by Jamie Begley
Hennessy used the same tactic that Penni had.
“Shit, Hennessy, let him go before he shits himself,” Jackal spoke in the growing silence.
“Apoc, check the bag.” Hennessy kept his hand on his weapon.
Apoc bent down, unzipping the bag, checking the contents, and then zipping the bag closed.
“It’s good. The same product we sent to sell.”
“You and Cruz take it to the car. Tia’s waiting by the food truck. I’ll see you back at the clubhouse.”
“Tia’s here?”
“Yes, if you hadn’t had your tongue down her throat”—Hennessy nodded at Penni—“she would have said hi.”
Tia was Hennessy’s cousin. Jackal had met her when she had turned eighteen and her parents had been murdered. He had found her a place to live in Queen City. Then, when Hennessy had left the Predators, she had left with him and DJ.
“We done?” Striker took a step backward.
“We’re done.”
Jackal kept his eyes on Striker as he walked away. Being an enforcer for the Predators had honed his skills over the years. The uneasy feeling traveling up his spine had him pulling out his Glock before Apoc fell to the dirt, staring up at the night sky.
Hennessy and their men pulled their weapons out as screams filled the night. The red-orange flames from the bonfire glowed across the bloodbath that had begun.
Jackal jumped on his motorcycle, his bike in the direction of the road. They had to get through a half-mile of gunfire to make it to safety.
15
“Get her out of here!” Hennessy yelled, running to the duffel bag Apoc had dropped.
Jackal saw Ice, Max, Stump, and Fade running toward Hennessy and his men as the Unjust Soldiers attacked.
“Hang on,” Jackal yelled back to Penni as he started his bike.
The Road Kingz began dropping like flies.
Dirt flew out when his back wheel spun in the loose soil.
Hennessy’s large body provided cover as one the Unjust Soldiers pointed his weapon at him. He had to get Penni out of here so Hennessy could focus on keeping himself and his men alive.
Hennessy saw the guns trained on him and tossed the duffle bag to Penni, who managed to catch it. She looped it through her arms, carrying it like a backpack.
“Shit.” Hennessy had put a bullseye on them.
Jackal sped through the fleeing bikers all trying to get on their bikes. He slowed his speed to miss a woman who was screaming hysterically. Another biker came out of nowhere, blocking the woman from getting killed. Turning his front wheel, he barely managed to avoid hitting the other bike. If the biker hadn’t blocked her, Jackal would have mowed her down and crashed his bike, hurting Penni.
The road was less than a foot away when Jackal spotted a break in the crowd big enough to get his bike through. He rode his bike through the opening in the rows of motorcycles that were at a standstill. The assholes were too fucking busy watching the gun fight to get out of danger.
His bike hit pavement, and he gunned his motor, following the line of red taillights leading toward town.
Penni loosened the tight hold she had on his waist, and Jackal released a sigh of relief that she was safe.
As they neared town, police cars and ambulances sped past them with lights flashing. He hoped Hennessy wasn’t one of the bikers who would need a ride to the local hospital.
Jackal parked his bike in front, rushing her into the hotel room then locking the door behind them. Looking out the window, he saw several bikers parking, but none of them seemed interested in them. Jackal bet most of them would just get their things and head out of town before the cops came back.
“Are we okay now?”
Jackal turned from the window at her shaky question.
“Yeah.” He pulled out his cell phone, pushing Hennessy’s number. When he didn’t answer, Jackal called Ice. The phone went to his messages. Shit. He was going to have to wait for one of them to call him.
Frustrated, he ran his fingers through his sweat and smoke-filled hair. “I need a shower.”
“Go ahead. If anyone knocks, I’ll let you know.”
Jackal stopped as he was about to go into the bathroom. Penni had taken a chair, staring at the door. She had handled what had happened better than most recruits would have. She had almost been killed; none of the bikers had given a shit that a woman was in their line of fire. Most recruits had returned to the clubhouse to get drunk or fuck any woman who spread their legs when shit had gone down badly. Hell, his own body was so filled with adrenaline he wanted to bust someone up or fuck. Penni looked as unruffled as if she had just been dealing with the hordes of teenagers she dealt with at concerts.
Shrugging out of his jacket, he was about to lay it down across from Penni when he noticed the bulging pocket. Reaching in, he pulled out her bra and useless cell phone, handing them to her.
“No one will knock.” Jackal told her in case she was worried despite her cool-headed appearance. “Hennessy or Ice will call when they can.”
Penni bit her bottom lip, bringing blood rushing to the tip of his cock. “Why not call someone else, like Max or Colton?”
Jackal took off his shirt, laying his gun and knife on the small table in front of her. “I don’t want to distract them and get them killed. They’ll call when they can.”
“Okay.”
He began walking to the bathroom, unbuckling his belt.
“Jackal?”
He didn’t stop, but he did turn his head.
“Can we go home now?”
Jackal gripped the doorknob as he was about to close it. “Yeah, you can go home.”
