by Lexy Timms
He stopped and looked around the room to get his point across. “Police reports note there was no evidence on your person to corroborate that you ever touched the victim. You have never taken the opportunity to clear up this inconsistency, and I suppose this is one factor to explain why a jury of your peers found you guilty of aggravated assault and involuntary manslaughter. The reason for that is a man is dead after suffering excessive lacerations, blunt force trauma and head trauma after he was seen leaving the establishment in question with a group of individuals, including the defendant.”
The judge took a breath. “For a number of reasons, which include my concern about your lack of cooperation, the nature of your offence, and your refusal to help the court to adequately understand the motivating factors underlying it the offence, I can also say I have serious reservations concerning your prospects of rehabilitation. Nevertheless, in light of your age, and with the sincere hope that these matters can one day be clarified, along with the irrefutable fact that one day you will be free again, I will recommend that some component of your rehabilitation be considered just as seriously as this sentence.”
Jace wasn’t even sure what the judge was talking about anymore. He just wanted to get the fucking sentencing hearing over and done with so he could move on with his life after whatever time he had to serve.
“Jace Roma, after careful consideration of your case, I hereby sentence you to serve seven years for manslaughter and five years for aggravated assault, with time to be served concurrently for a minimum of five years, and no more than twelve years in an Arizona State Prison.”
The judge brought down his gavel, and that was it. Jace’s fate was sealed.
Chapter One
Ten Years Later
Jace stood in the Arizona sun outside the front entrance of the Arizona State Prison Complex in Phoenix. He was a free man after ten long years. It struck him that the people he saw on the outside were going about their daily business as if today was just another day. For Jace, today was his first taste of freedom in a decade. He stood like a statue, taking in the free light shining down on his face. He looked down at his boots, jeans, and white tee-shirt for a second. After serving a decade for something he didn’t do, he was not about to waste any time getting back to the life the system had threatened to take away from him for much longer.
He spent a few minutes just enjoying being on this side of the fence, then parked himself on a stone bench on the sidewalk in front of the correctional facility and waited for his friend to get there. A moment later, a black SUV slowed to a crawl in front of him with enough tint on the windows to block out even the Arizona sun.
The passenger window rolled down and a familiar voice shouted from inside. “Jace! Get in, brother!” It was Ragged.
Jace opened the door and started to climb in. His cut sat on the passenger seat, still the same as the day he left it at the clubhouse. The driver, however, looked different from what he remembered.
Ragged had let his hair grow down past his shoulders, and wore a thick cover of stubble on his face. His president had been working out, too, it seemed. He wore his cut over a black shirt that barely kept his bulging muscles contained. Jace couldn’t get over it. The man looked like a singer for a rock band now, not the guy who had taken Jace into the MC so many years ago.
“How does it feel to be a free man?” Ragged asked as Jace settled into the seat and slid back into his cut. It fit perfectly, like sliding back into his own skin.
“Feels good to be home, brother.”
Jace flipped down the visor to take a quick look at how his cut looked over his shoulders for the first time in a decade. Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he realized he wasn’t the same little punk kid who had just gone off to jail. He was a man now. Suddenly, Ragged’s built physique wasn’t quite as shocking. Jace realized being on the inside had aged him, too. He’d worked out, sure, and there was some more definition to his arms and chest, but he could see the evidence of his years inside on his face. He wasn’t wrinkled, but there was something serious in his eyes he hadn’t noticed before. Something raw and crude and feral. Maybe it was realizing just how much time had actually passed on the outside that made him notice it. He flipped the visor back up and put the realization behind him. Today was a new day.
“Hey, Jace, now that you’re out, I got to thank you again. You’ve heard this before a thousand times from me, but I gotta say it. Not everyone would have done what you did for me, man…taking the fall like that. You didn’t even give it a second thought. I went off the deep end that night, and you didn’t blink an eye to do ten years for me. That means a lot to me…and to the brotherhood.”
Ragged put one of his firm hands on Jace’s shoulder and gave him a brotherly squeeze that told him he meant what he was saying.
“I’m sure any of the brothers would have done it. I just happened to have the least to lose that night.”
“You lost ten years of your life, man. That’s nothing to laugh at. That’s my kids’ whole life.”
“Yeah, but I learned a lot in there. I really did. I’m better off now for it.”
“All right, brother. I’m glad you see it that way. Now it’s time to get you back in the fold. You can help us keep the MC progressing forward.” Ragged put both hands on the wheel to take a turn onto a gravel road.
“I could have made it out a hell of a lot sooner, but some shit went down on the inside.”
“What the fuck did you do, Jace?” Ragged was already laughing. Jace could tell he expected the typical jail story about raising hell on the inside and making life harder for the guards who had to watch him. They had heard enough stories like that from other club members who had done time in the Arizona justice system, and a few who had served in other states before winding up in Phoenix.
“It wasn’t so much anything I did. One of the guys I was in with got roughed up by a couple of guards and ended up dead. Long story, but prison is not the kind of place to find yourself with a health condition that was never diagnosed before starting your sentence. Guards usually think prisoners are just screwing with them. They just refused to help this kid and he ended up dead. Fucking bastard guards look at all of us like we were worthless dogs.”
