Chapter 19
Country
“How’s the new girlfriend?”
“What?”
“Oh, don’t play dumb, brother. You know who I’m talking about.” I gave Jagger a playful smirk. “The hot new shrink that’s been coming round to see ya.”
The second I mentioned her, his eyes grew fierce, and I knew something was up with him and his new therapist. Jagger wasn’t one to discuss the women in his life.
Hell, it was months later before he told us that he’d broken things off with Sadie—the girl he’d been dating before he got locked up.
Even then, he didn’t tell us much about it, but we all knew why he’d done it.
He didn’t want her wasting her life away waiting on him to be released.
Needless to say, I was intrigued by his reaction to my comment, so when he didn’t immediately respond, I goaded him even more, “You two had any conjugal visits yet?”
“Did you really come all this way to give me shit about my new therapist?”
“Oh, come on, brother. Don’t be like that.
” Menace was sitting next to me in the prison’s meeting room, and he was smiling at Jagger like the Cheshire Cat.
He, too, knew there was something up with Jagger and this chick, but he didn’t say a word.
He just sat there waiting for Jagger to admit he had a thing for her—something we both knew wasn’t going to happen.
I wasn’t ready to let it go, so I baited him by saying, “I’m just making sure this counselor chick is fulfilling all your therapeutical needs. ”
Jagger’s tone was full of warning as he growled, “Country.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop fucking around.” It had been several weeks since I’d been able to make it over to the prison, and I was pleased to see that the fire was back in his eyes and I couldn’t help but think this new therapist had something to do with it.
I knew better than to fuck with him any more than I already had, so I simply asked, “But in all seriousness, how are things going with her?”
“They’re going.” Jagger shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “She’s just coming around so I can get that stupid parole hearing. Nothing more than that.”
Even though Menace and I both knew there was more going on, it was clear Jagger didn’t want to tell us anything more about his pretty, new counselor.
So, we left it alone and spent the next half hour catching him up to speed on everything that had gone down at the Manor.
As soon as we were done, Jagger cocked his head and sighed, “Damn. I hate to hear about Jackal.”
“It was a tough loss.”
“I’m sure it was. I hate I wasn’t there to help.”
“Us, too, brother.” Jagger had always been a strong figure in the club. He was very protective of the brotherhood, so it was easy to see why he was so disappointed about not being able to fight alongside us. Hell, I would’ve felt the same damn way if I was in his shoes. “You’ll be there next time.”
“I sure as hell hope so.” A smirk crossed Jagger’s face as he leaned closer and asked, “So, you’re seriously hooking up with Billy’s daughter?”
And just like that, the motherfucker had turned the tables on me. I was tempted to give him a smartass answer like he’d given me when I asked about his counselor friend but decided against it. “More than just hooking up, but yeah. I’m with her.”
“Damn, brother. Billy’s not a man to fuck around with.” He struggled not to laugh as he asked, “I mean, seriously. You gotta have balls of steel to get tied up with her.”
“Yeah, I’ve got some pretty impressive balls, but it ain’t like that. Billy’s alright. Besides, I have no plans to piss the guy off. Got a good thing with Kiersten, and I intend to keep it that way.”
“I certainly hope so, cause if you fuck up, we’ll never find out what he did to ya.”
“No doubt about that.” Menace glanced over at the clock, and when he noticed the time, he said, “I’m sorry to cut it short, but we’ve gotta get back for the run this afternoon.”
“Leaving kind of late, aren’t ya?”
“Just trying to work around the fucking traffic.” Menace stood as he told him, “You know how it is coming in and out of Knoxville.”
“Yeah, I remember.”
Menace and I said our goodbyes to our brother, then turned and headed back through security. Once we’d gathered our things, we made our way out to the parking lot and got on our bikes. Before we pulled off, Menace looked over to me and asked, “Jagger seems to be doing alright, don’t ya think?”
“Yeah, brother. I think he’s doing just fine.”
“I’m ready for him to get his ass out of there.”
“You and me both.”
Without saying anything more, Menace turned the key and started his engine.
I followed him out of the prison gate and back to the clubhouse.
By the time we got there, Hawk and Axel were already loaded up and waiting for us.
Just like the time before, we made the run to meet our SC chapter without a hitch, and we made it back just in time for me to make it to my shift at Stilettos.
On most days, the commute between the clubhouse and the Manor wasn’t bad at all, but after driving to Knoxville and back and doing a shift at Stilettos, I knew I was going to be wiped.
But I didn’t care. I was looking forward to getting home and crawling into bed next to my woman.
I held onto that thought as I followed Locke into Stilettos.
For a Thursday night, the place was completely slammed. Hell, there wasn’t an empty seat in the house. Locke looked around at all the crowded tables and groaned. “Damn. It looks like we’re going to be in for a long one.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely looking that way.”
On nights like these, we’d make a shit-ton of money, but it would come at a cost. I never understood it, but when it was crowded like this, folks tended to lose their fucking minds and do shit they wouldn’t ordinarily do—like throw a punch at a complete stranger or grab a girl’s ass that they had no business grabbing.
Trying to mentally prepare for what lay ahead, I made my way over to the front door and stood watch with Lynch.
As expected, it wasn’t long before a fight broke out next to the main stage. “Fuck. Here we go.”
