by Jessie Cooke
“Guilty.”
“On the charge of carrying a firearm in a public way, how do you plead?”
“Guilty.”
“And the final charge of discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling…how do you plead?”
“Guilty.”
Dallas’s voice was steady. Her head was high, and her shoulders were straight. But every time she said “Guilty,” Doc’s stomach clenched. He had hired her the best lawyers and he’d done everything he could think of to get her out of this, short of whisking her away somewhere…he wasn’t used to being helpless, and that hurt almost as much as knowing she was facing prison time. He had tried hard to talk her into running, but she wouldn’t hear of it. She was stubborn as hell and as mean as a polecat when he tried to get her to do anything she didn’t want to do. At least they had dropped the murder charges she was originally arrested on thanks to finding out that the man she shot was not affiliated with the hotel in any way…but he was affiliated with the Sinners. Doc was able to discover that the president’s plan had been to grab Dallas and hold her as a bargaining chip until they’d gotten what they wanted from him and the club, which was more than a piece of the gun action from Ireland. They wanted their old territory in Boston back…something Doc never would have agreed to, and going after Dallas was a huge mistake.
“Your guilty pleas have been entered by this court, Miss Paxton, and since you have waived your rights to a separate sentencing hearing, I’ll hand down your sentence now. I hereby sentence you to four years in prison with credit for time served. You will have the possibility of parole after two years with good behavior.” The judge slammed down his gavel and that was it. The only woman in the world besides his mother that Doc had ever loved was being taken away. He had grown so comfortable with her as his sounding board for his ideas and aspirations. He didn’t always heed her advice, but occasionally he did. She was smart and surprisingly savvy in an arena he never would have guessed she’d be comfortable in. She didn’t flinch at the things he told her although she didn’t always agree with how he did things. She never corrected him or disagreed with him in front of his men, only in private. Sometimes they fought like tigers, but they always made up…and when that happened, the sex was off the charts. He had been worried about being faithful at first when he’d made that promise to her, but surprised at how easy it had been. Of course, they had sex a lot…daily, and sometimes more than once a day. She was the most passionate woman he’d ever met, and he loved that. How he was going to manage years without her, he had no idea. The three months that she’d been locked up without bail had nearly killed him. It was the longest he’d been without sex since he lost his virginity and he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to manage it. He didn’t want to be with anyone else…but a man had needs that had to be taken care of so he could concentrate on more important things, things like making sure Dallas would be protected and taken care of in a prison in New York. At least that’s what he told himself.
He watched her disappear with the bailiff before standing. Badger had come to New York with him this time and he stood up as well. “Doc, you okay?” Badger was in no way a sentimental guy, so Doc must have looked pretty bad to get him to ask.
“I’m fine. Let’s go.” He and Badger left the courthouse and were on their way to their bikes when two men in suits approached them.
“Doc Marshall?” one of them said. He was about Doc’s age with a porn star mustache, cheap suit, and badge affixed to his belt.
“And you are?”
“Detective Kane and this is Detective Russell.”
“A pleasure, but I’m in a hurry so no time to chat.”
“Where are you hurrying off to?”
Doc had started to walk away, but he spun around and said, “Not sure how you think that’s any of your business.”
“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. See, we’re investigating the death of a man named Hugh Thompson; sound familiar?”
“Sounds like the name of the dick that runs the Sinners.”
“That’s exactly who it is…or was. Thompson was found floating face down in the Hudson this morning. He was bloated up pretty good. I’d say he was there for a few weeks at least.”
“Sad,” Doc said, turning back toward his bike.
“You wouldn’t know anything about how he got there, would you?”
Doc knew exactly how he got there, but he wasn’t discussing it with this guy. Over his shoulder he said, “Nope, but I’d like to buy the SOB that put him there a drink.”
“It must have been hard, huh? Watching your old lady be taken away to prison, knowing the gun she used was yours?”
