by Ali Parker
“A run?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes. They had some business with another club. They call themselves the Black Hearts. They’ve been causing a lot of trouble for Ryder and the guys, so they set up a meeting. I wouldn’t expect them to be back soon. A couple more hours, tops.”
I bit my bottom lip and stared at the water bottle in my hands. “I have a really bad feeling about this.”
Ellie gave me a sad smile. “Get used to it, honey. That never goes away. Peace of mind is something you sacrifice if you love one of the MC guys. Take it from me.”
“Who are the Black Hearts? I’ve never heard of them.”
“Really?” Ellie asked, eyes widening a bit. “They’ve been all over the news for the murders last month.”
“Murders?”
Ellie nodded. “Yeah. The seven guys who were diced up with machetes.”
“That’s where Jax is right now?” My stomach did a backflip.
Ellie blinked. “Um.”
“Oh, God.” I covered my mouth with one hand and clutched at my gut with the other. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Shit,” Ellie said, rushing to her feet and grabbing a garbage can from under the reception desk. She pulled out the bag and brought it to me. I held it between my legs, hunched over, and promptly vomited up bile. I hadn’t been able to eat since talking to Jax on the phone the day before.
“Sorry,” I said, dragging my hand across my mouth.
“Don’t be,” Ellie said, “That was insensitive of me. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, it’s okay, really. I appreciate someone being honest with me. I hate being kept in the dark like this. It’s so much worse than knowing what he’s up to.”
Ellie sighed and leaned back on the sofa. “Jax is a good guy, but he’s a bit thick-headed at times. We’ve been good friends for ages, and I can tell you his biggest fault is his need to protect everyone. If he thinks keeping you in the dark is the right move, you won’t be able to change his mind. He’s an ass, but his intentions are good.”
I tucked my hair behind my ears. “I know. But it’s not just about what he thinks is best. I have a voice too. What I want matters. Doesn’t it?”
“Sure does. You just have to get him to see that.”
“How?”
Ellie laughed. “Girl, if you figure it out, you’ll have to tell me.”
“Does Axel pull the same shit with you?”
Ellie shrugged. “Not as much as he used to. He wouldn’t date me for years because he was so against me being part of the MC life. I know there are still days when it hangs over him like a dark cloud. The guilt. You know? But I do my best to assure him that by his side is where I want to be, no matter what. It helps him, I think. I hope.”
I swallowed as the urge to vomit coursed through me. “What did they say they were going to do when they met with this Black Hearts leader?”
Ellie’s eyes flicked back and forth between mine as she decided whether she should tell me. I wasn’t going to force her. I just hoped she would be honest on her own.
“They went to hopefully resolve the conflict. The Black Hearts have been playing a risky game. They tried to run Jax off the road when he was on his bike a week or two ago. They could have killed him.”
“What? He never told me that.”
“I wouldn’t expect him to. He thinks keeping you in the dark is the safest place for you, remember?”
“Jerk.”
Ellie smiled and rested her cheek in her hand. “Ryder was hoping they could settle things without violence. Three of them went up to talk. Usually, Ryder can get what he wants without shit blowing up.”
“Usually?”
Ellie nodded.
“For some reason, that doesn’t make me feel better at all. Did Axel go?”
Ellie shook her head. “Ryder wouldn’t let him.”
“Why?”
Ellie looked at her hands in her lap. “Because he has a little girl back home. Hanna already lost her mother. Ryder won’t be the reason she ever loses Axel.”
I hunched over the bucket between my knees and vomited more stomach acid.
Ellie shimmied closer beside me and put her hand on my back. “Why do I keep saying so many stupid things?”
I sobbed into the bucket and hated myself for it. Exhaustion gave way to grief, and before I could stop myself, I was crying harder than I had in ages.
Ellie rubbed my back. “Holly, oh my god, I’m so sorry. Please, don’t cry. They’ll be okay. They always are, I promise. They know how to handle themselves out there.”
