Jaxson 3: The Last Vow (Black Devils MC) Read online

  Then the pain in the ass woman offered to share something else with Bruno, “My uncle had told me years ago, about a man named Bruno who would become a great man in Coronado. He saw your potential thirty years ago but he also had dirt on you that he wasn’t even aware of. It seemed that Bruno liked women but left them once he had his fill. My uncle told me that one of his women was dumped but she wasn’t dumped alone. She had a child by you and you never knew about the boy you left behind.”

  “You expect me to believe that?” Bruno snapped.

  She regarded Bruno for a moment, before she went on, “Well, the boy was now a man and the leader of your rival club the Bloods.” Tori paused. “His mother went by the name of Renee.” She looked up suddenly, seeming to be aware of the guards around us for the first time. “A psychopathic ex-military coronel attached to the Marchetti family. He’s got a mean streak of sadism too, that you don’t want to encourage.”

  “What’s his address?” he demanded, flicking his eyes to the guards waking around us.

  “His immediate boss is a man named Lucia whom he reports to ‒ the infamous head of the Marchetti crime family,” she continued, “He’s the man who fronted the money to start the Bloods.” The Marchetti were the second most successful and feared crime family that the police and the USA ever knew. Second to the De Luca’s. And they knew it.”

  “Five minute warning,” a guard called to the people in the room.

  “What’s his street name? If you had any sense you’d tell me.” he urged her, his face tightening.

  She didn’t respond to this. “As a matter of fact, I’ve had a visiting request from the young man. A young man the cartel would be very interested in working with now that the Devils have proved to be…” she paused, thinking over her words, “…inadequate,” she added. “His name is Jumper.”

  Tori’s words seemed to ignite an explosion inside of Bruno. His cheeks went red as though there were a fire burning up inside him like an incinerator.

  I knew his control would slip at any minute.

  Screech! There was a sickening sound as Bruno drove his chair back from the table sharply. “This is bullshit,” he said, standing up. There was a sudden silence in the room that was thick and heavy. Bruno’s teeth grinded in his square jaw.

  I hauled him out of the room. “Fuck this.” I told him.

  “I’m sorry we’re having to leave this on such a bitter note,” Tori cooed.

  Bruno halted and stared a Viper with shark like eyes.

  I felt that if he could he would have planted fifteen rounds into the woman’s chest right there. Perhaps for her, it was a good thing she was locked away.

  “Don’t you wanna kiss me goodbye?” she called.

  The last thing I heard before Bruno slammed the door behind us was Tori cackling manically. Turning in the doorway, I glanced back at Tori, she looked at me with wild eyes.

  Bruno stormed outside, furious. Murder flooded his gaze. He turned to me, “Bring the mother fucker to me.”

  “Well get him, Bruno. He’ll be disposed of.” I said, patting Bruno on his broad back. The bastards deserved to be killed.

  “No, I’ll get him. You bring Jumper to me, and I’ll finish the job. That’s the way it has to be,” Bruno said.

  I paused at this. I remembered Antonio, his son. He did take care of that. Now he had another son that needed killing? If it were even true. Tori was obviously insane. Nothing she said should be taken as truth right off. I wanted to tell Bruno this but I knew better. I needed to keep my mouth shut. In the state he was in, I might get his arm as a neck tie and that would be it for me. I’d seen it. He had snapped men’s necks. With his bare hands. No weapon needed.

  Without incident, we made it back to our rides and put our weapons back into their holsters. As far as Bruno was concerned, Jumper and his brothers had sealed their own fate and would soon get exactly what they deserved. They’d gone against the basic tenants of the street. They’d fucked up big time by taking on a mob boss. Bruno wouldn’t feel complete again until he got his revenge.

  Twenty minutes later, my bike slowed and I pulled into the grounds of clubhouse behind Bruno.

  Shutting his bike down, Bruno climbed off and left me parking while he walked toward the main door. Unbuckling the chinstrap to his helmet, he threw it to the ground, hitting the trashcans outside with a crash.

