Wicked Nights (15 page)

The interviewing officer looked up. “You’re also affiliated with a known gang, the Wicked Angels MC. That alone suggests to me that you need to be in maximum security.”

Mason licked his lips. “You can’t put me anywhere I haven’t been before.”

The man behind the desk narrowed his eyes. “Is this funny to you? You have no respect for the law. You have no respect for authority. I’m going to push for no bail. You’ll be awaiting your arraignment in maximum security. Go have a seat.”

Mason stood and went back to the waiting area. He sat and focused on the TV. Officers came and went with prisoners, leading them to their cell assignments. Maximum security normally went first, which confused him. They nearly emptied out the room twice without even acknowledging he existed.

“Mr Vaughn?” Officer Kelly waived him over. She held the bag they’d put his clothes in and handed it to him. “Go get changed. Your lawyer called the judge and explained the situation. You’re free to go.”

Mason grinned. “You almost look like you’re going to miss me.”

“No, I won’t.” She said it sternly, but her eyes gave her away. “Go get dressed and come back to the desk for your belongings.”

Mason left to change in the bathroom and handed the prison garb to the officer waiting for him. He glanced towards the interviewing officer, who looked completely dumbfounded.

“What’s his deal?”

Officer Nash laughed. “He doesn’t know you like we do.”

Mason stuffed his wallet in his pocket. “Do a strip search on him and take the stick out of his ass.”

Nash laughed and slapped him on the back. “Stay out of here, asshole.”

Mason saluted him and waved at Jenna and Rita before he left. Addison stood outside the entryway in the parking lot waiting for him. She looked nervous as hell and he couldn’t help wondering why.

“You okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“I called the judge. I told him about the bullshit charges, but I had to give up the Skulls for the crime.” She blew out a breath. “There wasn’t anything I could really do to prevent it. I’m sorry.”

He groaned. “That shit is going to blow back hard.”

“I know.” She walked with him towards his truck. “I had to tell them, though. Jesse knew about my house burning and there is evidence that someone reported motorcycles in my neighbourhood around the same night at the same time. Even if I didn’t press charges, the MCs in Tampa are a nuisance to the city and the prosecutor is going to go after someone. I don’t have proof, but I told the judge that I had reasonable suspicion that because I represented you that the Skulls could have retaliated.”

She climbed in the truck’s passenger seat and let Mason take the wheel. “I tried to figure out a way to fix it all, but I couldn’t. I’m sorry that I made this problem worse.”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

“We still need to talk about our argument.” She turned towards him. “You know Jesse tried to hurt me. Are you going to try to do something about that?”

Mason arched an eyebrow at her. “Are you asking me if I’m going to kill him?” She didn’t say anything, and he continued, “You heard what I said. If he so much as tries to come near you, forcing himself on you, I’ll beat the shit out of him.”

He started the truck and backed out of the parking spot, heading towards Addison’s office. Tampa traffic seemed to be extra heavy and he found himself sitting more than driving.

“What’s wrong, Addy?” he asked, glancing over at her.

She chuckled. “Here I am pissed off at you for killing someone and as soon as you get arrested, albeit falsely, I’m fighting tooth and nail to get you out of jail like you’re a sweet little lamb thrown into the lion’s den.” She rubbed her forehead. “That is seriously fucked up.”

Mason smiled and nodded. “We truly are the odd couple.”

He wound his way through town to E. Washington Street and pulled into the parking lot of Addison Pierce, Attorney-at-Law. He saw his boys already working on the place as he parked his truck next to Matty’s. Thankfully, nothing had really changed while he’d been gone. The boys had done some work, but they’d let Addison go to jail to pick him up unattended, which he’d have to fuss about later.

“What did you do about Officer Dickwad?”

Addison reached for her purse. “I spoke with his supervisor. He said he’d investigate his behaviour towards me.”

Mason glanced over at her. “So that means nothing?”

She dug in her purse for something. “No, I think it means something. I don’t think that he’s been doing his job properly. I think some people have made complaints and I plan to get a restraining order tomorrow.”

Mason kept his gaze on her. “What really happened between the two of you?”

