Page 57 of Chaos

He gives me a toothy grin and a shy wave with jelly-covered fingers.

I’m feeling better about this already.

“I’m going to do a short shift tonight, but if Anna gets done early, she said she could pick her up.” I give Maeve a soft kiss on her forehead and hand her to Mrs. Wilson.

Maeve doesn’t fuss, thankfully.

Traffic is horrible. It’s like every single car in Vegas is on the road.

I can’t even imagine how busy tonight is going to be.

Pulling into the big parking garage, my headlights sweep past the entrance into the casino.

And over Jax, leaning on his motorcycle.

How does he always seem to know where I’ll be?

The clock on my dashboard is leaving me very little time to make it inside.

I park and gather my stuff, half expecting him to wrench my car open.

But, he doesn’t.

He waits for me near the door to the stairs.

“You need to come with me,” he says without moving.

“Is this your attempt at a date again? You really don’t understand this, do you?” What ever happened to dinner and a movie?

Jax can’t seem to do anything by the rules.

He pushes himself away from his leaning Ducati and falls in step next to me. “I’m serious. It’s important.” His warm palm finds my elbow, and he tugs me closer to him as we walk.

“Jax. I have to work. Maybe later?” My fingers are just brushing the handle when he twirls me around to face him.

His lips are thin and his jaw set. “I’m worried about you, okay? You might be in danger.”

My thoughts jump to Maeve.

“What kind? Tell me!” Panic makes my heart race as every possible bad scenario begins to rush through my mind.

His curly hair sways over his brow as he shakes his head. “It’s hard to explain. You really should just come with me. You can stay at my place for a few days.”

Anger begins to replace the panic.

“Is this a joke? You’re fucking with me.” I wrench my arm away from him and pull the door open.

His hand flattens over it, shoving it shut out of my grasp.

“No. This is more important than slinging margaritas, Sofia,” he growls, reaching for me again.

“You’re scaring me, Jax.” I stumble backwards, trying to create some space from his intense presence.

His chin dips and the corner of his mouth rises in a smirk. “You should be scared.” His arm snakes out.

But I shove my purse at him and turn, running through the opening to the outside path that surrounds the casino.

His deep voice follows me. “You want to run, tirgritsa, that’s fine. I’ll give you a head start. If you really don’t want to come with me, then don’t let me catch you.”