“Yo, Fighter, there are two, umm, ladies down here at the gate asking for you.” He listened for a sec before replying, “Yeah, I know, that’s why I called. They look done in, boss, said they need your help. Sure, hang on a sec.” Holding the speaker against his chest, he said, “He wants names?”
“Jiji Wilks and Tish DeMarco,” she said.
He relayed the info into the phone. We could hear Fighter’s roar from where the prospect was standing. He swiped the screen to end the call, motioning us to drive through the gate and park directly inside. He leaned down and said, “Fighter said not to move. He will be down shortly. I gotta go back to the gate so don’t do nothin’ ‘til he gets here. Feel me?” We both nodded, so he tapped the roof and walked away.
I rested my head against the seat back, closing my eyes. Jiji reached over and held my hand, giving it a squeeze. I squeezed back but didn’t have the strength to open my eyes. We just held on and waited.
Seven
What the fuck is Jiji doing here? Why would she come here? The bigger question was why would she bring Tish? If they thought for one second they were going to take a walk on the wild side with some bikers, they were seriously mistaken. I would paddle both their asses then send them on their way.
Cutting through the clubhouse, I made it to the front door when Dukes called out to me. Veering to my left, I walked up to the bar. “Where you going in such a hurry?” he asked.
Danko tipped his beer to his mouth, swallowed, then snickered. “Must be some new pussy he’s after.” When it didn’t get a rise out of me, or a smile, Danko’s face changed. “Hey, bro, what’s up?” he asked.
“I don’t know, Danko. Murph called from the gate, said Jiji and Tish are here.”
Dukes looked confused. “Jiji? Your little sister?”
“Yeah, man, with her best friend, Tish DeMarco.”
“What’s up with that, Fighter? I know you’ve warned her not to come around the club.”
“I know, Dukes, something ain’t right. Murph said I needed to get down there now.”
Dukes lifted his chin. “Right behind you, Fighter,” he said, dropping his beer on the bar. He and Danko flanked me as we walked out of the front door.
I saw Murph, our prospect, checking cars at the gate. Parked in the lot next to our bikes was a green Chevy Nova. Heading that way, I saw Jiji sitting in the passenger seat. Making my way over to her window, I knocked lightly.
She turned her head and a smile broke over her face. She unlocked the door and jumped out, throwing her arms around me. “Jameson, oh thank God.” She squeezed my waist, crying into my leather.
Murph came running over from the gate. “I told you, Fighter, you needed to get down here,” he said.
Tish got out on the other side, and slowly came around the trunk of the car. Her face was in shadows until she rounded the bumper to stand by the open passenger door.
I heard Dukes draw in a breath and Danko mutter, “Oh, shit,” and then I saw Tish.
Her face was beaten and bruised, one eye swollen shut, blood still caked in her hair. She was holding her left arm close to her body, like it hurt. She had to lean against the car door for support. I put Jiji down.
“What the fuck happened, Tish?” It came out harsher than I intended. She seemed to shrink even further into herself. “Whoa, girl, it’s okay. I’m not yelling at you. Relax, babe, I got you. She looked up at me, a single tear trailing down her battered face.
I passed Jiji off to Danko before moving slowly towards Tish. She backed up against the car door, trying to hide behind it, to make herself as small as possible. She looked scared out of her mind, gathering her strength, poised to run if needed.
“Shh, babe, I’m not gonna hurt you,” I cooed. “Me and the boys just want to get you inside so we can see what’s wrong.”
She looked into my eyes for a second, then, seemingly accepting what she saw there, she asked, “Are we safe here? Jiji is hurt. We need help.”
“Who did this to you, Tish? Talk to me, babe. What the fuck happened?”
Dukes spoke up from behind me. “I’m Dukes and this is my club; you’re safe here, both of you. No man or woman will lay a hand on you. I promise you that on my honor.”
“Thank God,” she said, then closed her eyes before she slid to the ground.
Jiji screamed, rushing forward and pulling out of Danko’s arms. “Jameson, she needs a doctor.”
“I got this, Jiji.” I shouldered her out of the way and bent down, scooping Tish into my arms. Danko was already on the phone, calling Boomer, our medic.
