Tak: The A**hole Club Series

by Ivy Harper

  Thinking it over, I flipped the envelope back and forth in my hand debating on whether or not I wanted to open it. I decided the only way I could end my curiosity was to open it. Breaking the seal, I then took a peek inside.

  It looked to be a few photos and two pieces of paper. I took them out. My gaze landed on the first photo and my heart hammered. It was as if I’d lost all awareness of my surroundings as I stared at a picture of my mother at the bottom of the steps.

  Her limbs twisted this way and that. My hands started to tremble. I quickly looked at the next picture of my father running away from our estate, his expression a mixture of anger and fear.

  I moved the picture and looked at the two papers. The top of the first paper read, Witness statement.

  As I slowly read through it, my head started to spin as a nauseous sensation filled my stomach. For years I’d known something wasn’t right about my mother’s death. And it turned out I’d been right all along.

  A red haze covered my vision as I crushed the incriminating evidence in my hands. I ran out of the room, passing Jay who had been heading toward the back exit. Pushing the exit door open, I ran over to the street and looked both ways.

  I frantically searched for a passing taxi. Spotting one up the street dropping off a few fans, I ran over to it. I nearly shoved the ones exiting out of the way.

  My name was shouted behind me. I glanced over my shoulder, catching a glimpse of Tak who’d come from the same direction I’d just come from.

  “Jazz, where are you going?”

  I closed my eyes and turned away from the clear worry in his voice and got in, slamming the door. “Take me to Markers Street.”

  I’d explain everything to Tak later. All I could think about was the man who’d stolen the most important thing from me. I pulled my phone out and called Zeno.

  “Jazz?”

  “I’m going to kill him. I knew it was him who’d done it.”

  Finally, my shock abated, replaced by rage and sorrow. My throat tightened.

  “What?” confusion colored his voice. “Slow down. What happened?”

  “That bastard, Clark. He’s the one who killed my mom, Zeno,” I nearly yelled into the phone. “I knew it, I knew it.”

  “Didn’t you agree to leave him to me and Dad. Look, wherever you are, stop and wait for me to come to you.”

  “No. I’m done with letting you and Uncle Carter handle everything.” I looked down at the photos and papers crushed in my left hand. My tears slipped down my cheeks and fell on the back of my fist. “I’m going to end this. Once and for fucking all.”

  “Jazz? Jazz—” I hung up and put my phone on silent.

  Chapter 47

  Showtime

  Tak

  * * *

  As planned, Jay and the others had already left my trailer. They were supposed to act as if they’d had another disagreement with me and had left me behind in a huff. Leaving me alone to get attacked, even the security that been hanging around had been told to drop back.

  Pit had Roman place a tracker on me so they could follow my would-be killers if they tried to kidnap me. A few minutes had already passed and I was starting to grow antsy.

  Where were they?

  I couldn’t shake the anxiety that crawled in my stomach. I kept feeling as though I’d missed something, something particularly important but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure it out.

  The door to my trailer was shoved open as Jay ran inside. He frantically looked around before his panicked gaze landed on me. “Oh, thank God, you’re all right.”

  Releasing a breathless laugh, he pressed a hand to his chest. “When I saw Jazz run out this way, I thought something had happened.”

  “What?” I stood, walking over to him. Something telling me the feeling I’d had was right. “When did you see her running?”

  He motioned behind him. “A few seconds ago, but she ran toward the street and not the trailer.”

  I pushed past him and ran out toward the street. I looked both ways and spotted Jazz holding the door of a taxi. I shouted, but she barely spared me a look before she got in and the taxi took off.

  “Fuck.”

  Something wasn’t right.

  Spotting a familiar SUV across the street I ran over to it, ignoring the loud honks of drivers who’d been passing. Reaching the other side, I grabbed the door handle and snatched the door open. A gun met my gaze before Roman drew it back.

  “Shit.”

