Chapter 13
Jagger
I was driving way faster than I should, but I needed to get to my woman. If she was still my woman, but we’d cross that bridge after I figured out who mailed something bloody to her. Cheyenne and I had spoken at length over the last two weeks, and I’d divulged some of my issues, starting with my proclivity to destroy everything good in my life and ending with the horrible statements I made to Jackie the morning I left her.
She said time, honesty, and groveling may work, so I was just waiting for an opening. Now, I was kicking the fucking door open. Someone was sending subtle threats to Jackie, and I feared it was Blur and his merry band of assholes who were helping him. The Callahans had suggested that the men Cheyenne killed and injured last year during her escape were just part of Blur’s network.
It took more than a few people to take, hide, transport, and otherwise help dispose of women who they’d taken, so there had to be more out there. And if Blur and his men were able to get any information out of Nitro when they attacked him, then Jackie may have been on their radar. I didn’t believe Nitro would say anything, even if it meant saving his own life, but after the phone call from Jackie, all bets were off.
I was going to act first and investigate second when it came to her safety. Hearing her say she wasn’t a club lady was like a knife to my heart, and Cheyenne patted me on the shoulder, trying to ease my discomfort. Jackie wasn’t aware I was listening when she said that, but I feared she may believe the nonsense she was saying.
I’d fucked up, but she was it for me. Every day, I went out and tried to feed her horse, hoping to get the big animal to warm up to me, but she refused to take anything from me. I could leave it in her bucket, and she may or may not have eaten it after I left, then she huffed, stomped her foot, and lifted her tail into the air as she turned and trotted away from me. But I kept trying.
My phone chimed into the earpiece I’d shoved into my ear before I left, and when I pressed the speech text on my phone, the computer voice spoke the message into my ear.
Message from Animal. I’m at Jackie’s house and I believe she’s right. The box is bleeding, and I think we should take it as a warning. I have her secured.
“Fuck,” I roared into the wind as I pushed my bike a little harder, needing to get there now.
I was already doing one hundred twenty miles an hour on these two-lane backroads, and as much as I trusted my skills as a rider, I couldn’t say the same for others on the road. The snow had started and stopped three times already, and so far, the roads weren’t slick. But that was going to change soon.
Slowing down, I glanced at the GPS, and it said I was still thirty minutes from her house. I knew she was safe, but I had to see her with my own eyes to know whoever was trying to scare her hadn’t succeeded. Then, we’d find who’s trying to intimidate my woman, and I was going to kill them slowly.
With each mile that my bike chewed up, the more my apprehension grew. What if she couldn’t forgive me for what I said? What if she’s in danger and wouldn’t let me help? What if she turned her back and walked away forever?
I couldn’t even think about the answer to those questions when I had a thousand other questions about the box going through my head. Who sent it and why? What’s inside? Why send it to her instead of the Sinners?
Running through the countless conversations I’d had with the Callahan brothers, Roughstock, and Phantom over the last two weeks, I tried to see a pattern but kept coming up blank. The hidden relationship between Blur and the Bastards wasn’t presenting itself, so we were no closer to discovering why our chapter had been betrayed. Even though we’d been getting real-time updates whenever a Callahan camera caught his face, we were still no closer to getting our hands on the traitor.
Rolling through the streets of the reservation, I got more than a few concerned looks from the residents, and I tried to smile as I got closer to Jackie’s house. She wasn’t in one of the isolated areas of the reservation, but she wasn’t clustered close to everyone either. That made finding out who delivered the package harder—less people, less eyes, and less cameras to monitor.
Making the last turn, I saw Animal’s bike parked at the only house on the right side of the road for as far as I could see, and I turned and parked beside him. There were two houses across the street, one flanking either side of Jackie’s house, and I looked to see that the one you would have to pass first had cameras outside.
I needed to have the Callahans pull the footage, if possible, to see if we can get a visual of who thought it was okay to send a threat to a Sinners Revenge ol’ lady. Because I was going to personally deliver him to hell. Jackie was my ol’ lady, and I would fight that warrior spirit in her until I won her back.
Getting off the bike, I walked up the stairs and looked at the box before I knocked on the door. A minute later, I heard three locks disengage before the door opened. Standing in front of me, looking like a vision out of a dream, was Jackie, the only woman who ever caught my attention, and the only person I couldn’t live without.
