Jase (13 page)

By the
time
the plane landed in Chicago, he was no closer to a solution, and grabbed his bag to catch a cab back to his apartment. He checked in with Daniel via text message, letting him know he arrived home safely. While unpacking, he found an unexpected box in his bag and laughed. His mother was always doing this kind of thing, slipping gifts into cars or suitcases and then claiming no knowledge of the item.

He opened the box and sat there for a minute, stunned. Inside were two items, and both were surprising. One was the missing picture from the family portrait hallway, a high school senior picture of his sister, laid flat in the box and wrapped lovingly with tissue paper. No note, no letter,
simply
an image
to keep safe. In his mind, the implication was he would keep her safe as well. He shook his head. God knew that was a tall order. The girl had been intent on self-destruction for as long as he could remember.

The second item was more puzzling. It was
new,
but looked exactly like the ball his mother had been using to play with the neighbor’s dog. She had a good time throwing it out and waiting for the dog to consent to bring it back. Again and again, she had waited tolerantly until the dog decided it was ready to approach her with the toy; she had been waiting
for
the dog to trust her, patient with faith it would come.

He sat on the couch in his living
room
and tossed the ball against the opposite wall, catching it on the return bounce. After a dozen times, he was no longer seeing the ball as he threw and caught it, his mind returning again to the puzzle that was DeeDee and what he needed to do if he wanted her.

***

The next
night, he showered after his run and dressed quickly, then climbed on the borrowed motorcycle and headed down to Jackson’s. Mason had told him as long as he rode the bike, he could park in the row closest to the building, in a spot
usually
reserved for Rebel members. This would ensure no one messed with Mason’s property, and Jase certainly didn’t mind the preferred parking space.

Straddling a stool at the bar, he raised an eyebrow at Merry. “Mason or Slate around?” He used the mirror to check behind him, making sure he hadn’t missed them when he came inside. Looking around, he noted Birdy’s absence, too.

“Nope,” she said, vigorously shaking a mixer then using a strainer to pour the liquid inside into a smaller glass with a couple ice cubes. “Haven’t seen Mason all day, but I think he was over at Tupelo’s earlier.” She referenced another bar in town that he owned, and Jase knew Slate had spent a lot of time over there in the past.

“Slate over there with him?” He picked up his beer and took a drink, seeing her put a draft on a tray along with the prepared glass.

“Nope,” she repeated herself, sliding the tray over to him and setting his beer on it as well. “Haven’t seen him in a couple of days. Daniel I’ve seen, though. He and Mica are in a booth to the left. Take them the drinks, then why
don’t you
hang there for a little bit. You’re
harshing
my mellow with all your questions,
young
man.”

“No tray needed,
lovely
.” He shook his head, leaning across the bar to loudly
kiss
her cheek before picking up the mugs, balancing the glass with his fingers. She laughed and pointed, then turned to walk down the bar, stopping to speak to
a beautiful
brunette near the end who looked familiar. Walking across the room, he saw a hand waving from a booth, rightly assuming it was his boss and the
cute
girlfriend. They had gotten back together the night of the party, and he had hardly seen Daniel without Mica at his side since.

He sat there with them for a couple hours, the two hockey players hashing and rehashing games, dissecting plays that worked and ones that didn’t. Mica had sat quietly for a time, an indulgent smile on her face as they talked circles around her. She finally spoke up, lifting her hands in a timeout signal. “Guys, as engrossing as this conversation is, I’m going to go sit and talk to Molly and Merry for a bit.” Leaning over, she kissed Daniel on the cheek. “Come find me when you’re ready to take me home.”

She picked up her glass and walked over to the bar, taking a seat next to the brunette who Jase now assumed was Molly. Looking closer, he realized why she looked familiar; there was a strong resemblance between the two women. “Her baby sister,” Daniel said, answering the unasked question.

“She up here for long?” He knew Mica was from Texas, so the sister was probably visiting.

