Jake’s Angel (King’s Of Fury MC #2)

Chapter 30

CHAPTER THIRTY

AVERY

When I came into Liz’s house, I grabbed my things and headed straight for the bathroom. I washed my face, trying to clear my thoughts. The cold water helped calm my nerves a bit, and I had a chance to think about things. It’s Jake’s job to protect me. I need to keep reminding myself and stop letting him kiss me .

Or touch me. Or pin me with those eyes.

Deciding to apologize for being a bitch, thinking if I can clear the air, things won’t be so awkward between us anymore. He can go back to treating me like business as usual and I can go back to not liking him.

Fucking liar.

Taking a deep breath to settle myself, I pass Sadie as she comes barreling through the door, catching the screen before it closes. She looks pissed as all hell, like she’s been crying and ready to kill someone as she heads down the hallway.

I’ll ask her about it in a minute. I need to get this over with.

I’m about to step onto the porch when I notice Hawk and Jake are in a heated conversation. I step out quietly, holding the screen door by the handle, trying not to disrupt them. That’s the moment my heart cracks.

“Are you out of your goddamned mind? Hell, no, I didn’t fuck her !” Jake shouts at Hawk. I’m at a complete loss for words. My chest hurts. Tears rim my eyes, but I’m not about to let them fall. I let the pain turn to anger. Finally understanding everything that’s happened between us was nothing more than him doing his job. Calming me down. Getting me to talk. Holding me while I slept. It was all part of an assignment from his club.

I can’t be too upset about it. I used him first.

I kissed him to get what I needed when I needed to escape. Now he’s doing the same. He’s using me to get his brownie points with his President.

Turning back around, I walk back into the house, letting the screen door slam behind me as the tears continue to sting my eyes.

Calm the fuck down, Avery. This should come as no surprise. They’re all the same.

Walking past Sadie, Jayde, and Liz who are conversing at the kitchen table, I notice Sadie seems to be much calmer. I head straight for my room, slam the door and flop on the bed. I hear the slight creak from the door as Sadie comes in to join me. Sitting beside me, she gently strokes my back, trying to soothe me.

“You want to talk about it?” she asks.

“Nothing to talk about.”

Sadie snorts at my petulance.

“You know better than to try that shit with me. You came in here looking like you wanted to rip Jake’s balls off and disappeared into the bathroom. Then went back out there intending to say something to him, but instead came in less than three minutes later looking like he kicked your puppy. Start talking.” Hearing the frustration and concern in her voice, I sit myself up to face her. She knows me better than anyone, and I know she won’t let this go.

Rubbing my hands down my face, trying to ignore my pounding head, I answer her. “I think everything came to a head for me all at once, you know. There’s been so much to take in the last few days. Emotionally, I’m a fucking mess, Sades. I don’t know if I’m coming or going. Everything I’ve ever known about myself—my parents, the accident, it’s all been a lie. I don’t know who I am anymore. I let my guard down for a minute. I let the music take me away and forgot who I am and where I was. I relaxed into the song and when I felt that guy put his hand on me … at first, I thought maybe it was Jake coming to apologize, but when I looked down and saw the guy’s pinky ring, it sent me back.”

Her eyes are locked on mine. The rage and sadness at war there staring back at me. I know she feels responsible because she couldn’t stop what happened to me and I won’t tell her who did it, so she can’t exact her revenge on the bastard. Sadie, though well intentioned, would do something stupid, putting herself at risk. I can’t let her. Not with Kyle. Hell, she put herself on the line to help me leave and look what a clusterfuck that’s been for both of us.

“Shit Avery. You told Jake about it.” I don’t say the words, and looking away, I nod once. I hear her release a breath of relief. “He can help you, Avery. If you tell him who …”

“No.” Staring back into her eyes, pleading with her to understand my wishes. “I don’t want them involved any more than they already are in my shit. I shouldn’t have told Jake or you for that matter, but since neither of you knows who hurt me, my Gramps is safe and so am I.”

“But they can help.”

