Jackal
I stood next to Tank, my arms folded and my feet braced a shoulder’s-width apart, as we stared at the two DEA agents that my fiancée had brought into our midst. I still couldn’t believe she’d dated these fucksticks, or that she was still in touch with them. Obviously, we had some talking to do. This was the kind of shit I needed to know about her past. Yeah, she’d been a virgin when I’d taken her that first time, but I’d known she’d been out on dates. Just hadn’t expected this.
At least they had ditched their suits and had shown up looking like bikers, complete with Harley Davidsons. It seemed Josie had a type even before she’d met me. One of them had a tattoo on his bicep. A fucking SEAL. Jesus. She’d gone from clean-cut American heroes to climbing into bed with me?
“Where’s Josie?” the one on the right asked.
“At home with our kid,” I said.
That got their attention. Both of them scanned me head to toe, and I knew they found me lacking from the matching sneers they wore. Too fucking bad. I was Josie’s choice, and I wasn’t letting her go. But if they could help me keep her safe, then I’d listen to what the jackasses had to say. Couldn’t promise more than that, though. What I really wanted to do was beat the shit out of them, just on principle.
“You search them?” Torch asked the two Prospects guarding the gate.
“Yeah, Torch. They’re clean,” one of them said.
“Good. Come on, then. We’ll go talk about this like civilized men. Can’t guarantee your safety after the talking’s done, though,” Torch told the agents.
I heard footsteps behind us and glanced over my shoulder to see Josie and Allegra heading our way. I cursed and went to her, hoping to stop her before she got any closer.
“What the fuck? I told you to stay home,” I said.
“What am I? Your dog? Move out of the way, Jackal.”
I narrowed my eyes but stepped aside. She walked right up to the two dickhead agents and gave each a one-armed hug, then introduced our daughter to them. Both men softened as they met Allegra, but the steely-eyed glares were back when they looked at me again.
On the plus side, none of the Reapers looked too happy that Josie had associated with the DEA agents. At least it wasn’t just me. I knew they’d been together before she’d even met me, but it still pissed me the fuck off. I didn’t want to analyze too closely why that was exactly. But I also wasn’t stupid. The way they carried themselves, their jobs, their good looks -- yeah, I had to admit they weren’t ugly -- I was sure that women fell at their feet. Made me hate them even more since my woman had been one of them.
“It’s good to see you both,” Josie said. “Thank you for coming.”
“You know we’ve always got your back, Josie,” one of them said. “Even if you did pick a fucking Devil over us.”
“Be nice, Logan,” she said. “I told you guys before that we could only be friends. Sorry, but there just wasn’t a spark.”
The second one gave a chin nudge in my direction. “But you found a spark there?”
She sighed. “Yes, Drey. I mean it, you two. Play nice. Don’t make me regret asking for your help. If I’d thought you would come in and try to pee on me, I would have rethought that call.”
Logan snickered, and Drey smiled a little at Josie.
“We’ll be good,” Drey said.
“Park your bikes in front of the clubhouse, then come inside and we’ll figure out what the fuck is going on,” Torch said. “Devil’s Boneyard is sending more men. They should be here soon. Hades Abyss is sending some help too, but it will take them longer to arrive.”
Drey focused on Torch. “The three clubs are working together?”
Torch stared, and Drey lifted his hands, backing down. “Got it. Not my business.”
“Just remember you’re here for Josie, not for a bust,” Torch said. “The second I think you can’t be trusted, you’re out on your asses. Inside these gates, your badge don’t mean shit. Not without a warrant.”
Drey and Logan both lifted their shirts, showing they didn’t have badges clipped to their belts. I watched Josie, seeing whether or not she noticed the ripped bodies the two men were showing off, but she wasn’t paying them any attention. Her gaze was locked on me and she came to stand next to me. Allegra reached for me and I pulled her into my arms.
“You should have stayed home, Josie,” I said.
“They’re here to help me, Jackal. I’m not romantically interested in them. I haven’t even spoken to them in about two years, but I didn’t know what else to do. I’m scared, okay?”
Her eyes filled with tears and I felt like an asshole. I shifted Allegra so that I could pull Josie against my side. She burrowed into me and sniffled as she fought not to cry. The thought of her with the agents made me a little crazy, but if she said she wasn’t interested in them, I would believe her. As far as I knew, she’d never lied to me. While she’d kept my daughter a secret, she’d done it for what she believed were the right reasons. Josie didn’t seem to have a mean bone in her body, and I didn’t think she’d do anything to intentionally hurt me. Unless she was pissed, then I wouldn’t put it past her to throw shit at my head.
