In the Wind (19 page)

Jace

As Good As I Once Was

I'm not shocked to learn Bodie has a lead foot. She races down long roads into what feels like the middle of nowhere. Texas is a big damn state, and I find myself feeling small here. The urge to hide is strong during moments like these, so I imagine Sawyer. Blonde curls, bright blue eyes, and a smile that makes the world so much better.

"Stop your daydreaming," Bodie says.

"Why?"

"I was talking to my dog."

Rolling my eyes, I stare out at the nothingness whipping by.

"Your club needs you." Bodie says, making a hard right down a small road leading further into nowhere.

"How do you figure?"

"You're young, big, and loyal. Every organization needs fresh blood they can trust. You're that guy for Cooper."

"I know all that, but it's easier to embrace my inner-fuckery when I'm here. When I get home, I worry I'll want to please."

"Don't be a puss. Just choose not to play that game. You're a big boy. You'll be fine as long as you tap into your ugly side without letting it control you."

"Easy enough."

"I do it. You're at least as strong as a girl, right?"

I smirk at her wording but don't answer the question.

"Where are we going?" I ask instead.

"You'll see," she mutters. "After you return to Ellsberg, feel free to call me if you need Morpheus advice."

"I'll probably take you up on that."

"Good. If more people just did what I told them, the world would be a better place. Speaking of stupid fucks not listening, we're here."

Bodie parks her truck in front of a small farmhouse at the end of the long stretch of nothing. I spot a red barn, two blue sheds, and a large ominous black building. Once the engine shuts off, I hear the distinctive sound of hogs snorting.

"Are you going to kill me?" I ask, grinning.

Smiling, Bodie sighs. "If I kill you, it'll be quick and painless. That's how I do my friends. This place isn't quick and painless."

I follow her past the farmhouse to the barn. Behind a fence, the hogs run away when we approach. Their departure allows me to see the man tied to a trough. A moment later, I realize he's alive. I need another moment to recognize him as Snickers.

Before we step into the muddy fenced area, Bodie waves at a man on a nearby tractor.

"Can't tell you his name," she says to me. "I will say he did black ops during the Vietnam War. Off the books stuff. When he came home, he inherited this pig farm, but his skill set is torturing and killing."

Climbing over the fence, she eases into the muddy ground. "Even though he's retired, he does work for me occasionally. You know, to keep his beast at bay," Bodie says, giving me a smile. "I met him at a Dairy Queen near Odessa. Never know what life has in store when you chat up a stranger."

Bodie steps into the muddy area where Snickers is tied. He lifts his head when we arrive, but doesn't react for nearly a minute.

"Bitch."

"See, that's our problem," Bodie says, squatting down to make eye contact with the filthy man. "I hate you, and you hate me. We can't undo the Caveman thing, so the hate will burn on. That part is fine, but you need to stop thinking your opinion matters. Trust me, pig boy, it really doesn't."

"You come here to gloat?"

"I came here to make the rules clear. I'll let you loose, and you'll avoid me from now on. If you accidentally find yourself sharing a room with me, you turn tail and run. I'm only letting you live this time because I don't want any trouble for my girl Veronica, and her man takes his club buddies' horrible deaths very personally. I give my friends a freebie. This is theirs. You live this time. Next time, those cute little piggies eat you. Kay, snickerdoodle?"

I see him bite his tongue to keep from mouthing off and signing his death warrant. Once his self-preservation barely wins over his ego, Bodie stands up and turns to me.

"Would you mind beating the shit out of him for me? I'd do it, but I've gotten muddy enough for one day."

"Specify what you mean by shit out of him. Am I breaking his bones? Are we talking soft tissue damage only?"

Bodie grins huge for me. "My little man is growing up. Tell you what. You beat on him until you feel like stopping. Just play the entire thing by ear. As long as he doesn't die, I'll be happy. Feel free to cut him loose before or after you're done."

Bodie leaves the pigpen, and I look at Snickers. He watches me pull out my knife.

"Nothing personal," I say, reaching over to cut his restraints. "I have a lot of pent-up rage, and your face really annoys me."

"How is that not fucking personal?" he asks, wobbling to his feet and making a move for me.

Ducking his strike, I return my knife to its holster. "You're right. My bad."

