Chapter Three
Jag
The road stretched ahead of me like freedom itself, my bike eating up asphalt as Nashville faded in my rearview.
Two weeks out of the compound and I already felt more like myself than I had in thirty-seven fucking years.
Hell, I couldn’t remember what it felt like to be free.
Having had a taste of it now, I knew I’d die before I ever went back to prison again.
The engine rumbled between my legs, vibrations traveling up through my bones like a forgotten language my body suddenly remembered. Wind slapped against my face, stinging and beautiful.
The late afternoon sun baked the tar, sending waves of heat rippling upward.
Sweat trickled down my back under the leather jacket.
The road curved gently through patches of woodland and open fields.
No particular destination in mind. Just riding to remember how.
The road wasn’t isolated. In fact, there were several businesses in the area, but one side of the highway held a tree line.
It was well away from the road but it still gave me an uncomfortable feeling.
Anything could be lying in wait and there was every possibility I wouldn’t know until the threat was on me.
A flash of metal caught my eye around the next bend. A car pulled over on the shoulder, hazard lights blinking weakly against the glare of sunlight. My first instinct was to keep going. Not my problem. Then I recognized the dark blue Taurus. Knight’s sister’s vehicle.
I slowed and moved toward the shoulder behind her car.
Ada crouched by the rear wheel, struggling with a car jack that kept slipping on the uneven ground.
Before dismounting, I scanned the surroundings again out of habit, finding the road empty.
Woods lined the opposite side of the road, thicker than I’d realized from a distance.
A ravine ran along this side, shallow enough that her car wasn’t in danger, but steep enough to make changing a tire a bitch.
That’s when I saw it. A figure at the tree line, partially hidden by undergrowth. Something about the silhouette, the way the shoulders hunched forward, sparked recognition. Reminded me of someone from before. Someone who should’ve been long gone.
I kept my eyes on the tree line as I killed the engine and dismounted.
Helmets weren’t mandatory in Tennessee, but I wore one anyway.
I had no intention of giving anyone a reason to come after me if I could avoid it.
I pulled it off, hanging the helmet from the handlebar, keeping the figure in my peripheral vision as I approached Ada.
She looked up at the sound of my boots on gravel, surprise flashing across her face. Not fear. Interesting.
“Jag,” she said, brushing a strand of hair from her face, leaving a smudge of dirt across her cheek. “What are you doing out here?”
I glanced again at the tree line. The figure hadn’t moved. Watching us.
“Saw you had a flat,” I said, crouching beside her. My eyes flickered between her and the figure across the road. “Jack’s not set right.”
“Yeah, I figured that out after the third time it slipped.” She sat back on her heels, brushing her hands against her jeans.
“Never been great at this part. I can handle most basic car maintenance, but I always hated changing tires.” She looked up at me, shielding her eyes from the sun and grinning at me. “Or attempting to, anyway.”
I took the jack from her hands, our fingers brushing momentarily.
The brief contact jolted through me like an electrical current.
Touch starvation. Another prison souvenir.
I focused on the task at hand. “Ground’s uneven.
” I dug into the gravel with my hands, creating a flatter surface. “Need something solid under it.”
Ada reached into the car and pulled out a small roadside emergency kit. “Would this help?” She handed me a flat piece of plastic meant for exactly this purpose.
Smart woman. I nodded, positioning the plastic and resetting the jack. The whole time, I kept the tree line in my field of vision. The figure had shifted slightly, moving deeper into shadow.
“You always carry proper emergency gear?” I asked, cranking the jack with more force than necessary.
“My brother insisted. He likes to be prepared for everything.” She laughed softly. “Knight’s overprotective.”
“Knight’s smart,” I corrected, loosening the lug nuts while the tire still had some pressure against the ground.
The tire came off with a final twist of the last nut.
I set it aside and grabbed the spare from where she’d rolled it.
The whole time I tried my best to keep the figure in sight.
He’d definitely moved, circling to get a better vantage point.
“You keep looking across the road,” Ada said suddenly. Observant. “Something wrong?”
“No,” I lied automatically. Then thought better of it, shaking my head slightly. “Maybe. Not sure yet.”
