by Unknown
He could plan and take back Rampage MC, but he doesn't want to. He wants a life with Sadie, and the five kids she was joking about earlier.
“Not anymore, sweetheart. Those bastards don't know a thing about loyalty and brotherhood,” he says.
From now on, his loyalty belonged with Sadie and the future they would plan together.
“How long will we have to hide?” Sadie asks.
“A few weeks at the most,” he takes her hand and squeezes it, “then we can settle down where ever you want.”
Chapter Seventeen
Jackson drives through the night, and this time Sadie manages to stay awake with him. With the help of three large coffees, she keeps up a steady stream of conversation.
“That's why I became a couponing machine,” Sadie explains.
“Why didn't you just ask Sydney to cut back on the online shopping?” he asks.
“It's a disease, I had no idea how to handle it. So I just helped channel all that obsessive shopping into couponing. Then, somehow, it became a competition,” she says with a shrug.
“Tell me more about yourself,” he orders.
Everything she says is entertaining, even her take on why global warming is fake.
“Like what?” she asks.
“Favorite color?” Jackson asks.
“My favorite color is Cerulean Blue,” Sadie answers.
“Mine is black,” he says.
She makes a face at him, “Black?”
“Favorite song?” Jackson asks.
“The Imperial March,” she says.
“Star wars?” he asks.
Sadie nods, “Also, my favorite movies. Yours?”
He thinks for a moment, “Metallica.”
“Movie?” she prompts.
“Anything with aliens,” he says.
“Have you watched a documentary about Sumerians and Aliens?” she asks excitedly.
No, “I meant action movies,” he says.
“You have to watch it! There is so much evidence that links humans to Aliens. Aliens might have created humans as an experiment. Isn't that cool?” Sadie says, then launches into a detailed minute-by-minute account of the movie.
Six hours, and two large coffees later...
“I'm telling you, it was an inside job,” she goes on passionately.
Who knew someone so cute could be a nutty conspiracy theorist. If he believed half the things she's said, he would live in an underground bunker, wearing a haz-mat suit.
“So why did you decide to learn how to fight?” he asks.
She laughs and says, “Sydney has a way of landing right into trouble. Sometimes she just says exactly the wrong thing, and other times she flirts with the wrong guy. After I saw a huge chick body slam her, I decided it was a matter of time before one of us got seriously hurt.”
Jackson thought it was because of what that man had tried to do to her when she was sixteen.
“Why didn't she learn how to take care of herself then?” he asks.
“She tried, but she is literally the laziest person out there. The sensei kicked her out after she fell asleep in class. Three times,” she says.
He holds back a laugh. In fact, he can't remember laughing as much since the last time they were together.
“Sadie, do you want something to eat? We won't stop for a few more hours,” he says.
They've been on the road for seventeen hours, stopping only for gas or restroom breaks. So far they have taken a few detours in case they are being followed and that makes the trip much longer.
She looks him over with a worried expression on her stunning face. Even with her red hair all over the place, and bags under her eyes, she looks beautiful.
“You must be exhausted. Are you sure we can't stop so you can get some sleep?” she asks.
“I think it's best if we drive through the day. It will be easier to stay awake that way,” he answers.
“You could let me drive,” she offers, “I've gotten better since that time you gave me that lesson.”
He isn't willing to risk that. If he doesn't die from her driving, he'd still have a heart attack. The last time, they had started out in a safe, abandoned parking lot. She'd managed to land them in the middle of a busy high way, on the wrong side of the road, before finding the only lake in a 50-mile radius and almost plunging them in it.
“I'm sure you have, but you're just as tired as I am,” he says, relieved to have an excuse.
“Okay, but stop when you see an exit. I'm starving.” she says.
Eight hours later...
After checking into the only hotel in the small town, they park the truck in front of their room and get their stuff out.
His whole body is sore from sitting in one position so long.
“Are you taking everything in?” He asks as he sees she plans to do exactly that.
“No you are,” she answers smiling.
Chapter Eighteen
Sadie
“Do you like my new hair?” Sadie shows off her freshly dyed locks. After a few hours of sleep, she'd decided to dye her hair, while Jackson did some things on his laptop. Instead of red, her hair is now a silver blonde that is much closer to her natural color than what she has had in years.
Jackson lays on the bed, fresh and rested. He looks up from his laptop, and a smile spreads across his face.
“That isn't exactly inconspicuous, but you look beautiful. Even with weird colored hair,” he prevents her from answering by pulling her into a fierce kiss.
Forgetting his last comment, she returns the kiss enthusiastically. Groaning into her mouth, he lifts her with ease, and she wraps her legs around him. Instead of carrying her towards the bed, he turns and pushes her against the wall.
Sadie breaks away from the kiss breathing heavily, she asks, “What is it with you and walls? There's a perfectly good bed two feet behind you.”
She runs her hand down his back, stopping at his tight behind and urging him closer.
“It's not the wall, it's you. You make me forget there's a bed. Fuck, this feels amazing,” he says.
