Outlaw Virtue (Rough Jesters MC Book 7)

by Brook Wilder

  Finally.

  But I couldn’t rid myself of the heavy weight on my chest until Leigh was found.

  My cell rang and I answered it. “Where is she?”

  “There’s a truck on highway thirty-five,” Chains barked out. “Still a ways from the border.”

  “Thanks,” I said, taking off toward Mac’s bike. “I’m going after Leigh.”

  “I’ll just hang out here with the dead bodies,” Seth remarked as I gunned the engine and tore down the road. Highway thirty-five was only about fifteen miles from our location, so I caught up in no time. After dodging some slow cars in the lane, I caught sight of the truck ambling along the road, recognizing the drone positioned high above.

  This had to be it.

  My heart was pumping in my chest as I came up behind the truck, pulling my gun out of my waistband as I did. I had to take this truck cautiously, especially if Leigh was in the back. One wrong move and I could send the truck careening out of control.

  That could not happen.

  Gunning the bike, I tried to pull alongside the truck, swerving as a gun appeared out of the window and bullets whizzed by me. Slowing the bike, I knew I had found the truck. Leigh was back there, waiting for me to save her.

  And dammit, I was going to save her.

  Falling back behind the truck, I took aim at the back tire, firing a bullet into the rubber. If I was careful, I could take it out with flat tires.

  Another bullet took the other out and the truck seemed to drop a few inches, the speed slowing way down.

  This was good.

  Coming alongside the driver’s side, I fired a bullet into the lower part of the door. Not a kill shot by any means, but enough to have him slow down.

  He returned fire, bullets striking the bike in a shower of sparks, but it was enough to make the truck shift dangerously sideways.

  Shit.

  The driver took a hard right to correct and slid to a stop on the shoulder, causing me to drop the gears and pull the bike to a stop behind it. With my gun in my hand, I ran to the driver’s side and fired two shots into the driver before he could do the same with me, taking a moment to collect my breath.

  It was over with.

  There were sirens in the distance as I ran to the back and yanked up the door, my knees weakening as Leigh’s tear-stained face peered back at me. “Jonathan!” she sobbed.

  I reached up and helped her down, crushing her against me. “My God,” I said, breathing in her scent. “Are you okay?”

  She buried her face in my shoulder. “I’m fine. I’m not hurt. I heard the shots and knew you were here.”

  She was fine; shaken, but fine. I pressed my face into her hair, tears coming to my eyes as I thought about how close I had come to losing her. “I’m so fucking sorry. This is all my fault.”

  Leigh pulled back as the sirens drew closer still, her face streaked with dirt and oil. “It’s not your fault. I should never have pushed you away. I’m sorry, Jonathan.”

  She could try to blame it on herself, but the blame lay solely with me and me alone. Mac was my nightmare, not hers. “It’s over, all right?” I told her, looking into her eyes. “It’s all over with.”

  Leigh gave me a small smile and I felt the weight finally lift from my shoulders. Leigh was fine. Mac was dead, and I would be cleared of her kidnapping.

  “Jonathan.”

  Turning, I kept one arm around Leigh’s waist as I turned to face Alisha, her expression dousing my sudden happiness. “Alisha.”

  She nodded toward the truck. “You killed the driver.”

  Leigh’s sharp intake brought me back to reality. I had killed the driver. “Yeah, he’s dead.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice soft. “But I am going to have to take you in.”

  “What?” Leigh shot back. “No! He saved my life. I was being taken to Mexico!”

  “I’m taking you with me,” Alisha answered, reaching for her handcuffs. “And once we sort all this out, Ms. Greene, we will see what needs to happen next. Please, don’t make this any harder than it already is.”

  “No!” Leigh cried out as Alisha started toward me. I clutched Leigh tighter, trying to let her know that it was going to be okay. “She’s just doing her job,” I said, feeling lightheaded. “She’s got to.” Alisha didn’t have a choice. I knew it and I wasn’t holding it against her.

  Alisha stopped, dawning horror showing on her expression as she pointed to my torso. “Are you shot?”

  I looked down, seeing the blood starting to spread from my side, the dark color visible on the gray shirt. “Well, hell. I am.” I hadn’t even felt it, the adrenaline so high that the bullet catching my body hadn’t even registered with me until she had pointed it out. Now I could feel the burn along my skin, the path the bullet had taken on my side.

  “Jonathan!” Leigh gasped, her hands clutching at me as my knees buckled. I was vaguely aware of her screams as I fell to the ground, the impact jarring my body before all went black.

  Chapter 24

  Leigh

  The moment Jonathan went down, my world stopped. I scrambled to his side, dropping to my knees as I attempted to find his pulse.

  Alisha’s fingers pushed mine aside and she let out a breath. “He’s still got a pulse.”

  Thank God.