  I was so not surprised, considering what he’d recently learned. By the time I made it inside, the room was silent as Bruno stood in front of the bar, addressing everyone. I caught the end of his orders to my brothers… “I want that bastard and his whole damn MC found and brought to the club in chains if you need too!”

  The man’s loud and menacing footsteps echoed as he made his way out of the room, down the hall. The last I heard from Bruno were four words as he headed for his office, “I need a stiff drink.”

  Chapter Eight

  Chloe

  I blinked several times and turned away from the sudden bright light. I’d woke in my chair, my head on Jax’s bed to the side. I didn’t budge when I heard somebody come through the door. My heart pounded. My chest heaved. Frightened. Confused. My skin, clammy with sweat, tingled as a cool breeze hit its surface. Goosebumps everywhere. I sat straight up in my chair and felt a heavy hand grip my shoulder as if to steady me.

  The person wore a black leather jacket covered in patches over a white T-shirt and baggy denim jeans. The main light had been clicked on and I peered at my father through narrow eyes while my eyes adjusted. A stubble beard covered his tanned cheeks.

  “How’s he holding up?” he asked in his low, rumbly voice. The voice of my father.

  I sighed. Another confrontation. “Well, he’s still breathing,” I replied. A gentle breeze floated into the room through a window which had been lodged open. It carried with it the smell of something sweet.

  “You hungry?” he asked, sliding a paper bakery bag from the counter against the wall of the medial room and offering it to me.

  I stood up, and when he stretched out his arm, I greeted him with an awkward hug. For a half second, it appeared to be a mistake move on my part, until the man tightened his arms around me. Unexpectedly, I liked it. In fact, I almost didn’t want to let go. I suppose I couldn’t help it. He was still my father. I would always love him deeply and profoundly, no matter what. But for what he’d done to our previously happy family unit when I was eleven years old, there would always be a suffocating ivy around our relationship.

  He looked me in the eyes. “Detectives have begun trailing Coronado all over.”

  “Is Jax in any trouble?”

  He shook his head.

  “You need to find and kill Jumper dad. You have to,” I said quickly, my voice laced with desperation.

  “Don’t you worry about Jumper, he’s earned his ticket to hell. When I find him, he’ll get what he deserves. I’ll send a bullet to his head, just above the jaw, just below the ear proved the most efficient way of killing without getting blood on his clothes.”

  For a moment, I stared at him. His cold brutal statement detailing murder in such terms like someone was instructing you how to put a toy together while it was really just Killing 101. It did shock me, though it shouldn’t have. I lived in this world now. It was a world my father had always lived in.

  This was the first time we’d been alone together. He left the food on the table beside me and sat down on the chair opposite me, and I tried to make small talk. He kept gazing at me. Studying me with a cool, expressionless look on his face.

  I asked him about a scar he had on his forehead. Apparently, he’d lived with that from the night he fell into the basement ten years ago, and faced it every time he looked in the mirror. I asked whether he was happy to see mom again. He said with certainty that he was. Dad thought for a minute.

  I knew by his expression what was coming…

  “Sorry about your boyfriend,” he commented.

  What did he mean by that? Just as I should have just s
aid thank you, I didn’t. Instead, the words I’d been thinking came out of my mouth involuntarily, “Are you sure you won’t leave her again?”

  “No, I don’t think so,” he said, taking a bite of his cinnamon swirl.

  He’d replied all too casually for my liking and I felt anger bubbling up from deep down. “You don’t think so? Seriously!” I replied, disgusted, glaring at him.

  Silence hung heavy between us for several minutes.

  Then he steadied his steely gaze on my face. “I left to protect you. I’d to anything to protect you and your mother. Even if it meant I would lose what I loved most. I’m so sorry, kid. But in this world, you’ve gotta do what you need to do to survive. It’s no place for a woman either.”

  I glared at him, biting my tongue to keep myself from saying anything. Did I need to remind him that my relationship with Jax was no different than his relationship with mom?

  A thoughtful expression appeared on his face. “How did you and Jax meet?”

