Ricochet (Renegades #3)(92)
Author: Skye Jordan

“You’re the woman who can’t stay out of other people’s business.” Nathan’s hands rested at his hips, and he leaned forward. “How many times do I have to tell you to leave me the fuck alone?”

Humiliation stabbed her chest, and Rachel sucked a breath of air.

Troy stepped in and grabbed Nathan’s arm roughly. “Shut your mouth—”

Nathan shoved Troy hard. He stumbled backward a few steps. Jax and Duke broke his fall.

“You motherfucker.” Troy lunged for Nathan, but the other men held him back.

Nathan ignored Troy as if he weren’t there, stabbing a rigid index finger to the air near Rachel’s chest. She flinched but didn’t back away.

“You cause more trouble for me than I can cause myself,” he ground out. “For the last time, I. Don’t. Need. You. Deal with it.”

Nathan pushed past her, knocking her off balance with his shoulder. Josh caught her and kept a protective arm around her waist. Troy lunged for Nathan, breaking out of Jax’s grip and yanking Nathan around by the arm. Troy’s other hand was already fisted and came around in a sharp hook to Nathan’s jaw.

A scream popped from Rachel’s throat, and she covered her mouth with both hands. Nathan stumbled sideways, bent at the waist, and covered his jaw with his hand. Sure he’d come back swinging, Rachel drew a breath to yell stop, but Nathan didn’t even turn and look back at Troy. He continued his path through the crowd, yelling, “I’m going to do the post-blast check. Everyone stay the fuck away from me.”

She kept her gaze on the dark where he’d disappeared from view, her mind hazing over as emotions overwhelmed her.

Josh was saying something in her ear. Troy stood in front of her, his grip on her arms, his worried, furious gaze on her face. But Rachel only heard Nathan’s slashing words over and over in her head.

She pushed Troy and Josh away, searching for Jax, and ignored his scandalized expression. “Jax, can you check the footage now? If it’s not acceptable, I’ll have to regroup fast to pull it off in time.” Jax grabbed her hand and dragged her with him to meet up with the assistant director.

“Drama’s over,” she said to the staff, forcing herself to keep her hand off the cheek that felt the size of a balloon, grateful her heart was temporarily numbed by the trauma. “Start packing up so we can get the hell out of here.”

As soon as the crowd started to disperse with low murmurs of shock and concern, she focused on the footage playing on the iPad’s small screen It was ridiculously dramatic and cinematically stunning. But Rachel felt no joy or accomplishment or even relief. She felt nothing.

“The fight came over on audio,” the director said to Jax, “but we’ll dub over it in edits.”

“We’re good to go?” Jax asked.

The director nodded. “It’s a wrap.”

There was no applause, no high-fives, no hugs, no laughter, the way wraps normally ended, and Rachel felt a pang of regret that Nathan hadn’t gotten to experience that.

When Jax turned his concerned gaze on Rachel, she stuck to business. “We came in twenty thousand under budget.” Her mind wasn’t fully engaged or functioning, but she turned to Wes, Troy, and Josh standing close by, and said, “Can I have a minute with Jax?”

They all gave her that pitying stare she’d received for months after the news of Nicole and Dante’s affair had spread across town, but wandered away to help dismantle equipment.

Before Jax could kick into concerned-dad mode, Rachel wrapped her arms around her middle and said, “I’ve already tied up all the bookkeeping. All invoices are paid or scheduled for payment. The cost analysis is finished. The HR paperwork is complete and filed. I’ll cut paychecks tonight—”

“Rachel—”

“But then I need to get the hell out of here, Jax.” Her voice broke, and she swallowed and pushed on. “Away from everything and everyone, or I’m going to have a nervous breakdown.”

He gripped her biceps gently. “I’ll get you on the next plane to Maui. You can stay at my house on the north shore. It’s right on the beach, and I have a caretaker who will—”

“No, no,” She rubbed her temple. “Thank you, but no. I need to stay busy. I can’t just sit around with nothing to do but think. What else have you got going that I can help with?”Jax shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and rolled back on his heels. “I was going to head down to Mission Beach for a few days. But you can handle that if you want.”

She raked a hand through her hair. “The surfing gig for the music video?”

He nodded. “Zach called earlier today and said the director acting as stunt coordinator is way out of her league. I think she’s knowledgeable and skilled but may need a little guidance in keeping it all together. You can stay as long as you want.”

Rachel pulled in a deep breath. San Diego. Not far enough away in her opinion, but as long as Nathan wasn’t there, as long as the Renegades weren’t there…it was as good a place as any. “I’ve never met Zach. And I know zip about surfing.”

“I think of Zach as Keaton’s blond twin—in looks, talent, and personality, with a whole hell of a lot of ‘dudes’ thrown in. And he knows enough about surfing to fill the ocean with how-to books. I need someone to connect with the director. Maybe finagle a few duties away from her while making her think it was all her idea.”

Rachel blew out a breath. “I think I can manage that.”

Jax pulled her close by the shoulders and kissed her forehead. “Then pack your bags, honey. You’ll be taking my seat on a flight out of Los Angeles first thing tomorrow morning.” He smiled down at her. “And Lexi doesn’t know it yet, but she’s very grateful.”

Relief and appreciation swam around the pain filling her.

She wrapped her arms around Jax and pressed her cheek to his chest. “Thank you.”

23

Ryker scraped his fingers along his itchy scalp. Fresh haircuts always itched, and he’d gone way shorter than usual this time, as if cutting it all off could erase the past two months of leave from existence.

“Attention passengers on flight 645 to Tacoma.” The American Airline’s customer service rep’s voice drifted overhead. “Your plane has arrived, and your flight crew is estimated to arrive in the next ten minutes. We apologize for the delay and will begin boarding as quickly as possible.”