Fighter(12)

And f*ck me.

The caring and soft Jax just went away. I could feel a wall slam into place between us, and when he started the truck and pulled onto the road, I had a feeling neither of us would be getting much sleep tonight.

Chapter Six

And I didn’t.

When we got to the cabin, there wasn’t much conversation between us. The bed in the master bedroom was a king. Not sure about the sleeping arrangements, I looked around, but Jax made the decision for me. He pulled me down onto the bed and laid behind me. I expected an arm to come over me, like the old days, but he turned over and slept with his back to me. It wasn’t long before I heard his deep breaths and knew he’d fallen asleep. I’m pretty sure I listened to him breathe all night long.

After a day of plotting, we felt ready, and the next evening, Sally’s was packed. Again. A pit had been formed around the ring so the throng of drunk people couldn’t clamber onto the boxing match. It was for their safety, not the fighters’. The fighters would just punch them and send their bodies soaring back into the crowd.

Surveying the scene from where I’d taken position at one of the ring’s corners, I could see my brothers around the bar. Dylan chatted with Haley by the palm tree—still decorated with multicolored thongs and condoms. Dean had taken point at the fire escape this time, and when he met my gaze, he folded his arms over his chest and gave me a disapproving look. It shot right through me, taking me back to when I was six and had strapped firecrackers to his Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. I’d thought it hilarious to see little bits of bikini models floating through the air, but he hadn’t been amused. And he wasn’t now either.

I looked away. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. They were. But if we explained the situation to them, I knew it wouldn’t matter. Not to Dean at least. Dylan would be sympathetic, but our other brothers followed whatever Dean said. And in Dean’s mind, this was business as usual. Extenuating circumstances for the jumpers wasn’t our headache. That’s what he always said. And he had a point. Every jumper had an excuse, a reason why they’d missed court, blah blah blah. Dean had had to stop caring or he’d never take his jumpers in and never get paid.

But this was Jax and this was different.

“Are you ready to get stuuuuuuunnnng?”

I narrowed my eyes and stifled a laugh. A yellow jacket mascot now jumped around the ring, pretending to sting people in the crowd. He directed his last taunt my way, his black, beady eyes looking at me almost the same way Dean just had, but he didn’t wait for a response. Hopping around to put his rear in my face, he rolled his hips from side to side, wagging the long, black stinger in rhythm with the music blaring from the speakers.

People around me laughed, and when I saw the stinger coming back toward my face, I batted it away. The mascot turned around and huffed, “You don’t have to be so violent, woman.”

“Get out of my face, you bee-wannabe.”

He grumbled, shaking the large yellow jacket head from side to side. “You got no Christmas cheer in you, do you?” Then he laughed, jumped back from me, and raised his black-costumed arms. Striking a pose so his biceps bulged, he rounded his fists toward his head and stuck out his groin. “You know who has Christmas cheer?” He thrust his groin at me again, then turned to the crowd and flung his hands up. “Do you know who has Christmas cheer?”

They roared back, “The Green Jacket does!”

I rolled my eyes. Jax’s opponent called himself the Green Jacket, and because it was Christmas time, he liked to strut around wearing an elf costume. His whole shtick was that he stung like a green jacket, even though his mascot was the yellow jacket. It didn’t make sense, but when the Green Jacket came out, no one cared. He was six-foot-two and a solid 250 pounds.

Jax was way leaner. His advantage was his speed, and as I looked around again, I knew we would need that. Three more of my brothers had popped up around the perimeter. And if they were showing themselves, that meant they had other friends positioned all around the bar. Not good. They also liked to keep four outside, just in case. They usually surrounded the place, and I knew they wouldn’t abandon that, not with one of their own helping the jumper.

“God rest ye merry peeeeenis!” A group of carolers had come in from outside. Two on the end were weaving on their feet, laughing, and the rest of the bar turned toward them. I closed my eyes. A headache formed once again at the base of my skull. I knew where this was going. With the next line, the rest of the bar joined in the song: “Let anyone…” The carolers raised their voices. “…jerk you off!”

“Oh god,” I muttered to myself. This song might never end.

A roar of laughter sounded around the bar, and the carolers kept going. “Remember to rub and savor. And do it every morn.”

“Where’s your boy?”

I stiffened. Dylan stood right in front of me. Looking past him, I could see Haley still at the condom-decorated palm tree. She lifted her eyebrows and mouthed, “Sorry.”

So much for her keeping him busy.

Whatever. I could deal with him. Making sure I wore a guarded mask, I asked, “Who do you mean?”

He snorted, shaking his head. “Come on, you’re playing dumb now?”

I waved a hand around. “I’m just sitting here. Enjoying the show.”

“Comfort and joy!” The crowd was almost screaming the carol now, and they weren’t helping my headache at all. Dylan didn’t respond, but his shoulders had a settled look to them. When he still didn’t reply or move, I had the dreaded feeling he was planning on taking root right next to me.