Jax: Black Angels MC, #3

by Fisher, A. E.

  At my comment, Hunter slowly rose from his near-dead state and his sleep-glazed eyes turned to Wolf. “Prez…,” he whispered, but it was the look of pity on his face, that had my laughter bursting out of my chest.

  Fuck, I was nearly crying as Wolf managed to hoist himself off his bike and grab a fistful of my shirt. I didn’t have the energy to fight him off, and I was already suffocating from my laughter. I patted his huge hand in surrender, but as his fist rose, I knew there’d be no getting out of it.

  “Prez!”

  Pipe, my savior, jogged out of the door. The bright light from the inside of the clubhouse was like a luminescent glow glinting off our polished and well-cared for bikes. It also highlighted the horrible complexion of all three off us, pale and hungry and sleep-deprived.

  “Better be something good, Pipe,” Wolf grunted, giving me a harsh glare before dropping my ass the few feet the huge monster had lifted me. My ass would have a bruise the shape of my seat, but luckily, my suspension stopped it from being a broken ass—since it was too beautiful to ever receive that kind of damage.

  “Mint wanted you to call him as soon as you got back,” Pipe delivered the information while casting Hunter a curious look, tilted heavily to one side of his bike. His eyes, however, were bright under the sweeping light and they were alert at the unsure tone of Pipe’s voice.

  “Is there a problem?” I asked, looking to the veteran recruit.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Nah, I don’t think so. It was loud where he was calling me from, so I couldn’t hear him well. He just said it was about the women?”

  Wolf let out a harsh growl, a hand running down his face. “Anna isn’t in the clubhouse, is she?”

  “Anna?” Pipe frowned, glancing over his shoulder at the open doorway, as if he was double-checking. “She went out with Mallory and Bell earlier.”

  “Shit,” Hunter and Wolf both groaned simultaneously.

  Wolf took a moment to prepare before he had his hands in his sidesaddle and was digging out his cell. It wasn’t long before Mint’s voice sounded on the other side.

  “Where the fuck are they?” Wolf barked, his frown back on show. “The nightclub? Why the fuck is she there?” He paused. “I told her no. Goddamn that woman!” Wolf yelled, his hand tugging on the greyish-pink hair on his head. The mafia hadn’t dare mentioned his hair. It was still a sight to behold though, especially when you forgot about it and then saw it again. Made me laugh every time.

  “Tell them I want their asses home now!” Wolf yelled, his frustrated growl escalated into a roar. “What do you mean they aren’t listening?”

  I peered over at Hunter, who was curled into a tight, lumpy ball around his handle bars, rubbing his head against his forearms, as if he might rub away the pain in his head… and his heart.

  Old ladies.

  I couldn’t help the chuckle under my breath.

  Apparently, it wasn’t low enough, however, as Wolf spun on me, his eyes furious. “I don’t know why you’re fucking laughing,” Wolf snapped, and I couldn’t help the sinking feeling in my stomach as his face grew slightly smug. “Your girl’s dancing on the fucking bar.”

  “What?” I was off my bike in a second, almost sending the machine toppling backward. My beautiful machine that in that second, I completely neglected.

  “We’re on our way.” Wolf smashed his finger on the cell screen and shoved it back in his pockets.

  “Cage. Now.” Wolf’s voice threw at Pipe and the young man was gone in a flash, knowing when not to tempt the wolf. Even though Pipe didn’t have a license to drive, it seemed he was more than willing to risk getting caught by Jeremiah than oppose our pissed-off president.

  The recruit might have a good head on his shoulders after all.

  “What the fuck is Ronnie doing there?” I growled. “She isn’t supposed to leave the ranch! What’s Mint doing?”

  Wolf’s flat lips tightened, and I could see how much he wanted to tear my head off for my tone, but he didn’t, and a second later, I knew why.

  “Anna showed him a fake text. Said she got your permission. She masterminded the whole thing.”

  For fuck sake.

  Anna may have become something like a sister to me in these last few years, especially the most recent one, but, fuck, she was a menace in all instances. Probably what made her feel so sister-like.

