Chapter 7
SAYLOR
She couldn’t look at Jax as she quickly finished dressing. She could only focus on Leon’s voice as it boomed through the clearing to reach them. “Fuck you, Leon,” she yelled back, unable to stop herself. “I should have punched you a hell of a lot harder.”
Jax pulled on his shirt and boots before he checked his gun, but he cursed, and she realized he was out of bullets. A tendril of fear started to unfurl in her gut, but she forced herself to ignore it. She needed to keep her head clear. Jax called for the club, and she knew they would come. They just had to survive until then.
“You’re going to fucking pay for that, cunt,” Leon screamed back, clearly incensed at the reminder. “You got a lucky shot.”
“A lucky shot?” she tossed back with a clear sneer in her voice. “Does your boss know that he’s hired a pussy to be his enforcer? I mean, can you even do your job, or do you just gamble away all his money?” She knew she was pushing him, but she couldn’t seem to stop the words from leaving her mouth. She was so pissed. Pissed he hit her, pissed he forced her out of town, and pissed he shot at her. Not to mention, pissed he denied her another amazing orgasm. That wasn’t at the top of her list, but it was definitely up there.
“Boys are about ten minutes out,” Jax whispered quietly. “We need to stay alive until then. Don’t antagonize him too much, but keep him talking so we can tell if he’s trying to sneak around and flank us.” His gaze was intense as he looked at her, and she gave him a curt nod.
“Your biker won’t be able to protect you forever, Saylor,” Leon called out in warning, and she instantly knew he was moving. Jax nodded as he turned his body toward the sound, watching the trees with an intensity that both worried and reassured her.
“I don’t need a man to protect me,” she called back, also turning toward the sound.
“You think because you can fight with those pretty boys at your stupid gym, that means you can take me on?” Leon sneered. “You won’t last two seconds when I put my gun to your empty head.”
“Really? A dumb blonde joke?” she huffed angrily. “Couldn’t think of anything original, huh? Just as pathetic as ever, Leon. If anyone should be blonde, it’s you. Who the fuck carries around a book to record all the cheating he does at casinos, and a list of who owes debts? If anyone is dumb, it’s you, fucker.”
A shot fired toward them, and Jax took her to the ground. She managed to control her groan at the brunt landing on the rough turf, but glared at Jax. He didn’t even look her way, his eyes scanning the area. His head whipped around to the clearing, and she turned her head to follow his. There was Leon standing at the edge of the trees, his gun drawn and pointed their way, his face flushed red with anger.
“We need to move,” Jax whispered, so softly she almost didn’t hear him. She looked up at him and saw the hard set of his jaw. “Keep low and try not to make any noise. There’s a big tree less than a yard behind us, and we need to get behind it so we’re not an easy target. Okay?”
She nodded. He eased off her, and she was surprised with how stealthily he moved at his size. He jerked his chin to indicate for her to get moving, and she quickly rolled to her belly and started to crawl along the ground. She bit back a curse when the edge of a twig jammed into her hand, and she knew that was going to sting when she stopped moving. In the meantime, she listened to Leon scream at her from across the clearing. He really was unhinged.
“All of this is your fucking fault, you fucking whore,” Leon raged, sending another bullet flying, this one landing closer to where they had been. “Frankie almost killed me when he found out, and if I don’t want to end up actually dead, I need that book back. So you’re going to give it to me, and then I’ll kill you, and you won’t be anyone’s problem ever again.”
“You really need to pick better boyfriends, sugar,” Jax whispered as they finally managed to reach the tree and move behind it. It was so wide they could both take cover relatively comfortably. Jax peered out around one side, keeping his gun at the ready. She found that odd, considering he had no bullets.
“Clearly,” she muttered. “Though, in my defence, he’s the first one to be this nuts. The others were pissed I was more ‘manly’ than them and didn’t need them.”
Another loud bang sounded from Leon’s gun as he continued to move around. “Get the fuck out here, Saylor, or I’ll kill the son of a bitch biker that you seem to want to sully yourself with.”
“Sully?” Jax scoffed. “Who the fuck does this asshole think he is?” Saylor rolled her eyes. “Don’t reply to him anymore so he can’t figure out where we are. My brothers will be here soon. You good?”
“I’m good,” she assured him, and she could admit that she was immensely grateful he was with her. She could take care of herself, but if she was alone, she wouldn’t be able to get out of this without Leon spotting her somehow.
They heard Leon moving through the field, still cursing and screaming that he wanted her to show herself. She and Jax waited, at the ready if they had to move deeper into the forest. “I wish like fuck I could get to my bike,” Jax muttered. “I have more ammo in my saddlebags, but I can’t risk him seeing me. The last thing I need is him hitting my fucking bike.”
“Saylor!” Leon screamed, incensed she wasn’t following his orders.
