Jake’s Angel (King’s Of Fury MC #2)

Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

AVERY

I storm out of the room, grappling for breath on my way to the bathroom. I hear Jake calling me, but I can’t stop. Running through the bathroom doorway, launching myself into the stall, I lock the door. The contents of my stomach have been knocking at the back of my throat and finally make their appearance. My head is throbbing, my face wet from crying, and my mouth feels and tastes disgusting.

Sitting on the floor, leaning my head against the back of the door, I take a moment to catch my breath.

“Are you okay, Aves?” Sadie’s small voice breaks through the silence in the bathroom. I’ve never heard her sound so subdued. She’s always full of fire and sass.

“Are you?”

“No.” Her head taps against the door on the other side as her fingers reach under the door and find mine. “I’m so sorry, Avery. I swear to you, I didn’t know about any of this. I never would’ve brought you here if …” Her voice quiets even more, but I hear her sniffle and know she’s just as upset as I am. Releasing her hand, I stand to my feet and open the door. There I find her looking up at me with tear-stained cheeks and mascara smeared under her eyes. Reaching my hand out, I help lift her to her feet, wrapping my arms tightly around her.

“I believe you.”

Sadie pulls back slightly, searching my eyes. “You do?” I nod, giving her a small smirk to reassure her that I mean what I say. “How can you look at me and not hate me for everything that’s gone down in there? For what my father …” Her eyes drop to the floor. She swallows hard, trying to get the words past her lips.

I have to tell her.

Lifting her chin, bringing us eye to eye, I whisper, “Because he came to me yesterday at Magpie’s and told me he knows what happened to my mother. I believe there’s more to the story than they even know. He wants to help me find the truth.” Sadie’s eyes widen. Covering her mouth before she gets even the slightest sound out, I warn her. “There are men outside this door and if you don’t keep your shit together, I have no doubt they’ll bust their way in here.” The shock hasn’t left her face, but she heeds my warning and remains quiet.

“Hear me out before you fuck this up for both of us.” I feel her smirk against my hand. Releasing my grip, I pace the bathroom floor, trying to focus my thoughts. Pulling the phone he gave me out of my back pocket, I shoot off a text letting him know I want to meet, but I need a couple of days to work a few things out. Showing Sadie the screen so she understands what I’m about to do, she doesn’t look pleased with my decision.

“What if he’s trying to trap you?” She whispers. “What if he’s here to finish the job? To take you out like he did your mom?” She’s panicking. I can hear it in her voice.

“Sadie.” I say her name, trying to get her attention. To stop the spiral before it starts.

“He’s a traitor to the club. He was there the night Maggie died. I’ve heard the story. The guys said he was partnered with the people who ran her off the road. He didn’t order the hit, but he was responsible for how it went down.” Her eyes dart to the ceiling. She’s fighting to keep the tears back. “When he found out both of you had died, he left town. His job was done and so was any life he had left here.”

Including her.

My heart breaks for the little girl she once was.

Sadie’s shoulders rise and fall with each deep breath she takes. “He left my mom. She went crazy. Not the figurative kind of crazy, but the smother your infant child with a pillow until she’s dead kind of crazy.”

Holy shit.

My stomach wrenches in knots, threatening to launch another assault on the toilet behind me.

“Avery, if he knows you’re here, it’s possible Cusenza knows too. My dad has a history of getting caught up with scary ass people. He’s been known to make deals, no matter the cost to himself or others, so long as it will keep him breathing.”

“I get it, Sadie. I do, but he wouldn’t warn me if he was helping them. I must know the truth. You heard all the bullshit that went down in there.” I throw my arm out toward the door. “Those men have been lying to me for sixteen years. Now I’m expected to, what, just take them at their word and accept it as gospel? I can’t do that!” My voice raises, but I catch myself as she’s now shushing me before it draws any unwanted attention from the men waiting for us outside.

“Who’s to say he’s not trying to deceive you into going to him so he can kidnap you himself?” Her anger is palpable. Her words pinched as she fights to keep her own voice down and her temper under control.

“He came to warn me about Cusenza’s men.”

