27. Knox
KNOX
What the actual fuck?
“Will you excuse me for a minute?” It’s the only thing I can think to say that isn’t an explosion of expletives.
Anna is clearly confused by my sudden change of attitude, but she nevertheless nods, slipping her arm out from around mine.
I make my way across the room towards the back hallway, where the waiting staff continues coming in and out. It’s also thankfully near a bathroom, so it doesn’t look odd that I’m heading in the same direction as a particular server.
If Jax anticipated the attack coming, he’d be able to counter it without a problem, but because I catch him off guard, it’s the only reason I’m able to grab and slam him against the wall the second we’re out of sight of the banquet.
He’s about to punch me out of instinct, but as soon as he sees my face, he at least has the decency to look guilty. That doesn’t stop him from pushing me back.
“I’d expect this shit from Michael or Dominic. Not you ,” I say. “What the hell are you doing here?”
There’s no way they would have hired him. The pay is shit, so only the people between jobs or hard up for some quick cash ever apply, but between the tattoos and criminal record, Lillian would never let Jax walk through the door even if she didn’t know he was connected to me.
But I notice the tattoos on his neck and hands are conveniently missing.
“Are you wearing makeup ?”
“You’re not allowed to show any ink, so I didn’t have much choice.”
“It still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here.”
“One of the guys who was supposed to be working tonight called in sick at the last minute. I volunteered.” He conveniently leaves out the part about how he learned of the job opening or how he got past the vetting process, but that’s the least of my concerns.
He wasn’t doing well in prison, he was doing worse by the time I got out, and he’s been fucked up since the robbery.
“I owe you my life, man.” I have to grab the asshole again for him to look at me. “You know I would do anything to protect you, but right now that means protecting you from yourself.”
He lets out a humorless laugh. “You guys said I needed to get laid.”
“Not with her.”
“So only one of us gets to enjoy sleeping with the objects of our prey?” he mocks.
Fucking hell.
Michael said Jax was making sure there wouldn’t be any more loose ends to the robbery, but I didn’t think he meant his cousin was spying on Mia. Sure, I’ve seen him scoping out her social media accounts, but I figured that was it.
“Does she know anything?”
The jackass can’t look me in the eyes. He just shrugs. “Michael’s contact said she mentioned to the police about me calling you Hoss, but that’s it.”
“All the more reason to stay away. So long as she doesn’t know you exist, she can’t put anything together.
Besides, you know what the police are going to think.
It’ll already be suspicious as fuck when they see I’m with Anna.
What do you think it’s going to look like when they see another one of their prime suspects sleeping with another one of their witnesses?
” I demand. “I mean, Jesus, are you trying to antagonize them?”
The asshole just slides his hands into his pockets, any of the guilt vanishing.
Christ on a crutch.
He shrugs again. “Why not? After everything those fuckers put us through, we should at least get some fun out of it. And look at her. She’s beautiful.”
“Nobody will argue either of those things, but we have to be smart about this. You can’t make contact with her.”
He has the audacity to smirk. “It’s a little late for that.”
The way he says it, I know he’s talking about more than being here tonight.
Fucking hell.
“What have you been telling her?”
“Up until four minutes ago, she had never seen my face.” Again, there’s weight in what he’s saying, leaving a pit in my stomach.
“I haven’t punched you in six years. Don’t make me change my mind now.” I’m not in the mood for him trying to be cute or cryptic. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Let’s just say she has a…unique disposition.
“Such as?”
“She wants to be appreciated.”
“…And?”
“I like to appreciate her.”
“I thought she doesn’t know who you are.”
“She doesn’t. Not technically.”
“Have you spoken?”
“Outside of the bedroom? No.”
I have to pinch the bridge of my nose, as if it will stay off the impulse from completely losing my shit. “What have you done?
“Nothing I’m going to share with you.”
“But there is something going on?” He doesn’t need to answer. “Not sure if you noticed there, buddy, but your girl there is already taken.”
It’s impossible to miss the rock on her finger, seeing as how it’s the size of a fucking baseball.
“The engagement was arranged by her family, and the guy’s a prick.”
“Yes, and I’m sure that opinion comes from somewhere wholly unbiased,” I say flatly.
It’s meant to be a joke, but my best friend here is obviously far too deep in the thick of it that he’s glaring at me. “He cuts her off pretty much every time she tries to speak, and everyone else around her is too narcissistic to even fucking notice.”
“You do realize we’re out of our leagues here?” I don’t want to be a prick, but I have to motion around us. We’re not the kind of guys that belong at a place like this, and certainly not around these kinds of people.
“She’s not like that.”
“How do you know?” He hasn’t given me much to go on, but by the sounds of it, she’s just someone who’s in need of a little attention. That doesn’t necessarily make her any less of a princess.
A small but almost sad smile tugs at his lip. “Nobody in these parts pays attention to the help. I’ve been working here for the past two and a half hours, and she’s the only person who’s thanked me or anyone else on the staff this entire night.”
In this, he ain’t wrong. Around here, partygoers regard anyone in a waiter’s uniform as nothing more than a faceless servant.
They either grab food and drinks off of his tray without sparing the person a second glance, or they glare at the waiter like he’s a nuisance when he’s offering something they’re not interested in.
Jax lowers his head, his eyes fixed on a tile of marble on the floor. “I’m fucking drowning here, man. And being around her feels like finally being able to breathe after four years.” He all but chokes the words out, the sound sparking a similar effect in my own throat.
Because I know what he’s talking about. It’s the same way I feel about Anna. I’m not just surviving anymore. I have something to live for. Someone .
But, like I already know, he’s playing with fire. If she turns on him, he’ll get more than burned. My gamble paid off. That doesn’t mean his will.
“Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
Jax tries to laugh, but it’s not remotely convincing, so utterly hollow. “When am I not?”