I shook my head as I tried desperately to get a breath between the sobs and the dry heaving.
“There, there,” Ellie soothed. “What can I do? What do you need? There’s nothing in your stomach, girl. You should try to eat something.”
“Can’t,” I managed with a shaky breath.
“I know it’s hard.”
“I love him,” I whispered. “I’ve always loved him. And now that we’re finally together, and things are finally starting to feel right, I might lose him. God, I don’t know what I would do without him. I need him, Ellie. I need him more than anything.”
Ellie pulled me to her chest and wrapped her arms around me as I cried. “I know you do. This life isn’t easy, Holly, but if it’s love, it’s worth it. He’ll come back. He’ll come back, and you’ll have the chance to yell at him and set him straight. For now, your only job is to take care of yourself, okay? That’s all you can do.”
I shook my head as my tears stained the front of her coveralls. “I can’t just keep waiting. It’s killing me.”
“Shh. Yes, you can. You have to.”
I pulled away from her and was sick two more times. Ellie got up and went behind the reception desk. When she came back, she had a box of saltine crackers. She opened it up, grabbed an unopened package, and passed it to me. “I know you don’t have an appetite, but you need to eat something. And drink more water. You’ll feel better.”
I shook my head.
“I’m not really asking here, Holly. Eat.”
I stared at the package before grudgingly accepting it. I pulled out a cracker and began nibbling on it. Ellie watched before dropping back into the spot beside me.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
She nudged my calf with the toe of her boot. “Us girls have to stick together. It’s a rough life, but everything is better when we have each other’s backs. Jax cares for you, Holly. I think you might be around for the long haul. Which would be great. We need more estrogen in this place.”
I found myself smiling.
She nudged me with her shoulder. “We’re not going to talk about this anymore, but I’ll tell you one more thing. Jax is with Sabian and Ryder. The three of them together are hell on wheels. They’ll have each other’s backs no matter what kind of shit storm they’ve gotten themselves into. Somehow, they always come out the other side in one piece. This time won’t be any different.”
“I hope you’re right,” I muttered, grabbing my phone. My chest swelled with hope as I checked to see if Jax had called or messaged me.
He hadn’t.
I sighed and sipped on my water.
“So, Ellie. Distract me. Tell me something about Jax that I don’t know.”
Ellie pursed her lips and crossed her legs. “Something you don’t know, huh?” She tapped her chin with one finger.
I sat and listened as Ellie told me several funny stories from times of her and Jax working together. The distraction only sort of helped. I managed to eat some crackers and finish my water, which pleased Ellie and eased some of my nausea.
But I couldn’t shake the worry in my gut about Jax. I knew he was in trouble. I was certain of it. Otherwise, he would have returned my calls by now.
I checked my phone several times as Ellie recounted her stories, and she never once called me on it. She let me do what I had to, and I was incredibly grateful to her for it.
F
or all of it.
Chapter 27
Jax
Things weren’t playing out in our favor.
In fact, it was going the exact opposite.
My mouth was full of blood from having one of my molars knocked out when one of TJ’s goons managed to land a punch to my jaw. My teeth had gone through my cheek, and the bleeding hadn’t stopped. I was also certain I had one or more broken ribs judging by the sharp pain in my side every time I took a breath.
I was on my knees beside Sabian, who was flanked by Ryder. The fight had lasted a good fifteen minutes or so, but now we were done for.
TJ was in front of us brandishing his machete. It had a red handle that he gripped tightly as he spun it end over end.
The man was a fucking psychopath.
His goons—well, the two of them left standing—were behind us and making sure none of us got any bright ideas to keep fighting. The other three were face down on the floor, bloodied and in need of medical attention thanks to Sabian and me.
I leaned over and spat a mouthful of blood on the Turkish carpet beneath us.
TJ pointed his machete at me. “That was rude.”
