by M. Merin
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination and/or being used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations are entirely coincidental.
Jasper: Northern Grizzlies MC (Book 1)
Copyright 2018 Maura O’Brien
Cover Art by Madelene Martin www.madbookdesigns.com
All rights reserved.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this book may be reproduced without the written permission of the author. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase, or it was not purchased for your use only then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Published in the United States of America.
If you or someone you love is being abused, do not hesitate to reach out:
National Domestic Violence Hotline:
1.800.799.7233 (U.S.)
Jasper
Northern Grizzlies MC
(Book 1)
M. Merin
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 1
Fall 2016, Southern Idaho
Jasper
“Fuck! Gunner! What the fuck did you eat?” The giant stuck next to me in this cage has been farting for nearly two hours now. Bad enough we’re in the truck rather than on our bikes for this trip, but Connal had needed some parts for a specialty build he was doing and it worked out better for Gunner and I to pick everything up on the way back from our meeting in California.
“Same as you, Jas,” He moans. “I feel like fucking shit. We gotta find a bathroom.”
I look at him, shaking my head; it was dark and the storm outside showed no sign of dissipating, plus it had been at least an hour since we last stopped. He was in that john for thirty minutes. God only knows the damage he did there.
“At this rate, I don’t know, Man. There’s nothing coming up on the GPS that will do any good.” The light from the dashboard wasn’t helping his sweaty, sallow complexion any.
“FUCK!” Looking back at the road after a glance in his direction, I see dim tail lights coming from the woods to our right and what I take to be a body sprawled out near the back of the car. Braking fast enough to fishtail, I get control of the truck and ease it off the road. “Gunner, man, you gotta suck it up. I don’t know if this is legit or not.” Hoping he can stand long enough to keep an eye on my back.
“Then fucking leave it, Pres,” He says even as he starts to look around. I reverse back to the vehicle and we both get our weapons ready. Gunner favors a Glock, I’m more of a Sig man, myself.
Giving him a long look, he knows why I won’t. Four years back my brother, Chris, riding on his Hog, had been struck by a car on a highway. The driver freaked out and kept going; Chris lay unaided on the side of the road until he finally bled out. Coroner’s report estimated it took nearly two hours.
Took me nearly a year to find the bastard, now I figure I have another ten years or so before the driver’s son comes looking for the man who bleed his father out. Who knows, maybe he’ll grow up to be a good Christian man who doesn’t live by ‘An Eye for An Eye’ or maybe the trail back to me will be too cold by then.
Getting out, I slowly approach the person; nearly wiping out in the mud a couple times. Finally on top of the body, I lightly kick the foot that is sticking out. No reaction.
Looking back to Gunner, I nod, reaching over to poke into the back of the dark coat. A soft moan reaches my ears over the noise of the storm around us. Grabbing a shoulder, I slowly shift the person onto their back. A piercing scream cuts through the night and I can now see it’s a woman. She arches up but stops halfway up, and sags back down.
“Open the back door,” I call to Gunner as I reach under her arms to lift her, fireman’s style. Getting her over my shoulder, I brace myself trying to get us up the bank without wiping out, and position her on her side in the back seat.
Gunner has gone down to the old car and is returning with a duffle and the registration card. “She don’t look like a ‘Henry’ to me,” He says, flipping the card back in the direction of the vehicle and getting back into the front seat. “What are we going to do with her?”
“Can you do a search for the closest hospital? We can even get some Imodium for you when we drop her off.” I try to make light of this, while keeping one eye on the rear view mirror.
“No,” she calls out. “No hospital. Don’t. He’ll get me.”
Gunner and I exchange a look, not sure what to do with her. “What’s your name?” He asks in what is probably his most gentle voice.
“I’ll be ok, just, can you get me to a bus station?” She asks in a rapidly fading voice.
“Get some rest, we got you now.” I assure her, getting a quick glance from Gunner.
Back on the road we finally catch a break; I see a sign for a gas station twenty miles up. Speaking quietly, I tell Gunner to handle his business, buy Imodium, any first aide materials they have, and plenty of water. We’ll fill up the truck and drive straight through to Rowansville.
“You sure about this, Pres?” Gunner only throws in my MC title when he doesn’t agree with me.
“No.” Is all I say, leaving us in silence for the next nineteen miles.
Pulling to the far pump, Gunner and I both jump out and complete our tasks. I hope the big guy’s stomach is getting better cause I’m going to have him drive while I tend to our passenger.
Shielding the view of the woman we picked up as he loads the backseat with his purchases, Gunner gets in the driver’s seat at the tilt of my head and gets us back on the road. With a cloth and some of the water, I start to gently wipe the dirt from her face. She whimpers a bit but seems to understand that I’m trying to help. Someone did a number on her alright; a lefty, as the right side of her face is all swollen.
