My thoughts snagged once more on Cecily, and her face flashed vividly through my mind again. The sweet curve of her smile, the confident tilt of her chin, and the fire of determination in her gaze.
A knock against my half-open office door jerked me out of thoughts that had nothing to do with money and everything to do with my woman. I snapped my gaze up, quickly composing myself as Jax sauntered inside, his lean frame filling the doorway, a knowing smirk playing on his lips.
“Mierda,” I groaned softly, my heart thumping unevenly in my chest, desire tangling in my veins. My Spanish heritage often slipped out when I was curding, much to my mother’s dismay.
“Hey, brother,” he drawled, leaning one shoulder against the doorframe and folding his arms. “Heard Cecily got back in town last night. You manage to track down your patience yet, or should we all continue to keep our distance?”
I shot him a dry glare, my fingers tightening subtly around the leather armrests of my chair. “Fuck off, asshole.”
Yeah, I knew I’d been more of a bastard than usual lately, but I wasn’t in the mood for his bullshit. Even if I deserved it for the razzing I’d done when my brothers found their women.
Jax chuckled, his blue eyes glinting with amusement as he pushed off the doorway and moved deeper into my office. He grabbed a chair from the corner, spun it around, and dropped down, straddling it lazily. His gaze was far too calculating to fool anyone with his casual pose. “Relax, Tyre. I just wanted to see if your sanity was still holding up. Been a while since I’ve seen you strung this tight. Edge was starting to take bets on when you’d snap.”
I grunted, leaning back and rubbing the bridge of my nose. “Like he’s got room to talk about sanity.”
Our VP, who was also Kane’s brother, was a pretty laid-back guy with a quick smile. But it barely hid the fact that he was just a little bit psycho.
“Touché,” Jax retorted, leaning forward slightly, his amusement fading as his assessing gaze scanned my face. “You look like shit. Seriously, when are you gonna make a move? You’re usually not this slow with…well, anything.”
I gave him a flat stare, unamused. “Already made it. Picking her up for dinner tonight.”
“She know she’s yours yet?” A chuckle slipped out as he shook his head. “Hope she knows she’s already claimed—has been since the minute you laid eyes on her at the pool.”
I glared, irritation lacing my voice even as heat tightened low in my body at hearing someone call Cecily mine. “You done?”
“For now,” Jax conceded, his smirk fading as he caught something more serious beneath my annoyance. He straightened slowly, his shoulders squaring as his expression shifted from teasing brother to the lethal enforcer and tech genius I trusted implicitly. “Something else bothering you?”
I nodded once, pushing forward to rest my elbows on the desk, my gaze narrowing as I motioned toward the screen filled with the betting sheets and payout records. “Found some discrepancies in the underground racing money. At first, I thought it might’ve been a coincidence or an off night, but it’s specific. Only certain races and locations. High rollers skipping out, smaller pots, and drivers not showing. Seems like someone’s pulling our people away—both bettors and racers.”
Jax’s eyes sharpened instantly, all amusement wiped clean. He rose smoothly and moved to stand beside me, leaning slightly forward, his gaze rapidly scanning the data. A muscle flexed subtly in his jaw, the only outward sign of his reaction. “You thinking someone’s running competition against us?”
“That’s exactly what it looks like,” I confirmed, my irritation clear. “Not random enough to be coincidental. Feels intentional. Subtle but consistent.”
Jax blew out a low breath, folding his arms as he leaned against the desk. His expression was cold, his mind already working through the angles. “It’d take some serious balls to infringe on Redline territory, especially on underground betting. Either someone’s very brave or very stupid.”
“Could be both. Testing the waters, seeing how long they can get away with it,” I muttered, irritation pricking at my skin. “Either way, we need to shut it down fast.”
“Agreed.” Jax nodded. “Send me everything you have—dates, locations, specific names. I’ll cross-reference and start pulling at threads. We’ll figure out who’s siphoning off our people and deal with them before they get too comfortable.”
“Good.” I leaned back again, releasing a slow, steadying breath. “Keep me updated.”
“On it.” Jax’s lip curved slightly into something dangerously amused. “You just focus on not losing your shit with Cecily tonight. Wouldn’t want to scare her off.”
“Noted.” I shook my head as he chuckled and turned toward the door.
Jax paused at the threshold, glancing back over his shoulder. “Seriously, brother. You’ve been riding the line between obsession and insanity lately. Might be good to find some balance before we’re cleaning up a kidnapping or something equally fucked up.”
I snorted, throwing him a cross look. “Fuck off, Jax.”
He laughed, stepping into the hallway and disappearing, the door clicking quietly behind him.
But the moment he was gone, my thoughts immediately slid back to Cecily, heat pooling as her image filled my mind again. She was back in town, finally within reach, and dinner tonightwas only hours away. Good thing, too, because Jax wasn’t wrong. I’d been walking that razor-thin line for days, desperate to claim her before obsession dragged me straight into madness.
And there was no doubt in my mind that Cecily was worth every fucking second of that fixation.
4
CECILY