Falling For Crazy (Moroad Motorcycle Club) (8 page)

She lifted her hand and replaced it in the next handprint. "This one is mine. I was thirteen years old. My hands bigger now."

Her scalp tingled and she looked down at Sarah's handprint. Tiny and innocent, her sister had wrinkled her nose at the mess the concrete made on her hand afterward. Their mom made everything better when she painted all their fingernails later that night before bed.

Amy put her hand over Sarah's hand indention. Her fingers curled and her nails scratched along the concrete. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't grasp the hand of her little sister. She sucked in her breath, her chest tightening. What she wouldn't give to hold Sarah's hand, tug her along, and keep her safe.

It was her job to look after Sarah. She should've gone with her sister to Jacko's house. Sarah had gone by herself in the dark, because Amy was too tired after working all day to walk the mile there and the mile back home. All she'd wanted to do was veg out in front of the television and go to bed early.

Jacko lifted Amy to her feet and pulled her to his chest. She leaned against him, thankful for his strength wrapped around her and having him share the moment with her.

She sniffed. "I miss her."

Jacko swayed side to side, and she ignored his habit and took comfort from him. She didn't want to end up kidnapped by Los Li and used by strange men. She only wanted the nightmare to end.

"Yep, yep, yep." Jacko stepped back, holding her hand, and twirled her under his arm.

"What are—?"

He flung her away, until his arm stretched straight out in front of him, and pulled her back. Yoyo'd three times, she dug her heels into the ground and brought his idiocy to an end.

"Jacko?"

He pressed his finger to her lips and whispered. "Do something."

"Like what?"

He grinned. "Something crazy."

She sighed, hating when he deflected what was happening right in front of him and instead chose to do something completely wrong.

"I don't want to," she said.

He crossed his arms. "Try it. You'll like it. Mikey did."

"I don't know who Mikey is."

He laughed. "That's because you're young and I'm old. Good cereal, though and if Mike liked it, I ate it."

She shook her head in confusion. "You're not making any sense."

"Just do it." He leaned to the side. "You've got the Nike shoes for it."

"You're nuts." She shook her head, fighting a grin. "Okay, okay, you win. What am I supposed to do?"

"That's it." He framed her face with his hands. "Do it again."

"What?"

"Roll your eyes."

She rolled her eyes.

"Feel better?"

"No," she snapped.

He crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out. She walked away from whatever game he planned. He caught her by the arm and stopped her. "I'll race you to the motorcycle."

"I'm not racing you."

"Right, because you're confident you'll win against someone my age." He eyed her lower body before returning his gaze to her face. "Maybe you will. You've got sexy shaped legs."

An electric jolt of pleasure coursed through her body over his backhanded compliment. She waved her hand in front of her face, hiding her feelings and ignoring the racing of her heart, the ache in her chest, and the flutters in her stomach.

He widened his stance, putting one foot in front of the other and bent over holding her hand. "Come on, Momma. If you win, you can have the bed tonight, and I'll sleep on the floor."

Amusement relaxed her face, and she raised her brows. "What if you win?"

His gaze went to her breasts, and he grinned. She slapped his arm at what he insinuated and ran. Her lungs burned. She pumped her arms, remembering how many foot races her and Sarah had from the driveway to the dead-end road. She always won, because she was taller and older.

Her hair floated behind her, whipping her shoulders. The bike was up ahead, almost within ten paces, when Jacko passed her, looking over his shoulder and laughing. She slowed down and came to a stop, out of breath, thighs cramping. She bent over gasping for breath.

While her body screamed at her for the stupidity she'd joined in, thinking she could sprint and win after years of never going faster than a jog, she couldn't hold back her smile. The exertion felt good. No, she felt wonderful. She felt alive.

Jacko handed her the helmet and sat on the motorcycle. She climbed on behind him. Lost in the euphoria Jacko created for her, she absorbed the changes and how easily she'd slipped back to remembering the time in her life when she had her sister, her mom, and the only worry came from making sure she got up in time to get her and Sarah ready for school.

