Asher: Heartless Devils MC (19 page)

“Unlock the car! Unlock the car!” Jenny screamed as Asher charged toward her. She saw his stride stutter a moment as he tried to get the key out of his pocket while still running. The two men on bikes opened up on them, and though they missed her and Asher, they weren’t missing the cars in the parking lot. She turned and ran back toward her car.

The cops were going to be here any moment from all the gunfire, and he didn’t want to be a part of that. He was about spent from his hard run, but the thought of serious jail time kept him moving. The only reason he had made it this far was because, unlike in the movies or on television, hitting anything with a pistol over twenty-five yards was hard, and if it were moving, it was damn near impossible. He heard the bikes rev again. The Demonios were slowly closing the distance and soon he would close enough that they wouldn’t miss. If it weren’t for Jenny taking pot shots at them, he would be dead already. He tried to understand what Jenny was yelling at him, his own breathing drowning out her voice, but one word finally made it through…
unlock! Fuck! I have the car keys!

Jenny saw the lights blink as the car unlocked. She yanked the door open but didn’t sit down, pointing her weapon back toward the street. She could see the customers huddled at the front of the store from the corner of her eye, watching the drama play out.

Asher pounded across the parking lot, stopped, then fired at the bikers until his gun snapped on an empty chamber. He had stopped them once again, but he was out of options. It was the car or death now.  

When Asher turned for the final dash to the car, Jenny drew a careful bead on one of the bikers, using the top of her door as a rest. As the biker brought his gun up, she pulled the trigger. The man jerked then fell forward, his bike tumbling to the ground. He staggered to his feet almost as soon as he hit the ground, but she was surprised she hit him at all. She tried the same tactic on the second man, but after three misses, she gave up, afraid of hitting Asher.

“In the car! In the car!” he gasped, waving her to hurry as he ran up.

She was just shutting the door as he rounded the front of her car. The windshield cracked as a bullet punched through it between them, making her shriek and duck. Asher threw himself into the car, punched the starter button, and at the moment the car wailed to life, floored it. The car leapt forward across a short grassy strip between the parking lot and road. He fought the wheel, the car completely out of shape from the back end sliding out as the rear tires lost traction in the grass.

They skidded into the road, facing the bikers, but rather than try to turn away, Asher kept the throttle pinned to the floor and slammed the car into second. The biker, still astride his Harley, took several more shots at them as Asher revved the car to the redline, racing toward the man. A couple more holes appearing in the windshield before they flashed past the man and Asher banged the car into third. Jenny turned to look behind her, watching as the man twisted on the bike and shot twice more at them before turning to follow, but as Asher sifted into fourth, she turned back around. There was no way he could catch them now, not in this car and not with this much of a head start. She looked behind her again and she could see the man already turning around and heading back to his fallen comrade.

She let out a long sigh of relief. It had been a near thing, but they had made it.

Jenny was standing by her poor little car, her lips pulled down in a pout as she fingered the bullet holes. There were three in the windshield and two more in the nose.

“We were lucky,” she murmured just loud enough for Asher to hear.

“Very,” he agreed as he pulled her in a bit tighter. While it was all going down he didn’t have time to think about it, but now that it was over, he had a sinking feeling in his stomach over how close he came to losing her. She had been standing right out in the open, risking a bullet, to try to protect him as he ran for his life. And she had done what four guys couldn’t…she had actually hit someone. Lucky shot maybe, but she had come through when it counted. “Come on,” he said gently, pulling her away from her battered car. “We need to tell the club what has happened.”

“Why? Dad made it clear what he thought of us.”

“I know,” he said as he escorted her along, an arm behind her back, up the stairs and into their motel room. “But they have to know in case the Demonios come at them.”

“Do you think they will?”

“They might. It depends on how badly they want to start a war. By rights we should have killed all three for the hit on Melissa, but we took out only the one who did the deed. If they’re smart, they will let it go at that.”

“But you shot the other two. Twice!”

“That was their choice. If they had given up the killer, it wouldn’t have happened.”

Jenny shivered as her mind returned to that grisly ten minutes. “I know it had to be done, but…” Her voice trailed away as she remembered the blood and the screams.

“I know. That was some nasty shit. I hated doing it, but it had to be done. They would never have talked otherwise.”

Jenny flopped down on the bed and rested her elbow on her legs. “I thought that was what I wanted. I thought I could have cut their hearts out with a spoon. But once it started, I just wanted it to end.” She stared at the air conditioner purring under the window.

“Jenny, it’s over,” Asher said softly as he sat on the bed beside her. “You didn’t do
anything.
It was all me. I would have killed all three, but you gave two of them their life. I’m sorry you witnessed that. But justice has been served. Life for a life. Try to let it go.”

She shuddered again then looked into his eyes. “No. I had to be there. I’m glad it’s over, and I hope I never see anything like that again, but I had to be there. The anger and rage, it’s gone now. I think I can finally let her go.”

Asher smiled softly and pulled her to him, touching his forehead to hers and holding her there. “There is only one more thing before we can leave this sordid mess behind.”

“The club?”

“The club,” he confirmed.

She sighed and pulled back. “Let’s get it over with.” She rose and pulled her phone from her purse and dialed her dad’s number from memory.

“Jenny! Where are you? Are you okay?” her father asked.

Jenny smiled. He sounded almost relieved to hear from her. Well, she was about to take care of that. “We’re still in hiding.”

