Declan: Royal Bastards MC: Flagstaff Chapter (Book 2), page 4
Sobbing as I get the edge of the tape loose, it’s almost free when the other man lifts me up and sets me against the van. Turning, I just try to keep working at it, trying not to cry at the pain or the smell of my blood. I’m finally able to push the rag free, I start trembling with relief.
Declan’s roar rings in my ears as he lunges toward me.
“My brother! He’s six. He’s all alone in the apartment! Please!” I cry out as he grabs me, blood flowing from his nose. “I’m sorry, I had to get the tape off. I have your money. Well most of it, at least. I’m sorry but he’s all alone and I have to protect him.”
“Ranger?” Declan asks and I don’t understand what he means, his furious glare holding my gaze as I continue to sob.
“His name is Justin. I don’t have a phone at the apartment. I know I should, but I didn’t want to spend any more of the money.” I plead with him, hoping he’ll do something.
“She was working. I didn’t see a kid,” the man behind Declan says.
“My bag!” I look over Declan’s shoulder, assuming the other man is Ranger. “I keep things in there in case we have to run. I have his real birth certificate in my bag.”
He nods and opens the passenger side door; Declan’s still staring me down and roughly pulls the remainder of the tape off of my face.
“This looks legit, Prez,” Ranger says, having removed my important papers from the Ziploc bag I keep them in.
“Give us some space, and keep an eye on the road,” Declan orders and his voice chills me to the core. “Where are the boy’s parents?”
I open my mouth, but he grabs my throat before I can speak. Losing my balance, since my hands and ankles are still secured, I nearly choke myself on his grip.
“Don’t even fucking think of lying to me, Jenna,” he hisses, setting me down on the step where the van’s door still sits open.
“We have the same mom. She died of cancer nearly three years ago. Well, it’s a long story but she died a few years after Justin was born and I came back to find out my step-dad, his father, was grooming him. The man was filming porn in the house! I took him and ran, then some men came after us and my grandmother died in the fire they set.”
I exhale, knowing I’m barely making sense, but it’s like the strings holding a marionette have been cut; I lean forward, my head landing against his rib cage.
“Ranger?” Declan calls out, and the other guy appears. “I’m going to allow you to ride my bike. Do you understand what that means?”
“Yes, Prez. I’ll protect it with my life.”
“Text the address you picked her up at to Diesel and Throttle, then go back and sit on the kid until they get there and the three of you figure out transportation for the bikes and the kid—Justin—back to the clubhouse,” Declan instructs him before looking back at me. “I assume there’s an apartment number and you can tell Ranger something to get Justin to trust him?”
I pause for a moment. Talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire…
“Jenna, do not test me.”
“It’s 1G, the garden apartment, it’s next to the laundry room for the complex,” I sputter out immediately. “My car keys are in my purse if you want to drive him back in my car? The apartment key is on it also. Tell Justin he has to bring Rupert.”
“That’ll work,” Declan says to Ranger, throwing him a set of keys. “Have one of the guys secure a trailer for the bikes. Two of you in the car with him at all times.”
“Wait!” I call out. “He has asthma. I have a new inhaler in my purse, the one he has is getting low. He gets attacks if he’s too stressed out.”
Ranger digs through my purse until he finds my keys, the inhaler, and gives me a big grin when he finds a bag of candy I had stashed in there—waving it at us before stuffing the items in his pockets and leaving without another word.
Declan looks back down at me. “The money?”
“If you cut open the lining of my purse, there’s about forty-one hundred there. There’s another five-grand inside of Justin’s stuffed dinosaur…”
“Rupert, I presume?”
“Yes.”
“And the rest of it?” he asks, looking at me curiously.
“I don’t actually have custody of Justin, so I have to find a pharmacist who’ll get me his inhalers without a prescription, and that isn’t cheap. Then, I had to register him in school, and pay two months’ worth of rent upfront to get the apartment. The manager had already said he wouldn’t run a credit check on me, so I paid that,” I say and realize he doesn’t care about my problems. “I’m sorry, I am careful about budgeting so when I had an extra hundred dollars, I put it back into your pile.”
