Chapter 21
Jagger
Two days later
P hantom and Animal made sure Jackie’s father got the girls, and he planned to transport them back to Michigan to their father’s house yesterday. The girls were pretty rattled from their ordeal, but I trusted they wouldn’t divulge what they’d seen or experienced. Laura, the woman who had been a captive for almost two years, was settling into a camper on Roughstock and Cheyenne’s property.
It was moved beside the house so Laura would be close, and she seemed to be settling in fairly well. They had offered to let her stay as long as she needed, but I could tell she was worried about taking advantage of them. I felt bad for her but was proud she survived. No matter what she had to do.
Blur offered to tell us everything about his operation, thinking it might keep him alive longer, but no amount of confessions would delay him dying. Blur thought that he could leveraged his secrets to save his sorry ass, but when Roughstock put a bullet in his head, his leverage went out the side with his brains.
Jackie and I spent all day in bed yesterday morning, getting reacquainted with each other. It was a perfect day, but when Cheyenne called yesterday afternoon, asking us to come to the ranch, Jackie knew it was about Laura. The woman had been through hell, but she confided in the ladies last night that no one had touched her. For two years, they threatened her with every imaginable thing to scare her, but when Blur took off, she was left to take care of the women.
The men involved in Cheyenne’s kidnapping last year had come and gone from the property, until one day, they didn’t return. Laura said she didn’t leave out of fear and shame. I heard Jackie and Cheyenne reassuring her that whatever she did to survive was understandable, but I believed she held herself responsible.
I called Dawg, the National President of the Sinners Revenge MC, and spoke with his wife, Lori. She and Rose, the wife of Roughstock’s cousin, Jackal, were going to come up and speak with Laura in a few days. Hopefully, with what Lori and Rose had survived, they could help Laura find her strength.
Today, Jackie’s father was driving down to Rapid City to join Jackie, Nana, and me at my house for lunch. It was past time I introduced myself to her father, and he and my Nana wanted to meet, so Jackie suggested we cook here. My house was very much a bachelor pad, but I was willing to change whatever she wanted. She helped me straighten up to make the place presentable.
After deciding on the menu, we went to the store and got everything to make lunch. Watching Jackie move around the kitchen as she cooked made me want to put my ring on her finger and a baby in her belly even more. But we had the rest of our lives, so I wasn’t going to rush anything.
“I’m going to pick up Nana,” I remarked. “Did your dad say what time he would be here?”
She looked at the clock on the microwave and replied, “He should be here in twenty minutes or so.”
“Then we should get here about the same time.” Kissing her on the cheek, I added, “I love you, my beautiful little warrior.”
She turned and kissed my lips softly as she replied, “I love you too.”
Leaving her alone was difficult, but I knew she was safe in the house. And in a kitchen full of knives, I wouldn’t want to be the dumb fucker who’d try to hurt her. The skill she had when throwing that knife at Blur, landing it in a small spot to immobilize him without injuring Laura, was impressive, and I’d admit, I asked her to teach me her secrets.
She kissed me and whispered, “Ancient Native secret.”
I tickled her after her little joke, and her laughter was like the morning sun rising—beautiful and full of possibilities.
The drive to Nana’s didn’t take too long, and after getting her secure in my truck, I drove straight back to my house. There were only a few miles between us, and when I pulled back up at my house, I saw an unfamiliar car parked behind Jackie’s car.
After assisting Nana out of the car, I walked beside her as we moved toward the house. Her ankle was healed, but I felt better when I was beside her. As we got closer, she lowered her voice as she spoke.
“Did you get that nasty business with Trent’s father taken care of?” Nana inquired.
I glanced at her and responded in a general manner. “The man who hurt Nitro won’t ever hurt anyone again.”
She reached over and patted my arm as she said, “Good. People like that deserve to be put down like the rabid dogs they are.”
