by Lexi Cross
Whatever happened to looking out for your own? They’d make it up to him. They’d help him pay back Leo and every one of the guys who’d beaten him, and every one of the guys in his lame little motorcycle club. He wouldn’t try to recruit them for his club. They weren’t Crimson Hawk material. Not if they couldn’t even mange to take out an enemy who’d screwed them over.
Fiona helped him back into bed. She pulled the covers over him, and even though they made him far too hot, he left them where she placed them.
“Now what? What do you need?”
“Just some sleep, I think.” He turned over to look at the glasses beside him. There was still water. He reached for the bottle of ibuprofen, but she got it first. She poured out four and handed them to him, then picked up the glass of water and handed it to him as well. “Thanks.” He set the water down and let his head sink into the pillow.
He heard her soft footsteps as she left the room and closed the door. When she was gone, he pushed the blankets down and let the cool air cover his body. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
As his consciousness sunk deeper, his body did one of those full-body shudders that happened while you were falling asleep. The pain shot through him in a burst, and light sparked his vision for an instant. But it was just enough to send a memory flashing through his mind.
One image. Leo standing over him, shining the flashlight bright in his eyes before he brought his foot down on his face. It made his nose ache recalling it, and when he closed his eyes, his mind replayed the entire scene.
Jasper had been there, in the dark at the side of the road, where they always met. Look for the cluster of trees and the picnic bench. That was what he told people. Just after mile marker 58. He’d been there, waiting. He should’ve brought a few of his guys. He always did for stuff like this, but he’d gotten the call on his way home from getting food and they wanted to meet right away. That was his first mistake. He’d been too eager for the sale and had broken his own rule. Never meet alone.
And now that he thought about it, Leo probably had guys tracking him, watching to see when he was alone, then he’d had that guy John call to ask for a deal. Leo had planned this whole thing to make it as easy as possible for him. No one on one fighting like men. Not even club on club. Oh no, had to make it seven to one. Seven to one. What kind of an asshole did that?
Jasper had sat in his car in the dark, ready to take off if anyone happened along who shouldn’t be there. Then he saw the car flash its lights three times. This was the sign. The car pulled over and John got out. Jasper went to meet him behind the cover of his car.
“This stuff is pure?” John asked.
“Taste it.” Jasper waited while John peeled open the bag and stuck in a wet pinky to taste the cocaine.
John nodded. “Where’d you get this? This stuff is good.”
“Five hundred.”
“You sure that’s all? How can you afford such low prices? You know that other guy charged me six.”
“Yeah, well, I guess you found the better deal, then, didn’t you?”
“Too bad you didn’t.” This voice had come from behind him and he recognized Leo.
It took him a half second to realize this wasn’t just another drug deal. This was a set up. John, if that was even his real name—probably wasn’t—took off with the money and the coke. Then, a group of men piled out of a car and came at him.
Jasper managed to get his gun out. He rarely went anywhere without it, especially when he was doing a deal, and he wouldn’t dream of not having it on him, loaded and ready to go.
From behind, Leo tackled him to the ground. That, Jasper had not been expected. Guns, knives, fists, yes. But he’d had his eye on the guys approaching and though he hadn’t forgotten Leo was behind him—in fact, he was moving to get in a better position so that Leo wasn’t behind him—Leo had taken him by surprise.
Jasper kicked himself for that repeatedly, but in the end, it likely wouldn’t have mattered. Seven men converged on him. They punched him and kicked him. One of them took a knife and slashed up the Crimson Hawks logo on the back of his jacket. They cut straight through the leather, into his skin, and every slash was a hot whip that made him arch his back in agony.
Once he was on the ground, they’d gotten his gun from him quickly and he hadn’t been able to reach for the knife in his boot. One of them had found it, and to add further insult, had made a point of saying it was his own knife that had cut up his back. That was why he thought they would just shoot him. So it could be his own gun that killed him. But for whatever reason—sheer stupidity maybe—they hadn’t. And they’d pay for that mistake.
He wondered about his car. They’d taken his keys, and when he came to, the car was gone, but surely they hadn’t taken it. It would lead the cops right to them if they thought they’d killed him. Being in possession of a dead man’s car would require quite an explanation, or quite the bribe. Maybe it was just pushed into the woods. More likely, it’d been stripped and sold off for parts. Good thing he hadn’t driven his bike. If they’d messed with his bike, they’d really pay.
Jasper leaned his head against the pillow and closed his eyes. But every time he did, he saw flashes of fists hitting his face, felt them kicking his sides and stomach, felt the stinging cuts across his back. And then the eerie silence. When he’d passed out, they’d stopped at some point. He woke up and the world around him was so still. He’d tried to sit up, but everything spun and he collapsed again, kissing the gravel. He’d lain there, hoping for salvation. For one of his boys to come along and see him. For someone to help him. And then Fiona was there.
When he’d opened his eyes enough to see her, she seemed to glow. Of course, it might have been him half hallucinating from the pain, but he’d never forget that first sight of her. The concern on her face, the way she reached out to see if he had a pulse. And then how she’d helped him into the car, had listened when he said not to take him to the hospital. How many women would have done that? And then she’d cared for him ever since. If he didn’t know better, he’d think he was falling for her already. And then figure in her perfect face and body. She was the whole package. Despite whatever he tried to tell himself, he wanted her. Badly.
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