“They didn’t ask you about custody when you registered him at school?” Declan asks, cocking his head at me; his hair floats forward and makes him seem more human.
The image I’ve held of him in my mind gets my heart racing and my breath hitches, forcing me to look away from him before I can answer. “I have fake papers that I used to register him, I just keep t...”
“How much did those cost me?” he asks, tearing through my purse until he finds the money I hid.
“Please, you can see I do have most of your money and I already had the papers. I’m not used to this whole ‘life of crime’ but maybe see it from my perspective. We’ve been living hand to mouth and I-I shouldn’t have stolen from you.” I can’t stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks and I deflate, unable to defend myself when I was in the wrong.
I don’t know what I expected, but without another word, Declan pushes me back into the spot I had been stuck in and slams the door shut.
“Not a fucking peep now,” Declan warns, his eyes briefly connecting with mine when he gets in the driver’s seat and starts the van.
Declan
I’ve known a boatload of manipulative cunts in my life but if even half of what Jenna has said is true, this game has changed. And it explains some of the shit that’s been going on in my goddamn town.
Part of me is certain that she’s on the level, but a larger part of me is screaming to take what the fuck I want, no matter her reasons.
Catching a glimpse of myself in the rearview mirror, I get to work on wiping the blood off my face and feel guilty, of all things; knowing that Jenna’s face is in worse shape from her trying to work the tape off. Slipping my earpiece in, I call Doc first.
Ensuring Jenna will be seen to when we get to my house, I call Diesel next. Ranger had already reached him, but I want to explain to him that Justin has to be coddled and not terrified—not that I think my men will hurt a child, it’s just that I started to feel protective once I heard Jenna’s story.
While all I got was a series of grunts from him, we grew up in the same place. It might have been easier for the nuns if they had just kept all the boys separated out by age, but at The Holy Redeemer Orphanage for Young Men, those ten and older were taught and encouraged to help with the younger children.
Ranger and Throttle might not know shit about kids, but Diesel should be able to figure out a way to get through to him.
*
Pulling up to my house, I’m pleased to see Doc there with Wolfman and Light in tow; no way do I want this van parked here overnight. It’s like an advertisement for illegal activity.
“Jenna, look at me,” I say, turning to look at her. She leans forward, looking more tired than angry at this point. “They don’t know that you stole ten-grand from the Royal Bastards. When you get inside, you’re going to keep your mouth shut while Doc tends to your face. If you don’t want to leave Justin in his dad’s hands, it’s important that your loan stays between us. Understand?”
She presses her lips together and nods. Reaching over, I grab Jenna’s bags and hand them off to Doc before I walk around and open the door—she’s exhausted, so she feels like dead weight as I push her over my shoulder. At least for a moment, until she starts wiggling so I pretend to drop her to get her to calm her ass down.
Thankfully that works, her shriek actually pulls a bark of laughter from Doc and I swear I hear her hiss at him.
Tossing her onto the couch, she maneuvers herself into an upright position.
“I need to pee,” she says. “Badly.”
Pushing past Doc, I head to my bedroom and get the box of toys I’ve been collecting for her these past months.
Grabbing the leg spreader and a pair of leather cuffs for her wrists, I head back out to find Doc is gingerly wiping the dirt off her face. They both shoot me a dirty look when I reenter the room. I knew he wouldn’t be happy not having details about why he’s caring for a woman who is, well, secured. But he’s too smart to question me in front of her or the other men.
As soon as I cut the tape holding Jenna’s legs together, I attach the spreader bar around her ankles, adjusting it so she can walk. Then, I wind leather cuffs around each of Jenna’s wrists before locking them and cutting the zip tie, I secure them in front of her so I can guide her to the bathroom off the kitchen.
