by Joy Blood
“As far as I can tell, nothing,” a voice says from the now open door. Jumping slightly, I see it’s Rico again, with a bundle of sheets on his lap. “Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. I need to wash these. Sage gave me the room he’s been using and I don’t really want to sleep on the sheets he’s been fucking half the population of Cental on.” He laughs, rolling in past me.
“No. That would be…” I drift off, wondering if Jake has had anyone in the bed we were in just last night. I know what he told me, but…
“No need to be shy around me, girl. I won’t bite, promise.” He shoots a smile my way that only accentuates his lips. Why do my eyes keep going there?
“What happened? To put you in that chair?” I ask, getting a smile from him in return.
“Quick and to the point, huh? I like that. Well, long story short, I pissed off someone with a crowbar. Actually, the boss of someone with a crowbar. Fucker beat me until my spine was fucked. Now it hurts like a bitch to walk,” he says, nonchalant, like he’s telling me about his high school football career or a random pastime.
“Is that why you smell like you smoked a field of pot?” I ask, smirking a little. I have never smoked weed before, but I'm not unfamiliar to the smell. My uncle would always smoke it, along with other things. Rico’s laughter fills the room and he brushes his hands along his chin.
“Yeah. My form of pain management. Better than poppin’ all them pills the docs tried shovin’ down my throat. That shit fucked me up—big time.” I nod in understanding.
“Is there any way to be able to walk again without the pain? A surgery or something?” He shrugs.
“Maybe. But I ain’t going back there. Been through enough surgeries. I’m done with them cutting me open.”
“I see…” I pause. “How do you know Ellie?” I question. He lets out a forced laugh.
“You are just full of questions, aren’t you, girl?”
“She has never mentioned you, neither has Vin.”
“Me and V go way back. Worked for The Dean,” he says, as if I should know who that is. “And by the look on your face, you have no idea who that is. You know who Avil was though, right?” he asks, and my eyes grow wide.
“Yes,” I choke out.
“The Dean was his daddy. Both were equally terrible.”
“I can't imagine anyone being as bad as Avil.”
“Had to learn from someone.” He shrugs. “Me and V had the privilege of working for the man. Like I said, we go way back. Anyway, I met Ellie when Avil had me be her bodyguard back in Chicago.”
“Oh,” I respond as the washer dings, letting me know the load is clean. I hop off the table and go about getting them out and into the dryer. Before Rico can get his sheets into the washer, I take them from the floor and toss them in, ignoring his protests.
“I don’t have anything else to do. Jake is in the shop working all day. Doing laundry is keeping me busy.”
“You should charge then. Go from door to door and see if anyone needs their clothes washed. Bet the guys would pay top dollar for that.” He chuckles.
“Jake would shit a brick if his woman was washing our dirty laundry,” a voice said, coming through the door. It’s Sage, and when I look up at his face, I can’t help but see what he was doing to the girl on the bar last night.
“Ain't that right. How you been, Sage?” Rico asks the man who is now making the already small laundry room even smaller with his broad shoulders. I have seen Sage from time to time, but don’t know him all too well. Except that he will screw anything that has a pulse. Maybe those are Vin’s words I'm repeating. He looks to have some Hispanic background and a slight accent to go with it. I listen quietly as the two men talk and joke back and forth until Sage says something about needing to get back outside.
“Good to have you here, brother,” Sage tells him, then quickly glances my way. “See ya ‘round, Kimi.” He turns and walks out.
“Well, if you are going to do my laundry, I got some shit to take care of. I’ll be back,” Rico says as he backs out of the room and rolls down the hallway.
When my load of laundry is dry, I pull them out and drop them into the basket and switch over Rico’s sheets before I walk back to Jake’s room. I already made the bed before I went to do laundry, so I sit down on the covers and start folding. I stop when I find a wrapper—a condom wrapper. I didn't notice it when I pulled the clothes out. Glancing over to the bedside table, I see it isn't the one we used last night. It’s not even the same brand. Either the pocket it came from has been dirty for an ungodly amount of time, or he lied to me. Crap, we didn't use protection this morning. My heart rate picks up as the pulse vibrates through my ears. Quickly, I finish folding the clothes and pull my now clean ones back on. I have the sudden urge to get as far away as I can.
