I burst into tears, my body shaking. Frantically I let go of Jameson, fell to my hands and knees, and threw up, retching until nothing was left but dry heaves. Jameson held my hair out of the way, soothing my back ‘til I slumped over, totally drained. Jameson’s strong arms went around me and he lifted me, holding me tight to his chest. He whispered in my ear, “I’m so sorry babe… Thank you for saving my life.” He rocked me like a child, murmuring his love over and over.
We could hear sirens coming up the road fast. Dukes dropped to his knee. “Tish, honey, everything will be okay. Let me help you back to the bikes while Fighter and Breech deal with the police.” Taking me from Jameson’s arms, he sat me on the seat of Breech’s bike. “Just tell them what happened, Tish. Aden had a violent history; you didn’t do anything wrong. He kidnapped you and you defended yourself.”
He slipped an arm around my waist and I leaned against him, whispering in his ear, “Sonya ratted us out Dukes; she could have gotten Jameson killed.”
His head jerked up so he was looking me in the eye. “You sure about this, Tish?”
“Absolutely positive, Dukes!”
His lips tightened, but he hugged me close. “Don’t you worry about her now, I’ve got this,” he said.
The first police car pulled up, and two officers stepped out. We watched as they listened to Jameson and Breech explain the situation, then they came to me. “Ma’am, I’m sorry but we will have to place you under arrest until we can sort this out. Would you please stand and put your hands behind your back?”
Dukes stepped forward. “Officer, are cuffs really necessary? She’s not dangerous and she’s willingly complying with your requests.”
“I’m sorry sir, we have to do this by the book, so please step aside while I do my job.” He cuffed me, read me my rights and led me to the police car. Seeing the boys standing outside the patrol car watching me, I tried to smile my lips wobbled but I was able to maintain my composure, The next few hours were a blur.
Twenty-Nine
We were at the police station for what seemed liked days but in reality, was only a short span of time. We were drinking coffee, smoking, going over the whole story again and again with different people.
They wanted to make sure we were telling the truth, and all of us were questioned separately. We had the pictures of the original assault, plus the voicemail and phone logs. I explained about my mom’s death and Aden’s role in it. I had no concrete proof, but both Jiji and Tish were eyewitnesses and would corroborate the event.
Once the police were satisfied with our account of the incident, they agreed to let Tish go, warning her not to leave town, and that the district attorney would be in touch.
Dukes sent Breech, Sonny, and Danko back to the clubhouse right after they gave their statements and were released. Jiji, Lani, and Sandra were aware that Tish was alive and mostly unhurt, but Dukes wanted the men to fill them in on the rest of the story. He pulled Breech aside and gave him instructions I couldn’t hear. Breech looked mad as hell, furiously shaking his head, clearly agreeing to whatever Dukes was demanding.
As we were finally leaving the station, Dukes came over to Tish sitting on the back of my bike, kissed her on the forehead, and briefly hugged her. “I’m sorry it had to end this way, Tish, but you saved Fighter. For that, I will always be grateful.”
Tish gave Dukes a watery smile; she had been crying on and off the whole time she had been telling her story. “Thanks, Dukes. Now I just want to go home.”
He patted her knee. “I hear you! Take good care of her, Fighter; I’ve got some things that need to be taken care of,” he said, slapping me on the back before striding off to his own bike.
I put the bike in gear, taking us home. The drive was short; Tish hung on but didn’t try to talk, the feed in my helmet from her mic was silent except for the occasional sniffle.
As I unlocked the door to our house, she still had not spoken. Like a zombie, she walked into the bedroom, stripping off her scrubs along the way and stuffing them in the garbage along with her bra and panties. She walked naked into the bathroom, turning on the shower.
“Tish.”
She turned to me, putting her fingers against my lips. “Don’t, Jameson. I just need some time. I’ll be fine, honestly. Just give me a little time alone, please,” she pleaded.
