Asher: Heartless Devils MC (20 page)

Jenny stepped through the door to her apartment and went straight into the kitchen without a pause. There she pulled a partially consumed bottle of wine from the rack in the fridge and a glass from the cabinet.

“You want one?” she asked as she worked the cork from the bottle.

“No. I’ll get a beer,” Asher replied as he tossed her bag onto the couch.

Today was Jenny’s first day back in class since the Heartless Devils began looking for them, and she was overwhelmed with the amount of work she had to make up. It was going to be a long night and she had to fortify herself with a glass of liquid courage.

Asher stepped up behind her and held her loosely as he kissed her neck softly. “It’ll be okay. You got this. You know you do.” He was well aware of what was stressing her out as she had bitched about it the entire way home from school.

“This is all Dad’s fault,” she said before taking another hit from the glass. “Chasing us around, threatening to kill you. If he had just left us alone, I wouldn’t be so damn far behind.”

“That’s the past. Don’t worry about it. Worry about how you’re going to catch up. You still have almost a month before school ends.”

“Yeah, great. Seven weeks of work and four weeks to do it in. Sure…no problem.”

He kissed her again then let her go, reaching into the refrigerator for a beer. “How do you eat an elephant?” he asked as he turned and twisted off the cap of his beverage.

“One bite at a time. I know,” she sighed.

He took her glass from her hand and sat it on the cabinet. “Why don’t you go get started? I will fix dinner tonight. You can work as late as you need to and I won’t bother you.”

“Oh, hell no! I’ll hit the books, but you’re going to have to help me relax later.”

Asher snickered as he gave her a quick smooch on the lips. “Anything I can do to help. Now go,” he added as he gave her a gentle shove to start her moving.

She spread her books and papers out on the table and started her computer. As she hammered away at the keyboard, referencing her books and notes, Asher pottered in the kitchen. He could cook, but he typically made simple meat and potatoes fare. He thought about trying to make something light and healthy, the way Jenny cooked, but decided to go with what he knew.

“I’ll be back,” he said as he moved toward the door.

“Where’re you going?”

“Shopping. Everything is frozen. I won’t be but a minute.”

When he let himself back in, Jenny barely looked up from her task. He carried the plastic bag of ground chuck and potatoes in the kitchen, and as quietly as possible, began preparing the meal.

“You ready to eat?” Asher asked ninety minutes later.

“What? Oh! Yeah.” Jenny looked at the clock on the wall. “Is it really almost six?”

“It is,” he confirmed shoving a book out of the way with a plate before setting it at his place, holding the other plate until Jenny moved her computer.

“Is this meatloaf?”

“What? Don’t you like meatloaf?”

She tried to hide her disappointment. She appreciated Asher preparing the meal so she could study, but meatloaf? “It’s fine.”

Asher bit down on his annoyance. He was looking forward to some
real
food, meatloaf with creamed potatoes, instead of the highbrow, froufrou food Jenny normally ate. “Before you decide you don’t like it, you should try it first.”

“I’m sure it’s fine,” she said as she cut a chunk from the piece on her plate. She had to admit it smelled good and was covered in a thick red sauce with bits of onion and green pepper showing, but the only time she had tried meatloaf was in the school cafeteria and she had found it less than appetizing.

Asher plunked one of two beer bottles in front of her as he sat down. “No wine with meatloaf. I looked it up. It’s against the law.”

She sniggered and, after blowing the steaming piece of meat cool, popped it into her mouth. She was determined to show no reaction, not wanting to hurt his feelings, but her eyes opened wide at the tangy sauce and the rich, complex, meaty flavor. “Oh, wow! That’s surprisingly good!”

“See.”

“I didn’t think I liked meatloaf, but I like this!”

As she ate, she could feel her spirits rising, the hearty meal warming her and boosting her energy level. When Asher had set the plate in front of her she didn’t think there was any way she could eat the entire portion, but she cleaned her plate, and even cut herself another thin slice.

“Oof! I’m stuffed,” she said as she pushed the plate away from her. They had taken their time with the meal, talking about everything and nothing, and the break had cleared her mind and buoyed her determination.

“I’ll clean up while you get back to work,” Asher said as he rose, picking up the two plates.

