“Give me time.” Her eyes blue look teal vibrant neon green lights. “You’ll get to know all my little quirks.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” I roll my hips into hers, totally turned on by what she divulged.

“I’m learning stuff about you, too.”

She doesn’t object when I reach around and sneak my hand up the bottom of her dress. “And what’s that?”

“That you’re horny all the time.”

“I think you already knew that…” My grin falters when I notice a taller man wearing a suit enter the club. A hush falls over the crowd as everyone gawks at him.

“Who is that?” I ask a guy dancing pretty close to us.

“That’s Marcus Dalemaring.” The guy turns to me, he scans me over, and then a grin curls his painted lips. “You looking for a good time, sexy?”

“Um…” I look to Clara for help, but she only giggles, enjoying my discomfort.

“A shy one, huh?” He prowls toward me and jives his hips in my direction.

I dodge around Clara, snag her arm, and tow her to the edge of the crowd.

“That was freaking hilarious.” Clara laughs harder, gasping for air. “I’ve never seen you so uncomfortable before.”

“The dude dry humped me.”

She catches her breath as her laughter dwindles. “Hey, I thought it was kind of hot.”

I blink at her. “What?”

“Oh, this is going to be fun.” She rubs her hands together with a wicked glint in her eyes.

“What’s going to be fun?” My gaze is trained on Marcus as he saunters through the crowd with two very large and bulky guys at his side. Well, more like the crowd parts for all three of them.

“Paying you back for all those times you teased me.” She pinches my ass, and I flinch, but keep my eyes on Marcus.

“Who is that?” Clara wonders as she tracks my gaze

“The guy back there said it’s Marcus.” I rush toward him as Marcus strides toward a door located along the back wall of the club. “Wait here,” I call over my shoulder to Clara.

“Jax!” she protests, but when I shoot her a warning look over my shoulder, she nods and stays put.

Good. The last thing I need is for her to get further into this mess.

I square my shoulders and march my way up to the man who may have killed my mother. The only calming factor in the situation is that we’re in a room full of people, so he can’t do anything to me if he has some vengeance plan against my mother.

“Hey, Marcus,” I holler as I approach him, elbowing a guy out of my way.

The two big guys who walked in with Marcus immediately step together and block him from my view.

“Back off, kid,” one of them warns, shoving me back.

My back slams into a girl who instantly starts griping about my clumsiness. I brush her off though, my attention fixed on Marcus.

“Relax, I just need to ask him a question.” I lean to the side but the guy just sidesteps. “Seriously, I just need to know if he’s seen my mother.”

Marcus appears at the big dude’s side, looking very interested in my question. “I thought you looked familiar. You must be Jax Hensley.”

What the fuck?

“Yeah, but how do you know that?” I cross my arms and stare him down, despite how uneasy I feel.

“I’ve seen pictures of you.” He carries my stare with such a manner of confidence. I grow even more anxious. This man clearly doesn’t worry about much. “Well, a picture. She likes to show it to people all the time. Her son. Her pride and joy.”

I shake my head. “That’s a lie. My mother doesn’t give a shit about me.”

His expression darkens. “Okay, I might have embellished the last part, but she does have a picture of you in her house.”

In my house? So he’s been there. He was probably the one who broke the door down too.

I clench my hands into fists, my nails piercing my palms. “Do you know where my mother is?” I ask through gritted teeth.

A smirk rises on his face. “I haven’t seen her since,” a thoughtful look crosses his expression, “since about four days ago when she begged for her life and promised she’d pay me back my thousand dollars.”

I inch toward him, ignoring the big guy’s warning to stay back. “What did you do to her?”

“I didn’t do anything to her.” His voice is like ice as he leans in to my face. “But if you do see her, tell her I’m still waiting for my money. And I’m not a very patient man.” With that, he turns and heads toward the back door.

I try to follow after him, but one of his bodyguards pushes me back so forcefully I stumble into a wall.

“Fuck!” I curse, kicking the wall.

A few people glance in my direction, but they’re too high to question what my problem is. I tug at my hair, wanting to scream. Why the fuck does my mother have to get herself into this shit? Why do I have to care so damn much?

Through my fit of rage, warm fingers envelop my arm. I don’t have to look up to know the hand belongs to Clara. I allow her to guide me out of the club and across the parking lot. By the time we reach the car, I’m so damn frustrated I’m shaking.

“Give me your keys,” she demands, sticking out her hand.

I hand them over without arguing, knowing I’m too riled up to be behind the wheel.

We get in the car, and she drives out onto the road. She’s silent for a while, chewing on her lip, mulling over what the hell to say to me.