Jackson (MC Sinners #7)

5 – Serenity

I haven’t seen Hound’s little woman friend for a few days, though I have been actively avoiding her. I have Xander to thank for that, he makes sure we are separated so she can’t pass on any information to Hound. How the hell she does that, I don’t know. The problem is, I have a name for myself now, and, because of that, plenty of women in here want my blood on their hands.

If I’m not being tormented or insulted, they are trying to attack me in the shower, the laundry, and anywhere else they can get their hands on me. I have been punched here more times than I ever have in my life, and that’s saying something considering I grew up as Hogan’s daughter.

Still, I’m alive, and this time tomorrow, hopefully I’ll be out of here.

It’s shower time, on what I pray will be my last night, and I’m thankful to see that Mama is in this group so hopefully that will mean no trouble for me. A female guard takes us into the large shower block, and we all begin our normal evening ritual. We don’t get long, but it is the best part of my day.

The water is always hot, and, for a moment, I can pretend I’m anywhere else but here.

Closing my eyes, I tip my head back under the warm water, letting it wash my worries away. I should know better than to trust closing my eyes in this place, because when I lift my head and open them, two women are standing in my open shower door, staring at me, their towels wrapped tightly around their bodies.

One of them is holding what looks like a fork, and I realize very quickly they are here to hurt me.

“Just because Hound can’t get to you doesn’t mean we can’t. You’re messing with the wrong people in here, girly.”

The woman with faded black hair and yellowing teeth grins at me, as if she’s telling me something I don’t already know.

“What does he give you for being his bitch?” I ask, turning the water off and jerking my towel off the hanger. “Does he tell you you’re pretty?”

The woman scowls, and her friend clenches her fists.

“You have a big mouth for a tiny girl, maybe we should show you just how quickly we can shut that mouth.”

“You’re not going to shut a damn thing.”

Mama’s voice comes from behind them and the dark-haired girl whips around, holding her fork out. Mama slaps her hand, and the fork falls from it. Stepping up toward her, Mama looks down and growls, “I’ve had about enough of you causing trouble around here, Andrea. Are we going to have a problem going forward, because you know I don’t like when the balance is disrupted.”

Andrea stares up at Mama, keeping her expression firm. “I’m not scared of you, and you don’t own this prison. I don’t work for you.”

“Then you can take my message to Hound, because he doesn’t scare me, and I’m not going to have him bringing his threats into my side of things.”

Andrea looks to her friend, then straightens her shoulders. “What are you going to do about it?”

Mama smiles, and if you were to look at her from an outsider’s point of view, you would say it looks sweet, but I know that behind that smile, Mama is more than willing to protect what she loves. Judging by the way Andrea takes a step back, she knows it too.

“Do we have a problem, Andrea? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”

Andrea straightens her lips then shakes her head.

“That’s what I thought. I suggest you get the hell out of here, and if I see you near Serenity again, Hound will be the least of your problems. Tell him Mama said hi.”

Andrea and her friend leave, and when they’re gone, I look at Mama. “Thank you.”

“Andrea isn’t a problem, but child, we talked about Hound. He doesn’t scare me, but he should scare you. He’s a bad man, and bad men tend to get what they want in here.”

“I’m doing my best,” I murmur, holding my towel closer to my chest. “He is on a mission.”

Mama nods in understanding. “Hopefully someone else will deal with him.”

I’m not sure what that means, but I don’t dare ask.

Mama leaves and lets me finish up my shower, and then I join everyone to head back to my cell. When I’m inside, I sit on the edge of the bed and exhale. One more night, just one more night.

I hope this plan works.

I don’t want to stay here a second longer.

I’M JUST LYING DOWN for bed when Xander appears at my door. Opening it, he steps inside and offers me a weary smile. There are no cameras in our cells, however the second you step outside, there are hundreds of them around. It’s the only smidgen of privacy we get, and, honestly, it’s hard to hide much in here anyway.

“I heard Andrea was trying to bail you up in the showers tonight?” Xander asks, crossing his arms.

“It’s fine, I’m used to it by now. We both know that’s not the reason you’re here.”

He presses his lips together, then exhales. “I’m going along with this plan, because what your president is offering me is too hard to pass up, but I’m going to warn you, it could go wrong. I’ll do my best to ensure it doesn’t, but I can’t promise you it won’t.”

“I know,” I tell him, nodding. “I don’t expect a miracle, but I’m sure as hell hoping for one.”

“Getting out is just one part of the challenge, it’s staying hidden that could be difficult.”

