We reached the end of the trail and Jase brought Boston to a gentle halt, causing Hank to follow suit. I could see the barn off in the distance, and between us was a meadow covered with small yellow flowers, with a narrow dirt path that led all the way back to the ranch.
“Let’s dismount here and walk ’em back the rest of the way. I want to show you something special,” Jase said.
He threw his leg over Boston and slid off like something out of an old western. Damn, he was sexy. I knew that after all this riding, and riding I was gonna be sore as hell in the morning, but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep my hands off him regardless.
“Here, let me help you down,” he said, taking a hold of Hank’s reins, and instructing me on how to properly dismount without breaking my neck.
“Great job,” he said, smiling. “See, you’re a natural.”
“I was scared out of my mind, but that was so much fun!” I said, still slightly out of breath.
At that moment I had a realization; I was vulnerable with Jase, and found it easy to admit to him when I felt scared, which was rare for me. Minus, on the other hand, made me feel safe, and therefore adventurous. Both sides of his personality may prove to come in handy.
“C’mon, let’s cut over this way,” he said, leading us off the path, to a clearing near the back side of the stables. We tied the horses to a nearby hitching post, and walked to a picnic table located near a large uprooted tree.
“Why are we stopping here?” I asked, and we sat down.
“First off, I wanted to show you the baby elephant tree, and I thought it’d be a nice place for us to sit and talk.”
“Baby elephant tree?”
“Yeah, check it out.” He pointed to the root end of the tree, which was unearthed, and on display for all to see. “See how the gnarled roots look like a baby elephant, sitting down, with it’s trunk in the air?”
Without needing to squint or use my imagination, I instantly saw the seated figure of the baby elephant, as if it was skillfully carved from the tree trunk. “Oh! I totally see it. It’s so cute.”
“Duke’s grandfather planted this tree about 120 years ago, back when this was all farmland. Apparently, the soil wasn’t very good for growing and sustaining crops, so when he died, and his father took it over, he turned it into a ranch and raised cattle. Within a few years, this place was one of the most profitable family owned cattle ranches in the state.”
“Where are all the cows now?” I asked.
“As you may imagine, Duke was sort of the black sheep of the family. His father was a real hard-ass, who expected his only son to follow in his footsteps. But Duke was far more interested in riding bikes than ropin’ steer, so when his father died, so did the cattle business. Duke never had any intention of being a cattle baron, and sold off the remaining heads and most of the equipment days after his father’s funeral. He probably would have sold the whole ranch, if not for the horses; he’s always had a soft spot for horses.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I can sort of see why,” I said, looking over at Hank and Boston. “I just can’t imagine walking away from such a successful business.”
“Can’t you?” Jase asked. “Isn’t that exactly what you’re thinking of doing? Leaving Mann and going into business with the Saints?”
“Not really. Mann Industries isn’t my company, and my position there isn’t what I want to be doing two years from now. With the money Cutter is offering me to work with the club, I could start a business of my own, and be running my own empire in five years.”
“So, you have thought about the money?” he asked smirking.
“It’s a million dollars, Jase. Of course I have,” I exclaimed.
“We never really talked about it, and I didn’t really want to get into it while we were at the hotel.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Let’s just say I thought it wise to avoid discussing payment for services rendered with a woman, while having sex in a hotel room.”
“You are smarter than you look.” I smiled.
“Cutter would disagree with you.” He chuckled. “It’s actually one of the reasons he wants us together on this.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Jase took my hands. “The baby elephant tree fell over ten years ago. Its environment couldn’t give it what it needed to grow and flourish, so when the strong Savannah winds came, down it went. It stood in one spot for over a hundred years, and then one day, it didn’t. Normally you’d cut a tree like that up for anything from firewood to furniture.”
“Why hasn’t Duke done that?”
“It’s too special. Duke’s grandfather planted this tree for his grandmother, his father proposed to his mother underneath it, and he proposed to Pearl—”
“Jesus, Minus,” I said, leaping to my feet. “If you’re—”
He laughed, taking my hands, and sitting me back down. “No, no, I’m not proposing. That’s not what I’m saying.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying Cutter is right; we are great together. And, I’m saying your brother is right, we’re dangerous together. Either way, we have something special and undeniable between us. Cricket, I love you. I think I always have, and I know I always will. I don’t know if you feel the same, but I told you I would be honest with you, so there it is. I love you, and I want you to be a part of my future.”
My breath left my body as he leaned in to kiss me. A flood of warmth washed over me, and I felt more connected to him than I ever had to anyone before.
“I love you, too,” I said, and he held me tighter as he deepened his kiss.
“Before you say anything more, know that I’m going to accept Cutter’s offer. I’m going to be the next president of the Burning Saints, and I’m going to run the club my way. I want you by my side, but I understand if you—”
I stopped his lips from moving with my own. I kissed him with more passion than I’d ever felt in my life. At that moment, I loved Jase “Minus” Vincent freely, and without abandon or restriction. I wanted all of him, to be part of every facet of his life. If he was going to lead a motorcycle club into a new era, I wanted to do it with him, as partners.
