Fighting for Alexa

by Jennifer Ann

  Closing my eyes, I push my fingertips against a sudden sharpness in my temples. At least Michael had a good head start before she arrived. But knowing he made me his ex’s favorite dish twists my stomach into knots. I’ll never look at biscuits and gravy the same again.

  “Help yourself,” I offer with a forced smile. “I made more than enough to share. Plates are on the counter, and forks are in the drawer under the microwave. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  As she digs into the first meal ever prepared for me by the love of my life, jealousy pierces my heart. How many times did Michael cook for her? How many times did they spend the entire day in bed, making love? How many times did he tell her that he loved her?

  And what the fuck does she want with me?

  I run to the safety of my room, forgetting when it’s too late that I didn’t grab my phone…or my Beretta. Although I know that I have to go with Kerissa just in case Dryden truly did send her, I can’t stop the little cloud of fear that has cast a shadow over me.

  14

  Michael

  The second I grabbed a taxi a good dozen blocks down from the safe house, I knew the day had turned to shit. After I gave the driver the address to Jack’s, he simply stared back at me through the rearview mirror, unmoving.

  Throwing him a hard smile, I asked, “Something wrong?”

  “You’re that man,” he answered in a thick Hispanic accent. “The one from the newspaper.”

  Bracing myself against the plexiglass, I snarled, “What’d the newspaper say?”

  “That you were released after being wrongly accused of murder. It’s not every day I meet a man who escaped a life sentence. If I were you, I’d be in a hurry to play the lotto, amigo.”

  I was raging, ready to go postal against the guy. The hipster who had stepped in for Alexa at my hearing had promised that my release wouldn’t get leaked to the press per the judge’s order. I knew once Dryden got word that I’m free, he’d be coming for me with guns blazing and no holds barred. I may have escaped his wrath once, but there won’t be any mercy a second time.

  I offered the guy an extra twenty if he broke the speed limit. The ride passed by in a fucked-up blur of anger toward those who didn’t do their goddamned job by following the judge’s orders, fear that I’ve already scared Alexa off without even telling her the whole story, and paranoia that Kerissa is back with a vendetta.

  When Jack called, he said our club brother who had served as secretary under him stopped by with the news of Kerissa’s return. My guts got all twisted up with memories from the last time I saw my ex. Mascara ran down her eyes as she told me she loved me, and would do anything I asked. But when I called her bluff, she became irate. I know she was scared of me—by me, and what I was capable of doing, so it hadn’t made sense that she still wanted to stay with me.

  She promised she wouldn’t come back. What if she returned to destroy me?

  But I have even bigger problems. It’s only a matter of hours before Alexa goes to the clubhouse party. It’s one thing for her to dance in next to nothing at Spinner’s where she’s protected by the threat of customers walking in on Dryden’s business, but knowing she’ll be in the warehouse where he has teenage girls locked in the basement awakens my darkest fears. What if Dryden pimps her out to one of his guests? Or what if Dryden decides to claim her body himself?

  There’s no fucking way I’ll hang around and wait for something to happen to my girl, even if she wants nothing to do with me after she learns the truth about how I ended up in prison.

  When the cab pulls up to the curb in front of Jack’s little rambler on the edge of town, the sight of my old bike parked in the cracked concrete driveway has my stomach lurching almost as much as the handsome fucker standing next to it with his arm slung around a tiny, dark-haired woman.

  Jace Daniels isn’t my relation by blood, but he’s one of my brothers from the Corps, and those bastards are the closest thing I have left for family other than Jack and Alexa. I arranged for him to buy my bike when I heard he was in a bind, shortly before I went to prison. But what the fuck is he doing here now? As good as it is to see him, his timing couldn’t be any worse.

  I slip the driver a fifty dollar bill. “Thanks, man. Keep the rest.”

  I’m not the least bit surprised when Jace comes rushing at me for a bear hug. Though he’s a couple inches shorter than me, he’s equally as strong and briefly lifts my feet off the ground without any problem. “Holy shit, man! I can’t believe you’re out!” he shouts in my ear. “When Jack told me you were getting out soon—”

  “What are you doing here?” I ask, prying him off me. “Where’s Jack?”

