Hidden Secrets (Satan's Prophets MC) (25 page)

The afternoon temperature was close to seventy degrees, with a few scattered clouds, which made for a pleasant ride. They rode out single file until they reached the ramp onto the highway.

“Hang on tight,” JD warned Jasmine before he shifted gears and sped off, with Mick by his side now. Jasmine was feeling fantastic. She loved riding on the back of JD’s bike, feeling the wind on her face and the vibrations of the loud pipes. She glanced over at Renee—who looked a little shaken up, but when Renee smiled back at her, she knew Renee would be fine.

Their ride took them through surrounding farmlands and Jaz scrunched her nose at the strong smell of manure that was spread out in the fields. The passing countryside was beautiful, with horses and cows outside in the fields eating their hay. They even spotted some deer that took flight when the bikes got closer. After close to two hours of steady riding, JD pulled up, in front of a little shop that had a sign in the window that read, Blue Moon Tattoo Shop.

Renee’s legs and butt were numb and Mick had to support her for a few seconds when she got off the bike. “You’ll get used to it soon enough, Renee,” Mick laughed. He turned her around and rubbed her backside with his hands.

“Mick, stop that.” Renee was embarrassed and hoped no one saw.

Jaz wasn’t in any better shape. “Want me to rub your delectable little butt, babe?” JD asked her, his voice low and deep.

“No thanks. I can manage that myself,” she smiled back at him.

“You wound me, darling.” JD clutched his heart and laughed back.

Inside the shop, the walls were covered with different drawings of tattoos. Jaz stood still as a statue, staring at the sketches. Her mother’s drawings were so much better, she thought sadly. JD walked over and hugged Jaz, wanting to give her some comfort. He knew being inside the tattoo shop was bringing back bitter-sweet memories.

“See any you like?” he asked Jasmine.

Thinking of Holly having no choice and where she had to get her tattoo, Jaz was serious when she looked up at JD, “I get to choose where it goes, right?”

“Sure, as long as it can be seen, babe. Not hidden under your pants or something.”

“What about you, JD? Any ideas on what you’re getting?”

“Yep,” he smirked at Jasmine. “I’m getting a dragon with fire shooting out of its mouth because that’s what you look like when you get jealous,” he teased.

By the time they were done getting their tats, Jasmine had a beautiful heart on her upper arm, with the initials, JD on a ribbon flowing across the center, and JD had his dragon on his lower arm.

Renee had her tattoo picked out by the time Jaz and JD came out of the back room. “Did it hurt, Jaz?” She wanted to know before she got one.

“Yeah. It did, Renee.”

That changed Renee’s mind. She decided she’d think about it some more. Besides, when she was ready for one, she hoped it would have Mick’s name on it.

When Mick announced he was hungry, JD said he knew of a little bar that served good food, also. It wasn’t very crowded when they walked in, just some locals having a bite to eat so they got served pretty fast. Jaz wanted to have a beer and asked for a shot of brandy, too. She didn’t want to complain about her sore arm and she hoped the brandy would ease her discomfort. Renee wasn’t much of a drinker, but she wanted to act cool in front of the guys so she decided to have the same as Jaz.

Neither JD nor Mick drank much alcohol because they had the girls on the back of their bikes. If they were riding solo, they would have pounded down a few shots and beers. Instead, they opted for a beer each.

Mick was looking around for the men’s room when he felt someone staring at him. He looked over and saw two men from Carlo’s gang sitting at a table, off to his side. He knew instantly who they were from seeing them at Nick’s shop. He also knew they would be followed when they left the bar. He caught JD’s eye and slightly nodded over to the table where they were sitting. JD followed his direction and caught on. Now the men had their heads turned away from them, trying to appear inconspicuous.

JD spoke to Jasmine and Renee. “Listen, when we leave here, we’re going to be followed. Keep looking at me and don’t let on that we know we’re being watched.”

“Who are they?” Jasmine wanted to know.