“I’m in. Now, less talking and more kissing, you idiot.”
* * *
Minus
I could have sat there kissing her forever. In fact, I’d gladly have died right there on the spot if that moment, frozen in time, was to be my eternal reward. But I knew I had a long way to go before I’d earned my ticket out of hell, let alone a pass to heaven. Besides, I had a pressing matter I needed to discuss with Cricket.
“Hey, I’ve got something I want to give you,” I said, producing a small black box.
“I swear to God Minus...,” she began to protest.
“Would you relax?” I said, handing it to her. “It’s not an engagement ring.”
“What is it?” she asked nervously.
“Just open it, you lunatic,” I ground out, and Boston whinnied in reply. “See, even he wants you to open it.”
Cricket finally flipped the lid open, and screwed up her face. “What the heck is this little thing?”
“That is a GPS tracker. Gunnach Technologies makes them. They are top of the line, super-small, undetectable to all known bug sweepers, and can be tracked via a phone app. I want you to have this on you at all times, so I always know where you are. After what happened with Warthog, I’m not taking any chances. I know it’s kind of creepy, but I swear I’ll only track you in case of emergencies, all right?”
“I trust you,” Cricket said.
“Good, because now I am gonna pull out a ring,” I said, and Cricket started to stiffen once again. At some point, I was going to need to know if it was the thought of marriage that made her react like a cat at bath time, or if it was the thought of marrying me specifically. “Don’t worry, it’s for the tracker. It’s an antique poison ring, and I’m going to put the tracker inside,” I sa
id, sliding the silver ring on her delicate finger.
“It’s beautiful,” Cricket said. “Where did you get this?”
“You can thank Pearl. I asked her if she had any jewelry that could be used to hide something small, and she said this looked like something that should belong to you.”
“I’m going to start crying. It’s gorgeous, and I’ll be happy to wear it,” she said.
“Good, because I want you to leave this on whenever humanly possible. If you lose it, or it gets stolen, let me know right away, and I’ll replace it with the backup unit.”
“I understand,” she said.
“Good, let’s get the horses back, so we can get ready for dinner. Your presence has likely given Pearl an excuse to cook something special.”
“I take it that’s good news?” Cricket asked.
“No, that is very good news,” I replied and pulled her close. “Hey.”
Cricket smiled up at me. “Hey.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Just checkin’.”
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me gently. “Can’t wait to get you naked later.”
“We’ll make dinner quick.”
She laughed, and we headed back to the barn.
Minus
After a late night of strategy planning with generals Duke, Pearl, and Cricket, which included a meal fit for royalty and emptying a few bottles, Cricket and I crashed in one of the bunk rooms. This wasn’t just any room, however. This was the room I stayed in when I first got here. Back when my heart was still an open wound, and I’d cry like a little kid some nights. Tonight, Cricket was in my arms, and I was going to make sure she stayed there, no matter what.
“Jase?” Cricket asked, in a sleepy voice.
“Yeah, baby, what is it?” I whispered.
“Where did you end up putting Cutter’s ledger?”
“Baby elephant,” I said, with a yawn.
“The tree?”
“No, it’s safe, don’t worry. I’ll tell you all about it in the morning,” I said, and passed out.
* * *
Cricket
At least one of us could sleep. After the fourth pillow fluff and side roll, I gave up and got out of bed. I was jetlagged, overheated from the wine, and having a hard time getting the sheep to slow down long enough for me to count them.
After a failed attempt at finding my pants in the dark, I decided the night was warm enough to go out in the sweat shorts I’d worn to bed, so I slipped on my shoes, and opened the sliding door that lead outside. The cool night air felt amazing against my burning skin, and I followed a path that lead all the way to the front entrance of the house, then up the long driveway toward the main road.
Large open fields flanked each side of the road, and the wind played a tranquil song through the tall grass reeds. Minus was right, this place was magical. I could see what spending time here with Duke and Pearl and the horses had done for him. His soul seemed at rest here. And even amidst all the club drama he was going though, I’m not sure I’d ever seen him as relaxed as I did at dinner tonight. Even as he and Duke sat and strategized, afterwards, he had a stillness about him. I could see the leader that Cutter and Duke saw coming to the surface, with a quiet intensity.
He was right, Jase was going away, and Minus was taking control. It was exciting to see... and scary at the same time. It was also sexy as hell. I’m not sure that I ever would have classified myself as someone who was attracted to a man in power, but something about Minus made me want to let him take charge. I began to heat up again when my thoughts turned to him, and my exposed thighs burned against the night air as I continued my walk.
My thoughts were broken when headlights appeared on the road, off in the distance.
“Goddamned pothead poachers,” I muttered in my best Duke voice.
I hid out of sight, in the tall grass, as the oncoming vehicle continued its approach. Just before the car reached my hiding spot, the driver cut the headlights, but continued driving. I could hear the sound of tires on the dirt road, as the vehicle slowed and eventually stopped approximately seventy-five yards away from the house. In the moonlight, I could barely make out the silhouette of the car parked along the fence line.