  I stilled. My eyes opened wide and I stared at him for several seconds. I wasn’t sure how to answer this. “We knew each other from around town, probably the same as how you and mom met. Except in Jax’s case, he was looking out for us, seeing as we didn’t have anybody else,” I said in bitter frustration. “He made sure we had things we needed by tipping mom extra every time he came to the diner. He would be there suddenly when something went wrong and well… He made it right. I met him when I was eleven years old, Dad. He was like my big brother for a long time in fact.”

  Jesse narrowed his eyes at me. “Outta guilt. It didn’t give him the right to—”

  “Just stop it already!” I snapped. “I’ll never leave him!” I cried with more potency.” I don’t know what I’ll do if—if he…” I dissolved into tears as everything crashed in on me.

  Jesse stared up at me from the chair, his eyes darting from side to side. He didn’t know how to deal with me in this crying state I’d fallen into.

  I knew he wanted to get up. He wanted to leave. I wanted to leave. The tension between us was too great.

  I turned my head away from him, reaching out and placed a shaking hand on Jax’s face. His blond hair was matted against one side of his head. Jax’s sheet was wet from sweat. I closed my eyes, feeling tears well up. I could hardly look at dad. My father had no right to fucking talk about guilt.

  I straightened the sheet over Jax’s body. “He’s resting. We can’t fight in here,” I whispered, looking from Jax to my father.

  “Doctor Sarma says it will take time, Chloe,” he said, sympathetically. “I’ll take you to stay with your mom.”

  “No you fucking won’t!” I exclaimed with determination, forgetting my whispering. “He hasn’t told me yet whether Jax will need more surgery. I’m staying with him. He isn’t out of the woods yet. And even when he is, I will be right here.” It was a shitty feeling to realize nobody would ever understand my love for Jax.

  Dad turned a hard stare on me. “I know you have a thing for Jax. A lotta girls like a dangerous boy on a motorcycle, I get it. But let’s get something clear, kid. This fling of yours ends. Now. You’re not safe with Jax Chloe, especially not now.” my father’s voice was a tense whisper.

  “I didn’t come here to YOUR compound to be questioned about my relationship with Jax.”

  “This isn’t about you or Jax. This world hurts everybody in it! You’re smart enough to know that,” my father roared, standing from his chair, his fists clenched tightly.

  For some reason, I flinched. I never feared this man and I didn’t now.

  “I’ve lived in this world three times as long as your Jax.”

  “Wow. That’s hypocritical, dad. You endangered mom by being with her,” I said quickly, sounding angry and sarcastic. I stood from my chair. “I can’t live without him. Jax and I will face this world together.” I shook with my fists at my side. I paused and took a breath. “I’ll take my chances with Jax. I’d rather live in danger with him than without him.”

  He shot an annoyed look over at Jax. “And just how do you suppose he’s going to look after you while he’s in a coma? How do you suppose he’ll have time for you now since he’s president of the Devils? Fuck Jax! I want you safe. If anything happens to you because of that kid, I’ll make him pay in blood, you hear?” he said, his voice a warning now.

  My eyes rounded. “You hurt him and you will be hurting—me,” my whisper came out choked.

  Reality seemed to sink into Jesse’s eyes and he dipped his head to his chest. “Jesus Christ, I’m not pissed at you. I’m trying to protect you. That’s my job, not Jax’s.”

  Another silence hung between us that felt like it lasted a year.

  I sighed. “I don’t have the energy for this. Not now,” I muttered sulkily.

  My phone buzzed on the table beside me. I grabbed it to find a message from my mother. “Mom wants to talk to me,” I told him.

  Dad said, voice calm, “I’ll go and bring Sheila to Border Patrol, where I can be sure you are both safe, together.”

  I nodded my head and silently started to dial to facetime her, then balanced the phone against a cup on the table beside me.

  Dad waved a brief goodbye to me and went out.