“Bad thugs, baby. Don’t worry, Mick and I can handle these guys. We aren’t going to let them anywhere near you girls.”

JD spoke quietly to Mick while Jaz and Renee sat still as statues, their faces pale. “When we pull out, you follow my lead. I’ll find us a spot to stop and make them think we’re camping out for the night.” He looked over at Jaz and Renee. “When we get there and stop, you girls run and hide in the woods. And stay there.” JD stressed out this last command. He looked over to Mick. “You carrying?”

“Always. I’ll be ready,” Mick replied in a tense voice.

“What do they want with us?” Jaz couldn’t help asking.

“It’s a long story, babe—one I’ll tell you when we get back. We got this, don’t worry. Just act normal.”

When the waitress came over they paid their bill, got up slowly and walked out to their bikes. Once they were all seated, JD and Mick roared out of there fast. They flew down the highway for the next ten miles or so, until JD turned on to a dirt road.

JD shouted to Jaz and Renee, “You girls run into the woods and stay there.” Jaz and Renee were petrified and hurriedly ran off, clinging onto each other.

A few minutes later, they heard a car coming down the road. They drew their guns and waited. As the car came closer, Mick gave a signal to JD affirming it was the thugs. JD fired one shot into the car’s front windshield and the car careened out of control and hit a tree.

When Jaz heard a shot fired, she came running out of the woods looking for JD. She screamed when she saw someone stick a gun out the window and aim it at them. JD slammed Jasmine to the ground and laid on top of her. Mick fired his gun and shot the guy in his head. JD rolled over and fired another shot into the guy behind the steering wheel who was frantically trying to back the car away from the tree. Mick ran over and finished the guy off with a shot to his neck.

JD was furious. “What the fuck did I tell you to do? You could have got us all killed with that crazy stunt.” He was so mad, he was shaking her violently by her shoulders. Jaz thought her head was going to snap off.

Mick grabbed JD’s arm and yelled, “Enough!” JD finally came to his senses. Mick went and found Renee who was crouched down behind a pile of rocks.

“Renee,” Mick yelled. “Get out here, we gotta move.” Renee was visibly shaken. She’d never been around gun fire before. Mick grabbed her hand and dragged her back over to JD and Jaz.

“What are we gonna do with the bodies?” Mick asked JD, who was already working out a plan.

JD walked over to his bike and got a pair of gloves and a rag out of his side bags. He twisted off his gas cap and dipped part of the rag into the gas tank.

     “I’ll drive the car down this dirt road a ways,” he said while pulling on his gloves. “There’s a steep embankment up ahead and these guys are gonna go over it.” JD opened the car door and pushed the dead driver over and got in. Luckily, the car could still be driven. He didn’t have too far to go until he spotted a good, steep place. JD put the car in neutral before getting out. He pulled his cigarette lighter out of his jeans pocket and lit the rag on fire, before tossing it onto the front seat. It wasn’t long before the seats caught on fire. He waited a few more minutes until the fire started blazing and then pushed the car down the embankment. The car was totally engulfed in flames when it smashed into the rocks below. Mick pulled up on his bike and gave JD a ride back to where the girls were waiting. Not saying another word, he motioned for Jasmine to get on his bike while Mick got Renee seated on his. Then they fired them up and took off.

When they got back to the motel, JD knew the time had come. He hated laying this shit on her now—after what she’d just been through—but she needed to know. Time was of the essence, especially if those thugs got a call out to Carlo about seeing Mick near Squire Hill. 

Mick knew JD was going to explain it all to Jaz and he was glad it was finally coming out. His expression was bleak as he nodded at JD, telling him without words to get it done. JD nodded back and took Jasmine inside.

Mick and Renee went to Lori’s room to tell her all that had happened. Lori wanted to rush over to comfort Jaz but Mick insisted she wait till JD was finished talking to her. Mick then went to his room and poured himself a water glass full of whiskey and settled down to wait for the shit storm that he knew was coming to his door soon.

“Jasmine, we need to talk. It’s pretty serious shit, babe. I want you to brace yourself.”