“A few months,” Daniel said, shaking his head. “She’s pregnant, and Mica’s trying to settle her here so we can help out as needed. I think Mason’s offered her a job, so we’ll see where that
goes
.”

“Oh, man, that sucks,” Jase spoke sympathetically, thinking of his own sister. He had never wanted kids, so he made sure to wrap things up securely every time. No excuses, no surprises, no eighteen-year commitments.

The outside door opened and he looked up to see Mason walking in. He lifted a hand in a casual wave and Mason changed direction, heading towards their booth. Pulling up a chair, he sat at the end of the table, looking
between
the men with a muttered, “Hey.” Lifting three fingers over his head, he gave a piercing whistle and held the pose until Merry yelled across the room, “I see
ya
, old man. I got
ya
.”

“How was Red Deer?” Mason asked, surprising Jase with his knowledge.

“Good. Sad, but good. I got to see the parents and some family while I was there. I’ll be headed back in a couple weeks, but this was a good pre-visit visit for that part at least. How’d you know I was out of town?” He jumped when Merry appeared over his shoulder, noisily dropping three full beer mugs on the table and leaving without a word.

“Mica mentioned something,” Mason said, taking a sip and looking over at Daniel. “I heard J.J. was back in here this morning. He’s
sniffin’
around, man. He
knows
the situation with Molly?”

“Yeah, he knows. I’m not sure what he’s doing, but that man has been gone from the garage more in the past two weeks than he has been for years. Maybe ever, since his accident. Do you think she’s upset with his interest? I can talk to him if you think I need to.” Daniel’s brow furrowed. His older brother J.J. was a paraplegic, wheelchair-bound for years since he was injured in an accident at the trucking garage he still ran. In the years that Jase had known the man, he had never expressed interest in any woman, so for him to ditch work to come see one now was a big statement.

“Naw,” Mason drawled. “She’s not showing any favorites between him and the goalie; they’re both
sniffin’
around. She’s showing both of them her sweet side, but nothing more.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then Jase asked, “Slate around?”

“Nope,” came Mason’s response. “Had to send him to Fort Wayne on club business.
Whatcha
need, man?”

“How about Birdy?” he asked. “I’m determined to make that man like me.”

“Fuck that, man. He doesn’t like anyone I know of.” Mason stared at him, repeating, “
Whatcha
need?”

“Was going to ask Slate something about DeeDee. I’ll give him a call later; see if I can catch him.” Jase blew out an irritated breath. He was hoping to find out what DeeDee’s status with the club was without asking Mason. After going over every conversation with her in his
head
, some of the things she said made him uncomfortable. He hoped Slate might be willing to shed some light without judging him for asking in the first place.

“
Whatcha
want to know? I’ve known the woman since we were kids.” Mason offered this calmly, picking up his beer and taking a drink.

“Since you were kids? I thought you moved here when you were barely a teen. She’s originally from Chicago, then?” He was embarrassingly eager for any information about her, and nearly rolled his eyes at himself.

“Nope, she’s never lived here, just visited from time to time.
Whatcha
want to know?” This final repeat of the question had Mason’s mouth drawn tight.
He had given away personal information, probably more than he intended. That made Jase want to analyze their conversation, but he had an opening and wouldn’t waste it; he had to at least ask.

“At the party, I saw she was watched and escorted pretty
carefully
by your Rebels. I thought her old man was dead, so it kinda confused me. What’s she still doing hanging around the club if she doesn’t have anything holding her there anymore?”
Shit
that came out wrong
, he thought. “I mean, it’s not like she’s a hostage or
anything,
but is everything okay?”
Fuck, that’s no better. Remember, he’s known her all her life, apparently.
“What I meant to say was it seemed
odd,
like she didn’t have control over small things. She was even told how long she would be here and where to go. Why would you do that if she’s not in the club?”