I purse my lips. “Yeah, well, here’s hoping Jackson’s plan is impenetrable.”

Xander nods.

I want to ask him the burning question, but I don’t want to push my luck when he’s so willing to help.

“Go on,” he murmurs, uncrossing his arms and leaning against the wall, “ask me how the hell I ended up with a debt that large.”

“I’m that obvious, huh?”

He offers me a small smile.

“You just seem so nice; I would have never picked you as the gambling type.”

“It’s funny how quickly it can change. I never thought I was the gambling type, either. I was down on my luck one year, no money and struggling. A friend and I went and played at the casino, and I just so happened to win. It was like all my problems went away. Then, I went again, and you’d never believe, but I won once more. The cycle just continued. I was losing money, but then I’d win and it felt like everything was going to be okay. I wasn’t considering how much money was being wasted. Then, I branched out and got into bigger things, more dangerous things, and I found myself in a situation I couldn’t escape from.”

I guess like any addiction, it all starts somewhere, with something small that makes you feel good and then suddenly you’re in so deep you wonder how the hell you ever got there.

“I began wracking up a debt, and little by little, I realized what I had done. My job was never going to cover it, and I owed some bad people a lot of money. Those kinds of people will come after you, and we both know it won’t end well.”

“Have you been hiding from them?” I ask.

“No, they know where I am. Right now, they’re letting me be while they deal with other things, but I have been given multiple reminders that they are coming, and they want their money. You and Jackson literally saved my life with your offer.”

My heart breaks for him, it really does.

He’s a nice guy, one of the good ones.

“You’re risking your job helping me.”

He offers me a weary smile. “It’s that or my life, which would you choose?”

He’s right.

I would choose my life, too.

Anyone would.

I just hope this all goes to plan.

For the both of us.

MY STOMACH TWISTS IN knots as I wait in my cell, anticipating the moment that the drama unfolds outside and Xander comes to escort me out. He has access to the power room and has organized to have the power drop out. When it does, the cameras will go out for a matter of about twenty minutes before the generators do their job and bring everything back up again. It’s an old system, and I’m thankful because it means the cameras are connected to the main power supply. It’s risky, but hopefully nobody will be able to figure out it was him that did it.

It gives us a small window of time for him to get me out.

So many things could go wrong.

This could all be for nothing.

I’m just waiting, hoping and praying. It’s all I can do.

Bouncing my leg, I find myself too restless to sit and begin pacing my cell, listening, trying to see if I can hear anything. All the other inmates are enjoying their outside time, but I managed to get Xander to leave me in my cell because I’m “unwell”. It worked, and now the block is quiet. Enough for nobody to see me leaving.

It takes another twenty minutes before I finally hear commotion outside. It’s faint, and I can’t really make out what’s happening, but I know that it’s time. Pushing to my feet, I wait for Xander, and, as predicted, he shows up in a matter of minutes. His face is flushed and he’s staring around, his eyes darting frantically as he opens my cell and lets me out.

“We have minutes. Let’s go. Stay behind me. If we run into anyone, you act like you’re having some kind of medical episode.”

I nod, swallowing the anxious lump in my throat as I hustle after him. We rush down the quiet halls, and it’s eerie to see it so empty. As we near the kitchen and laundry, I can hear the commotion outside a lot clearer. I don’t know what exactly Jackson had planned, but whatever it is has caused every guard in the place to rush out.

Xander leads me into the kitchen and through a few doors where the maintenance tunnels are used to bring food in and out. He uses a key to unlock the door and then swings it open. I’m just about to step through when I hear a voice behind us, and it’s all too familiar.

“Well, well, I wonder what she has on you to get you on her side.”

Hound .

Turning slowly, Xander and I face him, and see he’s standing with a huge grin on his face like he’s just won the lottery. How the hell did he get in here? Who did he have to bribe? How did he even know what we were doing? Or did he manage a swift escape when the chaos unfolded? I don’t know, all I know is this is bad, and if I don’t get out of here soon, I’m going to end up stuck.

Xander pulls out his taser and holds it toward Hound, who is unbothered by this little attempt to stop him.

Instead, he laughs. “You’re not going to use that on me, because if you do, I’ll make sure everyone knows what you’ve done here.”

“What do you want?” I snap, my voice shaking.

“Oh, it’s simple, really. I’m coming with you.”

“Over my dead—” Xander begins, but is quickly cut off when Hound steps forward and flashes him a grin so cold and evil, it has even me taking a step back.