I pick up my phone and dial Ellie, but Vin answers instead. “Hey Kimi.”
“Hey, Vin, is ah… Is Mom there?”
“You all right?” he asks, already knowing from my tone something is bothering me.
“I’m okay but, could you or Mom come get me? I’m bored and Jake is really busy and—” I start to say more but Vin is already telling me to sit tight and he will be over to pick me up. I take a deep breath as I end the call and sit back on the bed. Am I overreacting? Does it really matter if he has been with someone else? Yes, it does. If he lied then, what will stop him from lying again? I don’t want that, I don’t want this—the uneasiness of being away and constant worry in the back of my mind about what he is doing and who he is doing it with. I have been around too many men to know how they act and how they treat women. I never thought Jake was one of those men, but I have been wrong before.
It doesn't take long before Vin is walking through Jake’s door. “What did the little prick do?” he asks when he sees me.
“Nothing. I just want to go home is all. I'm bored.” I lie, but he accepts it. I get off the bed and follow him outside to his truck. Before I can get in, Jake is there blocking my path.
“What’s goin’ on, Key?” he questions, getting close enough for me to hear. Like always, his voice sends a shiver through my body, but I block it out this time.
“I'm going to go and visit Ellie and the kids. You stay here. I will see you later,” I tell him and try to get past him, but he doesn't let me. “Please, Jake. I just want to leave. Okay?” I whisper to him so Vin can’t hear. Jake looks like he wants to protest but instead grits his teeth and nods, brushing past me and storms into the clubhouse, slamming the door behind him. I jump at the noise but open the door to Vin’s truck. I need to get out of here.
Twenty-One
Jake
To say I'm fucking pissed is an understatement. What the fuck happened to make her want to leave without even telling me? When I saw Vin’s truck roll up, I knew he was here because of her. The look on her face when she came outside and saw me confirmed it. She looked like she was on the brink of crying.
I storm through the hall to my room and slam the door behind me. Pacing the bare floor, I stop when I see the basket of folded laundry on the made bed. She did my laundry? I step closer and see a washed condom wrapper laying on top of the stack of folded jeans. The fuck? I stood there, wracking my brain to the last time I wrapped my dick up, other than last night. Shit, it was that bitch I fucked the night before I got the call from Vin. That was the last one. Fuck. Kimi must have seen this and jumped to conclusions. Then left it here for me to find. Fucking hell. No wonder she looked so hurt.
I pull my phone out of my back pocket and start typing out a text.
Jake: The wrapper was from a long time ago. I didn't lie to you, Key. Never. You have a good day with your family, and I will pick you up ‘round six to take you back to school.
She doesn't respond, but after about ten minutes I check again and find she did see it, the small word written under the text saying seen. I decide that was good enough and go back outside to continue working on the truck that was brought in this morning. Our shop has been fu
ll since we opened—a business that will always keep you in business. Everyone has a vehicle to repair, you just need to know what you are doing, and I do. Besides being able to wield a gun, I can rebuild an engine like nobody’s business.
Rolling under the lifted truck on the creeper, I grip my wrench into my grease-stained hand and get back to work. This truck came in needing of a new fuel pump, with a few more flicks of my wrist it’s taken care of. “You got that done? Owner is here ready to pick it up,” I hear Gin say from above the truck. Rolling out, I wipe my hands along my jeans and give him a nod. “Good shit, Jakey Boy.” Gin extends his hand out to pull me up off the floor in a quick yank. Even with all the shit plaguing his mind, he still seems to keep in shape. The guy is bigger than me, and hairier too. His beard is probably four inches long with his hair being just a bit longer. Always tucked under his black bandanna.
“Takin’ off,” I tell him before I start walking out of the shop. There isn't much left to do for the day and I want to get Kimi back to the dorms before it gets too late.
