Irresistible Bachelors: Books 1-5 by Landish, Lauren (bts books to read TXT) 📕

up with Jake as he makes his way toward the commotion. He’s grabbed ahold of one of the dudes, and the other one’s disappeared off into the crowd. I’m sure security will get him.

Suddenly, Jake stops, and the other guy shakes his way free, right into John’s grasp, of all people. Jake, however, looks stunned as he reaches out and grabs the girl who was in the center of the fight by the arm. “Sophie?”

“J-Jake,” the girl says, pulling off her wig to reveal hair just like Jake’s.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I . . . I came with a friend and—”

Jake looks furious, and he points at the guy John is holding. “How old are you? And don’t you dare lie to me.”

The guy struggles, but he sees something in Jake’s eyes. “Nineteen!”

Jake’s eyes go ice cold. “John, get him out of here.”

“Wait!” Sophie cries as they begin dragging him away. Thankfully, they’re dragging him toward the front door and not the back. She rushes off into the crowd after her brother but is stopped by another of the bouncers. I watch as she struggles violently against him. He’s not hurting her. He’s just not letting her pass.

“What the hell just happened?” Hannah says from behind me. I turn and see her and Nathan approaching, Nathan peeling off to talk to the security guy.

“A family squabble,” I said, not really knowing much else yet. I just know Sophie’s in high school and shouldn’t be in here.

Jake comes back, his face as serious as I’ve ever seen it, staring a hole at Sophie. Jake says a few quiet things to her and Nathan, who nods and starts leading Sophie toward the back of the club.

“Jake, what’s going on?” I ask when he gets close.

“I’m taking Sophie home,” he says, his eyes still burning, but he manages a smile. “You did great tonight.”

“Wait,” I say, grabbing his arm. “Can I go with you?” I can't let him go like this. I’ve never seen him this mad before.

Jake looks like he’s about to say no, but then he nods curtly. “Okay. Five minutes, grab your stuff. The car will be out back.”Roxy

Other than the purr of his engine, it’s totally silent the whole way to Jake’s penthouse. This is my first time coming to his place. I would be ecstatic under normal circumstances, but this is like a dark cloud on my happy moment. In the rearview mirror, I can see Sophie fuming. Her hands are balled into fists, and they press hard into her thighs. She’s probably going to have bruises there tomorrow.

I want to comfort her, to tell her everything will be okay, but I know that to her, I’m a total stranger and it’s not going to mean shit. I don’t even know if Jake’s told her about me.

Finally, at a stop light, Sophie can’t take anymore. “I can’t believe you did that!” she snarls. “You didn’t have to treat Jax that way!”

Jake clenches his jaw. “Can’t believe I did that?” he asks in disbelief. “You snuck into the club with a nineteen-year-old boy with fake IDs. I had every right to throw him out on his ass. He’s lucky I didn’t call the police on him. Wait . . . Jax? That Jax? I thought you met him in school! What’s he doing at your school if he’s nineteen?”

She ignores that part. “He’s only two years older. I’m turning seventeen soon. It’s not that big of a deal.”

Jake’s grip on the steering wheel tightens but I see him take a deep breath to try and relax. “Do you realize what you did? Do you know what could’ve happened if you were caught with a fake ID?”

Sophie’s scowl softens somewhat. “Just a fine.”

“Maybe. But if they wanted to make an example of you, they could get you for a felony.” Jake says. “That’s not something you want on your record.”

“I didn’t know that,” Sophie says softly.

“Not to mention that if the cops know that you’re my sister, they’re going to assume I let you in on purpose. The club could lose its liquor license over that.”

I look into the rearview mirror, and I see her fidgeting. I think it’s setting in how serious this situation is.

“You need to think about—” he starts, but I interrupt him.

“Jake,” I say softly, placing a hand on his arm. “Let’s talk about this at home?”

He swallows and relents. I can tell he’s both upset and worried. It’s obvious Sophie means a lot to him. “Okay. At home.”

Sophie falls into sullen silence the rest of the ride. We reach his penthouse and go inside. I’m floored by how opulent it is. It’s like everything in my apartment has had the volume turned up to eleven with a sprinkle of fairy dust thrown on top.

“This is beautiful,” I begin to say, but I’m interrupted by a sharp cry. I spin around to see Jake grabbing Sophie’s purse that she just put down.

“What are you doing?” she cries as he opens it and takes out her phone.

“Taking away your phone for now. There has to be some kind of consequence. I can’t believe—”

“Give that back!” she yells, trying to snatch it away from him, but he yanks it back, stepping away and putting the phone in his jacket pocket.

“No. You’re going to have to earn it back, and I don’t want you talking to Jax. He’s a bad influence on you.”

“You can’t do that!” she says, struggling against him. She lunges, but he holds her back with an arm. I place my hand on my throat, unnerved by how Sophie is acting. I want to do something. Anything. But I don’t feel it’s my place. This isn’t my home, and as much as I feel for Jake, I’m not part of this family.

Jake holds his voice steely. “I can, and I will. You’re my responsibility.”

“Fuck you!” Sophie screams. “You’re not my daddy!” she says, running to her room, crying her eyes out. Her door slams,