Jasmine couldn’t help herself. She had to chuckle out loud. “After what I just went through, believe me, nothing is serious anymore.”

She saw JD had a grim look on his face when he told her to sit down. He poured two shots of Jack Daniels and handed one to her. “First drink this down.”

Now Jaz was getting nervous. She gulped it down, choked a bit and handed the empty glass back to JD. “Just spit it out already.”

“Truthfully, I don’t know where to start.” He ran both hands over his face before sitting down next to her.

“Start at the beginning,” Jasmine coaxed, trying to get him talking.

JD grabbed ahold of her hand. He took a very deep breath and exhaled. “It’s about your dad, Jasmine. It wasn’t an accident like you think. He was murdered.”

Jasmine jumped up, “What are you talking about? Murdered? No, it was an accident.”

JD rose and pulled Jasmine into his strong arms. His voice was thick with emotion when he kept on talking.  “No, baby. He got mixed up with a drug ring and was stealing money from them. When they found out, they wanted to scare him into returning the money, but he ended up dead instead.” Jasmine tried to push away, but JD held her tight.

“It’s true, baby. Mick talked you into going to college to get you away and keep you safe. He was afraid something bad would happen and it did. Your dad didn’t plan on returning the money and he died because of it. Unfortunately, your mother happened to be with him that night.”

Jasmine couldn’t believe it—didn’t want to believe it! She was shaking her head no, trying to get loose from JD’s arms again. He wouldn’t let her go. When she started hitting him with her fists, he squeezed her tighter.

“I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry I have to tell you this.”

“How do you know this? It can’t be true.” Jasmine was crying and talking at the same time. “My step-dad was a little eccentric at times—with all his protests and stuff—but he would never do something so stupid. Nick never touched drugs. He hated them. All he ever did was preach to me over and over to never get mixed up with them. I can’t believe it.” Jasmine was shaking her head from side to side, refusing to believe what she was hearing. Her expression was pure bewilderment. “I won’t believe that. It had to be an accident—it just had to be. Please,” she was begging him now, “please tell me he didn’t get my mother murdered.” Jasmine’s body went limp against his chest.

JD’s heart was breaking for Jasmine. He wished he could take away her pain.

“Mick came clean. He told…..”

Jasmine cut him off mid-sentence. “Mick knew? All this time he knew and he didn’t tell me?” She choked out in little, collective gasps.

“He was protecting you. How do you think he ended up here in Fulton? He was searching for you, when you left school.”

Jasmine was getting hysterical so JD handed her the other shot. “Here, drink this one down and I’ll get you another.”

Jasmine slapped the glass out of his hand and tore out the door.

Mick opened his door with the first round of banging. He was expecting her. Jasmine barged past him and turned.

“You son of a bitch. You knew.” She slapped his face so hard, his head spun. “You knew and you didn’t tell me. I could have made him stop. He would have returned that money for me. My parents are dead because of you!” Jasmine was screaming, past the point of hysteria now.

JD knew he had to do something. He told Mick to go to his clubhouse and see Roach. “Tell him I need something to calm Jasmine down.” When she started to scream at Mick again, JD clipped her on the chin with his fist. She went out cold. He caught her as she was falling and carried her back to her room.

Mick returned just as Jasmine was coming around. He handed JD a baggie with white pills in it. JD dumped one into his hand and turned to Jasmine. “Here, take one of these.”

Shooting a pissed off look at JD and rubbing her chin, she turned her back to him, refusing to take one.

“Sorry, I had to hit you, babe. You were out of control.”

“I want to talk to Mick.”

Mick walked over slowly, keeping his eyes on Jasmine.

She leveled a hard, derisive stare back at him. “I have a feeling there’s more to this story. I want you to tell me everything and I want to hear it all. No sugar coating it, either.” She sat there, still as a statue, listening to every word he said.

“So because of Nick’s greed and stupidity, my mother is dead. My mother—who only wanted to make him happy and he got her killed for it. And now, I’m probably next to die.” Jasmine started shaking again.

