Jester

by Lilly Atlas

  He didn’t buy Snake’s story one bit. Did Snake come here just to fuck with him about Emily?

  He turned around and saw that Emily remained in the same spot on the steps, just shy of the landing. Suddenly full of burning rage, Jester stormed toward the steps, taking them two at a time until he reached her.

  Emily was frozen, she couldn’t have moved from her spot on the steps if her life depended on it. Snake’s presence brought a terror so strong her muscles seized and blood pounded in her ears so hard she couldn’t make out a word the men were saying.

  She wanted to do as Jester commanded and run to the safety of the apartment, but her feet wouldn’t respond.

  Why was Snake here? Had he come to see her, not expecting her relationship with Jester? She hadn’t breathed a word of it to him, remaining vague in all her communication, mostly via text message. Maybe he’d decided he wasn’t going to wait two weeks. Perhaps her time was up and he’d intended to…to what? She didn’t even want to entertain the possibilities. Worse was the fear that he’d tell Jester everything.

  Emily looked on astonished when, after a quick exchange, Snake returned to his motorcycle. Breathing out the air she’d trapped in her lungs, her muscles relaxed a fraction, until she took in the look on Jester’s face. Six-foot-five inches of furious male stormed up the stairs toward her.

  With her heart in her throat, and her stomach about to revolt, Emily forced herself to stand her ground. When Jester reached her, he grabbed her under her right arm and propelled her into her apartment. His grip was rough and uncomfortable, but he wasn’t actually hurting her.

  After he propelled her through the door, he kicked it closed with excessive force, the loud slam echoed through the sparse apartment. Emily jumped at the noise, and yelped when he turned her, and backed her forcibly against the door. He caged her in with an arm on each side of her head. Darkened with fury, his eyes bore into hers.

  Emily held his gaze, and swallowed back her alarm, praying he wasn’t about to tell her he knew about Johnny. She started to shake, and no amount of contracting her muscles could stop the trembling.

  Jester leaned down, his face inches from hers, dwarfing her where she rested against the wall. He was purposefully using his size to intimidate her.

  When he spoke, his voice was low, menacing, and left no doubt as to the degree of his anger. “Don’t you ever fucking disobey me like that again, Emily. Is that clear?”

  Part of her wanted to scoff at his use of the word disobey, like she was a petulant child who didn’t listen to daddy. “Y-yes.” Now didn’t seem an intelligent time to challenge him.

  This was the intensity she’d sensed was always lurking under Jester’s joking façade. She’d glimpsed it when he fought with Colt at the barbeque. Now that she was on the receiving end, she realized just how formidable the man really was, and it scared her to death. If this was his reaction when she didn’t jump at his command to move away from Snake, the reaction to her betrayal would be unimaginable.

  “He knows your fucking name, Emily. Somehow he knows your name, and now you’re on his radar. That is not something you want. He is a ruthless sadist.” With a roar of frustration Jester slapped his hand against the wall next to Emily’s head, a loud crack that reverberated through the quiet evening. Emily’s entire body jolted and her hand flew up, pressing against her racing heart.

  The knowledge of exactly how dangerous Snake could be was burned into her soul in the form of images of her brother’s beaten face. Jester didn’t need to spell it out for her. But she couldn’t share that with Jester.

  Snake had come to check on her progress. Maybe to exert a little extra pressure, she was sure of it. And now he’d dropped hints to Jester, infuriating him and creating a link in Jester’s mind between Snake and herself. Each time she thought this nightmare couldn’t get any worse, it did.

  The fear of Snake combined with the guilt over angering Jester, the fear over Jester’s eventual reaction to her betrayal, and the ever present fear for Johnny slammed into her all at once. Suddenly, it was too much to bear.

  A harsh sob escaped from deep inside her, and she sagged against Jester’s chest, hot tears pouring from her eyes. Once it started, she couldn’t stop it, and she clung to him for many minutes as she sobbed out her fears.