“ What? ” Now it’s her voice that’s raised and me doing the shushing. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me? What the hell, Avery?” She’s pacing the floor, waving her hands, grumbling to herself. “I’ve been worried sick over how to tell you about Cusenza, and you already fucking knew?” She lets out a long, exasperated groan.

“I didn’t tell you, because I didn’t know who he was. After I saw the picture at your house by the computer, I figured it out and was afraid you’d lose your shit. Much like you’re doing right now.” I gesture to all of her from head to toe to prove my point. “Then when I tried to leave so I didn’t drag anyone, namely you , into all my shit, you distracted me with a group of sexy men on a reality tv show and a half gallon of Rocky Road!” I whisper-shout from my corner of the bathroom. She smiles at my accusations but doesn’t deny them.

“You’ve got to admit that Misha guy was hot as hell.” We both chuckle at the memory of our drool fest that took place on her couch. We were both enamored with their beauty as we watched several shirtless men all vying for the same woman as they paraded themselves around a mansion, hoping to gain her undying love. Trash TV at its finest.

“Okay, focus. What’s your plan here, Aves? You can’t tell the guys anything about Thomas. They’ve been looking for him for years and assumed he’s dead. If they find out he’s not, and he’s had contact with you , they might remedy the fact and you’ll never get your answers.”

“And neither will you.” I see the glimmer of hope in her eyes. She needs to know the truth about the man who abandoned her and her mother. Whose shit decisions and inexcusable actions left them alone and hurting.

“Yeah, I already thought about it last night. My original plan was to leave town, have him meet me somewhere far away from here.”

“Then what?”

“I don’t know. I hadn’t thought that far.” I flail my arms around in a small tantrum. “Details are your thing! You always have plans and the escape routes and all the techy shit to pull it off. I was flying solo on this one. I hadn’t thought very far ahead.”

“Okay, okay. Calm down. I’ll help you, but you’ve got to tell me everything, and then you need to give me at least two to three days to work some shit out. These guys are going to be on us like white on rice for a while. Especially now that everyone knows you’re Gabe’s daughter. You’re club royalty, now. Which means they are all going to be vigilant and on their best behavior.”

“What are you talking about?”

She sighs, gripping my shoulders, staring me down.

“It means I’m going to need time to outsmart these fuckers so we can go meet with Thomas and get the answers we’re seeking. But …” She glares at me, a hardness I’ve never seen in her eyes before. “ But … if he does anything I don’t like. If he hurts you or my family in any way, I will unleash the wrath of the Fury like he has never seen. My own consequences be damned. You got me?”

I chuckle. “You sound like one of them.”

A wide smile lifts at the corners of her mouth when she proudly answers, “I am one of them.”

“I don’t think Thomas will hurt me. He’s the one who told me not to run. He said I should stay with the Kings. Something about they take care of their own.” Handing her the burner he gave me, I tell her, “Here. Read it for yourself.” I watch as she reads through the messages.

“I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but if he crosses us …”

“Yeah, I know.” Sadie pulls me in for another hug. We’re both tired and emotionally drained, but I feel better now having Sadie in my corner while I figure out what really happened the night of my mother’s death.

Our bonding moment is abruptly halted when Jayde’s voice echoes off the walls.

“Enough of the sappy shit. Let’s get you two cleaned up and presentable again. You can’t be seen walking out of here with me while you two are looking like this.” She waves her hand at our puffy, tear-streaked faces and disheveled clothes. She tosses a purse the size of my duffle bag onto the sink and starts putting stuff onto the counter.

“Here.” She hands Sadie a wad of clothing. “I got this from my closet, but it’s yours. You can have it back. Now go change.” Sadie does as she asks without question. “Don’t you dare smudge any of make-up on the shirt, either. I want it back when you’re finished with it.”

“Didn’t you just say these were my clothes?”

“Yes, and I want them back when you’re done with them. I’ve had them for this long and you’ve never noticed, which means they weren’t missed. Ergo, they now belong to me by default.” I can hear Sadie’s laughter, though she’s trying to hide it from Jayde.

“As for you.” Spinning to face me, she reaches into the bag and pulls out a short light purple sundress and hands it to me. “From what I hear, you’re royalty now. I think it’s about time you acted like it. Trust me. You’ll need to own that shit around here.”

“What?” Walking into the stall behind me, I undress, making a pile of my own clothes on the floor.

