Jalisa Chapter 13 #3
“They’ve been in the military. Stitch has too, but we tend to use him more on the back end,” Rage explained.
“And what did Nomad and Forge do in the military? I’m guessing for you, Stitch, you were a medic of some kind,” I queried.
“I was a Navy Corpsman.”
“And the other two?” I prompted because Rage hadn’t answered me.
“Forge was a cavalry scout in the Army. And Nomad was EOD.”
I knew EOD stood for Explosive Ordnance Disposal.
They were the ones who messed with bombs and other explosive materials.
My pulse sped up. Did Wrath think it was a bomb?
What if it was, and it went off? Could they get far enough away in time not to be killed?
I had no idea how they worked. Television didn’t exactly always mimic real life.
A hand on my shoulder made me realize I had tried to stand. It was Rage’s hand.
“You need to stay here. If you go out there, you’ll distract them. That’ll get them killed faster than whatever is in that box, assuming it’s dangerous. I know it’s hard, but wait.”
I stayed. Betty held my hand. I strained to see if I could hear anything. I watched the clock on the wall tick away the minutes. Twenty minutes later, the door opened, and they entered, with Dylan and Keno bringing up the rear. Nomad was carrying a brown box. He set it on the table we were at.
I shot out of my chair and rushed over to Wrath. He held his arms wide so I could hug him close.
“So it’s clearly not a bomb. What is it?” Storm asked.
Wrath glanced over to Nomad, who answered. “You’re partially right. It’s not an active bomb.”
Gasps, mutterings of surprise, and worry came from several mouths. I was squeezing Wrath harder.
He whispered in my ear, “It’s alright, my love. It’s not able to explode. Hold on, let Nomad explain,” he said, raising his voice to be heard. Everyone quieted down.
“It’s the makings of a bomb, meaning most of the components are here, but it wasn’t given an ignition source.”
“Do you have a clue who dropped it off? Was it the Black Outlaws?” Betty asked.
“Oh, it was them. We’ll have to check the security video to see who exactly dropped it off,” Forge answered.
“How do you know it was them, other than an educated guess?” I asked.
“There was a message with it,” Wrath said calmly.
“What did the message say, Wrath?” Rage asked.
Wrath jostled me to get inside his cut. From an inner pocket, he brought out a piece of paper. He passed it to his dad. I impatiently waited for him to read it to himself. He looked over the top at his son.
“Okay, are you gonna tell us what it says?” Fury asked impatiently. I was right there with him.
“Go ahead,” Wrath told Rage.
“This is your only warning. We know you have her. You have until the weekend to return her to her home. If you don’t, we’re coming for her and you. The next time, it won’t be a fake. It’s signed with a K.”
I stood there motionless, letting it sink in. The more it did, the greater my lividness grew. The guys were all making comments around me. I let their words wash over me. I didn’t know how long it was before Wrath eased me away from him so he could see my face.
“Jalisa, babe, you’re not saying anything.
I don’t want you to be afraid. It’s Killer acting up and throwing a tantrum.
Sure, he could’ve sent a real bomb, but he wants you.
He would be stupid to risk sending a live one and hurting you.
All this does is require us to move up the schedule for the others to come here sooner.
I’ll talk to Panther about him, Cougar, and Scooter coming to the car show.
I still see it as the best chance for the Outlaws to get their hands on you.
Coming for us at the compound would be hard work and lose them more men just trying to get inside. ”
I continued to stare at him. He frowned. “Babe, say something.”
“Wrath, I’d leave her be. That look is one I know well. She’s about to flip her switch,” Dylan warned.
“Flip her switch? What the hell does that mean?” Chains asked.
“It means I’m about to show Killer and his little Black Outlaw brothers what true crazy looks like. He wants to fuck with me, he gets my craziest. There’s no way he’ll harm anyone I care for. He wants a war he can’t win. He’s got it. Dylan, can you head to Athens anytime soon?” I asked.
Inside, I was becoming icy. Typically when something pissed me off, my ire would burn hot and then subside. When it changed to ice, and I became calm, I was at my deadliest. I was fast approaching that point.
“Jae, I don’t think I can,” my cousin said, casting nervous looks at his president.
“Then I’ll go with what I have here. I assume you have an arsenal that you can call upon when needed, and it has more than guns, right?” I asked my man.
He slowly nodded. “Yes, we do. Why?”
“I’d like to see it. For those of you who have personal stashes that contain things not in the main arsenal, I’d like to see those, if I may,” I said sweetly.
“Jalisa, what are you thinking? Why do you want to see the arsenal?” Wrath asked cautiously.
