Jase (32 page)

He rubbed
his
hand across his scalp, unbuttoning his shirt slowly. “The
thought of someone getting his hands on her
pushes me beyond reason. You saying our stripper was ‘beat all to hell’ flew all over
me,
because suddenly
all I could see
was Willa’s face, brother. Snap, crackle, pop, there’s that fucking lightning again. Owned.”

They both took a deep breath as the energy between them began to bleed off, dissipate. They had been friends too long, been through too much together for an argument to have any lasting effect. Slate traced the inside of his front teeth with his tongue, and then deliberately changed the subject by asking, “What’s with the monkey suit today, Prez?”

“Had a City Council meeting this morning. There’s talk about rezoning some of the
wards
. I’m trying to slow things down until I can get a read on what that would mean for us.” Mason rolled his head side-to-side, stretching out his neck. “They won’t be hard to stall; those political motherfuckers are all about the talking without the doing.”

He removed his cufflinks, rolling up his shirtsleeves, exposing the phoenix tattoo that rose from his left hand up the arm, feathers and flames wrapping around his forearm in striking reds and yellows. Blended into the tail feathers were words in a script so elaborate it was difficult to separate from the flowing lines of the rest of the tattoo.
I choose to become.

“It still boggles the mind that you got roped into this. Do they know much about you, past the business owner façade you put on for these meetings?” Slate snorted a sharp laugh, leaning back and resting his heels on the edge of Mason’s desk. “It’s a good smokescreen; I’ll give you that,” he said, flicking a glance at the suit jacket. “You clean up nice, Prez.”

“Naw, it ain’t no big thing. When McDaniel’s wife got sick, he came to me and asked me if I’d accept the remainder of his term. He’s been a good friend to the club, and it’s not a tough gig. We’ve now got better and deeper ins with the city than we ever did before, which is good for us.” Mason gestured towards his clothing. “They don’t look past the surface much, so they don’t see the man, only the suit.” He shrugged. “Even if they did, we’ve worked hard to build a club that we can all be proud of. The public face of the Rebels is one of power and authority; they don’t need to see beyond that.”

His phone buzzed with an incoming text and he pulled it out of his pocket, looking at the display. “Red said he’s got news for us on the Jase front. Reach back and open that door, would
ya
? Let’s hear what he found out about our man.”

***

“Jase,” the cautious voice came over the line. “How’re you
doin’
?” Trying to place the voice’s owner, he was coming up blank until the man spoke again. “This is Red from Chicago. Mason asked me to call.”

“Hey, Red,” he responded pleasantly. Along with Birdy, the man had helped teach Jase to ride, and he had seen him around Jackson’s often enough before moving to Fort Wayne. “It’s good. Everything is lots better. What can I do for you?”

“Mason said you were interested in going back to school for a business degree. Is that right?” The man didn’t beat around the bush, asking his question straight out.

“Yeah, talked to a couple of guys on the team who went that
route,
and DeeDee agrees it seems the smart thing to do. I know I won’t be able to play forever, and right now, I don’t have anything lined out for after. Why…what can I do for you?” He restated his previous question, still unsure of the reason for the call.

“We’ve got a proposition for
you,
if you’d be interested in hearing it.” He was hedging now. It sounded as if he chose his words with care.

“What’s the proposition?” Jase asked.

“Why don’t you come to Chicago, sit down, and talk to Mason? He can explain it better, but it will definitely be a benefit to all of us if things work out.” Red said something unintelligible away from the phone then came back. “Team schedule shows you up here next week for a game. Can we book some time with ya then?

“Sure,” he said slowly. “I can drive up and stay an extra day that way. We play here Friday, and the Chicago game is on Saturday, so let’s plan on chatting Sunday?”

“Sounds good. Someone will text
you
details. Thanks, man,” Red said, and then the call disconnected.

He turned, looking across the room at where DeeDee was on the couch reading. “Weirdest phone call ever, baby,” he said, picking up bottles of water for both of them and walking over to sit beside her.

“Hmmm?” She made a quizzical noise, shifting to snuggle into his side, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Red called from Chicago. Seems Mason wants to talk to me about—” He stopped speaking, because DeeDee had straightened, turning to him with what looked like fear on her face.

