by Debra Kayn
He rounded on her, holding her shoulders. "Make sure you don't say a word. Don't talk to any of them. Fuck, don't even look at them. You keep your eyes on me. Whatever I do, play along with it."
She rocked back on her heels, taken aback at the severity of his attitude. "Maybe I'll just stay here."
"Good idea," he muttered, turning to leave.
"No." She grabbed his hand, chickening out of staying by herself in the dark. "I'll come."
Before he rounded the building, he looped his arm around her shoulders. She shuffled her step, giving him more room, and he pulled her tight.
He put his mouth on the top of her head. "Remember, go along with whatever I do."
In front of the motel, at least ten motorcycles filled the asphalt parking lot. She swept her gaze through the crowd of bikers, spotting Moroad members and the women standing in front of the building and men with leather vests standing in front of their bikes. The air tense, she didn't need the pressure of Jacko's arm around her to remind her to stay close to him. She looped her arm around his waist and glued herself to his side.
A dark-haired man wearing a black stocking cap stepped forward and shook hands with Cam. "Bantorus Motorcycle Club heard an anonymous buyer bought the old motel. I'm surprised to find Moroad here."
Cam widened his stance. "City limits ends at the stop sign, Kurt. You're welcome to ask what my plans are, but considering I'm out of your territory as we agreed, I probably won't answer."
"Fair enough." Kurt's gaze swept from left to right and landed on Amy.
Jacko tipped back his head and howled, curling Amy against the front of him. Before she could figure out what he was doing, he locked his lips to her mouth., Shocked he'd kiss her, she struggled in his embraced.
His lips moved over hers, and he said, "Stop."
His tongue slipped into her mouth. Her body sagged against him. Hyper aware of the attention directed at them from the others, she let him thrust his tongue inside of her without putting up a fight. Several seconds ticked by and the conversation behind her became white noise. Jacko continued holding her, kissing her, caressing her.
She hung on to him because there was nothing else she could do. Her stomach rolled and fluttered. He had her back arched while he thoroughly kissed her, and her body unbalanced.
Her jaw loosened on its own. She molded her mouth to fit against his better.
Suddenly, Jacko lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his hips to keep from falling. The up and down motion in which he carried her was her only indication they were on the move, because he still had his tongue in her mouth and her eyes had closed.
Jacko's chest rose and fell against her. His breath became heated and heavy. She snuggled against his warmth and realized she'd started kissing him back. Her tongue dueled with his. Her head shifted farther to the side to get more of him.
He moaned, pulling his mouth away and setting her on her feet. She swayed forward at the abruptness, catching herself on his chest. He stared down at her. Her heart raced, caught in a whirlwind of feelings
Then, Jacko burst out laughing and walked away from her.
Her overheated body nauseated her. She stared at him. Why had he kissed her? Why had she kissed him back?
"Yo, anyone have a smoke?" Jacko walked up to Kurt from Bantorus MC. "You?"
Kurt shook his head. Jacko strolled over to Stache. Amy pressed her fingers to her sensitive lips.
Jacko held his arms out to his sides and gathered Stache into a back thumping hug. "Man, I need a joint."
"Here." Stache grabbed Jacko's hand and placed something in his palm. "Knock yourself out, brother."
"That's what I'm talking about." Jacko walked between Kurt and Cam holding up his hand. "Now where did my woman go?"
Amy stepped under the eaves of the motel room, backing herself into the shadows. The beer she'd drank earlier soured in her stomach.
"Where are you?" Jacko put his hand on his brow and squinted all around. "Don't hide from me."
He'd lost his mind, and he was taking hers with him.
"Amy?" Jacko dodged left, dodged right, and popped out from behind Bear. "There you are."
Her heart hammered her chest. She was going to pass out. What was he doing?
He drew everyone's attention to her. He'd kissed her. She pressed her hand against her chest. Shit.
She'd kissed him back. For a few seconds, she'd thrust her tongue into his mouth wanting more.