“Jenny, I’m sorry,” her father said. “I was upset. I said some things I shouldn’t have. Asher is a good man. I just don’t want you involved with the club. That was your mother’s wish, and I think she is, was, right. Please, you and Asher come in. We can talk about it and work something out.”

Jenny looked at Asher. His eyes were wide as he met her gaze. He shrugged, unsure of what to do. “Before we agree to that, I have something to tell you,” Jenny said.

“What?” John asked from the phone.

“Asher and I killed a Demonios member today. He—”

“You what?” her father roared.

“He killed my mother. We tracked him down and I killed him,” she said. Asher had pulled the trigger, but it was her fault as surely as if she had done the deed herself.

There was a long moment of silence. “Do you know what you have done?” her father said softly. “You may have started a war. The Demonios are crazy as shit-house rats. They’ll never stop until we kill them all.”

“I told them why we were making the hit,” Asher said. “We only killed the man who actually killed Melissa. There were three men involved. We let the other two live.”

“I thought I could trust you, Asher,” John said softly. “We were brothers. No, closer than that. You were like my son. How could you do this to the club? To me?”

“This had nothing to do with the club, John. This was personal. The club should have handled this, but we didn’t. You declared me rogue, so the club is clear.”

“You know if I have to, I will give you up to stop a war.”

Jenny felt her blood run cold at her father’s statement.

“I understand,” Asher said calmly.

“Then we’re finished,” Jenny said. “We will never come back. You’ll not give him to
anyone
. Do you understand me? You will have to kill me, too! Is that what you want? Are you going to kill your own daughter? Is your club that important to you?”

“Jenny, I—” her father began.

“No! No more talk. We’re done talking. I love you, Daddy. I always will. But I don’t trust you anymore. Not over this.” Jenny paused, struggling to control her emotions so she can say what must be said. “I can’t see you again. Ever. This is goodbye, Daddy. I love you,” she gasped, her voice breaking. She touched her phone, ending the call.

Her phone began to ring. It was her father, so she turned it off. She couldn’t face that again, not now.

Asher rose from his chair on the other side of the table and pulled her to her feet. “I should go back. I don’t want to come between you and your father.”

“No! Don’t go back. I couldn’t stand to lose you, too. First my mother, then you? If anything were to happen to you, I would never forgive my father. Then I would have no one.”

“Nothing will happen to me, Jenny.”

“You don’t know that! You heard him. He said he would give you up! I can’t take that risk. I’m falling in love with you, Asher, and I can’t lose you. Not like that!”

Asher blinked and stared into Jenny’s eyes. He hadn’t thought about until she said the words, but he realized how much she meant to him, too. He pulled her in and held her tight, one hand on her head, the other around her back, letting the feelings within him swell with realization.

“I love you, too,” he said softly.

She flashed hot with his words but didn’t move, afraid of breaking this moment. “Do you?” 

“I do. I just hadn’t admitted it until you said the words.”

She pushed back out of his arms and searched his eyes. She smiled at what she saw there. They were going to be okay. So long as they had each other, they would always be okay. She didn’t know what to say. She had never been in love before. But words weren’t necessary as she rose to her tiptoes as she pulled his lips to hers.

Epilogue

John sat in his small apartment at the Heartless Devils’ clubhouse, thinking. He hadn’t slept last night, Jenny’s news that she and Asher were severing all contact with the club, keeping him awake.

In less than six months he had lost his wife, his daughter, and his most trusted member of the club. Was he wrong? Could he have handled this differently? After Melissa’s death, he had wanted to rage, to go to war with the Trifectas and kill every member of their club. He had wanted to wipe them out and hurt them as they had hurt him.

Kenny and Asher had both urged him to pull back because he wasn’t thinking clearly, and he had. And that had been a good decision, as the Trifectas hadn’t been involved. But had he pulled back too much?

He could tell Kenny wasn’t happy with the way things were going. He was supporting him, but he had been counseling that Asher was only doing what the club should be doing. Kenny had finally convinced him that he had been wrong to attack Asher as he had, and he tried to bring him in, to heal the rift that had formed between them. But then Asher had taken matters into his own hands – again – and had allowed Jenny
to kill a man.
His own daughter was now a murderer!
He had promised Melissa he wouldn’t allow Jenny to be sucked into his world, and now he had.

John sobbed once, very quietly before he gathered himself.
No! She won’t be drawn into this world. I will keep my promise if it kills me!

He rose from his chair, his chest feeling tight. He thought about taking one of his nitro pills, but decided it wasn’t too bad yet. He picked up his phone, the one given to him by Jenny, and dialed Kenny.

“
Kenny. John. Gather the Deacons. We meet in chapel in two hours.”

“What’s happening?” Kenny asked.

“I’ve been thinking about the Asher problem.”

“And?”

“And we are going to find them and bring them back here by whatever means necessary.”

“John…you don’t know what you are saying!”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Kenny. I know exactly what I’m doing. I told you about the call. It’s Asher. Jenny is becoming involved in the club because of Asher. We are going to break that attachment.”

“John…” Kenny said very quietly.

“I’ve made up my mind. If you have concerns, you can bring it up in chapel. We vote it in two hours.”

John hung up the phone and placed it in his pocket as he made his way toward the door. Killing a member is not something to be taken lightly. He had two hours to formulate his argument.

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