Falling For Crazy (Moroad Motorcycle Club) (3 page)

The cold drink stuck in his chest. He set the bottle on the counter and coughed. Hell, he needed a smoke and not a legal one. He'd waited all fucking day for Amy to wake up. Paced the living room, drank some beer, and talked to himself, until he finally admitted he had no fucking clue how to handle Amy being in Federal and called Cam to help. He couldn't keep her here. She needed to go back home or somewhere safe.

Amy walked out into the living room. He glanced at her, relieved she'd put on the clothes Katie had gathered together and dropped off earlier for her.

He took in her pale skin covered in small, faint freckles. Her breasts, ones he couldn't get the image of out of his head, hung loose, free, tempting.

"You're skinny," he said.

In jeans that hung low on her hips and an off the shoulder shirt, she barely filled out Katie's clothes— the only Moroad woman skinny enough to give Amy hand-me-downs. He inhaled, becoming more agitated.

Amy crossed her arms. "I've never been very big."

"Well, you sure in the hell were bigger than that. You look sick." Jacko grabbed his vest off the couch and shoved his arms through the holes.

"Why are you yelling at me?" Amy walked over and leaned her hip against the back of the couch.

Anger flowed out of him, refusing to stay hidden. "I need to get you out of here."

"But, I came to talk—"

"Talk?" He reached into his pocket and took out a cigarette. "You weren't supposed to fucking see me ever again. I put you in a house to keep your ass away from me, from Federal, and from Moroad."

"I understand all that, but you—"

"No." He lit the cigarette, even though there was a no-smoking rule in the apartment building, and walked over and opened the screen-less window overlooking the street. Blowing out the smoke, he continued. "Every minute you're here, you risk your life. Do you want the same thing to happen to you as it did your—"

"That's what I need to tell you." Her voice shook with anger. "Do you think I came here because I missed you or I got a wild hair to leave my job and live like a homeless person?"

"I don't care why you came." He sucked hard on the cigarette, needing to know if Los Li had found her. "Who was the man chasing you before I pulled you away from the river?"

She shrugged and shook her head. "I was telling the truth. He's a nobody. His name's Nathan Plusho if you really need to know. He lives out on River Road. He works graveyard at the mine. Lucky for me, he carpools with another guy and often forgets to lock his car. I found out who he was when I went through his glove box and read his registration for his vehicle. Last night, for some reason, he came back early and caught me inside his car."

"That answered one question, except why the fuck would you be in a stranger's car in Federal when I told you never to come back?" He walked over to the sink, stuck his smoke under the faucet, and tossed the butt in the garbage.

She sat down on the edge of the couch. "I need your help."

"Jesus Christ. That's why I gave you a phone when you were delivered to Montana." He pulled the chain at his hip and reached into his wallet. "Take this. I'll get you more cash once I talk with Cam and can get more out of my account with the club."

She stared at his handful of cash. "Jacko, you need to listen and stop interrupting me."

"No, I need you out of here." He picked up her hand and placed the money in her grasp. "The threats against the club never go away. Blues, Reds, Los Li, they're all quiet right now. That doesn't mean they're not working on something or—"

"Jacko, please, you need to listen to me?" she said.

He rocked back on his heels. Tension tightened the muscles in his back. He held his hand up, fingers twitching, fighting to make a fist. He couldn't handle any more information.

Los Li already took everything from him. He wasn't going to let them win. His throat spasmed, and he chuckled to keep breathing. He continued to laugh, pacing the room. They wouldn't get Amy too.

"Jacko?"

He moaned loud, bounced on his feet, and ignored her. Her curiosity, confusion, and unspoken questions filled the room. He bobbed his head, stopping the wave of fog invading his head. Three, two, one. One, two, three.

He needed to stay alert.

He needed to stay out of prison.

He needed to go after Flores.

He needed Amy gone.

Somewhere far away where she could rebuild her life.

He raised his arm, aimed his elbow back, and swung, punching the air.

"What is wrong with you?" said Amy.

