JD's Redemption

by Lauren Firminger

  “Please don’t listen to him. You and JD are perfect for each other and he knows what a dick he was back then. The night of the wedding, when he put Mia to bed, I caught him talking to her. He told her not to let the big bad world make her cold or let it make herself close off from love. When I told him he deserved to be happy too, he asked me what he should do. I told him that he needed to be honest with you but don’t be a fucking idiot this time because second chances aren’t easily given. I don’t regret giving Chaos a second chance. I didn’t want you too either.”

  “I love him. I always have and I always will. I can’t keep denying what we have because he made a mistake a long time ago. He isn’t the same person he was back then. If he was then I wouldn’t be with him now. Everything that has happened has made him grow up finally. Almost losing Cameron like that and watching Katy and Thomas go through what they went through changed him. I didn’t want to wonder what could have been anymore. Did you know he got a new tattoo?” The girls shook their head and I pulled out my phone. I may have sneakily taken a photo while he was sleeping one night. Showing the girls my tiara, I couldn’t hide my smile. “I have no doubts about us.”

  “So what was the argument about?”

  “Well when Freddie dropped me back home, I was about to go and get my car and make sure he was okay, but he was there waiting for me already. He saw him drop me off and I managed to smooth that over but when I was getting ready to come out, in the spirit of not keeping shit from each other, I told him why I was with Freddie today. He wanted to kill him because he said that Freddie should have known better. He knows what taking someone’s life does to a person so to willingly drive me to do that was fucked up and he wanted to go and kill him. JD told me that Freddie doesn’t get to drive me to the brink of insanity and pull me back. He doesn’t get to play inside my head like that. I got pissy and told him that he’d done that enough the first time.” I took another drink as the girls all looked at each other.

  “Are you sure you have put all that shit behind you?”

  “I have.”

  “Then you need to get inked. Do what we did and get the Old Lady tattoo and then add JD’s mark on it.” I sat there in silence and thought about it. Hailee was now covered in ink and Katy had a few tattoos that I knew about. I wasn’t big on pain and I knew this would hurt but was getting a tattoo just to prove to JD that I was in this for the long haul really the right thing to do? “Think about it at least. Talk to Leesh. She will sort you out.”

  “I’ll think about it.” With that, we decided to drop the heavy talk and relax like we had all planned on doing tonight. Hopefully JD would open up to the boys and they could talk him down. If not, Jose Cuervo would do the trick later tonight when I got home.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  JD

  Once the girls left, we grabbed some beers and kicked back. I had stolen Mia from Chaos and she was currently playing with the chain that hung around my neck as we talked. Chaos tried to give her bunny to her, but she wasn’t having a bar of it.

  “She has her mother’s stubborn streak.” I couldn’t help but snort.

  “Dude, she is all Katy! Baby girl got lucky!” He flipped me the bird, but he had a huge grin on his face. Hearing a knock on the door, it opened before any of us had the chance to move. We looked up and in strolled Corey. I held my fist up to him and he tapped it with his before moving to greet the boys and went to get himself a beer.

  “You doing okay?” I gave Raven a nod. I didn’t want to bring them into the shit between Freddie, Ellie and I so for tonight, I would leave it, but he and I would be having a come to Jesus meeting. There was no way that I was letting him get away with the shit that he has pulled. He was way out of line and I needed to put him back in his place. Either that or I would beat the crap out of him until he got the message.

  “I am. Just trying not to think about the shit that went down and the fact Jai is still out there somewhere.”

  “You know the nomads are on it and we have eyes on the girls. We can be with them in a matter of minutes if anything happens, but he’ll have a bullet in his head before he can lay a hand on them.” Again, I gave him a nod. I didn’t really want to go into everything that was worrying me about Jai being out there, but it was bringing back all the ghosts of the past. He would know that though but without Ellie with me to keep them away, I had to try and push them from my head.

  “I’ll feel much better after I go and see Mom and Dad tomorrow. Dad has been working on a beautiful black El Camino with white stripes on the hood and when you move and the sun hits it in just the right spot, you get gold coming through.”

  “Man, I really need to go check that out. She sounds so sweet.” I shifted slightly, trying not to jostle Mia too much and pulled out my phone. Mia tried to take it from me, but I managed to get my photos open and showed Raven the ones Dad sent earlier. He let out a whistle and scrolled through all the angles. He had the biggest grin on his face, his eyes glazing over.

  “She’s got your name all over it, bro.” He handed me my phone back and I slid it back into my pocket. I sat back against the couch. “I can’t wait to see what he does with his Mustang.”

  “So he finally got his hands on one?”

  “One of his mates hooked him up with it.”

  “He’s keeping busy then? That’s good. You gonna talk to him about what happened?”

  “I couldn’t bring myself to do it on the phone so I will talk to him when we see him tomorrow.”

  “That’s understandable. Just don’t leave it too long okay? You don’t want them to hear about it from someone else.”

  “Shit, I didn’t even think about that.” I took a drink from my beer as I let Raven’s words roll around in my head. I would have heard from them by now if they had found out so as long as I got out there as early as I could tomorrow, I should be fine. Since my Pops left the MC, he and Mom basically cut themselves off from this life with the exception of me and a few of the guys. When Raven asked me again if I was okay, I gave him a nod. “Yeah, just thinking maybe I should have gone to see them today to tell them.”

