When I'm With You (Little Hollow #2)

by Danielle Dickson

  “You may have my patch, but I have something of yours,” Taz sneers, and I narrow my eyes at him.

  “You don’t have shit.” I growl. “Now get out before I really live up to my road name and maul your ass!”

  He cackles. “That right? Why don’t you ask little Jacky Boy about it.”

  I launch myself and pin him up against the wall by his neck. “What have you got to do with Jacques? I swear if you’ve touched a hair on his head, I will put you six feet under so fuckin’ help me God!”

  He squeezes out a choked laugh through my grip around his neck and I’m pulled off him.

  He rubs his neck. “Don’t matter, after tomorrow you’ll never get it back.”

  My fists shake and I pull against the three people holding me back as I watch him wink and walk out the clubhouse door.

  They let go as we hear his engine tear off down the road, and I swing around facing Smokey, Grim and my pop. “You not hear what he was saying? You should’ve just let me go!”

  My pop steps forward, hands raised. “Bear, you need to calm the fuck down. He was taunting you and making shit up.”

  “And what if he wasn’t?” I shout.

  “Then we’ll get to the bottom of whatever it is, but you need to calm down!” Pop raises his voice.

  I take a deep breath and run a hand through my hair, scanning the room. “Where’s Jacques?”

  Everyone looks around them, but he’s not here. “Anyone know where the fuck my brother is?”

  No answer from anyone. I slam my fist into the wall and curse as my knuckles crack under the pressure. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me, so I turn around to give everyone a warning stare to get the fuck away from me. I notice some of the Old Lady’s and club broads cowering in the corner, except one.

  Kira, Grits Old Lady, takes a tentative step toward me and holds out her hands to see my fist. I look at Grit and he gives me a simple nod to say it’s okay and I let her lead me out into the kitchen. She’s only around three years older than me, was a biker brat herself until Grit claimed her as his own, real sweetheart until you crossed her, then she’s as fierce as they get to protect her own.

  “Got quite the temper on you, not very smart to go punchin’ up walls,” she says matter-of-factly.

  I roll my eyes. “Didn’t get my road name for nothin’.”

  She giggles. “And here I was just thinkin’ it’s because you’re hairy.”

  I strain out a laugh and look into her green eyes. They still hold a slight scared look in them when she looks back at me, and I sigh. “I’m sorry, didn’t mean to scare you and the rest of the girls.”

  She laughs. “You think you’re the first to blow in front of them? If they can’t handle it they shouldn’t be involved with the club, it comes with the territory. You’re all hot heads, we know that.” I run my good hand down my face and she finishes bandaging the other. “You’re good to go. I don’t think it’s broken, but it’ll hurt like hell for a while.”

  I smile. “You’re one of the good ones, Kira. Grit’s lucky to have you stand by his side.”

  “Damn right I am,” a deep voice sounds out from the door, and her face lights up.

  “Thanks for patching me up,” I say, trying to flex my hand and wincing. It’s not as bad as I thought it’d be, but it still hurts.

  She waves me off. “Sure. Just don’t go picking fights with walls again.”

  I walk past Grit on the way to my room and nod at him to show my appreciation for letting his Old Lady patch me up.

  Pop’s is waiting for me outside my room. “What the fuck was that? You get VP shoved in your face and the first thing you do is roll around the floor like a fuckin’ animal, puttin’ on a show for everyone?”

  He pushes a patch at my chest and I catch it before it falls to the floor. “I didn’t start anything, just finished it. And don’t be a hypocrite, you’re the one that taught me to use my fists to get my point across.”

  He smirks. “I also taught you to choose your battles, Bear. Tank isn’t givin’ you VP, he wants me at his side, just a warning. And what’s this shit about Jacky Boy? Something you need to tell me?”

  “He said it in front of the whole fuckin’ club, he can’t go back on his word,” I growl.

  “And then you went and did that, so deal with it! Now, what’s going on with Jacques?”

  “I’d tell you if I knew anything,” I snap.

  “No you wouldn’t.” He narrows his eyes at me.