She stepped into the shower, raising her face to the spray. I watched her shoulders start to shake, her body folding in on itself as her arms wrapped around her torso; she leaned against the shower wall, obviously overcome by the trauma right now.
“Fuck no.” I stepped into the shower fully clothed, pulling her into my arms. She buried her head against my chest, sobbing, her body trembling like she was freezing. Rubbing her spine, I tried to sooth her, holding her tightly, rocking, mumbling nonsense words, and kneading the back of her neck—any and everything I could think of to help her while I just let her cry it out.
When the tears finally stopped, I briskly washed her hair and then her body. Stepping out of the shower, I stood her on the bath rug, dried her, carefully wrapped her long hair in a towel, and then took her to bed. I settled her under the covers, then peeled off my wet clothes before sliding naked under the sheets with her.
She turned into my body, burrowing into my chest and pressing kisses along my pecs.
“Tish, sleep, babe, you need to sleep.”
“Jameson, what I need right now is to feel you inside me, loving me.” She pushed the sheet back ‘til it pooled on my thighs then rose up, straddling my waist. “I need your body joining with mine, need to feel you stretching and filling me ‘til I don’t know where I end and you begin. You’re my heart, Jameson. If he had succeeded in plunging that knife in your chest… I would have wanted to die too. I need you to erase those memories and replace them with just us.”
My cock had come alive the minute she pushed the sheet back and sat her wet heat on my stomach. “Babe, you’re sure?”
“Love me, Jameson,” she said. Reaching down, she took my cock in her hands; I was already hard but she stroked me a few times, my hips rising to follow her rhythm. She sat up higher to make room at her entrance. I played with her mound, massaging her clit with my thumb and making her moan. “Just like that,” she breathed. She slid down over my cock, taking the first few inches into her pussy. Raising up on my elbows, I watched as she worked me into her body inch by inch. Her head was thrown back, her wet hair trailing over her shoulders, breasts bouncing as she slid up and down, her taut stomach moving in and out with her rapid breaths. She planted both arms on my lower abs for support.
I thrust up, trying to help her, and she finally sank all the way down onto my shaft. The feeling of her tight pussy squeezing my cock was killing me; I wasn’t going to last long. She needed this, she needed me, and I would do my damnedest to give her my all.
She started to move, riding me, her ass slapping against my thighs on every downward stroke. Setting my hands on her waist, I lifted her up then slammed her down, working her clit with my thumb. Leaning forward, I captured a nipple in my mouth, sucking hard and rolling it around, pinching down with my teeth. I kissed my way over to her other breast, taking it into my mouth to lave the nipple, sucking and teasing it.
She cried out, and I could feel her pussy tighten around my cock. “I’m gonna come, Jameson,” she screamed.
Sucking even harder on her nipple, I strummed her clit. She bucked, her movements becoming erratic as her pussy turned into a vise around my cock. Both her hands flexed on my biceps before she dug in, her nails making crescent indents in my flesh.
She slammed herself down on me, her climax peaking as she sat fully upright on my cock, her pussy pulsing around me.
I felt my balls draw up. “Tish, babe, I’m not wearing a condom. You’ve got to let me pull out—I can’t hold on.”
“I don’t want you to, Jameson
, the chances are slim.”
“I love you, Tish.” I held her hips, thrusting hard, feeling my cum shoot from the tip of my cock deep into her womb. I was breathing hard, holding her tight, my body clammy with sweat, the sweet scent of sex hung in the air. She leaned her head against my chest, holding me as tightly as I was holding her.
“Don’t leave me yet, Jameson.” Still connected, I rolled her to my side, where we lay for a few moments.
Lifting her head, she smiled at me. “That’s what I needed, Jameson: you and me alive, loving each other, holding each other.” She leaned down, kissing me sweetly. “Now I can sleep,” she said. Disengaging from my body, she slid down, tucking herself against my side with one leg thrown over my hip. Eventually, her breathing evened out and she slept.
Cradling her close, I thanked God for letting her come home to me safely. I stayed awake for hours just listening to her breathe. She had become my world; I couldn’t and wouldn’t live without her.
