Jake’s Angel (King’s Of Fury MC #2)

Chapter 40

CHAPTER FORTY

JAKE

The sun coming through a crack in the curtains wakes me up a little earlier than I’d hoped. Reaching over to find a cold pillow and an empty bed has me waking up confused. There’s a folded piece of paper on the nightstand with a note. It says,

Thanks for everything. Last night was amazing. I found my own way home.

Pissed is an understatement.

She left? What the hell is she thinking?

This doesn’t happen. Especially not to me. Definitely not after I explained to Avery what it means to be mine.

After all we said last night, I can’t believe she would still think this was a one and done kind of deal. She was struggling with me wanting her, thinking I wasn’t sincere. But the truth is, I’ve wanted her since the moment I laid eyes on her. I knew then and there if I let myself have her, I’d fall for her. There was never a possibility Avery could be a one-night stand.

Now it’s up to me to make her understand. I’ll drag her fine ass back here and show her exactly what I meant by mine .

Just thinking of all the ways I can show her has my cock twitching.

Yeah, I’ll definitely be teaching her fine little ass a lesson.

I shoot off a text to the prospects to keep Avery at the house. I’ll be coming by after church. I don’t wait for a response before laying my phone on the nightstand.

I get out of bed, get myself showered and dressed, grab my phone, and then head down the road to the clubhouse. We have church this morning and I’m eager to find out what Pres and Caleb have learned from the piece of shit prick. Like where his friend is hiding.

Then I’m going hunting.

I park my bike and head for the clubhouse when Hawk stops me just outside the door. “You claim her last night?” I don’t say anything, just nod once and stare at him. He takes my silence to mean what it is without saying the words. “You going to talk to Pres about it?” I nod again, but still say nothing. He nods back, then slaps me on my chest. “Hey, was it good? You know, is she a freak like I think she is?” Without warning, my fist connects with his chin, causing him to stumble back. The fucker comes up laughing. “I’ll take that as a yes.” I’m about to take another swing when Declan shouts from his bike. “You two ladies knock it off and get your asses inside. Pres is waiting.”

“What about you? Your big ass is still sitting out here too, motherfucker,” Hawk tosses back.

Declan dismounts from his bike and starts walking our way with his phone tightly gripped in his hand. “I was talking to Carter. Pres texted me to tell you two to get a move on.”

“Everything okay with little man?” Carter’s a cool kid. He’s nearly nine and takes his role as man of the house seriously. When Violet started working for Ethan’s gym, Carter started asking to learn self-defense, which isn’t uncommon for a kid his age. But when he began asking specific questions about protecting his mom from the bad people, the club took a more vested interest in both the kid and his mom. Especially Declan.

Dec shrugs. “He said his mom’s been acting weird. Crying herself to sleep at night. Checking every room when she gets home before she lets Carter go any further than the front door.”

“Something’s got her spooked.” It’s not a question. We all know the signs. “Did the building have a break-in or something?”

“I asked Wyatt to check into it. Nothing’s been reported. She’s supposed to be talking to a shrink since she was stabbed in November. She was pretty fucked-up at the hospital afterward. Telling me she couldn’t have her name in the system. Kept saying he would find her.”

“He?” Hawk folds his arms. “Does he have a name?”

“She’s not saying.” Declan rubs a hand down his face. “If I prod her for information, she shuts me down and stops talking to me all together. The kid’s the only intel I have on Violet, except for the security system Wyatt installed in her building, but even that has its limits.”

“You mean you didn’t put cameras in the house?” Hawk smirks. “You should’ve come to me. I would’ve upped your stalker game without her knowing.” He lifts his shoulder like it’s perfectly normal to watch someone without their knowledge.

“You have a problem. You know that, right?”

Declan laughs, clapping his hand on Hawk’s shoulder. “Jake’s right. One of these days, someone is going to either beat your ass or beat you at your own game.”

“Everyone thinks I’m an asshole until they need me to be their stalker,” Hawk grumbles. “The offer stands. If you think she’s in trouble, and you want to keep tabs without her knowing or feeling like you’re invading her space …”

“That’s exactly what you’d be doing,” I argue.

“But she wouldn’t know.” He doesn’t say it, but the facial expression he’s giving me screams ‘duh.’

“I appreciate the offer. I’ll get with the kid. Find out what else he knows. I wouldn’t mind another look into her alias. Maybe we missed something. I don’t want to dig too deep and set off alarm bells if she does have someone who’s after her. But I can’t protect them if I don’t know who the boogeyman is.”

“Speaking of the boogeyman,” Hawk says. We follow his gaze to the front gate.

“What the fuck is he doing here?”

Three familiar blacked-out SUVs are lined up at the gate. Less than two minutes later and they’re all pulling into the spots at the end of the clubhouse next to Pop’s truck.