  His sharp blue eyes narrow. “Good to see you, too, brother. Thought I’d check in on you and see if you wanted to buy your bike back now that you’re a free man.”

  I shake my head, wishing there was a way to skip past having to explain myself. But I don’t know how else to make him understand my desperation. “Sorry, but I’m right in the middle of a fucked up mess and don’t have time for any bullshit. I have to talk to Jack.”

  “You just missed him. He was getting ready to ride out right as we pulled in, told us to make ourselves at home. We were just heading out for a bite to eat.” He tilts his head as if trying to get a better reading on my pinched expression. “He said something about a woman needing his help. Told me if he didn’t come back by dark that I should call the number on his kitchen counter for someone named Tatum O’Connor, and let her know that he’s run into some trouble. Any of that make sense to you?”

  Dropping my chin, I scratch at the back of my head as I dial Jack’s number. When the call goes directly to voicemail, I’m ready to break something. Jack had to have been talking about Alexa. But why would she call him for help when she had my number?

  Cold fear trickles down my spine when I consider the alternative. Maybe it wasn’t Alexa who told him she needed his help. Maybe it was Kerissa. Jack once cared about her like an uncle, although he was never as close to her as he was with me. What would she want from him? Why should she ask for his help?

  I call Alexa’s phone, but she doesn’t answer either. With the sound of a roaring engine, I look up as Tatum’s black BMW tears around the corner, wheels squealing against the pavement. She slams on the brakes at the end of the driveway, meeting my gaze with a furious scowl through the windshield. Guess there’s no question whether or not she already knows that I’ve been in touch with Alexa. I’m in for a real fucking treat.

  Jace nudges me with his thick elbow, chuckling. “Only twenty-four hours outta the slammer and you’re already pissing off hot women? You always were a sly fucker.”

  Tatum bursts from her car and stomps my way, blonde hair flowing around her shoulders like a centerfold posing in front of a giant fan. In tight jeans, a white shirt beneath a short-sleeved dress jacket, and high heels, she’s undeniably badass. Then the wind catches the bottom of her jacket, revealing a handgun shoved into the front of her jeans. Jace lets out a surprised noise before I hear him shuffling back to the woman.

  “What’s going on, MJ?” he asks behind me. “What exactly have you gotten yourself into?”

  Twisting around, I meet his pinched expression. “You should go. Shit’s about to go down with my old club, and I don’t want to see you and your woman caught in the cross-fire.”

  “It’s gonna take more than that to scare us off,” the woman says, cozying up to Jace. “If you need help, we’re not going anywhere. Oh, and by the way, I’m Phoebe…the fiancée, I guess. God, that still sounds so weird. Anyway, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

  “She’s right,” Jace agrees with a dip of his chin. “We’ve been through some pretty bad shit ourselves recently. If it weren’t for Zimmy and Big Rob saving our asses, there’s a good chance we wouldn’t be having this conversation. No fucking way I’m bailing on a brother in need.”

  “I need a minute alone with you,” Tatum barks, stopping in front of me with her arms folded o
ver her stomach.

  “Yeah, give me a second. This guy traveled across the country to see me.” As much as I fucking hate sending Jace away, I hand him the burner phone. “Give me your number. I’ll give you a call if I find myself in a bind.”

  As he types his digits, Phoebe twirls the ends of her hair dyed a bright blue in her fingertips while giving Tatum a side-eyed glance. “So…are you like a cop or something?”

  “Or something,” Tatum snaps in reply, refusing to look the dark-haired woman’s way. She’s too busy glaring a hole through me.

  “Okay then,” Phoebe mumbles. “Guess it makes it easier to catch the bad guys if you’re gorgeous.”

  Jace returns the phone, his gaze hard. “We’ll stick around for a few days. You sure as shit better take my offer seriously.”

  I nod in reply and give him a fist bump.

