Harley (West Coast Rock Star #1)(60)

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Twenty-Six

 

 

 

 

 

It was possibly the dumbest thing he had ever done.

 

Cade was a smart woman. She would find out soon what had happened. He still couldn't believe he had let his guard down. The press had been all over him and Cade for the past week and he could use a break. All he'd wanted was to get to Red Ink Studio and get a damned tattoo.

 

Sometime that week, Jax successfully contacted Red, his favourite tattoo artist and positively the most talented woman in the field, for an appointment. She had done ninety percent of the images on his body, which acted as her own canvas. Red had agreed on a time and off he went to see her.

 

Jax wanted to give Zee a break for the day; the man had been overworked since the paparazzi circus had begun. What could go wrong with a secret rendezvous with his tattoo artist? No one else knew about it, except for him, Red, and Zee. But Zee insisted he would feel more secure if he could at least drive Jax around the city. When he arrived at the studio, it had been just him and Red.

 

Red had also been under a lot of stress. He could tell by the way she bit on one corner of her bottom lip. Normally, only her brows would draw closer while she was working and there was serenity on her entire face, but their conversation about the man she had been seeing had caused her tension. At the end, she had still done a great job with what he'd asked from her.

 

Two names: Cadence and Harley, written forever on his arm. He couldn't wait to show it to both of them, hoping it would symbolize his utmost devotion.

 

Before he left the studio, he spoke to Red, hoping to get her to relax and give her a different viewpoint than the one she'd been receiving. "Do not be afraid to love," he began. "Dig deep and you will learn the truth yourself. And don't worry, if you fall, I know he will be there to catch you."

 

 

 

        

          

        

         

 

He had met the man who'd turned Red restless, Wolfe Wainwright, one powerful man. So powerful that when Wolfe had called Jax to change Jax's appointment with Red a while ago, Jax couldn't do anything but agree. Wolfe was the type of person people didn't say no to. He was the kind who could make or break his career, among other things if he wasn't careful. But Jax had heard a lot of rumours regarding Wolfe. Jax tended not to put his nose in other people's business, but from his own experience, sometimes giving love a chance was what needed to be done.

 

As soon as he was out of the studio, having left through the backdoor in Red's office, the sun blinded him. When he moved to block the light with his sunglasses, his arm ached. He should have been used to this kind of soreness. Zee, who had been waiting inside the car, stepped out and handed him his cellphone.

 

Jax didn't like Zee's expression. Something didn't feel right. He hoped it wasn't anything to do with Harley or Cade. He reached to grab his phone.

 

"Fiona's been calling every five minutes or so. I answered a couple of times and she screamed at me," Zee informed him while they both got back into the car.

 

"Did she say what she wants?" Jax stared at the buzzing phone on his hand.

 

"Nope. Just a lot of senseless screeching."

 

Before he answered the call, Jax took in a deep breath. "Fiona."

 

"Jax! Jax!"

 

"Yes, Fi, I can hear you." Jax pinched the bridge of his nose. He could almost feel a headache starting. "What do you want?" He didn't waste any pleasantness on his ex. It never mattered.

 

"Can we talk?" Fiona's voice faltered, and although it should have calmed Jax, the opposite happened. She was up to something.

 

"Talk now."

 

"No, not over the phone. Please. I'm in my apartment. Can you come?"

 

Jax stiffened in his seat. Fiona wasn't supposed to be in New York City. Was it a coincidence that she was in the city at the same time his concerts were on? His mind ran rampant. What could she have possibly found out? Would it be the time Harley had left LA on her own to find Cade in New Jersey? Would this be about his relationship with Cade again? Fiona had been too vocal about her dislike regarding his involvement with Cade. Perhaps, if he sat and reasoned with her, she would stop telling the press her opinions. Yeah, and pigs fly. Fiona would never stop harassing them until she got what she wanted.

 

Jax drew in a sharp breath. "Fine. I'll be there in a few minutes." He ignored the curiosity on Zee's face. He turned to Zee. "I guess we're talking. She's at her apartment."

 

"You sure that's wise?"