“You saw those women out there, right?”

“You mean Drea and the others? Yeah, I saw them. Your brother asked me if I wanted to become a club whore like them.”

The room erupts in a fit of laughter. “He did not!”

“Yeah, he did.”

“Oh my God. What did Daddy and Gabe do when they heard about it?” I shrug at her question. “Oh, I guarantee he won’t do something that stupid again. Not if he wants to keep his balls where they are.” Jayde’s lost in her own laughter for a minute, then remembers what she was trying to tell me. “Okay. So, those women, once they learn about you being Gabe’s daughter, they are going to be like piranha in a pool of blood. Some will befriend you because they want you to get them in with the men. Some will befriend you to your face and stab you in the back when you’re not looking because they need you to like them, but they don’t want you near the men in the club. The others, like Drea, will boldfaced be an asshole because she sees you as a threat.”

“I’m not a threat to her. I couldn’t care less about what she does or who, for that matter.”

“Though it may be true, she has a hard on for Hawk and my brother. If she sees the way Jake looks at you—yeah, I saw the way he looked at you in the store. If Drea caught on to it too, she’s going to be an extra special brand of bitch to you.” Jayde glares up at me from under her long lashes. “Watch your back around all of them.”

“Don’t worry, Aves.” Sadie swings the door to her stall wide as she saunters out, causing the door to slam back with a loud thud. “The man-eating-twat-waffle won’t bother you so long as you’re with me. She’s already been warned about fucking with me.”

“Ha! You should hang with Skyler. They’re all afraid of her.” Jayde smiles widely.

“Skyler seems nice enough. I can’t imagine anyone being afraid of her. She seems sweet to me.”

“Skyler is sweet.” Sadie says, “But she’s also lethal. Not only did she marry a fighter, but she’s also one herself. Not in the ring or anything, but she doesn’t take shit from anyone.” She’s beaming with pride.

“Yeah, and she got into it with a Mountain Heights club girl a while back. The way Xander and Cash told it, the club whore had to have her jaw wired shut for a while, rendering her ‘half as useful,’ Cash’s words.” Jayde throws her hands up in a placating manner and whispers, “These men like all holes to be readily available.”

“I’m not worried about any of them. As far as Jake’s concerned, what happened with us was a onetime thing.”

“Hold the fuck up!” Sadie spins on me, pinning me to the wall. “What do you mean ‘what happened between you and Jake?’”

Shit.

“Nothing. Never mind.”

“Oh, no, no, no. I know that face. You have dirt to spill, now spill it.”

I’m about to tell them about my momentary lapse in judgment and the scorching hot kiss Jake and I shared at Magpie’s when a short, dark-haired woman comes storming through the bathroom door only to stop dead in her tracks with the same haunted look on her face as the men had in church a short while ago.

“As I live and breathe.” Her hand flies to her chest, tears fill her eyes while she appraises the three of us. More specifically, me . I take the opportunity to do the same. She’s a small woman, slender, wearing skintight blue jeans, a tight-fitting black tank top, a black Harley Davidson apron around her waist, and leather boots. She has her long black hair, peppered with some gray, pulled up in pin curls and a black bandanna holding it all up in place. If there was ever a complete opposite of Eleanor West, this woman is it.

“Are you just going to stand there sizing me up, Bug, or are you going to come give your grandmother a hug?”

Before I could catch myself, I blurt, “I wouldn’t hug the wretched bitch if my life depended on it.” I hear Sadie clear her throat. Looking back at her, I see she’s raising an eyebrow, nudging her chin toward the woman before me.

The older woman let out a loud burst of laughter. She opens her arms and says, “While I don’t suppose I blame you. It’s been sixteen years, child. I’d love it if I could hug my granddaughter again. I can assure you I’m not half the wretched bitch the other woman is.”

“I … Wait … What? Did you just say you’re my grandmother?”

I’m so lost. I never knew. I mean, obviously if Gabe is my father and he has parents, they would be my grandparents, but this woman here is not what I would have pictured.

“Oh, come here.” She takes me into her arms and hugs me. It’s not one of those bring you in and pat your shoulders polite hugs that people do at social gatherings . No. She has her arms wrapped as tightly as they’ll go around my shoulders, squeezing me, holding on for dear life.

