had to remind myself that he was still here. That he wasn’t leaving me again.
When would I stop needing to remind myself that all of this was real, that Jazz really was here with me? The past few days, it felt like I always wanted to be touching him, just a hand on his arm or shoulder, and I didn’t quite know what to do with that. But it had to be real, Jazz here with me, because the Jazz from my memory didn’t have this much muscle in his arms, or that much determination in his sharp eyes.
“Everything all right?” I asked low.
Jazz’s gaze flickered down to my mouth, and then back up—and he pulled his hand from my chest like he’d just realized it was still there. “Yeah.”
Gunnar opened the office door and shouldered past. “Can you guys go have your besties debrief somewhere that’s not the middle of the hall?” He paused and glanced between us, his brow furrowing curiously. “Or am I interrupting something?”
I released Jazz’s arms and stepped back, scowling at Gunnar. I felt caught, for some reason—like Jazz was about to say something, something private, but now the moment had slipped through my fingers.
Priest stepped out of the office as well and nodded at us to follow him.
Jazz raked a hand through his hair and exhaled roughly, like he was trying to shake something off. Priest walked toward the kitchen and I followed with my hand in the center of Jazz’s back. I could feel Gunnar’s eyes drilling into the back of my head. Part of me felt like I should move my hand—but there was no reason for that. It wasn’t like I was doing anything wrong.
But for some reason, Gunnar’s gaze itched.
In the kitchen, Priest opened the fridge and tossed us each a beer. “Cheers, boys. And congratulations, Jasper. Tex, I figured you could be the one to do the handover—running through daily duties, expectations, all the nitty-gritty stuff. I don’t expect Jasper will need much training—”
“What?” I interjected. “Training for what?”
Priest raised his eyebrows, and then looked meaningfully at Jazz.
Jazz cracked his beer and bit back a smile, directing it at his shoes like he could hide how pleased he was. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out, then held out his hand so I could see it. “Check it out.”
In his palm was a patch similar to mine. ENFORCER.
All the anxiety I’d felt pacing in the hallway was overwhelmed by sudden relief. “You? Enforcer?”
I grinned so big it hurt, grabbed the back of his neck, and shook him roughly. I wanted to hug him—pull him hard against my body and tell him how proud I was of him, but I didn’t want to do that with Gunnar standing in the kitchen doorway still watching.
It just felt—
It felt like it should be private.
“If you’re road captain, you won’t have as much time for the day-to-day enforcing,” Gunnar said. “And we could use some extra muscle until we figure out where Crave’s slunk off to.”
I nodded and glanced at Jazz. I trusted that he understood how serious this situation with Crave was, despite not being around for most of it. I’d kept him up-to-date on everything in the letters I’d sent, but it might not carry the same weight that being here for it did.
And that shot a new spike of anxiety through me. Enforcing wasn’t an easy job, and Jazz had just gotten out of the joint. He’d done a lot of work on himself, he’d said, but was he really ready to be thrown into a job like this? Enforcing could be high pressure—it required a lot of thinking on your feet, and making snap decisions that balanced the club’s well-being, as well as the community, and the law.
Growing up, Jazz hadn’t been so great under pressure. I was still ridiculously proud of him for this opportunity, but now that the initial excitement and pride was fading, I couldn’t help but worry that we’d get into a tough spot and he’d crack, and either do something dangerously impulsive trying to prove himself, or simply make the wrong decision because doing so was ingrained in him.
But I was the one training him, so I would make sure that he was prepared. I’d just have to cross that bridge when we got there.
“I’ll let you run through the basics with him,” Gunnar said. “Talk guard duty, checking in with businesses, bouncing, et cetera.”
I nodded. The four of us had a