Chapter 9

Axel

Jax was already sitting at one of the corner tables in the bar when I arrived. There was a pitcher of beer on the table and a basket of fries, which he was picking at absentmindedly as he watched the two waitresses mill around the tables. They were both hot young women, and they shot Jax flirty glances frequently, especially when they had to lean across a table to grab a just-out-of-reach glass.

I dropped into the chair across from him and poured myself a glass of beer from his pitcher. He greeted me with a small nod but never took his eyes off the brunette waitress as she bent over to grab a fork that had, by some miracle, ended up on the floor. As she straightened up, she looked back at him over her shoulder, gave her hips a seductive little wiggle, and then made her way around the bar to disappear into the belly of the kitchens.

“I swear the chicks in this place get sexier every damn day.” Jax finally looked over at me. He was draped lazily in his chair with his legs spread open so he could take up as much space as humanly possible.

I took a sip of beer and wiped foam from my upper lip. “Maybe your standards are just getting lower and lower.”

“What a shitty thing to say.” Jax leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “Don’t let them hear you talking like that.”

“I’m pulling your leg.”

“Fuck off,” Jax said with a small chuckle. He leaned away from me again and repositioned his limbs over the arms of the chair. “How are things going with the shop?”

“I got us a new joint, actually. Bigger than what we were working with before. Johnny hasn’t seen it yet, but I know his taste. He’ll like it.”

“Glad to hear it. It’s been fucking weird not dropping by the place almost every damn day. I hadn’t noticed how big of a habit it had become. I caught myself driving by the rubble out of routine three times last week. Pissed me off every time too.”

“Well, you are a dumb bastard. Takes you a bit longer to learn.”

Jax laughed more loudly this time and then filled up his glass with more beer. “With some things, perhaps. My strengths lie in other areas. Like behind the wheel. Or between the legs of a beautiful woman.”

“I have yet to be told by any of your ladies in waiting about your skills in the bedroom. Maybe you’re not as talented as you think you are. Women are talkers. They like to share information. If you were that good, I think word would have reached me by now. Or Johnny.”

“Go ask that babe over there,” Jax pointed across the bar to a table with three young women at it. One, the one I assumed he was referring to, was a lean, elegant-looking woman. Her dark hair was cut to the length of her jaw, framing her pretty face. Her lips were full and looked wet with gloss. She moved with the sort of grace that a dancer would possess. “I fucked her so good, she had stars swirling around her pretty head.”

Growing tired of the conversation, I shrugged a shoulder. “All right, Jax. You’re an animal. Happy?”

He grinned. “Yes.” He took a massive swig of beer before slamming the glass down on the table. His gaze still lingered on the group of women. “Say, that blond there, she sure looks like the kind of girl you’d be into, Axel.”

Knowing I was going to say no, I looked back at her anyway. She was pretty. That was undoubtedly true. But I found that it didn’t stir anything inside me.

“You should go introduce yourself.” Jax nudged my shin with his boot.

“Not interested.”

Jax arched an eyebrow. “Not interested? She’s a fucking babe, you jackass. What do you mean you’re not interested?” When I didn’t answer, his eyebrows shot upward. He leaned in close once more, straining across the table. “Wait a minute. Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No.”

Jax pointed a crooked finger at me. Like most of the members in the MC, we had all broken several fingers several times. Jax’s index finger on his right hand wasn’t in the best shape. “You do have a girlfriend. No need to keep it a secret. Unless, of course, you don’t want to bring her around us. Is she a good girl, Axel?” He winked. “Does she ask you to wash your hands first?”

“Leave it alone.”

Jax laughed and rubbed his hands together. “I like this. I like this a lot. Been a long time since you were—”

“I said leave it alone.” My voice dropped a couple decibels, and I fixed Jax with a stare that took the smile from his lips.

He slumped back in his chair, put off by my unwillingness to engage in his games, and sighed. “Fine. You’re no fucking fun, you know that?”

I drank my beer. “I’ve been told.”

We sat for a while, and I sensed Jax was trying to think of something else to say to change the subject. Finally, he piped up again, and this time, he had my full attention.

“So, word on the street is the Black Hearts have a new leader.”

“Oh?”

Jax nodded. “Don’t know how he came to take the seat, but the guy’s name is new to me. They call him Watson. Supposed to be a big dude with a mean attitude. I was thinking I might try to get close to him. Get a look at what all the gossip is about, you know?”

