Jester stood in the meeting room, his palms down on the table, head bent, bowed between his shoulders. He ignored the sound of the door opening. Striker had ordered him to wait in here when he entered the clubhouse. A strange mix of shock, heartbreak, and betrayal, made him feel somewhat detached from reality.
He rubbed at an unfamiliar ache in his chest that throbbed in time with his head. The only thing he could think of to ease his pain and sorrow would be to lose himself in Emily’s sweet softness. It was sick, and made him only one tiny step away from being as much of a traitor as she was.
The door flew open and Striker burst into the room, a dark scowl on his face. “Emily is stashed in the closet in the garage, and my woman is upstairs freaking out. What the fuck happened, brother?”
Jester laughed, a defeated sound of self-disgust. “Snake sent Emily here.”
Striker remained silent.
Jester stood and looked Striker in the face. After he’d nearly brought down the club, the least his VP deserved was the straight up truth delivered with respect. “I followed Emily to a house out in Sandy Springs today. She met with Snake. She wasn’t there under duress. She walked in and out willingly. Only thing I heard was something about some guy named Johnny. Snake sent her to us to find out what we were planning. She admitted that much to me.”
Saying those words out loud was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do. Admitting his failures and admitting his shame.
Striker rubbed a hand over his face. “Holy fucking shit. I did not see this coming.”
Jester grunted. “Glad I’m not the only one.”
“Christ, man, I’m sorry. I know she was coming to mean something to you.”
He didn’t know the half of it, but Jester just shrugged as though it was no big deal, as though the pain in his chest wasn’t all consuming. “No matter. I’m done with her now.”
Striker folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the closed door. “She claims she threw Snake off our trail. Told him we knew about the drop off, but made up a story about our plans.” He filled Jester in on what Emily had relayed to him.
With a heavy sigh, Jester shook his head. “Don’t be as stupid as I was, brother. She’s good. Knows just how to get you to believe what she needs you to believe. She’s probably been fucking Snake this whole time. This Johnny guy too.” Nausea rose at the thought of another man’s hands on his woman.
“You really believe that, man? She’s been with you every fuckin’ night. Says Johnny’s her brother.”
Jester dropped into a chair and banged his forehead against the table. Physical pain was preferable to the emotional anguish. “Christ, she’s got my head so fucked up, I don’t know what to believe.”
Striker pushed off the wall and sat across the table from Jester. “I know you’re not going to want to hear this, but it’s possible she’s telling the truth. You’ll get your chance to find out. Snake is bringing Johnny to the mountain pass tomorrow. We snag him, we get some answers.”
Jester sat back in his chair, and gripped the edge of the Sergeant at Arms patch on the left side of his cut. With a jerk, he ripped it off in one swipe, and tossed it on the table in front of Striker.
“What the fuck are you doing man?” Striker’s voice was full of outrage.
“There’s no fuckin’ way I deserve that. I brought her here, to the club, to your woman. Christ, Striker, do you know how many of us could be killed tomorrow if Snake is ready for us? And we aren’t certain he won’t be.”
Striker shook his head. “You need to pull your head out of your ass, brother. This is not on you. If she’s lying, then we all fell for her act. Every last one of us liked that woman. There was no reason to suspect anything. And like I said, we don’t know anything for sure yet.”
“What the fuck would Lila do if you’d been killed because of some conniving bitch I brought to the club?” Jester yelled.
“She’d survive, Jester. She knows what the hell our life is, what the risks are. She’s a strong woman, and she’d survive. Put that patch back on. We leave in fifteen minutes. I don’t want to hear fuck about it again or I’ll kick your ass, no matter how much of a giant you are.”
Striker held up his hands as though surrendering before he spoke again. “Don’t knock me out, but you’re not thinking straight right now. All you see is a betrayal from the woman you love. You need to step back and think about it objectively.”
“Are you kidding me with this shit? What? You go and get engaged, now you think you’re fuckin’ Dr. Phil or something?”
Striker wisely kept his mouth shut.
Jester gripped the edges of the table with enough force to dent the metal, letting out a deafening male growl of frustration. “When I saw Snake walk out of that house, it felt like someone reached in my chest, pulled out my heart and ran over it with a semi. I’d take a bullet over that kind of pain any day.” His voice was a croak, thick with suffering.
He shook his head, picked up the patch, and stormed out of the room. He needed to be alone. Well, maybe not totally alone. Jack Daniels was certainly welcome to join him.