Dukes was just ahead of me, clearing a path through the clubhouse as I carried Tish inside. Danko brought up the rear with Jiji. Dukes led the way up the stairs of the crowded clubhouse; the people in our path parted for him, letting us through but giving us curious glances. Dukes saw several guys heading our way, but he gave them the signal to stand down.
Finding Breech in the crowd, he called him over. “As soon as Boomer gets here, bring him to Fighter’s room.”
Breech nodded his head. “On it, Prez.”
Dukes opened the door to my room. Belatedly, I hoped to hell that Sonya had cleaned up a bit. He moved inside with me right behind him. Walking over, I carefully laid Tish on my now-made bed.
Breech spoke from behind me. “Boomer’s ETA is about 5 minutes; he was on his way here for the party. I’m sorry I wasn’t here, Fighter. I heard the commotion from my room. I got here as fast as I could.” I looked over at him; his feet were bare, his dark hair mussed like someone had been delving through it. His jeans were zipped but unbuttoned, and his T-shirt was wrinkled and smelled like old laundry.
“It’s okay, Breech. I need to talk to the girls, find out what happened. They just showed up like this with no warning.”
Turning to my sister, I demanded, “Jiji, what the fuck happened?” I finally got a good look at her too. I pulled her over to stand in front of me. I reached out to push her matted hair, which was sticky with blood, away from her forehead. She smelled like dried sweat and tears. Her top was too big for her, falling over her body almost to her knees. It was clean but not new. Her jeans were bloodstained and torn. Picking up her hand, I saw her nails were ragged and broken, and her knuckles were split, blood caked around the bruises. She’d definitely been in a fight.
“It was Aden, Jameson. Yesterday when I got up, he and Mom were having a screaming match in the living room. When I got there, he had her up against the wall with an elbow against her throat. Her face was all bruised, she was crying, begging and pleading with him to stop hurting her. I jumped on his back, clawing at his face to stop him from choking her, but he hit me. I fell off, and I must have hit my head against the coffee table. I remember hearing him laughing at me. Then, nothing. The next thing I remember, I was lying next to Mom—and Jameson, she wasn’t breathing.” She burst into tears.
As I pulled her against my chest, she sobbed, soaking my shirt with her tears, her fingers clenching my T-shirt. My hand balled into a fist behind her back.
After gathering herself, she continued, “When I came to, I looked around and saw Aden was trying to rape Tish. I was confused at first; I thought I was seeing things. I don’t know how Tish got there, but thank God she did!”
She stopped to glance at Tish, lying so still on my bed. I motioned for her to finish the story. “When he got off her to open his pants she kicked him in the nuts really hard, and he screamed, falling over and curling into a ball. She pulled a screwdriver from her scrub top and she stabbed him in the neck with it. Oh my God, Jameson, there was so much blood; mine, Mom’s, Tish’s, Aden’s! She saved my life, Jameson; without her I never would have gotten away.” She stopped talking, thinking about what she wanted to say.
“Finish it, Jiji,” I commanded.
She took a deep breath, blew her nos
e, wringing her hands, “We ran out of the house, got into Tish’s car, and drove two days to get here. We couldn’t tell the police, and I didn’t know where else to go.” She threw herself into my arms, hugging me. “Are you mad? I did everything I could to help Mom, Jameson, I swear.”
“Shh,” I said, trying to soothe her. “It’s okay, Jiji, you did the right thing, baby girl.”
I looked over as Tish groaned on the bed. She hadn’t opened her eyes; her skin was pale and she whimpered in pain. I was gonna kill the motherfucker; grind him into dust like he never existed. If he wasn’t dead from that screwdriver, I was gonna kill him slowly.
I turned around with Jiji in my arms to make sure Dukes and Breech had heard the story. Dukes looked like he could kill. One of his triggers was men who beat on women. Breech was already on the phone. I heard him talking to Sonny, telling him to look into it.
Jiji cried quietly in my arms. One hand made circular motions on her back while I stroked her hair with the other. I found a bump and investigated it with my fingers. Jiji cried out, trying to move away.
