Page 37 of Jacked and Jaded

“Home.” Her voice came out so quietly, she could barely hear it herself.

“She says she’s going home. What do you want me to do?” he asked, as he kept pace with her walking through the yard. She felt the cool grass beneath her feet and looked down. Huh. She didn’t have any shoes on. No matter. She was going anyway.

Chris grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. “Wait. Let me take you on my bike.” He looked down and back again. “You’re not even wearing shoes. Come on. Get on my bike with me.” He led her to his bike, like he was leading a small child to get him where he wanted them to go, afraid any sudden movements or sounds could cause them to bolt. He helped her on, then ran up to the porch where her mom handed him something. He took his seat, started the bike, and reached behind him to wrap her arms around him before he took off.

The ride was short, given Jackson’s house was three blocks from her house and his parents’ house. The wind dried the tears on her cheeks, making them feel like they were cracking. Chris pulled the bike up the driveway and parked outside the garage. He shut it down, climbed off and helped her get off without hurting herself too badly. She walked to the front door and turned the knob. Her shoulders slumped and she dropped her forehead to the door. She heard the sound of another motorcycle pull up into her driveway and prayed it wasn’t Jackson. She couldn’t deal with him right now. Maybe never.

God. What was she going to do? Where was she going to go? She couldn’t go back to Boulder because Clint was there. She couldn’t stay here because Jackson, his son and Zoey were here. Maybe she should just leave Colorado altogether. Maybe go north to Idaho or something. Find a cabin in the woods where no one could find her. Maybe somewhere with a beach so she wouldn’t have to deal with the damn snow.

“I got this. You can head out.” The sound of Maverick’s voice made her tense. She could hear him walking closer until his boots near her bare feet were in her line of sight. “Let me get in here, baby girl.”

She leaned back and let Maverick unlock the door. She stepped inside, made it to the middle of the living room, then broke into tears. Her body was shaking and she couldn’t stop if her life depended on it. She felt Maverick’s big, strong arms fold around her and she lost the battle. Great wracking sobs tore through her body. She felt her legs try to give out only to have Maverick support her weight and lead her to the couch. He helped her down, took a seat next to her and pulled her into his side, letting her get it all out.

She didn’t know how long she stayed like that, but it was long enough for her side to start hurting really bad. She pulled away and took a deep breath. She rested her head on the back of the couch, keeping her eyes closed.

“So, you found out,” Maverick stated in his deep, no nonsense voice.

“Yeah,” she answered with a strangled laugh. “I found out.” She scooted to the edge of the couch and eased herself up, sucking in a sharp breath. She had a killer headache and her side hurt from throwing up and she needed something for it bad. In the kitchen, she rummaged through the cabinet next to the sink until she found what she was looking for. Her shoulders slumped. This wasn’t going to cut it. Her bottle of pain medicine appeared in her line of sight in Maverick’s hand.

“Your mom sent these with Chris.”

She nodded and shook out a pill. She got a glass and filled it with water, popped the pill and washed it down. She finished the glass of water, then went for another. She stared out the kitchen window, not seeing the back yard, but the beautiful coal colored eyes of Jackson’s son.

“Never took you for a coward, Calliope.” His deep voice rumbled next to her.

“What?” She turned to face him, confusion clearly written all over her face.

“You heard me. You ran away from Jackson’s house before he could get home and explain things to you.” He stood leaning against the counter, his hands shoved in his front pockets. His lips pursed under his horseshoe-shaped mustache.

“Really, Maverick? I’m the bad guy in this scenario?” She shook her head. She couldn’t believe he was turning this around on her. “How is it my fault that my best friend, who knew I cared for Jackson, a lot, had sex with him and had his child? How is it my fault that all of you hid this information from me? How am I the one in the wrong here?” Her voice rose with each question she threw at him.

“I’m not saying any of this is your fault. I’m saying you don’t know all the facts. I’m saying you didn’t give Jackson the chance to explain things to you. I know what you’re thinking, and it’s wrong. You owe Jackson a chance to at least talk to you.”

Calliope rolled her lips inward, fighting more tears. He waited for her to say something, anything. When she didn’t, he went on. “Girl, I know you’ve been in love with Jackson for a long time. Probably from the first time you laid eyes on him. The problem was the age difference between the two of you. By the time you were old enough to pursue anything between the two of you, he was so used to pushing you away, he didn’t know any other way to be.” He walked toward her, stopping when they were toe to toe. He reached out and using his thumb, wiped her tears away. “Promise me you’ll give him a chance to talk to you.”

“I don’t know if I can do that, Maverick. I feel like my heart has been ripped out and there’s nothing left inside me anymore. I can barely breathe let alone process any of this.”

“I know. It’s been a hell of a week for you, hasn’t it?” He grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the living room. “Lie down. We’ll watch some TV.”

He pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and spread it out over her. He took the chair next to the couch and turned the television on. He flipped through the channels until he found a baseball game on. She normally enjoyed a good game, but with everything that had been going on and taking a pain pill, she soon found herself asleep. She was too mentally and emotionally drained to do anything else.

“God damn it!”Jackson punched the wall outside the Black Horsemen’s clubhouse. Fucking Zoey showed up at his house with Ryker and Jackson hadn’t been there. He hadn’t had a chance to tell her about his son and his mother and now it was all out there like a bad wreck. The worst part about it was being so far away and unable to salvage anything with her.

He hung up with Chris after the prospect called to tell him Zoey and Ryker showed up at his place. He told him that Calliope hadn’t taken it well and he was chasing her out of the house where he found her throwing up in his bushes. Once she was finished, she said she wanted to go home. Jackson told Chris to take her home and stay with her until he could get his dad there.

“Dad? I need you to get to Maureen and Calliope’s. Chris is bringing Calliope there. Zoey and Ryker showed up at the house and I haven’t had a chance to tell Calliope about them yet. Can you stay with her until I get there? Yeah. We’re getting ready to head out. Thanks.”

“What’s up?” Race asked. They were standing at their bikes, getting ready to leave the cemetery where Chance’s old man was buried.

“Remember Maverick filling you in on me getting called to Boulder for Calliope and that her dickhead boyfriend beat the shit out of her?” When he got a nod from his president, he went on. He ran both hands through his hair, pulling on the ends. “Zoey showed up at the house with Ryker. I forgot I was supposed to get him this morning so she could show some houses. Mom’s out of town with Grandma and couldn’t do it. I was going to tell her the morning I got the call to come here.”

Everyone at the club knew about Jackson’s son Ryker. They also knew about his mother Zoey. They also knew that Zoey had been Calliope’s best friend through high school.

“Fuck.” Race shook his head.

“Yeah. I never told anyone why Calliope left.” He looked between Race, Tuck and Trick. “She came to my house one night after she’d been at a party. I’d been drinking and watching porn.”

Trick’s brow shot up.

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