After a minute or two, she finally loosens her hold and takes a small step back. “Let me get a good look at you, honey.” She looks me over like she’s taking in every freckle and stray hair. She has tears spilling from her eyes when she finally speaks again. “Good Lord, do you ever look like your mama. You’ve filled out nicely, too.”

Nope, definitely not something my prim and proper Eleanor West would say. I clear my thoughts and focus on the woman in front of me.

“So, if you’re Gabe’s mother, do I have a grandfather, too?”

She laughs a loud, hearty laugh, tossing her head back as she does. “Oh, yes, child. But you’ve already met him. Caleb’s the one who called me to come get you after my son did such a bang-up job of introducing himself to you.”

“Caleb?”

She nods. “Come on, girls. Let’s get you all back up to the house. We have a party to plan, and I’ve got a granddaughter to get to know. Plus, it sounds like I walked in just in time to get the dirt on the men and the warnings about the club whores.”

My chin drops open at her brashness.

“Oh, child. I’ve been around the club for a long time. I know all about the whores, the strippers, the hookers, and the hang-arounds. Not much goes on here I don’t find out about.”

“That’s true!” Jayde and Sadie shout in unison.

“Come on. Let’s go home, girls.”

I follow blindly, still in shock at all that’s happened today. One good thing I can pull out of all of this is the woman before me is nothing like the woman I once feared. I think I’m going to like staying with her a lot better.

All four of us walk out together. Jayde and Liz are sharing a smug look. When I see Jake’s face, I understand why. Jayde did an amazing job of making us look like we have our shit together. You’d never know our entire world was rocked less than an hour ago.

Jake can’t stop staring at me. He’s devouring me with his eyes from five feet away. Wearing his own smug grin, licking his lips, taunting me. He adjusts himself, not so subtly. He sees I’ve noticed and smiles wider, enjoying the heat of my embarrassment and the soft rosy glow creeping up my neck and face.

“You might want to wipe your chin there, brother.” Hawk nudges Jake’s shoulder with his. “You’ve got a little something …” He taps his chin with his finger, as if wiping his own drool away. I’m pretty sure Jake’s about to tell Hawk where he can put his fucking finger, but his retort is cut off when a slender hand slithers over the top of his shoulder from behind, and another around his waist caressing his abdomen.

“Hey there, Jake. You looking to release a little frustration you’ve got going on under your belt?” She tugs at his buckle. He doesn’t answer. He doesn’t look pleased with her touching him. “I can help you out if you’d like to take me to your room. We can even invite your new little friend to watch. She looks like she could use a lesson in how to get you off,” Drea croons in his ear loud enough for me to hear. I don’t know why it makes me jealous to see her touching him, but I can’t seem to help how insecure it makes me feel. I don’t like how he’s allowing someone like her to rub all over him.

Because you want to rub all over him. No, nope!

Jayde rolls her eyes, Sadie cocks her brow, and Liz shocks us all. “Drea, would you be a dear and walk your overly-used ass and other parts over to the hooker and whore side of the room for a minute? I need to have a little chat with my boys.” Liz’s mouth quirks with humor as she not so quietly whispers, “To be perfectly honest, dear, I don’t like you touching them. I’m afraid they might catch something.” With her nose wrinkled in disgust, Liz wiggles her finger toward the stage and the two poles. “Run along now. Why don’t you make good use of your time polishing that pole for a change? I’m sure you’ve had plenty of practice polishing the others already today.”

A loud ruckus laughter near the bar area comes from Blake and another older gentleman whose head is laying on the bar while his shoulders shake. Blake shrugs, and yells, “She’s not wrong.”

The laughter is infectious now, with Sadie and Jayde joining in on the fun. Until Jayde notices Blake’s face and sees his shit-eating grin. It’s painfully obvious to the room Blake was the one who got a piece of Drea’s ass this morning.

Hawk throws one hand onto his chest as he laughs, waving his other hand only to slam it down on Jake’s shoulder to hide his own face in the crook of his elbow. Drea’s calculating her revenge. I can see it in the way her eyes darken. To the others, though, she hides her maliciousness well. Whatever this little exchange is between them, someone is going to pay.