“Seriously? He thinks I’m going to walk out there unarmed while he has a gun?” she muttered in disgust. “How the hell has he lasted this long with his boss?”
Before Jax could answer, another shot sunk into a tree far too close to where they were and had Jax covering her body with his, pressing her hard into the tree trunk. “Baby, we’re going to have a serious talk about your choice in men,” he whispered in her ear, still holding her tight. “Present company excluded, of course.”
Before she could reply, the sound of motorcycles rumbled in the air, foreboding and full of danger. She felt Jax relax slightly, and he peeked around the tree. Then he chuckled softly and said, “Looks like your ex is a pansy after all.”
She scooted to the other side of the tree and peered around it. She rolled her eyes as she watched Leon run for the trees on the other side of the clearing. “Fucking bikers!” he screamed. “This isn’t over, Saylor! I’ll get to you soon enough.”
Jax pulled out his phone and pressed it to his ear. “Tell Savage the guy is running into the woods towards the road. He’s probably got a car there. He’s armed, and still loaded, so watch your backs.” He paused to listen and then replied, “We’re in the trees taking cover. I used all my ammo.” Another small silence as he listened. Then he turned and looked at her. “What’s his full name?”
“Leon Bennet,” Saylor replied tightly. Guess there was no point in hiding it anymore. However, she didn’t relish what she was sure would be an inquisition when Jax took her back to the compound. She wondered if there was a way for her to sneak out before that. Then again, she doubted Jax would let her out of his sight. She’d have to wait for it all to play out and think on her feet.
Jax relayed the name and then hung up. “Let’s go,” he told her, getting to his feet and pulling her up with him. They cautiously made their way through the trees, stopping when they were a few short feet from the tree line, waiting and listening. Within minutes, the road was full of bikes, while she still heard others on the road, and she wondered if they’d found Leon.
Jax took her hand and pulled her out of the trees toward the group of very intimidating men watching them. She recognized Savage, Rogue, and Razor, but the others she hadn’t met yet. All were sporting grim looks on their faces, their eyes sharp. She held her chin up, refusing to let them intimidate her.
“Prez,” Jax said in lieu of greeting.
“Fury, Ice, and Steel went in search of the asshole,” Savage informed him. “We’ll get you back to the clubhouse. Let’s ride.” He turned his bike, and Jax headed for his.
“We’re riding faster than we did when we came here,” Jax warned her, his voice clipped as he climbed on and then helped her on behind him. “Hold on tight.” She didn’t have a choice to agree or argue as he started the bike and followed the others out. However, the minute they hit the pavement, she realized they were surrounded on all sides. If Leon was still trying to get to her, he’d have a hard time.
The drive back to the compound was indeed quick, and she held onto Jax tightly. Where the first ride was fun, and arousing, this one was the complete opposite. It was rushed, and her mind was whipping in different directions as fast and as hard as the wind hitting her face.
What would she tell them? Did Leon get away? What if he did and came back for her? What if these guys didn’t want anything to do with her and refused to fix her car, leaving her stranded? What if Jax regretted spending time with her at all? What would Mater say when he found out? Where was she going to go next? Would she be able to get some kind of car and get out of here is shit went south?
By the time they reached the compound, she was no closer to having any answers. Jax pulled up in front of the clubhouse with the rest of the men, and shut his bike off. He held out his hand to help her dismount, which she gratefully took, but her legs were jelly from the ride and she had to grip it tight to keep from falling. He didn’t let go of her hand as he climbed off the bike.
“Church!” Savage bellowed loudly, but when she went to pull away from Jax, he gripped her hand tighter, and Savage turned to aim hard, dark eyes at her. “You’re coming too.” Then he spun on his heel and headed inside with everyone else following.
Well, other than her and Jax. She dug her heels in when he started to pull her toward the clubhouse steps. He turned to look at her in confusion. “Why do I need to be part of this?” she asked. “I thought Church was a biker thing, and no women allowed.”
“It normally is, but since this involves you, you get a pass,” he replied. “Come on. Prez hates to be kept waiting.”
“And if I don’t want to?” she asked, still resisting.
His eyes narrowed at her. “You don’t have much of a choice, sugar,” he told her calmly, but there was a thread of steel in his voice. It immediately put her back up. “Your ex was just shooting at us, which means we have questions. So, you can walk in there and tell us what the hell is going on, or I can drag you in there. Your choice.”
She chose silence. She wrenched her hand from him, turned on her heel and started to stalk away. Jax was on her in seconds, and she let out a cry of outrage when he gripped her around the waist, spun her around, and then hoisted her over his shoulder all in one smooth motion. She struggled, trying to get free, but he brought his hand down hard on her ass, making her still. “Cut it out,” he ordered her.