  I didn’t even spare him a thought as I got in. “Follow that taxi that just pulled off,” I ordered.

  He placed the gun down and immediately started the SUV, whipping into traffic. It didn’t take long for a driver like Roman to get within a two-car distance of the taxi Jazz had gotten into.

  “Does this have something to do with the two guys trying to kill you?”

  I didn’t answer him as I tried to call Jazz for the third time. Again, my call went to her voicemail. My heart was racing as my hands grew hot with sweat.

  “Fuck, Jazz answer the phone dammit,” I shouted.

  Squeezing the phone in my hand, I almost broke it. My eyes zeroed in on the taxi ahead of us.

  Where was she going?

  My phone rang and I quickly answered. “Jazz?”

  “Tak, where the fuck are you going?” Pit shouted. “Ox just sent me a message that you’d disappeared from your own fucking concert. What happened to the plan?”

  “The woman I fucking love may be in danger.” I swallowed, my mouth dry from the level of anxiety that ran through me. “I’m sorry but she’s more important to me.”

  “Don’t apologize,” Pit cut me off. “I’ll tell Ox to follow behind you to make sure nothing gets out of hand.”

  I shuddered and lowered my head. “Pit, I don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to her because of me.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen to her. I’m telling you as your big brother, nothing will happen to her. And if those fuckers put their hands on her, I’ll give every one of them a long good night personally.”

  That meant a lot coming from him. He didn’t get his hands dirty for anyone that didn’t own the name Skittles. Knowing Pit and the things he was capable of, I felt some of my anxiety melt away. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome, now pull that pussy of yours together and go save your woman.”

  The phone line went dead. I wiped a hand down my face, regaining some of my composure. I’d find out what happened to Jazz and if it was someone who’d tried to use her against me. I’d kill them.

  Chapter 48

  Confrontation

  Jazz

  * * *

  The taxi had barely pulled up to my father’s house when I’d tossed the few twenties in my back pocket at the driver and got out. I didn’t spare the gate guard a look as I walked up the long driveway to the front of my father’s mansion.

  “Ma’am, ma’am,” he called after me. I didn’t stop, my mind solely focused on getting to the person inside. A hand landed on my shoulder. “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but you can’t… Argh.”

  I grabbed his wrist and with a two-step move, I twisted his arm behind his back and turned his hand so that he released a pained cry.

  “I’m Alicia Roarke and I’m here to see my father.”

  I finished telling him who I was and shoved him away, I continued up the driveway to the front door and knocked.

  After a few minutes, the door was opened by one of my father’s staff. I pushed past them and entered the house.

  “Where is he?”

  The butler pointed to the right. “H… he’s in the living room.”

  I had dreamed about the moment my father would pay for what he’d done to me and my mother. He was the reason behind the horrible nightmares I had into adulthood. He was the reason the place that should have been a home had become the site of my mother’s death.

  Every birthday I’d spent alone without her was because of him. He’d ruined my entire life overnight
and acted as if nothing had happened.

  “Tell Gloria if she can get her sister to visit, I’ll give her another car,” he said. “It shouldn’t be this fucking hard to have my own daughter visit me.”

  “Don’t forget about me, Dad. I’m the reason she actually came to the banquet,” Aaron said.

  I could see his peasant posture in my mind’s eye. His mouth open and eyes greedy.

  “Don’t worry, the minute we get back to Vander City I’ll give you the money you asked for.”

  Again, he was treating his mutt better than the daughter of the woman he’d betrayed. I stopped in the doorway and spotted a small iron statue with a sharp almost knife-like top on the table. Picking it up, I entered the room.

  “You,” Aaron exclaimed when he saw me. Obviously, he hadn’t been expecting me to pop up so suddenly.

  Clark looked at me with what seemed to be astonishment from where he sat on the living room couch.

  “I warned you. I told you if I ever found out you had something to do with my mother’s death, I would kill you,” I said as I walked toward him.

