Strays (Red Kings MC Book 1)

by Eliza Marsh

  Dean walked into the main room, people moving out of his way as he walked to the bar to grab a fresh beer. He looked for Jackie and spotted the familiar head of long, dark hair in the crowd. The woman was sitting on a couch next to Jagger, right where he had left her. She seemed to be enjoying the conversation she was having with him, laughing at everything he said. Knowing how talkative a drunk Jagger could be, the situation didn't sit well with Dean. He made his way quickly over to the pair, raising his eyebrows as he caught the words “bra” and “stripper,” followed by a burst of laughter from Jackie. Jagger smirked at her response, looking over her shoulder and spotting Dean coming towards them.

  “Deano! Glad you're back.” Jackie turned to look at him, not able to contain a round of giggles that fell past her lips as her eyes landed on Dean. Jagger wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she fell against him in a fit of laughter. “I was just telling Jackie about that other girlfriend you had. What was her name? Cinnamon? Chastity?”

  Dean groaned and rolled his eyes, then grudgingly answered. “Her name was Candy. And I wasn't with her.”

  In between peals of laughter, Jackie managed to get in a few words. “I can't believe you had a stripper stalking you. Well, I sort of can actually. But did she really handcuff herself to your bike while she was completely naked?”

  Jagger began to chuckle at the look on his friend's face. “At least I didn't tell her about the time you-”

  “Shut up. Just... stop talking.” Dean sat grumpily in the armchair across from the couch, glaring at the pair as they laughed together. This budding friendship definitely did not sit well with him.

  The trio sat and talked for the next few hours, with Jackie trying to pry funny stories out of Jagger and Dean threatening to kill him multiple times. Just as Jackie was about to get something out of Jagger, a giant yawn escaped her, and she realized just how tired she was.

  “I think I'm going to head home. I'm exhausted.” She stood up carefully, using the arm of the couch to steady herself.

  “Tired already? It's only a little past eleven, babe.” Jagger looked up at her with a smirk, trying to convince her to stay. “C'mon, you can make it a little later.”

  Dean, on the other hand, was scrutinizing everything about Jackie. “You feelin' okay?”

  “Yeah, I'm fine. Just really tired all of a sudden.” She smiled at the pair, waving off Dean's concern. “It's just all the excitement.”

  Nodding his head, but not looking convinced, Dean replied, “Why don't you just crash in one of the back rooms. I’m gonna sleep here tonight too.”

  “That’s probably not a bad idea. I’m not sure I could keep my eyes open long enough to get home.” She grinned as she leaned down to give Dean a quick kiss, before turning back to the other biker. “It was nice to meet you, Jagger. You guys sticking around for a few days?”

  “Of course. You can't get rid of us that fast.” He stood up and hugged Jackie, looking down at her with a mischievous expression on his face. “You need any help getting to bed?” He wagged his eyebrows at her, making her laugh. Dean was much less amused and used his foot to shove the coffee table into Jagger's leg. He cursed and glared at Dean, whose expression remained blank. “I was just offering to help, shit.” Jackie laughed and, with a last wave, headed towards the back of the clubhouse.

  17

  It wasn't the shuffling that woke her up. It was the annoying clicking sound coming from who knows where. Jackie's eyes fluttered open, and she groaned, being temporarily blinded by the light coming from outside. The sun was shining brightly, and when she looked at the digital clock beside her, she saw it was early, too early. Usually, she was one of the first people up, out of bed no later than seven or eight. But today's shift at the diner didn't start until noon, and she had hoped to sleep in after last night's party. The clock was currently reading eight-thirty, and she groaned again, sitting up.

  Yawning, she scrubbed a hand over her eyes and looked around the room. Dean was sitting at a desk with a black bag open on the surface in front of him. His leather kutte was draped on the back of the chair, a bulletproof vest hanging on top of it. Jackie furrowed her brows, but her attention moved away from that as the strange clicking noise started again. She realized it was coming from whatever Dean had in his hands, and her eyes stared at his tattooed back as she decided if it was a good idea to see what he was doing.