Doc hesitated for a second. Badger too. He looked to Doc for a cue as to where to go from there. Doc composed himself quickly and swung his leg over his Harley. Looking at the detectives, he slipped on his skullcap and his helmet, started the bike, raised his middle finger, and took off with Badger following. The sons of bitches could try and pin Thompson’s murder on him, but they’d never make it stick, so he wasn’t worried. As for Dallas using his gun, they were right about that, and he did feel like shit. But stepping up wouldn’t do either of them any good. He’d talked it over with both her and her attorney. She’d still be charged with discharging it and being in possession of it. As badly as the DA would rather have Doc, even if he insisted the gun was his, there would be little for the law to charge him with at that point. Besides, Dallas was the one that told him the club needed him. She was tough and she could handle prison, at least that’s what she told him. He was still going to make sure that she didn’t have to do that on her own.
The two men drove from the courthouse in the Bronx all the way out to a house in Long Island. It was a four-hour drive, but that was good because riding always helped Doc think and clear his head. By the time they got where they were going, he knew exactly what he was going to do and say. Badger parked his bike on the street next to Doc’s but didn’t get off. Doc pulled off his helmet and told Badger, “Stay put unless you hear anything in there that concerns you.” Badger nodded, and Doc headed up toward the house. It was a white colonial with a well-maintained yard and several colorful rose bushes lining the front. Doc stepped up onto the steps that led to the door, pulled off his gloves, and knocked. A short, middle-aged Puerto Rican man with a full head of hair and an athletic body answered the door.
“Can I help you?”
“I hope so,” Doc said. “Can we talk inside?” Doc slid his kutte back far enough so the man could see the gun tucked in his waistband. His brown eyes darted around, over his shoulder, nervously. Finally, he looked back at Doc and said:
“Take whatever you want, just please don’t hurt my family.”
Doc rolled his eyes. “Do I look like a common thug to you? I’m not here to rob you, I just want to talk.”
With another nervous look around, the man stepped back and Doc stepped inside. He left the gun in his waistband and followed the man from the entryway into a large living room with floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out on a cozy back yard. “Please sit,” the man said. “And tell me who you are and what you want from me.”
Doc sat and the man took a seat across from him. “You really don’t know who I am?” Doc asked him. The man’s eyes went to Doc’s kutte and the name stitched on the front of it, above the word “Prez.”
“Doc Marshall,” the man said. “I’ve heard of you.”
“I’m sure you have,” Doc said. It wasn’t arrogance that convinced Doc the man knew him, it was the business the man was in. “I need your help and I’m willing to offer you a large sum of money in return for your services.”
The man chuckled, nervously. “What is it you want from me, Mr. Marshall?”
“Please, call me Doc and I’ll call you Adán, if that’s okay? Or do you prefer Minister, or Pastor? I don’t know a lot about the Lutheran faith.”
“Adán is fine,” the man said. He was picking at his small mustache nervously as he spoke.
>
“Okay then, Adán. I’m told that you are a very popular man at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility.”
Doc could see from the look on Adán’s face that he was beginning to understand why Doc was there. “I do my best to serve the spiritual needs of the inmates,” he said.
“That’s great, Pastor Ortiz,” Doc said. “What I’m going to need you to do will involve serving more than spiritual needs. See, my old lady…”
“Sir, I’m afraid you’re wasting your time if you’re looking for any special privileges for your lady friend.”
Doc stood up, and that seemed to set Adán off-guard. “Well then, I’m sorry I wasted your time. You’ll do me a favor and say hello to your wife Carla and daughter Abril, won’t you?” Doc wasn’t proud of himself for threatening the man’s family, and he didn’t want to hurt a woman no matter who it was. But he did intend to do whatever he had to in order to make sure Dallas was taken care of.