Life was hard living on the edge of poverty, but love made the macaroni dinners and second-hand shoes worth every second. She would never trade her childhood for anything different.

They rode down the county road and headed back to Federal. It wasn't until they pulled into the motel and found the other bikers parked in front of the motel room that she realized what Jacko had done.

He'd influenced her to join his craziness and in return, he'd helped her push the sadness away and made her stronger to deal with the dangers threatening her life.

J
acko stood outside the circle of Moroad members gathered around the fire pit at the motel, swaying from one foot to the other, inhaling a joint. Amy stood beside Desiree on the opposite side of the fire than the men, letting the heat keep her warm. The changes around the motel in the last several days brightened everyone's mood, and she had to admit, the motel would be a valuable place for a motorcycle club.

Behind the rooms, the freshly mown grass let her view the entertainment area the previous motel owners provided for their customers. Now, picnic tables replaced the broken swingset. The fire pit replaced the horseshoe pit they discovered under the tall weeds. The bikers even cleared out one of the worst motel rooms and added a fresh coat of paint, new refrigerator, stove, and freezer, and turned it into a kitchen the bikers could utilize.

Best of all, Jacko removed the carpet in their room and placed a roll of linoleum on the floor and had Johnson purchase a new mattress, eliminating most of the musty smell plaguing her. She brought her bottle of beer to her mouth and drank. With all the hard work the men put in during the last week, she figured Jacko would sit back and relax tonight with the rest of his MC brothers. Instead, he moved with excess energy and kept shifting his position around the perimeter of the area.

Desiree nudged her with an elbow. "I wonder if Moroad will fix up the other rooms and rent to tourists."

"I don't think so." Amy picked at the label on the beer bottle. "It sounds like they're using both buildings as a clubhouse and a halfway house for the members as they get released from prison."

"Hm," Desiree said.

"You don't like the idea," she asked.

"It's not that I can't see how much the bikers need a clubhouse and Cam and Christina need privacy. The motel is closer to town, so it's even easier for me to come to the parties with Merk after work." Desiree raised her brow. "I'm a businesswoman though, and I know how tourists eat up anything quaint and set back in time. They could market the motel as a place right out of the seventies and fix the huge tacky neon sign out front. They'd draw a crowd during the summer, which would bring legal money into the club."

She kept her opinion to herself, since Jacko never explained how he earned the cash he had on him. Desiree was involved with Merk, and probably had information she couldn't share, but she couldn't imagine Cam taking anyone's advice on how he should run his club.

Desiree sighed. "Of course, that'd blow their quiet cover around Federal."

She nodded, because she was well aware of Moroad keeping a low profile. "Yeah. They like having their privacy."

Jacko stood by a large tree, gazing up into the branches. He raised his finger, pointing in all directions. He seemed to have a conversation going with himself.

Gunner walked to the edge of the grassy area. Jacko charged him, tackling him around his waist. They both hit the ground with a grunt. Amy gasped, covering her mouth.

Desiree bumped against Amy. "It's okay. Jacko does that all the time."

She lowered her hand. "Are you—"

Jacko punched Gunner in the nose. The
pop
stopped all conversations.

"Oh, my God." Amy stepped forward, but Desiree grabbed her wrist.

"He does that, too." Desiree gave her a half hug. "It's okay. The guys know it doesn't mean anything. Jacko's only goofing around. Just watch."

Jacko stood up, offered his hand to Gunner and heaved him off the ground to his feet. Amy shook her head, traumatized over the violence.

"See, they're laughing now," said Desiree.

"That doesn't make any sense. He hurt Gunner." She turned away from Jacko and frowned at Desiree. "Jacko is crazy."

Desiree laughed. "I used to think the same thing when I first met him."

"But, now you don't?"

"Not so much. I had time to get to know him when he helped us at the bar." Desiree studied Jacko. "If you pay attention, you'll notice even though he's away from the group, he knows what everyone is discussing. If someone moves, he knows where they're going and their intent. There's a certain crazy brilliance to his madness. I know Merk trusts him with his life, and I would too."