“I need to go with them,” I said. “Why don’t you come sit in the clubhouse with Allegra? I’m sure someone’s running the bar and will get you a cold drink.”
“All right,” she agreed.
I kept my arm around her waist as we walked to the clubhouse and stepped inside. I got her and Allegra settled at a table not too far from the bar, then followed the Reapers into Church. It was a little strange to be in a room filled with Reapers, but if they could help Josie, I was more than happy to hear what they had to say. Even the DEA agents, who looked a little too comfortable.
“What do you have for us?” Torch asked the agents.
Drey didn’t shift position or expression. “The man Josie says is her father, Abraxas, has been on the government’s list for a while. He’s not only dealing massive amounts of drugs, but he’s headed up some arms deals, and we believe he’s in charge of a sex-trafficking ring. Any evidence we’ve been able to gather against Demonic Reign seems to always unravel before we can arrest anyone, or things just disappear completely.”
“He’s also a known rapist, even though no one has been able to get the charges to stick, not permanently,” Logan said. “Anytime we get one of them behind bars, they find a loophole and they’re out in no time. Demonic Reign has a tendency to make people disappear. If Josie’s dad says that he won’t allow her to be with Jackal, then I’d take him seriously and expect the unexpected. Asshole is crazy enough to come in guns blazing and try to take her by force.”
“Tank?” Torch called out. “He’s your father too. Thoughts?”
“The man is bad news, there’s no doubt about that. I’m not sure how far he’ll go to get Josie. He’s never had any interest in her before now, which makes me wonder why he’d show up out of the blue like this. There has to be something in it for him, or for his club. If we can figure out what that is, then maybe we can find a way to stop him,” Tank said.
“And if we stop Abraxas, then we’d be taking out a key player for Demonic Reign,” Drey said. “It would hit the club hard, maybe even hard enough for them to falter. Even if they don’t fall, it might at least spook them enough that they slip up and don’t cover their tracks as well.”
“Or we can try to get Abraxas to roll on them, but that’s doubtful. He hasn’t cracked when he’s been picked up before,” Logan said.
“So how do we find out what they want?” I asked. “Josie said she’d never met her dad before today, but it seemed like he’d come specifically to see her. I don’t want anyone to take this the wrong way because I’m crazy about that woman, but what’s so special about Josie that he’d come for her? He’s never shown interest before. Why now?”
“Wire, were you able to gather any information before this meeting?” Torch asked. “I know we didn’t give you much time.”
The clicking at the end of the table drew my attention and I saw Wire with a laptop in front of him.
“Still working on it,” Wire said. “But what I can tell you is that Demonic Reign doesn’t have children, not officially. We know Abraxas has fathered quite a few children, but they’re all…”
“Complete and total fuck-ups,” Tank said. “You won’t hurt my feelings if you speak the truth. The only one who might not be too bad is my brother in Devil’s Fury. He did a short stint in the state pen, but that was a while back.”
“So maybe he wants Josie because she isn’t a fuck-up?” Logan asked. “Does he have other daughters or is she the only one?”
“She’s not the only one, but the others are whores,” Tank said, putting it bluntly. “And I mean that literally.”
“You think he needs Josie to complete some sort of deal?” I asked. “Since he’s now seen Allegra, he has to know she’s not a virgin. Whatever he needs for her, apparently that isn’t important. Unless he plans to take our daughter too.”
The Reapers all started cursing and a few banged fists on the table. Whether I liked the Reapers or not, I had to admit they cared about my little girl and about my woman. And I likely would have gotten along with them just fine, if I hadn’t knocked up Josie and taken off. Of course, I’d like to think that if I’d known she was pregnant that I would have come back for her. As scared as I’d been of being a father, there were no guarantees, though.
“What are your intentions with Josie?” Drey asked. “Is that ring on her finger the real deal, or are you just jerking her around?”
“What the fuck do you care?” I asked, getting pissed that he felt like he had a right to know. He might have been a part of her past, and he might be here to help, but I didn’t like the guy. The only thing that had kept me from putting my fist through his face was the knowledge that I’d been Josie’s first.