Then he leans down for another hungry kiss. This is not good, well Jackson is too good.
That is exactly the problem. She can't sleep with him and she will stop this in just a few moments.
They separate to pull Sadie's shirt off. And then are interrupted by Jackson's cell phone.
Jackson groans in protest, but pulls away. He leaves Sadie standing on wobbly legs, trying to pull herself together. Sleeping with him would be a mistake. Already, all her old feelings for him are coming back, and that's after spending only a few days with him.
Deciding she needs space, she locks herself in the bathroom and splashes cold water on her flushed face. She then applies her makeup. After catching her breathe, she exits the bathroom.
Jackson is done with his call, and is carrying their things into his truck.
He stops when he sees her, “She's out, my friend Trevor has her on a plane to his hometown. She'll be safe there, until Zack is dealt with,” he explains, with a beautiful smile on his face.
“That's amazing, they did it so fast!” She hugs him, then jumps back and searches for her phone and remembers that Sydney is on a plane. Instead, she calls Mathew with the good news. He sounds relieved, and quickly ends the call to pass on the news to their parents.
“According to Trevor, your friend was giving him a lot of trouble. He had to drag her on the plane,” he says.
Sydney can sometimes be a bit pigheaded; but she's her friend and she has to stick by her.
“I'm sure your friend came off as unreasonable to her,” she says.
“Are you ready to leave?” he asks.
“Sydney is going to be fine,” Sadie says aloud, breathing a sigh of relief. Then she says, “Yes, let's go, I'm starving!”
Chapter Nineteen
Sadie
The next evening they scour a small town for a fast food joint, but find only a pocket-sized bar & grill. Only a
few cars litter the gravel parking lot, but at least ten motorcycles are lined up next to the entrance. The bar is surrounded on three sides by forest, making it seem isolated.
“Is this okay?” Jackson asks, looking at ease, a complete contrast to when she first saw him at the biker compound.
She shrugs and answers, “Sure.”
Jackson get's out of the truck and comes around to help her out. As much as she hates to admit it, her hand in Jackson's makes her feel like she is floating.
They enter and sit right at the dark gleaming bar. Though small, the interior is very nice; forest green walls and dark gleaming wood give it a distinct masculine feel, as do the three flat screens. All three screens are playing the same football game.
A balding man in his forties takes their order. He only raises a brow at Sadie's large order. Jackson however, coughs back a laugh.
Sadie glares at him, “I have a fast metabolism!”
Then she continues to devour her two burgers, and fries.
**Jackson**
Jackson casts a worried glance around the bar. Everyone has gone quiet. They are all glaring at a clueless Sadie.
“Football isn't even a real sport. Not like soccer or hockey.” Sadie remains oblivious to all the dirty looks she's getting, and goes on disparaging football, the greatest sport ever.
Jackson has to intervene, before the locals kick their asses. He claps a hand over her mouth.
Her eyes widen, then narrow, but she eventually notices everyone else has gone eerily quiet.
He removes his hand from her mouth and she whispers, “Do you think we're about to get into a bar fight?”
She sounds excited.
“I don't know, you just insulted the greatest sport ever,” he shakes his head at her.
“But I didn't even get started on baseball!” Sadie protests.
“Come on let's get out of here before you get us killed,” Jackson says.
He pays the bartender, who is still glaring at Sadie, and then rushes her out of there.
The night is eerily quiet. The one street lamp is on the opposite side of the street, leaving most of the parking lot in darkness.
Sadie shivers next to him, her teeth chattering.
Jackson pulls her closer to his side and kisses the top of her head. She fits perfectly against him, her head barely coming up to his shoulder, he tucks her under his arm.
She looks up at him, but movement out of the corner of his eye catches his attention. A split second later, a stream of gunshots go off.
Fuck, he pulls Sadie down next to a red pickup truck and takes out his gun from his shoulder holster.
“Stay down,” he warns Sadie, then fires back, hoping the patrons in the bar stay inside.
“What the fuck?” Sadie sounds angry, “Do you think it was because I gave my opinion on football?”
“No, I don't think so,” he says.
Turning, he sees she's drawn a pink 9mm from her bag. Since when does she have a gun?
She obviously sees his incredulous expression and glares, “Hey! Women can be ninjas too!” she says accusingly. Then grumbles, “sexist bastard,” under her breath.
“I heard that,” he answers.
He rises and shoots back, then ducks when a few rounds hit the hood of the truck.
“Besides, ninjas don't use guns,” Jackson says.
When he gets no answer, he looks behind him. Only to find her gone. Fuck, she wouldn't... Five more rounds go off, followed by a few grunts.
“Hey! Over here Jackson!” Sadie yells cheerfully, from across the parking lot.
“Sadie!” he yells.
He jogs over, gun still in his hand.
He finds Sadie and five huge bikers. Three on their knees, hands on their heads. Two, face down on the gravel, hands also on their heads. All with their feet crossed.
