“Fuuuck,” Jax curses under his breath, jerking his hand roughly through his hair as he kicks a rock across the parking lot.

“Is that your mom?” I ask, even though the woman looks too young to be his mother.

Jax grudgingly shakes his head. “No… it’s one of my ex-girlfriends. Please, for the love of God, don’t judge me on what’s about to happen.”

Before I can even process what he just said, Miss Leopard Print reaches us.

“Well, well, well, look what the dog dragged in.” She flashes her yellow teeth as she grins. “Jax Hensley, what the hell have you been up to? I haven’t seen you in forever.”

Jax tensely rubs the back of his neck. “That’s because I moved to North Carolina a couple of years ago.”

“Really?” Her bloodshot eyes widen in astonishment. “How come I didn’t know about this?”

Jax shrugs, his arm falling to his side. “I didn’t really tell anyone when I left.”

“Well, that’s cool, I guess. We all need to get away sometimes.” Her eyes flick to me then back to Jax. “Are you moving back?

“Fuck no,” he answers sharply. When the woman flinches, he offers her an apology. “Sorry, Bev, I didn’t mean to sound like such an ass. It’s just that… Have you by chance seen my mom?”

She squints one eye as she thinks. “You know what? I think the last time I saw her she was down at the Dirty Tiger. That was about a week or two ago.”

“The Dirty Tiger?” I don’t mean to say it aloud, but the name is just too ridiculous.

Bev stares at me with her face screwed in puzzlement.

“Oh, Bev this is Clara, my,” he glances at me, “my friend I guess.”

“Your friend you guess,” Bev states with skepticism, focusing back on Jax. “Since when do you have female friends?” Her tongue slips out of her mouth and wets her chapped lips. “Because the Jax I remember didn’t use girls for friends. He just fucked them.”

I fight back a gag. But seriously, the idea of Jax being with this woman who has track marks on her arms and teeth rotting out of her head makes me want to hurl. He said not to judge him, so I’m trying to keep an open mind, but it’s hard.

“Sorry,” she offers me an apology.

“It’s cool,” I reply, even though I’m lost as to what she’s apologizing for.

“So, the Dirty Tiger,” Jax interrupts with disdain in his tone. “That’s where she’s hanging out now?”

Bev nods, still gawking at me. “Yeah, but like I said, that was a week or two ago.”

“Dammit, I really fucking hate that place,” Jax says heavy heartedly.

“It’s not that bad.” Bev finally rips her gaze off me.

“You used to not think that.” Jax elevates his brows at Bev’s outfit.

She lifts her chin. “Hey, I do what I gotta do to survive. Don’t judge me just because you got out of this shithole.”

“I’m not judging you,” he tells her. “I just think you’re better than this.”

“Well, I’m not.” She shoves her hand at him. “Do you have any extra cash you can spare? I’m running low.”

“I’m not giving money to you so you can buy drugs.” Jax’s gaze fleetingly drops to the circular bluish and purple splotches on Bev’s forearm.

“Whatever.” She crosses her arms and spins on her heels. “Thanks for wasting my time.” She stomps toward the front area of the motel with her heels crunching against the gravel.

“Well, she’s a real gem,” I mutter after she’s out of hearing range.

“She wasn’t like that when I was dating her,” Jax explains as we head toward his vehicle again. “But I’m not surprised she ended up where she has.”

I feel a little better knowing Bev wasn’t that way when Jax dated her, but the last thing he said is unsettling. “Why aren’t you surprised she turned into a junkie?”

“Because that’s just the way things work in The Subs.” Jax stuffs his hand into his pocket to retrieve the car keys. “The people born there generally get sucked into the environment.”

“The Subs?” I ask as he unlocks the passenger door.

“It’s the nickname people around here gave to the area south of the highway.” He motions to the left of us. “Basically, it’s the shitty area of town where more than half the residents do drugs or sell drugs or sell themselves for drugs.”

“And it’s where you grew up? And Bev?” I move around him to get into the car, but stop before I hop in. “You say the people that live there generally get stuck in the environment, but you and Avery didn’t.”

“Yeah, well, we’re kind of unique cases. Avery escaped this life, but not without a lot of bumps in the road first and me… And me, well, I was sick of having complications in my life, so I fucking ran and never looked back. I just wanted to live for once, you know.”

“Yeah, I know,” I say hoarsely, thinking about how I used to have the same attitude. ‘Live life in the moment’ was my motto. I had plans to travel after I graduated. Plans to do something amazing with my life. So many plans and none of them happened.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, noting the croak in my voice.

“Nothing.” I clear my throat. “And you’re not just a unique case. You’re a special case, Jax. You’ve completely turned your life around.”