Adán stood up too, but it didn’t help his perspective much as far as Doc was concerned. The man was only about five-foot-four and Doc was at least a foot taller and much more muscular. “What if I told you that as soon as you leave here I plan on reporting your threats to the police?” Doc had to give him credit, it had to be nerve-racking to taunt a man who was so much bigger than you, and carrying a gun…but when it came to protecting his family, most men would do anything. That’s what Doc was counting on.
Doc smiled at the small man and said, “Your choice. Of course, there are fifty men back in Boston willing to carry on for me if I’m unable to do my job. My old lady will be well taken care of in prison, one way or the other. I have to run now, Adán. You have a good day.”
Adán let Doc get all the way to the door. He might have even let him leave, but just at that moment the door opened, and Doc was face to face with a gorgeous young woman with long, curly brown hair, huge brown eyes, and a body to die for. Her skin was the color of coffee with cream and looked just as smooth. Doc hadn’t realized just how horny he was until he laid eyes on her. She smiled and the white of her teeth contrasted with the red lipstick on her full lips. “Hello.” She looked at him for a long time before looking around him and seeing Adán. “Hi, Papa.”
Doc smiled.
“You must be Abril,” he said, putting out his hand. “Doc Marshall.” Abril put her soft, warm hand in his and instead of shaking it, he brought it to his lips. He thought he felt her shudder when he placed a kiss on her palm.
She giggled when he let her hand go and said, “It’s nice to meet you, are you a friend of Papa’s?” Doc turned slightly to look at Adán and Adán said:
“Mr. Marshall and I have some business together.” Doc smiled and told Adán,
“I’m so glad you decided to do business with me. I’ll be giving you a call tomorrow morning so that we can discuss the details. Abril,” he said, turning back to the smoking-hot girl. “It was an incredible pleasure to meet you.”
Her smile was bright, and Doc could see the interest in her pretty brown eyes. “And you as well, Mr. Marshall,” she said.
“Please,” he said, glancing back at Adán. “Call me Doc. I’m sure we’ll be seeing much more of each other.”
15
New Year’s Eve
“Can you believe it, Doc? One more year and we’ll be in the eighties. Where the hell does the time go?”
“I don’t fucking care. You look ridiculous in that hat.” Hawk was wearing a paper party hat that said “Welcome 1979” across the front of it. He looked like an idiot as far as Doc was concerned. “Jackson, can I get a fucking drink here or do you want to be a prospect until you’re eighty?”
“Damn, you really need to get laid,” Hawk said, slamming his own drink.
“Fuck you.”
“At this point, even that might do you some good.” Doc grabbed Hawk up off his stool and the stupid, half-drunk smile never left his face. It was almost midnight and most everyone in the room was either already drunk, high, or having sex on one of the couches. Nobody even noticed what was going on with their president and vice president except for the nervous little prospect Jackson, who was trying to pour Doc a whiskey with a shaky hand. “Go ahead and hit me if it’ll make you feel better. You gotta do something to relieve all that stress.” Doc let go of Hawk and he stumbled and almost fell before catching himself on the bar. He was still smiling. “Seriously, she doesn’t expect you to have blue balls for four fucking years, does she?”
“None of your fucking business.” Truth was, Doc and Dallas hadn’t even talked about what he was supposed to do about his balls. He visited her as often as he could, at least twice a month, and whenever she was able to use a phone and he was around, they talked. Pastor Ortiz was doing a great job, delivering anything that Dallas asked for. One of the guys, or Doc himself, took the supplies to the pastor and he found a way to smuggle them into the prison. Doc had started trying to make the drop himself as often as he could, just hoping for another look at Abril. She didn’t live with her parents, so he’d only gotten to see her once after the day they met. At least he had fodder for his masturbation sessions when dreaming about what life would be like when Dallas came home wasn’t enough.
“You going to New York in the morning?” New Year’s Day fell on a Monday. Visiting days at the prison were usually Sunday but thanks to the holiday they were getting an extra day and thanks to business, Doc hadn’t been able to get to New York to see Dallas that Sunday, so he was grateful for the extra day.
“Yep.”
