Jax and Jokers: A Demented Sons MC Texas Novel

by Kristine Allen

  “Nothing more about whoever fucked with Truth and Radar’s bikes or who hit Radar?” We hadn’t been able to find out dick shit about who’d been responsible that night. Then a few weeks later, a truck had run a red light and clipped the back of Radar’s bike. He was lucky as fuck that he survived. Of course, it was at night, so all he remembered was headlights coming at him. No description of the truck.

  “Not a goddamn thing other than we’re pretty sure it’s the same person. It’s like the sonofabitch is a fucking ghost.”

  “Jesus,” I muttered. We needed to find a way to trap the guy.

  “You gonna sleep when you get home?”

  “Likely,” I replied. But with his newest information, I wasn’t sure I would.

  “Roger that. See you at the clubhouse tomorrow?”

  “Of course. If you need me before that, fuck sleep. You call me.”

  “You know I will if we do. Be safe.” He inhaled deeply.

  “I got you. Out.”

  “Out.” He hung up, and irritation boiled in me. Times like that, I hated the choices I’d made. My priorities had been fucked-up. My club should’ve come before any pussy-ass feelings I’d had.

  Though I knew he likely wouldn’t want to talk, I made a quick call to check on Straight. He actually made me chuckle, because he was high as fuck, so I didn’t keep him long. They wouldn’t give him anything for the pain, so he took care of it. At least he had calmed down. I’d check on his sister again later. She was a sweet girl. Whoever did that to her better hope the cops got him before the club did.

  With minimal stops to slow me down, I pulled into the Austin area. It wasn’t long before I was entering the very outskirts of Georgetown.

  Parking in front of the trailer I was renting, I dropped my head back to the headrest. Belatedly, I realized I had no food in the house. Maybe a can of soup or two. Not exactly appetizing. I kicked myself for not getting something on the road.

  It was the first day of my twenty-eight days home, and I just wanted to relax. Fuck, I was tired. Too tired to go to the grocery store for food, then cook it. Especially after the phone call from Smoke. Which was why I backed out of the driveway and headed to the diner for dinner. Though Lock had invited me over to their place to eat, that was a hard no.

  “Have a seat, hon. Avery will be right with you,” Lisa, the owner, called out from the main counter. With a wave, I headed to an empty booth toward the back.

  Thinking of Avery had me wondering if she’d be up for another go. I’d avoided her every time I’d been home because I knew I’d been wrong to use her as a substitute regardless of her saying she was okay with a one-night stand. A woman deserved to have your full attention when you fucked her. She didn’t deserve to be a fill-in.

  Regardless, she’d been an amazing fuck. One I’d never forget. The women since her hadn’t come close. A slow smile slid across my face at the memory of slipping into her tight heat. The mental image had my cock thickening. So much that I had to shift in my seat. I wondered if she was still dating that prick I’d seen her with.

  The woman in question came out of the kitchen and stopped behind the counter to fill a glass of water. She took a long drink, and I watched her throat move as she swallowed. It was the single most erotic thing I’d seen in a while. Possibly because of where my mind had been and how much space she’d been taking up in my head.

  “You have a table, Ave,” said Lisa. She nodded, grabbed an order pad, and headed my way. Halfway to me, she flipped the notebook open, then she looked up and froze.

  I’m not gonna lie. So did I.

  She was pregnant.

  Hugely pregnant.

  My gaze had been so focused on her enormous belly that I obviously missed the fury in her eyes. Well, at least until she stopped at my table and hissed, “You! You gutless motherfucker.”

  “Me?” I reared back in shock.

  “Where the hell have you been?”

  “Where have I been?” Mind spinning, I was confused because I couldn’t understand her behavior. We were both extremely clear about what we’d wanted from that night. Well, maybe I hadn’t told her, “Oh by the way, I want to fuck you because you look like my brother’s wife,” but still. It didn’t make sense that she’d been looking for me to the point of rage. I was also running on about two hours sleep in the last forty-eight hours. So my mind was lagging a little.

  “Are you obtuse?” she snarled.