Her eyes followed mine to the tree line, narrowing slightly. “Someone there?” I nodded once, aligning the spare and threading the first lug nut. “Someone you know?” she asked, voice low.
“Maybe.” I worked the tire into place with practiced movements. “From before.”
“Before prison?” She didn’t shy away from naming it. Most people danced around the word like it was contagious.
“Yeah.” I probably should have elaborated, but I didn’t want to.
I kept remembering her words from a couple weeks ago.
That it wasn’t paranoia I was feeling. This?
This was different. This wasn’t paranoia or PTSD or whatever she was talking about.
I knew because she had been absolutely right about me being paranoid.
What I felt now wasn’t in the same league as paranoid.
It was much, much worse. We were in danger.
I just didn’t know if it was immediate or if someone was forming a plan.
Given the fact they’d been ahead of me and I hadn’t been on a planned route, I was going with the assumption this was a chance meeting…
Or maybe someone was watching Ada.
The spare secured, I lowered the jack and packed everything away. When I looked back to the tree line, the figure had disappeared. My muscles tensed involuntarily. Disappearing meant either leaving or repositioning.
“We should go,” I said, gathering up her tools. “You good to drive?”
Ada nodded, taking the jack from my hands. “Yeah. Thank you for stopping.” She studied my face for a moment. “You would’ve stopped even if you didn’t recognize my car, wouldn’t you?”
The question caught me off guard. Would I have? Two weeks ago, fresh out, I might’ve kept riding. Now?
“Yeah,” I answered honestly. “Woman alone on the road. Bad situation waiting to happen.”
She smiled, a genuine expression that transformed her face. “You’re a good man, Jagger Kross.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. No one had seen good in me for a long time, least of all myself.
Instead, I turned back to my bike, scanning the tree line one last time.
The figure was back, but farther down, moving parallel to the road.
Watching. Waiting. My gut tightened with certainty.
Someone was trying to follow us. Maybe not for long unless they had transportation close by I couldn’t see.
But they were definitely wanting a better look at us.
I grabbed Ada’s arm gently but firmly, steering her toward her car.
“We need to leave. Now.” My voice came out low and steady, not showing the urgency I felt, but letting her know this wasn’t up for debate.
I glanced back at the tree line one more time, confirming what my instincts already knew.
“You drive first. I’ll follow behind. Lead the way straight to the clubhouse. ”
Ada’s eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t pull away or question my grip on her arm. “What’s going on, Jag?”
“Someone’s watching us.” I nodded toward the trees, keeping my body between her and the potential threat. “Been there since before I pulled up.”
I scanned the tree line again while she climbed into the driver’s seat. “How fast is your car, Ada?” I asked, leaning down to the open window.
“Fast enough.”
I nodded. “Good. Stay ahead but within sight. I’ll watch your back. If I flash my lights, it means trouble and you haul ass back to the club. No matter how fast your car is, you can’t outrun a motorcycle with purpose. Don’t pull over. Don’t stop.”
She turned the key, the engine coming to life. “You think they’ll follow us?”
“Don’t know.” I hesitated, then added, “Drop one of those safety pin things so Knight knows where you are.”
Her eyebrows furrowed momentarily before understanding dawned. “You mean drop a pin? Share my location?”
Fuck. Technology had changed too much during my time inside. “Yeah, that. So Knight can use any camera in the vicinity and see what he finds.”
Instead of laughing at my mistake or questioning why, Ada already had her phone out, thumbs moving quickly across the screen. “Done.”
Her instant compliance caught me off guard. She hadn’t questioned why I thought we were in danger. Hadn’t demanded proof. Just trusted my assessment and acted.
I shook my head. “Just go. If a bike pulls out in front of you for any reason, you pretend you didn’t see it and hit the son of a bitch. Get me?” Her eyes widened, and she nodded her head slightly. “Go.”
She took off and I followed. Something twisted in my chest, unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Trust wasn’t something given easily, yet this girl showed more trust in me than anyone other than Knuckles, even before I went to prison.
