by Evie Nichole
“You were just leaving. What the fuck, Red? You have a death wish?” He stepped inside and slammed the door shut. “I got a few minutes away and realized that there’d be no harm in taking you back to the safe room. What if I hadn’t come back? Where the hell were you going?”
“I don’t have a death wish for me and I don’t have a death wish for anyone else. I want to leave.”
He grabbed my shoulders and shook me. “Too fucking bad. You’re not about to hand yourself over to Snake on some fucking silver platter. It’s not happening. Any slight chance you had of getting away from me ended when you came into that shower with me.”
I pushed his chest. “Fucking doesn’t mean you own me, Jack!”
He gave me a look that said he knew better than what I’d just said. He knew it had been more than that for me. “I don’t own you but I have a vested interest. I want you safe.”
“And I want you and everyone else safe. That’s only going to happen if I go somewhere else.” I angrily wiped away more tears. “You said it yourself. This is my fault.”
He walked into the bedroom, completely ignoring me, and grabbed my bag.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re coming with me.” He whistled to his dogs and then grabbed my arm. “Jesus. Are you always this panic inducing?”
“Another valid reason to let me go.”
He pulled me a little faster and then pressed me firmly into the wall of the elevator once we were in side. “Not letting go, Red. Sorry.”
I looked up at him. “You don’t look very sorry.”
With a shrug, Jack closed the gap between us and kissed me. “I’m not.”
Chapter 20
Once again, I was locked into the safe room. Jack was gone, telling the family. Brent was moodier than ever, locked away in the control room. There were several random security guards walking around the safe room, keeping an eye on me, but none of them talked. At least not to me.
Jack had been gone for hours. My stomach twisted the whole time because I couldn’t stop thinking about what he was saying, about how the man’s family was taking the news. Guilt was eating away at me.
The mood in Stone Security was more than somber, and I felt like people were staring at me, blaming me. It would make sense if they did, but I selfishly didn’t want to see it.
I locked myself away in the bedroom and tried to think of something to do. This time, Snake had attacked the team that was standing guard at Jack’s house. From what I’d overhead, he’d snuck up and shot one of the guards at point blank range, while the others were on different parts of the property. He’d then thrown a brick through one of Jack’s windows and snuck away again.
It couldn’t continue. Snake was on the attack, and he had first move. Everything we did was a reaction to what he was doing, so we never got a chance to hit him back. I felt as if we were all just waiting for him to stroll in and shoot up the place. Again.
I paced around the room and tried to relax enough for my mind to start working again. I wanted to hurt Snake. I wanted to find a way to hit him just as bad as he was hitting us.
And he was hitting us hard. It felt like he’d brought the entire MC to Memphis to attack us. I had to wonder if there was anyone left behind. If there was some poor sucker still in Jackson, it was probably a prospect.
My mind buzzed at the thought, and I stopped moving. The clubhouse was probably unprotected. Rage Motorcycle Club was most likely sitting like a little baby, waiting to have its candy stolen. The clubhouse was everything to Snake. It ranked even higher than I did to him. His father had lived in the room he lived in, held church in the same room Snake held church. That run-down warehouse meant the world to Snake, and it wasn’t protected.
I ran out of the room, surprising a few of the guards, and charged into the control room. I didn’t bother to wait for Brent to acknowledge me. He was finally showing me the brooding Brent that everyone else knew. “I’ve got an idea to get Snake away from here. I want to hit him where it hurts.”
Brent looked up at me with bloodshot eyes. “What is it?”
I wanted to comfort him, but I could tell it wasn’t the right time. “He has most of his men here with him. I saw how many there are here. There aren’t enough brothers for him to have left many guys back in Jackson. We attack the clubhouse. Burn it down, bulldoze it. Whatever it takes. Hit him back. Go on the offense. I’m tired of reacting. I want to take action now.”
“You really think that would get to him?”
I nodded. “That clubhouse means a lot to him. It’s his legacy.”
He stood up and nodded. “Then let’s take it away from him. I’ll message Jack.”
I nodded and went back to the bedroom to wait for Jack to get back. I was ready to get moving. Since I had the idea, I wanted to put it into motion. It was a game of hurry up and wait, though. Jack would have to get back and then decide if he wanted to do it or not. All I knew was that I was over waiting. It was time.
*
Jack came in, looking just as broody as his brother. It was back to first-day Jack, full of distance and a control that made him cold. I couldn’t imagine what he’d gone through, telling the family of the murdered man, but I couldn’t help but wish he’d let me in.
I had no clue where we stood. I didn’t know if I should touch him or I should stay the hell away. I went with stay the hell away because he looked wound tight and ready to snap.
“What’s this about the Rage MC?”
I spoke over Brent. “It means everything to him. From what I can tell, most of his guys are here with him. I’m sure there are a couple left, but nothing your team can’t handle. I want to burn it to the ground. I want him to pay for what he’s done, but I’m also tired of being a step behind him.”
Jack stared at me long and hard and finally nodded. “I’m all on board for fucking his shit up. I need you to stay here, Brent. Someone has to be here, playing defense while we get down there.”
