Jack (3 page)

3

Viki sat at the table in Mrs.’s house with a pack of frozen peas pressed to her cheek.  She hated being hit and she had suffered the humiliation too many times to count.  She didn’t have time for this.  She needed to get groceries before she went home or there wouldn’t be dinner.  She only had an hour to get home and that meant no time to stop for groceries and she didn’t have enough money for takeout. 

“That little bastard!”  Mrs. raged as she paced the kitchen.  “Jack better make it clear that you are off limits or those boys will have it out for you in a big way.  Jack made them look like boys and they won’t forget it.  You watch your back with them.”

“He was just trying to be nice I guess.”  Viki didn’t understand it either.

“You fuckin’ him?”  Mrs. asked straight out.

“Is who fuckin’ who?”  Angel walked into the kitchen.  Angel was Mrs.’s daughter with the President of the club, Preacherman and Angel loved gossip almost as much as she loved her old man, Ink. 

“Viki and Jack.  Where are the kids, sweetie?”  Mrs. said as she hugged her daughter and kissed her cheek.

“Cat and Noah wanted to play outside and Lily is sleeping in her seat, thank God.  So why are we talking about who is fucking the clubhouse mouse, isn’t everyone?”  She blew a strand of dark hair out of her face.  “I mean that is their purpose right?”

“Are you?”  Mrs. said with a straight face.

Angel rolled her eyes.

“I thought not.  Neither is Lambhead or the new recruits, apparently and no, that was not the original purpose.”  Mrs. said as she sat a cool glass of soda in front of Viki.  “And Viki is no longer a mouse.”

Angel raised a brow.  “So what is going on?  I haven’t gotten much sleep lately you know.”  Angel grumbled as she pulled something out of the refrigerator and started making a sandwich.

“Yes Angel.  Motherhood is hard.  How is Ink?”

“Ink is fine.  All healed and back to normal.  Noah has settled in and we are finally settling into life I think, but that’s usually when the bottom falls out from under me so I guess I’m a little jumpy still.”

“Nobody can fault you for that.  You go ahead and eat and then go up and take a little nap while sweet pea is sleeping.  I can watch them for a few hours while you catch up.  Viki and I need to have a talk anyway and she can stay and help out.”

Viki shook her head even though no one had actually asked her opinion.  She couldn’t stay a few hours.

Angel took her sandwich and left the room, but her presence had served to put Viki in her place.  She was invisible.

“Now then hon, I’m sorry about that, she’s bitchy when she’s sleepy and it was just better that way.”  Mrs. got up and started moving around making something on the stove. “It looks like this new crew of boys is less than we have expected in the past.  It’s getting harder to find good men to fill the ranks.”  Viki nodded.  She wasn’t sure what to say.

“Honey, I know there’s something going on with you.  Any woman willing to put up with this shit for this pay is in a hard spot.  Now I don’t know if I could help with it or not and I’m not even sure I want to know right now, but I need to be able to depend on you.  I also know that there is a little boy that depends on you and I know you don’t want that to be part of what you do here, but I want you to know that he would be safe here if you ever decide to bring him around.  Nobody would dream of hurting him.”

“Bobby is special…”  Viki tried to explain, but Mrs. cut her off.

“I know that too.  You can trust me and you can count on me.  If you need anything you give me a call and I mean that.”

Viki felt her eyes well up so she only nodded.  Aside from her neighbor Viki didn’t have another soul in the world that would even think to help her in any way.  Of course she would never ask, but it was nice to know she had an option. 

“I want to talk to Jack and Rena, but I think I can find a way for you to use your head more than your pussy to make some money. 

Viki’s pulse raced.   She needed the money she made from this job.

Mrs. frowned over her expression.

“Oh honey.  Is it really that bad?  I’m offering a clean life and you look like I just put a gun to your head.”

Viki tried to wipe the fear from her eyes, but they teared up.  She was mortified as she watched the drops puddle on the table.

Mrs. was quiet.  She stood and walked back to the stove and continued cooking.  Viki let her tears fall.  She hadn’t cried in almost two years and now she couldn’t stop.

In a few minutes Mrs. slid a plate in front of her and handed her a tissue.

“Feel better now?”

Viki nodded.