  She reached for her radio, calling for an ambulance as I placed my hands to his side, holding them there to stanch the flow of blood. Jonathan was shot. He couldn’t be shot. He had just rescued me, made everything all better.

  I needed him so much.

  “Ambulance is on its way,” Alisha stated, pressing her hand against mine. “Stupid fool! He should have waited.”

  “Jonathan doesn’t like to wait,” I forced out, tears pricking my eyelids. This was my entire world before me, and someone was trying to take him away.

  I wouldn’t let them. Our child needed him. I needed him. This world needed more of the kind, gentle biker that had crashed into my world.

  “I’m sorry,” Alisha said in a quiet voice. “He wanted to find you so badly. I should never have let him take Nathan out of that jail.”

  “Nathan?” I asked, surprised. “What does this have to do with Nathan?”

  She looked at me, sadness in her eyes. “Nathan is the one that got you kidnapped by Jonathan’s rival so that he could rescue you. He’s, well—he’s dead.”

  Nathan. All the blood drained out of my head as I thought about the man who had shared a classroom hall with me for years. He had caused all of this? “Why?”

  “He was in love with you,” Alisha said, a frown on her face as she looked at Jonathan. “He wanted Jonathan to go down for your kidnapping.”

  Oh my God. It was truly my fault!

  I reached out with my free hand, smoothing Jonathan’s hair from his head, scared now that his skin was pale. “I’m so sorry,” I choked out, fresh tears spilling from my eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

  The paramedics reached us, and it took all I had to pull my hands away from his side, the blood on my hands nearly making me throw up. That was Jonathan’s blood, blood he needed.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Alisha said, her arm around my shoulders. “You need to get checked out too, Ms. Greene.”

  “Leigh,” I answered. “And I want to go with him. Please, don’t make me stay behind.”

  She looked at me. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Come on, let’s get you in the ambulance.”

  The next minutes were a flurry of activity. As the other paramedic checked me out quickly, I watched as they worked on Jonathan, relieved when they pressed gauze to his side and loaded him into the ambulance. His vitals, while low, were still okay. I scooted over to his side as they shut the doors, picking up his hand and wrapping mine around it. “You have to pull through, my love,” I whispered, squeezing it tight. “This baby needs you. I need you.”

  ***

  Once we got to the hospital, I was forced to separate from Jonathan while they wheeled him to the oper
ating room. The kind nurse took me to the exam room and the doctor checked me out, wrapping my cut hand in a bandage and giving me a change of clothes, stating that everything looked okay.

  I stepped out of the exam room on my own, surprised to see Kristina waiting for me. “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I’m here for you,” she answered, pushing off the wall she had been leaning against. “How are you, Leigh? Can I get you anything?”

  I shook my head. The doctor wanted me to eat, but I was far too nervous to do so, worried about Jonathan. Once I knew he was going to be okay, then I would force something in my stomach but not before. “How is he?”

  “They haven’t said,” she said with a heavy sigh. “It’s our fault. We should have given him the help he needed.”

  I frowned. It seemed everyone was blaming themselves for Jonathan’s injury.

  “You would be glad to know that he’s leaving the club,” she said as we walked down the hall toward the waiting room. “He told Chains that before he hit him.”

  “Jonathan hit Rex?” I asked, shocked.

  “For you,” she said with a timid smile. “That man is in love with you, Leigh, and I will admit, I wasn’t happy when I found out.” She then reached over and patted my stomach. “Are you happy?”

  “Very much so,” I answered. “Jonathan has brought me back to life.”

  She rubbed my stomach with her hand before dropping it. “Well then, I’m glad. I just—I thought that he had taken advantage of you.”

  I laughed, the rusty sound catching me off guard. “Taken advantage? I was a willing participant, trust me.”

  The biker grinned. “That’s good to know. Come on. We are all waiting in here.”

  I entered the waiting room, recognizing some of the faces that were milling about the room. All were bikers and I felt mixed emotions about being here. None of them knew the Jonathan that was lying on that operating table. They knew the rough biker that had killed people, not the one who had caressed my stomach and built a crib for our child.

  But in the same breath, I was glad to see that he was getting this amount of support, given what Kristina had told me.

  He was getting out of the club. I couldn’t believe it. What was his reasoning? Was it me? Was it the baby? I wanted him to be happy and if he was happy with the club, then we would make it work however we needed to. I would never want to take away anything that made him happy.

  “Ms. Greene,” Alisha said, hurrying toward me. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I said. “And it’s Leigh. Thank you for what you did, for letting me come with him.”

  “Of course,” she answered, clearly taken aback by my appreciation. “Jonathan would want you to be with him. The charges will be dropped against him. It’s clear everything was in self-defense and while he will have to come make a statement at some point, there won’t be any legal implications.”

