Dad crossed his giant arms. “Yeah, well, I’ll always be her dad, you may or may not be around forever.”
“Are you fuck—”
“Stop!” I bellowed. “Both of you need to take a big mother may I, back the fuck up, moment. I am chief of Letti protection. Neither of you get to have that job because it belongs to me.”
“Babe—”
“And, furthermore, I am done with all this alpha male, head bashing nonsense. I am my own woman, not some fucking damsel in distress.” I turned to Aero. “I hope you didn’t hurt your right hand in your little fight tonight, because you’re gonna need to take care of yourself until I decide I no longer want to kill you.” Turning to my dad, I hissed, “Stop being a dick to my boyfriend. You might be my dad forever, but he’s not going anywhere until I say so, so you need to wrap your head around that.” I pulled out my phone. “Now, I’m going to call a car and head over to Everly’s. I’m done with both of you.”
My dad stroked my cheek and smiled. “I’m gonna see you tomorrow. Stay here with your man.” He gave Aero a chin lift and walked out the door.
“Baby, come here,” Aero said, holding a hand out to me.
I shook my head. “I’m mad at you right now.”
“Angry sex is good sex, baby. You want me to show you?”
“You’re beat to shit, Jasper. We’re not having sex.”
“I was given a promise that a certain pussy would be waiting for me.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
He waved to his already hard cock. “The only thing that’s hurtin’ is my dick, Letti. You gonna leave me like this?”
I licked my lips and stared at him.
“Hey,” he said, and I met his eyes. “Love you.”
“I love you too, even though you’re an idiot.”
“The idiot who wants to make his girl come… hard.”
“Fine,” I huffed out, dropping my phone on the sofa side table and stomping toward him. “You better make me come more than once.”
“Oh, I plan to,” he promised, and took me back to bed.
Aero
TWO DAYS LATER, I awoke, my body sore and bruised, feeling better than I had in years. I rolled over to kiss Violet, but my lips connected with her pillow. “Letti?” I called, but didn’t get an answer, so I threw the covers off and sat up, scrubbing the sleep from my eyes and wincing from the pain my knuckles caused when connecting with the bruise.
I headed into my bathroom and splashed cold water on my face, then went to find my woman. I smiled. She was standing in the middle of my tiny kitchen, reading the directions on the back of a frozen box of sausages, looking totally confused, and fuckin’ gorgeous.
“Baby?”
She glanced up with a quiet gasp and frowned. “You’re up early. Are you in pain?”
“I’m good.” I crossed my arms and nodded toward the box. “Whatya doin’?”
“I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed.”
“How long have you been staring at the back of that box?”
“Too fucking long.” She sighed. “I hate cooking.” She opened the freezer and chucked the box back in, closing the door and frowning up at me. “Sorry, honey. I suck at anything domestic.”
I chuckled, walking toward her and leaning down to kiss her gently. “I don’t give one fuck if you can’t cook, baby. I’ll take you however you come.”
She stroked my cheek, studying me. “Let me get you some ice for your bruises.”
“I’m good, Letti. I’ll make us breakfast.”
“Not sausages,” she said, and I laughed.
“Okay, bab—” My phone buzzed on the counter, and I glanced down to see a blocked number. I ignored it. But it rang again within seconds, so I picked it up, barking, “Aero.”
“Bud, it’s—”
“No,” I growled. “I blocked your fuckin’ number for a reason.”
“Don’t hang up,” Harmon said. “Your mom—”
“My mom is not your goddamn concern.”
“She’s sick, Jasper,” Harmon bit out. “What you do with that information is on you.”
The phone clicked off and I suddenly couldn’t breathe. Violet’s arms wrapped around me and I found myself leaning against her.
“What happened?” she asked.
Before I could answer, my phone buzzed again, but this time, it was Hatch’s name that came up on the screen. “Hatch.”
“Hey, brother. You need to come home.”
“What’s wrong with my mom?”