He shook his head. There was fucking nothing wrong with him, except he'd pretended for too long. Everyone questioned his sanity. Fuck, he questioned his stability. He'd saved his ass many times blocking everyone out, letting himself go off in his mind until he could hear the screams, could see the blood, could feel the hearts stop.

The door swung open. Cam stepped into the room, followed by Stache, his MC brother. Jacko threw his hands up in the air and grinned. His club arrived. He no longer shouldered the responsibility of taking care of another person. One of the Moroad members could take Amy away, and he could head out and look for Flores to put a stop to Los Li coming after her.

"What's going on?" Cam gazed back and forth between Amy and Jacko.

Jacko walked over and jumped onto the counter and sat far away from her. "Cam...Amy."

"That doesn't tell me shit," Cam muttered.

"Sarah's Amy."

Cam's expression never changed. "I'll need more."

"
My
Sarah's sister."

Stache walked across the room interested in the conversation and remaining quiet while he leaned against the wall and waited. Cam nodded understanding the situation. Jacko kicked his boot heel against the cabinet underneath him.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

And again, one, two, three.

Each one of them in the room, minus Amy, understood what he wasn't saying. He'd spent the last five years inside the prison going after those who'd dirtied their hands by their involvement with Sarah's abduction. The first two years, he'd barely survived. He'd taken Sarah's loss and risked his life any chance he could to keep reality away.

Amy walked over to Jacko and whispered, "I'll go in your bedroom until you're finished with business."

"My business involves getting you out of here, so you'll stay and listen." Jacko hopped down off the counter and faced Cam. "I need someone to take her back to Montana."

Cam nodded. "I'll call Bear."

"As soon as possible." Jacko ran his fingers through his goatee. "Give her a month of my wages and—"

"They burnt my house down," Amy blurted.

Her gasp for breath filled the room. Jacko tilted his head, absorbing the information. Far as he knew, she'd never came into contact with any Reds member or Los Li. He'd kept her safe.

"The house I set you up in is gone?" he asked.

She nodded. "They burned me out when I was sleeping.

He took two steps toward her and stopped. "Did you talk to anyone?"

She shook her head. "Only the police. The neighbor saw the fire first and called 911. They believe it was arson. The fire started in the mudroom at the back of the house. They're investigating. I-I told them I'd be at the Haugen Hotel."

"Why are you here then?" He crossed his arms to keep from shaking her.

"The first night at the hotel, I was delivered a message." Amy shivered. "That's what I've been trying to tell you."

"What message?"

"I can show you. I kept the paper after the desk clerk delivered it to my room." She stood straighter and looked around the room. "Where are my jeans?"

Jacko stalked over to the cabinet under the sink, opened the door, and pulled out her dirty clothes she'd changed out of earlier.

"You threw away my only clothes?"

Jacko returned to her and thrust the pants in her hands. "They stink."

Her cheeks flushed, and she dropped her gaze to the jeans. He rocked side to side. A pang of regret kept him moving. The first thing he'd noticed on Sarah was the way she blushed. Fuck, he used to love to tease her and get her riled only to make her blush.

"Here." Amy handed over a well-worn folded paper.

He opened up the note and read.

Let's see if you'll work harder for us than your sister, God rest her soul.

The back of his head throbbed, and his top lip twitched in an erratic spasm. He crumbled the note.

"Los Li?" Cam asked.

Jacko nodded and cleared his throat, buying him a few seconds to grasp the magnitude of what he'd brought to Amy's doorstep. "They're aiming to have Amy replace Sarah in Mexico."

Amy sucked in her breath and held her reaction close. He studied her carefully. The others were blind to the fear he witnessed in her eyes. That fear pushed him into action.

"I need to get her out of here. I've been out of prison for almost ten months. I imagine both Reds and Los Li knows where to find me. I haven't made my location a secret and everyone involved knows I've committed the crimes and red-flagged them to come after me." Jacko stayed close to Amy.

Her gaze bounced from Cam to him. She never asked to have her life interrupted, her sister taken away, and put into danger. Because of her connection with him, she had no choice.

"Are you going to take her out of Federal?" Stache ran his finger down the long length of his mustache. "You'll have more protection if you stay near the club."