  “You’re right, I wouldn’t unless it put the club in danger, but he’s not talking and now I know Taz has something to do with it, I need to find him.”

  “Taz doesn’t know shit, he was tryin’ to get to you and you went to him like a bull seein’ red.”

  “Yeah well he deserves everything that’s coming to him. If he keeps this up, I can’t see him lasting much longer at the club.”

  A whistle catches my attention and I turn my head to see Pres standing outside his office, he motions for me to join him in there when he sees me looking, then walks back inside. I sigh and start walking to the office.

  “Bear?” Pop shouts, and I turn back around. “Watch your mouth in there, he knows what he wants and he won’t take no more mouth from you.”

  I nod and waltz into the office, sitting opposite Pres trying to keep the smug look off my face.

  “You can’t keep that patch, I sure as hell ain’t having you as a second, that position will go to Snake and you’ll take his sergeant-at-arms.” He dares me to question him, but that works for me.

  I shrug. “Fine. But I’m gunnin’ for your brother first, he’s up to something and if it can get the club in trouble, then I’m cutting him off.”

  He stands out of his chair, hands braced on his desk. “He’s a disrespectful motherfucker as of late, but he ain’t up to anything.”

  I fold my arms over my chest. “If you really believe your own words then you won’t mind me checking him out.”

  He shrugs. “Fine, you’ve got twenty-four hours. And this doesn’t come back on me if he knows you’re watching him. Now get out.”

  I nod once and make my way out the room. He’s given me twenty-four hours to prove Taz is a dirtbag, shouldn’t be hard. My first point of call is finding Jacques, so I pull out my cell and dial his number. He doesn’t answer the first time so I try again before sending him a text when that one runs to voicemail.

  Taz told me everything, we need to talk.

  I don’t like liars but I have no choice, I need him to come to me. In the meantime, I’m going to check out anywhere I know he hangs. I walk into the common area and it erupts in cheers, so I take a bow.

  “How does it feel to be Mr VP?” Smokey shouts over.

  “Wouldn’t know, my pops is VP and I’ve taken his patch.”

  Everyone looks confused. “I’ll do more as Sergeant-at-arms than I would as VP. Pres wouldn’t have listened to anything that I said anyway, so I’m gonna clean up this club my way.”

  I make a conscious effort to eye up the brothers sitting at the other side of the room, they’re the ones always snortin’ something. A chorus of ‘fuck yeah’ and ‘about time’ ring out around the room, and I know I have their support.

  “Has anyone seen Jacky Boy?” I ask.

  Again no one answers me, the same as earlier and I huff.

  “Why do you want him so much?” A small voice asks, and I turn to face whoever it came from.

  Poppy.

  “If you know where he is you need to give him up, I ain’t playin’ around.”

  She looks across at her pop, Jojo, but he just nods at her to give me what I want. She looks back at me and clears her throat. “I don’t know where he is now, but he said he was going to a ‘safe place’ when I saw him about three hours ago, whatever that means.”

  I nod thinking he could only be in one of two places. “Thanks, Poppy, I owe you one.”

  She smiles shyly and drops her head. “Sure.”

  I rush out of th
e clubhouse and peel out of the parking lot on my bike, heading toward my childhood home. As soon as I get there, I jump off my bike, grab a torch from the house, and make my way out the back and into the woods that sit behind the backyard.

  I climb over fallen trunks and duck under low branches until our old wooden fort is in sight. We used to come here all the time as kids, me, Jacques, Smokey and Keeley, and it brings back a lot of good memories. I loved this place.

  I climb inside, having to bend down slightly to stop my head from hitting the roof, and I take a look around. Apart from a rotten bench and empty bottles, all that greet me is an empty shell. Feeling frustrated, I climb out forgetting to bend down and bang my head on the wood.

  “Fuck!” I cry, clutching at it.

  I shake my head and make my way back to my bike. He better be at the next place or I’ve hit a dead end. My bike roars to life and I head into town. By the time I pull up outside the big gates and drop the kickstand, it’s already nearly eleven at night so I know nobody else will be here. I start making my way through the eerie cemetery, hoping that my brother is here. I stop in my tracks when I see Jacques leaning over mom’s plot, sobbing with a bottle of something in his hand.

