“Jason! What the fuck are you doing?” Ed roared as Jason pointed the gun at Scott and Jess as they lay on the ground.
“Just following orders.”
“What orders?” Chuck asked, his voice diamond hard. “We all agreed to leave our weapons in the house; you know that.”
“These came straight from Val. Scott isn’t leaving here alive.”
“Whoa! Hold up there,” Greg said. “Val agreed to settle this old school. We all heard him.”
“Yeah, well, he changed his mind.”
All the Grim Angels began looking at each other. “Kill him!” Jodi screamed.
“Don’t do it, Jason,” Greg warned.
Jason looked at the crowd around him. “What the fuck is wrong with you? He defied the club. He shot two of our brothers. He has to pay for what he did. We can’t let him walk or we’ll look weak!”
“This is bullshit!” Chuck spat. “I never liked this idea of kidnapping Jess in the first place, but I went along with it because Val’s the President, but now this shit? No, no way in hell. I’m out of it!” Chuck threw up his arms and moved to join one of the knots of brothers who hadn’t support Val’s actions.
Scott eased Jess off of him and slowly got to his feet, pushing Jess behind him as she rose to her own feet. “You little prick!” he snarled. “I’ll kill you for this!”
Jess watched as Jason smiled, the smile not touching his eyes, just like Val’s. “How? You’ll be dead.”
“Jason, I’m warning you, don’t do it,” Greg snarled, stepping between Jason and Scott. “Scott took Val down old school. He gets to leave and we won’t bother him. That was the deal.”
Jason looked around at the gathering of men and women again, now seeing only a few friendly faces. “What a bunch of pus—”
His eyes went wide at the same instant as the group heard the gunshot, and he staggered sideways then fell to the ground, holding his side. He looked up and to his left, his mouth hanging open in shock, to see Kat standing there, her Beretta Storm still in her hand. Every face turned toward her, stunned into immobility by her action.
“You fucking shot me!” Jason yelled as the pain began.
“Yeah, I did,” Kat replied, pulling the trigger again, the bullet hitting Jason in the chest this time. Greg and Paul, the two closest Angels, grabbed Kat’s arm and wrenched the weapon from her grip. She let it go without struggle as Angels crowded around Jason.
“What the fuck, Kat?” Greg asked, safing the weapon before someone else got hurt, or killed.
“It’s bad,” Phillip said, looking up from Jason.
“This had to end. Jess has suffered enough. No more, not while I’m alive,” she said.
A murmur rippled through the brothers and old ladies. Greg looked at Jason, then to Val. “Yeah. Enough is enough.”
Ed stepped forward and placed his hand on Greg’s shoulder. “Anyone got any problems with this ending, here and now?” Even the die-hard supporters of Val shook their head in agreement. “It’s done, then.”
Phillip stood up, his hand covered in blood. “He’s dead.”
“Good riddance,” Ed muttered. “I never liked that little prick anyway. Anyone who would shoot a brother like that is no brother of mine.”
Greg nodded in agreement. “Mine either.”
The phrase rippled through the crowd as the Grim Angels, Detroit Chapter, closed ranks.
“Chuck, Greg,” Ed said, calling a couple of Val’s closest Lieutenants to him. “Val said there was going to be some changes. What do you say we go make some?”
“Phillip,” Greg said. “Take charge of this mess. Get Val and Jodi back to their house and deal with…him,” he said as he waved a hand dismissively toward Jason.
“You can’t fucking do this!” Jodi screamed in defiance, sensing the change happening around her. “Val’s the fucking President! You can’t—”
“And somebody gag that bitch,” Greg barked, causing Alex to step up to her, his face hard. Jodi fell silent, glaring at him with hate in her eyes.
“How you doing, boy?” Ed asked Scott.
He felt ridiculous standing there almost bare-assed naked but he didn’t even know where his pants, belt and shoes were anymore. “I think he broke a couple of ribs, and maybe dislocated my shoulder. I’m pretty sure my hand is broken.”
Ed chuckled. “Yeah, but you should see the other guy,” he said glancing at Val. “To be honest, I didn’t think you could do it. Val is a hell of brawler.” He paused as he looked him over, then turned his eyes to Jess. “You two made quiet the pair. I wouldn’t have thought Jess here could take Karen, either. Karen has kicked more ass than any old lady in the club.”
“I had a lot to fight for,” Scott said, grimacing slightly as he pulled Jess in close.
“Me, too,” Jess added.
Ed nodded. “You both need to go get checked out. I’ll have someone drive you.”
“Okay, thanks,” Scott said, too tired to argue.
Ed smiled and took a long obvious look at Scott, his eyes traveling the length of his near naked body. “But for god’s sake, show some respect and put your pants back on. You can’t go to the doctor wearing only your underwear.”
Scott began to laugh, then cringed as he bent ever farther over his battered ribs.
***
“How are you feeling this morning?” Ron asked as he entered the bedroom Jess and Scott were sharing. Ed had called Ron and asked him if he could pick Scott and Jess at the Village Heath Urgent Care facility, in Washington, and put them up for a couple of days.
Scott and Jess had worked out their story on the way to the clinic, and had spun a tale of being involved in a fight with another couple in a bar parking lot to explain their injuries. If the doctor suspected anything different, she didn’t mention it. After they were both thoroughly checked out by the doctor, the only real damage was to Scott’s hand. He had fractured couple of bones when he smashed his head into it, but the doctor assured him it would heal cleanly and he would have full use of it in no time. The rest of their aches and pains were just that, and would heal on their own without medical intervention.