  I reached into my back pocket where I had shoved the papers and tossed them at his feet. “It looks like someone else had the balls to tell me the truth.”

  Clark’s gaze fell on the pictures at his feet. I watched as recognition entered his eyes before fear followed swiftly after. He jumped up. “Wait, stop this, Alicia. Stop.”

  I tightened my hold on the statue and pointed it at him. “If it wasn’t for you, if you didn’t exist, my mother would be here.”

  “Don’t do this, Alicia. You can’t kill him,” Aaron urged from the side.

  I ignored him and continued walking toward Clark.

  “You killed her. Don’t you think it’s only right that you die now? You’ve enjoyed a long life, while she… she didn’t.” My throat was choked by my tears.

  I stopped right in front of him and pressed the pointed end of the statue against his throat.

  “Alicia,” he screeched. “Please, you don’t want to do this.”

  An eerie calm came over me. “I do, I really do.” My hand trembled so I grabbed the statue with both palms. “I want to do it for every birthday she missed. For every time I had to visit her grave. I have to because she never had a chance to see me become the woman I am today. Killing you won’t bring her back, but at least you’ll be dead too.”

  Shaking, he glanced behind me. I whipped around and pointed my weapon at Aaron who’d taken a step toward me. “Don’t.”

  He recoiled immediately.

  I glared. “Don’t think I won’t hurt you.”

  I turned around in time to catch Clark trying to run. Running after him, I cornered him against the wall. “Let’s just end this now.” I pulled my arm up.

  “No.” His eyes opened wide in horror.

  “Jazz, stop,” someone shouted. A set of strong arms wrapped around me and lifted me up in the air.

  “No,” I screamed. The statue slipped from my hands, hitting the carpeted floor with a muted thud. “No. Let me go.” I managed to turn around in the person’s arms and tried to attack them. “Let go.”

  “Jazz, baby, you’ve got to stop.”

  I could barely hear beyond the loud screams in my head to get my hands on my father. I pushed at the person who held me. I wailed as I lost strength.

  “He killed my mother,” I shouted. My body was gathered up, but I refused to stop screaming. “He killed my mother.”

  All I could see was my father smug face as he’d told me lie after lie. I wanted to tear his face off. As I was dragged back, I slowly lost my will to fight and stopped shouting. I could only turn my face into the chest of the person who held me. I closed my eyes and chose to sink into silence.

  Tak

  * * *

  I held Jazz in my arms as her body trembled. Her screams still echoed in my ears. I looked over at the stone statue that sat on the floor.

  If I’d been a few minutes later, the woman in my arms would have been lost to me forever. I tightened my hold on her as the man who she had attacked staggered, his features twisted.

  “You… you.” He pointed at me as he stared from Jazz back to me. “It’s because of you she…”

  His gaze went to the papers that were still on the ground. Running over to them he picked them up and started tearing them to pieces. “Lies, these are nothing but lies.”

  He turned his panicked expression to me. “This is payback because of you. If he didn’t want you dead so badly this would never have happened.”

  I frowned. “You know who’s trying to kill me?”

  He sneered, his gray eyes showing nothing but disgust. “Don’t you wish I did?”

  “Well, whether you know or not, it doesn’t change that you’re going to prison for the murder of Lydia Roarke, does it, Clark?” someone spoke up from behind me with a faint Spanish accent.

  I turned and found two men. One of them was an older gentleman with salt and pepper-colored hair. He wore a black suit and radiated a dangerous vibe.

  I also noticed Ox had followed me inside. He had the young man who’d looked like he was about to sneak out the door in hand.

  “Fuck, let me go,” he shouted as he struggled in Ox’s hold. “Do you know who I am, I am Aaron Bennington. If you don’t let me go, I’ll have your ass in court for assault.”

  Ox didn’t even blink at the asshole’s threat.

  I frowned. “Shut him up, Ox.”

  Ox slammed a fist into the bastard’s face, shutting him up instantly.