“Not sure. She passed out at work. I only got the call a few minutes ago. She’s in ICU at Legacy.”
“Fuck!”
“You get on a plane. I’ll pick you up and take you. You can stay with us while you’re here.”
“Yeah. Ah. Okay. I’ll text you.”
“Okay. Got your back, brother.”
“Thanks,” I rasped, hanging up and squeezing Violet tight. Holding her so I wouldn’t fall to the floor in a heap of emotion.
“I got you, honey,” she whispered, kissing my chest.
“I need to—”
“I know. I heard. I’ll get us flights.”
“You can’t go with me.”
“Try to stop me,” she challenged.
“You’ve got school and work.”
“Which will still be here when we get back,” she countered. “I’m going with you, Jasper. You pack while I book the flights. I’ll need to run by home to grab a few things, but we’ll get on the first flight out.”
“Give me a second,” I demanded, squeezing her tighter.
She sighed, melting into me and holding me close.
* * *
Violet found a red-eye out of Denver which meant an hour drive to the airport, but everything out of Colorado Springs had a connecting flight, so we’d be in Portland hours later than if we drove to Denver and flew direct.
She also managed to get the flights for half the price, considering it was an emergency, which meant I didn’t have to deplete my bank account completely.
I was a little surprised to find Sundance waiting for us at the house. Apparently, he was driving us to the airport, then handling cannabis business the next day. The club had several shops in Denver, so he said it was a good excuse for him to ‘take care of shit.’
I didn’t really care. I was just glad I didn’t have to drive in my agitated state. I had no desire or intention of putting Violet in danger, and me driving right now would not be a good idea.
Violet rode shotgun while I sat silently behind her. Sundance had a huge Ford truck which meant I could ride comfortably in the second cab with our bags. No one talked until we were close to the airport and Letti gave Sundance the terminal information.
My president pulled the truck to the departures curb and climbed out, grabbing a bag while I did the same and joined Violet on the sidewalk.
“You do what you gotta do,” he said, settling a beefy hand on my shoulder. “You need anything, don’t hesitate. You need me to come out there, tell me. Always like an excuse to visit Portland.”
I nodded, still not able to find my voice.
Violet hugged her dad and he kissed the top of her head, then climbed in his truck and drove away.
“Ready?” she asked. I shook my head and she smiled gently up at me. “I’ve got you, honey. Whatever you need.”
I nodded, stroking her cheek, then we headed inside and straight to security. There weren’t a whole lot of people, so we got through the line relatively quickly, then onto the plane almost immediately.
I set our bags up in a bin, then sat by the window and raised the arm rest so I could wrap my arm around Violet and hold her close. I really wanted to drag her onto my lap and bury myself in her, but seatbelts made that impossible.
Once the plane was in the air, I started to relax a little. Part of that might also have had to do with the fact Violet slid her arm around my waist and fell asleep on me. There was nothing bette
r than her body pressed against mine, knowing she was safe, knowing she was mine.
My thoughts turned to my mom and what fresh hell she was experiencing. I’d been an asshole and I’d had to live with the fact I only called her once a month because, ultimately, she’d want to talk about Stella, and I couldn’t deal with the sadness.
Hers or mine.
I didn’t want to remember Stella’s birthday. Or the anniversary of her death. Or how much she loved pecan fuckin’ praline ice cream. I didn’t want to remember any of it. I wanted it all to fuckin’ fade away until the pain of her loss stopped.
I wanted it all to fuckin’ fade away until the rage stopped. Until the need to kill my oldest friend faded along with the anger. I wanted it all to fuckin’ fade away until I no longer felt her. Dreamed of her. Missed her.
I couldn’t sleep so when we started our descent, I gently shook Violet awake and made sure she was buckled in. She was always groggy and slow when she first woke up and the fact she was on a plane didn’t make any difference.
She rubbed her face as she yawned, then continued to open and close her mouth in an effort to pop her ears. “I need to pee.”
