Jess blinked herself awake, slightly disoriented by her unfamiliar surroundings. Jake had escorted her into the basement and left her there seven hours ago. After he left, she tried the door at the top of the stairs. There was no lock, but when she eased it open she saw the Grim Angel sitting just outside in a chair, facing the door. When he smiled at her, she closed the door again without comment.

 

The room was comfortable enough. There was an oversized couch that was perfect for sleeping, an antique Coke machine filled with beer and a bathroom, so she would be comfortable enough. There was also a large screen television, pool table, sauna, plenty of video games, and an antique pinball machine to keep herself entertained. What she really wanted, but didn’t have, was a phone, another door, or a window to wriggle out of.

 

After helping herself to a beer to help calm her nerves, she had explored the room, but quickly realized that with Thomas on guard outside the only door, she might as well have been in a maximum security prison.

 

With a yawn, Jess stretched and scratched herself awake, and then crept to the top of the stairs again where she opened the door slowly and peeked out. Thomas was gone, but now an alert looking Casey was sitting in the chair.

 

“You need something?” Casey asked.

 

“To use the bathroom.”

 

Casey gave her a condescending look. “Nice try. Use the one in the basement.”

 

“There’s one down here? Can you come show me?”

 

“I think you can find it. Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Jess.”

 

“Casey, please let me go. You know what Val is doing isn’t right. Please!”

 

“I can’t do it, Jess. The orders came straight from Val.”

 

“You can’t keep me locked in the basement forever!”

 

“I don’t have to. My shift ends when they bring you breakfast.”

 

“Asshole!”

 

Casey grinned at her. “Be nice. You shouldn’t have run off with that redneck. Val just wants what’s best for you, and if you would just stop and think about it for minute, you would realize that. Now, go back down there and be good. Your breakfast should be here soon.”

 

“I hope you choke on yours!”

 

“Would you give me mouth to mouth if I do?”

 

Jess slammed the door, cutting off Casey’s chuckle.

 

***

 

Jess was sitting on the couch, watching the news, hoping to see an item about a massive manhunt for a missing woman, when she heard the clomping of feet coming down the stairs. Kat appeared around the corner with a tray and a paper bag. Jess said nothing as her mother sat the wooden tray in the seat of the matching leather chair.

 

“Here’s your breakfast,” Kat said solemnly. “I brought you some clothes.” Kat held the bag up then sat it in the floor. “Are you okay?”

 

“Why do you care?” Jess asked.

 

“Jess…I never wanted this. I didn’t ask Val to do this. I wanted you to come home, sure. And I think you made a big mistake by leaving…but kidnapping? No, that’s too much.”

 

“Then help me!”

 

Kat picked up the tray and handed it to Jess before sitting down beside her. “I’ve tried. Val and I had a fifteen-minute screaming match a few minutes ago. He’s not going to let you go until you agree to stay here in Detroit and Scott is out of the picture.”

 

Jess looked at her mother. Kat looked like warmed over death and reeked of wine and cigarettes. “So he’s going to keep me locked in the basement for the rest of my life?”

 

“No, but I don’t know what his plans are. He isn’t thinking beyond tomorrow. I think he really believes you will realize you made a mistake and agree to stay.”

 

“What did you tell him?”

 

“I told him he didn’t know you as well as he thought he did.”

 

Jess looked at her plate of scrambled eggs with crisp bacon on the side. She didn’t want to eat it, just to spite her mother, but it smelled so damn good she finally picked up the fork and started eating. “And you still think I made a mistake in running away?” she asked around a mouth full of eggs.

 

“I did,” Kat replied. “But now? Maybe not. I don’t know anymore. I can’t believe Val is doing this.”

 

“Then help me! Help me get out of here!”

 

“I can’t! Jess, you don’t understand. The club has fractured over this. Half the members think Val is wrong, and he is shutting them out. Only those loyal to him are here. If I cross him, he will shut me out, too.”

 

“Then call Scott and tell him where I am! You can do that, can’t you?”

 

Kat wrung her hands and leaned forward onto her knees. “I can’t. You’re the only thing I have left. If Val were to prevent me from seeing you...I can’t bear to lose you, too. Just give me some time, Jess. I’ll make him see.”

 

Jess dropped her fork on the plate in disgust. “Just like the last time you said you would make him see?”