  She carefully threw the covers off of herself and stood up, her bare feet making no noise on the drab carpet. Taking a few tentative steps forward, she stopped behind him and peered over his shoulder. Jackie's half-asleep brain could hardly process the small collection of guns laid out on top of the desk. Dean was in the middle of cleaning out a double-barrel shotgun with uncharacteristically gentle care.

  Jackie opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. What would she say? Good morning? Ask him how he'd slept? If he was planning to take her out for dinner later that night?

  “What are you doing?” she asked quietly, breaking the silence of the room.

  Dean was startled by her voice and turned quickly at the sound, fixing his gaze upon her as his expression remained blank. His intense eyes made her shrink back almost instantly as he ignored her question and focused his attention forward again. Finished with his task, he put the shotgun carefully into a duffel bag, followed by the rest of his weapons. He stood up and zipped it closed, then slid the vest on over his broad shoulders. He moved around Jackie, not even looking at her as he made his way to the dresser.

  Jackie stood rooted to the spot, her eyes darting from the desk and the bag of guns to where he was pulling out a sweatshirt from the closet. She knew that most of the guys preferred to carry guns with them, she’d gotten used to that, but she had never seen so many of the weapons casually out in the open.

  She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing that when she opened them, she'd be somewhere else. Perhaps she had gone home last night, instead of staying at the clubhouse, and was now dreaming. Opening her eyes again, she saw the same old wooden desk, the club's skull logo on the wall above it grinning sinisterly at her.

  “Dean?” Her voice was quiet, and she almost thought he didn't hear her. Dean was on his way back to the desk when she spoke and paused for a brief second, assuring Jackie that he had, in fact, heard her. “What's going on?”

  The biker didn't acknowledge her at first. He put a holster on over his sweatshirt before turning around, looking her in the eyes. “What do you mean?”

  The nonchalant tone he spoke with irked her, and she found it hard not to explode on him. “What do I mean? I think you know damn well what I mean!” One of his eyebrows rose, but he didn't reply otherwise. That made her even angrier, and she put her hands on her hips, taking a step towards him. “I wake up and find you packing a bag of guns, looking like you're some kind of crazy executioner! What is going on?”

  Her voice had risen a few notches, and if it had been any other day, Dean would have been quite amused. As it was, he was getting more irritated by the second. He was still annoyed that a simple hit had turned into a team outing, obviously not trusted by his president to do the job solo. He had also been hoping that Jackie was working the early shift this morning so as to be long gone by the time he was getting ready for his job. He knew he couldn’t hide this side of the club from her forever, but it wasn’t exactly how he had planned to introduce her to it.

  This hit wasn't anything new to him; killing was what he did. He had killed plenty of people, never even batting an eye, all in the name of his MC, his family. Luther Donovan wasn't going to be a challenge, that was certain. But he knew she wouldn’t see it the same way he did, as a necessary evil to protect those around him. Dean was more than ready to get out of the room at that point, not expecting her outburst. He didn't owe her an explanation; he'd told her right off the bat that he wasn't a good guy.

  “Are you done?” Dean’s voice was flat, emotionless.

  “You're not going to say anything?” Jackie threw her hands in the
air. “You're seriously going to stand there and not say anything?”

  “I gotta leave in a minute.” When she continued to stare at him, he sighed. “What do you want me to say, Jackie? You knew damn well what to expect when you got into this.”

  “I expected bar brawls and overnights in the county jail, but I sure as hell didn't expect to catch you gearing up for a gunfight.” She knew she was overreacting a bit, but she couldn't help being upset.

  “This is what I do!”

  She hadn't expected him to yell back at her, and she paused for a second. Just as she was about to respond, there was a knock on the door. Dean sighed and opened it, revealing Jagger standing on the other side.

  “We're ready to go.”

  Dean quickly turned at Jagger's words and snatched the bag from the desk. He walked past Jackie and out the door, not looking at anyone. It was obvious that he was angry. Jackie was sure Jagger also saw it, even if by some miracle he hadn't heard the yelling coming from the room moments ago.

