coming,” I tell him. “We’re fucking coming.”
Jax is still inside Barnes & Noble with Tigerlily. I’m pacing the parking lot, scanning the surrounding area, waiting for him to get his ass out here.
Finally, he pushes through the doors. Tigerlily’s at the front counter paying for something.
I pull the phone away from my ear and wave Jax over to move faster.
“What?” he asks.
“We need to leave right now.”
Tigerlily walks out of the store a second later, storming toward her car without looking at us. She’s annoyed. Good. At least she’s safe.
Jax doesn’t waste a second getting into the passenger seat. “What the fuck is it?”
“Callum,” I say, clenching my jaw. His voice is still ringing in my ears—panicked, breathless, desperate. “Fucking drive.”
I set up the GPS on my phone and give him directions to Callum’s location. We peel out of the parking lot just as Tigerlily pulls onto the main road heading toward her house.
We race past her. She turns into Taco Bell.
“Did it work?” Jax asks, weaving through traffic like he’s on the ice.
“Fuck, I guess. He got jumped. He’s on the run right now.”
Jax presses the gas harder. He blows through a red light without slowing down.
I lean forward, checking the GPS. Five more minutes.
“Fuck!” I slam my hand against the dashboard.
Jax cuts across two lanes and floors it. We make it there in three.
He slams the brakes when we see Callum limping down the side of the road, one hand pressed against his ribs, the other clutching his phone.
I unlock the doors. Callum slides into the back seat, groaning as he moves.
I turn around to look at him.
He squeezes his eyes shut. “Aw, fuck.”
“What the fuck happened?” Jax demands.
“Why the fuck are you over here?”
Callum grunts. Laughs, but it comes out pained. “Fuck!” He lifts his shirt. His entire right side is purple and swollen. “Her fucking dad, man. Why the fuck would you tell me to camp outside like that?”
I shake my head. “We weren’t planning for Tiger to leave.”
“Where the fuck did she go?” Callum groans.
“Barnes & Noble.”
“So you assholes ditched me? What the fuck?”
“We followed her. You were supposed to stay put.”
He’s still hunched over, holding his side. “He had a fucking knife! He’s fucking insane.”
Jax and I look at each other.
“Did he have someone with him?” I ask.
Callum nods. “Two guys. Fucking shit, dude.”
“Where the fuck are you parked?” Jax asks.
Callum snorts. “The same place, you fuck!”
I reach into Jax’s duffel bag in the back and grab his hockey helmet. Then I see movement through the windshield.
Two guys are still there, still near Callum’s car.
Jax follows my line of sight.
Callum peers through the window. “Let them fuck with my car. I don’t care.”
“Fuck that,” I mutter.
Jax parks and holds out his hand. “Give me my fucking stick.”
I hand over his hockey stick.
Callum winces. “That’s a seven-hundred-dollar stick, Jax.”
“And you’re priceless,” Jax says, stepping out of the car.
I follow him out, adrenaline already pumping through my veins.
The two guys are ripping Callum’s car apart. His shit’s all over the sidewalk. The seats are torn. They carved lines into the paint. One of them sees us coming and starts to run.
Jax closes the distance in three strides and swings.
The hockey stick connects with the guy’s shoulder. He goes down hard.
The second guy turns toward me. I grab him before he can pull the knife up and hit him so fucking hard that the knife skitters across the asphalt. I get him in a headlock and throw his entire body weight to the ground. He hits the pavement face-first.
I release the hold and start throwing punches. One to the jaw. One to the ribs. One more to the face for good measure.
Behind me, Jax is beating the hell out of the other guy. The stick cracks against bone. Against muscle. The guy’s trying to fight back, but Jax isn’t letting him.
Callum touches my shoulder and pulls me back before I go too far.
He flips the guy onto his stomach and starts wrapping hockey tape around his wrists. Then his ankles. Tight enough that he’s not going anywhere.
Jax drags the second guy over. Callum tapes him up too.
We gag them both with Jax’s spare socks from his bag and haul them into the back of Callum’s car.
Callum looks toward Tigerlily’s house in the distance and flips it off.
“Flip off the cameras,” he says, out of breath.
Jax and I turn toward the house. Both of us raise our middle fingers.
Callum laughs, then he climbs into the driver’s seat.
