Wilde About Her (Wilde Pack Series)(26)

His eyes narrows to slits. "That's too bad. I was going to give you a  pass. I saw what your filthy claws did to Troy's back. I hate to see the  same happen to your little girlfriend."

Jax wasn't going to deny slashing her with his claws before she'd run off into the forest. "Your sister tried to attack Denim."

Diesel shrugged, not bothering to deny it. "So what? She's jealous. Who  could blame her after the way you humiliated our family. Now you want to  shame your family by mating with a human!" he added with a hint of  disgust. "I smelled your scent all over her."

"Denim wears my mark because she is my mate," Jax growled possessively.  "And despite the tension between our families I have no intentions of  letting her go to marry your sister."

A low rumbling emerged from Diesel's throat. "Who do you think is going to distribute your precious horses?"

"That's for the pack leaders to work out, not us," Jax replied and clenched his fists so tight until his knuckles turned white.

Lifting his chin with defiance, Diesel spat, "That's where you're wrong.  My father is out of the country, which means it's up to his sons to  hold things down." His green eyes sparkled with menace.

"Warwick is the next pack leader, not you."

Diesel scrubbed a hand down across his face, and for the first time he  looked annoyed. "My brother believes in reasoning and sticking to  tradition. I believe in making things happen and eliminating who or what  stands in my way." He delivered in a harsh, rough voice.

Jax stepped forward. "Is that a threat?"

He smirked. "Look at it any way you want."

Reared up, Jax glared at the shapeshifter's defiance. "Like I told you.  Touch one hair on my girl's head and there won't be anything left of you  when your father gets back." His hands itched again. "Get the hell out  of here and don't come back to Justice."

"You're going to regret your decision," Diesel warned. As Jax glared  into his eyes, he could see Diesel's wolf staring back at him.

"The only one who's going to know what regret is, is you if I see your  face around here again," Jax countered, his eyes every bit as flat and  cold. He didn't want to kill Diesel. But if he had no choice, he would  do whatever he had to do to keep Denim safe.



* * *

"Where did Jax come from? One minute you're talking to that hottie and  in a blink of a second, there's Jax pinning him up against the wall!"  Quinn exclaimed. Her eyes were wide with astonishment.

She wasn't the only one surprised.

Denim wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it for herself. And  she definitely saw it all. It was surreal. Like a dream. Time stood  still, emphasizing just how swiftly Jax had traveled across the diner.  Luckily none of the guests saw him, and yet why had she been able to see  him when no one else could?

"I don't know," Denim mumbled as she tried to shake off the eerie  feeling still floating around her. She looked out the window and was  relieved to see that at least Diesel and Jax were talking. "I guess he's  just quick on his feet."

"Quick?" Quinn swiveled around on the stool. "That was super-duper fast! I didn't even see him walk through the door."

Denim nibbled on her lip and suddenly wondered if anyone else had noticed.

"And then the way he defended you was like something out of a movie! I am so jealous." Quinn's tone was dripping with envy.

He was definitely her knight-in-shining-armor. Her heart skipped a beat  just thinking about the lengths Jax had gone to protect her. First from  Troy and now Diesel.

Denim's eyes moved around the diner before drifting out into the parking  lot again. Customers were whispering and pointing at her. Others were  staring out the window at Jax and Diesel, waiting to see what unfolded.  Thank goodness Pappy had gone fishing with one of his buddies. The  uproar would have just been another justification as to why Jax Wilde  was not a good match for his precious granddaughter.         

     



 

"I still can't believe that guy had the balls to grab your arm. Did he seriously think he could get away with that?"

Diesel had been testing her. Or had he done it because he knew Jax was  near? Denim wasn't sure. Lately, she wasn't sure about a lot of things.  Everything was happening so fast, and the fact that she'd seen Jax  moving with the speed of light, she was starting to wonder what was  happening to her?