“Come on. We better get in there. If Parisi is here, Pres is going to need something stronger than coffee to start his morning off,” Hawk mutters.

The three of us stroll inside. Pres, Caleb, and Pop are all standing in a line with their arms over their chests, looking pissed as shit.

Hawk, being the club dipshit, throws his hands up and says loudly, “Wasn’t us, Pres. We didn’t conjure up the boogeyman, I swear. We were just talking outside about Jake claiming your little girl and Declan’s woman going mute on him.”

“The fuck is wrong with you?”

“I’ll fucking kill you, you bastard.” Me and Declan shout at the same time. Declan pops Hawk in the head for good measure. Hawk’s laughing, but Pres isn’t finding anything funny this morning.

Shit.

The doors open behind us. Matteo walks in first, standing front and center, scanning the clubhouse. If we were a threat, they never would’ve gotten this close to any of us, that’s for damn sure.

Vincenzo and Santiago follow behind. Matteo moves out of the way, standing to the right of Vincenzo.

“Good morning. I hope you don’t mind my showing up unannounced, but I felt I should deliver my news in person.”

“Well, you’re here. What is the news? We’ve got shit to do and entertaining you wasn’t on my list this morning,” Gabe volleys back.

Vincenzo laughs. “I do love our little visits, Gabriel. But perhaps we should move this conversation somewhere more private.” Parisi glances to his left where Drea and the red-head whose name I’ve forgotten have gathered to drool over the men in black suits.

Seeing them reminds me of all the bullshit Drea filled Avery’s head with last night.

“Let me assure you. You don’t want your daughter’s business to be a public forum.”

Gabe grunts. “Fuck.” He turns toward the sanctuary and shouts over his shoulder, “Officers only! The rest of you, fuck off.”

I grab Blake on the way in. “Make sure you keep Avery at the house until I’m done here.”

“We thought she was with you.”

“Nah, she left early to come home. What about Sadie? Where’s she?” I ask, knowing Sadie would be the one to help Avery slip out this morning. My brothers would never pull anything like this. For fear I’d shoot them. Except maybe Hawk.

“Loretta’s up by the house. Been parked there for as long as I’ve been up. Pres had me and Austin stay at the clubhouse last night. Colt took the night shift so me and Austin could sleep off whatever concoction they dropped in our beers.”

“Check with Colt. Let me know what you find out.” Blake nods and I release him and head out to find the girls.

I head into the sanctuary and take a seat across from Parisi. Pop’s standing behind Gabe to the left and Declan to his right. Matteo and Santiago mirror their stance near Vincenzo.

“Anyone else feel like the air has all but left the room?” Hawk leans over to ask quietly. “Shit is thick up in here today.”

“Shut up, idiot.”

Gabe leans back, arms crossed. “All right. You’ve got us all here. Enlighten us on this bit of news so we can get on with shit that matters.”

Vincenzo smirks, pulling an envelope from inside his jacket pocket, tapping it on the table slowly. “Now, Gabriel, don’t be rude. I’ve brought you some information from our friend . The one who manhandled your daughter, wasn’t it, Mack?”

Pop grits his teeth. “Where is the son of a bitch? You said we’d get him when you were done questioning him. I’d like to ask him a few questions of my own.”

Vincenzo tsks. “I’m afraid he didn’t make it. My men can be a little … abrasive. Is that the word you would use, Matteo?” He turns to Matteo, who shrugs. Vincenzo waves him away. “Any way, our friend succumbed to his injuries. But he did have a lot of things to say before he departed.”

He’s still tapping the envelope on the table. It’s distracting as fuck.

“Are you going to tell us or are we supposed to guess?” Pres says, irritated as hell. The vein in his forehead is visibly thumping.

Vincenzo slides the envelope over to Gabe. He picks it up and begins to tear the end open. Vincenzo stops him with a quick warning.

“If you want your daughter’s dignity to remain intact, might I suggest you not show the room?”

Gabe pulls the envelope close to his vest, Pop leans over his shoulder. It’s a stack of photos. Gabe’s face tightens, his eyes flared.

“Where did you get these, and who took them?” Gabe asked in a low a guttural growl.

“It appears your mother-in-law and her guard, Charles, were putting together a portfolio of sorts. Avery was drugged, disrobed, caged, and photographed as a means to draw interest in a bidding war.”

I’m up out of my seat. The chair tipped over onto the floor. “What did you just say?” Hawk is holding me against the wall. Ethan moves the chair and stands between Hawk and the table as a secondary means to keep me back.

“That’s my woman! Some asshole you hired to protect her did those things to her. To my Angel?” Gabe’s slamming the gavel, calling for order. I can see he’s barely holding on to his own temper. Pop can’t hold my gaze.