  “I’m so sorry, mom. Please forgive me,” he cries out.

  I kneel down next to him. “Jacques?”

  He raises his head slowly, bloodshot eyes meeting mine. “Fuck off, Hunter,” he says, turning to look at her headstone.

  I fist his black hoodie at the scruff of his neck, and pull him into a standing position. “I’m about ready to start beatin’ on you, so you better start talking!” I growl into his face but he doesn’t open his mouth, he just stares through me. “I know this new you has something to do with Taz, so you need to talk or I’m going to make you talk. I don’t care if you’re my brother, I need to know whatever you do so I can get rid of his ass!”

  That piques his interest. “He’s gonna be gone?”

  I shrug. “Whatever you have to tell me better be fuckin’ good and I’ll handle it.”

  He wipes at his eyes and eyes mom’s headstone again, pausing for what feels like hours. “I didn’t know until I was right outside of her apartment. I didn’t know it was her, Hunter, you have to believe me!”

  He sobs and I don’t understand what he’s saying. “Who? You didn’t know who who was?”

  “He said he’d get me my cut, how could I pass that up? I wasn’t doin’ anything wrong. I had to get her and drive her to him, that was the deal. It was supposed to be easy.”

  My fists ball up tightly. “You need to start making some sense real soon, Jacques!” I shout, and he looks up at me, tears streaming down his face.

  “K… Keeley,” he whispers. “He has Keeley.”

  I throw him to the ground. “He’s what? Where is he?”

  “I… I dunno,” he stammers.

  I point right in his face. “If he’s done anything to her, this is on you!”

  “I just did as I was told for my cut! What do you care anyway? She ain’t nothin’ to you!”

  I lean down and drag him out of the cemetery by his hood. No way am I doing this on my mom’s grave. I throw him on the sidewalk. “You helped him kidnap an innocent woman for his own sick pleasure!”

  “W… what? He said it was club business,” he stammers out. “I thought Pres wanted her back or something! Fuck! What have I done?”

  He hangs his head in his hands. He really didn’t have a clue what he was getting himself into. “Where is she, Jacques?”

  He shakes his head. “I don’t know, he-”

  “Well you better fuckin’ think of something we can go on, and quick, that was nearly five days ago now! There’s no tellin’ what he’s done to her.”

  My stomach bottoms out at the thought of him hurting her. I feel sick. The five days is a guess, Jacques and Taz went missing around then so I’m chalking that up to when they took her.

  He looks around him in thought. “We met at the old train tracks in Harlow, but that’s two hours away, I have no idea where he went with her after that.”

  “Harlow?” He nods. “Why the fuck would he want her in Harlow?”

  “I don’t know,” he cries. “Hunter, I’ve been beating myself up about this for days. I should’ve said something to you, something always felt off about the whole thing.”

  I raise a finger at him. “Don’t you dare try play the victim in this clusterfuck! Do you realize what you’ve done? Keeley has always hated him for one reason or another, she never did tell me why but he’s a sadistic fuck, there’s no telling what he’s done with her!” I pace about in front of him, trying to come up with a plan. “Get up! We’re going to Harlow!”

  The pressure in my head amps up and I feel like it’s going to explode, that along with the tight feeling in my chest has me going a lot faster than I probably should be, but I don’t care. I just can’t shake this feeling that her time’s running out. I need to find her! The day I had to tell her she was eighty-sixed was one of the worst days of my life.

  My cell rings out and I answer with a tired voice. “Yeah?”

  “Bear, I need you at mine. Keeley’s been fuckin’ Dusty Walkers son and the club are going to find out sooner or later. I’ve got no other choice but to toss her out on her own, if I don’t do this they’ll vote to put her six feet under, you know the rules.”

  I jump up off the bed and throw my feet in my boots, feeling a pain in my chest I can’t quite describe. “I’m on my way, I’m at the club so I’ll be about ten minutes.”

  “Just get here, fast. And, Bear?” I grunt in response. “Don’t talk to anyone, just come straight here.”

