Jalisa Chapter 15
Wrath, all Pagans, including the two from Cherokee and the Warriors, were in church tonight. That left Tonda, Betty, and me, along with the prospects, to entertain ourselves. Keno and Dylan were patrolling outside and would come in to check on us occasionally.
Betty and I were telling Tonda about Emiliano’s Mesa and showing her the pictures of the outfits.
She thought they were terrific. Our conversation was interrupted by the alert chiming.
It was one that Crusher hooked up to let us know if anything or anyone came near the compound.
We tensed. I knew the prospects were outside and would be on monitors they had, but we still went to the bar.
There was one above it that showed the gate.
A car was coming to a halt outside of it.
The driver’s window rolled down, and a woman stuck her head and arm out.
She was trying to reach the call button.
“That’s my daughter! What is she doing here at night?” Betty asked as she pressed the button to open the gate.
As it did, she hurried out the front door.
We went with her. We found Keno and Dylan were standing alert and had their guns out down at the gate.
The car drove past them. Their tension didn’t ease even after they saw who it was until the gate was fully closed.
The car parked outside the clubhouse, and Betty’s daughter climbed out.
She was frowning as she made her way to her mom.
“Mom, what’s going on? Since when do the prospects greet you with guns and frowns? You all look worried,” she said as she hugged her mom.
“Braelyn, honey, what are you doing here? You don’t come at night. Is something wrong?” Betty asked anxiously as she hugged her back.
“No, nothing’s wrong. I haven’t been here in too long.
I got the urge to come tonight. I wanted to surprise you.
I don’t have to work early in the morning for once.
However, by the looks of it, there’s something wrong here.
Don’t lie and say nothing. Dylan and Keno didn’t even smile at me.
I surely haven’t pissed them off.” She smiled at the two guys. They grinned at her.
“No, you haven’t pissed us off, Braelyn,” Keno told her.
“It’s been so long we almost didn’t recognize you. Who are you?” Dylan teased.
She laughed. I noted how stunning she was. She was a brunette, and you could see so much of Betty in her. This had to be what Betty looked like when she was younger. I placed Braelyn a few years older than me, but not many.
“Come inside, and we’ll talk,” Betty told her.
As they passed us, Braelyn smiled and said, “Ooh, new faces.”
We made it inside and to the table where we were sitting.
As we did, the men came walking in from church.
When they saw her, they shouted her name.
I watched as Rage and Wrath hurried over first. Rage hugged her first and then kissed her cheek.
Then, I watched as Wrath did the same. A tiny inkling of jealousy hit me.
Braelyn was beautiful. Why hadn’t he ever made a play for her? She was no bunny or hanger.
I pushed it away as he turned with her still hooked under his arm. “Baby, did you meet Brae yet?”
“No, she just got here. We were about to be introduced when you guys came in,” I answered.
“Good, then I get to. Braelyn, this is my gorgeous old lady, Jalisa. Jalisa, this is Brae, Betty’s daughter and my little sister.”
She gasped and then punched him in the side. “You go claim a woman, and I find out about it now! How long? I swear, Wrath, if you’ve been keeping her to yourself for weeks, I’m murdering you,” she threatened.
Instantly, I liked her. The fact that he called her his sister told me why he never made a play for her.
He rubbed his side and gave her a pathetic look. “Hey, no need to get mean. It’s not even been two weeks, and we’ve had a bunch of stuff happening. You would’ve met already if you hadn’t been so busy and ignoring us.” He mockingly pouted.
“I didn’t ignore you. You know my work has been insane lately. You could’ve called or texted. Why didn’t Mom or Daddy Rage? Lord, stay gone a month, and they cut you out of everything,” she grumbled.
Rage came over and took her away from Wrath, who then came to me.
“Hey, you’re not cut out. You can’t get rid of us that easily. Let me introduce you to a few others,” Rage coaxed.
I watched as he introduced her to the new faces. She smiled and shook hands with each one. When the introductions were over, she took a seat at the table. The rest of us found spots. Braelyn scanned the faces.
“Alright, who’s gonna tell me what the hell is going on around here? Tension and prospects with guns in their hands. Don’t tell me nothing.”