  Jagger focused his attention on Jackie, pointedly looking down the corridor and back at her before raising one of his eyebrows.

  “You gonna go after him dressed like that, sweetheart?” She looked at him for a moment, waiting for him to elaborate. “Put some clothes on so you can go make nice. You don't want him leavin' on a bad note, do ya?”

  She shook her head dumbly and rushed to find her jeans, putting them on as quickly as she could to pair them with the t-shirt she was wearing. Moving past the biker in the doorway, she ran down the corridor and out to the lot, spotting Dean throwing his bag in the back of a large black van. She was vaguely aware that Jagger had followed after her and that the other guys were in the lot, but she didn't really care.

  “Dean!”

  His head snapped up when he heard her, and she quickly crossed the lot, closing the distance between them. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, sighing with relief when he put his arms around her, even if he had hesitated for a second. Jackie buried her head in his shoulder and placed a quick kiss there, before whispering in his ear.

  “I'm sorry, that wasn't the time or place to have that conversation.” She drew back from the hug and looked up at him. “You'll be careful, right?” She needed reassurance that, even if he was going out and shooting people, he was going to be okay. “You'll come back? In one piece?”

  Dean nodded his head, his eyes never straying from hers. “Yeah, Jack. I'll be fine.”

  A small smile graced her lips, and she rose on her tiptoes to kiss him. A few loud catcalls followed by a bunch of crude comments from the guys cut their kiss short, though. Dean didn't appreciate it, and he made sure the bikers knew it. He pulled away from Jackie and glared at them, successfully shutting them up. He was just about to say something when Luke came out of the clubhouse. It was time to go.

  Jackie kissed him one last time, earning herself a disapproving look from Luke, and stepped away, leaving Dean to get in the passenger seat of the van. She hugged Jagger when he passed her, looking at the Lakeside biker with an unsure expression.

  “C'mon, darlin'. Why the long face?”

  “You're gonna look after him, aren't you? Make sure he gets back okay?”

  Her plea caught him, as well as the other guys in earshot, off guard. She was glad that he nodded and gave her his promise, although he was finding it hard not to join in on the laughter that filled the lot.

  “Enough with the sappy shit. Let's go!” Luke's sharp tone from the driver’s seat prompted Jagger to jump in the van, and the group rode through the gate quickly.

  Jackie started on the way back to Dean's room, the other guys still joking around and laughing at her last comment.

  “Dean need someone to save his ass? Yeah, right.” Ian was the loudest, his booming laugh echoing in her ears.

  “Yeah, and can you imagine Jagger keeping Dean safe? Hell, he'd only get Dean in more trouble!” Mack's voice was a close second after him.

  Jackie stopped at the door to the clubhouse, glancing one last time at where the van had been parked. She could almost see him standing there, tossing his bag of guns carefully inside. Her mind flashed back to that first night she'd met him when she saw him holding a knife to a man's throat. She'd never been more scared in her life, for her life. And even if she knew him now, even if she had feelings for him, she couldn't help but wonder if she shouldn't have just packed her bags and persuaded Tyler to move again. Dean had almost killed a man that night, and he might be getting ready to kill someone today.

  Was it all worth it? Was he worth the danger and potential heartache?

  She wasn’t sure she could handle the harsh reality of the biker world.

  Sure, she had strong feelings for Dean, but they were currently doing little to ease her doubts. All sorts of violent, gory scenes from movies went through her head, scenarios that could be brought to life if she continued to be involved with such a guy. Her stomach churned, making her press her hand to her mouth and run to the bathroom. She was going to be sick.

  18

  It was turning out to be an awful morning. Not only had Jackie fought with Dean, but she then spent the next half an hour in the clubhouse bathroom, getting acquainted with the porcelain toilet bowl. She was glad that no one had come in because she looked awful.