A crash in the kitchen jerked her out of her reverie. Denim reached for  the pot of coffee and whipped around the room. "Who wants more coffee?"  she asked merrily, trying to ease the tension in the room and get  everything back on track. She returned for the water pitcher, filled  glasses, laughed with guests behaving as if everything was okay when  deep down she was shaking with uneasiness. Troy, the she-wolf, had been  scary, but Diesel, the man, was even more terrifying. She shivered at  the thought of meeting his wolf.

As she moved around the room, she kept glancing out the window watching  Jax and Diesel talking in the parking lot. It was like watching a movie  and waiting for that jaw-dropping moment when one of them might shift  into their wolf.

Shapeshifting in Justice? She shook her head. That knowledge still blew her mind.

Anxious to get outside, Denim made sure all of her customers were taken  care of, passed out their checks, then went in back to grab her purse. A  few minutes later, she came rushing out of the restaurant.

"What was that all about?" Denim shouted as she walked swiftly across  the parking lot towards Jax who was leaned against her car.

Diesel peeled out from the parking spot and zipped up First Street, too fast for even the local police to catch.

"Hey you two! Everything okay?" Quinn asked, and she hurried over to join them. Dammit! Denim had forgotten all about her.

A muscle twitched at Jax's jaw. Diesel's appearance at the diner was  clearly not a discussion to be having in front of someone who didn't  know the truth.

Forcing a smile, Denim swirled around and replied, "No, everything is fine. Really. But how about I give you a call later?"

Quinn poked out a pouty lip. "I can see I'm not wanted. I'll call you  later, but I want all of the juicy details." She winked. "See you later  Jax!" she cried and returned his wave. As soon as she was in her car,  Denim faced Jax. His hands were shoved in his pockets and she wondered  if his paws had emerged.

"You wanna walk and talk?" He gave her a stoned look, but Denim wasn't  backing down. Jax needed to walk off some steam, and she needed answers.  "I would love to walk over to Colorful Flavors and get a scoop of ice  cream. Pretty please." Denim batted her eyelashes, and eventually Jax  cracked a smile. It was small, but better than nothing.

"C'mon, big baby. Let's get you some ice cream." His surprisingly chipper voice cut through the guarded mood.

Jax held her hand as they walked down First Street into the heart of  downtown. The street was relatively busy. Now that the Texas sun was  beginning to set, people had come out to enjoy the evening. Storefront  windows were all displaying tempting items, everything from swimsuits to  homemade taffy for sale. Children were running up and down the  sidewalks. Customers were walking, bags swinging from their hand,  laughing and talking as if they had all the time in the world. Time  slowed down in Justice. No one seemed to be in any kind of rush to be  anywhere.

Denim glanced at Jax. He looked big and lethal, the wind catching his  hair. He'd shortened his stride so that she could keep up with him.

"Are you okay?" Jax suddenly asked and drew her tightly to his side. "Diesel didn't hurt you, did he?"

She reached over and looped an arm around him, and immediately she could  feel the tension in his body. "I'm fine. Just a little shook. Diesel's a  bit intimidating. I assume he's also a Were."

Jax nodded. "That's Troy's brother."

Denim expelled a long breath of air. Now that she knew who he was, she  recognized the resemblance. Red hair. Scary eyes. "Why was he in the  diner?"

He hesitated. "He wanted to see you for himself."

"What?" She stopped mid-stride and faced him. "What do you mean?"

"He knows you're someone special, and he wanted to see you for himself."  He searched her eyes. There was no masking the fear, no matter how much  she tried. "Hey, it's nothing for you to worry about. I promise to keep  you safe." Reaching up he brushed his thumb along her jaw.

"It's not me I'm worried about." She didn't miss the look of confusion  on his face before she started walking again, pulling him alongside her.  "Jax, I heard your conversation."         

     



 

"Was I really talking that loud?"

Denim shook her head. "No, that's not what I mean." She lowered her voice. "I mean I heard what Diesel was thinking."

Jax stopped and dragged her close to a dark red building so another  couple could pass, then gazed down into her eyes. "You heard his  thoughts?" he whispered, then glanced around him to double-check no one  was listening.