Chasing Claire (Hells Saints Motorcycle Club) (18 page)

Hal did not miss that.

I doubted that Hal missed much of anything.

Glory’s brother released a small sigh. A look of what might have been disappointment passed quickly over his face. Upping the ante, Hallelujah Thomas then met Jules’s glare head-on.

Glory made a small sound of distress. The two warriors looked at her. When Jules made a small move toward her, Hal reached for his sister first. Then in a deliberate and defensive movement, Captain Thomas put himself directly in front of Glory. He put himself right between her and the rest the boys.

That move was not lost on any of us.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jules’s expression of outrage. Reno moved quickly and placed his hand firmly down on his brother’s shoulder.

Then he muttered something to Jules that I did not hear.

Jules nodded. He left Reno’s hand where it was, but he moved slightly forward.

“All my brothers are now wearing leather,
motherfucker
. And that woman you just put behind your back in some bullshit protective move? A while back, my boy Reno here saved her life.” Then Jules paused and looked right at Glory. “And her and me, we ain’t been exactly what you would call strangers.”

Glory flushed so brightly that even her ears turned pink, but Hal did not seem to notice. After hearing Jules out, he still stayed right where he was.

And, he kept his sister right where
she
was.

“Yeah, well. Thing is,
motherfucker
, the woman that you ‘ain’t exactly been strangers with’ is my blood. And right now she is standing behind me, and not beside you. And knowing my sister the way I do, I’ve got to think that there’s a pretty good reason for that.”

Tension filled the air and another crack of lightning split the sky. Thunder rolled and large raindrops splashed crimson in the eerie illumination of the garden lights.

All eyes were on Glory now. The color of my friend’s face had deepened to the bright red of a newly burst watermelon. She was flushed everywhere and her eyes were wide.

Glory’s joy at her brother’s homecoming had quickly turned into something else entirely.

Reno stepped up.

“Claire, take Glory into the house.”

“Good fucking idea,” Jules chimed in.

Hal nodded.

I walked toward Glory, who quickly took my hand, and we headed toward the house together.

When we got to the heavy wooden steps, we paused to look back.

It seemed like Jules and Hal were not quite done with each other yet.

We watched as the young captain pulled out a fat blunt and wet the tip of it with his mouth. He lit up and took a deep pull on the cigar.

Then with all the calm of a brewing storm, he looked at Jules.

“I can see by those leathers that your
brothers
are wearing, you don’t exactly run with choir boys. I also get that your boys got family in that house. It was never my intention to frighten your women. But I understand how me looking through those windows in the
middle of the night brought that on. For that I apologize. I really should have fucking known better. I’m here to see my little sister and get to the bottom of exactly who put her through the hell I know that she’s been through. So before I go in there and stir that shit up for her, I’m going to ask you nice. Who the fuck are you and what makes you think you got any claim on my sister?”

CHAPTER 29

J
ules and Prosper sat at the table in Prosper’s office. A week after the incident at the lake house, Prosper had returned from business down in South County. Diego had filled him in on what had happened, and now Jules was giving him his own version. In a few minutes, Hal would be knocking at the door. There were some decisions to be made, and before he made them, Prosper wanted to meet the marine.

“He put a fucking boot to my throat. You were me, you’d let that slide?” Jules sat forward with his elbows on the scarred wood. He looked at his president with fury in his eyes.

“Yeah, after you cocked a nine to the back of his head. What the fuck did you think he was gonna do?” Prosper leaned back in his chair and regarded his sergeant at arms.

Jules was seriously pissed.

And Prosper knew it took a lot for Jules to get pissed.

Come to think of it, Prosper thought to himself, it took a whole boatload of shit for Jules to show much of any emotion at all.

Jules and goddamn Crow. Right there you had two stoic sons of bitches. Not like him. If he didn’t smash a chair to bits at least once a week, his wife stuck a goddamn thermometer in his mouth.

“Pinky called and said someone was sneaking around the house, looking in windows and shit. What the fuck was I supposed
to think? Why didn’t the asshole just ring the doorbell like anybody else?”

Really? This again?

“’Cause it was one o’clock in the morning. Stupid fucker thought that it would be better to see if someone was up. He explained all that shit.”

“Yeah. Explained, my ass,” Jules muttered underneath his breath.

“Look,” Prosper growled. “If you want to put a decorated Special Forces Marine to ground because he bested you, that’s your own damn business. But you keep the brothers out of it. This is your deal and you do it alone, without the backing of this club and without my goddamn blessings. The last thing we need is the military crawling up our asses looking for their officer.”

