Chapter Fifteen
Mac has been gone for two days.
I shouldn’t be keeping track, but I am. It’s not only him, though. Tank and Gunner are gone too. Jagger and Sloane are the only two working in the shop right now. It’s quiet. Too quiet.
I didn’t realize how much I had come to depend on the safety of having Mac next door until he was no longer there. Now that he is gone, I can’t sleep. Every little noise has me sitting up, wondering if it is my imagination or if the monster truly did find us.
It’s irrational. I know that. Especially when there is never anyone there when I look, but my brain can’t settle.
Thankfully, the kids are none the wiser. Emily is running around like the world is hers to own. I love that about her. She was sad when I told her Mac was out of town and she couldn’t play with his chalk, but she perked up when I told her we could go buy some of our own.
Tanner is a bit more watchful with Mac gone.
He is still getting back to being a kid, but he is taking notes.
I don’t know how I feel about him emulating Mac.
On the one hand, Mac is a good guy. He does what he has to in order to keep us safe.
On the other hand, I worry that Tanner will want to join that club of theirs one day.
I don’t want him in danger or doing illegal shit.
It’s a hard situation. How can I feel that way yet want to kiss the man in the same breath? If I trust him, I need to fully trust him with Tanner too. He wouldn’t let Tanner do anything stupid.
At least, I hope not.
Entering the next line on the document, I hear the door chime ring.
“One moment, please,” I yell, getting up to head out of my office to the front desk.
A rougher-looking gentleman stands there. He keeps itching his face, and his eyes are twitching. I don’t like the look of him. My internal alarms are blaring.
Smoke ran out, so Sloane and Jagger are the only two here. Are they close enough to hear me scream if I need to?
“How can I help you?” I ask.
“Yeah. I picked up my car last week, and there was money missing from it,” he tells me.
“Oh no. Which car? I will see who was working on it,” I tell him, typing into the computer as if I’m looking him up, but really I’m sending out the SOS in the group chat Smoke set up for me on the computer. It should ping everyone’s phone.
“It doesn’t matter what car. It matters that my money is gone and you are going to give it to me!” he yells.
“Sir, we don’t keep money here at the front. I can call my manager for you,” I tell him.
His fists come down on the desk, making me jump. I hate violence so much. I wish there were none of it in the world.
Still, I step back from the desk.
“Sir, if you could calm down, we will get your money for you. I need to call someone to bring it, though.” I try to remain calm, but there are tears in my eyes.
I can feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. I don’t dare reach for it, but I know my message was received.
“You little slut. You will give me what is owed to me, or you will pay the price yourself.”
The man moves to come around the counter, but before he can, Jagger bursts in. He punches the guy before he pushes him to the ground, pulling a gun from his waistband.
“Get up, you filthy piece of shit. You dare try to come in and harm someone protected by the Saint’s? Are you dumb?” Jagger screams at him.
It shocks me to see him so angry. Jagger is usually the jokester, the one always making everyone laugh. I didn’t think he could take anything seriously.
“Hey, are you okay?” Sloane asks, pulling me back into my office and shutting the door.
I can hear Jagger talking still, but I focus on Sloane.
“I think so,” I whisper, my voice shaky.
“Answer your phone. He is going to keep calling,” she tells me, indicating my vibrating phone.
I pull it out, seeing Mac’s name.
“Hello?”
“Jane, are you okay? What’s wrong? No one is answering. I’ll head back right away,” he barks into the phone.
Hearing his concern has my own nerves settling a little bit.
“No. You don’t need to. I’m okay,” I tell him.
“You sound shaken up. What happened?” he demands.
“A man was here and said we stole money from him. Jagger has him. Sloane is in the office with me. We are okay,” I reassure him.
“I’ll kill him,” he promises.
“You don’t have to kill for me. Jagger is getting rid of him. Everything will be fine.”
I only wish I believed it myself. My nerves are shot.
“Smoke is on his way. You wait in the office with Sloane until he gets there, and you call me if you need to talk. I’m going to call Jagger and see what’s up. You promise you are okay? He didn’t touch you?”
Mac cares about me. This proves how much he cares. He called when he got that ping. Not only that, but he offered to come back.
“I promise. He didn’t touch me. Never got the chance with Jagger here. I didn’t know he could move so fast,” I joke.
I hear him let out a relieved breath.
“Good. Stay safe. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”
He hangs up before I can say goodbye. I look over to Sloane to see her also hanging up the phone.
“Gunner checking in. Mac pulled the whole convoy over to call you,” she tells me.
“What?” I gasp.
“Yeah. Seems he got the notification and didn’t wait for permission. He pulled over and started psycho dialing you, not even waiting for anyone else to notice he was gone. They had to backtrack to him.”
“That’s a little excessive. He knew Jagger was here,” I murmur.
“That’s a Saint’s Outlaw man for you. Better get used to it.” She winks at me.
The door opens then, startling us both. Smoke is standing there looking angry.
“I’m sorry,” I say on instinct.
He frowns. “For what? That meth head? Fuck him. Get your stuff. One of the prospects is going to follow you to the school to get the kids, then you are going home for the rest of the day, paid.”
“I don’t need that,” I try to tell him.
“Jane, honey,” he says, his face softening. “You are still shaking. This happened on our watch, so we pay you to take some time to recover. Go on now. Sloane shut the shop up. We are done for the day.”
