Stalker Chapter 1 #2
As Stryder read, Predator and I exchanged glances. Who the hell were Brighton and Marshall? Why did the fact that the guy was getting paroled early cause such an angry response from both guys? When he was done, Stryder tossed the paper into the middle of the table in disgust.
“How can they do this shit? We’ve got to make sure she’s protected at all times. And we’ve got to figure out how to tell her,” Stryder said hoarsely.
“I know, I know, but it’s worse than breaking this to Brighton. How do we tell…you know?” Stryder’s cousin asks, his eyes flaring with concern.
Our club brother groaned and cupped his forehead in his palm as he propped up his head with it.
“I don’t mean to pry, but who’s Brighton, this Marshall dude, and then whoever you don’t want to tell this news to? Maybe we can help if we know what’s going on,” Predator stated briskly.
“He’s right. We are good at solving problems,” I said, backing him up.
It was Jessup who explained. “Almost six years ago, my then fifteen-year-old baby sister came to me. She was in tears and scared to death. It took a bit to get her calm enough to tell me what was wrong. What she shared was the last thing I ever thought she’d say.
It blew shit apart in our world, especially Brighton’s.
“See, I’m fifteen years older than my younger sister.
I have another sister who’s seven years younger.
Growing up, my best friend and I were glued at the hip.
We were always together, into something, and staying at each other’s houses.
He was tight with my family. When we finished college, he got a job in another state and couldn’t pass it up.
I hated to see him go, but I congratulated him and told him to take the job. He deserved it, so he did.
“Then, six years ago, he called me out of the blue to tell me he was moving back home. He’d quit that employer and wanted to be back with friends and family.
I was ecstatic. He said he’d have to get things in place first. He had a job lined up, but not an apartment yet.
I told him not to worry about it. I insisted my friend stay with me. ”
Jessup paused for a moment to swallow. “Our parents died when I was twenty-five. Mom died of cancer, and then six months later, Dad died from a heart attack. They weren’t that old.
When it happened, I gained custody of my youngest sister.
My other sister was eighteen. God, you have no idea how badly I wish I could go back and, on that call, tell him not to move back.
“I’ll save you any more of the happy details.
Six months after he returned, Brighton came to me.
She was in tears and terrified. When I calmed her enough to talk, she told me that my friend had been sneaking into her bedroom at night when I was asleep, and doing things to her.
He threatened that if she told, she would be taken from me forever, and it would be her word against his.
He convinced her that I would believe him over her.
That friend was Marshall Webb. He played me, the motherfucker. He knew I’d ask him to stay with me.”
When his explanation ended, fury pumped through my veins. Christ, why did the world seem to be full of nothing but monsters who got off on hurting and killing the sweet, the innocent, and the good people?
“How the hell did he go to prison? If it had been me, I would’ve killed the bastard,” Predator barked.
“Believe us, we wanted to. Jessup told me what happened, and we went hunting for him. We planned to kill Marshall when we found him. However, Brighton was terrified that we’d get hurt.
No matter what we told her, she refused to believe it.
In the end, we gave in to her pleas to report it to the cops.
What we didn’t tell her was that we were still searching for him.
It was our rotten luck that the law got to him first. There was a bunch of back-and-forth, then a trial.
“By the time it was over, we were emotionally drained. But at least they convicted him of sexual assault of a minor and other stuff. He was sentenced to fifteen years. We prayed that someone would kill his ass on the inside. The one thing most inmates hate is a pedophile, and that is what he is,” Stryder explained.
“Stryder, we need to talk to the club about this. You know what they’ll say, but we have to do this the right way,” I told him.
“Why would you have to tell your club?” his cousin asked, confused.
“To ensure justice is served,” Predator said gruffly.
Jessup looked around at the three of us. Disbelief tinged with hope was written on his face. “W-why, would you get involved?” he asked hoarsely.
“You wanna tell him?” Predator asked Stryder.
Stryder stared at his cousin. “Because it involves family. Brighton is my cousin, and when you’re part of the Warriors, then each member’s family is protected by the club.
We have a hatred for sons of bitches like Marshall and those who do worse things.
They rarely get what they deserve. What I need you to do is to stay calm, let me speak to our other brothers, and whatever you do, don’t let Dayanara know. ”
Jessup’s mouth was opening to reply when a woman’s voice stopped him. It was sultry, and there was an underlying tone of menace to it. My heart sped up at the sound. My gaze caught a woman closing in on us. As my eyes skimmed up her legs, I cataloged her.
She was dressed in skintight jeans and boots.
She wore a figure-hugging top. Flung over her shoulder was a black leather jacket.
Her body appeared to be toned with enough curves that no one would ever mistake her for a man.
Her tits were full mounds. Her face was eye-catching.
Her skin was a light golden tan. Expressive light greenish amber irises and arched brows topped her full mouth and slender nose.
It was topped by dark brown hair that hung in a braid to her mid-back.
However, at the moment, her face was twisted in a mask of fury.
“I knew I’d find you here. I knew the way you fucking left the house tonight that you were up to something,” she accused Jessup.
Goddamn, this had to be his wife or girlfriend. What a shame. A woman like her aroused my interest, unlike any I could recall in a long time, maybe ever.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked her curtly.
“I suggest you don’t take that tone with me, Jessup Crane. You’re the one who is in the wrong. Why the fuck didn’t you tell me you were meeting with Stryder and that you received a letter about Marshall?” she snapped.
We were gaining a lot of attention. If we didn’t want the entire bar to know what we were discussing, which would be a bad thing when Webb disappeared, we needed to lower our voices or go somewhere else.
People might recall we were discussing him.
My mouth opened when Jessup answered, and I got another surprise.
“Because I knew if I told you, Daya, then you’d be going off on your own to find his ass,” he hissed quietly.
The woman, Daya, placed her hands on the table and leaned over it toward him.
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re goddamn right I’m going after him as soon as he’s released.
We’ve got to get a game plan together. I’m not letting the fucker roam free, allowing him to do it to someone else.
And if you think you’re gonna stop me, you’d better think again and bring a fucking army. ”
The promise in her voice and the fierce protectiveness written on her face did it. Right then and there, in a dingy bar, I began to fall for the woman across from me, yet she couldn’t be mine. She belonged to Jessup. I glanced over at Predator. He hadn’t said a word. He was staring at her.