Two kids that looked to be about the same age ran into the room.

“We’re hungry Grandma.”  The little girl said as she gave Mrs. a big hug.

Viki knew the girl, had helped watch after her when her father, Ink was in the hospital after an accident.  She wondered if the child would remember her.

“Hi Miss Viki.”

Viki smiled.  “Hi Cat.”

“This is my new big brother, Noah.  He’s got a different mama and my mama says she is fine with that ‘cause havin’ babies is no fun and she would rather have him all big like he is.  She said if my daddy ever even thought about putting another baby in her belly she would take him to the vet and have him fixed just like she did the dog.”

Viki tried and failed to keep a straight face.  She looked up to find Mrs. fighting the same battle.

“Nice to meet you Noah.  You look like your daddy.”  Viki said to the boy.

“Nice to meet you Miss Viki.  Everybody says that.”  The boy grinned at her with the same smile his daddy had when he let himself smile.  He was a beautiful child.

A baby cried in the next room and Mrs. let out a huff.

“Viki, would you mind getting Lily?  I need to get this done and I can’t do it holding a baby.”

“Yes, ma’am.  If you think it will be alright with Angel.”

“Oh hell honey, as long as she gets a little sleep she doesn’t care too much, besides, you’re a good girl.  You helped out before and everything went well.”  She narrowed her eyes at Viki.  “Maybe too good, but we’ll see if we can’t fix that.”  Mrs. winked causing Viki to laugh.

“I don’t think I will ever qualify as being good ever again.”

“Who the hell cares honey, just as long as you can live with yourself and you can find a reason to smile?”  Mrs. said turning back to the stove as if that settled everything.

4

Jack was restless.  Nothing he did seemed to turn out right anymore.  He had taken over the bar from Rider years ago and he liked it.  He even still slung drinks on occasion too.  He like the feel of the bar, the smoke, the dimness of the lights and yeah, the girls weren’t bad either.  He mostly liked the way the place felt in the early morning hours just after everyone was gone.  Sure it smelled and was usually trashed, but there was something strangely comforting about those twilight hours.  The whole place seemed to take a deep breath as soon as the doors closed for the night.  Yeah Jack liked that time best of all.

He had become Rena’s handler too after she almost lost her shit over Choo-Choo.  That was less fun.  That woman always seemed to have a bee up her ass about something and now it fell to Jack to keep her from causing trouble, but she was a person and she had a soft side too.  Jack had seen it a couple of times when she’d talk to the new girls.  She was tough as hell and demanded the girls follow certain rules, but she made sure they knew that most of those rules were for their own good and kept them safe.  She also made sure that the girls knew they were still women and not just pets for the boys.

That was something Jack respected very much.  He had heard one of the girls crying one night about how some hang around had treated her and he’d listened to Rena soothe the girl before he’d gone and kicked the shit out of the little prick. 
Jack blew out a breath.  He felt responsible for the girls in a twisted sort of way.  He wanted them to be safe in his place and it pissed him off that they weren’t always.  It made him feel inadequate and he hated that feeling more than anything in life.

In a way he and Rena shared an odd partnership.  They both knew it, but had never talked about it.  He was her boss and she answered to him, but he relied on her too.  God help him, he did.

Jack wanted to laugh.  That woman had gone nuts when she’d seen Choo-Choo with Josie that first morning.  If that bastard Eddie hadn’t taken her, Jack wasn’t sure Rena wouldn’t have killed her.

Choo-Choo hadn’t even noticed and hadn’t cared.

Jack shook his head.  They were all bastards.  Once they found something they wanted, what they had been using wasn’t worth a thought.  Not even common curtesy mattered, human decency.  No, when a brother found his old lady he didn’t see anyone else and he didn’t give a shit what an ex felt.

Rena was one scary woman.  Most men wanted a girl they could control in the bedroom, but Rena was always in control.  The brothers didn’t know what to do with her, but a few liked what she offered.  They liked a woman who knew what she wanted and showed no fear.

Rena still hated Josie, but Josie didn’t seem so pay her any mind at all, which made Rena angrier, but she didn’t dare cross the line.  Rena had a nice life here and she wouldn’t throw that away over jealousy.  She would shake her ass for Choo-Choo every chance she got, but he didn’t even look at her anymore, never had really.