His taste was addictive and wrong, and she'd enjoyed the way he touched her.
Jacko walked toward her, holding out his arms and gathered her to his chest. She shivered, not wanting to play Jacko's games anymore. There was nothing warm about her body now. He'd stripped her security away in front of his club and members of Bantorus Motorcycle Club.
"Play with me, Momma,' he whispered. "Make it good."
He lifted her again. Awkward and uncomfortable, she held on to him but kept her face away from Jacko. She wouldn't give him another chance to make a fool of her.
"Last person to leave turns the light off." Jacko hurried to their motel door and locked them inside.
She squirmed to get out of his arms, and he let her go. Shocked, humiliated, and angry, she raised her arm to slap him.
He caught her wrist and pulled her closer until they bumped chests. "Don't ever raise your hand to me."
Fear flashed through her. During the time he was with Sarah and after Amy came to Federal, he'd confused her, irritated her, perplexed her. Never before had she feared what he'd do to her.
She ripped her arm out of his grasp. "You're insane."
"Yeah, you're probably right." He hooked her neck and pulled her forward. "Fucking insane to even want to do this."
His mouth captured hers. He pried her lips open and thrust his tongue inside. Her muffled protest swallowed. She raised her arms to push him away, and he grabbed her wrists, forcing her arms behind her and using them as leverage to hold her body against his.
She struggled earnestly against him. When he moaned into her mouth, she froze. Jacko wasn't pretending.
His tongue swiped hers.
His heart raced against her.
His cock hardened and lengthened between them.
Her sex pulsed.
She went limp.
He walked her to the bed. Her feet moved on their own accord, until the back of her legs hit the mattress. She sat, breaking their kiss.
"Oh my God, what are you doing?" she whispered, touching her lips. "You can't do this. I can't do this."
His jaw hardened, and he ran the back of his hand over his mouth. "Fuck."
She stared at him, willing her heartbeat to slow down and her sex to stop pulsing.
"I gotta get out of here," he mumbled, turning to the door.
"Right, run away and forget what you've done. All you do is make excuses for what you do." Her breath came out harsh and fast. "You loved my sister, Jacko. You don't put the moves on me, because I'm forced to be around you for my own protection. You can't treat me like one of your whores. God, I hope you never treated Sarah like—"
"Sarah's dead." He rounded on her. "How many times do I have to tell you she's gone? She's been gone for a lifetime."
She shook her head. "Love is supposed to mean something more than fucking other women to forget."
"Fucking forget?" He hissed. "Not a day goes by, not one day, that I don't think of what I've lost."
Emotions clogged her throat. "Then, why did you kiss me like that?"
She could deal with him when he talked, even got angry, but the constant need to goof off and drag her into his stupid games troubled her. If he wanted to talk about Sarah, she'd be more than happy to listen. She missed her sister too and having Jacko around meant she got a small piece of time back when Sarah was alive.
"Bantorus Motorcycle Club came tonight to feel us out. Their territory covers everything inside the city limits, and Moroad respects the boundaries. Because Moroad took over the motel,
they'll question our reasons for moving even if we've honored the lines." Jacko swayed from one foot to the other.
Whenever he appeared agitated, he'd resort to the side to side movement. A nervous habit or a sign of brain damage?
"That doesn't explain why you acted as if I was your woman and stopped all conversation out there with pretending you and I were...shit, Jacko. I don't understand what happened to you or why you're treating me this way. You humiliated me in front of everyone, and it's bad enough everyone knows you were once involved with Sarah, but I don't want them to think I'm involved with you. I'm here because I have no other choice," she whispered.
Jacko closed his eyes and when he opened them again, she blinked the tears out of hers. Lines etched the corners of his eyes. His nostrils flared. The wrinkles on his forehead more pronounced. He breathed through his reaction from her accusations.
His pain visible, she desperately wanted to understand why he was putting her through hell and wanting to hurt her.
