CHOKE: A Dark Bad Boy Romance

by Ella Wolfe

  And with those parting words, I watched him stroll away back to his bike without a care in the world, hoping that I really would get to see him tomorrow.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jett

  Be safe.

  Dayna’s words continued to ring in my head on the ride over to the abandoned warehouse. She’d whispered it gently into my ear, so quietly that it was like she was reassuring herself just as much as me.

  Be safe.

  I’d forgotten what it was like to have someone care about me and worry about whatever dangerous thing I was going to do next. Dayna questioned my every move, pointed out my flaws and never hesitated to tell me when I was being stupid or reckless.

  It was bittersweet knowing how important Dayna was to me but that I could never go any further with her. Christ, we’d already slept together once, and I regretted it more than anything. Yes, it was the best sex of my life, but I had taken her on the floor of the garage like an animal. Dayna wasn’t that kind of girl. She was gentle and caring and innocent.

  Fuck, she liked it rough, though. I wore the scratches on my back from her fingernails like badges of honor for days after we’d had sex. They were the only reminder I allowed myself to have from one of the best nights of my life. Though, considering we spent every day standing in the same spot where I’d taken her, it was difficult to stay on track at work.

  Carson and I had already been driving for several miles and we still hadn’t reached the warehouse. He’d said that it was only a little ways out of town, but as far as I could tell, we weren’t anywhere close. Carson was riding his own bike up ahead, leading me down the abandoned dirt road. I would never tell him in so many words, but I was endlessly grateful for Carson being there. I didn’t know if I’d be able to face Gomez alone.

  Dayna had been right when she said that this would be a dangerous mission today, though Carson had been quick to reassure her. Gomez was merciless and did things his own way. I’d never met him but from what I’d been told, he had a heinous laugh that could make the bravest of men piss themselves.

  He was becoming a ghost story in Waco, even young children in the street knowing about him.

  We just passed the ‘Welcome to Waco’ sign at the outpost of town when Carson signaled to me with a hand in the air. He gestured to the right and at first I was confused, until Carson suddenly veered off road onto a barely-there trail off the main road. A mile or so after that, we finally reached the warehouse we were meeting him at.

  It was massive, run down warehouse, a good base of operations if that’s what Gomez was planning to do with it.

  There were three bikes already parked out front so I knew this was the right place. Carson and I both got of our bikes and I made my way toward the entrance, only to be stopped by my uncle’s hand grasping at my upper arm.

  “Keep your cool, okay?” Carson warned. “I don’t need your temper getting in the way. Understood?”

  As far as pep talks went, I wasn’t really a fan. I knew this was Carson as president talking and not Carson as my uncle so I didn’t take it to heart as I might have done. Instead, I nodded in the affirmative and pulled my arm out of his grip.

  I understood what he was saying but that didn’t mean I had to like it.

  This time, as I made my way to enter, I was met with no resistance and I pushed open the solid wooden door that swung back with an eerie creak. If Dayna was with me and it was the middle of the night, she would insist that we were on the set of some horror movie and an axe murderer would come out at any moment.

  There was no axe murderer inside, just Gomez standing casually with two of his goons. He turned to us after hearing the door open. I’d never met Gomez before but I had seen him once before, years ago, but he looked the same; same shiny bald head, dark furrowed brows, and wearing a perfectly tailored suit that seemed out of place standing in a place like this.

  “Boys,” he greeted, spreading his arms wide upon our entry. “Carson Walker,” he stretched out a hand to Carson who grabbed it in a firm shake.

  “This is my nephew, Jett Walker,” Carson said, gesturing at me. “He’s the son of Billy Walker.”

  This seemed to pique his interest and Gomez raised a brow, turning to one of his goons and muttering something in Spanish.

  When he turned back to us, he had a Cheshire cat smile etched on his face. “What can I do for you, Jett Walker?” He drew my name out at the end in a way that gave me chills.

  “He wants revenge on Joe Slattery. We both do.” Carson again. I had the strong urge to interrupt and say that I could speak for myself, but I supposed that’s what Carson meant when he’d told me to keep a cool head. As much as I resent it, maybe he didn’t trust me enough yet.

  “And you thought I’d help you, Carson?” Gomez began a slow walk around us, circling us like we were prey, which in a sense we were.

  “I know you would. For a price.”

  Gomez cackled loudly and clapped his hands together. He stopped his circling and yelled something else in Spanish to one of his guys who released an equally distressing cackle.

  Maybe we should have listened to Dayna and brought some more men. We were outnumbered, three to two, and it would’ve been nice to have one more man to even things out.

  “You know me too well,” Gomez said, rubbing his hands together in interest and staring Carson down.

  I was under the impression that my uncle had never met with Gomez before, but I sensed an odd form of familiarity between them. It was stupid to think that way though, Carson was probably just involved in a deal between Gomez and the club. I pushed it out of my mind, but I reminded myself to ask my uncle about it later.