 

“What do you want from me, Jess? He’s the fucking President of the Grim Angels! He gets what he wants, and he doesn’t give a shit about anything else! I’m doing the best I can.”

 

“Well that’s not fucking good enough! What if I’m actually pregnant?” Jess stared at her mother, hoping beyond hope that she could use the leverage of her late period to her advantage.

 

Kat’s head snapped up and she looked at Jess. “You’re pregnant?” she hissed.

 

“I’m late.”

 

“Have you checked?”

 

“No, not yet. I’m only a few days late.”

 

Kat stared at Jess for a long moment. “Oh, baby, we have to know! How could this happen? Weren’t you being careful? Is it Scott’s?”

 

“Goddamnit, Mother! How can you ask something like that? Of course it’s Scott’s, and yes, we were being careful!” Jess complained, selling the idea for all she was worth.

 

“No mistakes?”

 

“No!” Jess cried, but then paused to let the tension build. “Well, not after the first time,” she amended and looked away as if in shame.

 

“Holy shit, Jess,” Kat said standing up. “This changes everything! I’m leaving right now to get a pregnancy test. We have to know!”

 

“If I’m pregnant, will you help me?”

 

Kat looked at her daughter. “Let’s find out first, and then worry about what happens.”

 

***

 

“But what if she is?” Kat asked, showing Val the test strip again. “I know it shows negative, but she said she was only a couple of days late. She may not be far enough along for a positive test. Val, this is so wrong! You can’t do this to her.”

 

“Yeah, or she could be lying her ass off. But if she is knocked up, more than ever, she needs to be here. There is no fucking way she is getting back into the life, not if she is really pregnant.”

 

“Val, it’s Scott’s baby she’s carrying if she is! Would you deny her baby a father? How can you be so cruel?”

 

“I’ll not have her hooked up with a Grim Angel, especially if she is pregnant, so just fucking forget it. This discussion is closed!”

 

When he moved to turn his back on her, Kat grabbed him by the arm and spun him back to face her. “She is my goddamn daughter, and you’re not keeping her locked up here, do you hear me?” she screamed. “I’ll call the fucking cops myself!”

 

Val had Kat pinned to his office wall by her throat so fast that she didn’t even have time to react. “I don’t care if you are my fucking sister, don’t you ever threaten me!” he hissed, his face only inches from hers. “Do I make myself clear?”

 

Kat couldn’t speak, both her hands around Val’s wrist as she struggled to break his grasp. She was a big, strong, woman, but she was no match for Val’s sheer size and power.

 

“I said, do I make myself clear?” he growled, leaning into the hold.

 

Kat began to kick, desperate to get free before he crushed her windpipe. She tried to nod, hoping she could move her head enough for him to see. He let her go and she sagged, coughing and gagging as she held her throat. “You bastard,” she croaked as she bent over, struggling to not vomit.

 

“If I so much as smell a cop, I’ll kill her, Kat. I’ll fucking kill her and feed her to the pigs. Just remember that.”

 

“You’d kill your own niece?” she wheezed, her voice a shadow of its normal strength.

 

Val looked at Kat, sick at what he had done. Jess was fucking everything up. His club was coming apart, his own sister was turning against him, and all because she had a case of the hots for Scott fucking Murphy. He stared at Kat a moment then made his mind up. Once he took care of that little prick, everything would start getting back to normal. With no more Scott, Jess wouldn’t have a reason to leave. She could put the baby up for adoption, abort it, or find her a nice guy to settle down with, and the kid would be too young to know the difference. But it all starts with getting that fucking redneck out of the picture.

 

“Only if you do something stupid, like call the cops or start telling everyone she’s pregnant,” he snarled as he turned, but then turned back. “You want to keep her alive, you keep your fucking mouth shut! I fucking mean it, Kat. Not a fucking word, to anybody, that she’s here or that she’s pregnant. That stays between you and me, you got me? I’m taking Jodi and the kids to her parents for a couple of days for her mother’s birthday, like I promised her. When I get back, we’ll get this shit sorted out, so don’t do something stupid while I’m gone.” He waited until Kat nodded then he turned away again. I’m not going to kill Jess, but her boyfriend? Val smiled as he contemplated his revenge.