“I know you want me to tell them so they find him and serve retribution, but I can’t. Please, try to understand. Everyone claims they’re trying to protect me, but when I want to protect those I love, no one listens. It’s bullshit.”

“Not fair. I listen. I’ve done everything to help you escape her place and every one of those assholes from Baron’s Edge. I listened,” she cries out as tears stream down her face. She jumps off the bed, pacing the floor, dragging her hands through her hair. I know I’ve hurt her, which only adds to the mess I’m feeling inside. “I want to help you. I want to fucking kill the people who hurt you. But I can’t. I’m not strong enough to erase this, but my family—those men, they can. The Kings protect their own.”

“I’m only theirs because the President and my mother had sex,” I shout. “I don’t know these people, Sadie. They don’t know me. They know I’m Gabe’s daughter, but they didn’t care about any of that before or he wouldn’t have left me there for this long. He didn’t want me, Sadie . He didn’t hide me away for a little while. He left me for sixteen years, Sades.”

She sits on the bed. I sit next to her, my head on her shoulder. I know she’s hurting for me. It’s who she is. She’s the most loyal person I’ve ever known. She’s in her own world of pain. Her own father abandoned her, and now he’s back in her life because of me. He’s the only person who can answer my questions. I know she must be going through her own hell emotionally.

“I talked to Jake. I told him it wasn’t a mugging. I told him what happened.”

“Fuck. Sadie.”

She drops her face into her hands and sobs softly. I move her hands, and she says, “When I moved to Baron’s Edge, you were the only one who accepted me. You’re my family, Avery. We were family before we even knew about our fathers being brothers. If you know anything about me, you know how important my family is to me and I’ll do everything in my power to take care of them. You might hate me for it, but I know they can help you. They’ll keep you safe. I couldn’t tell him who hurt you because I don’t know, but when they find out, they’ll handle it. You can’t keep fighting these things alone. You asked for my help. The Kings, our family, they’re the help that I can give. You understand?”

“I can’t fucking breathe, Sadie.” I honestly can’t. My chest hurts and my head is pounding again. “I’m so confused, and frustrated, and angry. I can’t handle any more. I already have a babysitter and can’t go anywhere without an escort. I left Baron’s Edge to get some freedom. All I did was give up one prison for another. Can you imagine how much more restrictive they’ll be now because they know what happened to me? And who’s going to protect my Gramps? Shit.”

“I know, but you said you told Jake last night. I simply confirmed what he already knows.”

“Yeah, but I told him, hoping he wouldn’t tell anyone else. I didn’t want everyone to know about it. I needed to tell him. The way he was looking at me. The way he was acting. I could see him struggling to keep his emotions in check. The storm in his eyes only let up when I explained what happen, but only for a moment. It did something to me. Made me drop my guard. I needed to ease his frustrations. So, like an idiot, I told him, but I didn’t do it because I wanted him to fix it. I told him because he thought someone he trusted, one of his brothers or someone from the town had hurt me. I had to tell him what really happened. Now, I wish I would’ve kept my mouth shut.”

“Why? What did he say when you told him?”

Dropping back on the bed, throwing my arm over my face, I hope it will hide some of the embarrassment I’m feeling.

“He was quiet. He was pissed I wouldn’t tell him who hurt me.” I shrug. “I didn’t tell him who because it doesn’t matter.” She scowls at me. Throwing my hand up, stopping her from speaking. “It doesn’t. We got me out of there, and he has no idea where to find me. So, I’m safe. As long as they don’t go after him, Gramps and I will both be fine. I need to get past the memories and not let them put me in a state of panic.” Sadie nods her understanding even though I know she doesn’t agree with me. She, like the band of biker boys, thinks I’m still in some kind of danger.

“Walk me through this. What happened between you two last night? Something’s not adding up.”

“He took me to his house, and we slept together in his bed.” Her eyes widen, her face lights up with excitement.

“You hooker,” she teases.

“What? No, I don’t mean we had sex. I mean, we literally just slept in the bed together.” Her face falls.

“Yeah, I guess it would be an asshole move to try to have sex with you after how freaked out you were, but still. You were in his bed with him, and all the sexual tension between the two of you, I would’ve thought …” She shrugs, pursing her lips.