“Stay put, little one, I’m just looking,” I said into her hair. She settled back down against my chest.
The door opened again. Boomer came in with his med kit over his shoulder. Dukes and Breech stepped back, motioning me to go with them. I walked over, seating Jiji at my desk.
“Boomer will look you over when he is done with Tish. Sit here while I talk with the guys.”
I moved over to the corner of the room, where I could still see Boomer working on Tish but be close enough to talk to the boys. My gaze kept going back to Tish. Even beaten bloody she drew my eye; she was beautiful. She had saved my sister’s life, then almost got raped helping her. I owed her big time. I needed to make sure she got the best care, that she had a peaceful place to heal.
Dukes clenched his hand into a fist. “Who’s this motherfucker Aden, Fighter?”
“He’s my mom’s second husband.”
“He raise his motherfuckin’ hand to them before?” Dukes wanted to know.
I shrugged, rubbing my far-head, “I don’t fucking know Dukes. I feel so fucking stupid. She never said a word to me. Why the fuck wouldn’t she tell me. Maybe not my mom, but Jiji knows I’ve got her back. This fucking suck. I want to kill the cocksucker. I went home a couple months ago for Jiji’s graduation but nothing seemed out of line. Mom was wearing a little more makeup than she usually did, but I didn’t make nothing of it then.”
I looked up when I heard Tish cry out from the bed. Boomer held her left arm gently, examining it. He motioned me over with a lift of his head.
“Fighter, the arm is broken but the bones feel like they are aligned; we need an x-ray to make sure. She has bruises down her side like she’d been kicked. Again, without an X-ray I can’t tell if any of her ribs are broken. She probably has a concussion from the blows to her head, but I don’t feel any broken bones in her face. It looks like whip marks across her back, possibly lower down too.” He looked me in the eye. “I haven’t examined her lower half; do you know if she’s been raped?” I shook my head no to indicate she hadn’t. He let out a relieved breath. “Okay, Fighter, I’ve called an ambulance. We will get her transported to a hospital. The cops are gonna want to talk to family.”
Jiji spoke up, “I’m her family, I’m all she has.”
“Don’t worry, Jiji, you’re going too. You need a doctor to look at that lump on your head”
“You gonna follow on your bike?” Boomer asked me.
“Yeah, man, soon as they load her up I will be right behind you.”
“I’m going to check Jiji out while we wait. Sit here by the bed in case Tish needs anything,” he said, getting up and moving to Jiji.
“Thanks, Boomer.” Reaching out, I gave him a side hug.
“No need for thanks, Fighter. They belong to you; that makes them family, end of story.”
I looked down at Tish, slowly brushing my fingers over her unbruised cheek. “I’m so sorry, babe,” I whispered. “You’re safe now; just relax, rest, heal.”
She opened her good eye and a tear leaked out, trailing down her cheek. “I hurt, Jameson.”
“I know, babe, we’re going to get you fixed up real soon. Close your eyes. Rest, babe, I got you.”
“Jiji?” she asked, trying to get up.
Gently, I stopped her from sitting up. “Shh, she’s fine, babe, Boomer is checking her out.” Cradling her cheek and wiping the occasional tear, I said, “Thank you for saving her life, babe.”
“No thanks needed, Jameson.” Closing her eye, she whispered, “She would have done the same for me.”
Boomer came back from examining Jiji. “Tish, the ambulance is here, let’s get you to the hospital. Jiji is bloody and bruised, probably concussed, but she’s a scrapper, she’s gonna be fine.”
They rolled the gurney into the room then loaded Tish onto it; when the EMT jostled her wrist, she screamed.
Dukes had to hold on to me because I was going to beat the shit out of that motherfucker. “Hang on, man. He didn’t mean to hurt her. Breathe, brother.”
I swung my head to look at Dukes. “I owe her, man, she saved Jiji from a worse beatdown, probably saving her life.”
“Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that man,” Dukes said. He held me by the upper arm. “There’s more here than you’re letting on, Fighter. I’ve never seen you like this. You need to get your act together; these girls need you to be calm and cool, got me?”