Her eyes fluttered, and she glanced to the side before she spoke. “Thank you for coming. I’m sorry to be such a bother.”
“You’re no bother, darlin’. Is it okay if I come inside?” I asked, and she nodded before stepping to the side to let me in.
Animal was standing in the doorway of the living room, and he approached me as Jackie stood to the side and watched.
“Is there any place we can open the box without it being out front?” Animal asked.
Jackie responded, “I’ve got a small potting shed in the back if that will work.”
“That’s perfect. I’ll let myself in the gate and bring the box around,” he remarked and stepped around us to go out front.
Pushing the door closed, I looked at Jackie, who had her arms crossed over her chest in a defensive stance. I didn’t know where to start with her, but she took the leap and spoke first.
“How’s your Nana? Is her ankle healing?”
“Nana is good. She twisted her ankle that morning, but she’s back up and at it,” I replied. “Can . . . can we talk about what happened?”
“There’s no need, honestly. I understand why you said what you did, and I don’t hold it against you.”
“Jackie, please” was as far as I got before the sound of someone banging echoed into the living room.
Jackie turned and walked into the kitchen before opening a door to the back yard. Animal stepped in front of her and shot me a look over her head. I knew that whatever it was, it was bad, and on instinct, I walked up behind Jackie.
Carefully, I placed my hands on her shoulders and softly asked, “Can you go into the other room while we look inside?”
“Can you . . .” She paused, then asked, “Will you tell me what’s inside?”
“We’ll see,” I returned, and I could tell that made her mad, but until I knew what it was, I couldn’t give her an honest answer.
Exhaling deeply, she said, “I’ll make some coffee while you’re outside.”
Turning, she walked over to the counter, and I saw her glance over her shoulder as I walked outside and pulled the door behind me.
Animal shook his head and spoke quietly. “Someone wants to start a war.”
The box was on a small wooden crate near the shed at the side of her yard, and we walked over to it. The smell was horrible. I knew there was something dead inside, but when I used the tip of a screwdriver from the crate to lift the flaps, I wasn’t expecting to see what I did.
“Fuck me,” I complained and closed the lid to the box. “We need to call Roughstock and let him know. Someone’s going to have to tell his family.” Shaking my head, I couldn’t find the right words to articulate finding a severed head in a box.
“How? Who could’ve gotten the jump on him like that?” Animal inquired as I opened the shed and started looking for something to put the box in.
Looking over my shoulder, I admitted, “I have no idea, but I guarantee they got him fucked up before they did this. There’s no way Dozer would let anyone get the jump on him.”
Dozer was a friend of the Sinners who helped from time to time. He carried our bikes if riding them somewhere wasn’t possible, he helped with the heavy equipment work on the ranch, and he’d been drinking with the Sinners for as long as I could remember. He was a tough son of a bitch, and I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to hurt him and put his head in a box. He wasn’t a brother, but he was a friend, so I now started to worry about who else may have had a target on them just from their association with the Sinners Revenge,
“We need to get her out of here until we can figure out what the fuck is going on,” Animal said, his voice low as he helped me get the box into a large, black trash bag. After putting that bag into another bag, I placed it on the ground and looked at the house before replying.
“She’s gonna be pissed, and you may not want to be around for that.” I saw Jackie was looking out the window, so I added, “I don’t want to leave the box here for her to see. Can you stow it and take it back to Rapid? Dozer’s family deserves to bury him the right way.”
He wrinkled his nose but nodded and glanced at the house before asking, “Do you think you can get her to come back to the ranch until we have a handle on all this?”
Shaking my head, I replied, “Not likely, but if I can’t, then Cheyenne will be able to guilt her into it. And at this stage, I’m not above throwing her over my shoulder and dragging her stubborn ass back to Rapid City.”
He clapped me on the back and replied, “I’d pay to see that. She’ll kick your ass.”
“And I’d deserve it, but either way, she’s gonna be locked down until we find Blur.”
“Is everything okay?” She asked, and we both turned to face the back of the house.
She was using a thin sweater to cover her front, and I could tell she was cold as she waited for us to respond.
“Let’s go deal with this,” Animal remarked, and I followed him to the house. He walked up to Jackie and explained, “I’m going to take the box back to Rapid City. I’ll catch you later.”
Without waiting for her response, he walked back to the shed, grabbed the bag with the box inside, and walked out the side gate. Jackie stared at me as I stared back at her, and a minute later, the sound of a bike cranking up filled the air. She turned before looking back at me.