After a few moments, the driver quietly got out of the car and began briskly walking up the road, toward the house. If this was a pot grower, he was after more than a patch of out-of-the-way soil. Staying low, I carefully made my way to the parked car and peeked through the rear window. The car was empty, and I breathed a sigh of relief, having now realized I was completely unprepared should it have been filled with bad guys with machetes. In fact, I didn’t even have pants on, I was out here, stalking God knows who, in the middle of the night, unarmed in nothing but short shorts, a t-shirt and sneakers.
Oh, and the ring that Minus gave you. You mustn’t forget that.
That flippant thought sparked an idea, and I felt along the side of the ring and pressed the tiny lock release. I removed the nano-tracker from the ring and wedged it between two flexible pieces of the car’s plastic bumper. I didn’t know who this guy was, but at least Minus would be able track him later if he got away tonight.
I made my way back down the road, being careful to stay hidden, and trying not to think about every scary movie I’d ever seen as a teenager. You know, the one where the stupid half-naked blonde is walking alone in the woods, while a shadowy figure lurks about.
Cricket, you are just lousy with smart choices lately, aren’t you?
I followed the path back to Minus’s room, but when I got there, he was gone. The slider was wide open, and all his stuff was there, but there was no trace of Minus.
I quietly opened the bedroom door and peeked into the hallway. There was no trace of him there, or in the bathroom.
“Minus,” I called out quietly, but got no response.
I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and turned on the flashlight. I checked the top drawer for Minus’ gun, which he had placed there before bed. It was right where he’d left it and the safety was on. If he’d heard a noise and gone to investigate, he obviously didn’t feel the need to take his gun. Maybe, he woke up and found me gone and went outside to look for me. Either way, I didn’t want to be alone with someone creeping around outside.
Just then, I was startled by a loud thump coming from somewhere inside the house. I grabbed the gun and my cell phone, and quietly walked down the hall to the great room to continue my search.
“Minus,” I called out again, a little louder this time. I’d almost reached the kitchen when I heard another muffled thump. This time, I could hear that it had come from the master bedroom, so I quietly made my way in that direction, hoping that I would find Minus or Duke and not a homicidal maniac. Once I reached Duke and Pearl’s room, I saw that it was ajar. Pointing the gun with my right hand, and holding the phone light with my left, I slowly nudged the door open. Moonlight poured through the room’s windows, bathing it in cool blue light.
Pearl was sleeping soundly on a giant four-poster bed. As I continued to approach, I could see that the spot next to her, which I assumed was reserved for Duke, was empty. My heart skipped a beat as I heard another thump, and I looked to see Duke, lying on the floor, struggling to move.
“Oh, my God, Duke!” I exclaimed and rushed over to him. “Pearl, wake up! I think Duke’s having a heart attack!” I cried out, but she didn’t stir.
“Shhhot,” Duke said, barely able to speak.
“You’ve been shot?” I asked as I examined him for a bullet wound.
“Pearl,” he whispered as he tried to extend his hand out to her.
“Where were you hit, Duke?”
He shook his head, while fighting to keep his eyes open. “Pearl,” he said one final time, before his head hit the carpet with one last thud. His breathing was shallow, but at least he was breathing.
I tried to wake Pearl again, this time gently shaking her shoulders. “Pearl, wake up swee
tie. Wake up, it’s Cricket.” Her head fell to the side and I could see a raised red circle forming on her neck, with what appeared to be a needle mark.
Duke wasn’t trying to tell me he’d been shot with a gun, but that he and Pearl had been injected with something.
I dialed 911.
“911, what’s your emergency,” the operator answered.
“I’m at the Double H ranch, off Highway 95 and the owners have been injected with something... I... I’m not sure what.”
“They injected something, but you’re not sure what?” the operator asked. “Are they drug users?”
“What? No, I think someone broke into the house while they were sleeping and injected them with something, a sedative, or poison... I don’t know!”
“Ma’am, did you say, someone has broken into the house?”
“Yes, I think so. I don’t know if he’s still here, or where my... my... boyfriend is.”
Oh my God, where is Minus?
“Okay, ma’am. I need to you get someplace safe and stay put. Fire, EMT, and police are all on their way. I’m gonna stay on the line with you until they get there okay?”
“Okay.”
Just then, a voice sang out from somewhere inside the house, “Christiiiiiinaaaa.”
* * *
Minus
I awoke in the middle of the night and immediately noticed Cricket was not in bed with me. What I did not notice right away, was the man that was in the room with me. I felt a quick pinch in my neck and recognized it as the stick of a hypodermic needle. A wave of heat washed over me, and I was immediately rendered unable to move. I tried to fight back, but it was useless.
“Whathafuck didju putinmeeh?” I slurred, barely able to speak.
“It’s a special cocktail that I’ve designed myself. A mixture of tranquilizers, anti-psychotics, and mood stabilizers,” he said, now standing over me. “I have a few questions for you, and this will help ensure your cooperation. I’ve given you just enough to keep you immobile, but still able to talk to me”
As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could now see that this was the same pock-marked creep from the video feed, that worked over Warthog.
Minus (Burning Saints MC, #1) Page 16