AJ

by Jessie Cooke

  20

  Henderson, Nevada

  AJ, Streak, and Toad sat in a cluster of trees alongside the country road that led to Angelo’s mansion. It was 2 a.m. and they were waiting for a text from Jace, who was back in Vegas with Vic and Boots, or at least that’s where they had left them. The three of them had to stay far back off the road thanks to the full moon, which cast a glow over everything and lit the night up like a streetlamp. They had left their vests back at the hotel per Jace’s orders. They were trying to keep the Skulls out of this, AJ assumed, and that made sense.

  AJ could feel his heart beating against his chest as they waited, but he didn’t know if it was excitement or nerves. He had a better idea now of what they were doing, but he was still having a hard time imagining how it was going to go down. They had all sat down before leaving the motel and they had gone over the plans that AJ had managed to get for them. He had lied to his friend and told him that he was working on a similar project, and he felt bad about that, but it had worked. They’d had a fax in a matter of minutes. Boots had somehow gotten a copy of the blueprints from the county as well, but they were different. The county knew nothing about the safe room, or technically the mini “safe house” built in the center of the mansion. AJ had helped his friend design it in a way that the house was built around the “safe” part. The real beauty of it was that unless you looked at the house from an aerial view, you’d never know it was there. The mansion simply seemed to be built in a circular pattern and there was only one entrance and exit from the center. It was through a door that lay behind the industrial-sized refrigerator in the huge kitchen. The lock on the door could only be accessed with a code and of course AJ didn’t have that...but it was a safe bet that Angelo did.

  The “ping” of Streak’s phone caused them to all sit up straighter. AJ gripped his handlebars as Streak looked at the message. He looked over his shoulder and said, “AJ, stay here until someone tells you different, okay?” AJ nodded. Streak looked at Toad then and said, “Two minutes.” Toad nodded and the two men started their bikes. It was about a minute and a half later when AJ saw headlights in the distance, rounding the last bend that would bring the car around to the road that led straight in front of where they waited. He watched the lights grow brighter and just before the car came into view Toad hit the throttle on his bike. His front wheel came up off the ground about a foot and he rode the wheelie out into the center of the road just in time to cause the car to slam on his brakes. While the brakes were still locking up and smoking, Streak took off and AJ saw a black SUV with no lights on come out of nowhere and skid to a stop behind the first car.

  AJ watched, fascinated, as Toad slid off his bike and onto the hood of the car, gun in hand. Streak was off his bike too, and things were happening fast. AJ heard the deafening sound of gunfire and the “pop” of the tires as Streak shot each one of them out. The windshield exploded and so did the back window. AJ couldn’t tell if the windows had been shot from the outside or inside. What he could see was Toad now hanging half inside, and the car had started to move again. It was driving on the alloy wheels, throwing sparks up as it weaved back and forth across the road. AJ held his breath as he watched it all unfold. The SUV chased the car and slammed into it until it finally crashed into the rocky barrier along the other side of the road. Streak was already there, pulling someone out through the back window. AJ could see the guy was bleeding and looked unconscious. Toad pulled one out the front. There was a lot of blood all over Toad but AJ didn’t know if it was his or that of the unconscious man he had hauled out of the car. About that time, Jace pulled up on his bike. Streak motioned toward the car and Jace walked over and used his gun to bust out the side window. AJ saw him smile and say:

  “Hello there, Mr. Garibaldi. You’re a hard man to get an audience with.”

  “Who the fuck are you? What do you want? What the fuck is this? Do you know who the fuck you’re messing with?” Angelo yelled the entire time as Jace pulled him out of the car and shoved him up against it. Jace didn’t say a word until he had the old man’s hands cuffed behind his back. Blood was running down the side of Angelo’s face and Jace said:

  “Looks like you bumped your head there. We should probably put something on that...”

  “Fuck you! Answer me! Who the fuck are you? What do you want?”

  Jace chuckled. “You are an arrogant little man, making demands at a time like this.”

  “You’re going to be sorry. You’re going to be so fucking sorry. You’re going to watch your family bleed...” Jace slammed his gun into the side of Angelo’s head and the old man screamed.