“Jesus, Jase. You ask the oddest shit.” Mason shook his head with an amused expression. “You know about Winger, her old man.” This was a statement, not a question, but Jase nodded anyway. “He was a lifer. He lived as a Rebel, and dead or alive, we honor him by caring for his family. As long as she wants or needs to be associated with the club in any capacity, she has a place. That means we keep her safe. I asked her to come up for the party…
for
a lot of reasons. But, that party had the
potential
to be a cluster
with
so many people there. We had a bunch of different clubs with lots of tension about how some things are going down, changes I’m putting into place. With some of them, we have…
strained
relations. So, we watched out for
her;
that’s all. Kept her safe.” Mason brushed aside his false starts at questioning, answering the real one hidden in the mix. “We keep her safe.”

Jase nodded, then paused and shook his head. “I don’t get it.”

“Fuck. Okay, look at it this way. You have a family, right?” He waited for Jase’s nod. “You’d protect them against anything. It’s what we do as people. We come pre-programmed to protect the ones we love, right?” He waited for another nod before continuing, “Well, to us, she’s family—and we take care of
family
. Give them a place to stay, a reason to wake up in the morning, protection from potential harm, purpose in life—we take care of family, no matter what.” Tilting his head, he looked at Jase. “She decides it’s time to walk her own line, we’ll respect that, too. Give her space as needed, but she knows we’ll always be here if she needs us. She’s family.”

“No, Daniel, I’m only going for a couple of days. I’m planning to ride Mason’s bike down. Birdy recommended I get a taste for longer rides and see if I like road tripping. Slate’s already in Fort Wayne. I’m gonna hunt him up and show off my skills.” He laughed, dropping a shirt into his bag as he switched the phone to his other ear. “Motorcycle
ridin’
skills, I gots ‘em.”

Daniel snorted and said, “Okay, let me know if you need anything. You barely got back from a
two-week
trip to Alberta, make sure you’re not too tired when you head out.”

“Will do, Cap’n...or should I call you mom?” he joked, pausing for a minute to listen to the background noise coming
from
the phone. “What
the
hell is that racket?”

“Mica’s stressing over the wedding. When she stresses, she needs to work it out.” Away from the phone, Daniel yelled, “Beautiful, turn it down.”

There was a dramatic reduction in the volume, and Mica said in the background, “Sorry. I’ll finish vacuuming later.”

“Dude, it’s like midnight. What is she cleaning?”
Jase was laughing; he didn’t know why his friend felt the need to rush their wedding, but the man seemed determined to be hitched before the season started
. The truncated timeline
for the event gave them only a few more weeks to get things ironed out.

“Everything. It’s just stress, as I said. She’s gotta work it out. Hey, keep me updated with your location. I worry about you riding that bike. Don’t fuck up and get hurt, man.” Daniel had always been a worrier, but Jase laughed it off like he usually did, hanging up the phone.

The next
morning, he was up early and on his way, making the trip to Fort Wayne in about five hours. He found a restaurant on the north side of town and pulled
into
the parking lot
to
rest
, regroup, and feed his stomach, which had been
growling
for the last fifty miles. Sitting at the table, he looked down at his phone lying there innocently, taunting him. He used one finger to spin it slowly, first one way and then the other. Not particularly wanting to call Slate, because the man hadn’t been terribly helpful the last time they
spoke
, he was trying to decide what to do. He heard through the grapevine Tug had come to town with Mason’s kid, and if Tug was here, he might have the information needed to find DeeDee. He was a ton more approachable than Slate too, at least for this.

Now to figure out who might have Tug’s number. The waitress brought his food and he dove in enthusiastically, eating with gusto.
Mica
, he thought,
she’ll have Tug’s number. Hell, she might even have DeeDee’s
. Setting down his fork, he picked up the phone and dialed. She answered breathlessly, “Hello?”

“
Hey,
pretty woman,” he teased, laughing when she sighed.

“Jase,” she said evenly, “what do you need?”

Oh no, she sounded upset. “Mica, honey, I hate to bother
you,
but do you have Tug or DeeDee’s phone numbers?” He cut right to the chase; he didn’t want to irritate the team captain’s soon-to-be wife.