As we rounded the first curve, I caught movement in my peripheral vision. The figure had emerged from the tree line, watching our departure. I couldn’t make out features at this distance, but something about the stance confirmed my suspicions. My past was trying to come back to haunt me.
I accelerated slightly, tightening the gap between us as the road straightened out. Ada maintained a steady speed, exactly five miles over the limit.
If the guy I saw happened to be one of the old guard who’d been scattered across the country rather than die at the hands of another club, he probably didn’t know I’d gotten out of prison.
Which meant his target had been Ada. Whether it was her specifically or her association with Knight and, by extension, Kiss of Death, I had to figure out.
Once I’d been arrested, things at Kiss of Death had gotten heated.
There were some who knew I’d taken the fall for Rat Man after an interrogation got out of hand and we couldn’t get the mess cleaned up before the cops arrived.
Mainly because Rat Man had accidentally set the place on fire and the fire department had found him chained to the ceiling.
Yeah. Dead giveaway he hadn’t stayed behind voluntarily.
Had I known two out-of-state clubs would take over and bring down those idiots Slash and Butcher, I’d have let Rat Man cook.
Instead, I gave up thirty-seven years of my life because I knew Rat Man had the best chance of anyone of getting rid of Slash because that was Rat Man’s single purpose since he’d joined the club.
Everyone knew it but Slash. And I knew Knuckles was the only person who could get rid of Rat Man.
Then the Bones and Salvation’s Bane MCs came along and took care of everything. Not all at once, but faster than it took me to get out of fucking prison, that’s for sure.
But why watch Ada? Why not go straight for club leadership?
The answer made my stomach tighten. You hit a man hardest through what he loved.
The men of Kiss of Death clearly adored their women.
Any of the women made an easier target than a patched member.
They’d probably followed her from the clubhouse.
Whether or not they did something to cause her car trouble I’d have to work out later.
I accelerated slightly, closing the gap between us as the road straightened into a long stretch.
In prison, trust was earned through blood or fear.
No one gave it freely. Even before, in my old life, trust came with conditions.
With expectations of return. Ada’s easy faith in my assessment of danger hit me like a physical blow I hadn’t been expecting.
Something fragile inside me cracked open at the realization that someone saw me as trustworthy.
As worth listening to. It was uncomfortable.
Destabilizing. And I didn’t know what to do with the feeling.
Knight had warned her about me. I was certain of that. He’d have told her I was dangerous. Different from the other members. Yet she’d trusted me anyway.
A truck appeared in my mirror, gaining speed.
I tensed, hand moving to the knife strapped to my ankle out of pure instinct.
The truck changed lanes, passed us both with a roar of its engine, and continued down the highway.
False alarm. But my heart hammered against my ribs anyway.
If someone was targeting Ada to get to the club, they wouldn’t stop with one failed attempt.
They’d be patient. Wait for another opportunity.
Which meant she needed protection beyond today.
All the women did. She needed someone watching her back who understood the kind of danger an old club beef represented.
As we approached the gates, I made a silent promise to myself.
I would find out what this threat was. And I would eliminate any threat to the club.
More importantly, I would protect Ada with my dying breath.
Why? Because she’d given me a priceless gift and hadn’t even realized it.
She was a good person. Maybe one of the best I’d ever met.
She certainly didn’t deserve to be collateral damage in someone else’s war.
The sentries recognized us as we approached, opening the gate without hesitation. Ada drove through first, and I followed, feeling some of the tension ease from my shoulders as the gate closed behind us.
My unexpected protectiveness toward Ada didn’t diminish as we entered the compound. If anything, it intensified with each passing second. She parked near the main clubhouse, and I pulled up beside her, killing the engine.
Knight burst through the clubhouse door before Ada even stepped out of her car. He must have been watching for her arrival after she shared her location. His expression shifted from relief to concern to suspicion as he looked from his sister to me.
I knew I’d have to explain what happened. Knew I’d have to admit to the protective instincts that had surfaced without my permission. But first, I needed to make sure the compound was secure. Needed to verify our safety before I could process what these new feelings might mean for me…
And how I kept those feelings from Ada.