Page 60 of Louder Than Words

But then his gaze shoots over—and locks with mine.

Now I’m willing to bet my blood pressure is through the fucking roof.

He takes a step toward our table, and I’m up immediately, not caring how loud the chair scraping sounds across the restaurant.

I step in front of Allie, crossing my arms over my chest to block him.

Before he can reach us, Gareth notices and jumps up, grabbing my arm.

“Jax—”

I shrug his hand off without a word.

Richard steps forward, a smirk twisting his lips. My jaw clenches so hard my teeth collide.

“Saw you over here with your pals. Figured I’d come say—”

Before I can stop it, my fist pierces through the air, connecting right into his jaw. Pain explodes through my knuckles, but it’s absolutely worth it just to watch him stumble back and crash into a chair, nearly going down with it.

Gasps erupt from more than a few tables as chairs scrape and fly out of the way. Someone rushes to the asshole’s side, helping him to his feet.

My vision blurs. Everything narrows. I can barely register what’s happening around me.

I just know I don’t want him here. Not near me. And definitely not near her.

Then I feel an arm wrap gently around mine, and I freeze.

“Jax?” Allie pleads from beside me. And it breaks my fucking heart.

I stay exactly where I am. Not budging, but not pulling away from her either. Her touch is the only thing keeping me from lunging right back at him.

“Someone should call the police,” a random bystander says, gripping Richard’s arm like he’s about to collapse.

Dick waves him off. “No, no, that’s okay.”

He shrugs off the stranger—because that’s the kind of dick he is—and when he finally gets his footing, he wipes the corner of his mouth, noticing the red now pooling there.

“Good to know you learned how to punch, Jackie,” he mutters, laughing as he dabs his lip again. “No more being the punching bag, eh?”

I shake my head slowly. “Nope. Now leave.” I nod toward the door.

That’s when Don’s voice booms over everything.

“What the hell is going on?” He pushes through the crowd, eyes snapping between me and Richard before stepping in front of me. “Jax, talk to me. What’s going on?”

But I don’t answer. I can’t. My knuckles are throbbing. My body is shaking with every breath I take.

Richard tsks, then tilts his head. “You know Mum wouldn’t like this very much.”

And I don’t even have to look at him to know the smirk he’s wearing.

“Don’t fucking talk about her,” I growl.

“Oh, come on, Jackie. You can’t seriously still blame me,” he scoffs, throwing his arms out like he’s the fucking victim here. “I wasn’t the one driving the damn car!”

I surge forward, but apparently AllieandGareth are holding me in place. “Blame you?” I snap, eyes burning. “Who else is there? She wouldn’t have been driving if it wasn’t to rescue your sorry arse—again!”

“Come on, Jax. Let’s go,” Allie pleads, her arm brushing against mine, trying to calm me down.