I liked that she wasn’t a pushover and seemed to have some backbone. This roomful of bikers didn’t intimidate her.
“Brae, it might be best if we didn’t,” Wrath told her.
I was puzzled. Why not?
“Ah, so it’s likely to end in something less than legal. How many times do I need to say it? If it’s to end something evil or horrendous, then I don’t care. Does it make me a terrible example of my profession? Probably, but I don’t give a fuck,” Braelyn uttered.
“What is your profession?” Loki asked.
She grinned at him. “I’m a trial lawyer.”
This revelation caused a stir among us who hadn’t known—those who did grin.
“Honey, we know that, but we still don’t like to put you in an awkward position,” Betty said.
“Mom, I appreciate it, but this is my family. And God knows, when we were young, I would’ve loved someone like the Pagans to be there to take care of our sperm donor. If anyone deserved to be offed, it was him,” she said bitterly. Betty patted her hand and gave her a sad smile.
“Do you live here in Eatonton?” Loki asked.
“No, I live and work in Marietta, Georgia. It’s only an hour and a half drive when the traffic isn’t a bitch, which is almost never. I’ve been to parts of Tennessee. It’s gorgeous up there.”
“It is. Hunters Creek isn’t too far from larger cities like Murfreesboro or even Nashville,” Vex added.
“I’ve been to Nashville but not to Hunters Creek. The name sounds lovely,” Braelyn admitted.
“It’s quiet and country. Most city people don’t like that,” Loki said.
“Yet, some do. Alright, enough stalling. Tell me what’s wrong?” she insisted.
They updated her on the issue without providing too much unnecessary information. When they were done, she shook her head.
“I swear, will the horrible people ever stop? Wait, I guess if they do, I’d be out of a job.
Well, thank God we have help like yours.
This Killer sounds like he’s several bricks shy of a full load.
And those men with him aren’t much better.
You know that even if you did turn them over to the cops, they’d likely serve short sentences unless this were a third strike, or they might slither out of any punishment.
Before you say anything more, I need you all to sign something.
Dylan, will you get me a piece of blank paper? ” Braelyn rummaged in her purse.
When Dylan brought her a notebook, she smiled and said, “Thank you.” I thought I heard a low growl, but no one appeared unhappy.
Braelyn quickly wrote on it and then pushed the paper to Wrath.
He and I read it. It was a form stating she was hired as the undersigned’s legal representation and that anything they said was to be protected under attorney-client privilege.
Wrath scribbled his signature. Quickly, the others read and did the same.
Even Betty, Tonda, and I added ours. When we were finished, Braelyn smiled, folded it, and put it away with her pen in her purse.
“Alright, you are now free to say whatever you like. That’s just in case I have to defend any of you for this or a future issue.
I know how you love to get into things. I’ve been meaning to have you do it.
If there’s anything I can do to help, though other than being your lawyer, I don’t know what it would be, let me know. ”
As the night progressed, I found that I liked Braelyn even more.
She was similar to her mom in many ways, yet very much her own person.
She shared some fun and crazy stories of cases she’d been involved in.
I discovered that she was twenty-nine. According to what Betty had told me before, she wasn’t dating anyone.
I wondered why none of the Pagans had snapped her up.
They clearly liked her, and she wasn’t a pseudo-sister like in Wrath’s case.
When I found myself alone with Wrath, I whispered in his ear, “Babe, why hasn’t one of your guys snatched Braelyn up? I kinda see in your case why you didn’t, but still. You two aren’t blood. Weren’t you ever tempted?”
He drew me away from others and into his embrace.
“I don’t know why no one has asked her out.
I know they find her attractive, and I wouldn’t think they’d all see her as a sister or want only sex.
If the latter was the case, there was no way they would make a move.
Dad and I would kill them. As for me, she felt like a sister the moment I met her.
There has never been anything sexual between us, Jalisa.
She sees me the same way. We’re closer than she is to her actual brother, Hayes.
He’s nothing like his mom and sister. The best word to describe him is raging dickhole.
” I giggled at his expression. He honestly didn’t like Hayes, which made me want to meet him.
“It’s their loss. I think she’s great. And I love how she calls your dad Daddy Rage.”