“V give any trouble with you claimin’ his girl?” he asks before I can get far.
“Na. She might,” I admit to him, looking his way now.
“Women. Keep on her, she’ll come ‘round,” he says, clapping my shoulder. “Good luck.” He laughs and walks away leaving me to drop the truck down and drive out to the front for the owner to pick up. It’s a flower delivery truck, guess they were out on a delivery when the thing cut out and left them stranded. I leave the keys inside and walk to my bike. I take one last glance at the clubhouse, debating whether I need to go inside before I go. The need to get to Kimi wins out and I start up the bike, letting the rumble trickle through me.
Rolling through the roads in the desert looking area, I take in the peace of the evening. The sun is starting to get low as I drive to Vin and Ellie’s place. Shit, I hadn't been here in years, and this will be my second stop this month. Pulling up outside, I cut the engine and look around. I wonder if this is what Kimi sees in her future—house, kids, husband. I want that for her too. For me. Didn't think I would, with the club life and all, but being with her has given me a different outlook on life.
The screen door slamming pulls my attention back to the house, revealing a narrow eyed Ellie walking my way. She doesn't look pissed, but she doesn't look happy to see me either. Shit, I pissed off mama bear. “What happened, Jake?” she asks, stopping her trek right in front of my bike and crossing her arms.
“Misunderstanding,” I say, getting off my bike.
“She doesn't want to see you,” she tells me, placing a hand on my elbow.
“She will,” I tell her, taking my arm away and storming past her. She is hollering at me to stop, but me being such an ass I don’t listen. Throwing the door open my eyes land on Vin standing in the kitchen, arms crossed much like his wife just seconds ago. I give him a challenging look, wondering what he is going to do about me barging into his house and taking his daughter. He must agree with what I'm about to do, cause all he does is nod his head in the direction of the stairs that leads up to Kimi’s room. Pressing on, I glance to see if the kids are around but don’t see them as I make my way up the stairs into the room I know is hers. It’s the room Ellie was in when we were held up in this place all those years ago. Shit, it seems like a lifetime ago since we found Ellie in the basement of that warehouse.
I just walk in without knocking. She is sitting on her bed, legs crossed, looking down at her computer screen. When she sees me come through the door her face goes white then turns bright red. “You can’t just going to barge into my room and—” I cut her off by slamming my body into hers, melding my mouth down onto her lips. The laptop slides somewhere onto the bed but I pay it no mind. She jerks back at first but my tongue pushes through her clamped mouth and she starts to soften in my grasp. Slowly her hands slide their way up my back then into my hair. I let the kiss go on a little longer before I pull back and look at her. She takes a second, but when her eyes trail up to meet mine, her big blue orbs go soft. “I don’t know if I can do this, Jake,” she tells me, sending a shockwave through my heart.
“Just you, Key.” My throat started to close up on me. I clear it, trying to get some form of ability to have a conversation with this woman. “I didn’t lie,” I say to her, she shakes her head.
“It’s not just that Jake. You are the VP of a motorcycle club. I don’t think I'm up to being the old lady to a VP.” She admits with a wisp of a tear in her eye. She doesn't want to be my old lady? What the fuck? Shaking my head, I pull her close and wrap her in my arms.
“My old lady,” I say, unable to keep the smile from my face as I start to chuckle. “Fuckin’ like that.”
“Jake.” She tries to protest, but I don’t let her.
“One day at a time.” I swallow and look around her room for something to drink finding a bottle sitting next to her bed. Still holding onto her I reach over and grab it, twisting off the cap and downing what is left of the liquid. I glance around the room. I haven't been in here since it was Ellie’s room, it’s a stark contrast to what it was then. Gone is the dated old peeling wallpaper and the walls are painted the lightest shade of gray. It’s her. Hanging on her wall are pictures of Ellie and Vin’s kids and a calendar from a year ago. Her black and white printed bedspread is rumpled from her sitting on it and she has maybe twelve pillows. All different sizes looking as if they are made from old t-shirts. “Takin’ you back. Get ready.” I give her a kiss on hear forehead and sit down on her bed. Leaning back on the headboard I get comfortable and reach for the laptop she was on when I stormed into the room. I don’t pay her any mind when I look down at the screen and see what she was looking at.