She stared out the window. “It’s in the past. I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Too bad. Talk.”

She blew out a breath. “Promise you won’t kill him?”

He didn’t like the sound of that. “No. Talk.”

She shook her head. “I’m not representing you on a murder charge. I’m sticking to my guns about that. You’re on your own if something happens.”

He reached for her hand and realised that, through the joking, she shook. “I’m not going to kill him today. Why are you shaking?”

She faced him. “The no-killing thing goes to anyone and everyone you are affiliated with.”

He scoffed. “Yeah.”

“We first met in court. He was summoned for a case and he grew to like me. I don’t know why.” She leant back against the truck seat. “I didn’t like him, but I couldn’t get rid of him. He started stalking me. Everywhere I went, he trailed behind. It got to the point I couldn’t talk to my clients and I couldn’t represent them well because he would follow me to court. I talked with his supervisor and he forced Jesse to take a mandatory leave with a psych evaluation. Jesse didn’t necessarily get mad at me for it, but he didn’t like that I went over his head. He grabbed me and pushed me up against a wall. He felt me up. I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but he kept saying he wanted to be with me. He told me how I was perfect for him. I thought he was going to rape me or something, so I risked assaulting a police officer and shoved against him. I had red marks on my wrists from his hands and he turned and swung at me. I escaped the strike, and ran like hell away from him.”

Mason stared at her. “Why is he still on the force and still coming around you, then?”

“That was nearly three years ago. He took a mandatory leave of absence while they investigated. I don’t know what happened after that. He supposedly attended classes, passed his psych exam and is fit to serve as an officer.” She shrugged. “He hasn’t done anything for a while. I wasn’t scared of him until he had that blank look on his face like he didn’t understand what I was saying to him. It creeped me out.”

“You
need
to stay away from him.”

“I try, Mason. He just continues to pop up.” Addison reached for her purse. “It’s not like I seek him out.”

“Addison, don’t play this shit with me.” He opened the door to the truck. “I’m not joking. Stay away from him.”

She climbed out of the truck and followed him. “Mason, will you stop?”

He turned to face her. “What?”

She wrapped her arms around him, surprising him. He let her hold him a moment before returning the gesture. He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her lightly. When she finally pulled away, he wasn’t ready to let her go. He leant down and kissed her, enjoying her warmth and comfort.

“Uh, Mase?”

He pulled back and turned his head. Matty stood nearby with a phone. “For you.”

Mason kissed her one more time before moving towards Matty, taking the phone. “Yeah?”

“We got shit blowing back on us. Our buddy Marco was arrested and evidently Addison is to blame. Word is, they want her dead. They may have even enlisted several other rival MCs.”

“
Fuck
.” He walked towards Addison. “I’ll be at the club in a few minutes. Call everyone in.”

He hung up the phone and tossed it to Matty. “You need to get your ass to the clubhouse. We’re having a sit down.”

Matty nodded. “I figured as much.”

Mason urged Addison back to the truck and climbed in the driver’s seat. “Well, babe, that little mess you riled up is coming to get you now.”

She slumped against the seat. “Great.”

“You’re going to stay at the club until we can figure something out.”

He half expected her to protest. She didn’t. She knew how dangerous the Skulls were. He hoped she understood how dangerous McNally was too. He drove to the MC in East Tampa and parked the truck. Addison followed behind him, sighing when she saw Kinsey.

“Don’t say a word.” Mason held out his finger at Kinsey. “I mean it.”

She pursed her lips, annoyed. Addison made her way to the bar where Lila poured drinks. Mason strode into the side room and took his seat at the head of the table. The rest of the members filed in and took their seats around a monster of a wooden table.

Chuck closed the door and sat to Mason’s right. Mason licked his lips and leant forward. By way of greeting he said, “I don’t give a fuck what we gotta do. I want these bastards taken care once and for all.”

* * * *

Jesse saw Marco in the holding cell for central booking and didn’t miss the sneer. He’d heard all too plainly how his plan had backfired. Mason had got out of jail because Addison blamed Marco for the destruction of her property. The judge had cut him loose without a second thought and they were back at square one with Marco in jail. Jesse headed to the desk and glanced over the information he could find about the situation. If he just had something hard core against Mason aka Mr Perfect, then he could push harder at Addison to get her to see the true Mason.