Sloane nods once. “Understood. Mac fighting to come back?”
Smoke looks at me. “I would be too.”
I ignore their little conversation, grabbing my keys.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” I tell him.
He nods. “I know you will. You are the best office manager we have ever had. Now take care of yourself.”
I don’t know how I went from no one caring about me to having a whole club behind me, but I am grateful for it.
For them.
For him.
My nerves are shot. The moment I heard the special tone I have set for our SOS in my ear, I knew something was wrong. I would have worried no matter what, but knowing Jane was there had me panicking. I’ve never done that before.
I didn’t care about anything but hearing her voice. In my head, I wondered if her ex had found her, if she was in mortal danger.
Then I heard her voice, and everything was okay again. I knew she wasn’t quite right, but she told me she was okay and that no one had touched her. That’s what I am letting calm me right now.
“She’s okay,” Gunner tells me as I hang up with her, dialing Jagger.
Jagger answers on the third ring. “I’m a little fucking busy.”
“Yeah, where the fuck is he?” I growl into the phone.
“Tied up in the shed for you. Might have a few bruises and such, but he’s mostly intact for you.
” Jagger huffs. “Fucking pathetic piece of shit. He’s jonesing for some meth.
Told me so himself. That’s why he came in.
He is so out of his mind that he didn’t even realize it was our garage. He only saw his next hit.”
“You keep him alive for me. I’ll deal with him when I get home.”
“Will do.”
We hang up as I dial Smoke.
“You should be riding. We have this under control.”
I ignore him. “Where is she?”
“I sent her home for the day. The prospect is trailing her and will discreetly watch the house for the night. She is a little on edge, but your girl is strong. She didn’t crumble under the threat,” he tells me.
I let out a small breath.
“She shouldn’t have to be strong. We are supposed to protect her.”
He snorts. “We did. Jagger was here before anything happened. Sloane got her to the office, so she didn’t have to see the asshole getting his ass beat.
You do realize that protecting them doesn’t mean nothing bad will ever happen, but that we will always do everything to stop it, right? You can’t control everything, Mac.”
He’s right, but I want to. I want to wrap them in bubble wrap and never let them out of my sight again.
“I’m not staying long. I’m dropping then coming back.”
“I’d expect nothing less. We have her, and she’s safe. Bring Bear back with you. Don’t ride alone or tired,” he orders.
“Yes, sir.”
I hang up, then turn to the others. “Let’s get back on the road then.”
No one dares question me. I might not be the VP like Gunner, but right now, he is letting me take the lead. Just as anyone would if it were their woman in trouble.
My woman.
There is no doubt about it now. Jane is my woman, and those children are mine as well.
That’s my family, and I will end anyone who dares even look at them sideways.
Smoke is right that I can’t stop bad things from happening to them, but I sure as fuck can eliminate anyone who poses a threat to them. Fuck the consequences.
It’s another three hours to Chicago. I hate it. Not Chicago specifically, but cities like this, with big skyscrapers and tons of people milling about. Now, I know we have a good-sized population back home, but it doesn’t feel like this.
I think this is why I found it so appealing to leave with Smoke when he broke off from Boston. The city isn’t where I belong. I prefer the slower lifestyle of Pensacola.
When we finally pull up to the warehouse, Gunner flashes his headlights. The doors open, and we all drive in.
We get off our bikes and are greeted by the Lotus Chicago chapter.
“Capone, good to see you,” Gunner greets the man in a bro hug.
“Thanks for helping us out with this one. With shit going down in the city right now, we didn’t feel like we could leave. Was it a smooth ride?” he asks.
“The Devil’s Den had everything ready to go when we got there. We stayed overnight to rest, but for the most part, everything had been good.”
“Good. We have a working relationship with the Yakuza, so if you would like to stay at the Currency tonight on us, we would be happy to host you.”
“I think a few of us need to get back,” Gunner says, eyeing me. “But the rest of us will take you up on the offer.”
“Who wouldn’t want to gamble and get laid?” Tank jokes.
“Treat them right. If not, the Yakuza will act swiftly,” Capone warns.
“You should be warning them to be careful with me.” He winks. “Bold of you to assume I will be in the power position.”
Capone shakes his head. “Let’s get this unloaded.”
With the help of a few of his guys, we unload the guns from our saddlebags. One hundred in total. Capone checks them all out before shaking hands with Gunner.
“I already let the Currency know you will be okay. Take as many rooms as you need. It was a pleasure doing business with you. Say hello to Savage next time you see him,” Capone says.
“Will do.”
As we climb on our bikes, Gunner looks to me.
“You headed home?”
I nod. “You’re lucky I am here, to be honest.”
He laughs. “Claim her as soon as she is willing. No point in wasting time.”
“I know, but she’s not ready. She won’t be as long as he is still out there,” I tell him.
“Then we will find him and eliminate him. Who you taking with you?” he asks.
“Smoke wants Bear back.”
Gunner winces. “Bear isn’t going to be happy about that.”
He clears his throat before calling out to Bear. Then he nods to me. Bear nods, shooting me a glare.
I put on my helmet and turn on my bike before taking off. Bear is right behind me.
“They have paid pussy here,” Bear growls in my ear.
“Take it up with your pres. He is the one who requested you.” I snort.
He grumbles but doesn’t say another word as we set off on the fourteen-hour ride home.
I’m coming, Jane.