Back at the clubhouse
I sat at the head of the table, the other officers of the Devil’s Wind except for Jameson seated around the table. The door opened and Breech stepped in, Sonya plastered against his side. Immediately the smile left her face and Breech flung her away from him, wiping his arm like something dirty had been holding it.
“What the fuck is this, Breech, I though you said we could hook up? I’m not into pulling a train,” she said.
I banged my fist on the table; with how I felt, I was sure fury was written in every line of my body. Sonya started to shake, backing towards the closed door, but Danko blocked her exit.
She tried to brazen it out. “I don’t know what the hell this is about, but you have no fucking right to keep me here.”
I finally spoke. “I have a hard and fast rule about hitting women. Everyone is this room knows it. This is one time that, I swear to God, I could break that rule.”
Sonya paled but lifted her chin defiantly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Dukes,” she said.
Banging my fist against the desk again, I boomed, “Don’t you fucking lie to my face, girl! I know you kept Aden supplied with intel about Trish and Fighter. You could have gotten one or both of them killed, you fucking whore. Get your stuff and get the fuck out of my clubhouse. Forget you ever saw us or by God the next time you come across us, I won’t be so lenient. I will beat you ‘til there is nothing left but a bloody corpse.”
Sonya had begun crying, her shoulders shaking as sobs racked her body. “He made me do it, he threatened me with a knife,” she wailed.
“Is that why you sucked his dick?” Breech asked. “You make me sick,” he spat at her.
“You’re a vindictive bitch who wants what she can’t have,” Danko said. “I’m glad Fighter and Tish aren’t here; they don’t need to have a bottom feeder like you anywhere near them.”
Sonny, who had been quiet, stood up. “I was the one who brought you in. I allowed you to be a part of this club, I shared my bed with you, and it makes me sick to think about it. You disgust me. Let me be the one to escort your diseased soul off the property. Praise God for Dukes, Sonya, because I would not have been so tolerant, and the devil would have taken his due.”
Taking the shaken Sonya by the arm, he yanked her out the door of the office. The rest of us followed to watch as he pulled her across the floor, taking the bag one of the club girls handed him. The other girls gathered on the porch with the brothers. Dragging her down the steps of the clubhouse and across the lot to the gate, he shoved her out and threw the bag at her. She stumbled and the bag fell into the dirt.
She turned her tear-stained face up to the crowd on the porch. “Fuck you all,” she said. “I’m better than any fucking one of you. You can all rot in hell—I don’t need this shit.” Grabbing the bag, she walked off down the driveway to the main road. Brushing the tears from her face, she pasted on a smile, cocked a hip, and stuck out a thumb.
I turned back to the clubhouse door just as Sonny came up to me. “Thanks for taking out the garbage, Sonny, much appreciated.”
Sonny replied grimly, “I brought her in… It was my pleasure to kick her ass out.”
“Stop kicking yourself, man. You had no way of knowing how black her heart was. It’s over, let’s move on. Anyone want a beer?” I asked.
We filed into the clubhouse and up to the bar, where Murph was setting up beers for everyone.
Grabbing a bottle, Breech raised his. “To Fighter and Tish,” he said.
Fighter and Tish resounded from the group, everyone laughing and talking in small groups ‘til we finished our beer. Life at the clubhouse goes on.
Epilogue
I woke up the next morning tangled in the sheets; Jameson was gone. Sitting up, I stretched, finding my body pleasantly sore from the night before.
Picking up Jameson’s T-shirt, I pulled it on, padding into the kitchen to make some coffee.
Sitting down at the kitchen table, I tucked my legs up under the T-shirt, sipping from the cup.
I killed Aden yesterday. The thought replaying in my head was, He was going to kill Jameson with that knife, I couldn’t let him do it. I didn’t think, I just reacted.
But at the end of the day, I had still committed murder. I didn’t feel remorse for it; there was no way Aden should be alive and Jameson dead, had he stabbed him.
