by Jessie Cooke
Jace finally got to go home just after 2 am. He had been putting Beck off all day, and he knew if he didn’t finally call and tell her what was going on that she’d be home by the time the sun came up. He took a shower and lay down in bed before dialing her. It rang twice before he heard the sound of her bike pulling up out front. He smiled, shook his head, and went out to meet her on the front porch. Before she even got her helmet off, she was yelling at him.
“What the hell is going on around here? You’ve practically hung up on me twice...the one time I got that asshole Bubba to pick up the phone, he hemmed and hawed and then hung up on me...Punk’s not answering his phone...”
Jace didn’t answer her right away; instead he opened his arms for a hug. She stopped and put her hand on her hip and looked like she was about to give him more attitude. He stopped her by wrapping her up in his arms anyway and pulling her in tight. She resisted for just a second, and then hugged him back. But when he pulled his face back and dipped it down toward hers, she rolled her eyes, pushed against his chest, and took a step back. “Huh-uh, nope. I need to know what’s happening before you get any lip.”
“Sounds like I’m getting lip already.”
Beck brushed past him and walked up onto the porch. “Stop stalling or I swear I’ll call every man in this club and wake them all up until somebody tells me what the fuck...”
“Come on inside, baby. We’ll talk.” They walked into the house together and Jace talked her into sitting down and taking off her jacket and boots...and then he started talking. Of course Beck had a million questions and it hurt his heart to see the look in her eyes when he told her about Punk.
“So Aiden hasn’t called back yet?”
Jace shook his head. “Not yet, baby.” Beck’s eyes suddenly softened and she said:
“You look so tired. Come on and go to bed. We’ll figure out what to do about all this shit in the morning.”
A slow smile spread across Jace’s face. “I’m not too tired to welcome my baby home...that is, if she’s so inclined.”
Beck laughed and shook her head. “It’s a good thing you married a woman who thinks like a man. Even when I was annoyed with you a few minutes ago...I was thinking, that man is fine.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re the fine one. Come on, let’s go in the bedroom and take all those clothes off you.”
Beck reached down and took hold of the bottom of her t-shirt and as she pulled it over her head she said, “Why wait?”
“Oh yeah, that’s my baby.” Jace stayed sitting on the couch when she stood up and unfastened her jeans. She turned her back to him and wiggled her hips as she pushed her jeans down over her butt. Jace whistled. “Damn,” he said, before she got them to her calves and then over her feet. When she was stripped down to her plain, cotton black panties and bra, she turned back to face him. Jace had never met anyone that could cause his heart to go from zero to 60 as fast as she could. She walked over to him and stood with one of her legs on either side of his. He reached up and put his big hands on her waist and leaned in and kissed her belly.
“Mm...lower.” Jace kissed her lower, on the elastic band of her panties. “Lower,” she said, her breaths getting shorter. He moved his face lower and kissed her over the cotton-covered mound. He could smell how aroused she was. He felt himself getting more aroused as he inhaled her. Everything about her was sexy, even the way she smelled. He let his tongue come out and he licked her panties from where his mouth was, all the way down between her legs, which she moved apart for him. He heard her gasp and he licked his way back up, this time taking the elastic band of those panties in his teeth and pulling them open before sliding his thumbs inside and pushing the panties down. Once she stepped out of them, she sat down on his lap and he reached around and unhooked her bra. Once her breasts were free, he nuzzled his face into them. He loved her breasts...they were perfect. They weren’t big, or small...she always called him Goldilocks when he said that out loud, but the honest-to-God truth was, they were just right. “I know you’re tired, baby, so let’s just skip to the part where you go caveman on me and get the job done.”
Jace pulled his head up and laughed. She was too much sometimes, but God, he loved her. “You wanna see a caveman? You think you can handle it?”
“Bring it!” Jace wrapped his arms around her waist and stood up. Her legs started to go around his waist but he kept lifting her until he had her thrown over his shoulder. She squealed and he smacked her butt as he carried her down the hallway. She was right, he was exhausted and he knew he only had a couple of hours to sleep before he had to jump back into a pile of shit. Beck was going to be the highlight of it all. She always was. On the days when he started waxing nostalgic for that quiet life he used to have as a nomad, all he had to do was picture Beck’s beautiful smile and he quickly remembered that his new life with her was worth any obstacle he had to face. He carried her into the bedroom and tossed her down on the bed. As he stripped off his clothes, his exhaustion seemed to magically fade. Beck was like a shot of adrenaline straight to his heart...and he was addicted.