  “Fuck,” I hissed.

  “Yeah, and I’m bound to it,” Wolf growled but otherwise dropped his ass on his seat and fired up his engine.

  * * *

  Arriving first was a mistake.

  Plunging my foot down on my engine, ragging my gears and getting here before any of the rest of them, wasn’t the wisest choice as my eyes hit what could only be described as a scene of carnage.

  I spotted Mint’s head above the crowd, and I knew it was about to get worse. He had some pathetic asshole pinned to the wall with one hand, and as much as the guy was trying to get away, he wasn’t getting anywhere, probably too drunk to even take a piss from the way his head was lolling. Mint, however, wasn’t paying the man any attention, he was arguing with Bell, the girl looking ready to take his head off, flushed red in the face and arms flying around in the air.

  “Fuck,” I grumbled.

  “Yeah, my bad.” Anna’s little voice popped up beside me.

  “You,” I spun, pissed beyond belief.

  Her little pint-sized figure was almost swallowed by the small pocket in the crowd, and I wrapped my arm around her bicep to keep her from nearly falling over. Her hair was a ragged mess, and her makeup was smudged across her face and….

  “What the fuck happened to you?” I snapped, grabbing her chin and tilting it toward me. The bright flashing lights of the club did little to hide the stark red mark, and the faintly purpling bruise beginning to show under her skin.

  Anna’s tired expression seemed to disappear in a split second, and in its place was a smile that would put Wolf on edge. “I handled it.”

  I let her go.

  Fuck knows, I didn’t want to know what happened to her… victim.

  “I think I’ll let Wolf deal with you first.” I shook my head at her, and she shrugged. She didn’t look too worried. “I’ve spotted Bell and Mint. Where’re Mallory and Ronnie?”

  “Mallory’s throwing up in a toilet, and last time I checked, Ronnie was offering body shots on the bar.”

  “What the fuck?” I hissed, spinning to where I saw the densest part of the crowd gathered near their source of alcohol, and what must be their entertainment.

  I saw red.

  I don’t remember pushing my way through the crowd, but all of a sudden, I had some asshole by the shoulder and threw him back with so much force, he tripped and landed flat on his ass. It broke the barrier though, and if I thought I was mad before, I was wrong.

  When my eyes laid upon Ronnie on the bar, I thought I had combusted in flames.

  She was in the tiniest pair of black denim shorts, and the smallest little pink crop top I had ever seen, half soaked in spilled booze and sweat. Her midriff was bare, a small shot glass perched on her belly button and her black shit-kicker boots banging on the table by my head to the beat of the song. Her arms danced in the air as some asshole leaned down toward the glass.

  Oh, hell fucking no.

  I had a hand around her ankle and with an ease I shouldn’t have had, I tugged. Hard.

  Ronnie’s scream filled the air as her body slid down the bar, glasses smashing in her wake, and came to an abrupt stop in front of me.

  Her alcohol-glazed eyes looked up at me from the bar, long hair in a tangle around her face. I saw her sober up in an instant.

  “Oh shit,” she breathed.

  I couldn’t even speak for fear of killing her right there and then. She looked like one of the fucking club sluts with her shirt hiked up enough to see the bottoms of her breasts and her shorts low enough for a small curl to be peeking over the hem. Fuck, was she even wearing panties or a bra?

&nb
sp; I dropped my shoulder against her stomach wrapped my arm around her back and knees, and gave her all the dignity she deserved as I dropped her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

  “Hey!” Ronnie screeched, but I had long stopped listening to her.

  I just wanted the fuck out of there.

  Men were protesting as I was leaving, but with the girl draped over my shoulder, and God knew what expression I was currently wearing, none of them moved to physical action.

  It also helped when three more brothers stormed through the door looking pissed as hell.

  Every man in the bar knew then not to challenge the leather-clad men, and they even parted as I stormed the hell out of there just as Wolf, Pipe, and Hunter made their way to Anna’s post by the door.