Brent slammed a few buttons on the keyboard. “Sure. Why the fuck not? I’ll just stay here and think about what he took from me.”
Jack put his hand on his brother’s shoulder, in an oddly loving way. I hadn’t pictured them the type to console each other. I was glad for it, though.
“Brother, I know you want this, but I need someone here to watch after the place and Red.”
I whirled on him so fast my bun toppled sideways from my head. I angrily snatched the ponytail holder out of it while yelling at him. “No way am I staying here. I refuse. I want to be there. I want to see it burn. I’ve been locked up long enough. It’s time for me to get out of here.”
“You’re staying. It’s too dangerous.”
I nodded. “Yeah, because I’ve never been in a dangerous situation before. I’d probably break a nail or something. Jesus Christ, Jack. I’m not staying here in this bunker. I’d go nuts. Either you take me or I figure out a way to take myself. I’ll escape here if I have to.”
“You couldn’t escape Snake for all those years, but you expect me to believe that you’re going to escape this place? Bullshit. You’re staying and that’s it.”
I saw blood red. I balled my fists up and turned away from him to try to get it under control. It was a low blow and he’d been giving them over and over. It was getting old.
“I just want you safe, Red.” He tried to touch my shoulder but I shrugged him off.
“Touch me again and I’ll castrate you. You think you can keep saying shitty things to me and I’ll just fall in line? You want to see me cry and shy away from danger or something?” I shook my head at him, feeling disgusted. “You’re not mean enough to really faze me, Jack. You’re never going to be mean enough. I’ve heard worse things. So, keep it coming. Feel free. Give me your best shot.”
“I’m not trying to be mean to you, Red!”
“Are you not? Is this just how you treat all the women you’ve just fucked?”
He threw his hands up. “I’m just trying to keep yo
u safe!”
“Because heaven forbid I end up hurt, right?” I turned to leave and then looked back at him. “I get that you’re stressed and upset. I wouldn’t even blame you for blaming me for this whole shit show. The least you could do, though, is let me go so I don’t have to sit in this fucking concrete casket and be surrounded by all of your blame!”
I marched into the bedroom and slammed the door shut before screaming out my frustration. He was treating me like shit, but he was also keeping me in a bubble. If he was going to be an asshole, I’d prefer to just give it a go for myself. I’d escaped Snake. I didn’t need another man pushing me around and talking to me like I was the scum of the earth.
I got that he was upset, but his lashing out at me after spending the morning making love to me…the contrast was too much. I’d lied when I said that he wasn’t fazing me. He was, and he knew it. His words hurt. As much as he drove me crazy, I liked him. I respected him, and I had begrudgingly grown to care about him in some asinine way. When he attacked, it made me feel like a stupid little girl, getting caught drawing our names together in my notebook.
The door burst open and then Jack kicked it shut. “Get your bag. We’re leaving in just a few. We’ll go ahead and let the team follow behind.”
If he was expecting a thank you, he was barking up the wrong tree. “I’m ready.”
He watched as I slung my bag over my shoulder and then put my hands on my hips, waiting for him to move. He blew out a sigh and then left the room again, instead of saying whatever it was that he clearly wanted to say.
I followed after him and frowned at the back of his head. I hadn’t imagined things working out in quite the way they were when I’d joined him in the shower.
“I’m listening in. Let me know if anything changes. I’ll let you know if anything does on my end.” Jack stopped to talk to Brent. “Stay safe, brother. I’ll be back soon, hopefully.”
He’d be back and without me. I probably wouldn’t see Brent again, I realized. My shitty life was still my life and it was in Jackson. It also definitely didn’t feel like Jack wanted to hang out after the case was over.
I wrapped my arms around Brent, surprising him. “It was fun while it lasted. Get yourself a laptop, bud.”
He gave me a weird look. “You plan on running away?”
I frowned. “I ran away to here. I plan on ending things in Jackson. I won’t have anything else to run from.”
“Well, shit. That doesn’t mean you have to stay there, Raelyn.”
I glanced at Jack and nodded. “I think it does. Once I get back on my feet and have a phone, I’ll call to check on you. Be good to yourself, Brent.”
He hugged me again and kissed the side of my head in a comforting way. “You, too. Be careful.”
I turned and walked toward the door before I let myself get too overwhelmed with emotions. I hadn’t really thought about not ever coming back until then. I realized pretty quickly that I hated the idea. I’d grown to really like the guys. I’d be sad to not see them.
Jack put his hand on my back and pushed his code in to open the door. When I stepped away from his touch, he sighed again, but still didn’t speak. The man needed to learn how to communicate.
We got in a different truck, and then Jack started the annoying task of driving us in about a million circles around the city until he was sure no one was following us. Then, he got on the interstate and headed south.
He set the cruise at fucking NASCAR speed, and then tried to open the conversation. I just wasn’t ready to hear him out.
“Listen, Red, I didn’t mean—”
I turned the volume up and frowned. “Let’s just listen to some music for a while.”
“This is a commercial, Red.”
I realized it was and shrugged. “It’s a good one.”
He allowed it for a while, but after nearly two hours of not talking, he seemed to be itching. “You hungry?”
My stomach growled and I nodded. “Seems that way.”