  “Nice to—” Phoebe begins, then meets Tatum’s pissed off expression and shakes her head. “Right. We’ll go on our way. Now.”

  A minute later Jace’s walking my bike into the street with Phoebe close behind. I’m admittedly jealous to hear the familiar roar of the engine before they disappear down the street.

  When I turn my full attention to Tatum, she jabs a finger into my sternum. “You dumbshit!” Spots of bright red splotches pepper her cheeks. I always figured she’d have a temper, but it’s worse than I imagined. “Are you capable of thinking with something other than your dick? You may have put this entire mission in jeopardy by going to see her! You have no fucking idea what Alexa has been through! Are you trying to get her killed?”

  “No fucking way!” I yell back, swatting her finger away. Stopping myself, I suck in a deep breath, needing to keep my anger at a reasonable level. Fighting with Alexa’s best hope of getting her out of Dryden’s clutches in one piece would be asinine. Then I grumble, “How’d you know I was with her?”

  “Are you shitting me? I’ve been tailing her at all times, Michael!” I half expect her to knock me out when her hands ball into little fists at her sides. “I just got notice that you were seen leaving the safe house a short while ago! Your ass is lucky it wasn’t one of Dryden’s men trailing you! Do you not understand what’s at stake?”

  So much for watching my own back. “Who the fuck else do you have tailing her?”

  “An old partner!” She shakes her head. “Someone I trust more than you at this point! I had a video call from my supervisor and had to put someone else on watch—didn’t dream I’d have to protect her from you!”

  I hold up my open hands to her. “Before you finish reaming me a new asshole, there’s something you should know. Jack called me less than an hour ago, said my ex is back in town. I told him I was coming over, but the guys who just left said Jack tore out a little bit ago to help a young woman.” I look down, scratching at the back of my head. “I don’t think it was Alexa who called. My ex—Kerissa—she’s…dangerous.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Tatum mumbles, pulling a small walkie-talkie from her hip. Her eyes lock with mine as she speaks into it with the button pressed. “Smalls, you there?”

  There’s a brief crackle, then a man’s voice replies with, “Ten-four, OC.”

  “Checking in to make sure everything’s all right. Did the target make a call on the burner phone in the past couple of hours?” she asks.

  “Negative. Target left the safe house with a blonde woman just minutes ago. I’m tailing them now—headed eastbound on two seventy five.”

  My nuts draw tight. A blonde woman? Kerissa. “Ask what the blonde was driving,” I growl out through clenched teeth.

  When Tatum asks and the man on the other end replies with, “A white Jeep,” I kick the tire on Tatum’s BMW and let out a roar. What the fuck is Kerissa planning to do with Alexa?

  I grab Tatum’s arm. “It’s her…my ex. They’re probably on their way to the clubhouse. Tell your guy to stop them.”

  When Tatum’s head lulls downward and she grumbles to herself, I squeeze my fingers to get her full attention. “Someone leaked word to the press about my release. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Kerissa came out of hiding today of all days. I think both Jack and Alexa are in serious trouble.”

  “Fuck!” She presses the button on the radio again, telling her man, “Don’t let that Jeep out of your sight for a fucking second. Do you understand? Blonde woman is potentially dangerous. I’m enroute to the Four Brothers’ clubhouse.”

  “Ten-four,” he responds.

  I start for the passenger’s side of the BMW and pull on the handle. “If we haul ass, we can probably beat them there by taking ninety-two.”

  Tatum pushes against the door before I have a chance to swing it open. “Where the hell do you think you’re going? You’re supposed to be in hiding! If you’re seen with me, it’ll blow this operation wide open! If my supervisor hears what I’ve been doing, he’ll nail my ass to the wall! And not in a way that will give me any sort of pleasure!”

  With a shake of my head, I bare my teeth. “You can’t expect me to stand back when her life could be on the line! I know Dryden and his niece better than you and anyone else on your team. They’re both sick fucks! If I’m right about this, and they know the truth, you don’t want to know the kind of things they’re capable of doing to Alexa. They’ll do whatever it takes to get my attention.”