  Some of the starch leeched out of Jester’s stance at her obvious distress. He wrapped his strong arms around her back and engulfed her with his massive body.

  The masculine scent of leather, smoke, and Jester surrounded her as he held her close. She felt safe and protected in his arms, and allowed herself that comfort for a few seconds.

  “Shit. I’m sorry, Em. I didn’t mean to scare you. The idea of him touching you, fuck, the idea of him even thinking about you makes me absolutely insane. It’s my fault. I should have been more careful about you being seen with me. The Grimm Brothers are our enemies and there’s a nasty history between us. He’s trying to fuck with me by throwing your name around. We won’t have to worry about him for much longer though.”

  Emily froze, her breath coming in hitches as her tears ebbed. It was the most he’d ever said about anything related to club business, and he offered her an opening on a silver platter.

  “What do you mean? Why won’t we have to worry about him?”

  “Shit,” he said and rubbed a hand over his face. “You’ve got my head all fucked up, woman. Forget I said anything. Nothing you need to be concerned about.”

  She pressed on, no way could she let this drop so easily. “Is something happening? Are you in danger?” She didn’t have to work to instill any panic into her voice, it was just there.

  He hugged her close again. “Babe, I can’t give you details about club business. I’ve told you that.”

  She banged her forehead against his chest. “I know, but—”

  “But nothing, Emily.” He sighed. “Look, I know you can keep your mouth shut, it’s not that.”

  Guilt hit her sharp and fast, but she shook it off, hanging on every word he spoke.

  “Knowing shit about the club can get you killed. All I’m going to say is that we are taking care of our problem with the Grimms. I shouldn’t even tell you that much, but I feel like I owe you that after what happened tonight, so you won’t be afraid all the time.”

  She wanted to ease his conscience, tell him that Snake’s visit had nothing to do with him, and everything to do with her. But she couldn’t. Not yet. Not until she was sure her brother wouldn’t die.

  If she’d known what she now knew of Jester when she first met him, she would have spilled her guts that first night. Now, it was too late. She was in too deep. The lies and betrayal were a bottomless pit, sucking her further into the murky depths with every passing second.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t go back into the apartment.”

  Jester pulled back, and peered down at her. One large hand cradled her face, and his thumb swept across her cheek, wiping an errant tear away. “I’m not an asshole, babe. I don’t need to order you around or have you bend to my will all day long. But if we are ever in a situation like that, and I tell you to do something, I need to know you’ll listen. If you’re going to be with me, this needs to be agreed on now. I’d give anything to tell you there will never be another incident like that, but the truth is I have enemies, babe. The club has enemies. I will always do everything in my power to shield you, but sometimes shit happens.”

  Guilt, and hatred for Snake twisted her insides. “I understand, truly I do. I promise if we’re ever in a situation like that again I’ll do exactly what you say.” It was a promise she’d never get the chance to keep. She’d be gone in a few days, but the statement seemed to ease his worry.

  Jester leaned in, laying a whisper of a kiss on Emily’s lips, a gesture meant to comfort rather than arouse. When he ended the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers, and emitted a deep sigh. “It was four to one, Em. If something happened to me you’d have been a sitting duck up there on the stairs in that dress t
hat just screams, ‘rip these straps off and suck my tits.’”

  Normally she would have laughed at his comment, but her mind was bogged down with worry for Johnny. Not knowing what Snake had wanted to tell her made her twitchy.

  “Come on, trouble, it’s safe out there now, and as much as I’d rather stay so I can show you exactly what that dress is doing to me, we have to get over to the clubhouse.”

  Emily trailed behind Jester as he exited her apartment. He was hyper alert and consistently scanning his surroundings for danger.

  Time was ticking away, and Snake was getting more impatient. She had to get into that meeting room tonight. There just wasn’t any other option at this point.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jester leaned back in his chair as one by one the patched members filed into the meeting room. Normally the guys would banter, rib each other and generally be loud and rowdy until Shiv barked at them to shut up and called the meeting to order. Tonight, however, the mood was somber, everyone aware they were there to finalize the details for a takedown that had the potential to result in injuries or worse.