The tears started falling and I angrily wiped them away. “Stupid hormones,” I said out loud.
Aden was a feral animal, preying on those weaker then him; he needed to be put down. People like him should be locked up or dead, end of story. Taking his life would be with me for the rest of my life, but I wouldn’t regret it because I had Jameson, alive and well.
I could hear pipes in the distance. Jiji must be coming home. I slid off the chair, taking my mug into the bedroom as I went for a pair of shorts.
Catching sight of myself in the mirror, I saw that my hair looked like a rat’s nest and my face was still red and blotchy from all the crying yesterday. Running a brush through my hair, I pulled it up into a messy knot. Quickly, I washed my face and brushed my teeth.
I could hear the bikes in the driveway, so I walked down the hall to open the front door. Jiji was dismounting from Breech’s bike. Jameson was still sitting on his.
Jiji came running when she saw me at the door. I threw my arms around her. Rocking back and forth, we hugged, laughing and crying at the same time. “Girlfriend, don’t ever scare me like that again,” she said.
“Scare you? Damn, Jiji, I was terrified the whole time!”
“How can I ever repay you, Tish? First me, now my brother—you saved us both. We are here today because of you.”
“No, Jiji, you got that wrong. He gave me a reason to live; I love him more than my own life.”
Jameson stepped in between us, pulling me into his arms. “You mean that, Tish?”
Looking up at him, I answered, “Yes, Jameson, I do. Before all this happened, I was just going through the motions. I had Jiji and my job, but something was missing. My heart was empty, but you’ve filled it, you make me happy. I want to wake next to you every day and sleep with you every night.”
“Tish, I know I could never be happy without you beside me. I need to know you will be with me for the rest of my life. When Aden had you yesterday…” He stopped for a second. “If I lost you, life wouldn’t be worth living. I didn’t want to do this here, but it just feels right, both our best friends here with us.”
He dropped to his knee if front of me, pulling a ring out of his cut and holding it out to me. He said, “Babe, marry me.”
I was stunned, speechless for a minute. Here I was, in his T-shirt, a pair of my ratty old shorts, my hair a mess, no makeup on my face—and I couldn’t have been happier.
“Yes,” I said.” Yes, yes, oh my God, yes!” I threw mys
elf at him, hugging him hard around the neck. He moved me to sit on his knee, sliding the ring on my finger. He crushed me in his arms, kissing me hard on the lips.
Jiji was squealing in the background, jumping in to hug us both. Jameson let go of me. Breech pulled him in for a man hug, slapping him on the back.
Jiji was hugging me, then Breech pulled me in, kissing my cheek. “Congratulations, Tish, your fiancé is a good man. I’m happy to call him friend.”
“Jameson, this ring is beautiful,” Jiji said. “Where did you find it, is it an antique?”
“It belonged to Grandma Jiji. Grandpa bought it when he was overseas during WWII. You don’t remember it because she died before you were born. Mom gave it to me before I went on my last tour. She wanted me to find a nice girl when I got out and settle down.”
“Well, at least you got the nice girl part right,” Jiji teased. “Congratulations, big bro,” she said, going to him and hugging him hard. “I finally got the sister I always wanted.”
Jameson winked at me over her head. “Yeah, I guess that’s why I asked her, Jiji.”
She punched him in the shoulder. “Dude!” she said.
I laughed at both of them. “It’s a beautiful ring,” I said, admiring the sparkling diamond. “I will wear it proudly in honor of your grandmother. Let’s go inside, have some coffee,” I said, turning to open the door.
Breech hustled Jiji down the steps. “Can’t, Jiji has to get to Sandra’s for an early surgery. We can catch up with you later at the clubhouse.” Jiji was about to say something, but Breech stopped her by kissing her then hauling her over to his bike. “Say bye-bye,” he said to Jiji.
Looking a little dazed, she wagged her fingers at us then got on the bike with Breech, who winked at Jameson.
Jameson took me into his arms. I looked down at the ring, then up at him when he spoke.
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