Chapter Nine #2
Much later, once they were toweling each other off, the doorbell outside her apartment door rang. Jade jerked back slightly, annoyed at the interruption. She could choose to ignore it, but the bell rang again. Jade frowned.
“You expecting someone?” Wolf asked her.
“I’ll check,” she said quickly, stepping back. “It could be Mrs. Rochford, needing something.”
Wolf’s fingers lingered on her arm for a second before he let go.
She dressed quickly. Her fingers fumbled slightly with the buttons of her shirt, but she managed to put on jeans as well. Then she quickly moved toward the door.
The bell rang again, and for some reason, unease crept down her spine. She opened the door, not bothering to check who it was. Jade was really expecting Mrs. Rochford. She froze, seeing it was Derek. What the hell was he doing back here?
Worse, he didn’t look like his cocky, laid-back self. Derek looked angry almost, and his eyes were wild in a way she hadn’t seen before.
“Jade, we need to talk,” he said.
Her stomach dropped instantly.
“Now’s not a good time,” she replied, already moving to close the door, but Derek shoved forward.
The door slammed open as he forced his way inside.
“Hey!” Jade stumbled back, shock flaring into anger just as fast. “Get out.”
Derek kicked the door shut behind him with a bang. The sound echoed through the apartment. Jane started crying immediately. A sharp, frightened wail.
“Shut her up,” Derek snapped.
He reeked, she realized, of alcohol, and judging by his red-rimmed eyes, was he all hopped up on heroin too? How dare he come back here? Something in Jade snapped right back.
“This is my home,” she shot back, stepping in front of him, blocking his path. “You don’t get to walk in here like this.”
Derek’s jaw clenched, his crazed eyes narrowing.
“What do you want?” she demanded. “Now’s not a good time.”
He laughed, harsh and humorless. “No, I can see that.”
His gaze swept over her, taking in her damp hair, the rushed way she’d dressed.
“What’s this I hear?” he continued, stepping closer. “You’ve been seen with one of those Devil’s Crown bastards?”
Jade’s anger flared.
“I had to take a job with the MC to pay off your debt,” she snapped, jabbing a finger into his chest, “so don’t you dare come in here making accusations.”
Derek blinked, like her defiance surprised him. She realized most of the time, she was too tired after a double shift, so she barely argued with him.
“You stole from them,” she went on, her voice rising now. “You ran, knowing Jane and I would be the ones dealing with it. If it wasn’t for Wolf—”
“Wolf?” Derek cut in, his lip curling. “That your new boyfriend?”
There was something ugly in the way he said it. Something that made Jade’s stomach twist.
“My personal life is no longer any of your business and that includes who I date,” she stately flatly.
The next thing she knew, Derek closed in on her, grabbing her arm hard. Jade gasped, pain flaring as his grip tightened.
“Let go of me.”
Jane’s crying got louder, shriller.
“Answer me,” Derek demanded, his face too close now, his grip bruising. His breath stank. “You think you can just replace me with some biker—”
“Let her go.” The voice cut through the room, cold and sharp.
Derek stilled, reminding her comically of a deer caught in headlights. Slowly, he turned. Wolf stood in the hallway, barefoot, hair still damp, but he locked his gaze on Derek with a kind of quiet fury that made the air feel thinner.
Derek scoffed, but there was hesitation now. “Who the hell are you? You the biker banging my girlfriend?”
“I’m not your anything,” she said.
Wolf didn’t bother giving Derek an answer, instead he stepped forward.
“Let her go,” he repeated.
Derek tightened his grip instinctively, and that was a big mistake. Wolf moved fast, faster than Jade could track. One second he was across the room, the next, Derek was on the ground. The impact shook the floor as Wolf slammed into him, ripping Jade free in the same motion.
“Jade,” Wolf said sharply, not looking away from Derek. “Take Jane.”
Jade didn’t hesitate. She rushed to the crib, scooping Jane up, holding her tight as she backed away, her heart pounding. Behind her, the fight started. It was brutal, and Wolf didn’t waste any time playing around.
Wolf landed two solid hits before Derek could even properly react, the sound of fist against flesh sharp and final. Derek tried to swing back, but failed. Wolf drove him into the wall, pinning him there, his forearm pressed against Derek’s throat.
“Listen carefully,” Wolf said, his voice low and lethal. “You don’t come near her again.”
Derek choked, struggling against the hold.
“You don’t come near the kid,” Wolf continued. “You don’t even think about them.”
Wolf gave Derek another hard shove. Derek crumpled slightly, coughing.
“Or next time,” Wolf added, “you’ll end up in the dirt.”
The message landed. Derek staggered back, wiping blood from his mouth, his bravado gone.
“Crazy bastard,” he muttered. Luckily, though, Derek was already moving, heading for the door. With Jane tucked against her chest, Jade wasn’t surprised. Derek had always been a coward and, like a coward, he broke into a run.
Wolf slammed the door behind him. Jade remained where she was, rocking Jane, who had finally calmed down. Wolf looked at her a moment, then pulled his cellphone out. He dialed someone.
“Yeah,” he said when the line connected. “Derek Callahan’s back in town. Find him and bring him in before he runs again. It won’t be hard, the bastard’s drunk.”