Closing the door before she could see his face, he thought about how Penni had a place to call home, and unfortunately, it wasn’t with him. When she returned to Queen City, he would only see her when she passed him in the city or when Grace had one of her parties, giving him the cold shoulder as he passed her.
It was a three-day ride to Queen City. He would drag it to four. He didn’t want to let her go. He was dreading it.
16
Groggily, Penni opened her eyes, confused by the terror flooding her body. Reality rushed through her as she awakened in the dark room. Had she died back at the bonfire and hadn’t known it?
When she opened her mouth to scream, she wasn’t able to make a sound. Mysteriously, the hard arms lifting her from the bed were gentle. They were restraining her so she couldn’t move, but she didn’t feel pain.
As the man carried her across the floor, Penni saw the doorway of the hotel had two shadowy figures. She kicked out, trying to throw herself free, and the hand holding her tightened as they went through the open door.
Penni looked at the men under the light outside, and relief poured through her body. Lucky and Rider motioned for her to be quiet as they moved to a black SUV, which Cash slid out off, opening the back door.
The man carrying her slackened his hold, sliding her into the backseat.
“Shade, I’m so happy to see you I could cry.” Penni wrapped her arms around her brother.
“You okay?”
“Yes, now that you’re here.”
“Cash and Razer are going to drive you to Treepoint. I’ll see you there.” Shade stepped back, shutting the door.
“Wait. Where are you going?”
Shade wasn’t getting on his bike parked next to the SUV. He had turned back to the hotel room.
“I have some business I need to take care of with Jackal.”
Penni easily recognized the cold, ominous gaze turned on her.
“Jackal didn’t do anything. He tried to save me. It was the Road Kingz who held me prisoner.”
“Penni, I know exactly what happened.” Shade didn’t try to explain how he knew, and Penni was sure she didn’t want to know. Her brother had an uncanny ability to find out information.
“Are they alive?” Penni was startled that she cared. She had begun to like Jackal, despite him being a butthole.
Penni reluctantly nodded. Shade was done talking.
She leaned back against the leather seats, knowing Shade would do the right thing. He always did.
Penni watched as Cash backed up and slowly drove to the exit, seeing the men standing by their motorcycles. Most of the men she recognized. Viper gave a small wave, and the grim faces of The Last Riders lightened when they saw the movement.
As the SUV passed each of The Last Riders, they hit the roof, letting her know they were glad she was safe.
“They missed you,” Cash spoke over his shoulder.
“I’ve missed them, too.”
The last one they passed was the one she had waited for anxiously. His black-blue hair gleamed under the street lamp. When he hit the top of the SUV, Penni held her breath, hoping he would gesture for Cash to stop. He didn’t. Train’s attention was locked on the hotel where Jackal was.
Why should it be any different this time? He was glad Shade’s sister was safe, and that was it. In the years she had known him, Train had never given Penni any indication that he felt anything for her.
She was twenty-four years old; how long was she going to wait before she realized it wasn’t going to happen? She was an idiot.
“How’s Rachel?” Cash’s wife was expecting their first baby.
“Getting used to being a mom.”
“She had the baby?” Penny was excited for them.
“A week ago.”
“Congratulations. What did you name him or her?”
“She wants to name the baby Mag. I told her over my dead body.”
“I don’t want him hurt.”
“Rachel?” Cash’s voice sounded angry. “I wouldn’t hurt Rachel because of what she wanted to name our baby—”
“Not Rachel. Jackal. I don’t want him hurt.”
Razer twisted in his seat to look back at her. “You heard Shade say he would handle it. Jackal should have called the minute you went missing. Jackal and the Predators deserve some questions, and Shade is going to want the answers to be good.”
“I’m not their responsibility. The only reason they tried to help me was because of Grace,” Penni argued.
Razer shook his head. “King told them to watch out for you. You were under their protection.”
“I don’t need anyone to watch out for me.”
“Obviously, you do.” Razer turned to face the front again.
Penni gritted her teeth. Arrogant males were the bane of her existence. Then again, why should she care? Jackal had been a pain in her ass for years. Hell, he had left her stranded at a rest area when he had kidnapped her; not to mention, he had kidnapped her in the first place.
Penni rubbed her hands down the front of her jeans. This time was different, though. She had seen behind the domineering attitude he showed everyone.
He was the exact opposite of Train. Train treated women respectfully. The only time she had seen him lose his temper was when she had been fifteen, and Shade and Train had taken her to a movie while they were on leave.
Penni winced as she remembered staring up at him adoringly, proud of how both the men had walked by her side. A young woman not much older than her had been crying, her hand to her cheek. Three women had been arguing as a man had sheepishly stood next to the woman who had struck the girl.
When his girlfriend had attempted to strike her again, Train had reached out, snatching her hand back. He had been so fast Penni hadn’t seen him move.
“Hey!” the woman had screeched, furious at being unable to hit her target.
“Keep your fucking hands to yourself.” His quiet voice had drawn the small crowd’s gaze from the fight they had been enjoying.
Shade, with his imposing tattoos, had stuck out like a sore thumb in the affluent suburbs where her parents had lived.