  “It’ll be fine. Not a lot of people know about what happened so they won’t hear it from us.” Before I could say anything more, my phone went off. Thankfully it was on silent because it would have scared the crap out of Mia and woke her up which I am sure Chaos would have killed me for. Seeing the text message from Ellie, I opened the message.

  Ellie: I’m sorry about earlier. I hate the way we left it and hope that you’ll forgive me. I love you and don’t want you to doubt us.

  JD: Just a speed bump, Goddess. We’ll be fine.

  Ellie: Good! Jose Cuervo and I are prepared to make it up to you tonight though.

  JD: I’ll look forward to it. Out of curiosity though, what number tequila are you girls on?

  Ellie: I think we have hit double digits, I can’t be sure though.

  I couldn’t help but chuckle softly. Looking up and seeing the guys looking at me. “The girls are gonna be fun tomorrow. They are on Tequila shots and have hit double digits.”

  “Oh sweet Jesus. They haven’t been gone that long!”

  “Hailee is gonna be pissy as hell. She doesn’t deal well with hangovers.”

  “Whose idea was this?” The boys all looked at each other before pointing at Chaos.

  “Katy. She texted Hailee and Abby before telling Ellie they were kidnapping her. Although, they were a little worried about her reply.” I raised a brow.

  “Oh, which one was that?”

  “Something about finishing what she started last night.”

  “Anyone want to tell me how Freddie got a hold of that message?”

  “He didn’t. That we know of.”

  “He did because not long after she sent that to the girls, he was picking her up and they were on their way out to the hideout. He was planning on letting Ellie kill Mischa.”

  “No. He wouldn’t.”

  “Saw it with my own eyes. Woul
d have gone through with it if she hadn’t heard my phone call with him and was worried that I was about to off myself and she got him to turn around.” I looked down at Mia as I felt my temper beginning to rise again. I took a swig from my beer. When I felt a little better, I looked up at the guys. “You need to deal with him, Raven. I can’t have him pulling shit like that with her. His feelings for her are clouding his judgment or something because had she followed through with that, she never would have forgiven herself for it. I could have killed him tonight if it wasn’t for Ellie stopping me. Getting passed her would have meant hurting her and I wasn’t about to do that.”

  “We’ll sort it. Maybe he needs some distance from the club for a little while.” I finished off the last of my beer and sat my empty down on the table beside me.

  “Uh guys… We might need to do that sooner rather than later.” Corey was looking at his phone. “My spy tells me that Freddie just got to the bar. I can’t see this ending well if Ellie and the girls have been drinking Tequila.”

  “Shit.” I stood up as carefully as I could with Mia and passed her to Chaos. Out the door before any of them could stop me, I got into my car and was soon followed by Raven and Corey.

  “You aren’t going alone. Let’s go.” I reversed out of the drive way and put my foot down when I got to the main road that Raven’s place came off. As thankful as I was that it wasn’t Jai, Freddie was fucking killing me right now. “You need to remember that this is a bar that is frequently visited by our boys.” I eyed him with a glare before turning back to the road.

  “He just had to be out tonight? The night he is supposed to be doing his fucking job and burying that bitch. Don’t be surprised if she turns up tomorrow alive and well.” With the speed that I was driving at, it didn’t take me long for the bar to come into my sight. I pulled into the parking lot and stopped by the doors. Getting out, Raven just a little ahead of me, I followed him inside and looked around for him. I saw the girls at a table and noticed that there was no Ellie. “He is fucking dead.”

  Raven whistled to get the girls attention. They got up from the table and moved over to us, Hailee rushing into Raven’s arms while Katy moved to me and Abby moved to her brother. “Where is Ellie?”

  “Freddie came in. He wasn’t happy. We tried to get them to stop him, but he just grabbed her arm and pulled her with him.”

  “Which way did they go?”

  “Out the back way.” As soon as Katy finished the sentence, I moved her to Corey and took off for the back door. Tucker had taught me a few tips when we’d killed Ollie. They may just come in handy tonight. Unfortunately for Freddie though, I wouldn’t be as kind as to give him a relaxant. He was gonna feel everything that I was about to do to him. Pushing open the door, I looked around before I heard Ellie’s voice.

  “Freddie! Where are you taking me? JD is gonna fucking kill you when he finds out.”

  “We’ll be long gone before he finds out, Angel. He’ll never find us where we’re going.”

  “Wanna bet, Asshole?” Freddie stopped and spun around to face me. He pulled Ellie behind his and I could see him grip tighten on her arm.

  “You don’t deserve her! I am taking her far away from your toxic shit. She should have chosen me!”

  “She should have. I will admit, I am toxic. You don’t get to choose who you fall in love with though. You don’t get to decide what and who she wants Freddie. I am going to give you one chance to do the right thing and let her go before I make you.” His lips curled into a smirk as he pulled Ellie around to stand in front of him. He changed his grasp on her to grip the tops of her arms.

