Page 63 of Furious
TRISTAN
Trisweresmy$$
Stomach sinking, Tristan frowned at his phone before glancing down the hall toward his bedroom, where Jax still slept. He’d intended to make Jax breakfast in bed, and had already showered and laid out the ingredients for cheesy eggs, but Eve had thrown a wrench into those plans.
She’d called a few times yesterday, but he’d been too busy to answer, and he had a sneaking suspicion that he was about to pay for that.
His phone buzzed again, vibrating in his hand.
tris i dont want to make a scene.
A picture appeared beneath her bad grammar, and Tristan almost dropped the phone. Eve stood in front of The Pointe’s sign, right on the main road, her smile a warning.
Panic sloshed through Tristan’s system. The weekend had been stressful enough, and there she was, ready to make things worse.
But it was his own damn fault because he’d waited too long to fix things, and something in his brain clicked, rippling out and strengthening his resolve to steel.
This would be the final payment, because once the weekend was over, Tristan would talk to Rain and Mason about Eve’s threats and how he’d tried to mitigate them. Then he’d come clean to Jax.
However, Tristan needed to handle Eve so things could run as smoothly as possible for Jax. If she managed to cause a ruckus today, then Tristan would never forgive himself.
I’ll be there in twenty minutes.The guilt seemed heavier than usual,resting over him like a lead cloak.Stay out of sight.
Sighing, Tristan ran his hands through his hair. Already dressed, he just had to grab his keys and tux from the bedroom. Tiptoeing in, he gathered his things and was almost home free, but as he reached the door, Jax stirred.
“Where ya goin’?” his accent was more pronounced first thing in the morning, and Tristan wanted to crawl back into bed with him.
“I have to run an errand. I forgot to pay something.” Tristan tried not to grimace as the guilt doubled in weight.
“Oh, um, shit.” Jax blinked further awake, his hair tousled, a sleepy grin on his face, and Tristan’s heart spun in his chest.
“Is it okay if I meet you at work?” he ventured, trying not to look as horrible as he felt. He should be cuddling Jax all the way to the wedding hall instead of fending off someone who should’ve been out of his life years ago.
After a yawn and a careful upper body stretch, Jax hummed. “Sure, I’m going to take the hottest shower known to man.”
“I’ll leave you a spare key on the breakfast bar.” Tristan could at least extend this gesture, show his true feelings and intentions, and it worked, because Jax’s eyes went wide.
“Akey? Well, thank you, Hot Bearded Guy.”
Drawn to him, Tristan leaned over, giving Jax a thorough kiss, trying to tell him everything he wished he could say, but if Eve waited any longer, then she’d probably kick in The Pointe’s glass doors.
Reluctantly pulling away, Tristan placed his forehead against Jax’s. “Bye.”
“Mmm, bye,” Jax pecked him one last time, and Tristan hurried out before he changed his mind, anger prickling under his skin all the way to the bank. Eve had taken ten years of his lifeandthis precious morning with Jax; he wouldn’t allow her any more of his time.
On the way to the hall, Tristan used every trick in the book to calm down, but nothing worked because his fury ran too deep. So, once he saw The Pointe, he drove past the entrance and Eve, turning at the next corner, where there were no cameras or traffic.
Pulling over, he watched as she waved her arms in exasperation, clicking her way over to him in her expensive shoes as he got out of his car.
“It’s about time, Tris!” she exclaimed loudly. “Was your twink keeping you busy?”
“Don’t call him that.” Leaning on his anger, he glared at her. She looked shocked for a few seconds, but she recovered quickly.
“Triiiis, you ignored me all day yesterday,” she whined in a baby voice that grated across his soul.
“That’s because I have a job.Thisjob.” He pointed at the building looming to their left. “And if you keep coming here and get me fired, then I won’t have money to give you,” he bit out.
Her expression told him that she didn’t care, and she sniffed, holding out her hand. Tristan wanted to slap it away. How had he ever loved her?