  Bubbling under the serious mood was a ripple of anticipation as well. The Grimm Brothers had been a thorn in the No Prisoners’ side for more than a year now and a part of each member was looking forward to the confrontation.

  Now, with the memory of the way Snake leered at Emily fresh in his mind, Jester was more determined than ever to take the man out.

  Emily’s reaction at the apartment had startled him. He’d expected some fear and maybe a negative reaction to his own anger, but her breaking down in heaving sobs seemed over the top. Her terror was so intense it was almost palpable. Jester made a mental note to pry for answers from her once and for all, the moment this business with the Grimms was over. It was time to find out what in her life had her afraid.

  Once everyone’s attention was on him, Shiv addressed the men. “Jester’s going to walk us through the plan thus far. Keep your traps shut until he’s done. Then you can let us know if you see any holes.” He turned to Jester and nodded for him to begin.

  The map they’d been using to draw out their plans lay unrolled on the table. “Okay, we know from our source in Mexico that the Grimms are set to meet with the Fuentes Cartel at noon on Friday just beyond the mountain pass, here.” He tapped a spot on the map just beyond where the highway traversed the mountain.

  “Originally, we planned to take the Grimms before they got to the meeting spot. But our guy, who is with the Caballeros de Sangre MC down in Mexico, is planning to hit the Fuentes Cartel for the drugs before they even cross the border. Which means no one will be coming to meet ol’ Snake and his band of assholes.

  “That puts us in the perfect position to stand in for the cartel and intercept the money. Of course it won’t be quite as easy as it sounds. No way will Snake fall for a trap and hand the money over to us. We’re still going to have to take it by force. But the roads down there are windy as fuck and the mountains afford us plenty of hiding spots.” He glanced at Shiv who nodded and stood to take over.

  Rising from his seat at the head of the rectangular table, Shiv pointed to a series of red circles on the map. “These six locations are where we are going to have guys hidden. Striker, Jester, and Acer will be waiting at the meet up spot, as though they were the cartel. Prospects will have a van with three guys in the back. Plan is for everyone to jump out, weapons drawn at the same time. We’ll overtake ’em with sheer numbers.”

  Jester resumed the explanation. “They will obviously have a van or truck as well. They ain’t gonna carry upward of a million in cash on their bikes. Our guys here—” He pointed to the mouth of the mountain pass. “—will come around and jack it open, snatch the money, and load it into our second van, which will have been stashed off the road here. Van takes off immediately and goes to the warehouse, not back here.”

  The club owned an old broken down warehouse off the main drag that was used for more sensitive matters. Few people outside the club knew it was anything more than an abandoned warehouse, and those people wouldn’t run their mouths, knowing the club would come knocking on their doors if word leaked out.

  Shiv ran through additional details, then opened the discussion to the members. “Okay, let’s hear it.” He rubbed the back of his neck. Now that they’d ran through it once, his face relaxed, and he looked pleased with the plan. “Concerns, questions, comments?”

  “We have any idea how many of them will be showing up?” Gumby asked.

  Shaking his head, Acer answered. “We do not, which is why we are going heavy on the artillery and heavy on our own numbers.” He was an intelligent bastard and had been integral in helping Jester devise the plan.

  Gumby nodded.

  “Where the bikes gonna be stashed?” an old timer named Buzz asked. Named for his buzz haircut, he had a giant belly that was as round as a ball. The old guy blew out his knee a year ago, and couldn’t handle participating in something like this anymore, but he was still an active member of the club. “You’re gonna have to hide them so Snake don’t see them as he rides in.”

  One corner of Shiv’s mouth curled up in a smirk that held a hint of evil joy. “That’s the best part, boys. You ain’t taking ’em. Everyone’s riding in the back of the vans. Striker, Jester, and Acer will have theirs, everyone make sure you shower cuz you’re gonna be in close quarters for the toasty ride out and back.”

