Chapter Nineteen
Viking wanted to smash his fist through the fucker’s skull. Hell, when he found whoever put that look on Blair’s face, he vowed he’d end the motherfucker.
“We’ll find whoever it was, Baby.”
“How?” she asked. Her voice trembled.
“I’m going to have a friend of mine analyze the footage to see if he’s able to get anything from it that our eyes can’t. He’s got technology the government would drool over.”
Jinx didn’t speak. He watched her swallow and blink as if she were fighting to stay strong. It pissed him off to see her so helpless. He hated feeling as though he couldn’t do anything but make promises he wasn’t sure he could keep.
“Let’s get inside. I’ll make some calls and get shit moving.” He got out, not waiting for her response.
Outside his vehicle, he noticed his brother's and dad’s trucks were both inside, along with his mom’s SUV. He wished Solange were home, knowing she would be a good buffer with Jinx and his family.
Jinx hopped down the second he opened her door. She stood next to him with her shoulders back, as if she were ready to face a firing squad.
“Are you freaking out about meeting my family?” he asked.
“No. Yes. Kind of. What are you going to tell them? Hey, this is the girl I slept with last night. I just met her at the bar, and oh, by the way, someone is probably trying to kill her.” She groaned. “That’s really not a great first introduction, Bekkett.”
“Jinx, I’m a grown man. I don’t have to explain shit to my parents.
I haven’t done so in years. As for telling them about you, I’ll stick to the truth, and that’ll be easy.
I met you the night I got here. I stalked you a little in a non-creepy way.
You agreed to go out with me, and now we’re here.
Everything else is none of their business. "
She stepped in front of him. “That's where you’re wrong, Bekkett. If by having me here brings danger, then they have a right to know.”
“One step at a time, Vakker. Let me get Keys on this shit, and we'll go from there. Okay?”
He held her gaze, staring down at her with pleading eyes. She needed to approve for him to move forward.
“Fine, but if shit goes south, don’t blame me,” she huffed.
“Shit won’t go south. If it does, I have every bit of faith we can handle it.” He didn’t mention the fact they’d be down with his MC, where they’d have lots of backup.
“Bekkett, I’m so happy you’re here. Tell your father that indigo is a shade of purple, not blue.”
His mother called from inside the house.
He and Jinx stopped outside the kitchen. “Here we go. Are you ready to meet my crazy mama?”
“I heard that,” his mother said, opening the closed door.
“Jinx, this is my mom, Brie. She’s usually the sane one in the family.” Bekkett bent and kissed his mother’s cheek.
“Hello, Jinx. It’s lovely to meet you. Come in. Have the two of you eaten?
THE NEXT DAY...
Viking looked over at Jinx riding shotgun in his pickup. He’d been a little stunned at the easy capitulation of her going with him. He’d never been one to look a gift horse in the face and wouldn’t start with Jinx.
“I know it’s hard to tell, but did anything stand out as being gone or moved?” he asked.
She closed her eyes. When she opened them, she looked tired. Viking wanted to beat the fuck out of the bastard for making her feel as if her world had crumbled.
Jinx shifted in the seat so she could look at him.
“My clothes didn’t appear like they’d been touched.
I have like two dozen black shirts and about the same amount of black jeans.
Um, I noticed the sheets I stripped off the bed the night before were gone.
I meant to throw them in the washing machine, but I hadn’t gotten around to it before we’d left.
It was on my to-do list when I got home.
I looked for them when I was packing a bag, so that I could wash them while I got ready.
They were nowhere to be found. Why would he take them? ”
Viking’s fingers turned white as he held the wheel. “What kind of sick fuck wants to get up close and personal with our dirty sheets?”
“That’s the ten-million-dollar question,” she replied.
“Too bad we didn’t have a disease they could get by touching our jizz.” He grimaced.
“That is really nasty. Other than that, I didn’t see anything missing. If he took a pair of panties, I didn’t notice.”
“That pisses me off. The thought some bastard spent an hour rifling through your things disgusts me.”
“Well, if he’d hoped to find some sex toys or home videos, he’d only find the first,” she said.
His eyes narrowed. The thought of Jinx using toys on herself made his dick hard.
He shifted his mind to other things, compartmentalizing to keep on track.
“Keys said to ask if you can make a list of anyone you can think of who you might’ve pissed off.
Even if you don’t think they’d be capable, put them on the list. Did you take a parking spot someone wanted?
Put their name on the list. Did you cut in front of Molly Jane at Costco?
Put her on the list. You get the idea. He said a comprehensive list will give him a place to start. ”
Jinx pulled out her phone, opened up the Notes app, and stared at the glowing screen in front of her.
He reached over and panted her thigh. “We have a ten-hour drive. I thought we’d break it up and stay overnight halfway between, so we don’t look like roadkill when we show up at the clubhouse.
You don’t have to do it right this instant, Vakker. ”
“I know, but I thought if I started, I’d have some names come to me.
Honestly, I can’t think of a single person I’ve pissed off.
Well, aside from the douchebags the other night at the bar.
I take that back. There’s usually at least one asshole who gets mad at me at some point during the weekend.
It’s literally a ritual. They always come back and buy me a drink the next day or next week.
None of them is malicious. I’ve had a few bad eggs like those you met, but honestly, I can’t picture any of them as a psycho. ”
“Put all their names down. We’ll check them off one by one. Trust me, Keys has a program that can find out everything, even shit they thought was hidden.”
They stopped at a small motel several hours later.
He ordered pizza and breadsticks. She amazed him as she ate four slices of pie plus three pieces of the sticks, smothered in sauce.
His woman kept him on his toes with her wit and sense of humor.