  After that dreadful experience, Jackie had gone home so she could get ready for work. Now, feeling refreshed from her shower, she pulled into the diner parking lot. There weren't many customers as the lunch rush had already ended. Only a few people sat at the tables, namely kids that had just started their summer vacation. Greeting Kate, a blonde waitress ringing up a check at the register, she went behind the counter and put on her apron. Elaine was busy in the kitchen, and Jackie was amazed at her ability to look as cheery as ever.

  The bell above the door jingled, and Jackie smiled as she headed to take the order of two guys with a blue-collar vibe. She then went to drop the ticket off at the kitchen, but as she approached the window, the smell of food assaulted her, and she felt her stomach lurch again. Shoving the paper at Elaine, she ran to the bathroom, almost trampling over Kate on her way.

  Jackie was never one to have a weak stomach, so she was sure that whatever she had eaten that caused this had to have been really bad. She heard the bathroom door open, but another wave of sickness came over her before she could call out to whoever was coming in. She was sure she was going to die.

  “Jackie? Honey, are you okay?”

  She heard Elaine's worried voice call out, but she didn't even bother to answer her. The cook entered the bathroom and pushed the door to Jackie's stall open. Upon seeing the poor girl curled on the floor, hugging the toilet, Elaine's face twisted in sympathy. She gathered Jackie's hair to keep it out of her face and patted her back, rubbing slow circles on it.

  “There, there, dear. Just get it out. It's going to be fine.” Her voice was soothing, and Jackie almost felt better.

  “Oh, god.” A strangled moan came from her, and she slumped on the floor, breathing hard.

  “All done?”

  “Yeah, all done.”

  “Come on then, let's get you cleaned up.” She helped Jackie off the floor, looking her over. “You're not going anywhere near the kitchen again today. Are you sick, dear? You should go get checked out.” The worry that crept into her voice made Jackie feel bad.

  “It's nothing. I think I just ate something bad and I've been paying for it all morning. I was so tired last night. I didn't pay any attention to the stuff I was eating.”

  "Sweetheart, are you and that man of yours safe?”

  “Safe? What do you mean safe? Why wouldn't we be safe?” It didn't dawn on her at first, but when Jackie saw the look Elaine was giving her, she understood what the older woman was talking about. Shocked, she didn't even have time to be horrified by the idea of discussing her sex life with the cook. “Elaine! Of course, we're being safe! What are you implying?”

  “I'm not implying anything, darling, but
accidents happen. Fatigue? Morning sickness? The drugstore is down the street. I think you should make sure.” When she saw the young woman was about to protest, Elaine put a gentle hand on her arm. "At least do it to ease my mind."

  “I'm not…” When she saw Elaine's worried gaze, Jackie quickly gave in. “Okay.” Sighing deeply, she nodded her head. “Okay, I'll go buy a test.”

  She rinsed her mouth with water under the cook's watchful gaze, and the two exited the bathroom. Elaine looked at Jackie and then at the door, telling her without words to get to the drugstore.

  “Okay, I'm going.”

  Jackie got her bag from behind the counter and made for the door, telling the other waitress that she'd be right back.

  The locally-owned drugstore was just down the street from the diner. The paint on the building was chipped, and the store's sign looked like it was about to fall off. Jackie wanted to be anywhere except there. The clerk was a middle-aged woman that looked bored beyond belief. She lifted her head when Jackie entered, but quickly got back to her magazine, not paying any attention to her newest customer.

  Jackie made her way down the aisles, quickly scanning the shelves for the item she needed. When she found the tests, she took a moment to look at them, wondering which one to buy. There were so many of them, each one promising accurate results, each one with the word 'pregnancy' written in big, bold letters. She randomly grabbed one from the shelf and went to the counter, nervously waiting for the clerk to look at her so she could pay.

  The lady raised one of her eyebrows at Jackie when she saw her purchase.

  Jackie didn't like her disapproving look. This day was bad enough, and she didn't need to be judged by some arrogant drugstore bitch. “What?” Her voice dripped with anger, and the clerk hurriedly scanned her purchase.