Layla’s POV
My head was spinning, and it wasn’t from the soda. Club politics, bloody interviews, dumpstered loan sharks… it was all so new. So brutally efficient. Part of me hated it. The other part, a part I was afraid to look at too closely, found it… compelling. The way Jax handled it all was pure, raw control. Manly. Sexy, even. It gave me chills that had nothing to do with fear.
Chloe and I slid into a booth in a quieter corner, away from the main stage. My hands were still trembling slightly. Chloe flagged down a waitress and ordered two tequila shots without asking me.
“We need these,” she said, her voice tight. When the shots came, she downed hers in one gulp, wincing. I sipped mine, the liquid fire doing nothing to calm my nerves.
For a while, we just watched the circus. Men