Letting out another long sigh, I sit up, hugging the pillow to my chest. “He was sweet to me, Sadie. He gave me his T-shirt to sleep in and made me tea. He laid with me and held me so I could feel safe while I slept. Caressing my skin, dragging his fingers through my hair. He wrapped himself around me when I was having a nightmare and whispered in my ear how he had me, and I was safe.” I chuckle. “For the first time in a long time, I actually felt safe. When he was caressing my skin, he found the scars.” Her eyes widen in shock. She’s the only person who’s ever seen them besides me. If I had to be seen in a bathing suit or there was a chance they could be seen in a changing room for any reason, I covered them with several layers of makeup. It wasn’t a perfect camouflage, but it was enough to make them not stand out.

“Dammit, Avery!” she shouts, standing up from the bed. “He obviously wants to protect you, so let him. Tell him who did this and let him handle it for you.” She stops mid-rant when she notices my tears. “Shit. I’m sorry.” She whispers in my ear, wrapping her arms tightly around me in a warm embrace. “Shhhh. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“It’s not that.” Pulling back, I wipe away my tears and rub my hand on the blankets.

“What is it then?”

“God, I feel stupid.” I throw my head back, glancing up at the ceiling, trying to regain some control of my emotions. “The whole time we talked, the way he was looking at me, and holding me, I guess I thought there was more going on between us, but I was wrong. He was tasked with taking care of me and protecting me. Coupled with his guilt for what happened in the past, he’s obligated to care. Or pretend to anyway.”

“You like him.” It’s not a question. “You’re starting to really like him, aren’t you?”

“Well, I was until this morning.”

“What did he do?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Nope. Nothing.”

“And that’s a bad thing? I’m not following here, Aves. SPIT. IT. OUT.”

Burying my head in the pillow still crushed against my chest, I gather all my strength, because I know how stupid this is going to sound, but she’s like a dog with a bone. She won’t quit.

“We were talking this morning about tattoos. I’d gone into his shop the other day and talked to Jesper about covering up my scars.”

“The day you got your piercing.”

“Right. Well, Jake was not happy about me being there for some reason. Anyway, he was asking questions and when I wouldn’t answer, he pinned me down on the couch and tickled me.”

“Jake was playing with you?”

“When you say it that way, it sounds dirty?”

Cocking her brow, she asks, “Was it?”

I shove her shoulder. “No. Geez, Sadie.”

“But you wanted it to be?” She pins me with a glare, and I can’t stop the heat from slowly making its way up my face and ears from the embarrassment that I feel. “Oh my God. You wanted to do the deed with Jake?”

“No. No. I just. I don’t know. I felt like there was a connection there and maybe he was going to kiss me, but he didn’t. Instead, he became, I don’t know, indifferent. He pulled away, acting like nothing happened. I mean, one minute he was hot and panting in my face, the next he was distant, like a switch flipped. He started talking seriously about the cover up I want. When I told him I’d go to Big Rock when I was ready for the tattoo, he got all pissed. Demanding he would do it. The ass.”

Sadie’s grinning from ear to ear and I’m scared to ask what she’s thinking. For all I know, she could be plotting his demise. She’s scary like that sometimes.

“He pinned you down, but didn’t kiss you, but you wanted him to. Then when you mentioned letting one of his guys, who he trusts to work for him, doing your tattoo, he got mad?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“He wants to fuck you,” she shouts.

“No. I’m certain that’s not it.”

“It has to be it. You said he pinned you down and you thought he was going to kiss you, but then he pulled back and acted indifferent, right?” I nod. “Then he got pissed when you wanted someone else to do your tattoo?” Sadie’s face light up. “Oh, he wants you, but he’s pissed at himself because he wants you.”

“Sadie. He doesn’t want me.”

“Yeah, he has to. I mean, look at the signs, Aves.”

“I literally heard him tell Hawk—no, yell at Hawk—he didn’t want to fuck me. He sounded completely disgusted at the mention of me and sex in the same sentence.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” She’s still spinning her wheels trying to solve the mystery that isn’t even a mystery, but once she gets like this, there’s no point in stopping her. She’ll come to the right conclusion eventually.

