Jase (Kings of Korruption MC Book 3) (12 page)

I look at him
and frown, then follow the direction of his stare. His hate-filled
glare is pinned directly on Anna, Charlie’s sister, who’s dressed
in black and clutching Charlie’s hand like a lifeline.

“
She came in with the Montreal chapter. Said she wanted to be
here for her sister.”

“
That stupid bitch has a lot of nerve showin’ her face around
here,” he growls. “She’s the one that started this whole fuckin’
mess.”

I don’t get a
chance to respond because Ryker begins speaking. “Gunner Monroe
loved this club. He loved his kids, his wife, and the open road.
I’ve known Gunner since I was just a kid, and one of the first
things I learned about him was that you don’t cross him—ever.”

I can’t
listen. I know what he’s going to say because I helped him write
the damn thing. The fact is, I can’t get the image of Gunner and
Tess’s dead bodies out of my head. More specifically, the image of
their clasped hands in death, from my head.

Ryker is
right. Gunner loved the shit out of his wife, and he did whatever
he could to make that woman happy. There was no question that she
loved him just as much. They’d met about ten years ago, but without
knowing it, you’d swear they’d been together their entire lives.
I’d never seen anything like it.

To be honest,
I’ve never seen many functional relationships. Only two of the
Kings had had old ladies when I was a kid, and those women didn’t
spend a lot of time at the clubhouse. My father never said much
about my mother, but I knew she was a club whore who didn’t even
know she was pregnant until it was too late. My father took me from
her when I was just a baby, after finding her strung out on crack,
and me starving in my crib.

My dad never
found an old lady, and had seemed perfectly happy with that. Until
Gunner had met Tess, I’d never even seen a real relationship up
close. Now they are everywhere. I look over at Charlie, her
tear-filled eyes focused on her man as he gives a speech that I
know is killing him to give. Ryker has changed so much since he met
her. He’s happy.

Beside Charlie
is Laynie, her hands wrapped around Tease’s bicep. Tease had been
one of the most broken motherfuckers I’d ever seen. It had taken
Laynie to pull his head out of his ass and see that his life wasn’t
over. He’s still no fucking Rosie Sunshine, but you can see the
love they share just by looking at them.

I see brothers
from other chapters standing around, all focused on Ryker as he
talks. Some of them are holding tight to the woman they love. Even
Gunner’s daughter, Gabby, and his son, Derrick, have someone with
them, holding them up as they struggle through the pain.

My eyes move
to Ellen. Her face is red and splotchy, her eyes full of tears as
she listens to the eulogy. She looks beautiful. Her eyes meet mine
from across the circle and she smiles a sad smile, using a tattered
tissue to wipe her cheeks.

I want to
comfort her. I want to be there for her as much as I want her to be
there for me. She was wrong the other day. Cutting me out is not
going to make that fucker go away. He’s an asshole, and he’s in it
for the long haul. But I was wrong too. I’d walked away too easily.
I didn’t fight for her.

She turns her
attention back to Ryker, but I keep my eyes on her. Ellen had sent
me packing to save a fight with her ex, but what she doesn’t know
is that I’m going to help her fight this fight. It’s time for me to
stop fucking around and claim my woman.

Ellen

I’m turning
off the lights and checking the locks, ready to turn in for the
night when there’s a knock on the door. My heart pounds out of
control. It’s eleven-thirty. Who would be knocking on my door at
this hour? I can hardly breathe as I stalk quietly towards the
door. Nothing good ever comes from late night callers.

Peeking
through the window beside the door, I flick on the porch light and
relief floods me when I see the leather cut.
Jase
. I reach for the locks and start to open the
door. Why would Jase be here at this time of night?

I open the
door, ready to give him hell for scaring the shit out of me, when I
see his slumped shoulders and downcast face. “Jase?”

He raises his
head slightly and looks up at me through his eyelashes. “Can we
talk? It’ll only take a minute.”

I don’t
hesitate. He looks so lost, so alone. It breaks my heart. Stepping
aside, I motion for him to come inside. I close the door and turn
to see him running his fingers through his hair, his eyes flicking
around the room.

Before I even
get a chance to speak, he starts talking, “I’m sorry to just pop
over here like this, especially this late at night, but I wanted to
make sure your kid would be in bed. He is in bed, right?”

“
Yeah, he’s—”

“
Good,” he cuts me off. “I wanted to thank you for coming to
Gunner and Tess’s funeral today. I mean, I know you came to be
there for Charlie, but it was really nice to see you
there.”

I don’t speak.
He looks to be contemplating his next words, so I remain silent,
ready to listen.

“
Nobody takes me seriously,” he blurts. His feet start moving
and I stand in place, watching him pace back and forth in front of
me. “All my life, I’ve been the funny guy, the nice guy. The one
everyone can count on to cheer them up, or show them a good time. I
never even noticed it until recently. Not a single person in my
life takes me seriously.”

I don’t know
what to say. He’s right, to the best of my knowledge. All I’ve ever
heard about Jase are party stories, or tales of his sexual
escapades, but never anything serious. Never anything to indicate
that he was about anything but being the life of the party.

“
The truth is, El,” he turns and looks at me, “I’m tired of
being that guy. I’m tired of being the guy everyone laughs at, the
guy people tell stories about. But most of all, I’m tired of being
the guy that’s always alone.” My heart clenches. “My dad died a few
years back, did you know that?”

I shake my
head.

“
He got in a wreck driving up to see his buddies in Montreal.
Died on the scene.”