After eating the pizza naked on the bed, he made love to her twice, then fell asleep with Jinx in his arms. When he woke with her warm weight on his arm, he’d been stunned to find he didn’t feel the crushing weight of loss and depression.
He let out a breath of relief, looking up at the ceiling, thinking of his beautiful daughter, Sarah.
He’d always love and miss her. Viking placed his hand on his heart.
Jinx lay over the right side of his chest, while Sarah’s memory lay beneath his left, inside where nobody could see.
For the first time, he thought he could go on and live without thoughts of joining his baby girl.
“Hey,” Jinx said.
He rubbed her back, reaching his arm across his chest, holding her in his arms. “Sleep. We have a few hours before we gotta hit the road.”
“Are you okay?” she whispered.
“Yeah.” He said the word he’d answered a hundred times before when people asked how he was doing, only this time, he didn’t lie.
They got up and hit the road, driving the rest of the way down to Santa Clarita.
Viking didn’t hurry, taking time to stop and see differing sights along the way with Jinx.
He’d never gone on vacation with a woman before.
While a ten-hour drive split over two days might not be a dream trip, he wanted to make it memorable for both of them.
Jinx smiled as they drove. Her eyes lost the tightness that had settled over them from the moment they’d realized the fire was tied to her.
“We’re almost there,” he said, reaching over to take her hand.
“I saw the signs.” She squeezed his fingers.
“They’ll love you.” He tried to reassure her.
They rode into the Royal MC clubhouse. The bone-tired feeling he’d been fighting left him the moment he saw the huge iron gates with the skull and motorcycle etched in the large oval center.
The crown atop the skull symbolizes the Royal MC.
When the gates open, the crown went one way, the skull the other.
One of their prospects manned the gatehouse.
Viking wore his cut, but the prospect, being a smart man, double-checked Bekkett’s ID against the approved log.
Once he cleared security, the gate opened, allowing him to continue.
“Wow, this is pretty intense. Why all the security?” Jinx asked.
Viking nodded at the homes they passed. “Our Prez and his family live here, along with the VP and his family and several other high-ranking members. We have a lot of money tied up in our club, and we’ve made some interesting friends in low places.
We also have some big names inside these walls. Shit ain’t what it always seems.”
“You mean just because you’re a bunch of leather-wearing, motorcycle-riding, tattooed bikers, you're not a bunch of heathens?” She stuck her tongue in the side of her mouth, doing the whole tongue-in-cheek thing.
“Vakker, you have no clue what you're doing to me. You really need to keep that tongue in check, or I’m liable to make you put me out of my misery.” He tried to ease the tightness in his jeans.
“Oh, do you guys make women do that like right there in the clubhouse?” Jinx asked.
He eased the truck and trailer around the back of the large clubhouse, parking in the far back away from all the other vehicles. “The fact you don’t sound horrified by that thought makes me want to bend you over my lap and light your ass up and then fuck you silly.”
“Yes, please,” she whispered.
He shoved his seat back, reached over, and unbuckled her seatbelt. “Come here,” he growled.
Jinx dropped her phone, laughing as she climbed over the center console. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“I’d have driven with you riding my cock if you were willing.” He gripped the back of her head with one hand, pressing her against him with the other hand on her ass.
“We might’ve gotten pulled over and arrested for indecent exposure.” She ground her pussy against his groin.
“It would’ve been worth it,” he groaned, bringing his lips down over hers.
Their tongues tangled. He pulled back, breathing in her scent. “I can’t wait to get my mouth on your pussy.”
Her breath caught, and that was when Viking realized one of his brothers was standing outside his window.
“How do you really feel about riding my cock in front of my brothers?” he asked, shifting his hips, making her moan. “Would you let me suck on your breasts and ride me until you’re screaming my name?” He whispered the question. “I won’t stop until I come inside you. Would you, Jinx?”
He moved her back and forth on his dick.
“Fuck, you drive me crazy. What are you asking me?” She panted.
He sighed, leaning his head back against the headrest. “We have an audience.”
She turned her head to the side in the direction Viking stared. “Oh shit,” she whispered
Viking pushed the button to lower the window. “Hey, T-Rex. How’s it going?”
“I’m good, brother. What’s going on?”
“Scooter called down and told us you were here. Keys and King are waiting for you inside. I thought I’d check to make sure you didn’t get lost.” T-Rex looked from Viking to Jinx.
“Good timing,” he agreed.
“Or bad,” Jinx muttered.
“T, this is Jinx. Jinx, this is T-Rex. Where’s your ole’ lady tonight?” he asked his friend.
“She’s inside with Ayesha and Jovi. They’re talking tattoos. I think Lux is going to do a tequila-and-tattoos night or something at her shop next weekend. I told her if she adds tacos, I’d come.”
“You know you’ll be there regardless.” He pushed the door open, maneuvering the two of them out the driver’s side in one fluid motion.
He settled Jinx onto the ground in front of him, placing his arms around her shoulders, making it clear she was with him.
T-Rex quirked his lips up in a wry smile, letting him know he knew what Viking was up to.
“Come on, Berserker. I’ll walk in with the two of you and see that she gets settled with the other ole’ ladies. You know she’ll be safe with Ayesha.”
He’d explained on the long drive some of the rules of the club and what would happen when they got there. Jinx squeezed his hand, her shoulders squared.
“Let’s go. I could really use a drink and the ladies' room. Thank you for coming out for us, T. Is that what I call you?”
T-Rex gave her a smile, the one that many women had fallen to the floor in a puddle of worship. “Ah, chère, that would be fine. Come on before Lux comes looking for me.”