I let my mouth fill with more blood before promptly leaning over and spitting again. TJ’s upper lip curled off his teeth in a snarl. I grinned up at him. “Sorry.”
TJ spun the machete again and dragged his eyes across the three of us on our knees in front of him. “Which one of you volunteers to go first, huh?”
“I do,” Ryder said, his voice hoarse from a hit he had taken to the throat.
I looked across Sabian at him.
My president was in rough shape. His lip was split and so was his eyebrow and cheekbone. His whole face was a bloodied mess, and his left eye was almost entirely swollen shut.
TJ had done a number on him that was for sure, but not before Ryder got in some damage of his own.
TJ was a bloodied mess as well. His nose was broken, and he had made us wait while he stood with a kerchief over his nose until the bleeding stopped. He walked with a slight limp, no doubt from the kick Ryder had delivered to the Black Hearts leader’s right knee, and his left ear was bloodied from a hit to the side of the head.
I wanted to hurt him even more.
TJ chuckled and stopped pacing in front of Ryder. “How noble of you, boss man.” He held out the machete like it was an extension of his arm, and the very point of it hovered just in front of Ryder’s face. “Any last words?”
I swallowed. This was not how it ended for us. There was no fucking way. We’d all been through hell and back together, and now some dickhead with a machete thought he was going to take all of that away from us?
Not on my watch.
“So, the machete,” I said as my mouth filled with more blood, “Why’d you choose that?”
TJ’s eyes slid over to me. I could see the bloodlust there in the pinpoint pupils. He didn’t say a word.
“You were such a chatterbox a few minutes ago. What happened to that? Lost your sparkle?”
“Shut up,” TJ growled.
“Make me.”
Ryder glanced over at me. For the first time since knowing him, I saw fear dancing in his eyes. The sight only made the rage burn brighter inside me.
TJ stepped toward me, a small smile now coming out to play. “You’re such an attention whore, Jax. Really. You couldn’t let someone else steal the show, just for a minute or two? That’s all it was going to take, you know. A couple chops and your friend goes from alive to, well, not alive.”
“Poetic,” I said.
TJ narrowed his eyes. “Normally, a man in your position has more sense than to poke the bear right before he’s about to die. Do you know how much power you’re going to leave me with? It could have ended with me killing you. Now, I’m starting to crave something else. Something pretty and blond.”
I bit my tongue.
TJ dropped to a crouch in front of me and rested the machete across his right shoulder. “You know, Holly sure would make a nice addition to this place.” His eyes scanned the room. “I’d like to keep her here, put her in a corner like a lamp so I could look at her all fucking day.” His eyes slid back to me. “And then at night, well, I think you and I both know what that would bring.”
White hot fury burned my insides.
“Don’t you think she’d look good in a place like this? She’s too sophisticated for a man like you anyway, Jax. Her body would be served much better here, and then, when I get bored of her …” He winked and fingered the machete over his shoulder.
My vision went red, and I exploded.
Before I knew what was happening, I had my hands wrapped around TJ’s throat, and he was pinned underneath me. The sounds of a fight raged in my ears, and I hoped Ryder and Sabian were in good enough shape to take care of the other two goons while I pummelled TJ into goo.
His machete had been knocked out of his hand and lay somewhere out of reach. I pinned him down and raised my fist, which I buried right in the middle of his face. His already broken nose crunched under my knuckles, and he let out a high pitched pitiful wail of pain.
I grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground, only to slam him back down. His head smacked against the hardwood floor.
“Think you’re really something, don’t you?” I snarled, lifting him up and slamming him back down once more. “You think you have the right to treat women like property?” I slammed him again. “You fucking piece of shit!” My voice was almost a scream.
Someone’s hand closed on my shoulder. I tore away from them, hell-bent on making TJ suffer.
“Jax!” someone yelled. “Jax! Come on, man, he’s had enough. Let the cops deal with his ass.”