  Tatum’s eyes narrow. “What did you do to piss them off so badly?”

  “It’s a long story. But I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get Alexa the hell out of there. I’m going with you, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.” I pull on the door hard enough to knock her hand away, then look her in the eye with my jaw set. “I love her, Tatum. I’m ready to fight these bastards in any way necessary to get her back in one piece.”

  Tilting her head back, she releases a throaty moan. “Why the shit couldn’t ‘Lex have found herself a reserved banker, or a nice kindergarten teacher?”

  “Because nice guys wouldn’t know how to pleasure her the way I can.” Quietly chuckling at Tatum’s wide-eyed response, I slip into the passenger’s seat. But the fleeting humor evaporates the second she’s jumping into the car at my side, throwing me a deep scowl.

  “You have to promise you’ll let me handle whatever situation we might stumble into down there, Michael. I know all about your anger problems, your history of violence, and the fact that you were once the enforcer for the club. You won’t be any help to Alexa if you’re sent back to prison.”

  “You do your job, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe,” I promise, leaving it at that.

  If push comes to shove, I won’t show any mercy.

  The sun has almost set by the time Tatum parks her BMW on a hill overlooking the club warehouse. The well maintained concrete building stretches the length of two football fields, housing much more than illegal dancers and drunk bikers. After Jack left, the Four Brothers got in the business of stealing anything on wheels and stripping it down to sell on the black market, operating under the guise of an auto body shop. Who knows what the hell else they’ve started storing in that building since I was sent to prison.

  Every illegal thing they did over the years made me fucking livid, knowing they were singlehandedly destroying everything my old man and Jack had helped them build, but I was waiting for Dryden and Rambone to get involved in something extreme. Something monumental that would put them away for life. Like this.

  Tatum’s one step behind as I spring from the car and head over to the chain-link fence. There must be somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred bikes parked in the lot, as well as dozens of vehicles, and countless people.

  Tatum hands me a pair of binoculars. “If Jack’s here, think you could pick his motorcycle out from the rest?”

  I first scan the lot for Kerissa’s Jeep since Tatum’s guy said the girls were close to the warehouse. When I don’t see it, I take my time in studying every Road King in sight. Jack’s had enough custom work done on his bike over the past couple of year
s that I could easily distinguish it from any others, but nothing in the lot looks familiar.

  Studying the crowd, I come across a group of dancers grinding up against each other, giving the guys a real show. A trickle of anger overtakes my body until my blood is boiling hot. I never should’ve agreed to let Alexa continue with this charade, even before Kerissa came back into the picture.

  Several members of the Four Brothers stand around one of the entrances of the warehouse, engaging in what appears to be a somber conversation with important-looking men in suites. My hackles rise. No one wears suits for simple club business.

  “Hey, come over here,” I call to Tatum over my shoulder. “Alexa said there’d be important people here tonight, but some of these guys look like they could be rich fuckers.” Once she’s by my side, I hand the binoculars back. “Check it out…garage door on the far left.”

  Adjusting them to her eyes, she hums. “Shit. I think—one of those guys looks like a senator I know.” She lowers the binoculars, turning to me with a little frown that sets a deep crease between her eyes, making her look 10 years older. “This is bigger than I anticipated. It might be time to fill my supervisor in, even though it’d piss Alexa off.”

  I grunt in response. Unless she calls her entire fucking agency in to help right this second, it’ll already be too late. Whatever’s going on down there is monumental, and I can’t shake the sickening feeling that Alexa is right in the center of it all.

  “Put your fucking hands up where I can see them, MJ, or I’ll blow your pretty head off,” a deep voice growls from somewhere in the darkness. “You too, blondie.”

  Butcher, the MC’s current VP, comes up behind us holding an uzi up against his thick chest. He’s an ugly son of a bitch, having been attacked so many times that his face is little more than a pattern of raised scars, and he’s every bit as relentless as he is revolting.

  Tatum moans, her head titled back. She meets my gaze as she holds her hands up, silently willing me to do the same with her eyebrows raised.