“Believe me. I thought he wanted me too. After he got me off the first time, I thought there was something there. I’m telling you I misread him.”

“Back the fuck up.” Sadie spins, putting herself directly in front of me, nose-to-nose. “When did Jake get you off? You said he didn’t do anything last night.”

“Oh, umm.”

Shit.

“Avery fucking West, you better tell me or I’m going to go get Liz. She’ll drag the truth out of you.”

“No. Sadie. Don’t tell anyone. You can’t.” I beg.

“Start talking.”

“When he took me for a ride the other day. We went to my mom’s grave, and we were talking, then we started kissing.” My face is so red I can feel the heat. “I didn’t mean for anything else to happen, but we started kissing a little more intimately and then he helped get me off.”

Sadie squeals loudly.

“But we had our clothes on. I swear, it was nothing major. We made out for a few minutes and when it was over, he brought me here. We have done nothing else since.”

“I’m so proud of you. I wasn’t sure you’d let a guy touch you after everything you’ve been through.” Her eyes are glassed over.

“I think that was part of the reason I let it happen.” Sadie looks at me, confused. “I got to choose. I wanted to feel what Jake could do for me and because I chose to explore my feelings, I was able to allow myself to let go and enjoy it.”

Sadie looks at me, biting her lip. “I have to ask. You did it on your mom’s grave?” She scrunches her face in disgust. “I mean, I’m happy for you and all, but you know that’s not the best place to have an orgasm—in a cemetery, right?”

I throw the pillow at her and she catches it. “I didn’t plan for it to happen there. We shared a moment, and we got carried away. Don’t yuck my yum, damn it.”

“All right, all right. Avery likes to have heated make-out sessions in the cemetery. Noted.”

“Fuck off.” I laugh. “It doesn’t matter. It won’t be happening again. He’s turned cold again.”

“No. There’s something he’s not telling you.” Sadie looks pensive.

“Sadie, it’s not a big deal. I’m a job . A club responsibility that’s been thrust on him, and he’s been acting nice because he has to. I really don’t want to think about it anymore. Can we please talk about something else?” Her wheels are still turning, so I change the subject, hoping we can get as far away from the topic of sex and Jake as possible.

“I think we need to contact Thomas. I need to find out what he knows about all of this.”

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

“Yes. Look, everyone is saying they have an idea about what happened. There’s evidence of murder, but the only person who was there and can tell me what actually happened is him. And he seems to know something about this Cusenza person as well. He’s the one who told me to come here and let the Kings protect me. I want to know why.” I watch as she seems to battle a myriad of emotions. I know this can’t be easy for her. “I hate asking you to help me with this, Sades, but you know I’ll never be able to do this without you. I need to find out the truth.”

She hesitates for a minute before agreeing to help me set up a meeting. “Contact him and tell him you’ll meet him in Devil’s Canyon. I need at least a week to work out some things, so let’s set things up to meet toward the end of next week. It will give me a few extra days in case Hawk has suddenly become smarter than me.” She rolls her eyes. “It should give me enough time. We can’t chance meeting him here. The guys are already going to skin us alive when they find out what we’re doing, but if they found him …” She stops. Playing with her fingernails in her lap, she’s nervous. When she lifts her eyes to meet mine again, she says, “They’ll kill him, Aves. He played a part in Maggie’s death. I know he’s a piece of shit and I shouldn’t feel anything toward him but anger and hate, but …”

Placing my hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze, I let her know I understand.

“You can’t because he’s still your father. I get it.”

We sit quietly for a few minutes while I send off the text on the burner phone I’ve had hidden in my go-bag, letting Thomas know we can meet in two days. He tells us the location to meet him. It’s a diner in Devil’s Canyon. Sadie lays back on the bed quietly staring at the ceiling. I can tell by the way her jaw ticks and her brows scrunch that she’s formulating a plan to get us away from the club and out of town undetected.

While I lay here trying to forget everything that’s happened.