Finally, they were on their way; it was later than Jas had wanted to leave because of the sites she wanted to see on the way to Paris. She was excited, and even though she had company, which she had not wanted, it was okay. Well, Roger was okay, Dax was a brooder. So, while they were riding, it was her and Roger in the back while Dax took the lead, which she grudgingly allowed. Only because he did this whole ‘I am man” thing. She found it cute.
Instead of getting into an argument, Jas had decided that if someone needed to be sacrificed in a battle, it would be Dax, he was an easy target. He was also someone she could not get out of her head. She had been attracted to him immediately, which for her was new. With Trey, it had grown to what it was, which in her opinion, was a crush. Because she could not see living with him for the rest of her life, that was what she wanted, though, someone who knew about the club life. Who wanted and understood what they do? All the clubs, the Ops, the Furies, the Lady Riders, and the Sisters were all about making a wrong right. And they were dedicated to making sure no one was going to hurt any of them. The hacker was doing that, which is why they were all working together. And hopefully, they were going to get the name or names of who was involved here. They knew it went higher up than they thought, but they didn’t know how far.
She turned her head and smiled at Roger, who was just letting the wind catch him and carry him away. That is what biking was for her. The silence, the solace, and the wonderful feeling of not think about anything but the road. It was magic, and her mother had taught her that as well.
Jas thought back to the time before Shady, and the Ops were in her life. It had sucked completely. She had been drugged, lived on the street, and had done some things she refused to remember. It was her way of dealing with shit, hell when Shady found her she had been so fucked up, and Shay had not known she was her daughter. Jas hadn’t known either, but the sick fuck who had made her had been the one to take her. In other words, she had a shit ton of therapy. But she graduated from being a victim to being someone who could protect herself at any time. As well as knowing she was a survivor.
She wanted to shiver a little, thinking of Harmony and Shady, helping her withdrawal from drugs, and also it helped her remember what her mother had done for her after. Jas didn’t think of her early years much. It was like she had been reborn when Shady had come into her life, as well as her dad’s, which is what they are no matter what dumb fucks say. They are the only ones she had ever known, and she will never claim her biological fuck stick, well he was dead, so that was a bonus, especially since her mother had killed him.
Now she also had all the time to figure out her feelings for Dax. She had been instantly attracted to him; that was for sure, but he was kinda an asshole. Not that being an asshole was bad, it was just he was a different kind of asshole than the bikers. Not that it deterred her since all the bikers she knew had that asshole vibe. Well, except for Maxi, who had the serial killer vibe, which she loved, but she could never pull it off even though she tried. But she didn’t know what do with Dax, it was a mystery one she wanted to solve, but damned if it wouldn’t bite her in the ass.
She was lost in thought as she rode, but she paid attention to the road as well; it was like second nature. The countryside was gorgeous, thick, lush green fields. And the older homes, which looked like they were straight out of the past. It was amazing, she loved this, and when she saw Roger make a motion to her to slow down and pointed in front of them to where a gas station was. Dax had already made a motion, so she nodded and thought, pit stop, cool, she needed to rehydrate. Riding, even in cool weather, still took the water out of you.
They lined up, and she wanted to laugh, because they flanked her, as if they were trying to protect her. She grinned as she got off her bike and looked at the guys. “Okay, gas, drink, and bathroom, right?”
Roger nodded while Dax pretty much ignored her and walked into the gas station to take a piss, she assumed. She was attracted to him, but damn he was a fucking asshole.
“Come on, my dear,” Roger said and held out his arm. “I will pump your gas while you do what you have to do, and then you can guard the bikes while I do the same.”
Jas grabbed the crook of his arm and smiled, “You know, I really like you,” she said, and the old man smiled then laughed.
“And I like you.” He replied.
“Since we each had our own admiration society. I feel like we should understand the jerk we are with. I mean, I know you came with him, but honestly, you are like oil and water,” she said, and Roger laughed.
“I agree, my dear, but the thing you do not know, it that although he may be an asshole, he is also and decorated SEAL, and due to his injuries was retired early. He is lost right now, not knowing what to do or where to go. He is twenty-nine and feels like his life is over. In fact, before your club called, I don’t know when he is going to admit he needed to find something else to do or focus on. He was lost, and I am hoping this will pull him out of the dumps.”
Jas kicked a stone on the ground, and she thought for a sec. “Damn it; I hate it when assholes have a reason to be an asshole ‘cause then I can't really blame them from being an asshole. If I were in his shoes, I would act the same way. I have seen some of the brothers from the club. They went through some heavy shit and have issues as well. He would do well to come back to the US with me.”
“Well, I hope like hell you include me in this invitation, I have become quite attached to Dax, he is the family I never had,” Roger said quietly, and Jas stopped and looked at the older man and said.
“Of course, I mean, if you make the decision, maybe he will be more open to it,” Jas said, and the door swung open, and Dax walked out.
“Do you want to help me out with gas?” he said to Roger, who was already nodding his head.
