Outlaws’ Property (Property of Outlaw Sons MC #1)

38. Jessica

38

JESSICA

The door opens with the finger and the code. It's gross and messy, but when the lock disengages, I couldn't care less. Only Ghost holding me back keeps me from rushing inside to find Mom. And to get away from all the bodies left behind in the stairwell. I’m so, so glad that Ghost's on my side.

"Easy. Don't wanna go through all that only to have you get hurt on the fucking finish line. We go first."

"Okay." Even so, I keep trying to look past them to spot her.

God, I don't even know what she looks like. My memory is of a woman with long hair like mine, but more honey blonde instead of mousey brown. She was beautiful, my mind tells me, but that’s probably just because she's my mother. Every kid thinks that, right? Still, everything is fuzzy. I'm positive I'll recognize her if I see her, but if I were to draw her from memory, I couldn't do it. I hate that, and I hate Victor for having taken me away from her for so long.

I'd expected that we'd find a lab like in a movie, with big data screens all over the place, halogen lights in the ceilings, large dashboards with dials, knobs and blinking lights, but if there is such a place in here, it's not where we first come out. Just more doors and a hallway. I'm so sick of hallways.

There are a couple of guards, but apparently they weren't expecting anyone to manage to sneak past the security. The guys make quick work of them. It should probably worry me how desensitized I'm getting to it, and I suspect I'm going to have a major breakdown later, but right now, there's just no time. We have a mother to rescue and a city to save.

Riot and Tex try doors while Ghost stays close to me. His face is stone, but he's got an arm around my waist, holding me so hard it makes my bruises ache, like he's afraid I'll run off if he doesn't. I don't complain. My track record isn’t super great. The feeling of him at my side is worth the ache, so I just ignore my bruises and put my arm around his waist, hoping he won't have to use the gun in his free hand.

"In here!" Tex calls, waving for us to follow.

By the time Ghost and I come in, he's sliding open the windows in the steel doors and peeking inside. I get chills when I'm reminded of the attack on the clubhouse earlier. God, was that really still today? It feels like a million years ago.

"It's Cooper." Riot's opening one of the doors. "He's still alive."

I recognize him when he stumbles out, looking like he's had a rough time. His clothes sit a little loosely and he looks like he hasn’t seen the inside of a shower in a week. His gray hair is slicked back and greasy, thick stubble covers his face and his eyes are wild. But when he understands who we are, he lights up. "Jesus H. Christ, I thought I'd never make it out of here alive. God, I messed up." He pauses. "This is a rescue, isn’t it? Not an execution squad because I jeopardized the mission or anything?"

Riot bumps his head with the flat of his hand. "Don't be an idiot. We're getting you outta here once we get what we came for."

"Kane? Is he?—"

"Running for his life," Ghost says coolly. "We'll worry about him later. First we need to get everyone out alive and stop that damn missile."

"Missile?" Cooper stares wild-eyed like he's waiting for the punchline.

"Come on," says Tex, already back out in the corridor. "We’ll catch you up while we look for Rebecca."

"Rebecca?" Cooper's eyes bulge out in shock.

"There's a lot to get caught up on and not much time," I say. "But until we find Mom, we're not getting out of here."

Cooper finally stares at me, suddenly realizing I'm here. "Holy shit," he whispers. "You look just like her. Jessica?"

I nod.

"Jesus Christ," he mutters.

"Down here!" Tex yells.

We follow down the hall and Kane’s finger gets another use. The door slides open to reveal a room that's a lot more like I expected a lab to look like. Not quite like the movies, but there are several computers, a worktable with wires and circuit boards, and a big wall screen with all kinds of data on it, next to a whiteboard that's been scribbled all over—diagrams, notes, a table of numbers, all sorts of stuff that I wouldn't know where to start with.

However, what steals my attention immediately is the woman who's standing there, holding her arms out, her blonde hair still long, her face a little thinner than I remember, but with a smile that's so familiar I can't believe I ever thought I couldn't remember what it looked like.

I see it every day. It looks like me.

This time, Ghost can't hold me back. Or he's decided he doesn't want to. I rush forward and throw myself in her arms.

"Mom!"

When she pulls me close, it feels like I just came home.

I squeeze her like I might never see her again, even though I just found her again. My face hurts, I want to cry so bad and lose myself in her arms, but there's no time. Not yet. But I don't let go, and neither does she. "Jessica. You don't know how hard it's been, knowing you were right out there, and not being able to get out. God knows I tried."

"I know, Mom. I know."

She chuckles softly. "I can't believe you're taller than me now. Some things aren't obvious through the security cameras."

Tex clears his throat. "I fucking hate being the asshole who's interrupting this, but you said you have something that can stop the missile?"

"Oh! Yes. Over there." She gently pulls away so she can grab a small device that resembles a remote control for a TV, though there's exposed circuitry and a wire hanging off it. Definitely a work in progress. "We have to get much closer, though."

Ghost pulls out his phone. "Hellfire. We got 'em. Got anything for me?"

"Rebecca," Cooper says almost reverently while Ghost and Hellfire update each other. "I can't believe you're alive."

"Terrence? You've looked better." She softens it with a little laugh, like something old friends might say.

He chuckles too, sounding a little raw. "I've had better weeks, to be brutally honest. But seeing both of you alive… I don't have words. You don't suppose Chester…" He trails off, like he doesn't dare even finish the question.

Mom shakes her head, her expression drawn. "I'm sorry, no. I wish I could say otherwise, but no. Victor needed me for my skills and Jessica to keep me obedient, but… Chester was a potential liability. I wish it were otherwise, but no."

He nods like he didn't expect anything else.

"We're on our way," Ghost says and hangs up. "Hellfire and the boys have the yacht in sight. A helicopter just passed over and landed there. Guessing that's Mr. One-thumb."

Tex takes the moment to give Victor's finger one last disapproving look before tossing it on the floor and kicking it under a cabinet. "Hopefully it’ll take them a while to figure out where the smell’s coming from.”

"Let's get outta here. Skyhigh and his boys are meeting us up front. There'll be time for reunions and catching up later. We gotta stop this motherfucker."

Mom's face takes on an expression of grim determination and she clutches the remote tightly. "Right."

Two minutes later, we're racing to the harbor, me clutching Ghost tightly, Mom riding behind Riot, and Cooper seated behind Tex. Mom looks comfortable enough back there that I wonder if she hasn't ridden on the back of a motorcycle before. God, there's so much that I don't know about her and never have had the opportunity to ask. But now I'm finally going to get the chance. It's a dream come true, at least if we manage to stop Victor's missile.

We rumble onto the dock to find Hellfire and the rest of the club waiting for us.