Page 33 of Blue-Eyed Jacks
“You can’t contact me.”This was goodbye.His hands shook as he peeled them from me.“They’ll kill me if they find out about this.”
“I know.”He’d whispered more than once how betraying a brother earned him a death sentence.Sure, bikers stole each other’s women occasionally.Usually, it reconciled with a fist fight or maybe a long-standing grudge.But by doing what he did behind a chapter president’s back and hiding me here, Jackson broke a code they lived by.Brothers trusted brothers.Even when they weren’t trustworthy at all.It was a messed up and brutal life that I’d seen the ugliest side of.But outright betrayal?Deceit, to the extent Jackson would have to maintain, was an insult to all of them.“I’m fine.”
His eyes raked my figure from head to toe.“Damn straight.”One eyebrow quirked up into a crooked arch, and his mouth twisted into a smirk.
It fell, but before it could disappear entirely, he’d turned to go.He barely looked at me or John before backing onto the road and pointing the car toward the outside world.
Dust settled in his wake.Insects buzzed in the grass.A ways out, a boat horn echoed against the bluffs, signaling their departure from the harbor.A tourist, most likely.The fishermen had been up for hours already.I’d tuned to the life here.I had to; it was my home now.
John coughed once.“Morning.”He waved again and disappeared into his house.Assured that I knew he was watching out but leaving me to my peace.
And a run-down shack that needed work.
I eyed the ugly shelves.“You’re on my list.”
But first was scrubbing the dated linoleum in the kitchen.As I dumped the dirty water outside, Crystal pulled into the driveway.She was on her way to her shop on the big island and asked, “Do you need me to pick up anything for you?”
“A job?”I joked.There were some to be had, mostly tourist-related, but nothing permanent.That, and I either had to depend on rides or find one within walking distance.
She stared at the rubber gloves on my hands.“You’re cleaning?”
I nodded.
“Well.Ihatethat part of the job.You’re hired.I’d gladly give you the fees for the next two months, and if you get done with this place sooner than that, it’ll be a miracle.I want updates, and I’ll pick up whatever groceries and supplies you need.Make a list.”
“That’s…”
“I was where you are.It’s not easy finding an employer who doesn’t ask for your social security number.”
My breath caught.I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.Instead of focusing inward, I tried to lie to myself by asking, “But you got out, right?”Maybe I was reaching for hope.
Crystal went still.“If you call running a psychic shop on an island near the ass end of nowhere getting out?Yeah.”
That sounded like paradise, but I wouldn’t know the first thing about it.My thoughts resurfaced the fear I felt when Cara was taken.“I think I can’t run a shop.Or be in public, yet.”
My words caused Crystal’s brow to furrow.“How bad was it?”
Bad.There weren’t words to describe some of it.“Even after two years, he’s got his club looking for me.”
She thought for a moment.“Jackson needs to kill him.”
“He can’t.”
“Would it start a war?”
“No.”
Crystal got out of the car and met me on the steps.“I thought he, your abuser, was from a club?”
“Theclub,” I clarified.
Her mouth fell open.“Oh.”It was strange how she immediately scanned the trees surrounding us as if she expected an attack at any moment.
I took a leap of faith.If Jackson trusted these people with a secret that could kill him, then I had no reason not to either.“My h-h-husband is the president of the Pittsburgh chapter.”
Her eyes snapped to mine.“Two years?”The thoughts racing through her mind echoed in the quick darting of her eyes and the myriad shifts in her face.“Did you ever see anything that could implicate him?”
“Aside from nearly murdering me, and gang rape, and drug deals?”That came out sarcastically.I shored up my emotions.“I’m sure I have.”