  “Don’t talk about my family, and shut your mouth for two seconds and I’ll tell you who you’re dealing with.” He waited a few beats and then said, “Actually, let’s go on up to that comfortable house of yours and talk there.”

  Angelo laughed and said, “Sure, let’s go.”

  “Great!” Jace said. “We can have a drink, I can play with the dogs. I hear Killian and Joker love to play ball.”

  Angelo chuckled as Jace led him over to the SUV and said, “They’ll tear your fucking face off.” AJ chuckled to himself as he listened, still in the same spot where they’d left him. Jace had sent Streak on an errand right after dinner and when he came back and joined the rest of them in the meeting, he smelled like a dog and told Jace he had a breakfast date the next morning with a “hot little veterinarian assistant.” How they found out which vet Garibaldi used, AJ didn’t know, but he had to admit, it was a genius move. Who knew better how to calm a dog down than his doctor, or his doctor’s assistant?

  “You know, I thought of that,” Jace said as he stuffed the old man into the back seat of the SUV. “But a little bird told us the exact dose of sedative it takes to calm a big dog like that down without any long-term effects. See, Angelo, I’d sooner put a bullet in your head than I would those animals.” He slammed the door shut and AJ could still hear the old man screaming. Jace slapped his hand against the driver-side door and Vic, who was driving, took off. Jace motioned at AJ as Streak and Toad cleaned the unconscious men up off the road and stuffed them into the trunk of the big black car they’d taken them out of. AJ followed Jace and it wasn’t long before the other two fell in alongside.

  Thirty minutes later, Jace pulled the hammer back on the gun he was holding to Angelo’s head and said, “Last chance, Angelo. Put in the fucking code.”

  They had made it to the mansion fifteen minutes earlier, and found Boots playing with the dogs. They were big, muscular pits, but they both looked a little sluggish. There were several ham bones lying on the grass, apparently left over from the tainted ham they’d eaten. They were drooling a lot and moving slow, but they looked like they were genuinely having fun chasing the balls Boots was throwing for them. Angelo cussed them both and while he was in the middle of a tirade, and Jace was unlocking the front door of Angelo’s house with his own keys, the old man suddenly locked eyes with AJ and said:

  “You motherfucker. You’re that contractor or construction worker or what the fuck ever. I trusted you.”

  AJ just smiled but didn’t engage the old man. He watched Jace punch in a code to turn off the alarm before opening the door. He didn’t know how Jace had gotten the code, or how they’d managed to get someone at the alarm company to call Angelo and tell him there was an alarm at the mansion. But he was content knowing there were some things he just didn’t need to know.

  Once they were inside, Jace took Angelo straight to the kitchen and the old man’s face registered fury when the guys pulled out the oversized refrigerator. “Put in the code,” Jace said. The old man snorted and Jace pressed the gun into his temple. He laughed and said:

  “You won’t kill me because then you’d never get in, you dumb fuck.”

  “True,” Jace said, calmly. Then his arm moved so fast that no one saw it coming. It even took Angelo a few seconds to scream when he realized Jace had shot him in the leg. He was trying to collapse, grasping at it whe
re the blood was flowing out and screaming profanities. Jace kept him upright with one arm and still calmly said, “Put in the code, or we do this all night until you pass out...and start over when you wake up.”

  With a shaky hand, the old man pressed in a code and then pressed his thumb to a tiny round glass window. The heavy door clicked loudly and Jace pulled Angelo back out of the way so that Toad could grasp the door and pull it open. They heard hurried footsteps as soon as he did, and Toad and Streak ran in with their guns drawn. Jace dragged Angelo in behind them; the old man was still crying and now instead of cussing and threatening, he was begging for mercy. Jace ignored him. AJ cautiously followed them inside. He wasn’t sure Jace wanted him to until he turned back and said, “Close the door behind you, AJ.” Nervously, AJ pulled the door closed and Streak and Toad reappeared, looking confused.