  “Am I obtuse?” She was losing me.

  “Is that all you can do, repeat what I ask you?” was her snarky reply.

  “Uh, no? But what difference does it make where I’ve been?” I asked with a look that told her I thought she was crazy.

  “Because I’ve been looking for you, asshole. You fucking knocked me up, then disappeared.” Though a whisper, it was laced with venom.

  It took a minute for what she’d said to soak in. When it did, I almost choked. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up. So you’re trying to pin that,” I pointed at her rounded belly, “on me? We used a condom. Every. Single. Time. Besides, how can you be sure it’s mine? Maybe it was your boyfriend,” I sneered. Inside I knew I was being an absolute dick, but I’d seen her with the dickwad at the bar that night and it made me jealous as fuck. Jealousy didn’t look good on me.

  Especially when there was no reasonable explanation for it.

  She slapped her palms down. The notepad went skidding across the table. “I. Don’t. Have. A. Fucking. Boyfriend. Besides, you think condoms don’t fail? What are you? Five? Surely you took sex ed at some point? I knew I shouldn’t have taken you home that night! But you and all that tattooed sexiness sucked me in. Of course, looking like that you would have goddamn super sperm.”

  It was impossible not to laugh. Maybe not my smartest move, but I couldn’t help it. “Super sperm?” I chuckled.

  “Now you think this is funny? How the hell can you find this funny?” Her eyes were huge, and she bared her teeth. It was a little terrifying, if I was honest. To the point that I worried about her cutting my dick off and I actually put a hand protectively over my crotch. She hadn’t seemed like she was crazy the night I went home with her, but then we didn’t exactly talk much. Unless you counted, “fuck me harder” or “yes, right there” or “suck my cock” as conversation.

  “I’m sorry, I found your wording hilarious, but no, this situation is far from funny. I’m not taking the rap for that shit. Did you think I have money or something? Because I can assure you, I’m comfortable but not rich. Have biker fantasies maybe? And why on earth would you think I’d fall for that trap? There’s no way you can blame me for that.” I was being a bit of a dick but being accused of knocking a chick up didn’t exactly sit well with me. She sure as shit hadn’t looked pregnant when I saw her months ago. Then again, that sweater had been long and baggy after it fell from her tits.

  Shit.

  She scoffed. “You? Have money? Right. And how do I know? Is that your way of calling me a slut? Because you were the only one I was with in the span of time that I got pregnant!”

  “Prove it.” Crossing my arms, I glared at her, because I’d seen her out with that fucker. Miss “I don’t date.”

  “Oh, I’ll prove it all right. Give me your phone,” she demanded as she held out her hand.

  “Uh, do I look stupid? I’m not handing you my phone,” I exclaimed.

  “Well, I need some way to get ahold of you once this baby is born. Because I promise you, you’re taking a paternity test.” One brow arched as she bent her elbows to lean closer to me. Though it may seem ridiculous, I had a strong urge to grab her by the back of the neck and kiss the hell out of her. She was hot as fuck; I couldn’t help it. Even massively pregnant, there was something about her. Too bad she was scaring the crap out of me.

  “I’m not giving you my phone. But you bet your sweet ass I’ll take a paternity test. Because I highly doubt that is my kid.” Angry and irrationally defensive, I glared at her. Being a dick to women wasn’t me, but I c
ouldn’t seem to stem the stupid words that poured from my mouth.

  “Well, how am I going to let you know the baby is here for you to do that, if I can’t get in touch with you?” she growled.

  “I’ll give my number to Lisa. You have her call me when the kid is here. When are you due?” My narrowed-eyed gaze raked over her. Goddamn, pregnancy looked good on her.

  “This. Week,” she bit out. My eyes bulged.

  “And you’re still working?” I asked incredulously.

  “Uh, yeah. I have bills to pay. I’m going to school too. Until this baby is here, I’m still going to do both.” Her head rocked in a sassy move as she spoke.

  Palming my face, I slid my hand down to cover my mouth. This girl was incredible. Though she may be a little off-balance, she was impressive. It was doubtful the baby would be mine, but it got me thinking. What if it was?

