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Hunter taps his finger against the steering wheel, his gaze flicking to Jax.
“Zay would have a fit,” Jax reminds him, sliding his arm down from the seat and wrapping it around my shoulder. “Remember what we talked about before we left the house.”
“Don’t worry about my brother,” Benton says, taking another drag. “I can get him on board with this.”
Hunter stares at Jax for a moment before directing his attention to Benton. “How much does it pay?”
“Five thousand,” Benton replies, resting his arms on the windowsill.
“Five thousand dollars?” I didn’t mean to say the words aloud. They just slipped out. But for a good reason. “Holy crap, that’s a lot of money,” I mumble with wide eyes.
A smirk touches Benton’s lips as he flits his gaze over to me. “I think I’m starting to get the appeal of this.”
I’m not certain what he means, but Hunter apparently does.
“Watch it,” he warns in a tone that doesn’t sound like it belongs to him.
Benton raises his hands, but his eyes continue to glint mischievously. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to cross a line.”
“Yeah, you did,” Hunter says, his gaze searing into Benton’s. “So just lay off, okay? She’s off limits. And make sure to spread the word about that.”
My heart pounds in my chest at the way he says it—so protectively.
Benton assesses him then the mischievousness slowly fades from his eyes. “Fine. I’ll let it drop. Although, I am sort of interested in seeing where my baby bro plays in this weird dynamic you three have going on. Guess I’ll get to observe that while you’re working for me.”
“We never agreed to the job,” Hunter points out.
Benton takes another drag from his cigarette then stands up straight. “I know, but I know you three well enough to know you won’t turn down the job.” His eyes briefly land on me. “Not sure about her, but I guess I’ll find out how this fourth plays into your Raven Three … Or, I guess it’s The Raven Four now.” He smiles at me in a way that I’m not sure if it’s friendly or mocking, which is really fucking weird. But before I can even attempt to dissect it, he directs his attention back to Hunter. “Let me know by tomorrow morning. And call my burner cell. This job … it needs to be hush, hush, especially from the bosses.” With that, he backs away, heading toward his truck.
Once he’s gone, no one really says anything for a second or two, so I decide to be the silence breaker.
“So, he’s intense. But he’s related to Zay, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Hunter chuckles, while Jax smiles and shakes his head.
“Yeah, he’s definitely intense,” Hunter agrees as he reaches for the shifter. “However, I don’t think we should totally dismiss his job offer. Five thousand dollars is a lot.” He drives forward. “Plus, I really want to find out what in the hell he’s doing that he doesn’t want the bosses to find out.”
“What about going to this club, though?” I say as Hunter peels out of the parking lot and onto the night-kissed road. “Because, if you guys are setting up surveillance for a party, you won’t have time to do that. So, maybe I should just go check it out.”
“Not by yourself,” Jax quickly says. “We can split up and should be able to handle everything.”
“That’s a lot to handle,” I tell him. “And I feel like I might be causing some of it.”
Jax shakes his head. “Trust me, sweetheart; our life is always chaotic, even when you’re not in it. But we prefer you to be.”
There he goes with that sweetheart stuff again.
I wrestle back a smile. “Sweetheart, huh? So that’s what you’re gonna call me, Jaxon?”
His brows briefly crease then rise. “Um … Yeah …” Embarrassment laces his tone. He then clears his throat, and his voice turns playful. “You know what? I am as long as you keep calling me Jaxon.”
I can’t help chuckling, and he is smiling, too. Then he reaches into the bag Benton gave us.
“I think Raven and I need a shot,” he announces as he rummages through the bag.
As Hunter steers down the road, he leans in and whispers in my ear, “Mad props, bestie. I’ve never seen anyone cheer up Jax like you just did when he’s in one of his anxious moods.”
I shrug like it’s no big deal, but I’m starting to think maybe it is with how much everyone worries about him. It makes me wonder just how deep his scars run and what they’re temporarily holding together.