We shove one guy into the passenger seat. Jax and I get in the back with the other between us.
“Whoo!” Callum shouts as he pulls onto the road. “Where the fuck are we going, boys?”
I slap the cheek of the asshole next to me. “Funny how the tables turned, huh?” I look at the guy in the front. “You boys are in for it tonight.”
Callum drives like a maniac down the freeway, swerving between lanes, pushing a hundred.
“Where’s your boss?” Callum mocks. “He’s not here to give you orders anymore, is he?”
The guy in the passenger seat starts thrashing when Callum pulls off the freeway. When the car slows down, the guy tries to open the door. The light turns red ahead, and no one’s behind us.
I catch his shoulder and slap his face. “Don’t fucking think about—”
But he’s already got the door open.
He falls out onto the road.
The back wheel runs over him.
“Fuck!” I shout.
Callum slams the brakes. We all jump out.
The guy’s on the pavement, groaning, clutching his leg, but there’s no blood. Fuck.
“You piece of fucking shit!” Callum yells.
Jax grabs him by the arms. I grab his legs. We haul him to the trunk and throw him inside.
I sit freely in the backseat now. Jax takes the passenger seat.
Callum gets back in and drives off, screaming, “Fuck!”
He doesn’t slow down until we reach Morris Reservoir in the mountains. When we find a lookout point, he pulls over.
We yank the guy out of the trunk. He’s barely conscious. Some blood from the road rash on his arms.
“This fucking idiot,” Callum shouts.
We shove him into the passenger seat. He winces but doesn’t fight.
Jax gets in the backseat with the other guy between us again.
“What’re we doing with dumb and dumber?” I ask.
Callum turns around. “I already ran one over.”
I pull the gag out of the conscious guy’s mouth. “Talk or we run your legs over, too.”
He shakes his head. “Let us go.”
Jax laughs. Cold. Dark.
Callum removes the gag from the other guy. “What the fuck were you ordered to do?”
“Just push you around a bit,” the guy says a bit too easily.
Callum points at his face and then lifts his shirt, showing the massive bruise. “You took your orders a little too far.”
The one in the backseat speaks up. “Just let us fucking go. We wanted to make an easy five hundred.”
His friend scoffs. “Shut up.”
“Yeah, shut up,” I echo.
“How do you know the guy?” Jax asks.
“We don’t.”
I pull the guy next to me close to my face. “Tell a lie again and I’ll knock the teeth out of your mouth.”
“Chill. Chill. Chill.” He’s sweating now. “He’s just some fucking guy. A friend of a friend. Gave us your pictures and told us to keep watch outside his house and rush if we see one of you.”
“Like bodyguards,” Jax says to us.
The guy shrugs. “Some shit about safety for his family.”
“Fuck this,” Jax says. He steps out and yanks the guy out of the backseat. The guy crashes onto the gravel.
I pull the second one out. Callum stands over both of them.
“Don’t fucking show your faces again,” Jax spits.
“If you do, we’ll find you,” I add.
I start digging through their pockets. I find a wallet, so I pull out the ID.
“Carlos Mendoza.” I take a picture with my phone.
“Idiot,” Callum laughs.
We drag them both to the edge of the overlook. Not close enough to push them. Just close enough that they understand the threat.
Jax leans in. “Give me your fucking word you’re going to leave us alone.”
“You have my word,” one of them says quickly.
The other nods frantically. “Yeah. This is not what we signed up for.”
Callum laughs, kicks dirt at them, and then we pile back into his car and drive off.
Callum’s still driving like a maniac when we get back to Tigerlily’s street. We pull up next to Jax’s car and see a figure standing in her yard. Her dad is standing out front, watching us.
Jax and I get into his car while Callum flips him off.
The dad doesn’t move. Doesn’t react. Just stands there staring as we drive away.
I throw my middle finger up as Jax just stares at the man.
He watches, unamused.
But we got the message across.
We’re not backing down.
“I’m coming back,” Jax says.
“Me too.”
Jax shakes his head. “No, keep Brixton in check. I need to make sure Tiger’s okay tonight.”
I shake my head. “Fuck that, we do this together.”
Jax presses the gas firmly. “I go alone. I’ll remain unseen. She trusts me.”
I stare at him, hating that I know he’s right. She trusts me, but not in the same way she does Jax. Callum too.
I grind my teeth.