I tried to school my face at her shocking statement as I helped her up the stairs. Suddenly, it dawned on me that my Nana was more familiar with the workings of the club than I’d realized. Opening the door, she walked into the house before me and looked around. Cheyenne and an older man with a beautiful black braid over his shoulder walked into the room.
“Cora?” the man I assumed to be Jackie’s father asked. “Cora Morris?”
“It’s Connie Palmer now.” She took another step closer and remarked, “Oh my. Awena Swiftwater? How on earth have you been?”
The two embraced in a familiar hug as Jackie and I looked on, confused how they knew each other. Finally, Nana explained. “Awena and I worked on a project a hundred years ago. I haven’t seen you in, what, thirty years?”
“At least,” he returned with a smile before turning his attention to me. “You must be Lincoln. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you from Jackie. And if you’re related to Connie, then I know you have a good heart.”
I shook his hand and replied, “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Swiftwater. Welcome to our home.”
It was a slip, but he caught it. Looking at Jackie, he asked, “Will you still have your work with the tribes when you move?”
“Of course, Dad. And I’m not rushing to move tomorrow. We have lots of time for that, but I’ll never give up my work. It’s too important,” Jackie explained.
“Why don’t we take a seat?” I asked, watching Jackie’s father extend his elbow to Nana.
She smiled up at him, and they walked into the kitchen, chatting like teenagers. Jackie and I stood shocked and amused as we watched her dad pull Nana’s chair out before he took a seat. We joined them, and I sat across from him as I took Jackie’s hand into mine.
“Mr. Swiftwater, you have my promise that whatever Jackie wants to do in life, she has my complete support. And if she wants to continue her work with the tribes, then I’ll be right by her side, helping and protecting her. She’ll never be alone again.”
Nana smiled at me as Jackie’s father leaned back in his seat, appraising me. My cut was hanging up in the living room since I was trying to make a good impression, and I felt vulnerable without it. But to be with Jackie, I would be as vulnerable as needed.
“How are you going to support my daughter if you’re following her around all the time? Won’t your job miss you?” he inquired.
I looked at Nana, and she gave me a subtle nod. Kissing the back of Jackie’s hand, I began to explain my situation, which she wasn’t aware of yet. “I worked five years in the oil fields up north during the boom, and I lived cheaply. Taking all the money I made, plus the profits from selling my family home, I invested in the tech industry before that boom. A club brother manages my investments now, and barring a complete meltdown of the financial sector, we’ll have enough to live comfortably for the rest of our lives.”
“So, I never have to worry about you becoming an addict? Or messing around with some cheap floosies?”
“Dad,” Jackie scolded.
“Darlin’, it’s okay. I understand where your father’s coming from, and please let me reassure you, I don’t do drugs. I never have more than two drinks, and that’s on a rare occasion. I don’t believe in cheating, and I’d never do anything to hurt your daughter.” I looked at her and remarked, “I love her.”
He stared at me for a few moments before he lifted his shoulders and said, “That works for me.”
Turning, he began to talk to Nana, who had sat watching with a prideful smile. She’d always told me that the right woman would change my life, and the second I claimed Jackie as mine, I finally understood what Nana had meant.
The right person made you do crazy things.
The right person made you change your life.
The right person made everything better.
And Jackie was the right person.
I helped her finish lunch while her father and Nana chatted, and I couldn’t help but think how things could be so different.
Four plus years ago, Jackie uncovered something so twisted that many people lost their lives. Her forethought to seek out her father’s help saved her from a horrible fate, and seeing how close they were and how she smiled when he was around meant keeping her happy, that kept me above ground.
Our family was small, but it was filled with love. And knowing Jackie and I were just getting started on our path to happiness gave me hope that she and I would have the same kind of happiness Nana and Pappy had.
A once-in-a-lifetime kind of love that would make you face down a charging buffalo to protect it.
The lives we lived up until now were so uniquely different but also so intertwined with each other that I wanted to kick my own ass for losing years with her when I was a stubborn jackass. But all we had now was time, and I didn’t plan on wasting a second together.
After all, wasn’t that what you should do with your ride or die?