“Go on, Jas,” Roger said and pushed her towards the door. “We will continue this conversation later when we stop for the night. Perhaps over dinner.”
Jas grinned and turned to Dax, who was frowning and glaring at the older man and said, “That would be awesome.”
She turned and practically skipped into the gas station and took care of matters as quickly as she could. Jas could also see that and gave them the time they needed; it looked like an intense conversation. She smirked; she knew what it was about because so far, Dax had repeated himself five times in the last few hours. “Roger, you need to go home, you need to go back and let me deal with this.”
Every single time the older man laughed and shook his head, “Remember, I have some very influential contacts. I can help in ways you do not know.” Just like he was doing right now, she grinned. Roger was adorable; she was serious when she said she liked him.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, she pulled it out and then rolled her eyes. “Hi, Dad,” she said to Slider.
“Hey, honey,” he replied, and she heard in the background Cajun who was telling Slider to ask questions.
“Ask where they are and ask if she is okay. Make sure she doesn’t need us. We can fly over there really quick and meet her.”
Jas rolled her eyes and smiled as she thought of her dad's; they had jumped right in when Shay found out who she was. Jas had been surprised, at how they took to protecting and helping her right off the bat, it was like they were truly her fathers. And Jas sucked it all in since when she had been young, she lived on the streets for no one to watch over her in the late nights when it was cold and dark. The noises of streets could be scary, and Jas, although she had been used to it, she had still slept with a knife under her pillow.
“I am fine, tell Cajun we are doing the route we discussed and have stopped for drinks and gas.”
“Oh, we already know where you are.” Slider said slowly, and then Jas growled.
“Seriously? Did you bug me?”
Cajun grabbed the phone from Slider, and he snapped. “You are damn right we did; I don’t give two shits how old you are, you are still our baby girl, and we protect what is ours.”
“Dad,” she whined. “Come on; you need to trust me.”
“I do,” he snapped again. “It is all the other bastards that I do not trust. Which is why we as a family decided since you were out of the country, that we would have Maxi put a GPS tracker on your bike.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I yelled into the phone, and everyone in the little store turned and looked at her. But Jas did not give two shits; she was too old to have them following her. How fucking embarrassing. She seriously wanted to hang-up on them, but she knew if she did, they would be on the first plane. She heard rustling in the background, and then her mother was suddenly on the phone.
“Alright,” Shady said into the phone in her no-nonsense voice, which made Jas stand up straight. Damn it, she hated it when her mother used that tone, no matter how old you are when your mom uses the fucking mom tone, you don’t argue. Because if you do, they will totally take action, and that was never a good thing. Especially with her mom, because serious as shit, her mom would come and so would aunt Harmony and Freedom, it would turn into a serious cluster fuck because those three together always meant trouble. They would steamroll over her and Dax and probably adopt Roger. So Jas remained silent, then her mother continued after a pause, at which time, Jas was certain her dads totally got the Shady look, which already men across the United States and letting her outside of the country she would have a whole other group of men to scare the shit out of. “Listen here, little girl,” Shady snarled into the phone. “Either we track you, or you come home. I do not give two shits how old you are; we made you watch the movie ‘Taken’ like ten times. It scared the shit out of me, it should have you too, I do not want to send the guys over to find you drugged and up for sale as a prostitute. What is your decision ‘cause we can all be on the first flight out of here, and we will find you quickly? Make no mistake; you will never find the GPS tracker, so get that out of your head. What do you want to do?”
Jas looked up at the ceiling and then sighed loudly. “Fine, I will play this your way, but do not be sending people over here, I am fine, things are going as planned. We should be able to deliver the package, spend a few days, and then move on.”
“Good, know I love you,” Shady whispered and Jas closed her eyes, she loved it when her mother said that. It was not said often, so each time was a blessing. Shady didn’t do well expressing her emotions.
“Love you, Mom,” Jas whispered, and she heard her mother sigh a little. She hung up the phone and then turned back as she had moved to the back of the store and saw Dax, Roger, and the other people in the store watching me. I glared at all of them and grabbed a water, and a candy bar then walked to the cash register.
“What?” Jas barked at Dax, who was grinning.
“Nothing,” he said, holding his hands up. “Just making sure you were hydrating.
‘I don’t need a fuckin’ babysitter.” She barked again, and Dax just shook his head.
“Sweetheart, you should be thrilled your family cares, I lost mine a long time ago, it sucked huge,” Dax whispered as she started to walk past him. He grabbed her am softly but firmly and leaned in. “Besides, from what I hear, Shady is a ball buster, so you can't do anything but agree.”
She turned and practically pinned him to the wall behind him and whispered back. “Do not talk about my mother that way.”
Dax let her go and held up his hand, “Sorry, thought you needed a little support. Forgive me.”
He grinned as he watched her walk away. Damn it, it was moving from having a hard-on to he really wanted to get to know this woman. She was complicated, which sucked ‘cause he totally did complicated. It was a flaw, and the longer he was with Jas, the more he wanted her, and not for a one-night stand. Damn it to hell.