17
Finn and Caitlin slept, maybe two or three hours, and then they were back at the digging. He was trying hard to hang onto the positives and focus on that while he scraped and tore at the dirt wall with his fingertips and aching hands. There was obviously enough air getting in somehow to keep them alive...at least for a while. The longer they both breathed in and out, the thicker and heavier it would get...but for now, they had air. The water that was coming out of the broken pipe had made a large puddle, but if it was ultimately going to flood the room enough to drown them...it would take days, weeks even. Those were the positives about the current situation, those, and the fact that he wasn’t high and he was with Caitlin. He looked over next to him. Finally his eyes had adjusted enough to the dark that he could at least see her silhouette. She was working as hard as he was, scratching and clawing at the wall. She wasn’t panicking. She wasn’t blaming him, and if it weren’t for her, he would have already given up. He would have used that syringe. He wouldn’t have even cared what was inside of it. He wouldn’t have been able to convince himself, alone in that tomb, that his life was worth living. But Caitlin had done that for him. She had given him what was missing the last time he put a needle in his arm. The thing that his counselors in rehab used to talk about and tell him to look for. The thing he often forgot...hope. There was always hope that things would get better. He had hope and that hope gave him the motivation he needed to keep going. Caitlin was his hope and motivation and he was beginning to pray that she was also his future.
The sound of her excited squeal processed in his brain even before the glimmer of light that suddenly illuminated her grime-covered face. “Oh my God! Oh my God!” Caitlin’s hand had gone through the wall. There was light on the other side...sunlight.
“You did it!”
“We did it!” she said, with a giggle. Finn grabbed her face and pressed his dirty lips to hers and then they both began to dig again, furiously tearing at the wall, making the hole bigger. They had been in the dark for so long, that they were blinded by the sunlight...at least Finn was. He couldn’t see anything on the other side. He had no idea what they were digging themselves into as they dug themselves out of the tomb. But that wasn’t stopping either of them. They were going to keep moving forward, no matter what.
They dug with their aching arms and hands until the hole was bigger than Finn’s head and Caitlin said, “I think I can fit through.”
“No!” He hadn’t meant to say it so sharply, but the idea of her going through that hole alone caused panic to flare up in his gut. “I’m sorry. We don’t know what’s out there. Let’s just make it a little bigger and I’ll go first.”
“Finn...”
“No, Caitlin. I’m not arguing this point with you. Let’s keep digging, okay?” He heard her let out a little growl, but she went back to digging. They clawed and tore at the dirt faster and harder than they had b
een until there was a hole big enough that Finn thought he could fit through. He put his hands on either side of it and felt Caitlin’s hand on his shoulder.
“Please be careful. We don’t know what, or who, is out there.”
“I will.” He kissed her again and then lifted himself up and started pushing his big body through the tight hole. The sunlight was still blinding him so he closed his eyes against it and didn’t open them again until he was about to pull his hips and legs through. Squinting, to block out as much of the bright light as he could, he tried to see where he was. He could make out the shadows of trees and there was grass everywhere. It looked like they were in a park. He looked down and saw that he was about three feet from the ground. Pulling himself the rest of the way out, he dropped to his belly on the grass with a groan and when he raised his head up, he was looking up into the barrel of a gun and the smiling face of the devil.
Jace called church first thing in the morning. All of his crew, including Beck but minus Finn and Punk, were present...even Granite. Dax and his guys were there, and Jace couldn’t help but notice the vibe between Dax and Granite was heavy; he knew that if things didn’t work out in their favor, and possibly even if they did, Dax was going to want Granite to answer for his part in it all. He liked Granite, but he knew Dax had to keep his own house clean and that included keeping the houses of his west coast chapters clean as well.
“Okay, so Aiden sent me a text about an hour ago. He wanted everyone gathered before he called. He should be calling any minute now...and depending on what he has to say, we’ll go from there.”
Dax’s blue eyes were boring a hole through Granite’s head. To the old biker’s credit, he was still holding his head up high as he said, “Dax, I have a lot to apologize for, but I’m sure that’s not what you want from me right now. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have, however.”
“What the fuck were you thinking? You not only put this club in jeopardy...but your own son.”
“I know,” Granite said. He cleared his throat but that was the only sign that he was slightly nervous. “If I could go back in time, I would change it all, Dax...but I can’t. When Rowdy called, I should have gone to Jace. I shouldn’t have ever sent my son. But we both know that I could go on all day with should and could haves. The only important thing now is what can I do to help?”
“You can stay out of it,” Dax said. “You’ve done more than enough.” The phone rang. Jace didn’t know if it saved Granite from more admonishment or not. He was sure, however, that Dax wasn’t finished with him.
“Aiden?”
“Yes.” Jace hit the speaker button and said:
“You’re on with us all.”
“All of you? Does that mean my old lady’s lover is there as well?”
Jace looked at Granite and the old biker said, “I’m here, Aiden.”
“Well, good morning, motherfucker. How happy are you that we’re a continent apart?”
“I’d gladly face you and accept whatever consequences there might be for my betrayal, Aiden. I’ve spent decades living with the guilt. Right now, my primary concern is my son, his girlfriend, and Punk...but as soon as this is over...”
“I’ll finish that sentence,” Aiden said, his voice low and threatening. “When this is over. Jace, Rowdy is here.”
“Good. Can he hear me, or...?”