It was Sabian. A small part of my brain told me I should listen to my friend and back down. I should let the police take this asshole away and lock him up for his crimes.
But another part of me wanted to hurt him some more.
So I did.
“Pass me his machete,” I growled.
“No man, come on, get off him. He’s not going to fight us anymore. He’s done.”
“I just want to take a finger or two,” I said, smiling down at TJ, whose eyes were wide with surprise. The look on his face filled me with satisfaction.
Ryder appeared and slapped the machete into my open palm. “Dani’s on her way with backup. Make it quick.”
“Sure thing,” I said, my jaw hurting as I smiled.
“No,” TJ barked, jerking beneath me like a fish out of water. “Get the fuck off me!”
“What?” I asked. “You don’t like it when the tables are turned? Come on TJ, I’m taking it easy on you. I just want a few fingers. I’ll even take ones you won’t need in prison. Like your pinkies. What’s that called? Oh. Yeah. A compromise.” I gave him my most wicked grin. “Sabian, hold his fucking hand down.”
Sabian dropped to his knees beside me and struggled to pin down TJ’s hand. When he succeeded, I wasted no time on laying the blade flat on the floor and pushing it down like a cleaver. I took his pinky and ring finger of his left hand. TJ screamed.
“Oops,” I said, “Looks like I took one too many.”
“Get off!” TJ roared.
“Not so fast. I’m not done. Sabian, other hand.”
Sabian followed my orders and had TJ’s hand flattened out on the hardwood. I took off his other pinky and held it in front of his face. “Don’t fuck with us. You hear me? This is what you get.”
TJ nearly went cross-eyed staring at his severed finger in my hand. He trembled, and then, to my surprise, he started laughing.
“What the fuck man?” Sabian said, his eyes flicking to me.
“Get a hold of yourself,” I said, dropping the finger and grabbing the front of TJ’s shirt. I lifted him off the floor.
TJ continued laughing maniacally. “There’s nothing you can do now. Even with me gone, it won’t matter. Everything has already been set in motion.” His eyes slid to Sabian, and he smiled. “You
’re too late.”
“Fuck this shit,” I hissed before raising the hilt of the machete and striking TJ in the head, rendering him unconscious.
The room settled into thick silence, save for the sounds of our heavy breathing.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Sabian spat, stumbling to his feet and stepping away from me. “What the hell was that, Jax?”
“He deserved it.”
“Agreed,” said Ryder.
I stood on wobbly knees and wiped the blood from my hands onto my jeans. “Dani is coming you said?”
Ryder nodded.
“Should we be here when she does?”
“As far as I see it, we didn’t do anything wrong. The police will want statements. We came for a meeting. They had been planning to attack the whole time. Leave your brass knuckles with one of them.” Ryder pointed his chin at the unconscious goons.
I wiped them off with my shirt and dropped them on TJ’s chest. “I could really use a fucking beer.”
“Soon,” Ryder said.
I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly midnight.
I needed to get to Holly. I needed to make sure she was okay, and I had to tell her how I felt about her.
I was more than aware that I had come very close to dying. Death by machete. At least it was a pretty badass end.
I shook my head. It wouldn’t have mattered. I would have left the woman I loved behind, and she would never have known how I truly felt about her, how I’d always felt about her.
Tonight, she would know everything.
“You boys all right?” I asked, looking between Ryder and Sabian.
Both nodded. Sabian clutched his side. “A few broken bones. Could have been worse. You?”
“Yeah. It could have been worse.”
“Dani has paramedics coming too. They’ll want to take a look at us,” Ryder said.
I shook my head. “No. I have to get out of here as soon as I can. I need to get back to Holly. She has no clue where I’ve been, and she’s probably worried.”
“She can wait, man. You need to have yourself looked at. You’re a fucking mess.” Ryder lowered himself into the same chair TJ had been in not half an hour earlier. “Does that fuck have any liquor over in that cabinet?”