“What does he want? Nothing has happened that I know of.” Her face had gone white and she was nearly babbling. He reached up a hand and gently covered her mouth.

“Mason has a proposition for me that Red said would be mutually beneficial. I don’t think it’s bad, baby. Breathe. It’s okay.” He soothed her with his words, reaching out to do the same with his hands and laughing when she shivered at his touch. “They
were
extremely cold
water bottles. Icy even. I’m sorry, baby. Here,” he whispered, trailing kisses along the edge of her jaw, murmuring against her lips, “let me warm you right up.”

***

“How’s she feeling today?” Jase directed the question at Gunny, watching as the man poured himself a cup of coffee.

“No more blood in her piss, which is good. Goose said the acute pain is nearly gone, and now she’s gonna have to work out the soreness, but I fucking hate to see her move. Every
fucking
thing hurts; you can just tell.
Fucking
Goose doesn’t have to listen to her hold her fucking breath so she doesn’t whimper, man.” He opened a cabinet door then closed it. “Where the fuck is the cereal?”

Wordlessly, Jase pointed over to the pantry door, watching as the big man strolled over. He was
an impressive
sight today, the tattoo and bulging muscle on his arms and shoulders in clear view since he had no shirt on, but his pale feet sticking out from under the soft sweatpants were in stark contrast. “Let me know what you need. I’ll make a run to the grocery store today.”

“Ain’t gonna be here much longer. Soon as Shar can be moved, I’m taking her to my house.” He said this without turning around, dumping frosted wheat cereal into a bowl.

“Is that what she wants?” Jase asked without thinking, then stilled when he saw Gunny’s head swing around, the weight of the man’s gaze palpable as it landed on him.

“Think I’d force her? After the
shit
she’s been through? Yeah, she’s on board with the idea, motherfucker. What the fuck you thinking? You
even seen
us together the last few days? This thing goes both ways here, Jase.” Gunny’s voice was tight with anger.

“I didn’t mean it that way. I see how she is with you.” He smiled. “I get that she likes you. What I was trying to ask before my mouth got in my way was if she was ready to move out. She…and you…can stay as long as you want. I love having her here, knowing she’s only a few feet away.” He held Gunny’s gaze with his own steady one.

“I don’t think you get how this is for me, Gunny. Not since I was about fourteen have I gotten to see Sharon every single day. See her at the breakfast table,” he gestured at the bowls the two men had, “and if I’ve missed that, she might have too. Stay as long as she wants.” Without another
word,
he turned and walked up the hallway to the guest bedroom.

Pausing in the doorway, he watched Sharon for a few moments. She was standing near the window to soak up the heat of the sun, her body swaying stiffly to the music in her earbuds. He could hear only the tiniest, scratchy sounds, nothing to correlate with her efforts, so
to him,
it looked as if, even with the pain, she were dancing for the pure joy of movement. At least, if he didn’t pay attention to the green and yellow bruises that covered nearly every inch of her body.

Watching
closely
, he saw what Gunny had been talking about. You could see the pain in the way she held her body, in the way her arms were kept close. Deliberately, she stretched her hands, and then rubbed one forearm with a wince. Returning to the movement, she continued
extending
her hands, rotating the joints and slowly pushing her arms straight over her head, reaching full extension after several slow seconds.

Her head tipped back and she dropped one hand to rub at the column of her throat, fingertips stroking gently along the muscles and tendons in the back of her neck.
She brought her other hand to meet its mate in her hair, and he saw her arms tense and tighten as she rubbed with firm fingers up the back of her head, shoulders rotating as she tried to loosen the knots in her stiff muscles.

“Hey, you,” he called quietly, and she twisted her head to the side, smiling at him.

“Hey, you,” she responded.

“Got a minute?” he asked.

“For you, I got two,” she said with a fake pout, and he laughed.

Moving to the bed, he sat on the edge, continuing to watch as she stretched and pulled her muscles, twisting her torso. She was moving so slowly it was hard to decide if there were places that hurt worse than others. If there were, she ignored the sore spots, pushing through to methodically stretch and work everything on her body.

