Page 30 of Louder Than Words

“You know that saying, ‘He wouldn’t hurt a fly’? Jax is the guy who opens the damn window.”

Our laughter explodes in the room, because she’s not wrong. At all.

But as quickly as it comes, it dies down, and the air grows heavier.

“So… when is court?” she asks, carefully piling my hair onto one side of my head.

I inhale deeply and blow out slowly before answering, “Not until after Thanksgiving. We only have Judge Reinbeck in the whole county right now, so that buys us some time. Maybe even enough for Trevor to change his mind.”

I feel her hands pause, and I can almost feel her glare from behind my head.

“I know, I know. Wishful thinking,” I admit.

Suddenly, a cold mist hits my back, and I yelp.

My head whips around, and all I see is Ana sitting there with a wide, proud smile and a can of hairspray propped in her hand.

“Done! Go look,” she says excitedly, gesturing toward the large mirror on the wall.

Sliding off the bed with a sigh, I crawl over, almost afraid to look. The second I finally do, my mouth drops.

I turn to Ana. “Pigtails? Seriously?” I say, half amused, half in shock.

They’re kind of perfect, though—curly, bouncy... maybe even easy to wrap around a fist.Okay, Allie. Relax.

Ana shrugs and winks. “Tell Jax he can thank me later.”

At least I’m not the only one with my mind in the gutter.

Holy. Shit.

Those two words are probably going to be on repeat the entire time we’re in Boston. Right now, they’re the only ones my brain can manage.

They rented an entirepenthouse?

My eyes dart from person to person, taking in every costume and the over-the-top decorations draped across every corner. They really went all out.

There are even floating candles hanging from the damn ceiling.

My feet carry me on autopilot, like I’m drifting through a dream while my eyes scan over the sea of faces, searching for one in particular—a criminally handsome one at that.

Then I hear it. His unmistakable laugh.

A smile slips out before I can stop it as I turn—and there he is. Tall, broad-shouldered, in an orange jumpsuit withDOCstamped across the back. My heart leaps into my throat as I tiptoe toward him.

The second I’m behind him, I slide my hands into his and press them gently against his back.

“Freeze,” I murmur, grinning. “You’re under arrest for evading, resisting, and failing to report how good you look in orange.”

He chuckles, shaking his head as he turns to face me…

And then I want to die.

Because standing directly behind Jax, of course, are Alex and Angel—both wearing matching smirks that tell me they heard every single word.

Kill me now.

And that’s not even the only thing matching.