“Johnny told everyone to lay low.”

“What Johnny doesn’t know won’t kill him. I know you’re his best buddy and all, Axel, but you’re kind of his bitch, you know? Sometimes you have to break the rules a little bit.”

“I hear you,” I said, “but Watson is not the guy to go breaking rules with. He’s bad news, Jax. I’m asking you to stay away from him. Me. Not Johnny.”

“You know the guy?”

“Yeah. Sort of.” I drank the rest of my beer. Then, I topped up the glass. Jax waived down a waitress to fill up the pitcher.

“How?”

I shook my head. Now was not the time for such stories. “We ran in the same circles a long time ago. It was bad for everyone. Just stay away from him, all right? And if you hear anything else, let me know.”

“All right,” Jax obliged, clasping his hands in his lap. “Could we be in serious shit here, Axel?”

Yes.

“Not if we do as Johnny says. He’ll play this smart. He has the well-being of the MC in mind.”

“But we haven’t been doing what Johnny asked.” Jax looked around like he was worried about a spy being present. I suppose his paranoia wasn’t a bad thing, not with a name like Watson returning to everyone’s tongues. “Two of us went out and beat up some of those Black Hearts fuckers. It happened right under Johnny’s nose.”

“Don’t worry about them,” I said. “The Black Hearts have more enemies than just us, Jax. Just do as I say. Keep an eye on yourself and your people, and everything will be fine.” I didn’t really believe the words even as they left my mouth.

Nothing was ever fine when Watson got involved.

Jax sighed and ate a cold french fry. Then he grimaced and pushed the basket away from himself. “So. This new shop. Got any space for a new hire?”

“Who you thinking about?”

“My niece,” Jax said. “She needs a job. She’s a quick learner. Likes cars and shit well enough. She won’t just be a paperweight is what I’m saying, I guess.”

“Tell her to be at the shop at nine o’clock on Monday morning. I need someone at the front desk. I’m pulling Ellie off and putting her on the floor full-time. She’s too good to keep her behind the desk all day. She’ll increase our productivity tenfold.”

“She’s always been a grease monkey, that girl,” Jax nodded. “Has a bit of a thing for you, too, I think.” The way he looked at me told me he was sizing me up. Calculating my reaction.

“Johnny says so too.”

This took the wind out of his sails. Jax’s suspicious look melted away, and he settled back into the chair. “She’s a tough chick, our Ellie, but I’d hate to see her caught up in our shit, you know?”

I looked at my hands. “Yeah. I know. I’ve thought the same thing for a long time.”

“You pulling her in to work full-time on the floor won’t jeopardize her, will it? She won’t be a member?”

“No. Only Johnny can make that call. And I don’t think it’s one he’d ever make. Ellie is like a sister to him. She’s safe where she is. Close but not close enough. I’ll watch out for her, Jax.”

“Good. If she got hurt …” Jax trailed off.

I knew how good of friends Ellie and Jax had become over the years. He had been the first one Ellie opened up to after Johnny and me. She didn’t have to work to make anyone like her. She was already a joy to be around, but something between her and Jax just clicked. It was like they had known each other for ages. I trusted him and always had. I was glad he was in Ellie’s corner.

Although, now that I had fucked her, a little tickle of jealousy rose up in me. I shook it off as soon as I sensed it.

Jax clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back. The chair beneath him creaked as the brunette waitress went by. She stopped beside Jax, and he looked up at her. He flashed her his most charming white smile, and I saw her become lost in his light green eyes.

The man was kryptonite to women. I had seen him in action many times before.

“What time are you off, sweet cheeks?” Jax asked the waitress.

“An hour.” She shot a look up at the clock on the wall. “Maybe forty-five minutes. You’ll wait for me, won’t you?”

“‘Course I will. I’m not going to leave you hanging, darling. I’m going to give you a taste of all this.” He gestured at himself, and she giggled. Then he took her wrist and pulled her gently toward him, forcing her to bend over. He pressed his lips to her ear and whispered something I assumed was naughty.

She blushed a deep shade of red, but when he let her wrist go, she stayed where she was, slightly leaning over his lap.

He grabbed her ass and squeezed.

She let out a surprised but delighted yelp before hurrying off to attend to the other tables.

Jax raised his beer glass. “Cheers to that.”