Page 36 of Jagger
“Thank you for your hospitality,” I said to the lovely couple.
“You’re very welcome. We’re glad you stopped and spent some time with us. Please, come back anytime,” the man said as he wrapped his arm around the lady’s shoulder.
Jackie and I smiled before linking hands and walking out of the little diner. The girl in the office waved to us when we walked by, and as we got to our vehicles, I tugged Jackie closer to me.
“I’m not trying to sideline you, or keep you sheltered, but Blur is dangerous, and I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you.”
Jackie gave me a real smile before she said, “I promise, I can take care of myself. But I’ll prove it to you, just to ensure you don’t try to exclude me. This is all my fault, and I need to see this through to the end.”
Kissing her softly, I remarked, “It’s not your fault, darlin’. Remember, give yourself grace.”
She didn’t seem sure, so I walked her to her car, and after she unlocked it, I opened the door for her. She cranked the engine and turned the heater up before helping me uncover my bike. I fired it up and the deep rumble of the engine echoed around us.It took a few minutes for the motors to warm up, and when we were ready to leave, I took Jackie by the hand.
“Stay close. We’ve only got an hour, but we may hit some patchy ice on the way.”
“I will,” she returned.
I closed her door before hiking a leg over the bike. Making sure I was zipped up tight against the cold, I blew her a kiss and put the bike into gear. Jackie gave me some space before she pulled out, and as we turned onto the road, I glanced back to make sure she was with me.
The drive to Rapid was freezing, but the roads were in good shape. We saw a few cars in the ditch, and I shook my head, knowing they were trying to push through and made a mistake. No one was with the cars, and I hoped they got assistance before the temperatures dropped last night.
The closer we got to Rapid City, the more last night’s conversation with Jackie played in my head. She had unique ideas about who, what, and why, but it was her questioning Blur’s real family that had me thinking. I was so lost in thought, I almost missed my turn to take us to the ranch.
Skidding my bike around the corner, I saw Jackie shaking her head in the mirror as I glanced back at her. Turning onto the driveway for the ranch, I slowed down to not kick up too much dirt on Jackie, and when we got to the front of the house, I parked next to Roughstock’s bike, leaving her space beside Cheyenne.
Cheyenne and Roughstock came out of the house as I was getting off my bike. They watched as I helped Jackie from her car and walked us up the stairs. Cheyenne pulled Jackie into a hug while Roughstock offered his fist to me. I bumped knuckles before the four of us walked into the house.
Phantom and Animal were in the kitchen when we walked in, and they gave us a nod in greeting. Cheyenne guided Jackieto the other side of the kitchen, and they started making cups of coffee for everyone as I joined my brothers at the small table. The ladies placed cups in front of us, and I gave Jackie a kiss before she and Cheyenne walked away, leaving the four of us to talk.
“I got a call from Devlin Callahan this morning about what you messaged him last night,” Roughstock began, “and he thinks he may have some information.”
“What did you send?” Animal asked.
“Jackie questioned Blur’s bio-family. We can’t find a connection to Jamison, but there could be one in his real family, so I asked him to investigate it,” I explained before taking a swallow of coffee.
I was still frozen from the ride, but I wanted to get this finished, once and for all.
“What did he uncover?” Phantom asked.
Roughstock looked around the corner of the kitchen before he began to explain. “As we know, Blur was adopted when he was three from Mississippi by a good family, but trying to find his real family seemed to be a difficult task. But apparently, last night, they were able to get into the State of Mississippi’s system and they believe they know who his bio-family may be.” He paused and added, “If they’re right, then Jamison protecting Blur makes sense.”
“What? Is Blur Jamison’s real father or something?” I asked.
Roughstock chuckled and said, “Almost. They believe Blur is either a cousin or uncle to Jamison. His mother’s name was listed on his birth certificate, but no father was listed. When they started looking into his mother, they found out she was living in New Orleans around the time she got pregnant, and after digging deeper, they found an arrest record for her. Jamison’s father’s first cousin was listed as the person who bailed her out.”
“How the fuck would Blur learn he was possibly related to Jamison?” Phantom asked.
“I called Whistler early this morning to ask that exact question, and here’s where it all starts to make sense. About ten years ago, when the home DNA tests were starting to hit the market, Blur ordered one, trying to find his people. I believe, and Whistler does too, that Blur discovered his cousin, Jamison, and went to New Orleans to meet his family. I believe it was then that they made their little pact to protect Blur, and that’s why Jamison turned a blind eye to Nitro’s murder.”
Roughstock made good points, but we still didn’t know where Blur was. For the next hour, we went over every detail of what we knew but were still no closer to tracking his ass down.
It was then that Cheyenne and Jackie walked back into the room. Jackie had her laptop open, pressing it against her chest.
“What did you find, darlin’?” I asked, and she placed the computer on the table.
I looked at it, then reached into my cut and pulled out the photo that was sent to her a few weeks ago to compare the two. It wasn’t the picture Jackie took, but it was the same place—same wrecked cars, same covered windows, and the same shitty environment. Only hers had two children playing while their mother watched from her seat on the steps of the trailer.
“When was this taken?” Animal asked as he looked at the two images.