"He wasn't always like that though," she whispered. "Something happened to make him act as if he's checked out of what's going on around him."

"The men don't talk about what happens in prison. Some of them come out barely able to live on their own. Others jump back into the kind of life they led before they were incarcerated and pretend nothing has changed, but no matter what their sentence, or sentences for Moroad members, prison changes them all. Jacko's adapted, even if he appears lost half the time," said Desiree.

She had never asked Jacko what he'd done to end up in prison. Sarah had shrugged off Amy's concern over her dating a felon and said he'd paid his time. After being around him and getting to know him better, she agreed with Sarah's opinion of him. Jacko had given her no reason not to trust him.

Amy scooted closer to Desiree. "Why was Jacko serving time?" she asked.

Desiree shrugged. "I don't know, and I never ask."

"Heads up," Jacko yelled, rushing toward Amy.

She grabbed onto Desiree, panic flowing through her. "What's going on?"

The men stood and Cam limped over to Christina. Merk headed straight toward Desiree. She gazed around trying to find out what alerted Jacko when he stepped in front of her and backed her toward the wall.

With the bricks against her back and Jacko pressed against her front, she couldn't see beyond his broad shoulders. She grabbed the bottom of his vest.

"What happened?" she said against his chest.

"Riders."

She gazed up at him. "Reds?"

"No. Reds don't ride bikes."

"Do you think the riders are enemies of the club?" She exhaled, relieving the pressure of his body squeezing her against the building.

Jacko turned his head and stepped away from her. "Stay back here."

She looked around for Desiree, but she and the others were gone.

"Wait." She tugged on his vest. "Why?"

"Because I said so."

She followed him a few steps. "You can't leave me back here. Everyone went out front, even the other women."

He rounded on her, holding her shoulders. "Make sure you don't say a word. Don't talk to any of them. Fuck, don't even look at them. You keep your eyes on me. Whatever I do, play along with it."

She rocked back on her heels, taken aback at the severity of his attitude. "Maybe I'll just stay here."

"Good idea," he muttered, turning to leave.

"No." She grabbed his hand, chickening out of staying by herself in the dark. "I'll come."

Before he rounded the building, he looped his arm around her shoulders. She shuffled her step, giving him more room, and he pulled her tight.

He put his mouth on the top of her head. "Remember, go along with whatever I do."

In front of the motel, at least ten motorcycles filled the asphalt parking lot. She swept her gaze through the crowd of bikers, spotting Moroad members and the women standing in front of the building and men with leather vests standing in front of their bikes. The air tense, she didn't need the pressure of Jacko's arm around her to remind her to stay close to him. She looped her arm around his waist and glued herself to his side.

A dark-haired man wearing a black stocking cap stepped forward and shook hands with Cam. "Bantorus Motorcycle Club heard an anonymous buyer bought the old motel. I'm surprised to find Moroad here."

Cam widened his stance. "City limits ends at the stop sign, Kurt. You're welcome to ask what my plans are, but considering I'm out of your territory as we agreed, I probably won't answer."

"Fair enough." Kurt's gaze swept from left to right and landed on Amy.

Jacko tipped back his head and howled, curling Amy against the front of him. Before she could figure out what he was doing, he locked his lips to her mouth., Shocked he'd kiss her, she struggled in his embraced.

His lips moved over hers, and he said, "Stop."

His tongue slipped into her mouth. Her body sagged against him. Hyper aware of the attention directed at them from the others, she let him thrust his tongue inside of her without putting up a fight. Several seconds ticked by and the conversation behind her became white noise. Jacko continued holding her, kissing her, caressing her.

She hung on to him because there was nothing else she could do. Her stomach rolled and fluttered. He had her back arched while he thoroughly kissed her, and her body unbalanced.

Her jaw loosened on its own. She molded her mouth to fit against his better.

Suddenly, Jacko lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his hips to keep from falling. The up and down motion in which he carried her was her only indication they were on the move, because he still had his tongue in her mouth and her eyes had closed.