I punch him once in the jaw, and Snickers goes down. Glancing over my shoulder, I spot Bodie talking with the man on a back porch. He's offering her a drink, and they sit down to have a nice afternoon chat. Bodie walks the line between light and dark. The same line the men in my work walk. Both of my fathers, Kirk, Cooper, and the rest of the club need to know when to embrace the ugly violence of the world and when to look away.

I focus my gaze on Snickers who slowly returns to his feet. This won't be a fair fight since he's likely been tied up for days. The nice guy in me says to take it easy on the loser. The club man doesn't agree. If you wrong those who matter to me, you become my enemy. Snickers is that guy today.

I imagine Snickers in my childhood house, making my mother scream and taking the lives of the people I loved. Hitting him, I show no mercy and feel no pity.

Sawyer

Faithfully

Jace returns in one piece. Just to be safe, I check him for an hour in bed. Even though I was never in any danger with Colbie, he decides to check me too. By the end of our inspection, I rest with my head at the foot of the bed.

"It's naptime in the house," Jace says, wrapping my ankles into a bear hug. "Do you want to sleep or go for a ride?"

Watching him kiss my toes, I smile. "I'm not tired."

Jace nips at my toe before sitting up and reaching for his jeans. We get dressed and head downstairs. Tiptoeing into the kitchen near where the siblings nap, we stock up on water.

The sun is a cruel ball in the sky, warming my skin past what's comfortable. Only when I'm on the back of Jace's Harley, and he opens up the engine can I breathe again. The wind in my hair, I wrap my arms tighter around Jace's sweaty waist.

We ride for hours, yet never get anywhere. Texas feels like a horror movie scene where the hallway just gets longer and longer. I trust Jace will return us safely to the house. This trust feels good after a year of stumbling around lost and pissed.

Jace pulls over to a lonely gas station to fill up. Sliding off the back of the bike, I realize my shirt is soaked with sweat. Jace is no better off, and I see the lines of his tats through his shirt.

"I miss Ellsberg," I say before we climb back on the bike. "I want to go home."

Jace caresses my face. "Me too."

Hugging him to me, I love his sweaty scent. "Colbie's planning a farewell party."

"You told her first?"

"No, she told me to go home. Bossy little bitch."

"Her sister told me the same."

"They share a brain and are creepy as hell, but they're right. We bleed Ellsberg, and it's time to go home."

Jace looks down at me, and I know he's thinking too much. Worrying in his head until he freezes and can't react. This time, he surprises me by not shutting down from all his thinking.

"It'll be easy to fall back into my old habits when we got back. I already find myself worrying over being that guy. Whatever happens, you need to know I love you. I never stopped, not for a single second when we were apart."

Tightening my arms around him, I hold his gaze. "If you freak out again and try to leave me, I'll keep you locked up until you come to your senses."

Jace kisses the tip of my nose. "It's only fair since I'd do the same to you."

"Love means knowing when to hold someone hostage."

Grinning, Jace kisses me softly. His hands move to my hair, holding me tightly. The kiss deepens, hungry and desperate. Only the sound of snickering pulls our lips apart.

The gas station attendant laughs at us until Jace unleashes his new dark stare. I love how the giggling freak flinches and hurries back inside. My man knows how to scare a douche with just a look.
Fuck, is there anything sexier?

"Let's get back to the house and shower," I say, tugging at his shirt.

A smile barely touches his lips. He's thinking of me under him. With need written all over his face, he doesn't hide the hunger any better when climbing on the Harley with a grunt. I laugh at the sound of his discomfort, causing him to glance over his shoulder at me.

"You're going to pay for that giggle."

"I don't giggle."

Finally, Jace smiles. He revs the engine and tells me to hold on. The drive back takes forever when I know what's awaiting me once we arrive.

Jace

I Love This Bar

An hour into our farewell party at the Hidey-hole, JJ arrives and gives me an elephant gun as a farewell gift. I look over the weapon and give him a smile. He narrows his eyes, tips back his gray Stetson, and sighs.

"You won't be smiling when the aliens arrive."

"Are you sure? I smile a lot and usually at inappropriate times."

Grinning, JJ pats me on the back and wanders off to find a pretty woman to woo. I add the elephant gun with the pile of other weapons given to me by the McLaughlin clan.