  His shouting didn’t start as I pushed through the door, only giving Anna a small glare where she was standing obediently as Pipe and Wolf headed over in Mint’s direction, and Hunter toward the bathrooms.

  Anna didn’t say anything. She just smiled at the girl who was making garbled noises over my shoulder and gave a sympathetic shrug my way. I’m sure she was trying to direct a message to me over the noise that was beginning to rise over where Wolf and Pipe had just headed, but I couldn’t, and didn’t want to, process anything else tonight.

  I just shook my head at her and pushed out into the crisp night air.

  I got to my bike and stopped. The street lamps and quiet of the late night had clarity reaching my senses. There was no way she would be able to ride in this state and that put me off even more.

  I sighed, her dead weight on my shoulders sinking into my tired muscles. I still felt angry. Hell, I wanted to tie the girl with ropes and leave her in the center of local train tracks I was so pissed—not that I would, but that’s what I felt like doing.

  “You’re so goddamn lucky I’m shit tired, Ronnie,” I grumbled, my hand coming down over her ass with a harsh slap. It was minimal to what I wanted to do to her right then, but it was satisfying nonetheless.

  I almost missed the small groan had it not traveled with the shiver up my spine as her fingers tightened around the hem of my shirt.

  I stilled.

  “Ronnie, what are you doing?”

  “Nothing.” Her muffled breath into my shirt made it up to my ears. The heat from it hitting the sweet spot between where my jacket stopped, and my jeans began had a twinge in my stomach that I did not need.

  But that wasn’t what had my attention.

  “Sliding your hands up my shirt ain’t gonna get you nothing, darlin’,” I growled, the tone coming out deeper and huskier than I would have liked. It only seemed to encourage her, as her fingers traced the lines of my abs, wrapped around from behind me like a small monkey, pressing her tits into my back. I could feel the hardened nubs even through my thick riding leather. The briskness of the cool night air had them like razor blades, almost threatening me to touch them. Not that it would require much coaxing on any other night.

  Think of dead puppies. Dead puppies and ugly chicks. And that one time I walked in on my parents fucking.

  Yup. That last one did it.

  I caught the hands around my waist, pretending they were just weird appendages I’d been needing to see a doctor about and turned at the sound of the door opening behind me.

  I wasn’t surprised by the echoing silence following a black-eyed Mint—and I didn’t mean the band. Wolf looked done. Plain and simply done. His woman trailed behind him, as did Mallory, both quiet while a steaming Bell glared at Mint’s back. Hunter was at the rear, his black clothes blending in like a looming black shadow behind them.

  Nobody said anything as they came to a gathering on the sidewalk.

  “What happened?” I mused, looking between Mint and Bell, Hunter and Wolf seeming to steer clear of the two of them.

  Mint’s green eyes narrowed into a glare in my direction, and I took that as his “don’t fucking ask” as Pipe walked out the door, keys in hand.

  “Give me,” Mint growled, and the prospect did as he was told. He marched over to one of the two trucks parked askew outside the bar. Wolf had parked his bike next to mine with about as much care as I had. They both looked like they were about to topple over from half-bent pegs holding them up.

  Mint reached for the passenger door, swinging it open and stopping with crossed arms, looking to the drunken group of women. “Get in,” he growled, eyes pointed at one girl in particular.

  “I’m not getting in that car,” Bell hissed. “Not with you.”

  “Perfect,” I interrupted, before this got any more heated. I knew where this was going and Mint sure as shit didn’t need another black eye. Risking releasing the hand I had holding the wandering limbs under my shirt, I plucked the set of keys out of Mint’s hand.

  The man gave me a baffled look as I exchanged them for the keys to my beloved Harley. “Take care of her. Both of them,” I mumbled, patting his hand on his shoulder as I opened the back of the truck.

  Arguments erupted as soon as I turned my back, between everyone but Hunter and Mallory as his wife followed him with a pale face to his own black truck, leaving Wolf arguing with Anna about riding on his bike after drinking, and Mint about simply being near Bell. The girl was so fired up, any alcohol she had managed to get her hands on was long out of her system.