“I’m going to kill you,” she warned him darkly, bracing her hands on his back and trying to lift her head to see. The problem was her hair falling in front of her face.
“You can try after you tell us what the hell is going on,” he returned calmly, and she heard a door slam. Next thing she knew, she was right side up, and she had to whip her hair out of her face. She realized quickly that she was in their Church, everyone watching her with cool expressions.
She looked behind her and saw Jax standing there like an immovable wall. Infuriated that he manhandled her like that, she spun around and brought her knee up, making him choke and curl forward with an agonized groan as he cupped himself. “I don’t give a fuck if you did fuck me, don’t manhandle me again. I went easy on you this time, but next time I’m liable to beat your ass to a pulp,” she hissed at him. Then she turned back to the room, and she saw a few of the men trying not to laugh, while a few others looked like they weren’t sure if they should be impressed or annoyed. “And I don’t give a damn who you are,” Saylor added, staring straight at Savage. “You don’t get to order me around. I’m not part of your club, I’m a client of the garage, nothing more.”
“You brought trouble to our door,” Savage returned tightly, eyes narrowed. “I think that makes you our problem, doesn’t it?”
“I didn’t bring it to your door purposely,” she replied coldly. “It’s been following me, and you all insisted on keeping me around. He followed us to the pond, he didn’t make an attempt here on your grounds. So your reasoning is shit.”
“He shot at one of us, so that now makes it our problem,” Rogue tossed back, clearly getting annoyed with her. She assumed that since he and the other guys were here, they didn’t catch Leon. Pity.
“He shot at me,” she repeated again. “Jax is an innocent bystander at this point. So, since this is my problem, I’m going to get my car, and I’m going to go into town. Then you won’t have anything to concern yourselves with.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Savage barked when she started to turn around. She ignored him and headed for the door.
A hand gripped her by the bicep and spun her around. She lashed out, but this time, even with aching balls, Jax managed somehow to get both her hands and trap them between their bodies while also pushing her against the wall and wedging a leg between hers to keep her from kicking him. “Let me go,” she snarled at Jax.
“You owe me a blowjob for that kick to the balls, baby,” Jax told her, pain still coloring his voice. “But for now, you need to calm the hell down and listen. Someone is after you, and we are going to help you. The last thing you need to do is leave the grounds and give him a target. And with that crappy old car, you’re easy pickings because I doubt it would make it to town right now. So unless you’d like to end up dead before morning, you need to settle the hell down and listen.”
“Fifty bucks says that as soon as he lets her go, he’s either getting kneed in the balls again or punched in the face,” one of the men at the table joked. “Brother, you never tell a woman to settle down. Even I know this.”
Jax didn’t answer him and instead stared at her, unmoving. “You should listen to him,” she advised stiffly. “Let me go, Jax. I’m not one of your women, and if I want to leave, I will. I understand the risk, but it’s a chance I need to take, because I’m not going to lay this at your door. I’m going to get my stuff and go.”
“Jesus Christ, I’m tired of all these women with hero complexes,” Savage muttered. “Saylor, we’re going to help you, so stop fighting, sit your ass down, and talk. You and Jax can sort out your shit later.”
Saylor turned her head to glare at the President. “And if I don’t?”
“Then I’ll tie your ass up and put you in our basement until you do,” Savage threatened.
“Oh, sure, that will work,” a feminine voice drawled sarcastically, filling the space. Everyone froze and looked around but saw no one.
“Glitch,” Code suddenly warned, staring at his screen. Savage’s entire face looked like he was ready to have a coronary, and any other time, Saylor would be amused. Right now, she was pissed and panicked. What if they did keep her here? What if Leon tried to get on the grounds and go after one of the kids or the other women? He was stupid enough to try it. She couldn’t live with that.
“Glitch, I told you to stay the fuck out of Church,” Savage snapped, moving his chair to glare furiously at Code’s computer screen.
“Yes, yes, I know,” Glitch replied flippantly. “And I’ve been good about it until now. But honestly, you’re going to want to hear what I just found, and since Code was ignoring my messages, desperate times call for desperate measures. And you’re going to pay for that, caveman, when we’re alone.”
“Your weird ass foreplay needs to wait,” Savage told her. “Do this shit again, and we’re going to have problems.” He gave Code a look that let him know he would be part of that problem. Code held his stare, unmoving and unblinking.
“How about instead of treating me like an inferior woman, you remember I’m also a member of an ally club,” Glitch reminded him tightly. “But this whole shit is going to have to wait. Saylor, I’ll personally help you leave later if you still want to go, but you need to hear some shit I found out.”
Saylor wanted to argue, but finally, she bit out, “Fine.” She looked back at Jax. “Let go of me.”