  I pushed the door shut and walked stiffly back to my chair. Stiff with total tension, frustration and disappointment. As the phone started to ring, I nestled my head next Jax’s head and stared to kiss his neck. I cut the kiss off with a shudder as I heard the threatening roar of dad’s motorcycle engine as he pulled away outside. After four rings of the receiver, mom picked up and I sat up in my chair…

  “Chloe! Pumpkin!” my mother exclaimed. She appeared to be in a cheery mood.

  I laughed. “Hi mom, I have some good news for you.”

  Mom smiled at me. “I can’t believe I’ve got my family back,” said Sheila, and I saw a light blush appear on her cheeks.

  I had a feeling she wouldn’t want to hear about the fight dad and I just had.

  “Is Jax all better?” she asked, innocently, as though she was recovering from a sore throat or something.

  “No, not yet, Mom. But I know he’s improving every day. I can feel it,” I lied. “Dad thought you might like to come and join us. You want to?”

  “Yes…” She sighed, “Yes, I’d love to. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

  As the conversation went on, I watched her. She seemed genuinely happy for the first time in years, and her mood got better and better as the call progressed. She must have known Jesse was coming to get her already. I hadn’t seen her like this since she stood with dad at the safe house, days ago.

  Feeling cold, I’d gotten up to shut the window. I tugged the window closed. At the same time, I heard the bang of the front door come over the phone. It sent a jolt through my system. Over my shoulder, my eyes traveled around the small living room behind her and my heart started to pound.

  Making my way back toward my seat, I was sure I heard footsteps in the background of the call. What the hell is that? I listened hard.

  I stopped in my tracks when I looked ahead into the camera. “Mom, what’s that?” I asked, my eyes fixed on the entrance to the room.

  She smiled. “What’s what honey?” she chirped happily.

  And then a tall shadow moved between the doorway behind her. A shadow. A figure. It just stood here, too tall for me to see his face. A presence that screamed danger.

  Moving fast, it burst into view full view a few feet from mom and I tried to scream, but I couldn’t to make a sound. No time.

  It reached out one hand and ran it though her hair, stroking it. I watched in horror as mom giggled, “Dagger stop it. Chloe’s on the phone.”

  The figure wore the leather of a badass biker but I knew it wasn’t my father. He was just here minute’s ago. I shook my head quickly but still no words escaped my lips.

  “Dagger?” a low voice asked.

  My chest heaved. Nobody was supposed to know my dad was alive.

&n
bsp; And then I heard her scream as he grabbed hold of her from behind, his arms locked around her ribs, squeezing her tight against his chest.

  I could only stare into the camera as he clenched his long fingers tightly around her breasts, running the tips of his callous fingers under them.

  She tried wrenching away from him.

  “Get off of her,” I yelled.

  The thing noticed me. Then twisted his face into the camera. He smirked. “Chloe, it’s been too long. I’d love to see you again,” the man hissed.

  I almost dropped to the floor as my legs gave out and I staggered to hold onto the bed. The creature I was staring at was Jumper. He’d found mom’s safe house.

  “Who the hell are you?” mom whisper-yelled, fighting his grasp.

  “I’m not scared of you,” I lied.

  A grin formed on Jumper’s lips again. He and I both knew I could only watch in horror as he held my mother.

  I stared into the camera and watched the bastard pull my mother to her feet by her hair.

  She squealed. Her eyes started to water from the pain.

  Squeezing my mother by the upper arms, he turned her to the right ninety degrees, pivoting his body to show me his arousal at her hip.

  “Get off me!” she shrieked, eyes white with fright, her lips trembling.

  Then he clamped his teeth around her neck. Biting, sucking ‒ feasting on her like a feral animal. The shock of the invasion caused her to cry out but she didn’t fight back this time. She only sobbed at her chest.

  I opened my mouth and uttered a shrill scream.

  He stopped his animalistic attention on her and looked up at me with another sickening smirk. Jumper flexed his hip, rubbing his erection against her. I observed mom’s whole body trembling as he prepared to take away her dignity. Our eyes met and he grinned again, enjoying the rush of seeing me helpless to stop it.