I reach out
and place my hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, Jase.”

He
covers my hand with his and threads his fingers through mine. “You
know what? It’s fine. I’ve dealt with it. Me and my old man, we
weren’t the closest. He was okay, but we never really connected, ya
know?” I give him a sad smile. “In every way imaginable, the Kings
are my family. I grew up with those fuckers, but I’m learnin’ more
and more every day that none of them really know me, except for
maybe Ryker. Maybe Reaper too, but nobody really
knows
me. They all see me as Jase the
drinker, the partier, the joker… the womanizer.” He lets out a
brief laugh that doesn’t contain an ounce of humour. “Hell, even
Gunner thought I was a fuckin’ joke.”

“
He didn’t,” I say, trying my best to soothe the ache I hear
in his voice.

“
He did,” he whispers. “I’d never given him any reason to
think anything else.” Jase grabs my hand and pulls me towards the
couch where he takes a seat and pulls me down beside him, turning
our bodies so that our knees touch on one side, holding my hand in
his. The look on his face is determined.

“
But you…” He pulls in a deep breath and squeezes my hand.
“El, you make me want to prove to everyone that I’m not a joke. I
don’t want to be a joke anymore, or the life of the party.” He
grabs my chin and his eyes pin me in place. “What I want is to be
yours. I want to be the one you count on, the one you turn to. I
want to be with you so fuckin’ bad, El.”

My stomach
sinks, my chest feeling tight and heavy. “Jase, you know I can’t do
that. I told you, the court—”

“
I know what you said about the court, but what you don’t know
is that there is nothing on my record that the courts could use
against me. I’ve never been charged with anything.” He grins. “Not
since before I turned eighteen, but those are stories for
later.”

I stare back
at him incredulously. “How is that possible?”

He holds his
hands out and smirks. “Please, like I’d ever get caught.” His smirk
fades and his face grows serious. “The truth is they just can’t
nail me with anything. They can, and do try, trust me. I get hauled
in once in a while, we all do, but they have nothing they can use
to make anything stick. The only thing they can prove about me is
that I’m a motorcycle mechanic. I’m clean, El.”

I bite at the
inside of my cheek, my mind racing through all of the things he’s
just said, and what it could mean for us. “Why me?” I blurt out.
“Why not one of the whores at the clubhouse, or one of the hundreds
of other women that throw themselves at you all the time. What
makes you want me?”

He blows out a
breath and shrugs. “There’s just something about you that draws me
to you. Babe, I just want a chance to get to know you. I want to
get to know your kid, even if he doesn’t seem to like me all that
much. I want to be there for you while you go through this shit
with his dad. I want to be there to help you put that fucker in his
place, so he stops pushin’ you around and scarin’ you. For the
first time, El, I want to take the time to start something new,
something good. It’s the only thing I’ve thought about since the
first time I saw you.”

A tear rolls
down my cheek. “I want that too,” I whisper, “but I’m scared.”

His arms wrap
around me and he pulls me into a tight hug. “I know, baby,” he says
into my hair. “I know you are, but this… what we’re startin’… it’s
gonna be fuckin’ incredible. You wait and see.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Jase

I
watch Ellen’s
face as she takes in everything I’ve said, wanting more than
anything for her to believe every word, to be the first person to
take me seriously, believing me when I say that I want this—that I
want her.

Her expression
gives away nothing as her eyes stare intently into mine. I stare
back at her, an empty feeling forming in my stomach. What was I
thinking? This woman has done nothing but tell me to get lost, and
here I am, once again, practically begging her to take a chance on
me. I feel like a fool. I open my mouth to speak, just as Ellen
stands up.

I don’t take
my eyes off her as she reaches out her hand and says, “Come with
me.”

I take her
hand, the rhythm of my heart beating completely out of time, and I
stand. She turns, pulling me behind her and walking towards the
hallway, where I can only assume the bedrooms are. We enter a small
bedroom, decorated in black, white, and lime green. The walls are
covered in framed pictures.

She walks
right up to the bed and turns, looking me directly in the eyes, and
peels her T-shirt up and over her head, revealing the lacy pink bra
underneath. The need I see in her eyes nearly matches my own, and
for the first time in my life, I’m nervous. For the first time in
my life, this means something.

“I can’t
believe I’m about to say this, but this isn’t what I want.” I pull
away from her, putting some distance between myself and her half
naked body. “I want you, El, and that means all of you. I want to
experience a life with you in every way, not just sex. I want to
be
with
you.”

“
That’s what I want too,” she admits. I’m floored. My body
hums with excitement, causing my head and my dick to tell me two
entirely different things. “Jase, do you have any idea how long
it’s been for me?”

I shake my
head. The truth is, I don’t want to know anything about the last
time Ellen had sex. The idea of some other dude running his fingers
over her creamy smooth skin makes me want to kill him.

“
Four years,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I’ve been on a few dates since then, but as I get older, the guys
I meet are just not what I’m looking for. And I have never brought
a man around Bryce.”

I move closer
and run my finger from the base of her throat, along the firm round
hills of her breast until I get to the trim of her bra. Leaning
forward, I press my lips to hers, my tongue sliding along hers,
reveling in the taste of this woman.

“
Good,” I whisper, my hand coming up and palming her breast,
giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad.”

Releasing her
breast, I trail my fingers even lower, skimming my fingertips along
her belly and slipping a single finger inside the waistband of her
thin cotton pajama pants. She gasps softly into my mouth, clasping
her hands onto the back of my neck, deepening our kiss.