Why the fuck did people go after what they couldn’t have?

His door opened and he looked up.  He welcomed the distraction.  Something was off in the books and he needed to clear his head to find it.

Gator walked in and plopped down in the chair across the desk.

“Who you got coming in early today?”

Jack felt his eyebrows shoot up.  Gator rarely showed interest in the club girls.  He preferred to find a fuck at a bar or somewhere less complicated.  Not to mention, it was early, even for Gator.

“Naughty is due in around ten.  She is usually a little early.  Wanted to work on a new routine.”

Gator seemed to consider it.  “Who else?”

“Nobody comes in this early.  Naughty likes the quiet and the extra money she gets from helping restock some shit.”

“What she need the money for?”  Gator’s eyes narrowed.

Jack shrugged.  Spec took care of making sure the girls weren’t into anything, but they had a right to their personal lives.

Jack heard the back door open downstairs and Naughty’s voice humming as she closed and locked the door behind her.  The muscle worked in Gator’s jaw, but he stood and stomped down the stairs.  Jack was surprised when Naughty walked in smiling a few minutes later.  Her dark brown hair tied up on her head in a messy wad.  She wore a pink t shirt and a pair of old jeans with sneakers.  She looked nothing like the stripper she was.  She looked like Tiffany, just a regular woman.

“What needs doing today boss?”

Her grin was open and happy.  Jack had seen her that way a few times, always in the mornings and always when it was just the two of them.  She seemed to feel safe with him and he liked that.  She was haunted and carried shadows in her eyes, but she could pass for normal this morning, if you didn’t look too close.

“Gator was looking for you.”  He said without thought and watched her smile vanish and her eyes go cold.

“I saw him.  He just walked by me without a word.  Guess he changed his mind.”  She shrugged.

“Guess he did.  Nothing much to do here but restock the bar.  Might get busy tonight.  Make sure beer is ready and plentiful.  You go on at eleven tonight, but you can come in whenever you want to.”

She nodded.

“Something going on with you and Gator that I should know about?”

Naughty sent him a wink over her shoulder.  “Not one little thing sugar.”

Lie.  These girls were impossible to read, but he was pretty sure that was a lie.

He went back to looking over the books.  The numbers just didn’t add up.  The check had been written for sixteen cases of beer, but only fourteen were in the inventory.  Maybe they had been taken to the clubhouse or something.  Someone should have written it down.  He hated things like that.

Jack picked up the phone and called over there.

He told the prospect to count the cases of beer, but there wasn’t any extra.  Something was definitely fishy.

He sent an email out to Spec to take a look and let Preach know something was off, but he couldn’t get his head on straight.  Maybe he should give Naughty a go himself.  It wouldn’t be the first time he had, but for some reason the club girls hadn’t turned him on like they once had.  They were all dead eyed like dolls.  He hated the look they got when the men touched them.  It made him sick.

He had given them that look too.  He had caused them damage as much as any other man.  Jazz’s face swam into his mind.  She had been beautiful, but she had lost her humanity long before she’d taken Jack to bed.

He heard shouting downstairs and decide to go check it out.  It was better than staring at these numbers anyway.

Jack got to the bottom of the stairs and saw Naughty facing off with Gator.  Viki stood beside her looking pale.

“What the fuck is going on here?”  Jack demanded.

“Gator thinks he can put his hands on her just because she had tits and a pussy.  She’s not club property.  No means no.”

“She works for the club, same as you.  You jealous or somethin’?”  Gator spat.

“Fuck you Gator.  She’s not your pet.  She isn’t even a mouse anymore.”  Naughty shouted.  “She’s a normal woman who doesn’t want to be pawed at.”

Jack had never seen her so angry.  She was almost vibrating with rage.

“I was just going to talk to her Tiff.  I wasn’t going to even touch her.”  Gator’s eyes narrowed.  “I don’t have to though do I?  I don’t have to say one fucking word because you just answered my questions with this bullshit didn’t you?”

“Viki, what the fuck are you doing here?”  Jack demanded.

“Mrs. asked me to come over and get a case of beer for the clubhouse.  Well, I volunteered since I was going to be coming by here anyway.  I didn’t think there would be a problem.”