"Didn't I ask you to go along with whatever I did?" He swayed left to ride, right to left, bouncing on his toes. "I need to test if Reds backed off, and I need Los Li to make a move toward you if I'm going to eliminate the threat. That means I needed to let Bantorus MC know you belonged to me. I wanted each one of them to know your name, look at you, and remember you. This...this world I live in is tight. The less I have to do to get Los Li to enter Federal, the more prepared I'll be to eliminate them."
The room wobbled. She planted her hands on each side of her, grabbing onto the bedspread. "You're going to kill them."
"Fuck, yeah, I am." His body stilled. His feet stood flat on the floor. His hands remained open and lax at his side. "I'll take every motherfucker out who had a hand in Sarah's death and dared to come after you."
She sucked in air. The mystery of what he'd done to land himself in prison vibrantly clear. She could smell the need for vengeance rolling off him.
"You...you've already killed some of those responsible, haven't you?" She swallowed hard. "They're after me, because they want to hurt you for killing their men."
He stared her in the eyes and gave one short nod. Only one. That's all the confirmation she needed.
She let out her breath, unable to recognize if she felt relief or terror. Maybe a little of both.
He turned away from her and moved back to the door. "I'll have Bear guard the room tonight and let you have space to deal with everything about tonight."
"Where are you going?"
"Out." He opened the door.
"Jacko, wait." She stood. "I understand why you acted delusional tonight, but why did you have to kiss me?"
His head dropped. She wanted to force him to look at her but was afraid of seeing the truth on his face that he was only pretending. The feelings he aroused inside of her were only one-sided.
She'd enjoyed the kiss and hated it at the same time. Most of all there was guilt. She'd kissed the man who loved her sister.
"Because I'm crazy and—"
"Don't use your behavior as an excuse. Tell me the truth," she said.
"Because once I started, I wanted to keep kissing you. I wanted to taste the sweetness you gave me, and you did give it to me, Momma. You kissed me back with everything you got." He walked outside and shut the door behind him.
She sank back down on the bed. He was right. She'd wanted to kiss him and more.
Chapter Ten
Johnson, Bear, Stache, and Jacko kneeled on the roof of the single-story motel. Amy stood in the parking lot holding a hammer. Besides breaking for lunch, the men had worked all day replacing sheets of roofing and guessing where the leaks come from.
Jacko straightened and sidestepped to the edge. "Toss me that hammer."
She shielded her eyes and weighed the tool in her hand. "What if I miss?"
"You won't." Jacko motioned her forward. "Throw it out, not up."
"Okay." She swung her arm back and threw the tool underhanded through the air.
Jacko slid down to the gutter and caught the hammer before it hit the roof. "Thanks."
Pleased she hadn't hit someone over the head when she tossed the tool, she smiled up at him. For the last three days, work at the motel kept him busy. At night, he disappeared for a few hours and came back and slept. He'd kept his hands and mouth to himself, and when they were alone together, he'd acted almost normal.
"How late are you guys going to work up there?"
"All we have to do is nail down this last sheet and we're done with the roof." Jack walked his way up to the peak of the roof and handed the hammer to Stache.
She wandered the length of the parking lot and stood under the half dozen apple trees the previous owner must've planted to help block the noise of traffic from the rooms. The leaves barely popped out on the naked branches, it'd be another two months or more before blossoms appeared. She stepped over to the trunk of a gnarled tree and ran her finger down the long scarred indentions running lengthwise.
Bear claw scars.
A shiver crawled up her spine. She looked around her, even though there was nothing to tempt a black bear off the mountain in the spring.
"Amy?" called Jacko.
"Here." She stepped out from under the branches.
He swung the hammer in his hand. "Stay away from the road."
"Okay." She pointed over her shoulder. "I was only looking at the trees. Did you see—?"
Squealing tires on pavement amplified around her. She squeezed her shoulders higher against the invasion of sound. A dark movement out of her peripheral vision warned her of danger and she ducked, covering her head on instinct.
A loud crash brought her gaze up. The impact of seeing a car against the tree she'd stood in front of tracing the bear scar only moments ago tripped her, and she fell to her knees.