I smiled at him. “I need to recreate my war bag from home. I’d like mine, but I can work with what’s here, assuming you’re well-equipped. There are a few things I won’t have, but I can improvise.”
“Whoa, you can’t think we’ll allow you to go hunting or fight Killer and his men? That’s our job. When he makes his move, we’ll be the ones to take care of them and anyone backing them,” Storm protested.
“That’s exactly what I mean. Before I became Wrath’s old lady, I was a club princess in a one-percenter club.
I can see how you’d get the wrong idea about me because I was sent to hide from Killer.
It made me look weak and scared. I’m not.
That was Dad and the other Fiends’ idea for some reason.
I’ve lived my entire life at risk. There have been scrimmages and even wars with other clubs since I was born.
When those happened, I didn’t hide under the bed and wait for the men to take care of it.
I armed myself and stood guard. If it necessitated it, I fought.
You saw the two men I killed at Dylan’s. Did you think they were the first?”
“Uh, well, yeah,” Storm said.
Others nodded and murmured in agreement. I laughed. “Oh, you’re so sweet. I love you guys, but the answer is no. Ask me when I killed for the first time.”
They glanced around at each other and back at me, then Wrath. He wasn’t saying a word. Eventually, Storm asked, “How old?”
“I was fourteen. Another one-percenter club wanted the territory the Fiends had in Athens. They thought the way to get it was to go after them individually. When that didn’t work, they started to come after their families.
Others were in the club then, so there were more old ladies and kids.
They came swarming in the middle of the night.
We were on lockdown. They hit the clubhouse, where the women and kids were gathered.
Not everyone lives on the compound, as you saw.
“The members scattered to deal with them. The prospects and I were left to guard the clubhouse—a few outside, the rest inside. I was inside. Three enemies found their way into the clubhouse. The women and kids gathered in a room without windows and one door. I was guarding that door. One made it to that point. He didn’t make it inside.
That was my first kill. He wasn’t the first I’d hurt. I did that at twelve.”
They were all stunned into silence. In a few cases, I knew they were wondering if I was telling them a tall tale. Their heads turned to look at my cousin.
“She’s not lying. It did go down the way she said.
Jalisa shot him with a double-barreled shotgun.
When we were twelve, there was a guy in another club.
It seemed he was secretly into kids, and Jae caught his attention.
No one knew it until he tried to snatch her off the street when she walked to a friend’s house after school.
The girl was sick and had missed school.
Jae was taking her homework to her. When the bastard grabbed her, she ended up stabbing him three times before he knew what hit him.
I would’ve been with her, but I was home sick with the same thing,” Dylan shared.
“Jesus Christ, are you for real?” Fury asked me.
“I am, why?” I responded.
“‘Cause I want to fight Pres for you. Goddamn, where can I find a woman like you?” he asked.
His remark cracked the tension, causing the others to laugh. Wrath narrowed his gaze on Fury. “Go ahead and try it. See what happens,” my man told him. Fury smirked and held up his hands, but he winked at me.
“Jalisa, despite your capabilities, you know that I can’t have you purposefully hunting anyone. I’m all for you protecting yourself if it becomes necessary, but that means we failed in some way if you have to,” Wrath said.
“Wrath, no matter how much you try and want to protect me and others, it’s not always possible.
And you can’t see it as a failure. No one is perfect or can account for every single scenario.
That’s why we women, and when they’re old enough, our children, need to be able to protect ourselves in whatever way we can.
I know that life in this club isn’t the same as with Dad’s.
It’s a big reason Dylan came to prospect with you.
He didn’t want that. You guys who’ve been here for a long time recall what it was like when this club wasn’t so clean. Some habits are good to keep.”
Wrath took me back in his arms and held me tight.
“I hear you. Logically, I can even see your point and agree with you. However, when I think of Killer or anyone else potentially harming you, it makes me want to lock you away. I’ve waited a long-ass time to find you.
I can’t risk losing you. If I did, I don’t know I’d be able to stand it. ”
Wrath stated it so everyone heard him. He had no problem baring his heart in front of his club.
“And I feel the same way about you, babe. You call me your Lil’ Lunatic. I’d be more than a little one if I lost you.”
“Ah, that’s sweet, and I know you two want to go home and sex each other up, but I’ve got something more important that has to be dealt with first,” Chaos said.
“What would that be?” Rage asked.
“I want to know what Jalisa would put in her new war bag. She’s got me curious,” he said, grinning.
This broke the moment, and others chimed in and asked me to tell them my favorites and what I had in the one at home. I teased them by saying they’d have to wait and see, which eased the tension running through Wrath.