Stay with Me (Wait for You, #3)(46)

She arched a brow and mouthed, What?

I shook my head, feeling warmth in my face as she turned back to Jax, her grin spreading. I had no idea what she was thinking, but I was sure it involved something dumb. Turning to the stack of dirty glasses, I figured it was a good time to hit the kitchen.

The door opened, and I felt the change in the atmosphere before I saw who walked in. Tension poured into the air, crackling with strain and anger. Biting down on my lip, I caught the way Jax stiffened as I turned.

Oh no.

Mack Attack was back, and he wasn’t alone this time. A buddy was with him, just as big and just as shady looking. They looked across the bar at Reece’s table, and then Mack’s gaze swung back to mine.

He grinned a shit-eating grin.

My stomach tumbled some more.

“You’re not welcome here.”

That came from Jax, and as my gaze swung toward him, I saw that his jaw was so hard it could cut ice.

“Oh boy,” murmured Roxy.

Mack’s buddy chuckled darkly, sending a shiver up my spine.

“I ain’t planning to stay,” Mack responded, eyes never leaving mine. “I just got a message to deliver—a message I’m f*cking thrilled to deliver.”

Jax got in between the bar and me. “I don’t give two shits, Mack. Get the f*ck out of here before I make you get the f*ck out of here.”

Whoa.

Mack’s dark eyes turned into flints of obsidian. “I told you once and I’ll tell you twice, you don’t know who you’re f*cking with.”

“I know exactly who I’m f*cking with.” Jax leaned against the bar top, his voice low and dangerously calm, like an eye of a hurricane. “Nobody.”

Mack looked like he wanted to say something, but his buddy shifted and he moved, too, so that he could see around Jax’s tense frame. “Isaiah needs to talk to your mom. Like last week.”

Who the hell was Isaiah?

“That’s not her problem,” Jax replied.

“She’s her mom’s bitch, and since her mom ain’t around, it’s her job to make sure her mom talks to Isaiah,” Mack fired back.

Mom’s bitch? What the—

The cop table was starting to pay attention, and I doubted that if this Isaiah dude was looking for Mom, he was on the up-and-up. So that had to make Mack and his buddy pretty stupid to do this in front of a bunch of off-duty cops.

“She’s got a week,” Mack said, backing toward the door. “Before Isaiah gets impatient.”

Mack and his buddy were out the door before I could say a word. My heart was pounding as Jax turned to me, a muscle throbbing along his jaw. “Who’s Isaiah? Like some kind of Amish mafioso?”

Some of the tension eased in his face as his lips twitched. The look in his brown eyes softened a bit. “Not quite. But close.”

Oh no. I didn’t like the close part.

“What’s going on?” Reece was at the bar, his gaze steady on Jax.

“Isaiah is looking for Mona,” Jax replied.

I glanced at Roxy, kind of surprised that she hadn’t hurried off to pretend to be doing something. “I don’t know who Isaiah is and I don’t know where my mom is,” I said, feeling like I needed to throw that out there.

“I know.” Jax’s voice was level. “Reece knows that, too.”

His cop buddy looked over at me. “You sure you want to hang out here for a while?”

I started to open my mouth.

“It’s a done deal,” Jax answered for me. “She’s staying.”

My gaze swung toward him; I was surprised that he’d done that. On the plus side, I was glad I didn’t have to stumble through a non-embarrassing explanation for why. On the negative side . . . well, I wasn’t sure there was a negative side.

Reece blew out a breath as he focused on me again. “If you have any problem with that shithead or any of those shitheads, you let me know.”

I nodded.

“She’ll let me know first,” Jax said to me, and again, I all but gaped at him. “Then we’ll let you know.”

Reece arched a brow. “Man, I don’t know what you got going on here,” he said, and my spine stiffened. “But you need to stay out of any shit with Isaiah.”

“I’m already in shit with Isaiah, because of this place, and you know this.” Jax tilted his chin up. “And it’s not my shit I’m worried about.”

Oh wow.

“Okay. Who is Isaiah?” I asked, determining that was the most important thing. “And why is the word shit included with his name a lot?”

Reece’s lips formed a half smile. “He’s a bit of a problem around here. Usually runs in circles in Philly, but his stink has traveled far and wide.”

“Drugs,” Jax added, voice low.

I thought about the heroin. Oh shit.

“I’ll have some boys pay him a visit,” Reece said, turning his gaze to Jax. “Make sure he understands that Mona is not Calla’s problem.”

“I’d appreciate that,” he replied, relaxing a fraction of an inch.

So did I. “Thanks . . . I think.”

Reece chuckled.

Raising an arm, Jax rubbed his fingers through his messy hair. “Roxy, you good closing the bar down tonight?”