 

***

 

It was late evening when Ron dropped Scott off a few hundred yards from the Ingersson farm, and then drove on to the nearby town of Ray Township to wait for his call. It looked just like it did the last time he was there, a month ago, when he found out that Jess was going to be off-limits to him. The same red barn, the same immaculate farmhouse and grounds, but there were a lot more motorcycles parked about and a lot more brothers outside, smoking, laughing and sipping beverages.

 

He moved along the edge of the property, staying in the shadows of the landscaping. There appeared to be about a five Angels outside, one less than the number of motorcycles he counted parked out front. He circled the property again, but counted only the five men.

 

He waited until near full darkness before moving in closer. As he watched, “Wildman” Rick Wilders stepped through a pool of light. Rick and Scott, along with Jason, had ridden up from Atlanta together when Jason had been tagged as the future President of the mother chapter of the Grim Angels. He was also the man who had saved his ass, putting it all on the line to warn Scott and Jess that Val was riding for them.

 

He hadn’t spoken to Rick since that fateful night and wondered if Val had killed him for his treachery. The fact that Rick was still alive said a lot, but he seemed to keep his distance from the other men.

 

Rick stepped around the corner of the house, and after a moment, Scott could detect the musty sweet smell of marijuana smoke. Scott moved farther around the house, keeping low and slow to blend in with the landscaping. The stupid fucks didn’t realize that standing near the lights screwed their night vision, so he felt pretty comfortable about not being seen so long as he stayed low and in the shadows.

 

Scott watched Rick until he turned and started back toward the front of the house. It was now or never. Moving quickly, the thick grass silencing his footsteps, Scott approached Rick from behind. Rick sensed Scott’s approach and began to turn, but it was too little, too late. Scott ran the last two steps and grabbed Rick by the face, hauling him to the ground in a vicious flip, his hand over his mouth to mask his cry. When they hit the ground, Scott’s gun was against Rick’s forehead as he held him down.

 

“Make a sound and you’re fucking dead!” Scott hissed.

 

Rick relaxed and his hands slowly fell from Scott’s face and shirt, his eyes wide in recognition as he nodded slowly. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Rick whispered harshly when Scott released his mouth.

 

“I’m looking for Jess.”

 

Rick looked to the side then back to Scott. “Is she here?”

 

“Is she?” Scott countered, pressing the gun in a little harder.

 

“Fuck. Let me go before we get caught,” Rick said as he tried to rise. He got to his feet then put a finger to his lips. “I’m going to take a piss,” he said loudly, then jerked his head away from the house.

 

Rick and Scott moved to the edge of the yard where Rick stopped and unzipped, his back to the house, Scott on the other side of Rick so that Rick’ body masked his outline.

 

“What the fuck, man?” Rick whispered as he pulled his cock out. Scott took a step back as Rick let go. “Is that who’s in the house?”

 

“How the fuck should I know?”

 

“Fuck, I don’t know. I just know that someone is here and we’re here to for protection. Why the fuck did she come back?”

 

“She didn’t. Val took her yesterday.”

 

“Son-of-a-bitch! So that’s where he’s been. He disappeared about a week ago and nobody knew where he went. Where did he find you?”

 

“North Carolina.”

 

“How?”

 

“Beats the hell out of me. I have to get her out of there.”

 

Rick looked around then zipped. “Let me see if I can find out for sure that she’s here first. It would suck to storm the place and find out it’s just Val getting some on the side.”

 

“You would do that?”

 

“Yeah. My name is shit around here. They know I tipped you, but have no proof. That fucking Jason is pissing me off. He let me get sold down the river without so much as a peep of protest, the little fucker. So, yeah, I’ll help. I’ll enjoy spitting in Jason and Val’s eye. The whole fucking club is coming apart over what happened to you.”

 

“Thanks, man. I owe you one.”

 

“Fuck that. You owe me two,” Rick said. “And when we’re done with this shit, I’m going to collect, and big time.”

 

Scott pursed his lips. “Anything you want man, anything you want.”

 

Rick smiled into the darkness. “Was she worth it?”

 

Scott smiled. “More than you know.”

 

Rick nodded. “Get the fuck out of here. I’ll call you as soon as I know something. And, Scott, don’t be stupid, okay?”

 

Scott wanted to hug Rick, feeling like a brother again, but if someone saw them, they would be in deep shit. “Thanks, Rick,”

 

Rick heard the slight hitch in Scott’s whisper and nodded before pulling the smile off his face as Scott melted away into the darkness. Goddamn, it feels good to be appreciated again!