“Ask me how many fucks I give about what you think is best? And stop calling me Pippy.”
Jax exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, this was deliberate.” She snorted and he held up a hand. “I know what you’re going to say. Of course the break in was deliberate. But Piper… Snickers didn’t dig that hole. Someone else did, probably with the intention of luring you away from the house long enough for them to get in here.”
She froze for a moment, blood cold, and then rushed outside. She’d only glanced at the hole earlier, but she studied it now. And she could see how he came to that conclusion. Plus, Snickers had never dug a hole in the six years since she adopted him.
“God knows what would have happened if you came home before they were finished,” Jax said softly behind her. “And if I hadn’t been here. Hate me all you want, but even you have to admit, I’m a good fighter. I can protect you now, Piper. I can.”
Frowning a little over the ‘now’ in that sentence, she shot a look at him. His eyes were intense, like he was trying to burn his declaration into her soul.
“I’ve never seen you fight, so I admit to nothing,” she retorted. But there was very little heat to the words. She was feeling a little shell-shocked from that look.
“I can,” he insisted.
“Maybe you can,” she admitted. “You’re big enough to scare intruders away as soon as they got a good look at you, at least. But I’m not coming to stay at your house.”
“Just for the night. Just long enough for you to get your locks changed. It’s after five on a Friday. All the businesses in Eagle Creek are closed for the night. If you won’t think of yourself, think of Snickers.”
“That was dirty, using Snicks as a bargaining chip,” she said, glaring. Exhaling, she relented, seeing the wisdom in his words. “Okay, fine. But only for the night, and only because you’re right about needing the locks changed. And I’m calling Frank, see if maybe he or someone from the sheriff’s office can cruise around the street tonight.”
“Good,” he said, relief stamped on his handsome features. “Call Frank, go pack a bag, and I’ll grab the dog food and bowls. And maybe we can figure out who did this. Like I don’t already have a good idea,” he said, muttering the last part under his breath.
Frowning, just barely catching that last remark, she followed him inside, doing a little muttering of her own. “This had better not be Scott’s handiwork.”
“What?” he hollered after her as she headed up the stairs. “Who the fuck is Scott?”
Jax drove toward Rocky River, replaying Piper’s words, his eagle shredding him from the inside out, thinking again over their conversation after her muttering about Scott.
“Who the hell is Scott?”
Piper exhaled heavily. “Not that it’s any of your damn business, but Scott is my ex-husband.”
“And you think he’d try to break into your house?”
“I never thought he’d have the balls to try shit like this, but who else could it be? I’ve only been back in town for a few days. Not long enough to piss anyone off, unless someone took exception to how I look now.”
“But it’s still something you could see him trying to do? Is he that much of an ass?”
“I’m not answering that. You lost your right to dig into my personal life a long time ago, St. James.”
Jax had wanted to protest, but he let it go, leaving her to pack while he got Snickers’ gear ready. He’d really been asking more out of a burning need to know if he needed to kick Scott’s ass for past transgressions, rather than trying to figure out who had done it.
He already had a pretty good idea who it was, and his hand tightened around the steering wheel. Tomorrow, after he made sure Piper’s locks were changed and her house an impenetrable fortress, he was paying his grandfather a visit. The wily old man thought he was being clever, only messing with some things, not out and out warning her off or trashing her place. But Jax was sure it was him, or one of his minions.
Glancing in the rearview mirror at Piper’s green Mustang following behind him, he scanned for anything that looked like it might pose a threat, but there were no other cars on the road. He’d wanted her to ride with him, but she insisted on driving her car, and he let it go, not wanting to push his luck.
Blowing out a breath of relief when they pulled into the Rocky River driveway, he relaxed in his seat. Now they were in fighter territory. The eagles wouldn’t dare mess with Piper here, and he had a whole host of badass motherfuckers who would help him fight.
Parking, he jumped out to help her with her luggage, watching as she climbed out of her car and looked around, Snickers following her out and sniffing at the ground.
“This is nice. It’s Markson’s old ranch, right? You guys fixed it up nice.”
“Yeah, it was. It wasn’t in too bad shape when we bought it, but we definitely put some work in it.”
“Who is ‘we’?” she asked as she moved to open the trunk.
“Us fighters. Ian, Seth and Cammie. And me, of course.”
“Cammie?” she asked, eyes narrowed.