  “So, you want me to take out Slattery?” Gomez confirmed.

  “Yes.” I answered this time. “We have a plan if you're willing to help us.”

  Gomez let out another cackle. “So, baby Walker thinks he’s got a plan? Okay, I’ll play.”

  I ground my teeth in frustration but moved on.

  Keep a cool head, keep a cool head, I chanted to myself in the hopes of it actually working.

  “The plan is that I will spend the next few weeks staking out Slattery. I’ll monitor all his movements, everywhere he goes, people he meets. I’ll report all this information back to you. When we figure out the perfect time for a hit, I’ll pass on the intel and you can take it from there.”

  “Seems simple enough,” he nodded casually.

  “So, you’ll do it?” I perked up. Surely it couldn’t be that easy.

  “Yes. But I have a condition.”

  “Here we go,” Carson muttered.

  Damn, just when I thought things were going well. There was no telling what he’d ask us to do. Money I could deal with, but somehow, I knew it would never be that simple.

  Gomez turned back to his men and started speaking in Spanish once more, either translating what we were saying or discussing plans so we wouldn’t listen. I was really starting to regret not taking Spanish in high school.

  “Okay. I will do it. But only if the Hell’s Raiders will work exclusively for my cartel.”

  “What?” I sputtered. “Fuck no.”

  “Careful, baby Walker. I’m doing you a favor.” I backtracked immediately and held up both hands, palms out.

  Carson was being strangely silent, something I didn’t appreciate at all. I walked over to him until we were almost nose-to-nose.

  “I think we should do it,” Carson said quietly.

  “You can’t be serious!” I whisper yelled. “He’ll own us. He’ll own the club.”

  My uncle scoffed. “No, he won’t. Don’t be ridiculous, Jett.”

  “They’re our men. This whole plan was because you wanted to avoid a war and make sure the club wasn’t at risk.”

  Carson lifted a hand and placed it at the back of my neck, drawing me close to him so that he could whisper in my ear.

  “Make no mistake, Jett,” he said coldly. “They are my men. I am President, and I’ll be deciding th
is.”

  He released me roughly and continued. “You can’t have it both ways, Jett. Either we agree to do this and risk the lives of my men, or we do it alone, cause a war, and risk the lives of my men.”

  I felt my anger rise to the surface once more and struggled to push it down. Now wasn’t the time.

  The way he said it made it seem like this was our only choice, but could I live with that? Knowing that I was the reason the club would be forced to answer to the likes of Gomez. We didn’t know his plans or his end goal. All we knew was that one day we’d be forced to listen when he said jump.

  “The club will do whatever it takes to get back at Slattery. Billy was the president, they’ll understand.”

  Sometimes I wondered if I knew my uncle at all, especially at times like this when he was so cold. Was this how my dad made deals too? Calculating the risks and deciding the path, no matter whose lives could be in danger?

  “Trust me,” Carson said. That was the real issue, wasn’t it? Trust. And I trusted my uncle explicitly.

  “Fine,” I agreed.

  Turning back to Gomez, Carson announced, “We have a deal.

  “But only after Slattery is dead,” I interjected. No way was I willing to do anything until he held up his side of the bargain.

  “Deal,” Gomez held a hand out and I reached out and shook it with disgust. I couldn’t help but feel like I’d just made a deal with the devil.

  Carson and I walked out of the warehouse in silence. I was still processing what had happened, but I knew Carson was angry.

  “You had one thing to do,” he said sharply. “Just keep your temper. Next time we won’t be so lucky.”

  ###

  The ride back home seemed longer. Carson had sped off ahead to go home and he was now completely out of sight. I was taking my time, though I knew I’d promised Dayna I would hurry back so she didn’t worry.

  I closed my eyes against the wind as I coasted along the abandoned road. I couldn’t picture my father’s face at that moment. I tried and I tried, but the details were becoming blurrier with every day. Sometimes I would try and think of him, but see Carson’s face instead. I wondered if my uncle ever regretted looking so much like his brother.

  The sound of a blaring horn jolted my eyes open and I swerved sharply away from the oncoming car. I hadn’t even realized I’d drifted onto the other side of the road, though it was empty enough that I probably wouldn’t have cared if it weren’t for that one car.

  I supposed this was what my uncle and Dayna always complained about when they called me reckless.

  Dayna. I could picture her perfectly in my mind’s eyes, without even closing my eyes. She said she’d be waiting for me in the shop, though I’d told her that she should be working. I knew I’d come back and find nothing done and her chastising me for taking my sweet ass time to get back home.

  Be safe.

  She was probably worried sick by now, it was almost dark. With a groan, I raced down the road to the shop, hoping she wouldn’t shoot me when I arrived.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Dayna

  I paced back and forth in Jett’s workshop, unable to do anything other than let every possible worst-case scenario run through my head. What if he was hurt? What if Gomez didn’t really want to talk at all?