Looking him in the eye, I answered, “I am cool Dukes. I’m also telling you that cocksucker is a dead man.” Shaking him off, I followed the gurney to the ambulance, watching it pull away before heading to my bike to follow.
Eight
I struggled to open my eyes. Finally getting one open, I blinked as the room came into view. Why did my face hurt? Reaching up with my left hand, I almost knocked myself out when something heavy hit my forehead. What the hell was on my wrist?
I was lying in a bed in a room I didn’t recognize. I started to panic, my breathing growing erratic. My legs trembled; they wouldn’t let me get up.
Where was I? Where was Jiji?
I had to get up, find her, get away. Something warm rolled into my side, and I realized Jiji was sleeping beside me. She was okay; I could relax. Closing my eye, I said a silent prayer that we had gotten away from Aden.
Opening my eye again, I looked around for a clue as to where we were. My gaze landed on a person sleeping on a cot pushed up against the wall. I studied the sleeping form and couldn’t help sighing at what I saw.
His muscled arm was thrown over his head; colorful tattoos swirled from his shoulder down to his wrist. His inky black hair fell over his forehead, and I could see part of his chest, also covered in muscle and tattoos. He was really tall, his big feet and part of his leg hanging off the cot.
Licking my lips, trying to wet them, I couldn’t help but think of that old wives’ tale about how big men’s feet were in relation to another part of their anatomy.
Unfortunately, before I got more than a peek his eyes popped open. Had he heard me move? Like a big cat, he was instantly on his feet and beside me.
“Hey, babe,” he said, smiling down at me. “How you feeling?”
“Sore,” I croaked. “My throat still hurts.”
“Shh, babe, Boomer left some pills here for you to take so the pain will go away.”
I shook my head no. “I don’t like the way they make me feel,” I said in a whisper. “I look like shit, don’t I?”
He cocked his head to one side. “Nah, that black eye looks good on you with all that red hair. It takes away from the freckles. But babe, if you and Jiji wanted to see me that badly, all you had to do was call,” he joked.
I tried to smile but my split lip wouldn’t let me. “Ouch
,” I said.
Then his face turned serious. “I found your medical ID cards in your purse and spoke to the two cops that showed up. They made the nurses take pictures of your injuries. They will want to take a formal statement from you, but the doctor told them you needed to rest—recoup a few days first. You slept all the way home from the hospital.”
Trying to lift my arm, I moaned in pain. Gently, he reached out to help me. “You have a cast on that wrist, babe; it was broken but they set it while you were out.”
“What else is wrong with me?” I asked him.
“None of your ribs are broken, but you’ve got severe bruising down your side. Boomer was worried about your kidney, but the last couple times you went to the bathroom no blood was in your urine so he thinks they might just be bruised too.” I could feel the heat creeping up my neck when he mentioned my pee, but I got what he was trying to say. He went on, “You have a concussion but none of the bones in your face are broken.
“Tish, Jiji says you kicked Aden in the balls before he could rape you…” He hesitated before continuing. “He didn’t touch you there, did he?”
I dropped my eyes when Jameson mentioned my near rape, but he wouldn’t allow it. He put his fingers under my chin, making me look at him.
“Tish, this is not on you, it’s on that cocksucker. Now tell me, did he touch you?”
I looked at him and slowly shook my head. “He grabbed my breast when he cut my top and bra off, but he was too busy trying to get his pants off before he got to mine. I took the opportunity to kick him in the balls as hard as I could when he did.”
Light laughter came from Jameson as he spoke. “Remind me to hide my balls when you get mad at me. Do you know what happened before you got there, Tish? Jiji says my mom and Aden were arguing and she tried to intervene.”
Looking away from his eyes, I started to cry. “I’ve been a horrible friend, Jameson. I didn’t see the signs of abuse, or if I did, I wouldn’t let myself believe them,” I whispered. “She needed me and I was too stupid to pick up the clues. On the ride, here she told me he’d been hitting her for some time. She said she was in the hospital once when he hit her too hard. She was supposed to be at your cousin’s wedding, so I never saw her hurt.”
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