“Are you going to tell me what’s inside?”
Carefully, I placed my hands on her shoulders and gently guided her back inside. The kitchen smelled like fresh coffee, and Jackie seemed unsure as I walked her to the island and pulled a chair out for her. Walking to the cabinet, I guessed before I opened the door above the coffee maker and pulled down two cups. Filling both, I poured some creamer from the fridge into the cups and walked back to the island.
Handing her one of the cups, I took a sip and tried to figure out where to start. She watched every move I made, and finally, I knew I had to tell her the truth.
“What I’m about to tell you is going to be upsetting, and I want you to know you’re not alone, nor will you be alone until this is settled,” I began, and she appeared resentful of my edict. “There was someone inside the box.”
Her hand began to tremble as she placed the coffee cup onto the counter and asked, “Someone?”
I took a seat beside her, and she turned to face me as I explained. “Someone is trying to scare you, and I need you to agree to come back to Rapid City with me.”
“No.” she stated simply, and I felt my temper start to rise.
“What part of ‘you’re in danger’ isn’t clear, Jackie? Someone left a person’s head on your porch, and I’m afraid they aren’t going to stop until they have you. I . . . I can’t let anything happen to you.”
“Why do you care?” she asked, and I suddenly realized this was about more than the bloody box.
“I care because I claimed you,” I yelled, standing from my seat. “You’re my woman, and I’ll be damned if someone hurts you and lives.”
“I’m not your woman. You threw me away, and I don’t understand why you think demanding something from me will get you anywhere,” she sassed.
“I didn’t throw you away. Did I fuck up? Absolutely. But was it bad enough for you to walk away from something that’s destined to be great? Fuck no.” I ran my hand through my hair and admitted, “I felt like I dropped the ball again with Nana, and her being hurt was on me, but I shifted the blame and pain to you, trying to make myself feel better. That was wrong of me, and I can’t say I’m sorry enough to make up for my bullshit.”
“How did you drop the ball again?” Jackie asked, calmer than she was just a minute ago.
Pushing against the counter, I cast my eyes across the room as I admitted my greatest shame. “Nitro getting killed was my fault. I was supposed to protect him and I failed.” Lowering my voice, I added, “I can’t lose you too.”
She stepped in front of me and said, “You weren’t to blame for what happened to Nitro. If anything, it’s my fault. If I hadn’t stumbled upon that house—”
“It’s not your fault,” I returned. “If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s that fucker, Blur.”
“Then why are we blaming ourselves?” she asked. I shrugged, and she offered me a smile. “We need to focus on Blur and stop beating ourselves up over something that’s out of our hands.”
Carefully, I reached out and lifted her ponytail from her shoulder, pushing it to her back before I rubbed my thumb along her jaw. She leaned into my touch, and when her eyes shuttered, I took that as a good sign. “Will you come back to Rapid City with me until we can find out what’s going on?”
“I’ll be safe here,” she returned as she opened her eyes, and I wanted to paddle her ass for being so stubborn.
“What if something else is sent here? What if someone shows up and tries to take you, or worse?
“I already got something else,” she remarked and walked to a curio cabinet along the side wall. “I didn’t think anything about it until just this second.”
She picked up a brown envelope and walked back to me before handing it over. There was no postmark or sender on the envelope, telling me it was delivered by hand, so maybe the neighbor’s camera caught that movement. Pulling a picture out of the envelope, I looked at it but didn’t recognize anything, so I asked her.
“Where was this taken?”
She shrugged and looked at it before replying, “I don’t know. It was waiting for me when I got back from Rapid after . . . the stock show, and I assumed it was from someone in the tribe wanting to draw my attention to something specific.” She paused and whispered, “I’m not so sure now.”
Her hands were twisted together, and I could tell she was suddenly unnerved over the realization that someone was stalking her. Without hesitation, she looked up at me and said, “I’ll come back with you, but I don’t want you thinking I’m keeping you to your claim. I’ll stay at the ranch with Cheyenne, but I don’t want you worrying about me. Deal?”
I wasn’t going to honor it, but I answered, “Deal.”
Jackie had spent too many years alone, and the fact she didn’t punch me in the face when I walked up told me one thing—she was ready to forgive me, but she was going to make me work for it. And I’d work every minute of every day until she forgave me. Then, I would show my little warrior exactly how much I missed her and how she’d never be without me again.