Nearly finished with her face and knowing she won’t like the next stage of my plan, I tap her on her nose. Her eyes pop open and seeing them for the first time I smile; remembering the cornflowers my mother grew when I was a boy. Her eyes are the same shade of blue.
“Darlin’? I’m gotta get you out of your shirt now,” I put my finger over her lips as she starts to protest. “You’re freezing from the rain and we both know you have more wounds for me to check.”
“No, I don’t need your help. Just drop me off.” She repeats her earlier order.
“Too late for that, just hold still,” I unfold the blanket I had retrieved from the back, laying it partially on her; I hold her delicate hands aside with one of my large paws while I unbutton her shirt with my other hand. I look down to find her staring at me unblinking.
“I help you, you gonna to go back to him?” I grunt out.
She gasps, “Never. It took me long enough to get away.” Tears finally escape her eyes and she relaxes he
r hands, reaching for the blanket. Looking down at her creamy skin, I see two things; she was beaten with a belt that must have been sporting a large buckle and she isn’t wearing a bra.
Her breasts are the only part of her skin that have neither a new nor fading mark. They are absolutely perfect with large rosy nipples, very erect nipples at the moment. She reaches up for the back of the seat and I help her move into a sitting position.
Her shirt has dried into the blood from cuts on her back. Trying to figure out the best way to remove it, she makes the decision for me, yanking it down. A section on her lower back is still stuck, so I finish tearing it from her.
“Good girl. Let’s see what I can do here, ok?” I whisper, unsure of where to start.
“What’s your name?” She asks, holding still as I start cleaning the broken skin with a cloth.
“Jasper, and that’s Gunner. You ready to tell me yours yet, Darlin’?” Her silence hangs between us for a few moments.
“I’ve always been called by my middle name; I’d like to start using my first though.” I work without comment, letting her take her time.
“Emma, I want to be Emma now.” She finally breathes out.
Gunner grunts from the front seat and we’re hit with another gas bomb, making us both groan and reach for the nearest window switch. “I don’t know what I ate but its fucking killing me.”
Finding both hydrogen peroxide and Neosporin among Gunner’s purchases, I decide to start with the peroxide. Warning Emma beforehand, she doesn’t move once I start disinfecting the cuts on her back.
As I finish, I let her clean the two areas with broken skin on her stomach; her front is more bruised than cut. Once she’s done, I dab Neosporin on her and start applying band aids. Reaching back into my bag, I get a flannel shirt and wrap it around her.
Leaning over to whisper in her ear, “Are you hurt or bleeding anywhere else, Darlin’? Don’t be shy; we can stop at a motel if you need more care.”
“Nowhere else. Thank you for your kindness.” She says, tensing up as soon as I started whispering in her ear. Helping to get her on her side, with her head on my lap, I slowly smooth her dirty, tangled hair until she falls asleep.
I know Gunner’s been watching me pretty steadily from the rear view mirror, and I finally look up to make eye contact.
“She’s not a stray dog, Jas.”
“No, she’s not a stray dog, Gunner.”
“Tell me you aren’t thinking about keeping her?” He grunts out.
“Keep your voice down.” I reply in a low but sharp voice.
“Fuck.” He growls.
“No shit.”
“Speaking of that, I’ve got to drop another deuce.”
“How is there anything left in you at this point?” I groan this time, more worried about the hold up in getting Emma somewhere safe.
“Fuck if I know. We’ve got another thirty minutes or so until the next gas station, you’ll want to crack your window again.” He shrugs, looking straight ahead.
I take his advice before leaning my head back against the headrest; closing my eyes trying to figure out what to do with the woman who fell into my lap.
There are some spare rooms at the MC’s clubhouse, but the guys who live there will be sniffing around her in no time flat. Plus the noise level there almost every night would make resting impossible and walking through the main room, where the Girlies are doing their thing? Fuck no. Not good enough for her.
I laugh to myself, thinking about the new girl Vice had brought in the day before Gunner and I left on this gun run. She had eagerly sucked me off while taking Vice from behind; I had been looking forward to spending a little time with her, if she was still there when we got back. The MC girls at the California Chapter had also been really enthusiastic with Gunner and I these past few days; guess we’re not the only ones who go for variety.
Now the only thing I wanted was to protect this woman. I saw the look in her eyes when I asked if she was going back to her abuser; she’s a strong one, stronger than I’m sure she feels right now. I’ll show her, if she’ll let me.
There was never any question of my mom walking away from my father, no matter how many times he tore into her. My brother Chris and I tried, time and again to help her, to convince her to kick his ass out but she always made excuses for him.
Like her, we were on the receiving of our father’s fists from early childhood; right up until that day he went too far. Chris was older than me, he had just turned thirteen. He understood what I didn’t. Why dad kicked us out of the house and locked mom in the bedroom with his brother. What her screaming meant. Chris got me to the shed out back and made me stay, going back towards the house with a shovel.
