Page 54 of Thrown Off Balance

“I'm serious. I’ve always wanted a woman who welcomes Jax with open arms. Someone who won't be annoyed when he drops by at two in the morning because he needs me. Someone who won't feel like he’s crossing boundaries by constantly being around or coming over when things are crazy. I think you’re that woman, baby. You love him almost as much as you love me.”

“Yeah, but in a different way.” I scrunch up my nose as I glance at Jax. “Like I'm not kissing you, so don’t get any ideas.”

“Brosephine, that would be like kissing Sophia or Charlie.” Jax gags and places a hand between our faces. “You’re like a sister to me. We grew up together.”

“That means nothing. You grew up with Emma and Bella, yet I don’t think you view them like sisters.”

“I view fifty percent of them like sisters. The other fifty percent…” He trails off, wiggling his brows.

“Oh my gosh! Which one do you have the hots for?” I sit forward and turn my body to face Jax.

Cody takes the opportunity to spin and pull me against him so our legs are spread out on the couch and we’re facing Jax. My back is against his chest and his arms are wrapped around my waist.

“Nope, I don’t spill secrets like that.” He waves me off.

“Cody, who is it?”

“See, you have to understand that he’s not allowed to spill twin secrets.” Jax tsks.

“Oh, are they special?” I ask, rolling my eyes.

“Yes,” they both answer at the same time, making me laugh.

“Fine. I’ll figure it out sooner or later. What time do we need to leave for the stadium?”

When we get to the stadium, Mason and Maddox lead me straight to a box. Pauly is already here and so are a handful of other men. Apparently, they all work for Bennett Bradley Security and their job is to protect me at all costs today.

“I don’t want you to leave this room, Sloan. There’s a bathroom in the corner and if you need anything else, just let us know,” Mason murmurs as he types something out on his phone.

“Are you going somewhere?” My brows draw together as I watch him carefully. I’d feel so much safer if he doesn’t leave me.

“Nah, Jude knows what I look like. If he spots me, he might get angrier and realize we’re protecting you. I need men he hasn’t seen. That means Maddox and Pauly will be here with you and me. The rest of the guys will be our eyes and ears on the ground. They’ll be looking for Jude the entire time. The stadium gave us access to their video cameras. Peck’s in the secret lair checking every camera and letting us know if he spots him.”

“Does he have facial recognition software too?” I roll my eyes.

“Yes.” Mason turns his attention away from me and motions for the men I don’t know to follow him. “I’ll be back in five minutes, Sloan.”

“Ok.” I take a seat overlooking the ice and try to relax. Mason said no one can see through these windows. Even if Jude shows up, he won't be able to spot me here.

I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly. As long as Jude can’t get to me, I’ll be happy.

Chapter 30

Jude

How are they still not here? They haven’t come home since I followed them to the stadium. This is all Sloan. She’s convinced them to move somewhere else. Next, she’ll convince them to move far, far away from me and I’ll never be able to see Jax again.

I punch my steering wheel and glare at the house. I stayed awake the entire night and no one has come or gone. Where else could they be? Mulberry Lane? That place is locked up even tighter than Jax and Cody’s home. There’s no way I could sneak onto Mulberry Lane without someone spotting me. There are too many people there. Too many eyes.

If I make one of them upset, Jax could get mad. It’s his family after all. No, I need to stay away from Mulberry Lane until I get Sloan away from all of them. She’s the one turning everyone against me. Once she’s eliminated, everything will be fixed. I just need to figure out how to get her away from Cody and Jax.

I have a ticket to the game tonight. I'm hoping I can talk to Jax, but I want to make sure Sloan doesn’t come back here first. If she doesn’t go to the game, I can get to her without them around. I’ll just wait until right before the game starts to head to the stadium. If I can get to her, I can end all of this tonight and get back into Jax’s good graces.

I'm coming for you Sloan Weathers. You can’t avoid me forever.

Chapter 31

Cody