“No. But we have to leave.” Shifting from foot to foot, Jax tried not to scream, biting his lip when his mother walked in from the kitchen with a dishtowel in her hands.
“Where are you boys goin’?” She’d been staying at the townhouse to care for Jax while he recovered. Not only had she made healing somewhat bearable, but she’d also touched up Jax’s roots, given Ollie a haircut, and whipped up a few meals that had Finn applauding at the table.
But they’d been butting heads over Tristan.
“The Pointe.” Jax tried to be vague, but she could always see right through him
“Is everything okay?” she asked in a leading tone as Ollie and Finn acted like the audience of a tennis match, their heads swiveling back and forth in sync.
“Yeah.”
“Is this about Tristan? I said that he’s too old for you.” She tossed the dishtowel aside and crossed her arms, but Jax wasn’t ten anymore; he was almost twenty-seven, and he didn’t have to bethatscared of his mom.
“Ma, we’ve been over this a million times!” He gestured toward the garage, and his brother and Ollie snapped into motion, heading to the door. “Besides, that deadbeat was fifteen years older than you.”
“It was a different time! And you’re my son, I’m allowed to be a hypocrite.” She threw her hands in the air. “Fine. But I’m going too.”
While Jax didn’t scream, he let out a haggard groan that had his mother rolling her eyes.
“I wanna talk to this man myself.”
“He’s a great guy, Ma.”
“I don’t care if he’s Mother Teresa,” she mumbled, finishing the sentence with a string of Italian curses as they all got into Finn’s SUV. Jax took the passenger seat, adjusting it to his liking, and the ride ended up being short and quiet, the air tense with anticipation.
As they drove up The Pointe’s long driveway, Jax looked out the windshield, his apprehension growing. It hadn’t been long since his disastrous weekend as head chef, and the anger, shame, and embarrassment were still fresh. It didn’t matter that he’d been set up to fail; his body had let him know that his borrowed time had just run out, and he didn’t want to talk about it yet.
“Is anyone gonna tell me why we’re here?” His mother broke the silence, giving the hall a cursory look.
“Apparently, Tristan is telling off his ex and it’s a spectator sport,” Ollie supplied.
“This man keeps getting better and better!” She tapped Jax’s head with her hand. “Olderandstill messy with his ex-wife? Ex-girlfriend?”
“Does it matter, Ma? You’re going to judge it anyway.” And why was he even arguing? Why was he even here?
Because Tristan had always been a permanent fixture in Jax’s heart, he’d just needed to remember that. While Jax never gave second chances, if Tristan had been busy trying to fix the situation with Eveandget proof of Derrick’s sabotage, then he could have all the chances in the world.
Despite The Pointe being closed, the glass doors in front were unlocked, and Jax almost ran into Gideon as he entered the foyer, everyone else right behind him.
“Gide-” he stopped as Gideon put up a finger, indicating that they should be quiet.
“Glad you came,” he whispered. “Let’s go upstairs.”
“What’s going on?” Jax hissed as they followed him up the main staircase.Since the building was mostly empty, he could hear distant, muffled voices that got louder with each step.
“It’s better you see for yourself.” Gideon opened the door to the offices, and Jax tried not to jump at Angelo’s deep, angry voice.
“You fucked with my kitchen, Derrick.My. Kitchen. Over what? A jealous girlfriend?”
“Naw, her pussy ain’t magic. She paid me to.” Was that Derrick? Jax crept toward the office door, which had been left ajar.
“And you fucked up the job, you idiot!” Eve yelled, and a record scratch echoed through Jax’s brain.
EveandDerrick. That made sense. Scary sense.
“You break into this place then!” Derrick shouted back. “I had to hide in the bushes for two hours until they left. A raccoon almost bit me!”
Goosebumps rippled up Jax’s arms. He was right. He was right about it all. Derrickhadbeen hiding outside that night, waiting for Jax and Tristan to leave so he could break in and sabotage Jax once again.
