Page 51 of Ignite

She swiftly diapered and clothed Isaac. She was about to change her shirt when another crash filled the air, this time followed by a wail.

“Auntie J? Ivan broke your bookcase.”

Jazz hurried into the room and placed the baby in the porta-pen. Ivan sat crying and holding his head. “Are you hurt? What’s wrong?”

Ian swung the custom Harry Potter wand around. “He wanted to see the dragon on the really high shelf and tried to climb up. It didn’t work.”

No shit.Irritation crept up her spine, and she had to stifle herself from losing her temper. “Please stop climbing, jumping, running, or any other physical activity in the house.”

Ian answered her by somersaulting into a table and almost landing in the pile of glass shards.

Jazz clenched her jaw and fists. She stood in her main living area with her shattered Tardis collection on the floor with her books, the wall shelves broken, one kid crying like a banshee, another one oblivious to his own destruction, a baby who just peed all over her, and her boyfriend hadn’t texted back yet.

Could the night get worse?

Apparently so.

The bell rang.

Ivan forgot about his hurt head and yelled, “Pizza!” Both boys barreled to the door and yanked it open.

Yes indeed, a pizza deliveryman was there.

Along with two large men in biker cuts she’d never seen before. One was completely bald with some serious tattoos, and the other was an earthly version of a Viking god. The pizza guy stood between the two of them with a square box in his hand, staring up with round wide eyes at the giants surrounding him.

“Um… pizza delivery for Jazz?”

* * *

Jazz cameinto the living area, fresh from the shower with clean clothes and damp hair. Amazingly, the boys were calmly playing a boardgame with Table, and Stud was crumpling the empty pizza box into a shape that would fit in the trash can. The glass had been cleaned up, and her books were stacked neatly next to the broken shelf.

Two random men—correction, two random bikers showing up at her door in the middle of the night wasn’t normal. The Viking introduced himself as Stud of the Dragon Runners MC, and the bald man was Table. He said a friend of theirs called Bruiser sent them.

“You’ll know him as Copperpot.”

Earlier, Table took one look at the out-of-control boys and stepped in. He pointed to the couch and said, “Sit.” He didn’t yell or say the word with a mean, nasty tone, but there was a definite alpha vibe to him. The screaming children stopped and stared for half a beat before plopping themselves down and remaining silent. Jazz vacillated between amazement and envy at the man’s control.

Now, the kids were fed and finally winding down. Isaac was curled up in the porta-pen, already out for the night. Ivan rubbed sleepily at his eyes.

Table placed his hands on his knees and stood up. “Where do I put them?”

Jazz sniffed. “I guess they can go in my bed together, and I’ll take the couch.” Wolf still hadn’t answered her texts, and she was worried about that. “I’ll deal with everything when my….”What should I call him? Boyfriend? Lover? Dude?“Boy-ver dude-friend.”Seriously, Jazz?She shook her hands in the air. “I’m sorry. I have a lot going on right now.”

Stud and Table exchanged glances. The blond man sighed as he spoke. “Yeah, we got that part. We’re not trying to add to your burden, but there’s something you need to know. Let’s go sit for a bit and talk.”

All three settled in the living room. The two large men dwarfed her couch, and she perched on the only other chair in the room. “So, what do you need to tell me?”

Stud leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and his handsome face grew serious. “Our brother, Bruiser, sent us up here to warn you. He got targeted and almost killed because of the computer shit he does. No one in the Dragon Runners MC knew about his cyber-vigilante side game, but apparently he and a bunch of your other scam-shielder group pissed someone off. Big-time.”

Jazz’s hands began to shake. “Oh no! Is… is Copperpot… uh… Bruiser okay?”

Table spoke this time. “Yeah, he’s okay. He’s got his cabin fixed up tighter than Fort Knox. He was able to call out before he took a bullet. The best we can figure is the attempt was supposed to look like a night hunting accident. We got him to the hospital in time. It was serious, but he’s okay. He told us all about this shit with his scam-shielder group and how people are winding up dead. He believes it’s just one guy, a hired assassin to take out all the shielders. He won’t say why, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is keeping everyone else safe.”

Jazz’s heart clenched in pain. “So, the reason I don’t see Glyndathegood or Bomber or Muscleman online is that they’re… gone?”

Stud sighed again, his lips set in a grim line. “I’m so sorry to be the one bearing this news.”

Guilt flooded her senses and took all her focus. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t gotten so cocky and shut down that stupid call center—” Tears filled her eyes, and a sob prevented her from saying more.

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