  I turned my attention back to the older man and the other guy that stood next to him, who’s eyes weren’t on Clark, but Jazz who was in my arms. Not recognizing them, I turned so he couldn’t look at Jazz.

  Seeing my move, he met my gaze, a provoking smirk taking over his lips. I ignored the challenge in his eyes.

  “Carter, what the fuck are you doing here?” Clark turned his accusatory glare toward me. “Did you bring him here?”

  “This is my first time meeting you fuckers,” I answered honestly.

  To be even more honest, I was totally in the dark about what was going on around me. The only thing I knew for sure was Jazz was important to me and I’d didn’t give a shit about anyone else in the room.

  “Clark.” The voice of the man I assumed to be Carter came out like a hiss. “You’ve been a thorn in my side for too long, so I’m going to tell you in detail what’s going to happen.

  “In the next ten minutes, the police are going to come through that door and you’re going to tell them everything, from killing your ex-wife to drugging Jazz when she was a minor so that you could control her family’s money, and how you manipulated her deteriorating grandfather. Don’t leave a single thing out. If you don’t do as I say, I’m going to handle you like I’ve dreamed of doing.”

  Clark sputtered. “You… you don’t have any proof.”

  Carter smiled as he reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out a few pictures. “It looks like the same fairy godmother who delivered proof to Jazz also took the initiative to send me the same information.” He tossed them to the floor in front of Clark, who stared down at them in astonishment.

  “And don’t worry, there are plenty of copies. Even a set sitting on my nephew’s desk. You remember Julius, the prosecutor, of course.”

  Clark fell to his knees. “S… stop, please. I’ll do whatever you say. Anything, anything you want. I didn’t mean to do it. She just… just wouldn’t listen to me.”

  All I needed was for her to give me a little bit of what she had… just a small amount, but she refused. She called me trash. Told me she wished she’d never met me. I… I snapped. I didn’t mean to kill her,” he begged.

  I tightened my hold on Jazz when what this piece of shit had done started to click. I started to regret that I’d stopped her from killing this dickless fucker in front of me.

  “You can tell the police all about it when they get here.” He glanced at the man behind him.
“Zeno, take Clark to see your cousin, he should be here by now.”

  “On it.” Zeno walked forward and grabbed Clark’s arm and dragged him toward the exit. He stopped only long enough to tell Ox to follow him out with Aaron.

  Ox glanced at me, and I gave the go ahead. The two of them headed out. Clark seemed to have lost his mind as he continued to repeat over and over, “I didn’t mean to.”

  I looked down at Jazz. I wondered if she was even aware of what was happening. She clung to me like a child, her eyes closed as she shivered.

  “Are you taking her to the car?” Carter asked.

  “Yes, I’m going to take her to the hospital.”

  He gave me a long look. “After this is handled, I’ll come to the hospital. I think there are some things you need to know about my niece, Alicia.”

  Alicia?

  I had questions all right, but I held them in. I needed to get Jazz some help. That was the only clear thought I had.

  “Got it, I’ll see you later,” I said.

  With that, I made my way back toward the entrance, running into Zeno who stood in the foyer talking with a police officer. He only gave me a passing look as I walked by him.

  I spotted a picture hanging next to the door. It was of Clark and a little girl in a yellow dress.

  I paused and looked at it for a second before I continued walking outside toward the gate. To my right I knew my family mansion stood only a few miles away, behind the tall trees and high walls. An old memory came to the forefront of my mind.

  A little girl sat in front of me in a bright yellow dress, covered in grass stains. Her warm almond skin was flushed. She lifted her bundle of flowers up to me. “Look what mommy gave me.”

  I looked over her flowers and felt shy when I said, “Pretty.”

  She gave me a bright smile, her gray eyes shining with happiness. “Mommy said I’m like these flowers. Pretty.”

  I scratched at one of the scabs on my cheek. “What’s your name?”