  Bell would end up on the back of Mint’s bike, and although our princess needed disciplining and our newest member being warned about what touching Roscoe’s daughter would mean, it wasn’t the night to do it.

  I opened the passenger door, dropped the girl off my lap and into the seat. Her head lolled, almost suffocating herself with the rat’s nest of hair bunched up around her shoulders. The stale beer seemed to stick the mess together and getting that out would be a mess tomorrow.

  “Jax,” she mumbled through her lipstick smeared lips. She slapped them together every couple of seconds, and I figured she needed a drink—water, not beer.

  “What?” I grumbled, digging through the glove compartment to see if we kept any water bottles in this thing.

  Just as I thought it was a lost cause, and that the ridiculous glove compartment was compartmented with way too many different sections, I spotted a bottle in the very bottom.

  Got…

  “Don’t leave me.”

  I froze. All the raw emotions of those few words, everything it meant, every emotion it carried, and every whispered word… it hurt in a way I’d never experienced. An emotion I’d never felt. An emotion I’d vowed never to have.

  Regret.

  It took a minute or two before I remembered how to breathe. My heart throbbed in my chest and my mind reeled at the realization. But that was as far as I allowed it to go. Even if the emotion had a name, even if I knew deep down what that meant, both in the moment, and for my future…I couldn’t face it. Not yet. Not tonight.

  I shook free of my mind and leaned back into the car, pulling the seat belt across her and clicking it into place. Her sleeping breaths told me she had passed out, and the calm lull had me breathing easier as I shut the door on her and climbed into the driver’s seat.

  I started up the engine, casting one last look to beside me, only to see a small trail of drool leaking from the corner of her lip. My hand was brushing across her face, catching the small indelicacy and wiping it on my dirty jeans.

  I sighed.

  What the hell have I gotten myself into?

  * * *

  I awoke to a loud thud coming from the bathroom and could hear the groan withering its way from between my lips. “Ronnie!” I rolled onto my stomach, pressing my head into the cushions.

  “Shh!” Ronnie’s hush came from the doorway. “You’ll wake the neighbors!”

  She giggled. Fucking giggled.

  “We have no fucking neighbors,” I growled, lifting my head from the pillow to fix the girl, unable to hold herself up without propping a hand on the wall. “We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere.”

  “Shh!” she chasti
sed anyway.

  “Just come back to bed.” I flipped open one side of the sheets in a welcoming gesture, although I was feeling far from it.

  Not after the fourth time she escaped out of bed.

  Now we were on number ten and I knew even if she got into bed, she would be up and about in all of ten minutes.

  “Get your drunk ass in this bed now,” I ordered on a final tether of my sanity. “Or I will come and get it myself.”

  “Fine.” Ronnie pouted, trying to prop a hand on her hip before it slipped off and she stumbled.

  I sighed in relief and dropped my head back in the pillow, waiting for her arriving warmth.

  It didn’t come however.

  “…Ronnie?”

  “I said fine.” Ronnie’s giggle reappeared. “You said you’ll come get it, right?”

  Jesus.

  I rolled, flicking my side of the sheets in the process as my feet hit the wooden floor with a thud. The planks gave a screech of protest at my standing weight, but I didn’t have the patience to be gentle with the old house.

  I staggered in the early morning dawn, the sunlight beginning to peak over the horizon as it leaked its weak touch through the thin cotton curtains. This would no doubt be my last chance at sleep for today, and I had already become resigned to that fact.

  Ronnie stood with her brown hair still in its mess. I could have done something with it, but it was too much of a pain in the ass and it could serve as a nice punishment for the sober Ronnie in the morning to come. She was also currently in a matching black pair of underwear and bra. It cupped her boobs nicely, making her small handfuls globed over the top, as if they might spill out. I had wanted to take a bite out of them when she’d first stripped off during her second escapade. I had also been severely pissed that she had worn something like that under her lack of clothes when she went to the club. I got annoyed over whatever intentions she had. By now, however, I was nothing more than an emotionless, exhausted void. Emotions were not among the basic functions I was capable of performing right now.