Reaching down, I stare into her eyes waiting for the second she realizes… Yep! There it is, I give her a big ole smile when she feels me undoing her jeans. Slipping both hands into the waistband of the snug denim and panties, I slide them down and push her back onto the toilet.
“You belong to me now, so you better get used to…”
“But I have the money! I mean most of the money!” she hisses back, looking panicked.
“You better get used to peeing with me around, sweet cheeks,” I say, caressing the unblemished side of her face. “You have any idea what vig a guy like me charges on loans?”
“Vig?” she croaks out, pressing her knees together and looking more uncomfortable by the second.
“Vig, as in interest on a loan. One of the many businesses I run. See, if a man comes to me and needs some money—maybe for his side piece, or a sports bet that didn’t go the way he planned, and he needed ten large with the promise of paying me back in two weeks; then he’d owe me eleven thousand, depending on how reliable I assessed him to be. You may want to start peeing, while I explain this business model to you.” I fold my arms across my chest as I sit on the counter.
“Those two weeks always fly by when you have other responsibilities and owe a big chunk of cash. So, the vig goes from a thousand to two. Automatically. Mainly because I fucking hate being taken advantage of.” I continue talking, steeling myself when I see her squeeze her eyes shut. “At that point, most men come up with the money real fast; oh, let’s not forget the daily penalty, after the initial term. If the repayment stretches to a full month, I get thirty-five hundred—minus any payments made, of course. Now, you ran off without asking about any of this, sweet cheeks. You never even finished getting to know me that day.”
“I’m sorry,” she gasps out again. Tears falling from her eyes as she hiccups so hard she can no longer hold her bladder. Curling over her lap, she continues to cry as she relieves her bladder. The part of me I thought was long dead, wants to reach over and soothe her more than I’ve ever wanted to comfort anyone in my life. “I’m sorry.”
“You were not an easy woman to find, Jenna. And I’ve been looking real hard,” I say, kneeling down on the mat in front of her. Reaching to her side, I get her a wad of toilet paper and push it into her hands. “To simplify things, let’s call it an even two months you’ve been gone, plus you still don’t have the original ten thousand. Correct?”
“I’m not a whore,” she growls out. I can’t help but smile, she’s crying and scared; humiliated because of the position I, physically, put her in, but this woman has a fucking spine. “I told you why I stole the money…”
“Oh, baby, if you had just told me the day we met, this would have played out so fucking differently,” I say, standing her up and fastening her jeans. “There are consequences for all of our actions. Now, I want Doc to make sure your precious skin is taken care of and you won’t have a scar. Then, we’ll get to working out the rest of our arrangement.”
I nudge her to the sink, my front pressed against her back as I turn on the water. Getting a pump of the soap, I intertwine my fingers in hers and dip my chin down along the curve of her neck to nuzzle her while watching the water run over our hands. “Mmm, you still smell like lilacs. Got you a body wash I think you’ll like.”
Jenna’s eyes snap open as I’m reaching for a towel.
“Looking forward to washing more than your hands.” I try to hold a stern expression on my face as she studies me.
“I know you’re angry, but will you stop tormenting me and just tell me what you’re planning? Can we try to come to an agreement for me to…”
“Come on, Doc’s waiting on us.” I cut her off and tug her back out to the living room, tossing the towel over her shoulder.
Wolfman’s sitting on the ottoman and calls out to Doc when he sees us. His eyes widen after studying Jenna for a few moments. “Wasn’t she Arabia’s friend?”
I shoot him a shut-the-fuck-up look as Doc gets to work on Jenna’s face again. Jenna’s eyes flicker between Wolfman and me, but I just raise an eyebrow and her lips press together to form a solid line.
Shit, I’d nearly forgotten she was friendly with Arabia and don’t look forward to having that conversation with her. Another fucking loose-end I’ve got flapping in the wind, and that pisses the hell out of me. That’s when it clicks with me what she said about the boy’s father.