We were going through a small town, and the only food place seemed to be a Sonic. Jack pulled up to one of the car stalls and looked at the menu. “What looks good?”
I pointed at a club sandwich. “That with chili cheese fries and a giant sweet tea.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yeah. Can I get mustard and onion on the fries, too?”
He ordered himself the same, except he got a water to drink. Boring. When our food came, I dug in. I filled myself and then ate even more. When I finished, I felt like my belly was sticking out and all I wanted to do was nap.
Jack had other ideas. When we got back on the highway, he tried to start the conversation again. I shut it down, however, by pulling myself into a ball and resting my head on the window.
“Sorry, Jack, I’m just really tired.” I closed my eyes and faked falling asleep until I actually did.
Chapter 21
I woke up when I felt myself being carried from the truck. “Jack?”
“I’m here. Go back to sleep.”
I was awake all at once, though. I wiggled around, but Jack still didn’t put me down. He held me tighter and pressed his lips against the side of my head. I wasn’t doing a very good job at staying mad at him because as soon as he did that, I curled into his chest even more and wrapped my arm around his neck.
“I got us a room for the night. We’ll start scouting tomorrow morning.”
“You’ll let me help?”
He stiffened. “Against my better judgement. Yes.”
I smiled, despite his burly attitude. “Thank you. Where are we?”
“A hotel, downtown. I used to stay here when I was with the DEA.”
He carried me into the lobby, and it attracted multiple sets of eyes. I felt my face turning red and buried it in Jack’s neck.
He chuckled. “I didn’t take you for the shy type.”
I grunted. “Why? Because I’m a stripper?”
He grunted back at me. “You love reminding me of that.”
We got to the elevator and thankfully were alone. “You’re ridiculously freaked out by the idea of me stripping. Why?”
He put me down and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I’m not freaked out. I just…fucking hate the idea of assholes watching you.”
“You’re jealous.”
“Not jealous.”
“You’re so jealous! It’s written all over your face. I didn’t take you for the jealous type, Jack.”
With an exaggerated eye roll, he shook his head. “I’m not. Are you ready to talk about earlier?”
I blew out a heavy sigh and looked away. “What’s there to talk about?”
“I shouldn’t have said that to you. I’m sorry. I just don’t want you anywhere near this. One slip up and you’re gone. I’ve seen it happen before. It doesn’t take much. I turn my back for one second and then Snake snatches you away. If something happened to you because of me, I’d never be able to live with myself.”
My heart thumped painfully, but I ignored it. No way was I getting emotional. “Nothing’s going to happen to me. I’ll be safe.”
He let go of me and rubbed his hands down his face. “I sure as fuck plan on making sure you’re safe. I’m sorry if it’s overbearing, but I’d be sorrier if something happened to you. You can hate me, but I’m going to make sure you’re alive to be able to hate me at the end of the day.”
I didn’t have anything to say to that, and the elevator door opened, so I just let it sit between us. Jack led us to the room and opened the door to a nice-sized hotel room with one king-size bed. I looked up at him and then at the bed. He just shrugged and put his bag down.
I grabbed a set of clothes out of my bag and headed toward the bathroom. “I’m going to shower. Do you need the bathroom first?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m just going to rest for a second.”
I frowned. He looked exhausted. I felt awful for him. He’d lost a teammate and possibly a friend. I didn’t even
know.
I took a fast shower and then brushed my teeth before dressing in a long T-shirt. When I entered the room again, I noticed Jack had fallen asleep on top of the covers on the bed. I took a moment to stare at him, looking completely at peace. He was beautiful.
I found the extra blanket in the closet and draped it over Jack, in case he got cold. Then, I turned all the lights off and crawled under the blankets on my own side. It didn’t take me long to fall into a cycle of nightmares about Snake.
*
Jack woke me up in the middle of the night and forced me to get dressed. I barely managed to get my legs into my jeans without falling back to sleep. The few hours I’d gotten hadn’t been enough, especially with the nightmares.
Jack, on the other hand, looked like he was ready to run a marathon. Dressed in another one of his signature outfits, his hair was wet from a shower and he smelled amazing. It didn’t make any sense. I’d used the same soap he had, yet I knew I didn’t smell anywhere near as good as he did.
“What?”
I realized I’d been staring at him and shook myself out of it. “Nothing. I assume we’re heading to the clubhouse?”
He nodded. “I want to scout around and see if there’s anything that sticks out.”
I adjusted my air vent in the truck and shivered. “I’m freezing.”
Jack rolled down his window and turned the air off. “Better?”
I rubbed my arms and shook my head. “It’s just a chill. I can’t shake it.”
He reached over and cupped the back of my neck. “This is the first time you’ve been back to the clubhouse in a while?”
I shivered again. “Yeah. Not long enough.”
“Was it ever not horrible?” He cleared his throat. “I just can’t imagine you living in that hell for so long.”
“It was never not miserable. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t wish I could leave. I was just terrified. He’s crazy. I knew it would be worse if I left. And it was. After you busted the place and he found me, it was daily shit. And I knew what it was like to be free, so I felt like I was dying, being trapped again. I didn’t know if I would make it.”
