The Dangerous Curves Series

Chapter 19

Sarah looked at her watch. “Uh, no. I’d better get going.”

“One last one,” Jax said. “Then I’ll take you home. I promise.”

She glanced at him. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“OK, then. One more.”

The men left the table now, and Sarah and Jax were alone again. He looked at her, saw that she was looking uncomfortable for the first time all evening.

“What’s up, Red?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing, really.” She set down the gum wrapper that she’d been tearing into pieces. “I guess – I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised by anything that guys like Dave and his father do, but I am. Spoiled, rich bastards running over people, just because they can. It still kind of catches me unawares.”

“I know what you mean.” Jax ran his hands through his dark hair. “I’ve known guys like that in my life, too.”

“You have?”

“Yep.”

Aidan brought Sarah her drink now, and Jax knew that the clock was ticking down on his time with her. If he wanted to see her again – and he did – then he had to figure some s**t out, and fast. He decided to take a page from King’s playbook, and just come right out with it.

“So,” he said. “You want to see me again?”

Sarah stared at him. “What?”

“Yeah. Another date. A real one this time… maybe dinner?” He grinned. “And I don’t mean here. Like, in a real restaurant. Candles on the table. Maybe even a wine list.”

She blinked. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“How much time have you got?”

Jax leaned back. “All night, baby. Shoot.”

“OK.” She sat up straighter. “You know about Noah, and he’s my priority. I’m not really free with my time.”

“Yeah, I know. But as far as I understand, your evenings are free sometimes. Right?”

She paused. “Right.”

Jax smiled. “Well, what’s wrong with seeing me once or twice a week?”

“Ummm. Nothing, I guess.” She looked confused. “You’d be OK with that?”

“I’m OK with whatever you can give me.” He touched her hand. “I promise.”

“Oh.”

“And?” Jax said. “What else?”

“What else what?”

“Well, you made it sound like you had a whole bunch of objections to seeing me again.”

She looked down, and he got a strong feeling about what was worrying her.

“Hey,” he said softly. “Is it this place?” He gestured around the room. “You worried about the kind of business I run?”

Sarah glanced around the bar, took in the bikers and scantily-clad women. “Well… yeah. A bit. And I’m worried about… about you. What you do to earn a living.”

“Full disclosure, Red. Deal?”

“Deal, Stud.”

“I know that shady s**t goes on here. My clientele includes drug dealers, motorcycle gangs, ex-cons, hookers, bounty hunters.” He held her eyes. “They’re all mixed in with college kids, weekend riders, and the occasional tourist. It’s a real mishmash of people and interests, but here’s what you need to know: whatever business goes on here, I don’t take a kickback on any of it. No cut, no percentage. Nothing. My money is clean, one hundred percent. I earn on the food and drink I sell, and I rent out the crash rooms for people looking for a place to sleep. Bikers on long trips, tourists looking for an unusual hotel experience, teenagers looking to have s*x someplace safer than a parked car.”

She nodded.

“It ain’t an upscale, classy place, baby. And most nights, those crash rooms are basically f**k rooms, and I’ve spent quite a bit of time in them, with lots of different women. I haven’t been a saint.” He took a deep breath. “Do you think – is this all below you?”

She was startled. “Below me? God, Jax… you know I’m not exactly from the world of white picket fences and holiday homes on the French Riviera.”

He thought of her rundown house, the lot across the street. “No, I know.” He paused. “And as for me, like personally? I’ve done some… things in my life.”

“What things?”

“Bad things. Criminal things.”

“Like?”

Jax exhaled, hard. “I don’t want to talk to you about that. I’m sorry.”

She examined him closely. “Because?”

“Because it’s all way in the past, and everyone deserves the chance to start again, if they really want to. I’ve been a model citizen for years now, and I have no interest in going back to any of that, OK? I barely got out in one piece the first time. Now, I have my business and it’s legit. I have guys who’ll watch my back, and some of them are even my friends. I have a house, and I have a kickass motorcycle, and I have a truck. You get me? My life is good. I’m not going to f**k that all up.”

Sarah bit her lip, considering.

“So.” He watched her face carefully now, wondering if she was going to bolt the hell out the door. “You gonna run for the hills now?”

“No.”

“…No?”

“If you say that you’re not a criminal or gang member or whatever, I believe you.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.”

Wow, that was easy. Almost too easy.

“OK, so… anything else on your mind?” Jax said.

She nodded. “One more thing.”

“Tell me.”

She looked around again, looking increasingly panicked.

“Sarah? What?”

She downed her drink in one.

“OK, I can see that this is one hell of an objection.” Jax tried to keep it light, but his eyes were zeroed in and locked on her; he knew that whatever it was, this was the real issue. Her taking care of Noah and Jax’s possible criminal connections were major considerations, but maybe not the biggest ones.

“Can we – can we talk somewhere more private?” she asked.

“We can go for a ride,” Jax said. “Drive somewhere nice and talk.”

She looked unsure.

“I promise, Sarah. We talk, I take you home after.”

She sighed. “OK. Let’s go for a ride.”