Page 32 of Jacked and Jaded

She nodded her head, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip, tears slipping out the corners of her eyes and sliding down into her hair.

“Sure?” He swiped her tears again with his thumbs.

“Yes.” Her voice came out as a weak whisper.

“Are you in pain? Do you need a pill?” Her brow was furrowed and she was holding her side. He was worried she would be too stubborn to admit that she needed it.

“Yes.”

“It’s no surprise the way you were fighting me. I hope you didn’t do more damage to yourself.” He was teasing her, trying to lighten her mood, to get her out of whatever dark place had taken her over.

He got up to go to the kitchen where they left her bottle of medicine and grabbed a glass of water while he was at it. He found her staring at the ceiling when he came back. “Hey.” Her gaze dropped to him as he took a seat on the bed next to her hip. “Here you go.” He shook out a pill, handed it over, then offered her a drink. She took it and drank down half the water before she dropped her head back to the pillow. Her eyes were closed when she asked, “Why are you naked?”

“Because I was sleeping.” He placed the medicine and glass of water on the nightstand.

She opened them, a frown on her face. “You came running in here naked?”

“No. I was already in here when you had your nightmare.”

“Why?”

“Why what?” He knew what she was asking. He was going to make her work for it, though.

“Why were you already in here naked?”

He got up and walked around to his side of the bed and climbed back in. “I was in here, already naked, because I was sleeping in my bed.”

“You were sleeping naked in your bed with me?”

“Babe, I know you’re on pain medication and all, and you’re still disoriented from your dream, so I’m going to cut you some slack with the twenty questions ’cause I’m tired and haven’t slept much in the last three days. This is my bed, in my house. This is where I sleep. I sleep naked. You happen to be sleeping here, too.” Her turned on his side and looked at her. “Why? Are you afraid you can’t keep your hands to yourself if we’re in bed together?”

“What?” she choked.

“Well, you did grab my dick in the shower and it took you a little bit to let it go, so, I’m just saying.” He shrugged his shoulder. “Should I be worried that you’re going to try and take advantage of me while I’m sleeping?”

Calliope rolled her bottom lip in, fighting a smile. “Oh my God, Jackson. You are unbelievable.”

“Can I turn out the light, or do you want me to leave the bathroom light on?”

“No. I’m good now. Thanks. This pill will knock me out.”

“Are you sure I can trust you in the dark?” He turned to reach behind him and turned the lamp off. He heard her strangled laugh and felt it in his heart.

Tomorrow he would tell her about Ryker.

Jackson didn’t getto tell Calliope about Ryker the next morning or the morning after that either. He’d been called to the clubhouse first thing and told he was going with Race, Trick and Tuck to talk to a support club that had been having some problems with one of their rivals. The support club, the Black Horsemen, had gotten one of the shipments of oxy ambushed and it didn’t look good on the Sons of Redemption. If word got out that the Sons couldn’t be trusted with shipping products because they couldn’t keep them from getting stolen, the Sons would be up to their necks fending off rivals wanting to cut in on their action. Not to mention the suppliers would want their pound of flesh, too. Because the Black Horsemen were considered part of the Sons and anything they did in the Sons’ name reflected on them, Race was obligated to step in and resolve the issue.

“When you called you said you had one shipment ambushed. Now you’re telling me there’s been another?” The muscle ticking in Race’s jaw was the only outward reflection that he was less than pleased with this new bit of news.

“Yeah. I’m telling you there’s been another one.” Chance, the Black Horsemen’s president, didn’t flinch or look away under Race’s scrutiny. In fact, he looked completely relaxed. Tired, but relaxed. Jackson was impressed. He’d heard Chance was quite the badass and had recently stepped into the role as president when the former president, Chance’s dad, was hit by a car four days ago while on his bike. It had killed him and four other brothers. The whole thing had been one huge tragedy. The man who’d taken them all out had actually had a heart attack while behind the wheel. He’d died quickly and lost control of his car.

“Why am I just now hearing about the second one?”

“I was planning my father’s funeral and burying three of our brothers and only found out when I got back right before you got here.” Chance had all the earmarks of a good president. He was young yet, around the same age as Jackson, but there was a vibe about him that screamed alpha leader. Chance was a president of his own club so was on equal footing as Race. Jackson liked that the man didn’t try and make excuses. He just told them the facts and let things fall where they may.

“I was sorry to hear about your old man and fallen brothers. He was a good man to do business with.” Race sat to Chance’s right and paused for a moment before continuing, quietly assessing the man. “I need to know if you are up to the task of being president of the Black Horsemen MC?”

“Yes. I’m up to the task.” Chance spoke through clenched teeth, clearly not liking being questioned about his ability to take control of his club. He might have felt insulted that Race asked, but he was smart enough to keep his cool. Definitely a quality needed in a leader.

---