“I said fucking order goddamn it!” Pres shouts over the room. “Jake, get your shit together. Mack, get Russ on the phone. I want to know if he was involved. Declan, get Wyatt tracking Eleanor’s every fucking move. Now, everyone has their orders. So, sit the fuck down.” Gabe points around the room at each of us. One by one, we move back to our places at the table. I’m vibrating with so much rage, my hands are visibly shaking.

“And as for you,” he points at Vincenzo, who is sitting calm as you fucking please with a lit cigarette in his hand.

“Perhaps you should let me finish telling you what I know before you say something you may regret. Hmm.”

This man has a death wish. He must to keep pushing Gabe the way he does.

“Jake, let me ask you. How was your, Angel, did you call her? This morning?” My gaze snaps to his.

“I wouldn’t poke the bear there paisan. Jake’s stress level has exceeded this morning’s meditation session, so I’d ask that we tread lightly,” Hawk says.

Instead of seeing warning or disrespect in his statement, Vincenzo laughs. “I like you, Nathaniel. You are an interesting man.” Hawk’s eyes narrow at the use of his given name.

“I only ask about Miss West because I know she wasn’t in his bed this morning as Jake had assumed she would be.”

Oh, this just keeps getting better. Not only have I not discussed claiming Avery with Pres, but Vincenzo has just verified that I have indeed slept with her before having Gabe’s consent.

“What the hell is he talking about, Jake?” Gabe snaps at me.

I throw both hands up. “I meant to talk to you about it today in church. I’m claiming Avery. I’ve claimed Avery. She’s mine.”

“Oh fuck,” I hear Hawk mutter under his breath. Not like his ass didn’t already put out my fucking business this morning.

Payback is a motherfucker. They’re coming.

“We’ll discuss your rights to claim my daughter later. What I want to know is was she there this morning and if not,” Gabe turns, pointing at Vincenzo. “How the fuck did he know about it?”

“Simple.” Vincenzo shrugs. “I had one of my men pick her up. She and Sadie are currently under their watch at my casino in Devil’s Canyon.”

“Jesus fucking Christ.” Jameson finally speaks. He’s been sitting quietly, watching the entire show go down. “What are they doing in Devil’s Canyon? That’s the DO’s territory.”

Vincenzo turns to Jameson and smiles. “They like to think it is. But in truth, I own Devil’s Canyon, aside from a few new businesses that have come on scene as of late. But I’ll be dealing with them soon enough. I can assure you, both girls are safe at my penthouse suite. It seems Miss West, through of no fault of her own, has a connection to the people who murdered George. They are also involved with the trafficking ring, though I don’t have all the details as to what part they play. I don’t believe the motorcycle club is in charge of the trafficking. They seem to be supplying transportation and protection of property.”

I growl. “They’re people, not fucking cars.”

Vincenzo smiles. “Of course, but for men who claim their women as their property, I wouldn’t expect you to get so defensive over word choice.”

This motherfucker.

“Perhaps I should try again. The Devil’s Order has been tasked with moving the victims and protecting their benefactor’s interests. Is that better?”

“Could the benefactor be Cusenza?” Ethan looks around the table at each of us. “He wants the freight company and to control the harbor. He’s threatened Russell. He sent pictures of Avery to scare him just before she disappeared. What if Chuck was supposed to kidnap her but she and Sadie foiled their plan with an escape?”

“Cusenza? Marco Cusenza? He threatened Russell?” Vincenzo asks, puzzled.

“Seems you don’t know everything,” Gabe says quietly. Vincenzo shoots him a glare.

“Russell has never spoken of a threat by Cusenza to me. How long ago did this happen?”

“It’s been happening. At least it was, until Avery ran away, and we put Russell in a safe house,” Pop answers. “We’ve cut Russell off to everyone who isn’t absolutely necessary for the running of the business and appointed his attorney as his liaison.”

“Well, gentlemen. Do we still need to have your religious gathering, or shall we all load up and head to Devil’s Canyon together and speak with the girls?”

Gabe gives Vincenzo an icy glare, promising revenge for his blatant disrespect, but he keeps his temper in check as he tells the room, “Get your shit. Pack for a couple nights. We ride in thirty. Hawk, Declan, bring the guns.” Then he slams the gavel.

“Jameson.” I call out. Pop hears me and waits beside me. When Jameson makes his way to us, I ask, “You still got that welder friend who keeps his mouth shut?”

“Yeah.” He crosses his arms. “What do you need?”

“ A cage .” Jameson smiles a wicked grin. Pop slaps my shoulder and nods his approval. “I need it built ASAP and quietly in the basement. Think you can get him here and have it done by the time we get back?”

“Yep.” He’s already typing out a text on his phone.

“I knew I liked you,” Vincenzo says as he passes by.

Fucker.