Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
JOSEPHINE “JO” BOOKER
I was new to the biker lifestyle, so there was a lot I had to learn, but it was very evident that the tension was mounting in the clubhouse. The men and women who were so welcoming to me when I first showed my face, were on high alert.
Take now for instance, Johnny and I are sitting on a couch in the common room, and his leg is bouncing a mile a minute. He hasn’t even touched the food he ordered us for lunch, and he’s apologized at least a half dozen times for me having to spend my day off holed up inside the clubhouse. Originally, we were going to go for a drive, and grab lunch out, but any minute they could get word on Bishop’s son, and they’d have to move.
And Johnny isn’t the only one showing signs of distress. Leftie hasn’t said more than two words to anyone but Chestnut. Capone who has become somewhat of a friend of mine is off in the corner playing with his phone, and half the club is missing.
The only one who seems to be unfazed by any of this is Holly.
Suddenly the president from New York appears from the mouth of the hallway and calls Maverick away from his wife.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I got a text from Chains. Looks like the broad spilled some information. It’s not a solid lead but it’s all we got right now.”
Johnny immediately straightens beside me, and the room goes completely silent. Capone ditches his corner, and makes his way toward Maverick. So does Ghost.
“I’m listening,” Maverick says.
“Seems like that CJ motherfucker might have been involved with The Corrupt Bastards,” Wolf reveals.
“Fuck,” Johnny growls, swiping a hand over his face.
“Is that bad?” I question.
“I don’t think the Bastards were on anyone’s bingo card.” He lowers his voice so that only I can hear, and continues, “Not too long ago we partnered with Wolf’s club to wipe them off the map. Went up to Boston, guns blazing. Revenge and retribution were on the menu, and we fucking delivered.”
My eyes widen at his confession. I only break the stare when Wolf speaks again.
“It don’t make too much sense,” he says, frustration wearing on his features.Another man appears beside him, plucking a toothpick from his lips.
“Unless they’re fucking with us,” the man inserts. His eyes scan the room, and he zeroes in on Johnny, pointing the half-chewed toothpick at him. “You were too quick to agree to work with that Silver guy, and now him and his posse are calling us, telling us that a bunch of fucking ghosts are responsible for taking these kids.” He flicks the toothpick. “Fucking amateur. Now these assholes think they got us by the balls.”
Johnny’s jaw clenches as he glares at the man, then he drops his hand on top of my thigh and brings his gaze back to me. “You should go back to my room.”
Before I can respond, Wolf fires back at the toothpick guy.
“What if they don’t know the history between us and the Bastards, Parrish? Maybe the bitch in prison is the one playing them , giving them false information.”
“Or maybe the Bastards aren’t defunct after all,” Bishop, the man whose son is missing, inserts.
Ghost appears on the other side of the bar. “Oh, they’re defunct, alright. I dug the graves myself.”
“Now,” Johnny grinds out, giving my thigh a squeeze.
“No,” I protest. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but there is no way I’m going back to his room.
Wolf pulls his hand away from his face and stares at Mav. “How do we want to play this?”
“Well, first we gotta find out if there is any truth behind their claim. We didn’t obliterate the entire organization. We just took out one charter. Someone could be retaliating, or someone could be looking to resurrect themselves. Either way, with everything going with the Cartel, and all the personal shit that’s plagued my family, it’s possible that the Bastards flew under our radar. Hawk, call Ink and tell him that there’s been a new development. Have him, Torque, and Wiz redirect their efforts to focus on the Bastards. Make sure they know that time isn’t on our side and no information is too little.”
Johnny releases my thigh and reaches into his vest to retrieve his phone.
“I’m on it,” he growls. Then he takes my hand and pulls me to my feet. Pressing the phone to his ear, he drags me away from the common room. He ushers me into his room, and shuts the door without entering it. I can his voice travel, but I can’t make out what he says. When he’s done, he opens the door, and enters the room.
“When I tell you to go to my room, you got to listen to me.”
I cross my arms against my chest.
“I’m not a dog you can order around. I didn’t like the way that guy was talking to you.”
“I know you’re not a dog,” he hisses. “But there are gonna be times when I can’t have you around—times when I can’t tell things you want to know. It’s not because I don’t want to share my life with you, it’s because sharing certain parts of my life can put you in danger and that is not a risk I’m willing to take. It’s why I stayed away from you as long as I did. Now, I want you in my life Jo. I want to love you so fucking hard you forget what life was like before I entered yours. And I want to make a family with you. Eventually that kid is going to need a pal, and when that time comes, I don’t want to experience the same fucking fear I’ve been experiencing since you told me you’re pregnant. I need you to trust me.”
“I do trust you.”
“Then, baby, when I say leave, you gotta leave. I’ll always come back for you.”
“So I’m just supposed to make myself scarce when the shit hits the fan? Holly is out there.”
“Holly has been around the club half her life. She knows better than anyone how shit works around here. You will too, but that time isn’t now and until it rolls around, I need you to listen to me. You can be mad about it all you want, but this is my life, and if we’re merging our lives together, this is how it’s gonna be. Best you know that now.”
I’ve never seen him be so adamant about something.
“You’ll always come back?”
“Always.”
“That’s a tall promise.”
“I’m up for the task.”