She picked up Asher’s empty bottle and her own, nearly empty bottle, as she came to her feet. “I’ll help. I need to move around some anyway.”

With quick, efficient motion, they set about the task of cleaning up the kitchen. “Are you and Dad getting along better?” Jenny asked as Asher rinsed and passed the dishes to her to place in the dishwasher. She was better at dishwasher Tetris so he normally rinsed and she loaded.

“Well enough.”

“That wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.”

“No. I guess not. He’s still not exactly thrilled that we’re sleeping together.”

“I don’t think it’s the sleeping that bothers him,” she said with a giggle.

He snorted as his lips twisted into a sideways smile. “No. You’re probably right.”

“I don’t know what his problem is.”

“He doesn’t want you involved in the club. I agree. You have a lot going for you and you don’t need the stigma of being attached to the Devils following you around.”

Jenny paused in the loading of the dishes. “What does that mean?”

“What?”

“That I don’t want the ‘stigma of the Devils following me around.’”

“Nothing. Just that, well, you know how some people think about motorcycle clubs – that we’re nothing but a bunch of thugs. Do you really want that hanging over you while you’re trying to find your first job?”

“I’ve worked!”

“Sorry. First position with a firm, then. How do you think a big firm would react to the fact that you are a biker’s old lady? Or worse, that you are knowingly involved in illegal activities.”

“The Devils are going straight!”

“I know that. But it wasn’t always that way and people probably won’t believe it anyway. And don’t forget what we did. If something like that were to get out, even if the cops couldn’t prove it, that could make your life more difficult than it has to be.”

“What are you saying? That you’re dumping me?”

“Of course not! I’m just saying that I understand where John is coming from. The farther we can distance you from the club, the better.”

She could feel her blood running cold. “Does that include you?”

“No. I hope not, anyway. I love you, Jenny. But we have to be careful. That’s all I’m saying. Better safe than sorry and all of that stuff.”

She paused as she thought about what Asher said. “I’m not sure I like how this conversation is going.”

“What do you mean?”

“It sounds like you are planning on leaving. Remember, way back, when you said it wouldn’t work and someone was going to get hurt? Remember how you said it probably wouldn’t be you?”

“I remember. But that was before.”

“Before?”

He pulled her in close. “Before I fell in love with you.”

She relaxed slightly. “Okay, but this talk of keeping me away from the club makes me nervous. I am never sure if keeping me away includes keeping me away from you.”

“Not in this lifetime,” he said as he gave her a kiss. “You need to hit the books again. I’ll finish here and then I need to go out for a while. Can I trust you to stay in the apartment and not do something stupid?”

Her brow crinkled in curiosity. “Where’re you going?”

“I need to meet with the Bucs and the Trifectas to bring them up to speed on what is happening with the HDs. I figured I would go to them this time since they have always been coming to me.”

Jenny looked at the pile homework on the table. “Yeah. I doubt I will be going anywhere. Ever.”

He smiled as he tipped her chin up. “I have confidence in you. You’re the best law student I’ve ever fucked.”

“I better be the last law student you ever fuck,” she replied just as she tasted his lips.

Chapter 16

Hiero and Mikio Hamasaki sat in the great room of the house, the room overlooking Biscayne Bay through large, two story windows. As much as they enjoyed sitting outside to enjoy the sun and sea breeze, having the Carter girl sneak up on them had made them take their business discussions inside. They were relatively sure she hadn’t been able to understand what they were saying, but it was still an unacceptable risk.

“I understand, father,” the younger of the two men, Mikio, said. “But the Heartless Devils have been a much larger problem that we expected. I am uncertain how, but they found out that members of Demonios de Sangre killed their leader’s spouse. They have more resources than we gave them credit for.”

If an outsider had been listening they may have recognized the language was from Asia, and possibly even as Japanese, but only someone who could speak Japanese fluently would recognize the rare Hachijōjima dialect they shared.

“Perhaps we should approach the problem another way,” the older man, Hiero, said. “We always knew that we would have to be patient to implement our plans.”

“I understand, father, but with the Devils moving against us, we have to give up our subterfuge and attack the problem more openly.”

