Page 29

JAXON

"C ru, it's me, where are you at? Listen, that asshole security guard has orders to start pushing you guys around. Lay off the surf for a few days until we get this sorted out. Maybe we can talk to a lawyer or something, eh? Just keep away for now. Call me when you get this message."

I hung up and tried Theo's number next. "Theo, where are you?

Where's Cru? You gotta stay away from Croft Beach.

We'll figure out something. Just stay clear for now.

And if you two are ignoring my calls because you're playing a fucking video game, I'm gonna rip that gaming system out of the wall. Got it? Call me back."

Mom came out of the office. "Heading down to the bar. Where's your dad?" The rumble of a motorcycle answered her question. "I knew he'd want to try that vintage Indian out."

My phone rang. "Cru?" My urgent tone grabbed Mom's attention. I decided to mellow it out, but my intuition was telling me something was up. "Where are you?"

Crusoe didn't answer at first. A weird groan came through the phone. "Think they broke some ribs."

Mom had lasered in on the conversation, even though I was trying to look like it was no big deal.

"Uh, then you didn't get my message in time?" I asked and smiled weakly at Mom. She wasn't buying it.

"I was—out on—the water." Every word was a struggle.

Definitely broken ribs. "Where are you?"

"I'm at—home. LaLa is—on her way."

"Right. Be there soon."

Mom crossed her arms. "All right. I need to know what the hell is going on with your brother."

"He got in a scuffle with some of the security on Croft Beach. I told him to stay away, but you know Cru." I used the word scuffle hoping to tamp down her worry. "LaLa is going to the house to check on him. I'm going to head home too."

Dad walked over. "What's going on?"

"Cru got in a scuffle with the security team on the beach. Scuffle was Jax's word, but I can tell he's trying to sugarcoat things."

"How bad did it get? Do we need to go down there and talk to this bullshit security team?

" Dad asked. It was always amusing to hear him go straight to talking with adversaries first. Back in their twenties, the Stone brothers led with their fists when someone deserved it.

Talk wasn't usually an option. It took a long time to come out from under the legendary status of the Stone brothers.

We all held our own pretty damn well, and we'd definitely had some major scuffles , but our dads held the badass titles, crowns that they'd never lost.

"I'll go home and find out what's going on," I said. "I'll let you know."

"You won't have to. I'll talk to Stella and get the real facts." Mom added a smirk.

"Fine, whatever. Nothing that Theo, Fin and I can't handle."

"Seems this all still leads back to one thing," Dad said. "Your dick."

"Fuck off. Walsh bought that piece of land long before I met Bridget." I headed to the office for my keys.

"Yeah, but Walsh has become a lot more venomous since you?—"

"I swear to god, Hunter, if you bring up his dick one more time—" I heard Mom say as I reached the office.

"You know I'm fucking right. You let me know as soon as you talk to LaLa," Dad said.

My phone rang as I pulled up toward the house. It was Griffin. "You should see Theo. Got the shit beat out of him by those creeps on Croft Beach. He said Cru and some of the other locals also got it bad. They even snapped boards in half."

"I'm just getting home to talk to Cru. I'll call you back. Seems like we might need to take a trip to Croft Beach."

"I was thinking the same thing. I'll get ahold of Mac. The more the merrier, and seems like we'll be two men down."

"Yep, talk soon." I hung up. Stella's car was in the driveway.

"Where are you guys?" I asked as I walked in.

"Here, in the kitchen," Stella called back.

I entered the kitchen and froze. Crusoe had two black eyes and a cut lip. Stella was dabbing at his lip with a wet cloth, but Crusoe was ducking away from it.

"Don't be such a baby. Just let me wipe it." Stella's voice sounded rough, wavering. She looked back at me with tears in her eyes. "I think I should take him to urgent care. They thumped him hard."

"Not going to the doctor," Crusoe said weakly.

"Stella's right. You need to go get checked out."

I crouched down in front of him. "Tell me what happened."

"A bunch of us decided to take our boards down to the beach.

" Crusoe stopped to catch his breath. An ice pack was pressed against his chest. "There were some awesome sets coming in.

We paddled around the jetty, so we never stepped foot on the fucking beach.

" Crusoe struggled to sit up straighter, but every inch of movement was excruciating. "They waited for us. There's more now."

"How many?" I was already getting battle plans ready in my head.

"Fucking ten maybe. All with the same thick necks and giant foreheads.