JD picker her up and sat down, holding Jasmine on his lap. “No, baby—don’t even think it. They’ll have to go through me first.”

Mick walked over to where they sat. “And me too, Jaz.”

JD rubbed circles over Jasmine’s back. “And my club too, babe. We’re all gonna protect you. Those scumbags aren’t getting anywhere near you.”

Jasmine couldn’t stop shivering. She looked up at JD. “I want to learn to shoot a gun…if this gang comes here…oh, no!” She jumped off JD’s lap and turned to face him and Mick. “He’s here. One’s here already.”

JD stood up. “Calm down, babe. Now tell me nice and slow what you’re talking about.”

“Yesterday, before I went to The Den. He came in and wanted a room. He gave me the creeps. I knew there was something about him! He signed the register John Smith and he looked like a gangster.” Jasmine’s imagination was running away with her. “He was dressed in all black and his eyes were scanning the room, like he was getting ready to do something evil.”

“Was he by himself?” JD wanted to know.

“Yes, and he didn’t talk much either.”

“What room is he in?” JD asked, checking the rounds in his gun.

“I put him in room ten. I didn’t want him close to Lori and me.”

“Lock the door after us, babe and don’t open it, regardless what you hear. Got me?” Jasmine shook her head yes.

JD and Mick walked with their backs to the wall of the motel until they got to room number ten. Wanting to take him by surprise, JD kicked in the door and Mick followed with his gun drawn. A female scream rent the air and JD looked on in shock. Jasmine’s big, bad man was crawling on the floor, naked except for the collar around his neck. The woman was dressed in a black leather corset with her big breasts, bulging over the top. Her lower body was covered with tiny, black leather shorts. She also had on spike heeled, black leather boots, that went up over her thighs. In one hand, she held the leash connected to the man’s collar and her other hand held a whip, posed mid-air to strike.

JD was speechless. Not knowing what to say, he backed out of the door followed by Mick, who was laughing out loud.

“What the fuck!” JD looked at Mick, totally dumbstruck.

Jasmine stopped pacing when they returned. ”Well, did you get him?” 

“Kinda,” JD found his voice, now that the shock wore off.

“And? Did you see? Was I right?” Jasmine walked up to JD and hugged him tight, needing the security of his arms.

“He isn’t a threat to you, Jasmine. It was a little tryst he was here for. In fact, he’s probably packing up now to leave.”

“Good. I hope he never comes back here.” Just as Jasmine finished saying that, they heard a car start. Mick looked out the window to see it pulling away.

“Looks like he’s gone.” Mick was trying not to laugh again.

“I still want to learn to shoot a gun.”

“Here.” JD handed Jasmine a valium and a glass of water. This time she swallowed it.

“Come on, babe.” JD led Jasmine over to the couch and she laid down. “Don’t leave me,” she cried out as JD moved away.

“Not leaving you, just putting this glass on the table.” He grabbed a chair and pulled it next to the couch. ”I’m staying right here. Try to get some rest.”

Jasmine closed her eyes. It wasn’t too long before the valium did its job and she fell asleep.

Mick walked out of the motel in a very somber mood. Jaz blaming him for her parents’ deaths, really ripped him up inside. He heard a bike coming down the road and was surprised to see it was Drifter.

“I just came over to check on Lori. What’s up, Mick? You look like you just lost your best friend.”

“You can say that. JD just told Jaz the whole sordid tale about her step-dad. She’s blaming me for it all.”

“Damn, that’s a tough one to swallow. Let me go tell Lori I was by and then I’m heading over to the clubhouse. Why not come with me and hang for a while? It’ll get your mind off all this shit.” Drifter had no problem with Mick. He actually liked him.

Renee happened to walk out in time to hear Drifter invite Mick to the clubhouse. “Go with him, Mick. I’ll tell Lori you were here, Drifter. I’m staying the night and we’ll be fine. JD is here, too.”