Scott groaned long, hard and deep as he set up in the bed, a sound Jess thought was kind of sexy, until she repeated the sound as she sat up. “I hurt everywhere,” he groaned.
“Same here,” Jess agreed.
Ron presented her with a bottle of Advil and a glass of water. “I figured as much,” he said, handing the items over.
“Ed Buehler called. He wanted to know if it was okay to stop by later today.”
“Ed Buehler?” Scott asked as Jess downed four of the Advil.
“That’s him,” Jess nodded as she handed the glass to Scott. “Did he say what he wanted?” she asked as Scott swallowed his pills.
“No. He only said he wanted to talk to you both. But he also said he would respect your wishes if you said no.”
Scott and Jess looked at each other a moment. “What do you think?” he asked Jess.
“I think Ed is a good guy.”
“Okay. We’ll meet him. But later, this afternoon sometime. I need some time to work the kinks out.”
“God…damn! Even my hair hurts,” Jess snarled as she hobbled out of the bed, causing her step-dad to chuckle.
“Still like the motorcycle club life?”
“Not so much right now,” she groused as she stiffly made her way down the hall to the bathroom.
Scott eased out of bed, walking hunched over and listing, causing Ron to chuckle again. “Yep. I can sure see the appeal of a motorcycle club.”
Scott bared his teeth briefly as a flash of pain passed over him. “And here I thought you were a nice guy.”
Ron snickered as he turned. “I’ll call Ed and tell him you’ll meet him here at about three, okay?” he said as he walked away to give the kids some privacy to freshen up.
“Can you help me take a shower?” Jess asked softly.
“Jess…I’m too sore to—” Scott began.
“No,” she interrupted. “Really. I need some help. Please. If you’ll help me, I’ll help you.”
Scott began to laugh. “Jesus, don’t make me laugh,” he said, holding tight to his side. “Is this how we’re going to be when we’re a hundred?”
“God I hope not! I don’t want to get that old if it is.”
Jess started the shower, adjusting the water to as hot as she could stand. They carefully stepped into the shower, grateful for not having to step over a tub wall, and stood under the water, allowing the heat to leach the soreness from their bodies. They carefully washed, allowing the other to wash them in places too painful to reach on their own, and giggling at their predicament. By the time they were done washing, the warm water and Advil had begun to work and they held each other under the shower, allowing the love between them balm their aches.
***
“I hope you two feel better than you look,” Ed said as he sat down at the table in Ron’s kitchen, nodding his head in thanks as Ron sat a beer in front of him. “Ron, you may want to stay and hear this, too.”
Ron paused, then pulled out the fourth chair and sat down.
“Pretty sore, Ed,” Scott said. “But I want to thank you for what you did for me, for us.”
Ed smiled and nodded his head. “Well, now I’m hoping you can do something for me.”
“If I can,” Scott said.
“There have been come changes with the Angels,” Ed began after taking a sip from the bottle. “Val and Marc are out. Several others have turned in their colors.”
“What happened to Val?” Jess asked.
“We pulled his colors. He wasn’t happy about it, but there was nothing he could do. Marc, he’s probably not going to be able to ride again.”
Jess looked at the table, her fingers twisting around one another. “I wish I hadn’t done that. I never meant for that to happen.”
Ed took her hands in his and stilled them. “Don’t worry about it. You did what you had to do. He’s bitter, but he’ll get over it. You dance with the devil and all that. I spoke with him and he told me the doctors think he will get partial use of his arm back, but it’s going to be a long haul for him.”
“What does this have to do with me?” Scott asked.
“We’re electing new officers. Those who supported Val…they can stay in the club, but I don’t want them in positions of authority, at least not right away.”
Scott’s ears perked up at Ed’s words. “Who’s the President?” he asked, though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
“I am.”
“And the Vice-President?” Jess asked.
“That’s where Scott comes in. I would like him to be my VP.”
“Why me?”
“Because everyone in the club respects you. They appreciate your toughness and your willingness to say, and do, what you think is right. And to be honest, they like the fact that you went all in to protect Jess. But it’s more than that. I liked the fact that you were willing to walk away for her. That tells me you are thinking beyond the club.”
“What do you mean?” Scott asked.
“I knew your dad, Jess. I know he didn’t agree with the drugs, and he told me how if he ever became President, he was going to try to get the Angels out of the underground. I agree with him. The fact that Scott could walk away from the money tells me something and I want him to help me do just that. I want to take the Grim Angels legit.”
“How?” Jess asked.
“I don’t know yet. That’s what I want him to help me figure out. Security maybe? We might begin to expand the garage and try to make a go of that rather than just using it to launder our dirty money.”
“And the rest of the club?” Scott asked.
“The brothers that are left are onboard, to one degree or another, with the idea. Those who couldn’t get onboard, who couldn’t let go of the money, are part of the group that turned in their colors. We lost about a quarter of our members, and we may lose a few more before it’s over. But we’re letting them walk away if they choose to.”
Scott paused as he thought it over. It would mean moving to Detroit, a place he still hated, but then he looked at Jess and could see the hope in her eyes. He smiled softly at her, taking her hand. Atlanta, Greensboro or Detroit, Michigan, where ever Jess was, that was home…and that was enough for now.
THE END
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