Like they made them in a mold." He chuckled at his comment and then bent forward in agony.

"Fuck, why do broken ribs hurt so much?" he said between gritted teeth.

Crusoe took a breath, a short painful one by the look on his battered face. "You going down there?" he asked.

"Waiting for a call from Fin."

Stella stood up. "Right. Then I guess I'll just wait and save myself an extra trip to urgent care."

"We're just gonna talk," I said wryly.

"Yes, you and your army of two? You and Fin? Theo's out of commission too," Stella said.

"It'll be three. Fin's calling Mac. You know Mac.

It's like bringing a Tasmanian devil to a fight.

Hey, look, I know Mom is waiting for you to call her, but don't let her know how bad it is.

Otherwise, she's going to grab a power drill and drive down to that beach herself to start taking eyes and balls. Griffin and I are going to handle it."

"Too late. I sent Mom a picture." Stella lifted her phone. "Here's her response."

"I'm going to kill them."

"Shit. Well cat's left that bag then."

Crusoe rested back against the chair and closed his eyes. "I want to go."

"The only place you're going is to see a doctor," Stella said. "I'm not waiting, so I guess you'll have to drive yourself to the ER," she said to me. "Or maybe Miss Walsh can take you after her dad's attack dogs get through with you."

"Love the vote of confidence, sis." I walked over to fill a glass with water. I was regretting the chili burger lunch now.

"Well, do you see our adorable baby brother? He looks like something a cat barfed up."

"Jeez, harsh, LaLa. Way to hit a guy when he's down," Crusoe moaned.

Stella rubbed the top of his head. "Let's get you to the doctor's. I told Mom I was taking you in, so there's no backing out now."

My phone rang. "It's Fin." I walked out of the kitchen. "Cru is fucked up bad," I said.

"Theo too, though he said Cru got the worst of it. Fool wants to go with us to the beach. Wish he could. We're down to three. I'm on my way to pick Mac up."

"Yep, I'll meet you there."

I helped Stella get Crusoe to the car. She took hold of my arm before I could leave. "Hey, seriously, Jax?—"

"We'll be fine."

I got in the car and checked my phone to see if Bridget had called or texted, but there was nothing. It was best to put her out of my head for the time being. I was going to need to be fully dialed in once I got to the beach.

A long line of cars was parked along the highway near the path to the beach.

The long sandy trail had started naturally, back when the dads were young, back when no one owned Croft Beach.

So many feet had tromped down the hillside, a smooth trail had been worn into the otherwise rugged and overgrown landscape.

I didn't see Griffin's truck yet. Some of the cars were familiar.

It seemed some other Trayton locals had shown up.

Word must have gotten around that some of our people had gotten beaten up just for surfing in their favorite stretch of water.

I walked along the line of cars and stopped when the door of a Porsche opened up. It was definitely not a local. Alex stepped out of the car in his pressed shorts and slicked back hair. He lifted his sunglasses and smirked at me. I didn't have time for his shit.

He stepped out to block my path. I stared hard at him. "That's a pretty bold fucking move, or did you forget the last time we met?"

"Hank's down there on the beach with Ivan. I just have to send a text, and he'll come up here and wipe the asphalt with that fucking face of yours."

"That's sweet that you have a big dumb asshole to protect your tiny little one. Oh wait. That's actually your mouth. Thought it was your asshole. Love to stay and chat but—nah, who am I kidding. I wouldn't love it at all."

"We're getting married Saturday," he blurted as I walked around him.

I looked back. "Yeah, you keep on dreaming, sparkles."

"Don't have to. Bridget has agreed it's for the best. And before you think you're going to be hanging around with her after we sign the marriage contract—Nathan has already stipulated that she's not to go near you ever again. Sorry, jerk, you lost. She's out buying a dress right now."

"You're full of shit." I was anxious to get to the beach. At the same time, his words had gotten to me. I was sure he was lying, but he was wearing that lie like a cocky, arrogant hard truth.

A car horn pulled our attention to the highway. Griffin and Mac sped past. He pulled a fast U-turn to park behind my car.

"Oh, there's more of you. Well, this should be interesting. I believe Ivan already sent a few of your people off with their tails between their legs."

"Yeah, that's something to brag about. Ivan and his pigs outweighed and outnumbered them, but sure, you count that as a win. Maybe you should change out of your shiny loafers and join those brainless thugs."