Sawyer waves at me from the other end of the bar. I give her a head nod. For whatever reason, this gesture makes the twins laugh and point at me.

"I'll miss you, man," Zane says, handing me a beer.

"Bullshit."

"I know, right?" he says, walking away. "It's the thought that counts though."

The twins join Zane on the dance floor for a line dance from Incestville. Busy worrying for the future children, I nearly miss Mac entering the bar.

Snickers stands at the doorway for a second before turning around and walking back out. I can't stifle my laugh.

"Are you leaving?" Mac asks.

I point at the sign hanging over the bar that reads, "Farewell Sawyer and Jace!"

"Just checking," he says, giving me a nod. "Have a nice trip and don't come back."

I give him a dirty look, but he's more interested in his wife dancing with the twins and Zane. Focusing my dark gaze on Caveman, he stares back with the dead eyes.
Creepy fucker.

Walking across the bar, I join Sawyer in a quiet booth away from all the dancing and horrible attempts at singing.

"If I ever get cold like that guy," I say, kissing her forehead and cheek and other cheek and lips. Finally, I remember my point. "Pull me back, if I get fucked up like him. I want to be scary, not evil."

"I'll remember that," she murmurs, stroking my chest. "Wait, what did you say?"

Laughing, we try to cool off and barely succeed.

The siblings are now ballroom dancing. Zane takes turns partnering with each sister. I notice Yesenia watching from a table. She looks more out of place than I feel most days.

"Do you think Yesenia can make things work with Zane?"

"If she loves him enough," Sawyer says, wrapping her arms around my right one, "she'll learn to adjust. We made things work, and our problems were deeper than her dislike for the twins."

Nodding, I think about those problems. Embracing the old memories makes me stronger. They also make me edgy. Living a fake life has advantages that being honest can't claim.

"Want me to tell you something about yourself?" Sawyer asks softly.

"Yes," I whisper.

"The last Christmas we spent together, I baked homemade gingerbread cookies for you. I was so proud of making everything myself. You ate over half of the batch and praised me a ton," she says, studying my face. "You didn't like them though."

"That obvious?"

"No, but I could tell."

"Sorry."

"I liked that you lied to spare my feelings. That's husband behavior right there. Pop didn't like Mom's baked chicken. Loved her fried chicken and barbecue chicken though. Hell, he loved everything she made, but not the baked kind. He ate it though and told her it was awesome. When you did the same thing, I know you were more than a boyfriend. You were my forever."

"Then I fucked it all up."

"And fixed it in the end. Where we end up matters more than how it started, Jace."

"I knew there was a reason I loved you more than anyone else."

Sawyer nearly climbs into my lap, but controls herself when the twins arrive carrying two large wrapped gift boxes.

"We know our time together is nearly over," Bodie says.

Colbie sighs. "And you're still so very uneducated. Stupid really."

Sawyer tears open the gifts and frowns. "What am I looking at?"

"Boxes, dumbass."

"Oh," Sawyer says, opening the boxes. "Oh, great."

Colbie smiles. "All the horror movies you've missed over the years. Everything from
C.H.U.D
to
Saw 23
. We even added all sixteen
Paranormal Activity
movies. You're welcome."

"The three
Matrix
movies are in there too," Bodie says. "I wouldn't suggest you watch the last two. They're fucking awful, but I bought them as a set."

"This is so great and useless," Sawyer says, hugging the twins. "So very useless."

"You say that now, but wait until you're attacked by sewer crocs or tornado sharks," Colbie murmurs.

"Or more likely the zombie apocalypse happens. You really need to be ready for that one. Too many weird cannibal incidents in the news lately. I'd watch those movies first."

Standing, I embrace Bodie before Colbie tackles me into a bear hug. Sawyer pulls the woman off me and shoves Bodie away.

"My stallion," she growls at the twins. "Mine. No touch."

Colbie places her hands on Sawyer's cheeks. "I'm going to miss your eloquence most of all."

Sawyer laughs, but still blocks the twins from getting touchy with me. I only smile. My woman takes what she wants without asking questions. I've always loved her stubborn nature. It's what drew me to her, and what kept her heart open to me after the last nine months.