“You better go quick,” I said, and she unbuckled and walked to the back of the plane.
While she was gone, I rummaged in my backpack for gum, pulling a piece out for her before shoving the bag back under the seat.
She slid back into our row and took the gum, buckling herself back in, then leaning against me again. “Did you sleep?”
I shook my head, wrapping an arm around her. She didn’t comment. Didn’t chastise. Just slid her hand to my thigh and squeezed gently.
Total support. Unconditional love. All mine.
Once we were on the ground, I grabbed our bags and followed Violet off the plane, heading out to arrivals where Hatch was leaning against some fancy-ass Mercedes, giving us a chin lift when he saw us and smiling.
Letti pulled away from me making a run for him, throwing her arms around his neck and he picked her up in a bear hug. “Hey, baby girl. How ya been?”
“Not bad,” she said, settling her hands on both sides of his face. “Your beard is epic.”
He chuckled. “Tell my wife that. She wants me to trim it.”
“Oh, then you should trim it,” she said.
Hatch rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I probably should.”
“I love the car,” she said, and he chuckled.
“My truck’s in the shop, so Maisie insisted I take her car instead of a loaner.” He focused on me. “How was the flight?”
“Good,” I said, as Hatch popped the trunk.
“You wanna head straight to the hospital or stop home first?”
“Hospital,” I said, and Hatch nodded.
We loaded the bags and pulled out of the airport.
One of the things I appreciated the most about Hatch was he wasn’t chatty. Friendly, yes, could match you in any conversation, definitely, but if you didn’t want to talk, he let there be silence.
Violet, on the other hand, was the opposite. The only time she didn’t fill the quiet with nonstop chatter was when she was asleep or when she was engrossed in a book. It was something that I both loved and annoyed me, depending on the circumstance.
But the fact she hadn’t spoken more than a few words since we left Denver didn’t sit well with me. She was worried. There was no way she could hide that, but I couldn’t soothe her right now because my head was whirling with shit I did not want out in the ether.
And I did not like that she was worried. I liked even less the fact I didn’t have the capacity to soothe her.
Fuck. All of this was nothing more than a shit sandwich.
I reached my hand back to Violet, sitting behind Hatch with me sitting in the front passenger seat. She grabbed for me, leaning forward to kiss my palm, then linking her pinky with mine. Our silent promise to each other and the chains around my heart started to loosen.
Hatch pulled up to the hospital entrance, shifting to face me. “Head on in and I’ll park. Meet you up there.”
I nodded, climbing out of the car and waiting for Violet to do the same, then we made our way to ICU, and I steeled myself for the worst.
* * *
Violet
Aero nearly broke my hand, he was holding it so tight, but I didn’t pull away because I knew he needed me close. He hadn’t stopped touching me since we left, and I was happy to provide whatever comfort he needed.
Arriving at the ICU desk, Aero asked to see his mom and the nurse nodded. “We can only allow one person in at a time.”
“Who’s in with her now?” Aero asked.
“Your brother.”
His body locked and he growled, “I don’t have a brother.”
“Give me a second and I’ll figure out what’s going on,” the nurse assured us, rushing away as I gripped Aero’s cut and tugged on it.
“Honey, you need to see your mom.”
“I’m fuckin’ trying to,” he snapped.
“If you go off half-cocked, you’ll be kicked out, so I need you to settle.”
“I swear to Christ, Violet, if Harmon thinks—”
“Stop,” I hissed.
He scowled at me and I raised an eyebrow.
“Just keep it together until you’re out of the building,” I begged.
He continued to stare at me, and I slid my arms around his waist.
“See your mom, then lose your shit,” I ordered.
“Sir?” the nurse called. “I’ll take you to your mom now.”
“I’ll be in the waiting room,” I promised, releasing him, then watching him walk down the hall and into a room.
I took a few minutes to find a restroom before making my way into the waiting area, walking in to find Hatch and a guy about my age in a heated exchange.