He slowly eased away, releasing her, but the cautious look in his eyes told her he was on alert in case she lashed out again. Instead, she moved away from him to the vacant chair near Savage, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at Savage impatiently. Jax grumbled something she didn’t make out as a few of the men shifted and moved so he could sit next to her. She didn’t even glance his way, her gaze completely focused on the man at the head of the table looking like he was ready to ban all women from his clubhouse.
“Go ahead, kitten,” Code prompted. A couple of brothers made gagging sounds at that, but Code flipped them off.
“Turns out that you have not one person after you, but three,” Glitch announced grimly.
Saylor’s entire body jerked at that information. “What? How the hell could you know that?”
“Since you don’t know me, I’m going to ignore that insult,” Glitch sniffed. “But let’s just say it’s my job to know. You have Leon Bennet, abusive ex and terrible marksman, which you already know. But his boss, Frank Dunn, has also sent out someone after you. They haven’t quite caught up to you yet, but your name and picture have been flagged on the dark web by a man named Felix Hawkins, who happens to be our man Frank’s right-hand man and the one Mr. Bullseye actually reports to. Clearly, he doesn’t believe Leon can get the job done himself. I managed to hack ol’ Felix’s phone, and there are messages that show Frank wants Felix to deal with you and Leon, along with getting the information back that you stole.”
“I’d never have taken them if I’d known,” Saylor huffed. “Maybe I should just ship them back to him from an unknown address and end this whole thing.”
“Always a possibility, but that won’t help get the unknown third guy off your ass,” Glitch warned. Suddenly, an image appeared on the large screen at the front of the room, and Saylor winced when she realized it was a recording of when someone shot at her a few weeks ago. Jax stiffened next to her as he watched it. She ignored him, still pissed at him.
“Where was this?” Fury asked, but his question was aimed at Saylor.
Saylor wanted to keep her mouth shut on principle since she didn’t owe them an explanation, but at this point, was there any use in keeping silent when everything was being laid out right in front of her? “A couple weeks ago, in a small town in Florida,” she replied calmly. “They missed, and I got in my car and kept on driving. I assumed it was Leon, since he’s a terrible shot.”
“That wasn’t a terrible shot,” Rogue corrected darkly. “That almost hit you. It was only inches off. If your ex tried that, he’d probably have gone wide or hit someone else. Whoever made that shot knew what they were doing, and they fully intended to kill you.”
A chill went down her spine at his words. She already knew she had been close to dying, but she had always figured it was Leon, not some unknown person. “Then who shot at me? You said that this Felix guy hasn’t caught up to me yet, so it can’t be him.”
“I’m not sure,” Glitch replied, her tone grim. “Unfortunately, the video I have of this guy isn’t good. Or, at least I assume it’s a guy. Anyway, I got him on a camera across the street, but the only thing I can make out is his hand when he holds it out with the gun.” Another video on screen reveals someone standing in a dark hoodie stepping out of the alleyway directly across from the cafe, lifting a gun, and firing. Just as Glitch said, the only thing visible is the hand that held the gun, and a small part of his forearm.
“How do we know this isn’t Leon or someone else on Frank’s payroll?” Fury asked.
“Again, Leon is a terrible shot,” Saylor snorted. “And also, Leon’s hands aren’t that big , and that’s a pretty decent sized handgun.” Fury narrowed his eyes at her, and she ignored him. She didn’t care if she was being rude. They were forcing her to be here, so they could deal with it.
“One of Frank’s men then,” Jax suggested. He glanced at her. “You ever meet any of them?”
She shook her head. “I never met any of Leon’s friends. We were only dating for two months, and in that time, we only went out on four or five dates before the last night to see him. He told me that he worked at a bank. He wore a suit all the time, so I never questioned it.”
“All of Frank’s known men have tattoos all up their arms,” Glitch interrupts. “This guy doesn’t have a single one.”
“So who the hell is he?” Savage grumbled. “I don’t like unknowns.”
“I don’t know, but I’ll keep working on it,” Glitch replied. “I’ll let you know if I find anything.” Then the screen went blank, and Code chuckled.
“She’s gone,” he told everyone.
“I’m still gonna be having words with her about this shit,” Savage warned him darkly. “She knows the rules.”
“You’re not yelling at my Old Lady, Prez. I’ll talk to her, and if you want to talk to her nicely, you can. But she’s been damn helpful, and she only hacked in to tell us the information and left. That’s living up to her end of the deal, if you ask me.”
Savage looked like he wanted to argue but instead, turned his focus to Saylor. “You have three men after you, so if you think we’re going to let you waltz out of here, you can fucking forget it.”
She narrowed her eyes at him in warning. “You can’t order me to do shit,” she tossed back at him. “I’m not one of your women, or one of your club girls. If I want to leave and take my chances, then you can’t stop me. And if you do, then I can see why so many women have aimed a gun in your face.”