Amy stepped closer to him. He wanted to assure her nothing would happen, but he'd already failed to protect her sister.

"I'm not letting her out of my sight, and I can't keep her here. She's damn lucky to have made it to Federal without them catching her." Jacko glanced at the windows, wanting to get her somewhere safe. "They'll know to look for you at the apartment, and there's no way in hell I can find another place to rent with my record."

"I've got a place." Cam pulled out his phone and tapped the screen. "I bought the motel outside of town."

"What the fuck?" Stache whistled under his breath. "When?"

"Last month. I don't need all you assholes hanging around the house twenty-four/seven. Christina needs a home. A real home without catering to Moroad. I let the club's attorney buy it under a fake business name. The motel needs lots of work and half the rooms have a ceiling that leaks when it rains, but it'll do." Cam slid his phone into his back pocket. "I texted Johnson and Bear. I'll meet with them and tell them to move into the motel tonight. They've been shacking up with Rich and Lola to keep a roof over their heads. That'll give you extra security."

"Are you sure the motel sits out of the way of the sheriff's regular patrol route?" Jacko patted his pocket for his pack of smokes. "It's only a half mile out of town on the River Road."

"We won't have any problems with the sheriff or Bantorus MC. If we do, leave it to me. Pick the best room that isn't going to cave in on you, and I'll get the supplies you'll need. I planned on cleaning the place up and making enough repairs the members released from prison have a place to go when they're free, and now we'll step up those plans. When you pull into the motel, there's a walkway between the two buildings that leads to an area big enough to hold meetings and it's backed by the Bitterroot Mountains. Park your bike behind the building, watch your back, and you'll buy yourself some time until you come up with a plan to get rid of the threat." Cam walked to the door.

Jacko lifted his chin at Stache. "Bro, hang around for a few and give us an escort after I talk to Amy?"

Stache slapped his shoulder. "I'll be outside, man."

The door shut. He walked over and grabbed his duffel bag. He'd prefer to take Amy farther away than outside the town's border.

"I've gone past the motel on my rides. It's a dump." Jacko took in Amy's set jaw and silence. "Until I can figure out what to do with you, you're going to have to rough it."

"I've been living in strangers' cars with only the clothes I had on, bathed in freezing river water, and lined up on a sidewalk every day with other homeless people to receive the free peanut butter sandwich and a carton of milk. I don't care what shape the motel is in as long as...
I'm not alone.
" Her voice grew quiet until she only mouthed the words.

He tossed a shirt in the duffel bag, realizing her attitude came from fear. She was scared shitless, and she had a right to be afraid.

He understood being alone and solitary confinement. He'd experienced the punishment more than once in his life, locked away, talking to himself to keep from going insane, then feeling like he'd lost his mind. He came out of solitary uncomfortable around others, not knowing who to trust, wondering if life would be better if he stopped and simply forgot.

"I'll take care of you, Momma," he whispered.

She nodded and glanced away. He zipped up the bag, held out his hand, and walked her to the door. He'd do whatever needed to be done to give her back the life she deserved and maybe then, she could move on without her sister by her side, and figure out how to live a happy life.

T
he motel consisted of two buildings. Seven dilapidated rooms parallel to the road and another eight rooms down the side of the property. The whole complex formed the letter L with a walkway in between. Amy followed Jacko through the door of the last room farthest from the road and in the corner where the two buildings met.

The musty scent of mold hit her nostrils. She opened her mouth to breath and then clamped her lips shut afraid of airborne toxins.

"It'll do." Jacko threw his duffel bag in the corner and reached for her plastic sack containing the extra set of clothes Katie gave her.

She stepped over to the double bed. "Which room are you staying in?"

"This one."

While glad he allowed her to stay with him; she assumed he'd take one of the other motel rooms. She glanced at the bare mattress. Stains decorated the floral print material, and it wasn't hard to figure out the tang of mold permeating the room came from the bed.

"Cam will bring us some blankets." Jacko hooked the edge of the yellowed curtain— probably originally white when new— with his finger and peeked out the window. "Here comes Bear and Johnson."