Jake (Demented Souls #16)

45

J ake took Lynnie back to the main ranch, gave her the Tylenol Steele recommended and got her tucked into bed. He’d been hesitant to let her sleep, but Steele had assured him it was the best way for her to heal, but that she’d need to be woken and checked on regularly. He could do that. Hell, he doubted he’d be able to get very far from her for a while.

“Stay with me.” Lynnie reached for him as he went to turn out the light and let her rest.

“Are you sure?”

“I want you here. I want to feel you hold me.”

How could he deny a request like that? He kicked off his boots and climbed up onto the bed behind her, careful not to jostle her too much as he pulled her into his arms.

He lay still, holding her and reveling in the feel of her there, safe, as he puzzled out how to put an end to this threat. Her breathing evened out and she fell asleep in the first fifteen minutes, but he lay there another thirty, making sure she wasn’t restless, and considering how best to solve his problem.

When he got up, he eased off the bed, grabbed his boots and tiptoed from the room, so he didn’t wake her. In the front room he sent a few messages and put his boots back on. He wouldn’t go more than a few steps away from the trailer in case she called out, he wanted to hear her. He also needed to talk to his brothers and make a few calls and the last thing he needed was for her to wake up and overhear him.

He sent several texts, pacing the living room the whole time, as he got things lined up as best he could this way. Everything else needed to be handled either in person or at least with a call. When the time came to step outside, he checked the time and found he’d been up less than an hour. He’d let her sleep a little longer before waking her, but he did peek into the bedroom and make sure she was okay and sleeping peacefully, then slipped outside as quietly as he could.

Jake hadn’t taken five steps from the door of the trailer before Iceman stood in front of him, his brow creased with concern.

“How is she?”

“She’s okay. She’s sleeping right now.”

“Is that safe? I always heard you keep someone awake after a blow to the head.”

“I heard that too, but Steele said it’s safe to let her sleep. We will need to wake her every couple of hours to make sure she’s still okay, but right now we just let her sleep.”

“All right, but I want to see her when you wake her.”

“She needs to be woken in about an hour. You can do that.” He glanced at the trailer, as if he could see through it to her, and made a decision. One that would solve at least one of his problems, for now. “What time do you need get out of here to make it to work?”

Iceman shook his head. “I’m not going home. I already called in. I’ll stay another day, make sure everything is good here.”

“You sure? She wouldn’t want you to get in trouble at work.”

“I’m sure. Besides, my president is my boss. He understands about family and that we have some things to make up to your club. On top of that, he let me know that it’s his fault these asshats found her. He’s feeling guilty and will likely let me have whatever time I want.”

“I won’t say I don’t appreciate it. I do. But it wasn’t necessary. We’ve got a lot of people around here. Tell me more about how those idiots finding her is his fault?”

“It seems he and some of the others were sitting around the shop one evening after hours and shooting shit. Someone asked where I’d gotten off to and he told them. What he didn’t know was that Rooster was hanging around, trying to find dirt on the Kings. He’d heard about the bounty on her head and that her ex had remembered she had a cousin up this way. He put two and two together, leading them here. As for your people, half of them are leaving tomorrow. There’s a lot going on here and that’s no one’s fault, but I can help. If I need to, I can stay longer. Cowboy will understand.”

“Thanks. She’s on the bed, but go on in if you want. I’ll feel better if you’re keeping an eye on her, in case she needs anything while I make some phone calls. I’m going to put an end to this reward bullshit today.”

“I didn’t know you had the pull to do that.”

“I’ve got a couple of connections and I’ve been working on it, but it’s not going fast enough. I’m going to make promises and owe a few favors, but I don’t want this to happen again, no matter what I have to do.” Jake tilted the top of his head toward where Lynnie lay in bed, sleeping.

“I’ll make sure nothing happens to her,” Iceman said.

Jake nodded, leaving his woman’s cousin to make sure she was safe. His woman? Since when had he started thinking of her as his? His mind spun as Iceman stepped past him and into the trailer. As much as he might want to, he didn’t have time for this. Thinking about what she meant to him was a pleasure he didn’t have time to take, not as long as men were looking to cash in on capturing her and taking her back to Alabama and the Sons for the reward money.

Jake pulled up Hex’s number on his phone and pressed dial. The phone rang in his hear and he thought about how best to address this. In the end, all that mattered was the result. He didn’t care what it cost him.

“Hey, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. I haven’t found out anything new.”

“That’s okay. I have. I need something and I don’t care what it costs. Money now, a favor in the future. Whatever, it’s yours.” Jake glanced around to make sure there was no one near and he wasn’t overheard.

“If it’s in my power, it’s yours. You know that,” Hex said. “Tell me what you need.”

Jake relayed what had happened here this afternoon, then continued with what he needed done. “Find Mitch Coleman and deliver him to the Sons. Tell them that this is the person who incurred the debt and the person who will be paying it. Heather is off the table, permanently. They are to remove the reward for her immediately, and if she has any more trouble stemming from this little stunt of theirs, then they won’t have to worry about it for long because they will no longer be breathing, and their bodies will never be found.”

“Okay, I don’t have any problem with that, and I’ll gather a couple of men who won’t mind helping. We’ve been working on putting an end to the Sons for a while. We are close to having what we need. Then you won’t have to worry about them anymore anyway. Any requests for what kind of condition Coleman is in when we deliver him?”

Jake blinked. He hadn’t thought about that. He’d been too concerned with getting it done. “Let’s go with the same condition they put on the reward. No permanent injuries.”

“Sounds good to me. You know where to find him?”

“Not a clue.” Jake wished he had more, because that would make this whole operation faster, but he’d have to deal with it. Hex would be able to find him, it was just a matter of how quickly. “Let me know once it’s done. Not that I’ll drop my guard any time soon, even once the message has been delivered, but it will be good to know.”

“No worries. I’ll stay in touch. And not just about this. I’m sure you’ll hear from me soon,” Hex said.

“I’ll look forward to it. Let me know if you need anything from me. In the meantime, I’m going to see what I can do to make sure we’re covered in case someone else shows up before the word gets out that the reward is cancelled.”

“Take care, I’ll be in touch.” Hex disconnected the call.

Jake went in search of Lurch, he needed to find out what they’d done with the assholes after he’d left and figure out what they had to do to make sure everyone here stayed safe. The last thing they needed was for any of the women to get in the middle of something like this. They didn’t want any of them hurt, and he needed to do his share to make sure they were doing everything they could.