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“Maybe she needs that,” Zay tells him, crossing his arms.
As Zay and Jax continue to argue with each other, Hunter takes a sip of his whiskey then moves to set the cup down, but I grab it from his hand. While alcohol isn’t my first choice, it does have a slightly similar effect as taking a couple of hits.
Hunter slides his gaze to mine, the corners of his lips quirking. “Are you thirsty, sweetheart? There’s water and soda and stuff in the fridge.”
Smirking at him, I lift the cup to my lips and take a sip. Just as I guessed, the burning taste of whiskey fills my mouth. I swallow it down then take another sip before handing it back to him.
Curiosity glitters in his eyes as he takes the cup from me. “How’d you know?”
“I could smell it the second you picked it up,” I tell him with a shrug.
“So, you’re a whiskey drinking girl, then?” he questions, amusement glittering in his pretty eyes.
“Not really,” I say. “Usually, I’m high-as-a-motherfucking-kite sort of girl, but the water ruined what I had on me and I left the rest of my stash at home.”
He sets the cup down on the table. “Well, just to clarify, I’m not normally a whiskey drinking sort of guy either, but it’s all I can do for now.”
“What do you normally do?” I wonder.
He presses his lips together and gives me this look that makes me kind of wish I didn’t ask.
“Whatever. Can we just get on with this?” Jax grumbles, cutting through the moment. Thank God, because I’m pretty sure whatever Hunter was about to say had to do with sex. And, while it doesn’t completely bother me to talk about sex, Hunter isn’t the sort of guy to hold back.
I turn away from Hunter and look at Jax. “I really am fine with trying to do this,” I tell him, since he seems so worried about it. “I just really hope my mind finally works right for once.”
His expression softens. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.” He brushes his fingers through my hair. “I just want to make sure that you don’t let Zay pressure you.” He tosses a dirty look at Zay.
“And it’s already starting,” Zay mumbles, shaking his head. “I knew it would.”
“You know nothing.” Jax throws a scowl at him, but by the time he looks at me, his expression is softening.
“I can help you, if you want. I mean, I heard one of the guys who was part of it when they called me. Maybe tomorrow morning, we can wander around the school together and see if we can make some sort of connection.”
“Right. I forgot you heard them, too.” A bit of relief trickles through me. I’m not alone.
I’m not alone?
That can’t be real, right?
“Yeah, let’s do it,” I say with a bit more confidence than I had before.
He smiles at me, and it’s such a warm smile, a comforting smile.
Suddenly, my stomach is doing this weird butterfly thing. It’s so out of nowhere that I miss a breath and end up exhaling shakily.
Jax furrows his brows. Then he leans in and asks softly, “Are you okay?”
I give a shaky nod. I don’t even know what the hell my problem is. So what if he smiled at me warmly? It’s not a big deal.
Stop making such a big deal out it, Raven.
Jax looks unconvinced but lets it drop, twisting around to face Zay, although he keeps his arm along the back of the sofa right behind me.
“We’re all good with the plan, then?” Zay double-checks with a hint of annoyance in his tone.
I nod while Jax just shrugs. “I guess. I’m still a little nervous about all this, though. I mean, they fucking took her in broad daylight. Clearly, they think we’re weak—whoever did this—and that leaves a hell of a lot of possibilities of what they might try next.”
“I’m going to second that.” Hunter brings the brim of his cup to his lips. “We need to be on guard tomorrow … Keep an eye on each other closely.”