Tank looked from Drey to me, his gaze somber but thoughtful. “My sister has been wearing an engagement ring ever since your night out. I think I see where Drey is going with this. If you were to marry her now and not later, then if my dad did try something, he’d taking another man’s wife and not just an unwed mother and sister of a biker.”
“You think your dad is going to give a shit if we’re legally married or not?” I asked.
“No,” Logan said. “Abraxas won’t care about that. But the Feds will. Demonic Reign isn’t staying in Alabama, so if he takes her and crosses state lines, then the Feds will be all over it. Especially if he takes your daughter too.”
“And the Feds will pay closer attention if she’s married? Isn’t it their job to give a shit when someone is kidnapped whether they’re married or not?” I asked.
“Is there a reason you don’t want to marry her right now?” Torch asked.
“She asked me for time. I want to honor her wishes and give her as much time as she needs, and I want her to have the wedding she’s dreamed of. All little girls plan their weddings, right? At least, that’s what the movies say,” I said.
Tank sighed. “Yeah, she has a notebook filled with crap about weddings. She’s had it for a while I think, but I didn’t see it until she’d moved in with me. I found it in her closet when I went looking for something I thought I’d left in that room.”
“Can you get that notebook?” Torch asked. “Maybe if the women can help her create her dream wedding on short notice, she’ll still get what she wants, but she’ll officially belong to Jackal.”
“And Devil’s Boneyard,” I said. “She’ll be our first old lady, and my club is willing to defend her at all costs. Her and Allegra both.”
“We just sent your damn club home and now they’re coming back,” Flicker grumbled. “It feels more like a biker resort around here these days than a damn club. Maybe we need to just put in a hotel out back.”
Zipper glared at him. “If it weren’t for the Devils, then Delphine would still be in trouble, so keep your bitching to yourself. They helped keep my woman and unborn child safe.”
Flicker gave a nod, but didn’t look pleased. As far as I knew, he hadn’t had an issue with the Devils before so I wondered if something had happened. Not that it was any of my business. Flicker was an officer for the Reapers, and I was just a patched member for Boneyard. I’d leave the political shit to those who held more power.
“Oh, shit,” Wire said, the clicking coming to a halt.
“What?” I asked.
“Demonic Reign just received a shit ton of money from some known human traffickers in Colombia, Japan, and Russia. It looks like the mafia families in those countries are expecting a big shipment from Demonic Reign. And there’s a wish list in the Pres’s email,” Wire said. “They really should learn to cover their tracks better. This is all kinds of fucked-up.”
“Wait, did you just hack into their accounts?” Drey asked. “You’ve only been sitting here like fifteen to twenty minutes.”
Wire shrugged.
“That’s because Wire is the number one hacker in the country,” Torch said. “And yes, your government is aware of him.”
“What’s on the wish list?” I asked, almost dreading the answer.
“The Russians specifically asked for a redhead,” Wire said, his gaze meeting mine. “A young, fertile redhead. Josie fits the bill. I think dear ol’ dad is going to sell her if he can get his hands on her.”
“Can you get that information to me?” Drey asked. “Somehow drop it into my email anonymously where no one can track you? I think we need to get the Feds in on this and add more firepower to our ranks. But I don’t want them asking questions about you if that can be helped.”
Wire nodded. “I can do it. You’ll have it within a half hour. I want to do a little more digging to see what else I can find first. Might as well nail these guys with as much as we can.”
“You sure you don’t want to work for Uncle Sam?” Logan asked. “We could use someone with your skills.”
Wire snorted. “Yeah, thanks but I’ll pass. I do enough of your dirty work already.”
What the hell was that about? Wire worked with the government? I glanced at Torch, who didn’t seem the least bit shocked. The Reapers were just full of surprises. It made me wonder if our own hacker, Shade, provided his services outside the club. I’d never really asked him about the type of work he did, but now I was curious.
“Jackal, I’m going to have Ridley, Isabella, and Darian come over and talk to Josie. It would probably be easier to do that here at the clubhouse. They can take over a table or two and discuss wedding plans. Preacher can marry the two of you so you won’t have to worry about that part,” Torch said.
“Not Kalani?” Tex asked. “You know she’s not as skittish as she was before.”
“I was hoping that Kalani and Delphine would offer to watch the kids. They’re both pregnant and it would do them some good to see what they’ll be getting into,” Torch said. “Rocky, think Mara would be up to helping?”