  Jett had given me instructions before he left to continue work as usual and that he’d be home in no time. Of course, as soon as I stepped into the shop I was bombarded with thoughts of Jett. The whole place was a reminder of him, how could he possibly think that I could do my work and wait for him comfortably?

  It had been hours since Jett and Carson had left for an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere. Jett had even confessed that he didn’t know where it was. What if he was lost, dying of heat stroke? I didn’t even know how far away the warehouse was so I couldn’t even guess at the time that he would be back.

  Surely a phone call wasn’t too much to ask for. I didn’t even know why I was so worried. After all, he was just my boss.

  I shook my head. Even the thought of it felt wrong. Jett wasn’t anymore my boss than my own mother. He treated me like a colleague if anything, but mostly he treated me like a friend. Though, I supposed one didn’t usually have wild sex with a friend or colleague.

  It was hard to admit, but I was scared out of my mind. Jett was impulsive and so focused on revenge that I was worried he would do something irrational. My only consolation was that he was with his uncle, and if Carson was nothing else, he was calculating. I knew there was no way Carson could walk into any situation without at least three exit plans in his head in case things hit the fan.

  I continued pacing, alternating between throwing looks at the clock and at the door. If he didn’t come home in the next ten minutes I was fully prepared to call the cops and tell them he’d died.

  Luckily, at that moment the front door of the shop swung open and caused my head to snap in its direction, praying it wasn’t a customer. Jett swaggered in, looking unharmed and well … alive.

  “Jett!” I cried. I sprinted towards him and jumped into the air, knowing he’d catch me, and he did. I wrapped all four limbs around his body, forcing his hands to come under my ass to support me. Not even thinking, I bent my head and crushed my lips to his, almost bruising them with my ferocity.

  I was so glad he was home.

  A moment later, the reality of the situation hit me and I hurriedly pushed myself away from him, turning from him shyly. I felt my cheeks flush red with embarrassment and started mentally chastising myself. I wouldn’t be able to meet his eyes after this, not after I completely and literally threw myself at him. What had come over me? Well I knew exactly what it was, but I should’ve kept it under control. I’d always accused Jett of being impulsive, but then I went and threw myself at him. I snuck a look at Jett and he seemed to be just as shocked as me. Or even more so, based on his expression.

  “How did it go?” I asked, in an attempt to change the subject.

  “It was fine. Gomez is on board. He said he’d follow our plan and help take Slattery out.”

  That seemed great news to me, especially since Jett had been hoping for something like this for months. He seemed unhappy about it, though. There was definitely something he wasn’t telling me. He wasn’t completely meeting my eyes, they were flicking about around the room as if he didn’t want to look at me.

  “Are you sure you can even trust him?” I asked. I already knew the answer. How could you ever trust someone like Gomez? From what I knew about him, he was violent, cruel and slippery. I was beginning to question Carson’s sanity despite knowing that he knew what he was doing.

  “No. I have no idea if we’ll be able to trust him. But you heard Carson, he’s our best shot – actually, our only shot – if we don’t want to go to war with the Succubus MC.”

  I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that we were talking about an all-out war between bikers like it was nothing. What had I gotten myself into? All the rules and club politics were beginning to spin around in my head. I hadn’t even met many people from the club yet except for Mike. The problem was that I was involved, without truly being in the club, a strange middle territory that didn’t really make sense to me.

  If there was anyone I could talk about it to it would be my mother, except I knew she didn’t really approve of my life decisions recently. I couldn’t blame her, especially when I’d promised I would listen to her, but at the same time I longed for her advice and wisdom.

  Jett sat down on a nearby chair and placed his head in his hands, elbows on knees. He was still worried about something, and I hadn’t correctly guessed it yet. Sometimes, I wished he could just tell me what troubled him without any coercion.

  I racked my brain, searching and searching until I came to a conclusion. “Did he ask for anything in return?”

  Jett closed his eyes and nodded once. Bingo! I knew immediately that this was the issue and why he’d been holding back until now. I wondered what Gom
ez had wanted?

  I didn’t have to wonder for long before he blurted it out. “He wants the club to work exclusively for him.”

  I frowned and began thinking on it. Honestly, that kind of deal wasn’t one that surprised me, especially when I thought about what else he could have asked for. And the club had made deals with him before; this would just be an extension of that. I assumed that Carson had thought it through and decided the risk was worth it. He was constantly saying how important it was to avoid a war and protect the people in the club, so I was sure he didn’t make the decision lightly.

  I understood why Jett was feeling guilty, though. In all his plans for revenge, I was sure that he assumed the weight of it would rest on his shoulders alone and he wouldn’t have to rely on anyone, save perhaps Carson. Now he was finding out that Gomez was planning to ruin all that. In his head, he was probably thinking that he was failing his father, allowing the club to be caught up in something dangerous just so he could get his revenge. I also knew that he was far too invested and set in his ways to ever back out of the plan. He would avenge his father no matter what.