“What?” Hound murmurs, his voice icy. “Your dead body? I can have that arranged, Officer. Don’t doubt it. I know exactly what you’re doing here, and your little plan could get you killed. I know who you are, I know what you owe, and I know the deal you made to get out of it. You want to keep that deal, you’re going to let me go.”

If Hound gets out, he’s going to come after the club, I know it.

But if he stays, Xander’s entire life is on the line.

I can’t let that happen.

Not when he’s done so much to help me.

“Let him come,” I say, my voice shaky.

Xander’s eyes swing to me. We’re running out of time, and he knows it. “He’ll kill you. I can’t ...”

“Not now he won’t, because there is a group of bikers out there waiting, and if he so much as tries, he’ll be dead before he takes a step into his freedom.”

Hound smirks. “I won’t kill her ... yet.”

A problem I’ll have to deal with.

“It’s okay,” I whisper, offering a weak smile in Xander’s direction. “I promise it’ll be okay.”

He hesitates, and I see the moment he decides he can’t let it happen. I shake my head, desperately trying to get him to stop, but he moves quickly. Hound sees it coming and lunges at Xander before he can get the taser out. The makeshift knife plunges into Xander’s chest, and, as if in slow motion, his hands fly up to the wound and his eyes widen as he stumbles backward.

Hound stabs him again.

And again.

“ Stop ,” I scream. “Stop. Please. We can go. We’ll go. Just please stop.”

Hound is now hovering over Xander’s body which has crumpled to the ground. He stares down at him, then wipes the blood off onto his pants and pushes away, leaving Xander helpless.

I rush over, dropping to my knees and putting my hands on his chest. He’s alive, and, thankfully, his eyes are still very alert as he frantically searches my face. “I’m okay,” he croaks. “Go. Get out of here before he stops you.”

“You need medical assistance,” I cry, holding the pressure on his chest.

“It’ll come. I have a radio. Serenity ... go.”

I hesitate—I don’t want to leave him here to die.

Shouting voices alert me to the fact that someone is coming.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper.

“Run, Serenity,” Xander shoves me away.

I do as he asks, turning and rushing into the dark tunnels. With no power on, it’s hard to see. Hound’s footsteps follow close behind me, and with every step, I’m terrified he’ll decide to make a move. I’m right, because he knows damn well that Jackson and the club will kill him on sight and the moment we reach the end of the tunnels, he reaches out and hooks an arm around my neck, hauling me back.

I cry out, losing my footing, my nails digging into his arm as I try to get him to release me. He doesn’t, instead he presses something sharp to my throat. “You don’t think I’m stupid, do you? I know those men will fire without thought. I’m not going to have that happen. Do as I say, you won’t die. Not yet, at least.”

Swallowing, I nod, praying he’ll stick to his word.

We open the exit door and step into a large loading bay where trucks come to bring the supplies in. As expected, there is a huge truck waiting, the engine on, and inside I can see Jackson and Spike, both of them waiting, both dressed like delivery drivers.

I don’t know how they managed get this truck and get through security but I’m guessing there are some people right now who are either injured, threatened, or worse. Maybe they bribed someone to let them through, I don’t know. Either way it’s a hell of a set up, and I can’t believe they managed to pull it off.

The moment they see us step out, they are out of that truck, holding their guns up.

“I wouldn’t,” Hound murmurs, flashing his makeshift knife at them. “One swipe and she’ll bleed to death. You don’t want that now, do you, Jackson?”

Jackson’s eyes flash, and the two of them stare at each other for a long moment, as if they have something unspoken between them. Finally, Jackson’s eyes meet mine, I shake my head. I know he can see I’m already covered in blood, but I need him to just trust me. “It’s okay, just let him go. We’re running out of time.”

Both men hesitate, but slowly they lower their weapons. We don’t have time for an all-out war right now, and in minutes the power will come back on and we won’t get out of here. Hound doesn’t move the object from my neck, instead he orders them to let him in the truck to get him out of the prison walls.

They have no choice but to agree.

“Let her go,” Jackson growls.

“I don’t think so,” Hound snaps from behind me. “I’ll let her go when I’m outside of these walls. Try anything, I’ll slit her throat.”

“Let’s just go,” I beg.

Hound shoves me toward the back of the truck, and as I pass Jackson, I plead with my eyes for him not to do anything stupid. I just want us to get out of here alive. Spike angrily opens the back of the truck, and once Hound and I are inside, he closes it.

Moments later, we’re leaving the prison grounds.

I hold my breath the entire time, waiting for gunshots and police sirens.

But they never come.

We’re free.