“The club has beer, I just called and checked.”

Viki looked shocked.  “I looked before I left.  There was only one case in the back.”

“This is bullshit!  When I find out who’s fucking with me, I’m going to kill them.”  He stomped to the back and grabbed a case of beer and walked past Viki, ignoring Naughty and Gator all together.  Let them figure out their own shit.  Somebody was playing games with him and he was too pissed to make nice.

Viki hurried to catch up with him.  “What are you doing?”

“I’m taking this to your car.”

“I don’t need your help.”  She tugged on his sleeve.

“Tough shit.”  Jack spat.

“Well I certainly don’t need you to be an asshole.”  She said under her breath.

He turned on her.  He was tired.  He hadn’t slept well.  His books were fucked.  He sure as shit didn’t feel like standing out in the blazing morning sun arguing with this little mouse about his attitude while he tried to help her.

“What the fuck is your problem?”  His voice was harsher than he’d planned.

She looked like he’d slapped her.  “My problem?  I just don’t need to owe you anything!  Ok?  I know how you guys are.  I can take that and be on my way.  I’m not the club pet anymore.  I can’t afford to owe any more favors.”

Jack frowned.  “What the fuck does that mean?”

She actually rolled her eyes at him.

“I mean it.  What are you talking about?  You don’t owe me shit.  I’m carrying a case of beer to your car for Mrs.!  I would do the same for Naughty or Mace or any other woman around here.”

“Whatever.  Just give it to me and let me go.”

Jack felt rage building in his gut.

“What do you mean ‘whatever’?  I said tell me what the fuck you’re talking about.”

“You do me a ‘favor’ and I have to return it, right?  Then every little thing in life becomes a favor or a threat.  Well, no thanks.  I learned that lesson the hard way.  I would rather strap that to my back and crawl to the clubhouse than to ask you for help.”  Viki spat with more venom than he had ever seen come from her.  “You boys are all the same.”

He sat the case of beer on the roof of her car and shook his head.  He had a pretty good idea what she was talking about and it made him sick.  If she would just tell him who was hassling her he would make sure it stopped, but he could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t trust him.

“I don’t expect anything Viki.  I was just being nice.”

“Nice.”  She spat the word as if it tasted bad on her tongue.  “You people don’t know what that word means.  You only know how to use and take.”

Jack stepped back as Viki grabbed the case of beer and climbed into her car.  He watched her wipe her face and felt like a jackass.  Somebody was really screwing her over and for some reason his protective instincts roared to life.  He pulled his phone out and dialed Spec.

“I just got your email.  I’ve been watching things over there and I think I may know what’s going on with part of it, but the other is a mystery in a way.  Doesn’t make any sense.”

“Care to explain it?”

“We can talk about it in church.  Nothing you did and you caught it almost as quick as I did.  I was just going to check it over from another angle to make sure before I gave you a head’s up.”

“I’m glad you got it figures.   Hey I’m wondering if you could look into something for me.”

“I can, probably.”

“That mouse, Viki.  I think one of the new boys is hassling her or something.  Can you look into it and just see what’s going on, she was acting strange just now when she stopped by.”

“Yeah.  I’ll do that.  Might explain something too.”

“Appreciate it Spec.”

“Not a problem.”

Jack disconnected hoping that Spec would be able to give him some answers.

Just one more thing he couldn’t figure out.  One more thing to make him crazy.

He stalked back into the bar and slammed the door.  He didn’t see Naughty or Gator, but he heard voices coming from upstairs.  He made his way to his office and heard them more clearly.  They were obviously arguing, but it sounded like they were fucking at the same time.

Jack shook his head.  It was like he had fallen through a fucking rabbit hole or something and landed in some warped version of his life, but wasn’t that the fun part of living this life?  Wasn’t that what they were all looking for?  An escape from reality?

He pulled a beer from the mini fridge in his office.  Yeah it was only about ten in the morning but he didn’t care.  Who knew what was alright anyway?

He didn’t have a fucking clue anymore.

He wanted his seat at the table.  He wanted to be an officer.  Those were the only men who seemed to know what the hell this life was really about.

There had to be more than this.