“It’s not what—” she starts, but the look I shoot her stops her from speaking. Right there, staring back from the screen, is a picture of Finn. A picture I haven't seen in years. How did she even find it? I scroll through and find information about my brother’s death, there isn’t much. It was labeled a gang shooting. I click through her tabs to find articles about Avil and his father, The Dean. Never got the pleasure of meeting that asshole.
“This, Key?” I question, still scrolling through the information.
“I only know bits and pieces of what happened with you, Ellie and Vin. Now this guy, Rico, shows up and you all seem to have a history that I don’t know about. I was just trying to get a grasp on it all,” she says, clasping her hands together and looking down at her feet.
“Coulda asked,” I tell her, but she just shakes her head.
“You can barely talk Jake. I didn't want you to have to explain all of this to me. I know it isn't…” tossing the computer to the side I'm up and have her in my arms again in an instant.
“No. For you…I will talk. Don’t care…how much…it fuckin’ hurts.” I rasp out through pained whispers, pulling her tight against me. Fuckin’ hate that she doesn't want me to talk to her because she is afraid it will hurt me. Fuck! I back away quickly and start pacing in frustration. Normally, I don’t let the fact I can barely hold a decent conversation get to me, but right now, when I want so much to share every part of my life with this woman, I feel like I'm going to snap.
“Jake, please. Don’t be mad. I don’t care that you can’t talk. It doesn't change how much I love you,” she says, making me stop in my tracks. “I heard you last night,” she tells me with a smile, making one of my own spread along my face. Reaching out to her I pull her body flush with mine and give her another claiming kiss.
“Get ready. Want to take you home,” I growl, before leaving the room to wait downstairs for her.
“All good now?” Vin asks, smirking at me when I walk through into the kitchen. He is holding his youngest, Dawn, in his hands and putting her into a baby chair. I give a jerk of my head and look over to Ellie who is already sitting at the table with little Anthony, who is happily eating his supper and swinging his feet under the table.
“Staying for supper, Jake?” Ellie asks.
Before I can answer Kimi comes walking through the archway.
“No, we need to get going,” she says, going over to her mom to give a quick kiss and hug, then doing the same to Vin. “Ready?” She looks up to me with a bright smile on her face.
“Yeah.” I reach out and grab her hand, pulling her out the door without another look at the family sitting at the kitchen table.
Twenty-Two
Kimi
“How are things going with motorcycle man?” Ari asks, through bites of her sandwich. I can only respond with ‘good’ which gets me an eye roll in return. “Oh, come on! Give me some details. Please,” she whines at me. We are sitting in the cafeteria due to the chilly wind blowing through campus. It’s late fall and winter, I'm sure, is going to start sooner than it should. Jake has already begun to use his truck to come visit or take me back home. I miss the bike. Just the other day I told him riding it wouldn't be a problem, but he refused, said he didn't want me out in the cold more than I needed to be. Ridiculous, but I let it go. Since the whole freak out with the wrapper and the old lady thing, we have been taking things one day at a time, like he suggested. Though his visits seem to be less and less these days. I'm chalking it up to the cold weather and the fact he likes to ride his bike more than in his ‘cage’ as he calls his truck.
“Details? What about you? Someone named…um…what is his name again? Oh yes, Sam. How about details on that?” I question with a laugh. Sam seems to be an on and off thing for Ari. She doesn't say much about it, but then again, I rarely ask.
“Oh, you know, that whole thing when a guy gets what he wants, he doesn't come back unless he wants more. Then when he gets more, he is gone again until…well you know. Guys. Plus, he seems to be distracted by something these days,” she says, shrugging her shoulders then taking another bite of her sandwich.