He walked over to the cell where Marco sat, seemingly unaffected by his surroundings. Jesse cringed and motioned for the man to come towards him.

“That bitch set me up.”

Jesse nodded. “Yes, I heard.”

“So what the fuck are you doing here? Are you going to get me out?”

Jesse shook his head. “My hands are tied.”

Marco’s sneer turned to a complete snarl as the man stared at Jesse with absolute abhorrence. Things hadn’t gone as planned, but Jesse didn’t think that sacrificing the Skulls instead of himself was that big of a deal. Marco was behind bars. Less gang activity on the street. He was doing his job as police officer in the wonderful state of Florida.

“Look, if it is any consolation, I have my own plan brewing. I’m going to need a day or two to get it in order, though. It will take out the entire problem with one move.”

Marco snickered. “You don’t really look like you’ve got the balls to do anything to anyone. My club was your scapegoat, so your pretty little ass wasn’t on the line. Now my fucking ass is in jail.”

Jesse frowned, raising his voice. “Your ass is in jail because you shot up an attorney’s office. Your ass is in jail because you deserve to be there. You deserve to be the one who takes the fall for the Skulls MC having ties to the horrible crimes happening in this city. You’re the president. The brains behind the operation, and you’re clearly lacking in that department.”

Marco’s pupils dilated. “Is that so?”

“Yes, that
is
so.” Jesse glanced around to see if any police officers were watching or listening to their conversation. “You live a life of crime and you have no concept of true justice. I want Mason taken down a notch, and if he gets thrown in jail with you then feel free to have at him. I’ll buy the popcorn and pay for the subscription to that event. There are guards around here who can set up your little meeting.”

Marco gripped the bars in front of him. “Why do you hate Mason so much?”

Jesse didn’t want to go into that with him. Mason had been a problem for him for a while. Ever since Addison had obviously showed more towards the biker than a friendly conversation, Jesse had known he had to intervene. He had to stop her from going in that direction.

“Ah, fuck. You want the girl.”

Jesse glanced away. “If my plan works, you get Mason and I get Addison. It’s win-win for us both.”

“Who said I needed your help to get Mason?”

“You don’t seem to be doing a good job of it on your own. Your club has had a few encounters with him, yes? But he still walks free while you’re behind bars. Doesn’t that piss you off?”

“It’s that bitch’s fault.”

“Well, she does have a fondness for saving the outlaws. Maybe you can learn something from this for the future. Instead of buying off cops to do your bidding, just go fuck a lawyer.”

“Is that your plan? To hide all the crazy going on in your messed-up mind? You want to fuck a lawyer to get her to what, convince the judge you’re not insane?”

Jesse stiffened. He didn’t like it when someone called him crazy. He’d already had to prove once that he was sane enough to conduct regular police duty and he wasn’t about to have this conversation with a criminal. Besides, Marco was no saint. The guy was as batshit crazy as the next person. Ironically, it made them good partners.

“I’m going to start working on what I need to do. In the meantime, lie low and wait. Mason will fuck up sooner or later and I’ll be there to arrest him and bring him in.”

He left the jail, pulling his sunglasses on over his eyes. He thought about driving by Addison’s office to see if she and her thugs were still there working on the damage the shooting had caused. Instead, he decided to go home. Now more than ever he didn’t need to scare her off with his concern. He desired to win her over by being at the right place at the right time.

Chapter Eight

“You look like shit.” Lila grabbed a beer and slid it down the bar to Addison.

“Yeah, well, a whole MC wants me dead.” She took the drink. “I’m allowed.”

“Yeah, I heard about that.” Lila leaned against the bar.

Drinking the cool liquid, Addison cringed. She wasn’t a beer drinker. She sipped from the bottle and wondered why Lila held back on the good stuff since she clearly needed to drown her sorrows. She glanced around the place, wondering how long she would have to stay there and if she’d survive that too. The girls started filing in and Addison turned her attention back to Lila. She didn’t feel comfortable for more reasons than one.