Page 49 of Thrown Off Balance

“Jax,” Mason sighs. “Stop poking the bear when he’s the only thing standing between you and Jude.”

“I'm turning onto the street. Be there in a second.”

“Good. Maddox’s opening the gate now. I'm hoping you can get right in and it will shut before Jude gets a chance to try.”

“Ok. I'm speeding up to get some distance between us.”

I hold my breath as Pauly guns the engine and closes the distance between us and the parking lot. We narrowly make it through the gate as it shuts, locking Jude on the outside. As soon as the SUV screeches to a halt outside of the door, I try to release my seatbelt, but my hands are shaking too hard.

“I’ve got you, baby.” Cody easily releases the belt and leans over me to open the door. He climbs out behind me and instantly shields me with his own body.

We hurry inside and the door doesn’t even shut before Jax, Mason, Maddox, and Pauly are all following us.

“Now what?” Jax folds his arms over his chest and glares at his uncle and the two other guys.

“I guarantee he’s coming to your game tomorrow.” Pauly rubs at the back of his neck. This was too close of a call for him.

“Then Sloan needs to stay home,” Cody speaks up.

“No, she needs to be here, in a box seat. It’s the safest place for her. We’ll be here too. The more people, the safer it is for her. If we’re wrong and he doesn’t come to the game, he’ll probably go to your house assuming Sloan will be there. We can’t take that chance.”

“What do we do now that he knows what car Jax drives?”

“We get you a different car. How do you feel about a minivan?” Maddox smirks, patting Jax on the back.

“I think I'm a single pro athlete and I have no use for one,” Jax growls.

“Exactly, that’s why he’ll never expect it to be your car. Do you like red or silver?”

“I like black, just like my heart,” Jax murmurs, pushing past everyone and over to the locker room.

“He’s having a really hard time with this,” Cody says softly as he turns his attention towards Mason. “He can’t protect any of the people he loves and he doesn’t know how to handle this.”

“I know. My hands are tied until Jude makes a move though.” Mason sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I’m honestly hoping the idiot just breaks into your house while you’re not there. It will make my life so much easier. We can catch him on the cameras and get him shoved in prison.”

“If he breaks in with the intent to hurt or kill Sloan, he can go away for a long time. If he had a weapon, he’d go away for even longer. It really would be the easiest, especially if Sloan isn’t there.” Maddox sighs. “They never want to make it easy though.”

A shiver runs down my spine. I never thought about Jude breaking into the house to kill me. Would he really go that far?

“Never.” Mason chuckles. “But it keeps us on our toes and our minds sharp.”

Mason’s phone rings and when he checks the display, he instantly puts it on speaker.

“What’s up, Peck?”

“He’s sitting outside of the house. He’s not even trying to hide.”

“Good, that means he’s getting sloppy.” Maddox rubs his hands together like he’s getting excited. “He’s going to make another move soon. Do we have them stay somewhere else tonight?”

“Yes, Wes said your house is close to being done, right?” Mason looks to Cody.

“Kind of? The bedrooms are done except for paint and carpet. I'm not sure about the bathrooms or the kitchen.”

“Well, that won't work if you don’t have a bathroom… How do you feel about sleeping in the room you grew up in?” Mason grins.

“I don’t care where I sleep as long as Jude doesn’t come near me.”

“Good. I’ll let your parents know to be prepared. I’ll take Charlie’s old room and Maddox can take Sophia’s. Peck will already be across the street and having Wes down the hall and Blake next door will make this even nicer.” Mason nods his head as his plan comes together.