  Doing the math in my head, left the very real possibility lingering.

  No. There was no way I could go there. Because there was no way it was mine. I’d been using condoms since I first started having sex at fifteen years old. Never had I gotten anyone pregnant. Not once. Well, at least that I knew of. That had me wondering.

  Fuck, what if… no.

  No, no, no.

  “Do you have anyone to be with you when you have this kid?” I had no idea why I’d asked her that. Maybe it was the brief flicker of vulnerability in her eyes.

  “No.” It was bluntly spat out. When she stood upright, I almost missed her being in my space. Sighing, I studied her stormy blues, looking for the truth, but found nothing.

  “Okay, have Lisa call me.”

  “When the test comes back that you’re the father, do you plan to have anything to do with him?” she demanded.

  “It’s a boy?” This twisted little part of my heart jumped at the thought that I could have a son. Except it wasn’t mine. No way. Clearing my throat, I swallowed hard. “Never mind. Can you have Lisa come over here?”

  “She doesn’t know it’s you.” Begrudgingly, she spoke then pursed her lips.

  “So who does she think the father is?” Narrowing my eyes, I looked at her, disbelieving what she was telling me. All of it. It seemed too convenient. Then again, I wasn’t the most trusting person, either.

  “I wouldn’t tell her. When you didn’t come in again, I thought you were only visiting and didn’t figure she’d know who you were. It was embarrassing as hell that I got pregnant by some random dude passing through. I said you were out of the picture.” She huffed and looked off toward the diner door.

  “Uh, so are you gonna tell her or am I?”

  “I’ll tell her.” She didn’t sound happy about it, but that wasn’t my problem. Okay, maybe it was since I wouldn’t give her my number. God, I was being an asshole, and that wasn’t like me. It was sitting heavy in my chest.

  Torn, I strummed my fingers on the table as my mind raced. Coming to a conclusion, I snatched a pen from her short apron pocket.

  “Hey!” she complained.

  Ignoring her upset, I took her order pad and wrote my number on the top form. Once I was done, I clicked the pen, set it and the pad on the table, and slid them in her direction.

  Suspicious, she slowly reached out and picked them up. Then her eyes dropped to the pad. “Jaxon? That’s you? You said your name was Gunny. I figured it was short for Gunner or something.”

  “If you’d asked Lisa about me, she’d have told you that you could’ve contacted my club. They would’ve gotten a message to me.” No longer hungry, I slid out of the booth. She backed up as I moved closer to her. Maybe because when I stood up, I looked down at her. I knew I could be an intimidating motherfucker.

  Wary, she looked up at me from the corner of her eyes. After wetting her lips, she said, “I didn’t know. When you didn’t come back, I figured you weren’t from here. You don’t sound Texan, either, so it was a reasonable assumption. Then when you came in tonight, I was angry, thinking… I don’t know what I assumed. I was just angry for doing this by myself for nine months and then there you were.”

  “Well, call me when the baby’s born. I’ll gladly take a paternity test.” Without looking back, I exited the diner, climbed into my truck, and left.

  I ended up going through a drive-thru on the way home. When I walked in the door, I threw half of it away because I simply couldn’t eat.

  Falling back on the couch, I stared at the ceiling. My head was reeling, and I felt like a huge lump of shit for being a dick to her. It was out of character, but I’d been burned before. It wasn’t the first time a girl had said I got her pregnant, but the other one turned out to be lying through her teeth.

  Samantha and I had been dating casually, but I told her I wasn’t interested in long-term. Hell, we were kids. I’d been in the Marine Corps all of eleven months. When she’d told me she was pregnant, I’d been scared at first. Then, the idea settled and grew on me. After three months of getting excited that I was going to be a dad, she’d told me she’d miscarried. I’d been devastated.

  I’d stayed with her after because I’d thought I had feelings growing for her and I empathized with her loss. Until her friend accidentally spilled the beans. She’d lied to get me to stay with her. She was never pregnant.

  Fuck that shady bitch and the horse she rode in on; I was done. It had taken years before I’d given Trixie a chance. She’d screwed me over, too.