That was the day I lost everyone.
Chris killed our dad and turned our uncle into a vegetable; good riddance to them. But mom wasn’t much more than a zombie after that and Chris got sent to juvie until he was eighteen. Mom and I had some welfare and I picked up odd jobs where I could.
Flint ran the MC back then and had a place up the street from us. I had known his son before Flint’s ex left and took the kids to Arizona; he was spending most his time at the clubhouse but always slid some money my way to keep an eye on his empty house.
Flint watched out for me when he thought of it. As I got older and he realized I was cutting school most days to hang out near the clubhouse, he sat me down and asked me my plans. By then I was fifteen and knew it all, I was joining the Grizzlies. He laughed in my face. Told me to come back with my high school diploma before he’d consider letting me be a Probie.
The next day, I went back to school and eventually graduated in the top twenty percent of my class. Flint and my brother were the only ones who showed up to watch me graduate. I became a Probie the next day, now twelve years later I’m the Grizzlies’ President.
I thought I had it all. I just didn’t know what I was missing, until Emma stared up at me.
Chapter 2
Emma
Drifting in and out of sleep, I dream of my sister.
Ruth was perfect and everything that my parents wanted in a child. She had blond hair, her eyes were blue like mine, she spoke quietly, sang beautifully and never had to study for her A’s. To top that off, her faith was unwavering. She never questioned one of Father’s sermons. She would have been so easy to despise if she hadn’t loved me so very much.
Ruth was three years older than me and the only times she ever raised her voice to our parents was in defense of me. Truly, I think my parents were horrified by my uncontrollable red hair, added to that I went from being a colicky baby to a child wont to laugh at all the wrong times and the only one in the family with a mischievous side. While school wasn’t a struggle for me, I was much more likely to bring home B’s than A’s and insisted on running track and cross country rather than join the choir.
While Ruth would go and sit in Father’s church to find her clarity and peace, mine came when I was running. The God I believed in understood; if he had created me, how could he not?
Hoping to slide into another dream of Ruth dressing me up like her doll, comforting me, or swimming down in the river with me; I keep my eyes tightly closed until the truck stops and Jasper opens the door. Moving to get up, he gently slides from under me and rubs one of his large hands over my arm.
“Just get more rest. I’m going to drive for a bit, Darlin’.” He looks down at me like he wants to say more and I know I should ask questions, but I’m just too drained right now.
Moving a curl off my face, he smiles and closes the door again. His smile is beautiful. I hadn’t even registered what he looked like until now. The only impression I had of the men who picked me off the roadside was that these were the two largest men I’d ever seen. Jasper was lean to Gunner’s hulking body, and only slightly shorter. Some time passes before Gunner gets into the passenger seat and I study his face.
A Greek tragedy. His dark, closely trimmed beard covers a large jaw, his nose looks to
have been broken a few times, and crossing down the side of his face is a wide scar with rough edges. He turns to watch me as I study him.
“See anything you like, Baby?” He smirks at me. I gasp, knowing I shouldn’t have been staring but still surprised to be called out like this.
“How did you get your scar?” I ask. Staring at me a moment longer, he says ‘Afghanistan’ before turning back around.
“Couple more hours and we’ll be home, Emma.” Jasper interjects. I flinch at the word ‘home’, I won’t be. Not ever again.
“Where are we heading?” I ask, still lying on the seat as he left me.
“Our MC is right outside of Rowansville.” Jasper responds.
“MC?” I have no idea what that means, Gunner immediately laughs.
“Motorcycle Club, Baby.” He grounds out in that deep voice of his.
Embarrassed and surprised, I decide to just go for it and ask my next question, “Um, what state are we in?”
They exchange a look before Jasper replies, “Idaho,” Looking at me in the rear view mirror.
“Huh, never been here before.” I quietly calculate how much money I can spend on a motel until I can get on a bus. “Is there, like, a bus stop or motel or anything there?”
“Let’s get you better first, then we’ll worry about that,” Jasper replies, causing Gunner’s head to whip around to look at him. “We have a medic, well he was a medic when he was in the military, and does good enough to check you over.”
“I’m fine, I don’t need…I can’t stay” I sputter.
“Why can’t you stay, Emma? Where do you need to be?” Jasper refuses to let this drop.
“Enough, Jasper. Thank you helping me. I’m so sorry I can’t repay you. Maybe someday, but not now.” I’m trying to keep my voice strong, God knows I feel anything but.
“Lady knows what she wants, Jas,” Gunner weighs in on my side. “Best just let her be.”
Jasper doesn’t say a word but from the tightening of his jaw, I can tell he doesn’t plan on letting this be. Closing my eyes, I’m firm in my resolve to keep moving. I’ll find a small town somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, stay under the radar; then maybe, apply for my teaching license and get on with my life.