“Well, he might be able to. But I don’t think he’s up for talking right now. He’s been talking for hours and it was...taxing...for him. He had a lot to say, however...towards the end of our conversation. He admits to sending Colin. It seems that my VP has been a busy man and has turned himself into a very rich one. He is in business with Regan O’Reilly. Together they invested in a casino that offers the services of very young men and women in the rooms above the gambling floor...for a very high price...to some extremely powerful clients. Poor Rowdy has never been good with money, however. He was smart enough to know that he couldn’t just put it in the bank and that he couldn’t trust his business partner to invest or ‘launder’ it for him. So, he did what he thought was the next best thing. He reached out to a man who used to handle money well for the Chosen Few...someone that he was holding a secret for. He planned on using what he knew about Granite to get him to launder his money...but he couldn’t risk leaving the country himself and having me get suspicious. He also couldn’t risk telling Granite exactly what he wanted on the phone lest someone be recording the conversation or listening in. So, he handpicked Colin just like the predator he is because he knew how dedicated the boy was to his mam. Colin’s only part in this was the messenger, and protecting his mam, so I’d appreciate it if he’s left unharmed.”
“Of course,” Jace said.
“So once Rowdy filled me in on what the goings-on were, he also let me know that Colin had decided to back out. He told Rowdy he was going to you and he was going to have you call and tell me everything because he couldn’t go through with betraying the club. Before Colin had the chance to do that, however, all hell had broken loose over there. Big surprise, Regan O’Reilly is not in my country, he’s in yours. Rowdy claims he has no idea where O’Reilly took your Finn, but after some deep thought, he did remember that his business partner owns property in Phoenix. He bought it about a year ago...which lets Granite off the hook at least for betraying his own son. It sounds like O’Reilly knew Finn was there all along. I’m sure we can credit my VP for that. O’Hare was just some idiot that Rowdy was using because he thought Colin was going south on him. My guess would be that O’Reilly got to him as well...and I’m sorry to say that your brother is probably collateral damage.” Jace looked at Beck. She visibly winced at that, and then her light blue eyes filled with fire and before Aiden could go on she said:
“Where is his property?”
“Alongside South Mountain Park.”
“Shit. That’s a 16,000-acre park. Do you know exactly where it is?”
“No. I know there’s an old part of the underground tunnels on his property.”
“Shit!” she said again. Jace watched her leave, and he wanted to follow her, but his responsibility at the moment was to his club and finishing this meeting. He hoped she wouldn’t run off by herself...but with Beck, you never knew what she was going to do. He worried about her, but at the same time her impetuousness was part of why he loved her so much.
“Aiden, go on, please.”
“That’s all I got. I shoulda killed O’Reilly years ago.” He hesitated and said, “My VP too, apparently. Any of you boys looking to upgrade, I got a spot coming open.” He chuckled; it sounded evil.
“Thank you, Aiden. I’m sorry again for all the trouble this has caused you.”
“Don’t be. If I’m getting screwed, I like to know who the pussy is on the end of my dick. You boys be careful out there...and Granite, I can’t wait for us to get together and talk.”
Still, Granite didn’t flinch as he said, “As soon as I know my son is safe...if it’s okay with my president, we’ll arrange it.”
Aiden laughed again. “Soon,” he said, and then the line went dead.
18
“Hello, dote.”
Finn pushed himself up to a sitting position, all the while keeping his eyes on the gun in O’Reilly’s hand. Wiping the dirt out of his eyes with one of his own hands he said, “What the fuck is this about, O’Reilly? What do you hope to accomplish here?” Finn was doing his best to cover the hole behind him with his back and talk loudly so Caitlin knew to stay out of sight. Not that O’Reilly didn’t know she was in there...but he was hoping to figure something out before O’Reilly made a move. Finn doubted that he was alone, even though he couldn’t see anyone else around. Regan O’Reilly never went anywhere alone.
O’Reilly’s smile broadened and he said, “Compensation. You know I love payday.”
“I don’t have any money. My dad and my aunt and even the Westside Skulls gave you as much money as they could. I’m sure you were more than compensated.”
&nb
sp; “Financially, yes...I suppose I got my money back. But it was no fun. I didn’t get it back from you. I got it back from a bunch of people who thought your miserable life was worth saving. You stole from me, twice, and I can’t let that go without issuing some kind of punishment. And it’s not just because of the precedent it would set. It’s also to send a message to everyone who wants to jump on the bandwagon and ‘protect’ some needle-happy scum that has no right to be sucking up my oxygen anyway.” Wickedly he said, “How was the oxygen in the little tunnel? Kind of thick, I would imagine.”
“What did you accomplish by putting...” He almost said “us” but he was really hoping to keep O’Reilly’s mind off Caitlin. “...me in there?”
“Did you find the present I left for you?”
“If you’re talking about whatever that shit was in the syringe, I found it. Crushed it.”
“Tsk, tsk...that was high quality stuff. You could be flying right now. You could be numb...and none of what’s about to happen to you would matter a bit. It would be like watching a movie.” As O’Reilly talked, he reached into his jacket with his free hand and took out another syringe, and a tourniquet. He held it out toward Finn and said, “Take it, it’s the only mercy I’m going to show you.”
Finn was going to knock it out of his hand, but he realized that O’Reilly was handing him a weapon. Finn was sure that O’Reilly thought so little of him that he was sure Finn would use it for himself and not as a weapon. He took it and as he looked at it, he used his thumb to loosen the needle cap, slightly, as he said, “Why is it so important to you that I stick a needle in my arm? I thought that was why you hated me in the first place.”