The older man grunted in acknowledgement. When they had ordered Melissa Carter killed, they had attempted to pin the murder on the Trifectas to start a war between the two largest clubs in Miami. The Heartless Devils hadn’t taken the bait and the war hadn’t started as planned. They had tried again with Jenny Carter to increase the pressure on the Devils, but that plan also failed when the Devils arrived in the nick of time to save her. Hiero had wanted to throw her overboard and drag her behind the boat until she drowned and then dump her body on the beach in the Heartless Devils’ territory. He wanted the Heartless Devils unsure if her death was accidental or deliberate to keep them uncertain and confused, but that subtlety had cost them. Hiero acknowledged to himself that he should have listened to his son’s advice and simply had her throat slit and left her for dead in her apartment.

Mikio had continued to play his part as their contact with the Buccaneers, Demonios de Sangre, and the Trifecta clubs while Hiero had stonewalled the Heartless Devils. But, somehow, the Devils had put two and two together and knew that Mikio was connected to both the brewing club war and Jenny’s near death. It was only logical to assume they had made the connection to his father, as well, when Jenny Carter had spotted them together.

“We should use the Demonios,” Mikio suggested. “I no longer trust the Buccaneers or the Trifectas.”

Hamasaki senior grunted again. “Why?”

“It’s a feeling. They haven’t openly defied us, but they no longer seem as eager to do our bidding as they once did."

“Do you think they have joined the Heartless Devils against us?”

“I don’t know. I don’t believe so. A few weeks ago the Heartless Devils hit our distribution warehouse. The Trifectas defended our supply of weapons and didn’t appear to try to hide what happened.”

“And the Buccaneers?” Hiero asked.

“They have fulfilled all our requests as they agreed to, but, like the Trifectas, they no longer seem…hungry. Not as they once were.”

“But you trust the Demonios de Sangre?”

“Yes. They were very upset about one of their members being killed. Two others were wounded. It was Jenny Carter and a member of the Heartless Devils, Asher Lowe, who did it. The Buccaneers say that this Asher Lowe has gone rogue.”

“This Asher, is he a big man with blond hair?” Hiero asked.

“Yes. Do you know him?”

“Yes, I think so. I believe he was the one who paid me a visit and was the one who saved Jenny. You said he has gone rogue? As in no longer part of the Heartless Devils?”

“That’s correct, father,” Mikio said. “The Demonios de Sangre have decided to not strike at the Heartless Devils for the actions of Asher and Jenny. It seems the Americans do have a certain honor among themselves.”

Hiero thought for a moment. They had come far and he didn’t want to abandon his goal now that it was in sight. It always came back to the Heartless Devils. They were keystone that was thwarting his plans to unite the underground clubs of Miami under his control.

“Perhaps you are right,” Hiero growled in annoyance. “We approached the Heartless Devils with our hand extended in friendship, and they rebuffed us. Now, they are working against us. This cannot be tolerated. Contact the head of the Demonios. It’s time for more direct action. Tell them we will back them with our resources and we wish them to engage the Heartless Devils. Once the Heartless Devils fall, the rest will support us or join the Heartless Devils in their fate. Also, put a bounty, say fifty-thousand dollars, on Asher Lowe. I want him alive. He has caused us much trouble and I will enjoy dealing with him personally.”

“Yes, father, but do you think that is wise? The Heartless Devils may rally to support Asher if we attack him directly.”

“Wise? Perhaps not. Necessary? Yes. I suspect the Heartless Devils, Trifectas, and Buccaneers have combined their forces against us. With only the Demonios de Sangre as our agents, we have little hope of completing what we have started. We must strike now, before their bond becomes too strong to overcome. The bounty will allow us to see if the Heartless Devils have truly declared Asher rogue or it is merely another gambit. I have underestimated the Devils. I won’t make that mistake again.”

Mikio nodded. He didn’t smile, but the news delighted him. He had always thought the most effective way to control was through terror and blood. All this maneuvering behind the scenes left him restless and fidgety. They had tried it his father’s way. Now they were going to try it his way.

“I will see to it immediately,” Mikio said as he nodded in respect and turned away to attend to his duties, a smile forming on his lips. He could feel his manhood stiffening at the thought of the coming conflict. Yoshiko had better be ready because he was going to fuck her into submission later, after he had put his plans into motion.