Sadie stands behind them gun pointed and a foot on one of the biker's ass. Fuck, she's gloating. It's understandable; she's adorable, and apparently dangerous.
“Ha! And people say nothing good comes from watching action movies!” she says pumping a fist into the air.
She's amazing, “How did you…,” he begins to ask, but decides against it, “never mind. Where are their guns?”
She points behind her.
“Let me make a quick call,” he tells her.
With his empty hand, he pulls out his cell and calls Nick.
He hopes this last little stunt is the last, or he will go back just to kill all those disloyal motherfuckers.
“Nick, I have five of your bitches here,” he says happily.
Nick swears and asks, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Do you want them back alive?” he asks loudly for their benefit.
“I'll send someone for them,” he says tiredly, “Where will you leave them?”
He gives Nick the address of their hotel and barks out orders to his former brothers.
Turning to Sadie he asks, “Do you have something to tie them with?”
She nods, “Are you sure you don't want to just kill them?” she asks menacingly.
They complain loudly and one says, “No wonder they call you Sadist.”
Sadie kicks him with her tiny booted feet and he grunts.
Jackson just asks, bemused, “Sadist?”
She huffs out an annoyed breath, “It's just a stupid nickname. These guys are just angry they got shot in their asses. Guess you won't be bragging about your new battle wounds?” she laughs, and says to Jackson, “I'll get something to tie them with.”
Jackson watches her open the truck and climb inside.
She comes out a few minutes later with a few scarves and a pair of handcuffs. He wonders about the handcuffs, but keeps his mouth shut. Sadie cuffs one and proceeds to tie the hands of the others.
When she's done with the last guy, she says to Jackson, “You owe me four perfectly good scarves.”
“Sadie, you bought at least twenty other scarves,” he reminds her.
Together they push them into the truck, then drive them in awkward silence to the hotel.
Jackson checks in and pays for a week, while Sadie keeps an eye on them.
When he gets back he finds Sadie tormenting them, and it's pretty damn funny. What really worries Jackson, is how much she seemed to enjoy that.
He opens the door and Sadie pushes them through into the room.
They take three to the bathroom and the other two she ties to the bedpost.
As they are leaving, Sadie suddenly turns back and flicks the TV on. She surfs through a few channels until she finds a chick flick.
Looking at the bikers, she says smiling, “This channel shows chick flicks all day, no commercials. You can get in touch with your feminine side. And maybe next time, you'll think twice before shooting at a perfectly nice guy.”
Chapter Twenty
“This is the cabin?” Sadie asks dubiously.
Unfortunately, Jackson has the same thoughts. They have been standing in front of the cabin for a good thirty minutes, just staring at it.
“I guess it is,” he says.
“Did you double check the address and GPS?” she asks absently.
“Five times,” he says.
He hated to admit it, but wouldn't be doing too much online shopping from now on.
“Maybe a tornado swept the cabin away and left only an out house?” she says.
He sighs, “We might as well see the inside.”
Jackson moves towards the scary looking... dammit, but it does look like an old fashioned out house.
Opening the door, he turns to Sadie, “Stay out here, and pray that it doesn't fall over me.”
Sadie laughs, “I can just drive away.”
He seriously doubts that.
Inside there is only a small stone fireplace and a square table. The floors are hardwood under a thick layer of dust. From outside the place looks flimsy, unlike the picture he was shown when he bought the place. Besides that, the location is isolated enough to r
elax.
He calls Sadie in and extends his arms, “Welcome home.”
She laughs. “We should have bought the camping supplies I wanted. The potty tent especially,” she says.
“I guess the old owner didn't need a toilet, or shower,” Jackson says.
“Well, get to cleaning Jackson,” she says expectantly.
He thinks about that for a minute.
“There's a town an hour away, we'll find a hotel,” he says.
They drive for over an hour until they come across a picturesque little town. Surrounded by a beautiful mountainous landscape it seems like the perfect place to lay low for a while. Sadie convinces Jackson to rent a cabin in town, instead of a hotel room. The cabin looks great, and suspiciously like the cabin in the pictures he received.
**Sadie**
After they put away their stuff, they take turns in the shower. Of course, the gracious Jackson offers to share. An offer she has a hard time refusing. She has tried everything she can think of to annoy him, and it hasn't worked. The moment they were alone in the cabin he'd almost seduced her into forgetting her plan.
And she doesn't for a minute, think he will give up. Once they finish dinner, she will be in big trouble, unless she does something. Inspiration strikes and she knows she will have to use what Sydney calls her curse. Now her talent or lack of talent will save her from falling more in love with Jackson.
Suddenly in a better mood, she takes pleasure in dressing in yoga pants and an over-sized T shirt. She completes the look with a messy bun on the top of her head and no makeup. She laughs, let him try to seduce her now!
**Jackson**
Jackson dresses quickly in a white crew neck shirt and dark jeans, adding his leather jacket and biker boots. He steps into the open living room/ kitchen area and sees Sadie waiting for him patiently. She looks comfortable and ready for bed.