  “Where did he go, old man?” Streak asked. AJ assumed he was talking about Anthony. Angelo was still too caught up in his own misfortune to even register that Streak was talking to him but AJ said:

  “In the floor of the bathroom there’s a hatch. They may have a rug or something over it. It’s a crawl space, but that’s the only other door. It’s just a hideaway, he can’t get out through there unless they’ve modified it.” Streak and Toad ran back toward the bathroom as Jace hauled the old man over and tossed him down on the white couch. In seconds it was stained a deep scarlet as Angelo lay across it, moaning and still clutching his leg. It wasn’t long before they heard yelling and commotion from the direction of the bathroom. It sounded like Anthony bit one of the guys and when Streak came out with his arm around a young dark-haired man’s throat, his hand was torn and bleeding. He tossed him down on the couch next to his father and pointed his gun at his head.

  “Streak,” Jace said, quietly.

  “Fucker bit me.” Jace didn’t say anything else, but he kept his eyes on Streak until he lowered his weapon. Toad appeared seconds later with a pile of white towels. He gave one to Streak first and then tossed a few of them at Angelo. His son picked one up and pressed it to the old man’s leg where it was bleeding, eliciting another scream. Anthony ignored his father and looked at Jace.

  “What the fuck do you want?” He had Streak’s blood on his teeth and in the corners of his mouth. AJ had just witnessed something unlike anything he’d ever witnessed before...and the night was still young.

  21

  Oklahoma

  Madison closed her eyes quickly when she heard Lion come inside. It had been two hours and she’d lain on her back and stared at the ceiling the entire time. She wasn’t sure what she was anxious about...the move, the possibility that the Garibaldis would still find her, or the fact that she couldn’t get her mind off the hunk of a man that she had to spend three more days in close quarters with.

  She heard him walk toward the bathroom and close the door. Seconds later, the shower came on. She looked over at that wingback chair again and that’s when she saw the sleeping bag. He must have brought it in with him and she at least felt a little better about that. She told herself she was only worried about him because she’d be on the back of his bike for at least ten hours the next day, but she knew that wasn’t it. Secretly in a place deep inside of her that kept trying to rear its head, she’d been hoping he’d crawl in bed next to her. It was a stupid thought. She didn’t know him and she wouldn’t have sex with a guy she didn’t know even if he asked. But Lion hadn’t asked, so it was a moot point anyway. She wasn’t sure he even liked her...or any of them. She wondered if there was anyone in his life who got to witness another mood...or a smile.

  She lay there and against her better judgment, she pictured what he must look like...standing underneath the warm spray, the water cascading off his muscles and dripping down his torso...She rolled over on her back and let her hands inch down her body. She’d almost slipped them underneath her pajama bottoms when she heard the shower shut off. She froze in place before realizing how suspicious that would look. Quickly, before the door to the bathroom opened she turned on her side. She hadn’t even considered the fact that he’d gone into the bathroom without his bag. She closed her eyes before it dawned on her, and then she just couldn’t resist. She waited until she heard his footsteps stop over by the chair and then she cracked one eye open. She almost cursed her own eyelashes for the light curtain they put between her and the object of her body’s lust. He was standing there, rifling through his little bag...in nothing but a towel. His long hair hung loose and wet strands stuck to his broad shoulders and muscular back. Beads of water dripped from it and rolled down toward the towel that was slung low enough on his hips that she could see the dimples on either side of his lower back.

  She watched like a creepy voyeur in a sleazy XXX movie theater while he put on his deodorant and then slid a white A-line t-shirt over his head. Once he had his shirt on, she held her breath and waited. The show didn’t disappoint. He pulled a pair of boxers out of the bag and the towel fell to the floor, pooling around his ankles...or so she assumed, since that wasn’t where her eyes were. They were instead, glued to his hard glutes and then just a tease of the package up front when he bent down to slide on his shorts. She was simultaneously ashamed of herself and proud that she’d been blessed with a glimpse of something so incredibly sexy that it should be illegal.