“I’m not wanting a play-by-play, but I’ve missed so much. Gunny said you are moving out soon, and I want to know everything.
I want to know you aren’t going to drop out of sight again.” He startled when a voice came from behind him, then saw the soft look on Sharon’s face as she listened to the big ex-Marine.

“She ain’t going anywhere without me.” Gunny sat in a chair he had brought into the room. “You don’t have to do a heart-to-heart, thinking this is the last time you’ll see her. She’s gonna be around.”

“I hope so,” Jase said fervently, pulling Sharon’s eyes back to him. Abandoning her stretching, she walked over and sat on the bed beside him, reaching out for his hand and threading their fingers together.

“I never meant to go away like I did. The Spencer pride cost us both quite a bit, didn’t it?” She wasn’t looking at him, and he let her have that bit of isolation, hoping it would keep her talking.

“Mom and Dad didn’t know what to do with me, ya know? After having their boys, and all of you stayed so focused on the goals lined out for you, they had me, and I didn’t like anything they suggested. I didn’t have anything to work towards. After school, and then everything that happened, my eighteen-year-old stupidity said it was the best thing for everyone if I left. I’d sacrifice myself for the greater good or something like that.” She laughed, the sound harsh in the room, and Gunny shifted restlessly in the chair.

“I drifted for a while, job-to-job, place-to-place. Made friends, but left them behind when I’d move on, not setting up anything lasting. Met Derek and it felt less temporary. We settled in Florida, got jobs, and became contributing citizens.” She laughed again, and it sounded sad. “And shit happened.”

He sighed, tugging at their joined hands to bring her eyes to meet his. “I love you, Sharon.”

A smile lit up her face at his words and he jumped, because he never heard Gunny move, just saw him appear as he settled on the other side of her, pulling her back against his chest, his face pressed into the side of her head.
“Fucking love that smile,
babe
,” he muttered, and the fine hairs on Jase’s arms stood straight up. The adoration in the man’s tone was so real and true it gave him goose bumps. “My fucking smile.”

She laughed again, but this one was light and full of joy. “Yeah,
big guy
. Your smile.” She wrapped her other hand around Gunny’s arm where it
banded
across her chest, slowly stroking his skin. “So shit happened, and I was too stubborn to go home. I kept thinking I could get a handle on things. All I did was run; I see that now. Every time he would find me again, I’d run.” She leaned her head back, bringing her lips to meet Gunny’s in a slow, soft kiss.

“Until this guy wouldn’t let me.” Sighing, she nuzzled the side of her face against his chest. Without looking up, she said, “I missed you every day, Ace. Missed Mom and Dad, everybody. Thanks for showing me the pictures of the boys. It
’s hard to believe
I have nephews.”

“Everyone wants to see you; you know that.” He grinned. “I’ve been successful in foisting Ma off so far, but that won’t last. She’s gonna come down sooner or later.”

“I’ll deal with that when it happens,” she said. “I know they are disappointed in me, so I’d rather it be later than
sooner,
if you know what I mean.”

He nodded and stood. “Love you.” Waiting for her response, he raised his gaze, meeting Gunny’s. “You have
a good
man now, Sharon. Keep him safe, okay? He seems a decent sort.”

She laughed as Gunny lifted her, placing her on the bed and stretching out beside her. “I’m on it, Ace.”

“Jeeze, Mason. That’s an awful generous offer,” Jase said with a frown.

“Then what’s got your face all scrunched up like you just heard latex snap
behind
you?” Mason’s laughter rolled through the room, echoed by a chuckle from Slate.

“I’m trying to find the catch, man. In my experience, there’s always a catch when the offer seems too good to be true. Which, no offense intended, this slots directly into that better than expected category, eh?” Shifting in his seat, Jase propped one elbow on the arm of the chair, hand suspended in the air. He flicked one finger up. “One, it’s a hell of an expense for the club to take on. No matter how you slice it, getting a degree is expensive.” The second finger flicked up. “Two, there’s no clear payoff for you. I don’t have influence, no
wealthy
relatives in my closets whose connections you can leverage.” A third finger flicked up, followed quickly by a fourth. “Third, and maybe even fourth, you aren’t putting any clauses on the offer. No time limit, no early termination, nothing. If I took this to my old
man,
h
e would smack my head for even considering
it,
because again, in my experience…there’s always a catch.”