Chapter 15 - Zander #3
Jade is not to be fucked with, even without us vouching for her. The whole party will know by the night's end. Amanda isn’t known to keep anything quiet.
The way Jade laid into her will live in my head rent-free for as long as I live. There’s nothing hotter than a girl fight, and with a girl who looks like Jade but can fuck you up, ugh. Say less because I’m game.
I reach down to adjust myself as Jade watches Amanda walk away. Now, I get to navigate the party with a raging hard-on. Wonderful. So much for not being obvious about my crush on her.
Rick looks over at me in question, and I shrug. What can I say, my dick does what it wants, when it wants, and right now, Jade is what it wants. It doesn’t care if I don’t want to push her or rush it. I have zero say in it, which I know he understands. So he can keep his judgment to himself.
“And who do we have here, boys?” Someone says from behind us, causing Jade to turn around and look. I know it’s Jake even before I turn around. Like I said we all grew up together, so I know his voice despite how much I might not like the guy. That also means Trent probably isn’t far behind.
Well, at least my boner won't be an issue anymore.
I can’t fucking stand Trent or Jake. Thankfully, we're not forced to be around Jake half as much as we are, Trent. I couldn't deal with that much of both of them.
But business is business, and we have business with Jake tonight.
I plaster a fake ass smile on my face before turning around to lean against the counter again.
I’d rather wrap my arms back around Jade, especially with these assholes close, but I’m not sure she would appreciate that.
Instead I smile, watching Jake and his little group of annoying assholes.
Rick always tells me that this smile makes me look unhinged, as if that's not the fucking point.
I love to make these assholes uncomfortable and everyone else, honestly.
“Jade?” Trent asks as he steps toward her. Jake looks at him in question, but Trent ignores him as he comes up close to Jade. She tilts her head a bit as if trying to place if she knows him.
Shit, I forgot that they know each other.
I don’t like how close he is to her, and judging by the tension in her shoulders, she isn’t too happy about it either, but I stay where I am. If she needs help, she will let us know, and if he pushes too far, I can sock him real nice in just a step or two.
“Officer Gray?” Jade finally says, the question clear in her voice, and some of her tension melts away as she puts the pieces together.
Trent's stupid face lights up with a dopey grin that makes me want to punch him even more than I did when he was making her uncomfortable. Why the fuck is he looking at her like that? He was ready to leave her behind just a week ago, and now he’s looking at her like her remembering him is the best thing to ever happen to him.
Fucker.
I let out a huff, and Rick shoots me a glare, but I wave him off. I know we don’t need to start shit, and I don’t plan to, but let him start, and I’ll happily finish it if Jade doesn’t finish him first. The thought of her laying him out makes his presence much more tolerable.
“I knew you were staying with the Spades, but I didn’t know you would be here,” Trent tells her as he continues to smile down at her.
“I didn’t know I was coming until yesterday when the guys told me.
Apparently, I’m supposed to see if I want to go to college, and they thought this would be a good step towards me deciding on that,” she tells him with a smile of her own.
Everything about this whole conversation is pissing me off.
I don’t want him to be nice to her, and I definitely don’t want her to be nice to him.
“So you’re the girl from the sex trafficking rings Trent told me about, huh?” Jake asks walking up next to Trent to look down at Jade.
Jake being in her face makes me even more uncomfortable than Trent does. I don’t like Trent for personal reasons, shit that’s between him and us, but Jake is trouble all the way around.
He’s slimy.
Hell, he’s one of our top distributors for a reason, and while we're scary because we have power, he’s unknown.
I have no idea if half the shit I hear about him is true, but most of it paints the picture that he isn’t good to women.
He likes them sexy and compliant, but even if it is true, girls throw themselves at him because of his social and financial status.
His father being the mayor gives him a lot of sway and a lot of love from the public that he didn’t do anything to deserve.
The thought of him trying anything on Jade has the hairs on the back of my neck standing on edge, and my hand itching for my knife.
“Yup, that would be me,” Jade tells him, staring him down, not a hint of fear or nerves, just a tiny smile on her lips as if she’s taunting him about it and not the other way around.
“You failed to get the point across on how stunning she is, Trent. You also failed to mention that she’s feisty,” Jake says without taking his eyes off her.
He reaches forward, grabbing her hand, bringing her knuckles to his lips, and kissing them.
I see Rick stiffen from over Jade’s head, but Jade remains still and relaxed, as if this is no big deal.
Trent's ears turn red, letting me know that he has, in fact, been talking about Jade to his buddies. He’s always had the same tell that he’s embarrassed, ever since we were kids. Knowing this comes in handy, as we deal with him often.
“How about you come dance with me, beautiful? Let me introduce you to some people so you can make a better call on if you want to go to college. These guys aren’t known to be the most friendly,” Jake tells her with a nod in our direction.
He’s not wrong, but he’s got a few screws loose if he thinks we’ll let her go off with him.
“Maybe later, Jake. Right now, we have business to attend to. I don’t come to these parties for the hell of it,” Rick tells him before he can attempt to haul Jade away. He has yet to release her hand though and every second he touches her puts me more on edge.
“Not to mention, I doubt she would be interested in the company you keep,” I tell Jake, and Jade turns her head to look at me, the confusion clear on her face.
“Well, you didn’t really seem to hit it off too well with his sister a few minutes ago, Doll,” I tell her with a smile.
It’s almost as if I can see the wheels turning in that beautiful head of hers.
The moment it clicks, I see it in her eyes.
She turns back to Jake, her brows scrunching up in the most adorable way as she looks him over in an attempt to see it for herself.
She doesn’t have to look hard, though. They may not be identical, but Amanda and Jake are twins and share many similar traits.
The moment she realizes I’m telling the truth, Jade snatches her hand back from his as if he’s burned her, once again wiping it off on her shorts. It seems when unwanted people touch her, it causes her to feel the need to clean herself off. I file that thought away for later.
“Don’t be like that, beautiful. I can’t control my sister's actions, so you shouldn’t hold it against me. Besides, she's probably just intimidated by you,” he tells her with a shrug before walking off toward the hallway and waving at Rick to follow.
“Let's get this over with, Spade. This party just got a whole lot more interesting, if you know what I mean. " He winks at Jade over his shoulder before Rick follows him, blocking Jade from his line of sight.
“Trent, why don’t you do the honor of showing Jade around while I’m busy?
Then, once I’m done, I’ll come find you.
I think Jade would be a wonderful addition to the campus, and I would hate for her to miss out because Zander’s terrible company,” he shouts back to Trent before he rounds the corner and disappears.
I move forward to go after him, but Rick shoots me a stern look before his eyes dart to Jade.
God, I fucking hate when he does that.
A few hits would be good for Jake. He could use a hit or two to his fucking ego to bring him back down to earth where he belongs.
I huff before I lean back against the counter and look at Jade.
Trent is still too close to her for my liking, which pisses me off more because it just makes Rick right.
I need to stay put and keep an eye on her, no matter how badly Jake could use a beatdown.
Jade is the mission, and even if she weren’t, I wouldn’t be okay leaving her with Trent, let alone anyone else, at this bullshit party.