Rocky nodded.
“Preacher, what about Kayla?” Torch asked.
“Morning sickness,” he said. “She’ll probably stay home with the twins and stay close to the bathroom. Hopefully, it will pass soon.”
“Kayla’s pregnant again?” Bull asked. “Damn. I’m falling behind. Foster was born before your twins.”
Venom smirked. “Considering how long it took you to have Foster after having Ridley, I think you have plenty of time.”
Bull flipped him off, and everyone started laughing. I didn’t know what the story was there, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
“Oh yeah? When are you making me a grandpa again?” Bull countered.
“When your granddaughters stop being hellions so Ridley doesn’t threaten to geld me if she ends up pregnant again,” Venom said with a snort. “Damn woman asked the doc to put her on birth control.”
“Wonder why?” Torch asked. “It’s not like Mariah climbs trees, then jumps out pretending to be a ninja, or Farrah decides to cook while everyone is otherwise occupied and nearly blows up the kitchen. Why wouldn’t you want a few dozen more?”
Venom scratched his beard with his middle finger.
“All right, assholes. Meeting adjourned,” Torch said. “After Hades Abyss and Devil’s Boneyard are both here, we’ll meet up again. Maybe Wire will have more news for us by then.”
Everyone filed out and I went straight to Josie and Allegra. My woman looked worried and I hated that. She should feel safe, especially behind the gates of the compound, but she didn’t. Her father had ruined that for her. I pulled out a chair and took Allegra from her.
Everyone seemed to think we needed to get married right this second, but I didn’t know how Josie felt about it. It didn’t bother me since I wanted to marry her anytime she was ready. But if she needed more time, I didn’t want her to feel pressured into doing this now. I was trying to be the man she needed me to be, and that meant listening when she said she needed time, space, or whatever the hell else she asked for.
“Torch thinks we should get married,” I said. “As in now.”
“How do you feel about that?” she asked.
“I’ll marry you anytime you want. You just pick a time and place, and I promise to show up.”
She smiled a little. “This is because of my dad, isn’t it? Torch thinks I’ll be safer if we’re married?”
“Something like that. I honestly don’t think it will make a difference either way. Your dad won’t care about a piece of paper claiming you’re mine.”
“What do you want to do? And be honest. Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear, Eric.”
I smiled. “You used my name. It’s been Jackal all fucking day.”
“Yeah, well, no one else is paying attention to us right now. I figured in front of the guys you’d prefer to be Jackal. Tank has heard me call you Eric, but with the entire club here…”
I nodded and appreciated that she’d thought of that. But then she’d been around the Dixie Reapers for a while now. She’d probably learned what was and wasn’t acceptable. Made things a little easier when I made her my old lady. Yeah, there would be differences between our clubs, but the basics she would already know. Not like adding a woman to the family who didn’t know shit about bikers or clubs. She’d be the first Devil’s Boneyard old lady so some things we’d have to figure out along the way.
“Torch is asking some of the old ladies to come help you plan a wedding, but if you want to wait, just say the word,” I said. “I’m not pushing you into marrying me, Josie. You said you needed time and I want you to have it.”
“It’s fine, Eric. You asked me to marry you and I said yes. I’m not backing out. If Torch thinks we should go ahead and get married, then I’m okay with that.”
I kissed her cheek, then smoothed Allegra’s hair. “My beautiful girls. I promise you won’t regret choosing me, Josie.”
“How could I regret it, Eric? You gave me Allegra and she’s the most precious thing in the world to me.”
I kissed her again, this time on the lips, then made my way outside. I knew my brothers were on their way. It was only a few hours from the Devil’s Boneyard compound to the Dixie Reapers’ territory. They should be arriving any moment. Only a few had met Josie, and I wanted everyone to like her. I didn’t see how they couldn’t, but I was a little nervous. I had Cinder’s permission to claim her, but if the others disagreed with him, then it could cause problems within the club. And I never wanted that to happen, not over a woman. Josie wasn’t just any woman. She was mine, and the mother of my kid, but if the Devils wouldn’t accept her I’d have to make a choice, and it wouldn’t be an easy one.
I pulled a pack of cigarettes from my pocket and lit up. I had given up smoking years ago, but I still kept a pack on hand for stressful times. And if ever there was a day that qualified, this was it.