“Not much gravel in there,” Doc says, looking at me. “I’ll drop some ointments off tomorrow but I’m sure she’ll heal up fine. If it’s overly red or itchy a couple days from now, that’ll mean it has an infection brewing and you’ll need to get me back here.”
“Thank you,” Jenna whispers, looking up at Doc.
“You stay outta trouble, you hear me?” he answers, barely stopping himself from smiling at her.
“Get that van back to the clubhouse now,” I tell him, stopping them from getting friendly.
Chapter 5
Declan
Once the three of them head out, Jenna quietly stares at me as she waits for me to say something. I let out a sigh, wondering if I should just get to the fun part or dig for more information on her past.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” she says after another few minutes pass by.
“Arabia and you were friends, right?” I confirm and her eyes widen as she nods her head. “Did you reach out to her after you ran?”
“No! I didn’t. Please don’t be mad at her, I’m the only one responsible and I left without saying a word to her. I swear it.” Jenna’s words trip over themselves and I can see the possibility of someone else being blamed for her actions never crossed her mind.
“I didn’t lay a hand on her for what you did.”
“You know, you really shouldn’t leave the safe open when there’s that kind of money in there,” Jenna huffs out, like I don’t fucking know that. Her eyes dart down to where my hands have curled into fists.
“This step-father of yours, what did you say his name was?”
“Clive Bradley,” she whispers and I can see her distaste for the man.
“Why do you think he’s still after you; how long has it been? There’s nothing about a missing child in any of the news accounts about you.”
“Because, he sent men after me the day I took Justin. They’re the ones that killed my Grandmother and set the house on fire. About seven months after that, I saw one of the men from that night outside the dance studio I taught at. I called in sick for a couple days afterwards, then there was a break-in and the place was trashed. Once that happened, I took Justin and ran again.
“About a year after that, the pharmacist that was selling me Justin’s inhalers on the side, told me some body-guard type guys came in showing a picture of Justin and asking if he looked familiar. They said it was a child custody case they were investigating.” Jenna’s voice is starting to fade out so I go to grab her a bottle of water.
“Thank you,” she says, smiling at me briefly. “It was a small town and the man’s wife babysat for me when there was a problem with daycare, so they, thankfully, decided to give me a heads-up rather than talk to the men Clive sent.”
“What was your dad like?”
“He was a good man.” Jenna’s face softens for a second and a sad smile pulls on her lips. “He was a cop; I was six when he died. I just remember his laugh more than anything.”
“In the line of duty?”
“No, he was driving home from a shift and a drunk driver hit him. His parents took us in for a while, the Grandmother I mentioned to you, but mom wasn’t ever very close with them.”
“So, how did your mom go from a cop to a guy who shoots porn and has thugs at his disposal?” I ask her next.
“I don’t know. After dad died, my Grandda got me in to all these activities but I really fell in love with dance and I was noticed in a local performance a few years later. After that, I was offered a scholarship to one of the top dance academies in the country. Mom had started a craft store and couldn’t move so I lived with a sponsor family. Their daughter was a few years ahead of me. From ten to eighteen, that became my life. I was absolutely focused on getting into Julliard when I graduated. Mom would fly me home once a year and all I would do was practice until I could go back.”
“She threw you away and got on with her life, huh?” I grunt and Jenna looks furious, trying to pull her wrists apart again.
“No! We talked all the time and she made one surprise trip each year and always made the big show. At least, until the last few years before her death. They decided not to tell me about her cancer, and she would use Justin as the excuse about not being able to get away. When I went home that year, Clive had rented a beach house, and mom and I just spent all our time playing with Justin. Clive was back and forth for work, I never liked him so I didn’t care.”
“When you lived here, would you say you were close with anyone besides Arabia?” I ask next before looking around for my iPad. I don’t use it often so it’s still plugged in where I left it before my trip.