Jace didn’t want to say much more. He looked out the window and finished with, “I got one of the guards alone a few days later and promised him payback for what they had done to this kid. Guards don’t like being threatened much.”
Ragged shook his head. “In another time, we’d find a way to get the message across…from the outside.”
Jace shrugged. “He’s lucky I didn’t make good on my promise.”
“You’re lucky too, man,” Ragged reminded him.
“You’re right. The warden made sure the parole board knew what I did. Made sure they turned down my application twice, and on top of that, I have this bullshit therapy I have to go to as a condition of my parole.”
Ragged laughed. “What? Anger management or something like that?”
“You could call it that. The cocksuckers want to make sure I’m adjusting to life outside. You know, keeping me on the straight and narrow so I don’t commit another offence. They want to keep us down, treat us like animals that need to be watched. It’s just another way to remind us we’re not really free when we get out.”
“That’s the truth…Well, you know what to do with that therapy. “Just fucking play along. Say and do whatever you need to and get through it without giving the fuckers any reason to think you have a problem. You can do it, brother.” Ragged glanced over at him and grinned before turning back to watch the road. “Let them think Jace Roma is a reformed man and has set his balls aside for the system.”
Jace chuckled. “They’d like that…maybe too much. They’ve got me going to see this therapist. A fucking psychiatrist. Can you imagine me, talking to a shrink?”
“Fuck, I can picture them needing psychiatric help after they deal with you,” he joked. “What’s her name? Maybe
one of the other guys who served mentioned her.”
Jace pulled out one of the sheets of paper they gave him when on his release. “Dr. Jessie Gardiner.”
“Doesn’t sound familiar.”
“I have to see her once a week for a year, and more if she thinks I need it.”
“She better not think you need it, then. You can’t be under someone’s thumb like that for so long, brother.”
“That’s the plan. I’ll just work her over, show her I’m reformed. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll put on the Roma charm. Shrinks need to get laid too.”
A smile spread across Ragged’s face. “What if she’s a shriveled up old lady in her seventies?”
“Then I’ll let you have her.”
Ragged boomed out a laugh. “Whatever, man…Anyway, don’t count on sweet-talking your way out of it. That’s the kind of shit that can backfire and land you with another year on the shrink’s couch…or worse.”
“I’ll play it by ear.”
“Don’t count on it. Once they get you in their clutches, brother, it’s hard to get them to let go. Best to just play it safe, and give her what she wants. The sooner you play their game, the sooner they’ll see you as another success story of their system, and that is the only way they’ll ease up.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ve got what she wants.”
“Same old Jace.”
Chapter Two
They pulled into Ragged’s driveway. Up until that point, Jace didn’t give much thought about where he would spend the next few nights until he could get back on his feet. He had just assumed it would be in one of the five upstairs bedroom at the clubhouse—the one that used to be his before he left for a decade.
Maybe he was being unrealistic.
“We’re just stopping by your place to say a quick hello, right?” Jace finally asked. “Because I was thinking I’d just stay in my old room until I figure things out.”
“Not a chance. You’re having dinner with us, and I have something to show you later.”
“The clubhouse is fine, man. You already picked me up and gave me a ride out of that hellhole. You don’t have to do all of this.”
“Don’t you start that crap. It’s the least we could do for you. First, because you’re family, and that’s enough reason right there. Two, after what you did for me, for my kids…my old lady…look, just get inside. You belong here.” Ragged hopped out of the SUV and walked up the lit walkway to his front door.
Jace sat for a moment and watched him. He had to take a moment to let it all sink in. This is what they did for each other. He didn’t have to look over his shoulder any more, or worry about what he might owe for even the smallest favor. Prison was behind him. Ragged was right that this was his family. He was home. It was time to get used to that again.
Ragged waited for him at the door, waited and watched to see if he was getting out of the car and coming in. He probably thought Jace was moving in slow motion, but this moment was memorable. Jace opened the door and stepped out, smelling the evening air. The place felt brand new to him. He looked up and around him. This was the kind of shit people who never spent time on the inside took for granted. He was one of those people, before that decade of pure hell. He had taken daylight and fresh air for granted. He wouldn’t again, now that he understood what those basic things were really worth.
On his way up to the door, Jace spied Ragged’s Harley sitting under the carport. There was another bike next to it with a cover over it. Jace felt the urge to ride. He’d felt it every day for the last ten years, but right now, in the open air, already enjoying a slight taste of freedom, it became an ache. The memory of the open road, the sheer power between his legs, and the exhilaration of throttling that engine called to him. Soon enough, he’d be on the road again.
“Are you ready for this?”
“Yeah.”
Ragged patted him on the back and opened the door to his house. “We’re home,” he called.
Immediately the smell of home cooking filled the air. Jace had not enjoyed a decent meal in ten years. The smell wrapped around him like a warm, welcoming embrace.
Then, suddenly, Liz, Ragged’s old lady, came up from behind and wrapped her arms around him. He turned to get a good look at her.