  I crashed at the club last night after getting shitfaced after Keeley let me down on my offer to do something. I guess she found someone else to ‘be lazy’ with.

  There was that feeling again, it feels like my heart is being ripped out and stomped all over. He’s really going to eighty-six his own daughter. That means I’ll never see her again. I don’t know what to do, we’ve been in each other’s lives for nearly twenty-two years, but I’d rather that than to have to see her have the mark of a traitor carved into her skin, and watch the life draining from her eyes as they kill her.

  My fists clench around my handlebars and I speed toward her house.

  Why is Taz following me?

  He glares at me as he passes and I bite down on my lip to stop myself from knocking him clean off his bike, I’ve always hated that motherfucker. Instead of trying to speed up, I slow right down and let him go ahead of me, I need to collect myself before I do something I’ll regret.

  He’s pulling out of the street with claw marks down his face along with a long gash running the length of his cheek that I didn’t see before with it being on the opposite side to me. I inwardly cheer Keeley on, I hope to hell that was her!

  Keeley and Pres are outside her house screaming at each other when I get there and they have a hefty audience too, nosy fuckers! Pres hits the outside of the house and drags Keeley up off the floor, why is she on the floor? He better not have touched her!

  My fists tighten in a ball as I get off my bike and walk toward them, reminding myself to not lash out because Keeley has been fuckin’ a rival clubs Road Captain; the Pres’ son. Fuck! Someone that isn’t me.

  “Is that all you care about? Keeping a fucking title!” She shouts, not noticing I’m here until Pres looks at me.

  She spins around with a frantic look on her face. “Hunter, you need to tell him. Tell him I wouldn’t sleep with a rival club,” she pleads.

  I can’t even look at her, I keep my gaze on Pres. He nods at me, giving me permission to take her before throwing a small duffle bag at me. I catch it with ease and grab Keeley by her arm. She shouts to get off her but I ignore her and hold her in front of me on my bike, climbing on myself and riding off while I can.

  “Where the fuck are you taking me?” She screams, but I pretend I don’t hear her.

  I can’t just drop her off i
n the middle of nowhere and let her fend for herself like we’re supposed to, so I take her to an old car garage to buy her a car.

  “Hunter! You need to tell me what the fuck is going on, right now!” She screams.

  I don’t answer her, I just start to walk toward a salesman and flick my finger at her. “Follow me.”

  I shout the salesman over and he practically runs toward me. “Afternoon, can I help you?”

  He’s staring at Keeley, no wonder, she looks like I’ve beat her around before we came here. I shoot her a warning look at the conniving one she has in her beautiful, icy blue eyes and shake my head. “Yeah, I need a car in perfect working order, it needs to be ready to leave right away.”

  “Err, sure, we have the-”

  “I don’t care what car it is, it just needs to be ready to go now,” I spit out at him. What doesn’t he understand about right away?

  He runs back to his trailer and I think he’s going to lock himself in there at first, but he comes back out with a set of keys in his hand and leads us to a blue Toyota.

  “She may not look like much but she’s in perfect working order, I just need you to sign some papers inside. I assume you’ll be paying with cash?”

  I nod my head, I still have money from the last ride we did in my saddlebag. I run to get it and follow him inside to sign whatever I need to, having faith that Keeley won’t run.

  “Is she okay?” The salesman asks tentatively.

  I let a low growl out my throat. “You think that’s any of your business?”

  He hold his hands up. “No, not at all. I… I was just asking.”

  “Well don’t ‘just ask’ in future! Now give me the damn papers!”

  Of course I sign with a fake name and give him one more warning look before walking back out with the keys and her duffle bag, throwing it into the old blue car. I squeeze my eyes closed and sigh, steeling myself for what I’m about to do, I need to keep my emotions under control.

  A part of me wants to string her up myself, the other half wants to run away with her. But that would put her in more danger than she’s already in, they’d definitely come after us then.

  So I school my features and make sure it’s unreadable before looking back up at her. She’s a mess. Her hair is all disheveled and she has a graze down the side of her face and a bruise over her jaw. I wince slightly as I walk around the car to her.