around for to make sure the vet got his car back because Jax wasn’t wasting his time on some holier than thou asshole who’d been judging him from the second Jax shoved him to the ground when bullets began flying.
Jax got out of the car and leaned against it as he began checking the dozen or so texts and emails that had been piling up since the events of yesterday had unfolded.
Where the hell are you?
It was the first of several messages that became more colorful as he scrolled further and further down. Since the last one was a threat to hack his phone to get his location, Jax hit the dial button and waited.
“About time, fucker,” came the grumpy voice on the other end.
“Stay out of my phone,” Jax said as a smile tugged at his mouth. It felt good to have someone worry about him.
“Where are you?”
“Montana.”
“Still?”
Jax sighed. “Yeah, things kind of went to shit when I got here. I’ll tell you about it when I get back.” Jax raised his eyes to scan his surroundings, then felt his gut tighten at the sight of Dane coming out of the garage…on foot. “It’s complicated,” he said into the phone.
“Usually is,” the voice on the other end said.
Irritation went through Jax as he saw Dane catch sight of him and then grudgingly walked down the block towards him. He should just get in the car and drive past the fucker and get the hell out of this piece of shit town.
“How was Chicago?”
“It’s done,” was all he said.
“I assumed that. How are you handling it?”
Jax ignored the question and said, “I’ll let you know when I’m on the road. Should be in the next hour or so.” He disconnected the call and watched Dane head towards him, the other man’s gaze still refusing to settle on his. A movement behind Dane caught Jax’s attention.
A man dressed in black jeans and a dark T-shirt was just a few dozen steps behind Dane. Jax went instantly on alert as the guy’s beady eyes scanned the area around them as if looking for someone. Something was off and Jax was moving, his hand automatically reaching behind his back in search of the comforting grip of his gun. The man behind Dane suddenly stopped as his eyes settled on Jax and then he was darting across the road towards a non-descript, idling black sedan. The car pulled quickly away from the curb and drove off and Jax cursed the sunlight that was just a bit too bright to make out the license plate of the car as it turned the corner and disappeared.
Dane reached him and shifted Emma’s car seat in his hand. The plastic base was tucked under his armpit and the diaper bag was slung across his shoulder. The nice thing to do would have been to offer to take something from the man to ease his burden but Jax wasn’t feeling particularly charitable at the moment. His mind was also still hung up on the possibility that someone had been following Dane and as much as it annoyed him, the worry for the other man’s safety was churning in his gut.
“They had to special order the tires for my car. I guess they’re a custom size that the mechanic doesn’t keep in stock.”
On any other day, Jax would have drawn this out just to make the guy squirm but between his pent up desire for this man and the nagging feeling that the guy following Dane hadn’t just been out for a leisurely stroll had him snatching the plastic base from under Dane’s arm.
“Dr. Winters?”
Both men turned at the sound of a woman’s voice and Jax recognized the girl walking towards them as Wendy, the young woman that was attacked at Callan’s ranch yesterday by the would-be arsonists.
“Hey, Wendy,” Dane said. “How’s the head?”
A wide smile spread across her pretty features as she glanced her fingers over the small bandage covering the injury. “Good. Little bit of a headache.”
Her eyes turned to Jax, then back to Dane. Jax could almost hear the gears turning in her head. Dane must have seen the direction her mind was going, but before he