Jacko stopped beside her, scanned her from head to toe, handed her off to Bear, and ran toward the crashed car. Unable to get her legs to work, Bear dragged her backward toward the motel.
"You motherfucker." Jacko swung the hammer against the passenger door window, shattering it in one swing. "Get out here."
Amy struggled to get her feet under her and grabbed on to Bear's arm. "You have to stop him."
"Let him do his job," Bear said, tightening his hold on her.
Jacko ran around the back of the car and approached the driver's window, striking the hammer against the glass, once, and then again. Amy reached out and caught the door frame. She wanted to stay with Jacko.
"Damn it, girl, get in the room before something happens to you." Bear pulled her inside and shut the door.
Free from his hold, she hurried to the window. Jacko stepped back from the car and hurled the hammer across the road, roaring his outrage. Stache approached the vehicle, pistol drawn.
"Stay away from the window." Bear pulled her back and set her on the bed.
She chewed on her thumbnail. "Is that a member of Reds?"
Bear pulled the curtain out and peeked through. "Looks like our unlucky day."
"Why?" Afraid to join him at the window, she rocked on the bed. "Tell me what's going on out there. Is Jacko in danger?"
Bear let the curtain drop and opened the door. "You'll soon find out."
Jacko strolled into the room. His gaze swept over Amy, and his mouth hardened. She stayed sitting, giving the three men enough room to move around in the small area.
"It was a dummy car." Jacko lifted his chin. "Call Cam, let him know what went down and have him send Jeremy out here to get rid of the car before the sheriff drives by and wants to make a report and ask questions."
"I'll have him bring the truck and a chain in case it won't start." Stache left the room holding his cell phone.
Jacko looked at Bear. "Stay outside the room."
"Will do." Bear winked at Amy and left.
Their calmness unsettled her more than if they'd all freaked out. She raised her gaze to where Jacko stood. Having no idea how he'd gotten from the roof to the trees, she wonder
ed how much more she missed. All she heard were the tires and then the crash. If someone asked her what color of car was out there, she wouldn't be able to answer.
"Was it Reds?" she asked.
Jacko shook his head. "It's a warning from Los Li."
"What kind of warning?"
"There's nobody in the car." Jacko swayed side to side. "They're letting us know they're close. Close enough to walk right up to us without us knowing and can catch us off guard."
She shook her head. "If that was the case, they would've kidnapped me or whatever they're planning. Why waste a car and their chance?"
"Because they like to cut deep. Unlike Reds who stay under the radar, Los Li likes to flaunt their jobs."
She straightened her upper body. "Maybe it wasn't them. Are you sure you didn't see anyone running away from the car. It could've been a drunk heading home and he crashed. Maybe he panicked and wanted to get away before anyone called the sheriff."
Jacko held out his hand. She laid her hand in his and let him pull her to the window.
"Look out there and describe the car," he said.
"It's black." She studied the damage to the front fender. For how loud the crash seemed, the destruction was minimal.
"See the emblem on the hood?"
She caught sight of a round circle and squinted. "Yeah."
"That's a black Cadillac sedan. The hood ornament is a BMW emblem. It's how Los Li marks all their cars. You catch sight of one of those in Federal, you point it out to me." Jacko walked over to his duffel, removed another pistol, pulled back the top of the weapon, and set it down. "An extra gun will be here. It's cocked and the safety is off. You need to use it, all you need to do is aim and pull the trigger. Keep pulling the trigger until the clip is empty. There's eight shells in the magazine. You probably won't have to use it, but it's there in case you do."
"You're not going to leave again, are you?" She stood, ready to grab him if he left the room.
The last three nights, he'd left her alone, claiming he needed to get away and run errands. When she'd questioned where he was going, he ignored her and set Bear or Johnson to guard her room. Tired every night from waiting up for him to return, she always fell asleep and missed noticing when he returned. But, every morning, she woke up to find him sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to her.