“I warned you this would happen,” Hatch said. “You knew he’d be here today. What the fuck did you think you were doin’ comin’?”
“I didn’t want her to be alone.”
“Bullshit,” Hatch snapped. “You wanted to fuck with Jasper. I got your back, Harmon, but you know he’s like a son to me. He’ll trump you every fuckin’ time.”
So, this was Harmon. He looked gutted by Hatch’s avowal, and my heart went out to him. I bit my lip and stayed quiet, but he caught my eye, which made Hatch turn and face me.
“He back with his mom?” Hatch asked.
I nodded.
“Harmon was just leavin’,” Hatch pressed, focusing back on Harmon.
“Right.” Harmon nodded. “Tell Marlene I’ll come by—”
“After Jasper’s back in Colorado,” Hatch said.
“No.”
“Harmon, don’t fuckin’ poke the bear. He’s patched into a one-percent club. You think you’re tough. He’ll make you a vegetable in less than a minute if you push him.”
“He would,” I butted in. “He took more than twenty hits at his patch-in and still didn’t go down. The president called it instead.”
“I can’t leave her like that, Hatch,” Harmon rasped.
“You have to.”
Harmon dragged his hands down his face.
“I’ll keep you posted,” Hatch promised. “Just give Jasper space, bud. Trust me.”
After a few tense seconds, Harmon nodded, turned around, and walked away, and I found myself relaxing. I hadn’t realized how nervous I’d been until he left.
“More than twenty hits?” Hatch asked, distracting me from watching Harmon walking away.
“Yep,” I said. “Dad called it earlier, and I’m glad he did. Patricide is frowned upon in society and I would have had to murder him if Aero was hurt worse than he had been.”
Hatch chuckled. “You’ve always been fierce, sweetheart. It’s one of my favorite things about you.”
I grinned. “Thanks.”
He waved to a chair and we sat facing each other. “How’s school?” he asked.
“It’s school,” I retorted. “Almost done, though,
and I have a job waiting for me at the zoo. I won’t be doing anything much different than I already am, I’ll just get paid more. They’re offering me a really nice package for me to stay.”
“They obviously recognize your talent.”
“I just really love animals,” I countered.
He grinned. “It shows.”
For the next hour, Hatch effectively distracted me from the stress of waiting for Aero. We didn’t check with the nurse or try to find out what was going on, we just waited.
It was torture.
“You don’t have to hang with me, Hatch,” I said. “I know you’ve got stuff to do.”
“The only thing on my agenda today is you, baby girl. Maisie’s got the kids, and my brothers have the club sorted.”
I bit back tears and nodded.
“You hungry?” he asked, and I took a deep breath.
“Starved.”
“I’ll run down and get us somethin’ to eat, yeah?”
I nodded. “That would be great.”
“Whatya want?”
I rattled off my order, then told him what I thought Aero would want and he kissed the top of my head and walked away, leaving me to try and pull myself together as my exhaustion and sadness swamped me.
“Letti?”
I raised my head at the voice of Aero and then I was up and in his arms as I burst into tears.
“Okay, baby, I got you,” he whispered, holding me close.
“I’m sorry. I’m supposed to be your rock and I can’t seem to keep myself from falling apart right now.”
“You are my rock, baby, and you’re exhausted. You’re allowed to fall apart right now.”
I sucked in a deep breath and met his eyes. “How’s your mom?”
“She’s awake, but groggy. She had a stroke, but they caught it early enough so there won’t be any permanent damage.”
“That’s great.”
“She’s still havin’ a tough time talkin’. I’m gonna stay, okay?”
“Yes, of course, honey. Whatever you need.” I settled my hands around his waist. “Hatch went to get us something to eat, I’ll grab our stuff and hang in the waiting area.”
“You should go with him,” he countered. “Take a nap, shower, recharge.”
Primal Hunger (Primal Howlers MC Book 4) Page 9