  Now I had Avery telling me the kid she was carrying was mine. It set my teeth on edge. Though I couldn’t see any logical reason for her to lie, since she didn’t know me, it still made me nervous. Maybe she couldn’t pin it on anyone else.

  Digging out my phone, I made a call.

  It rang twice. “Gunny! What’s up, bro? You ready to come back?”

  I couldn’t help but grin, though it was on the weak side.

  “Hacker. I need a favor.”

  “Anything.” He was suddenly serious.

  “Remember To Forget Me”—Blink 182

  My hand shook, causing the paper to tremble. Jaxon. All these months, I’d assumed his name was actually Gunny. Why had he lied about his name?

  “You okay?” Lisa was looking up at me with worry. “Is it the baby?”

  Sighing, I shook my head.

  “Was Gunny a dick to you? Because I’ll call Smoke and have him deal with his ass if he was.” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

  “You do know him?” Surprise colored my words. Deep down, I hadn’t really believed that Lisa knew him.

  “Of course I do. Not as well as the rest of them, since he works out of the area or something.” Her hand fluttered through the air.

  “Them?”

  “Yeah, the Demented Sons. You know, the motorcycle club,” she clarified.

  “You’ve got to be shitting me.” That could not be my luck.

  “Why would I do that?” She appeared genuinely confused.

  Pinching the bridge of my nose, I squeezed my eyes closed. “I don’t know.”

  “You didn’t answer my question. Was that boy a dick to you?” she demanded once again.

  “That’s debatable.” She raised her brows, waiting for me to clarify. “He’s Luigi’s dad.”

  She squeezed her eyes tight, then opened them. “First, tell me that’s not really the name you have picked out. Then, tell me why you didn’t tell me the truth when I asked you who the daddy was.”

  I really wanted to laugh but I didn’t have it in me. Instead, I sighed. “No, but I haven’t come up with a name that really seems to fit. And I didn’t say anything because I didn’t think he was from around here. Lisa, I haven’t seen him in almost nine months.”

  “Well, I don’t know why he hasn’t been back in here, but I do know he’s gone for about a month at a time. Works on the off-shore rigs, I think. Maybe he doesn’t eat out much.” She shrugged.

  “But why now? Why nine months later, when I’m about to pop, does he come in? Where was he when I was puking my guts up and having to call
in because I couldn’t get up off my nasty-ass bathroom floor?” Wincing, I grabbed the bottom of my belly.

  Like a hawk, she caught the slight movement. “What is it? Is it time? Are you having contractions?” She wavered between sounding terrified and excited.

  The pull went away, and I gave my head a slight shake. Then I wiggled a little to work out the cramping feeling. “No, it’s just those Braxton-Hicks things. Everything is shifting and dropping, and I swear to God, this boy is using my bladder as his personal everything. Punching bag, pillow, trampoline, you name it, he’s doing it. I’m sorry, I’m cranky and tired of being pregnant.”

  My shoulders fell. It’s awful how moody I’d become. Before I was pregnant, I used to be happy-go-lucky, peppy, full of energy, witty, and athletic. For the last six to seven months I’d been a miserable bitch. At least it seemed like I’d been horrendous.

  “It’s understandable, sweetheart. So you told him he was going to be a daddy then?”

  Huffing out a breath, I propped my fists on my hips. “Yeah, I told him.”

  “How’d he take it?” Her voice had dropped an octave as she gave me a look that said she was glad she wasn’t me.

  “Other than calling me a liar? It was great,” I drawled as I rolled my eyes.

  “Oh, honey,” Lisa said with a furrowed brow.

  “He told me to ‘call him when the kid is here’ and he’ll do a paternity test. Honestly? After he accused me of trying to pin it on him, I’m not sure I want him around.” My stomach rolled and fluttered as I thought about the incredibly hot asshole who was my baby daddy. Of course I would have to get knocked up by the one person bound to be a dick. Oh, and a biker. How did he go from making me scream his name repeatedly nine months ago to making me want to punch him between the eyes?