“Jace! You’re out!” She squeezed him around the arms the way he would expect someone’s mother to, then her face turned serious. “It’s so good to see you…and I just have to say this again. What you did for Ragged, for me and the twins…it means the world to us.” She hugged him again and kissed his cheek. “Thank you so much, Jace.”
“Alright now, that’s enough,” Ragged joked, slapping her ass. “Find your own old lady. Give me some love, woman. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were happier to see Jace than your old man.”
After a round of hugs and welcomes, Ragged called out, “Boys! Get out here and meet your uncle.”
Jace heard a door slam on the other end of the house, and two lively boys came running. Ten years old now, they looked just like their father. The last time Jace had seen the twins, they were little newborns.
“Jace, these are the boys, Jason and Jackson.”
“Now, go get washed up for dinner,” Liz said, and they darted off to another corner of the house. She looked up at Jace and Ragged. “You two as well.”
It was hard to believe that she was the same old lady who used to ride behind Ragged in leather pants with her own cut on over old t-shirts. She was still Liz, and she looked just as hot as back before the twins. Back then she looked like she had stepped off the pages of a lingerie calendar. She was like Miss October in leather and tattoos, draped over a Harley, ready to turn heads and kick some ass. Now, she took charge of her family dressed in blue jeans and a simple black tank top. She still had a few pieces of ink showing on her shoulders, but it looked out of place. Her hair wasn’t teased up or wind-blown. It was down and plain. Still, when she hugged him and when she spoke, she was still unmistakably Ragged’s old lady.
At the dinner table, the twins sat and stared at Jace.
“Boys,” Liz warned them, “empty those plates before you lose out on video games tonight.”
The boys started eating, but kept staring at Jace.
“Alright,” Jace said. “Who wants to go first? What do you boys want to know?”
“They need to eat,” Ragged told him. “They’re too young for the stories you got.”
“Give them a chance to get to know uncle Jace,” Liz told her old man.
“Jason, you go first,” Jace said, looking down at his plate so the boys wouldn’t realize he didn’t know which was which yet.
Ragged let the boys tag team with a slew of questions, shaking his head every so often so Jace wouldn’t answer the ones that were sure to cross the line. After about twenty minutes, he cut them off. “That’s enough, boys. Time to wash up for bed.”
Jace winked at the boys as they placed their napkins over their plates and started for the kitchen.
“Sorry about the third degree,” Ragged apologized. “They’ve been pretty excited to meet you. You know, Jason there was named after you.”
One of the boys straightened up and turned around. Jace made a note of the one wearing the striped t-shirt. He probably wouldn’t remember after the kid changed into something else, but it was good to tell them apart for that brief moment.
“Jackson was sort of named after his brother. He was delivered after Jason.” Ragged chuckled. “I figured it’d be hard enough to tell these two apart already, since they look so much alike. So why not make the names similar, too?”
Liz punched Ragged softly on the side of his arm. “That’s because even you can’t tell them apart sometimes.”
“That’s why I always give one a longer haircut,” he teased her.
Liz shook her head, still smiling as she turned her attention to him. “So, Jace, I set up the spare room off the kitchen for you, and there’s a spare key we made you.”
“Thank
s. I really appreciate it. It’s just for a few days, though.”
“You can stay as long as you want, and remind me to show you something later on too.” Ragged chimed in from the other side of the table.
“I’m fine sleeping at the clubhouse.”
“Not tonight,” Ragged insisted.
“I’m curious, Jace. Did Ragged take you to stop by at your parents’ place earlier?”
“No. I’m not even sure they know I’m out.”
“Really? Why not? I bumped into them a few times around town. They seemed like nice people.”
“We haven’t spoken since I was arrested.” Jace lowered his voice. “The last time I laid eyes on them was at my sentencing hearing. They didn’t say a word to me after that.”
“That’s a shame.”
“My folks weren’t too happy to know I was hanging around the clubhouse or that I’d joined the MC. They didn’t visit, call, or write for the last ten years, so I got the message. It’s time to put it to bed and move on.”
“You still have us,” Liz said. She got up and started clearing the dinner plates.
“Yeah, brother, the MC is your family now.”
Jace smiled. The MC had been his family long before his jail time. Not that there had ever been anything wrong with his family. They were just too straight laced. The normal life he’d had growing up didn’t satisfy him. He had been hungry for something different, something dangerous and free. He found it when he met Ragged and the other members of the Raging Danger MC, Phoenix Chapter.
A hand fell on his shoulder again. “Whatever you’re thinking about,” Ragged said, “drop it. We have a long day tomorrow, and a longer night tonight. Want a beer?”
Ragged got up and brushed his hair out of his face, heading for the kitchen.
“Of course,” Jace said. “The last time I had a beer, I wasn’t exactly of legal drinking age, remember?”
Ragged came back with two ice cold bottles of Bud Light. He handed one to Jace. “Damn. That’s seriously fucked up. We’ve got to make up for lost time. Finish it up fast. We’ve got a little surprise planned for you.”