“Hell, yeah. Just what I’ve been waitin’ for.”
Lynch being Lynch plowed through the drunken crowd and charged over to the three men who were quickly losing control.
I quickly followed and made it over to Lynch just as he’d slipped his arm around one of the bigger guy’s throat.
Lynch gave him a hard tug, lifting his feet from the floor as he jerked him away from the others.
As soon as the other two realized what was happening, they decided to turn their aggression towards me, and each took a swing.
That was a mistake. I plowed my fist into the smaller one’s diaphragm, causing him to topple over as he gasped for breath, then immediately turned my attention to the other.
He’d already braced himself and was ready for me to throw a punch, but instead of going directly at him, I waited for him to make the first move.
The second he lunged at me, I uppercut him and slammed my fist into his kidneys, then hammered him again with another punch right under his chin.
He went flailing back and crashed into one of the tables.
I reached down and grabbed a fistful of his shirt, jerking him up on his feet.
I took hold of his arm, then grabbed his buddy before starting towards the front door.
Lynch had already made it out of the club with the first guy, and I wasn’t far behind with the other two.
I shoved them both out the front door and growled, “That’s it for you boys. Time to call it a night.”
“Come on, man. No need to do us like that.”
Lynch had enough of their bullshit and roared, “You heard the man. Get the fuck out of here.”
Without any further argument, the three men turned and walked away like a couple of dogs with the tails between their legs. Lynch and I watched as they hailed a cab, and once they were gone, Lynch came over to me and chuckled. “Is it bad that I love that shit?”
“Fucking up a bunch of drunks?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely! I love it.” He held up his fist as he growled, “I can’t wait to do it again. It’s a fucking rush!”
I laughed as I patted him on the back and said, “You need help, brother.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Lynch started over to the front door but stopped and turned back to me. “I wanted to tell you that I heard from Hannah earlier today.”
“Oh, yeah?” I hadn’t heard anything about Lynch’s sister or her daughter since the day Kiersten went over to see them.
She and I had been curious about whether or not the marijuana had helped with Reece’s issues, but Kiersten didn’t want to seem pushy and was hesitant to reach out to them. “How’s she making it?”
“Really good, actually.” Lynch seemed relieved when he said, “Reece has been showing some real improvements. Seems Kiersten’s gummies have been a real hit over there, so I’m pretty sure Hannah will be calling her soon.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’ll be sure and let Kiersten know.”
“Please do, and tell her how much I appreciate her doing this for me.” He cleared his throat. “I love my sister and hate that she’s going through all this, so Kiersten doing this for me really means something to me.”
“She was glad to do it, brother. I know she will be happy to hear that it all worked out.”
I followed him inside, and together we waited for the possibility of another unraveling.
Thankfully, our little display with the first wild crew made an impression on the rest of the crowd, and we got through the rest of the night without another brawl.
I helped the guys get things shut down for the night, and once the doors were locked, I was on my bike and on my way back to the Manor.
By the time I pulled into the drive, it was well after midnight.
I had no doubt that Kiersten was sleeping, so I did my best not to wake her as I unlocked the door and went inside.
Being as quiet as possible, I made my way into the bathroom and took a much-needed long, hot shower.
I was beyond exhausted and was barely able to keep my eyes open as I got out and dried off.
I pulled on a fresh pair of boxers, then crawled into bed with Kiersten.
Like it was instinct, she immediately nestled up next to me and laid her head on my shoulder.
Her eyes were closed as she whispered, “Hey.”
“Hey, babe. Sorry I woke you.”
“I’m glad you did.” Her voice was low and raspy, and sexy as fuck as she whispered, “I missed you today.”
“Right back at ya.” I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “Did you have a good day?”
“It was okay.” She did that little hum thing she did when she was worried about something before saying, “I talked to Braylon today.”
“About?”
“Mia.” She sighed, then continued, “He really likes her, but he’s been pushing her away. He still blames himself for what happened with Drake and his men.”
“Yeah, I had a feeling that was what was going on. Did you set him straight?”
“I think so, but you never know with Bray. He’s so stinking stubborn.” She yawned, then hummed once again. “He’s a good guy. He deserves to be happy.”
“And he will be... when he’s ready.”
“But if he’s never ready?”
“He will be. He just needs to figure this thing out on his own.” I ran my fingers through her hair as I told her, “I know you want to fix this thing for him, but he’s gotta do it on his own. And you gotta trust that he will.”
“How did you get so smart?”
“You’re the smart one. You’re just rubbing off on me a little.”
“Is that right?”
“Um-hmm.” I closed my eyes and settled in. “You are the best thing that could’ve ever happened to me.”
“It’s funny you say that cause I think the same thing about you.”
She eased up and gave me a quick kiss, then laid back down on my shoulder.
A few minutes later, she stilled and her breathing slowed, and I knew she’d drifted back off to sleep.
I looked down at her, and I was in complete awe of her.
Kiersten had no idea how incredible she really was, but I knew.
I’d known it all along. She was the best of both worlds.
She was strong, independent, and beautiful, but at the same time, she was vulnerable with a heart of gold.
She made it easy to fall for her. Hell, I was still falling, and as I laid there in the bed next to her, I knew I’d never stop.