  He picked up the towel and she closed her eye when he walked by the bed to carry it back into the bathroom. She waited again until he was back over by the chair to crack one eye open again. He was facing toward her then, unrolling his sleeping bag, but not looking at her. She looked at his scruffy, still wet beard and wondered what he’d look like without it. Then her eyes ran down to his chest, covered by the thin shirt, all hard lines and angles pressing against it from the inside. His big arms were bare and she slid her eyes over the big tattoo and wondered again who the woman was in the helmet. Even the trickle of irrational jealousy couldn’t soothe the ache she felt in her core. She wanted to touch him...so fucking bad.

  She watched him spread the sleeping bag out on the small throw rug next to the bed she was lying in and climb inside. Just as he was about to drop his head back, he caught her off-guard and suddenly those green eyes were on her face. She pulled her eye closed tightly, but maybe too tightly. She didn’t know if he’d caught her looking or not, but she was thankful that it was at least dark enough on her side of the room that he wouldn’t be able to see the deep blush that she felt creeping up her neck. She heard him rustling around for a minute, probably trying to get comfortable. Opening one of her eyes again was tempting...but she fought the urge, and finally she couldn’t fight the sleep any longer and she let it claim her. Still, even there she couldn’t escape the magnetic pull of the big man who’d hardly spoken two words to her all day. He was just as quiet in her dreams...but what he didn’t say in words there, he made up for with his hands, his mouth, and his body.

  Madison felt like she hadn’t slept a wink when she pulled her eyes open the next morning. She could see the flaming rays of the sun as it rose through the small window to the right of the door where the moon had been seemingly moments ago. From there she moved her eyes down to the floor, where she’d watched Lion bed down the night before. He wasn’t there. The sleeping bag was gone and so was his duffle bag from the chair. For just half a second, she wondered if the whole thing had been a dream. But judging by how he’d been the day before, she was sure he had probably gotten up before the sun, and was already itching to go.

  She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stretched her arms up over her head as she yawned. Just as she did that, the front door of the cabin opened and she was looking right at him. His green eyes weren’t on her face, though, he was staring at her midsection. She looked down and realized her shirt had come up when she stretched, and quickly dropped her arms. She opened her mouth to say good morning, but he spoke first,

  “We’re pulling out in half an hour, get ready.” And just like that, he turned around and closed the door, leaving her
sitting there with her mouth open. Well, good fucking morning to you too! Already annoyed, she threw the covers back and got out of bed. As she got dressed and ready for another ten-hour day on the back of his Harley, she cussed him. She told herself she couldn’t wait to get to Boston, and away from this rude, arrogant man.

  She was just stuffing her pajamas back into her bag when there was a knock on the door. She almost pulled it open angrily but reminded herself that if it were him, he wouldn’t be polite enough to knock. She was glad when she hadn’t ripped it open with a pissed-off look on her face when she saw it was Gaston. He was smiling and holding a cup of steaming coffee. “Good morning,” he said, pleasantly...like a real human.

  “Good morning, Gaston! Is that coffee for me?” She was truly excited about the coffee, but when she spotted Lion in the background, buffing a spot on his bike, she became almost inexplicably and, maybe even dramatically, flirtatious.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She took it out of Gaston’s hands and smiled up at him. “You’re my hero!” she said, almost making herself nauseous. It was crazy. She felt like an actress in a bad Lifetime movie, but she couldn’t stop. Gaston was grinning even broader as she took a sip of it, closed her eyes, and made a noise she generally reserved for sex. She opened her eyes slowly, looking up at him through her lashes and said, “God, that’s good. That’s the best thing I’ve had...in a very long time. It’s almost better than sex.”

  Gaston laughed and said, “The guys you’ve been hanging out with must be doing it wrong.” He winked at her. “Trust me.”

  She giggled. A nauseating, adolescent cheerleader giggle. She hated herself, but it was like a compulsion. Lion was watching them and listening, and she was desperate to see if she could make him jealous. “You’re bad.” She used her free hand to tap him on the chest. Gaston was a good-looking guy. He was built like a football quarterback, all lean muscle and hard lines. He probably set the panties of most women in her age range on fire, but for whatever reason he did nothing for Madison. Maybe because the man behind him was all she could think about.