  A chorus of dissatisfied male swearing erupted around the room, and Shiv just laughed. Jester knew he didn’t much give a shit about the comfort level of the guys, not when the end goal was such a high payday.

  Emily sat at the bar with Marcie, nursing a beer while anxiously tapping her foot on a rung of the bar stool. Lila had planned to join them, but a coworker was ill and she’d ended up taking an extra shift at the hospital, much to Striker’s very vocal dismay.

  Tonight was the night. After the meeting the guys were heading to Black’s, a local dive bar and strip club on the edge of town. Jester had some paperwork to complete over in the garage and they’d decided he’d skip out on the festivities so they could go home and have their own strip show.

  If all went according to plan, Emily should be left alone, or close to it, in the clubhouse for a few minutes. She planned to use whatever opportunity she’d be granted to snoop for information on what was happening Friday. That had to be what they were in there meeting about.

  It was impossible to spend time with these guys and not pick up on the fact that something was going down on Friday, but that was as far as it ever got. Every last one of them was completely tightlipped about any club information.

  She hadn’t eaten anything all day, unable to bear the thought of food. The few sips of beer she’d forced down mixed with the acid in her empty stomach, causing a gnawing pain.

  Emily wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the details or not, but that didn’t matter. She had to try and find something. This morning she’d received a picture via text of Johnny, bruised, bloodied and obviously going through some kind of withdrawal.

  His battered face looked so awful Emily spent the next half hour crying, grateful Jester hadn’t been around. It was one less lie she had to tell him.

  Not that that would be of any comfort to him in two days when she disappeared.

  “Did you hear me, Emily?” Marcie’s voice permeated the cloud of despair threatening to engulf Emily.

  Emily blinked, and dragged herself back to the here and now. “I’m sorry, Marcie, I’m terrible company tonight.”

  “Everything good with you and Jester?” There was legitimate concern in Marcie’s voice, which only served to make Emily feel worse.

  She swallowed down the lump that formed in her throat, and gave Marcie what she hoped was a convincing smile. “More than good. I just have some family stuff weighing on my mind.” It was the truth, or as close to the truth as she could safely get.

  “I’m sorry to hear that, girl. We haven’t known each other long, but I
hope you know you can talk to me if you need to. Us ol’ ladies need to stick together around here, what with all the testosterone and whores flying around.” She winked.

  Emily forced an unconvincing laugh. Marcie was a doll for making such an effort to cheer her up, but nothing could accomplish that this evening. “Thank you. I appreciate your concern. I’m just not quite ready to put it out there yet.”

  Marcie nodded, and tipped her head back to drain the last of her beer. “Fair enough.”

  The doors flew open and a hoard of loud, boisterous bikers spilled out into the bar area, much more animated than the group that had gone into the meeting room. Things must have gone well.

  Marcie, ever bubbly, giggled and hopped off her chair as Hook drew near. He wrapped his arms around her, leaned in close, and Emily was near enough to hear him whisper in her ear. “Let’s go home, baby, I’ve been dying to see what you’ve got on under that skirt all night.”

  Yes, they all needed to leave.

  Emily glanced down at the pieces of ripped beer label that sat on the bar in front of her, unaware that she’d been picking it off.

  She was so caught up in her own head, she didn’t notice Jester approach her from behind until he enveloped her in his strong arms.

  “They ain’t got nothing on us,” he whispered, nodding in the direction of Marcie and Hook, who shared a passionate kiss. He nipped her ear lobe before drawing it into his mouth and sucking briefly. “To be continued.”

  Normally, she’d love his affectionate mood and teasing, but tonight it fell flat. “You heading to the garage?”

  Jester frowned down at her. “You trying to get rid of me?”

  Yes.

  “No, of course not.” She took his hand and gave it a squeeze.