  I breathed in a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

  “Besides,” she continued, glancing at my stomach. “You are going to need him to take care of that baby. I can’t imagine Jonathan holding a kid in his arms.”

  “He can’t imagine it either,” I said, managing a smile.

  She pulled me into a quick hug. “You’re good for him, Leigh. Take care of him.”

  I returned her hug. “Thank you. He’s good for me, too.”

  The door opened suddenly, and we all turned to see the surgeon walk in, not even fazed by the number of people in the waiting room.

  Something told me that he was quite used to it. “Are you all here for Jonathan?”

  I stepped forward. “Yes, we are. How is he?”

  “He’s fine,” he said, giving me a smile. “The bullet went straight through his side, missing all his major organs. The blood was because it nicked a blood vessel. I’ve sewn him up and he’s in recovery.”

  My knees weakened and I struggled to stay on my feet. “Can I see him?”

  “Of course,” the surgeon said. “I can take you to him now if you would like.”

  “Go ahead,” Kristina said, giving me a nod. “We will wait.”

  I gave them all a smile before I followed the surgeon out of the waiting room and down a long hall. “Have you been checked out?” he asked.

  “I’m fine,” I said as we entered a pair of doors. “And I will be a lot better once I see Jonathan.”

  The surgeon chuckled. “I learned long ago not to mess with a pregnant woman. Just make sure you take care of yourself too. He’s gonna be just fine.”

  “Thank you, doctor,” I said as he pulled a curtain aside. My heart lurched in my chest as I saw Jonathan lying there on the bed, his eyes closed, his skin pale.

  “We are giving him some blood,” he said, gesturing to the blood hanging on the pole beside his bed. “but other than that, he’s groggy. Just don’t have him talk a lot. He needs to conserve his strength.”

  I gave him a nod and walked to the side of the bed. It was Jonathan. His breathing was normal, his heartbeat a steady rhythm on the monitor.

  He was going to be fine.

  Gathering his hand in mine, I held it up to my lips, pressing them to his cool skin. His eyes fluttered open and I saw a brief smile on his handsome face. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” I managed. “How do you feel?”

  “Like shit,” he whispered, squeezing my hand lightly. “How’s the baby?”

  “Just fine,” I said, a tear escaping down my cheek. Leave it to Jonathan to think of our child first. “Everything’s fine. Alisha said you are off the hook.”

  He closed his eyes. “Good. I don’t like jail.”

  I didn’t even want to know how many times he had been in jail to come to that conclusion.

  So, I just held his hand, watching the monitors as Jonathan slumbered on. There would be plenty of time for talking later.

  Chapter 25

  Two Tone

  I winced as I pulled up from the chair, walking toward the door like a damn old man. It had been a week since I had been home, a week since I had killed Mac and ended the pursuit once and for all.

  It had also been a week of bliss. Leigh curled up in my bed night after night, her hand on my chest as if she was scared I was gonna quit breathing.

  I held onto her like my life depended on it. I had lost her once; I didn’t plan on losing her again.

  Throwing the locks, I opened the door, noting Chains standing on my doorstep. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” he said. “Can I come in?”

  I opened the door wider. “Sure. Shut the door behind you.”

  “You look like an old man,” he stated as I hobbled back to the chair, falling into it with a sigh.

  “I feel like an old man,” I answered, the pull on my side making me grimace. “You would think just getting shot through and through would heal quickly.”

  Chains looked around before settling on the couch. “Where is Leigh?”

  I grinned. “She’s next door, packing a few things.” I hadn’t wanted her to leave, but she had insisted, citing that she didn’t have anything else to wear.

  Not that I cared. I liked her naked in my bed.

  “Listen,” Chains said, rubbing a hand over his face. “I want to apologize to you.”

  I quirked a brow. Chains never apologized for shit. “For what?”

  “For not helping out,” he said, leaning back on the couch. “You needed me, and I shut you down. It wasn’t right.”

  Yeah, to say it wasn’t right was an understatement. “I put my life on the line for the club,” I answered. “More times than I care to admit. I apologized for deserting the club, for following Mac, and the one time I needed you, you shut me down.”

  Chains had the grace to look apologetic. “Listen. I wasn’t in a good frame of mind and I still am struggling. So what if Mac is dead? Now I got the cops sniffing around the club again, casually checking in and freaking everyone out. It fucking sucks.”

  “I’m not gonna apologize for calling A
lisha,” I said darkly. “You gave me no other choice.”

  “I know I didn’t. I’m not here to blame you for any of what’s going on, but I am here to warn you that there might be implications for bringing her in. I know you said you wanted out, but in everyone else’s eyes, just like Chuckler, you’re still a Jester.”

  I leaned back, knowing exactly what he was talking about. I could call off being in the club all day long, but to the cops, the feds, to the community, I would always be a Jester. It scared the shit out of me when I thought about our baby being born, or how I would have to protect my family more than just the average man.