The young woman hadn’t been used to being challenged. Her expensive summer dress and heels contrasted with the other woman’s off the rack clothes.
She had waved her cell phone in Train’s face. “I’ll call the police.”
Train hadn’t replied, taking out his own cell phone. Unlike the blustering woman, he had actually seemed to dial a phone number.
“I’d like to report an assault.” He hadn’t been bluffing.
The woman’s mouth had dropped open as Train had given the address of the movie theater. She and her friends had started to move away, but Train had stopped them before they could flee.
“Don’t waste your time. I’m sure their camera will show that you all were ganging up on her.”
“Do something, Ethan.”
The whipping boy couldn’t lose face in front of his girlfriend, so he had decided to confront Train. He had been outmatched, though.
Striking out, he had tried to land a punch on his jaw, but Train had grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back. The worm had wiggled, unable to break his hold. His girlfriend and her friends had begun hitting Train, trying to get him free.
Train had grabbed the hair of the man’s girlfriend, turning her around so she couldn’t hit him.
Meanwhile, Shade had grabbed each of her friends as they’d kicked and screamed to be let go.
“You need some help?” Penni had unwisely steeped closer to the one Train was holding. The woman had grabbed her, pulling her off balance so that she crashed into her.
“Shit.” Train had tried to catch them, but the women had been kicking and hitting as they’d fallen to the ground.
Penni had found herself eating concrete as the woman lashed out at her. She had taken off one her heels and begun beating her with it. The woman might have been from the affluent neighborhoods, but she had fought dirty.
“Shit.” Train tried to pull Penni out of the fray yet couldn’t separate her from the tangle of legs, arms, and hair swirling around them.
“Fuck. Mom’s going to kick my ass if she gets hurt …” Her brother had tried to grab her while Train had attempted to separate the other woman from her. Neither had been successful.
Penni had felt the pain of her blows. Unfazed, she had hit back. Rage had poured out her like never before, but it hadn’t frightened her. She had raked her nails down the arms that tried to pin her to the ground. When she’d heard the squeal of pain, Penni had felt a rush of pleasure that she hadn’t experienced before. Even when she had felt the teeth clamped onto her own arms, she hadn’t cared. She had punched her in the face over and over until she had released her and fallen to the ground.
Penni had hopped up, tossing a leg over her until she had been sitting on her belly, continuing to beat her until blood poured out of the corner of her mouth and covered her chin.
“Stop!” Pleas and hard hands had lifted her, bringing Penni to awareness to what she done.
“Calm down, Penni.” Train’s low voice had soothed the rage that had nowhere to go. “Go sit on the bench.”
She had sat down on the bench as Shade had helped the beaten woman to her feet. Her friends had been too afraid to move when he had ordered them not to.
Penni had buried her face in her hands, horrified at her behavior. She had not hurt so much as an ant before, yet not only had she beaten the woman; she had enjoyed it. What if Shade and Train hadn’t been there to stop her?
Penni’s stomach had begun to heave, disgusted by the violence she had been capable of.
At that point, the police had arrived, and Penni had started to stand to turn herself over to them.
“Sit still and be quiet,” Shade ordered as the two police officers approached.
She had expected to be arrested. Only when the women and man had left an hour later had she realized the police were leaving.
Shade had sat down on the bench next to her, tossing Train the keys to their mother’s car they had borrowed. “Get the car.”
Train had nodded, laying a hand on her shoulder before leaving.
“You okay?”
“I’m a monster.” Penni had stared up at h
is hooded blue eyes.
“No, you’re not.” His ironic smile hadn’t made her feel better. She’d felt like a disappointment. Their mother had always been so proud of Shade. She had told her friends that he was in the service and told Penni that she should be good or Shade wouldn’t come visit her anymore.
“I won’t do it again. I promise.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“I will.” She had reached out to take his hand, but Shade had pulled back. He had never touched her.
When she had been little, she would reach out to him, but he would pull back or briefly hold her then move away. He had never held their mother, and Penni had grown used to seeing the look of pain when Shade visited, assuming it had been because he harbored ill-feelings toward her for breaking up with Shade’s father.
As Penni matured, though, she had sensed it was part of Shade’s personality. Remaining aloof didn’t mean he didn’t care. He had visited their mother and her whenever he’d had leave. Each time he had come, he’d brought his friends, which had kept him from spending time alone with her, but she hadn’t cared. She had cherished any time she spent with him, but she hadn’t cried when he’d left. It was just the way it was.
“You were trying to protect someone you love.”
Penni had blushed bright red, embarrassed that he had been voicing her feelings for Train out loud.
“I was just trying to help.”
“You succeeded. Maybe next time, she’ll think twice about picking on someone defenseless, but I doubt it.”
“You’re not mad at me?”
“How could I be mad when I’ve done it too many times to count?”
She had released a shaky breath.
“That doesn’t make it right. Train and I were here to watch out for you. If you react that way when you’re by yourself, it could be a different story. Don’t take on more than you can handle.”
“I won’t. I’m never going to hit anyone again.”
“Yes, you will. You won’t be able to stop yourself. You’re too much like me.”