“Maybe you could fuck her up against the wall really quickly before they draw down on you.” Doc slammed his shot of whiskey and gestured at Jackson with one hand and flipped Hawk off with the other.
“Maybe you should worry about your own love life. I’m starting to think you’re gay for all the times I see you with a woman.”
Hawk chuckled. “I get plenty, I just don’t go around talking about it.”
“Then let me do the same,” Doc said, “and keep mine to myself.”
“If you had any to keep,” Hawk muttered. Doc couldn’t take it any longer. He swung a hard right and Hawk was on his ass on the floor. That caught the attention of several people at the party, but no one made a move to help Hawk. Hawk reached up and wiped the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand and then he smiled again. Blood covered his front teeth. “Had that coming,” he said. “If I recall you gave me my first ass-kicking of 1978 and I guess it’s fitting you gave me my last of the year. Tell Dallas I said hi tomorrow, okay?”
Sometimes Doc had no idea why he felt such a connection to the man. He held out his hand and helped Hawk to his feet and everyone went back to what they had been doing. He sat at the bar until the New Year was rung in and he did his best to graciously accept the drunken Happy New Year wishes. A few of the girls kissed his cheek and rubbed their bodies into his. Jamie had been doing her best to get him to pay attention to her now that Dallas wasn’t around to kick her ass…but he knew he couldn’t fuck any of these girls. Dallas might forgive him getting his dick wet…but what she wouldn’t forgive was having to come home and live on the ranch with women who had her man while she was locked up. Doc was sure of it.
“Anyone giving you any problems?” Doc was grateful that they let him visit Dallas in the visiting room and they didn’t have to stare at each other through the glass, like in the county jail. But, it was so damned hard not to touch her. Even in prison, she was gorgeous. He had no idea how she managed it, but her skin glowed and her hair shone under the harsh lights. Maybe Adán was bringing her in some good products. Doc wasn’t sure what he took her. Dallas made a list and that list was given to Adán with the cash to make the purchases. Adán got what was left over, which wasn’t a bad deal…but it wasn’t going to make him rich either.
“No. I keep to myself. I’m still working in the kitchen in the morning and I take classes four days a week. I’m good. I just miss you.” She smiled sadly, and Doc had to fist his hands to keep from taki
ng her in his arms.
“I miss you too, like fucking crazy.”
“I’ll bet you’re pretty horny by now,” she said. Doc wondered if she honestly believed he was horny, or if she was asking him in a roundabout way if he’d been faithful.
“My balls are bluer than the sky.”
She smiled again, but her eyes still looked sad. “I’m sorry.” She took a deep breath and said, “I hate this…but if you need to…relieve yourself…it’s okay. I don’t expect you to wait for four years.”
Doc felt almost relieved. He wasn’t sure if that was bad or not. Maybe he shouldn’t be relieved that she was about to give him permission to cheat…but he was sure he was going to do it anyway. At least with permission he didn’t have to lie or feel like shit about being a cheater. “I really don’t want anyone but you,” he said, softly.
“Thank you,” she said with another smile. “And I believe you. But I know you have to be losing your mind by now. I’ll bet you haven’t gone this long without sex since you were sixteen years old.”
Doc grinned. “I was a virgin until twenty-one.”
Dallas laughed. “Right. Can I ask one favor?”
“Of course.”
“I don’t want to know, and I don’t want any of those women at the ranch to know. As far as they’re concerned, you’re being faithful, waiting for me. When I get out of here, I don’t want anyone whispering behind my back.”
“I don’t want that either,” he said, “because I’d have to kill them.”
She giggled. “Shh, these walls have ears. They don’t know you’re kidding.”
“Because I’m not. No one will ever disrespect you, Dallas. Even in here. If you have any problems, with anyone…”
“I will tell you, but believe it or not, everyone has been nice. Or, if not nice, they just steer clear of me. One of the girls told me they all know that I’m your old lady, which means none of them are stupid enough to mess with me.”