I didn’t want to think about that or anything, but my mind wondered and raced, refusing to shut down. And even though I was normally comfortable on my side, I suddenly wanted to lie on my back, but I didn’t want to move, because I should just go to sleep. I wiggled my hips, hoping to get comfortable and hoping he’d fall right asleep. The first night he had slept in the other bed he’d fallen asleep pretty quickly.

“Calla?”

I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath.

“I know you’re awake.”

Dang it. “I’m sleeping.”

Jax chuckled deeply. “Amazing how you can respond while sleeping.”

“I’m sleep-talking.”

There was another toe-curling laugh. “You’re not tired now, are you?”

“Yes,” I lied. “I’m exhausted.”

“Is that the reason why you’ve been squirming around since I got into bed?”

I pried my eyes open with a big, dramatic sigh. “You’re not tired?”

“Not anymore,” he replied, and oh wow, his voice did that deep thing that made my lips part. “You doing okay with everything?”

Aw damn, now the mushiness was back in my chest. That was sweet of him to ask. God, he was so nice, and I wasn’t even drinking tequila, and I wanted to tell him. “Yes. And no. I mean, it could be worse.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” The bed did a little jiggle, and I could tell he was closer. I could feel his warmth under the covers. “I know of a couple of places where your mom might be. We can check them out tomorrow before we head to the bar.”

I nodded. “That . . . that would be good.”

“And Reece will make sure Mack isn’t around in a week. You don’t have to worry about him.”

“But I have to worry about Isaiah?” I asked in a quiet voice.

The bed moved again as Jax rose onto his elbow. He was close, not touching me—shirtless—and I could feel his eyes on me, even in the dark. “We should find your mom.”

I got my answer without the question even being answered. My lips were back to being pressed together, and there was this lump in the base of my throat. Mom . . . what had she gotten herself into? Needing to focus on something else, I thought back to when Reece was here. “You saved Reece’s life?”

Several seconds passed, and then Jax settled behind me, closer yet again. I could almost feel his legs behind mine. “It’s not really bedtime material.”

I figured that. “I want to know.”

“Do you really?”

Asking myself that same question, I realized that I really did want to know—to know more about him. “Yes.”

There was one more pause. “We were in Afghanistan together, a part of a scouting group. There were at least twenty of us and we’d done it so many times it was like habit. All of us were on point, but we weren’t worried, but that’s the thing about habits. They can break you, too.”