  “You would never hurt her to get to me, Jason. Don’t pull that shit with me.” I stepped toward him but stopped. Something had made him snap and he was right. I would never hurt Ellie to get to him. Holding my hands up in front of me.

  “You’re right. I wouldn’t lay a hand on her like you are doing now. I can see it in her face, Freddie. You are hurting her. Why don’t you let her go back inside and we can sort this out between us?”

  “No! She is coming with me! I should have taken her earlier when I had the chance. You are too pathetic though, so she had to come crawling back to you. You are emotionally blackmailing her to be with you! She doesn’t really love you.” I looked over my shoulder to Corey and he gave me a nod.

  “Maybe so but don’t do this. Don’t make her go with you using fear. Please, just let her go.” The tears in Ellie’s eyes were breaking my heart and I wanted to rush him so he would let her go but I couldn’t take any chances. Looking past him and seeing Cormac step around the corner, when he gave me a nod, I didn’t even hesitate to rush him. Before he could react, he was in a headlock and I had managed to get an arm around Ellie and pulled her close to me. Her arms wrapped tight around me as she hid her face in my chest.

  “No! You can’t have her! She is mine! Ellie please! He is just gonna hurt you again.” I rest my hand against her head, holding her in my arms as I moved back inside with her.

  “Call Tucker. I think he needs a psych evaluation.” Raven gave me a nod and clasped his hand on my shoulder. Once she was safely inside, I pulled back to look at her and cupped her face in my hands. “Are you okay, Goddess? I am so sorry.” She looked up at me, her eyes filled with tears.

  “Can you just take me home please?”

  “Of course. Wait… Shit. Raven and Corey came with me.”

  “I can take them and the girls home.” I turned and saw Cormac standing there.

  “You sure?” He gave me a nod.

  “I will take the girls home now and come back for Boss and Corey.” Reaching my hand out to him, I bumped his fist with mine.

  “Thanks, man, I appreciate it. Thank you for earlier too. Don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  “Anytime. Just get your girl home and into a hot shower.” He walked off to find the girls and I decided to do just that. I wrapped my arm around and led her out to where my car was parked. Getting her in, I moved around to the driver’s side and started it up. Reaching over, I took my hoodie from the backseat and handed it to her. She gave me a small smile before pulling it on and letting the arms hang over her hands, so she could cuddle into it. Once I got her home, I would have her safely wrapped back up in my arms and God himself wouldn’t be able to get her away from me again.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Ellie

  Waking up the morning after what may have been the worst night of my life, my head hurt and so did my arms. I could feel JD behind me and knew as soon as I moved, he would be awake and apologizing, making sure that I was okay. I would smile and pretend that I was while trying to forget that someone I once cared about had hurt me so badly. Not just physically but it went deeper than that. Could I trust that something wouldn’t happen to me when JD wasn’t around? Would they always have someone looking out for us? What would have happened had their spy not have been there? Would I still be standing here? What would have happened had we not turned the car around yesterday? Was he really taking me to Mischa? So many questions running around my head and the more I thought about it, the more questions I had. A wave of fear hit me and instinctively I rolled over and hid my face in JD’s chest, my arm wrapping around him, the other tucked in between us as I pressed myself against him. I hated this feeling of vulnerability in my own house. I didn’t like feeling safe so I was glad to have JD home with me.

  “You okay, Goddess?” I felt his lips against my head as he sleepily mumbled his question.

  “I’m fine.”

  “How’s your head?”

  “A little sore. Some coffee should sort that out though.”

  “Want me to go make you some?”

  “No, you stay just where you are Mister.” He chuckled softly and tightened his arms around me.

  “Anything you say.” Resting my cheek against his chest, I closed my eyes again. I felt his fingertips slowly brushing down my arms which made me curl into him more. “Any objections to me keeping
you home tonight?”

  “None at all. Don’t really want to leave this bed.”

  “Think I could persuade you to come with me to see Mom and Dad today?” I pulled back to look up at him.

  “If you really want me to come with you, I will.”

  “I want you with me but only if you are up to seeing people. I can go another day if you would rather but I do need to tell them about the other night, so they don’t hear it from someone else and worry.”

  “We can go see them. It’s fine.” I dropped my head back down on his chest and just laid there in silence. After a little while, when my head started to pound, he got up and went into the kitchen, coming back with Advil and a glass of water.

  “Coffee is on. Want me to bring it in to you?” I nodded my head and pulled the covers back up, curling up underneath them. He pressed another kiss to my head before disappearing back to the kitchen. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about him losing his shit last night at the sight of Freddie with his hands on me but seeing him now, I knew he was in protector mode then and was still in it now. I guess I must have fallen back to sleep though because the next thing I knew, he was waking me back up by kissing along my jawline and down to my neck before pulling away again. I groaned softly and reached out to pull him closer to me but couldn’t find him. His chuckle told me he was nearby though. Opening my eyes, I looked up at him standing by the bed. He dropped down into a crouch, his hand reaching out toward me and brushed a hair from my face.

  “You suck today. Just so you know.”

  “I suck everyday, Goddess, it’s just more noticeable to you today because you are hungover.” I pulled the covers over my head with a huff and closed my eyes again.