“He didn’t fucking best me,” Jules spat.

“Yeah, he did, Brother. The motherfucker held you with his boot at your throat and your wrist close to breaking. And that’s what got you pissed off more than anything. Jules, I don’t blame you. If it was me, I’d want to kill the sonofabitch too. But there’s more to it than that, and you fucking know it. He didn’t know what he was going to run into out there. So really, he showed remarkable restraint by not crushing your larynx from the get-go. And as for him, a man doesn’t usually get a chance to hear that click at the back of his head twice. You were both goddamn lucky. You didn’t blow his head off and he didn’t sever your windpipe. Seems like a draw to me. Now man the fuck up and get past it.”

Prosper was right and deep down inside Jules knew it. It didn’t make it go down any easier though.

Prosper lit a smoke and tried to pretend indifference. Man being held to the ground in front of his brothers goes down about as smooth as swallowing broken glass. Hard to take for any of them. But for a tough brother like Jules, Prosper knew it must have killed
him. This shit had to be handled with diplomacy, but shit also had to be said.

Prosper sighed. “Look, Brother, put yourself in his place. First thing he finds out after being gone on some long damn mission is that his sister’s been in some kind of trouble. He comes out here to see for himself what the deal is, and finds out that her last known address is a house in the middle of goddamn nowhere.
In the middle of goddamn nowhere
. For all he knew, someone had her chained up in the basement. He decides to scope that shit out before making a move and finds himself with one gun pushed to the back of his skull and another five cocked and pointed at him. You really want to put your woman’s brother to ground over a fucking mistake? Jesus, you are the one voice of reason in this whole goddamn club. What the fuck is wrong with you lately?”

“She ain’t my woman.” Jules looked down at his hands.

So that is what this is about,
Prosper thought to himself.

Prosper pushed his chair back and got up to swing the door open.

“Wife, we need some damn coffee in here!” Prosper knew that his woman would take one look at the brother’s face and know exactly what to do about it.

Lovesick jerk-offs were not his thing.

In a matter of minutes Pinky appeared with a fresh pot and a plate of those cookies she was always baking. Seeing the look in Jules’s eyes, she shot her husband a warning glance before she put the tray down in front of them.

“Yeah, well, you got time to fix that shit.” Prosper didn’t know what else to say.

“Don’t know how to fix it.” Jules leaned in to grab a cup of coffee.

“Fix what?” Pinky asked.

Jules put a fifth spoonful of sugar into his coffee.

“Is this about Glory?” Pinky prodded Jules gently.

Prosper sat back and lit up his smoke. Pinky was a genius at this stuff. Jules shifted uncomfortably.

“Yeah, it’s about Glory.” Jules looked miserable. “Gave her shit about working for Gianni’s crew. I don’t fucking like it.”

“What about it exactly don’t you like, sweetheart?” Pinky asked. She poured herself a cup of coffee, seated herself next to him, and adopted a casual tone. “It appears to me that they treat her right and pay her well. You know, I’ve been on a couple of those jobs myself and I don’t see anything wrong there.” Pinky looked at her husband for help.

“Seems if I’m okay with that shit, you should be too, Brother,” Prosper said gruffly.

Jules was quiet for a while. “Not just that, Boss.”

“Then what the fuck is it?” Prosper did not have the time for this bullshit.

Pinky shot him another warning look.

“I’m going to go take a leak.” Prosper got up.

“Jules, what is it?” Pinky really wanted to help.

Jules shrugged his shoulders, and sat silently. Then he lit up a smoke.

Pinky watched him carefully. “You know, Jules, when you met Glory, she was in a bad way. I know you don’t want her to stay all scared and lost like that for the rest of her life. It’s good that she found this, and her finding this doesn’t mean that you have to lose her. But, if you keep messing things up and fooling around like you have been, then you will lose her. You will lose that sweet, pretty, little thing for good.” Pinky put her hand over his.

Jules grunted.

“Just think about it, sweetheart.” Pinky reached over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Jules stood up and wrapped his arms around her.

Prosper watched from the door, once again totally amazed at his woman. “Get your goddamn hands off my wife,” he yelled.

“She’s too fucking good for you and you know it, Boss.” Jules let Pinky go with a kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah, been knowing that shit for years,” Prosper growled. “Now are you going to get your ass in here and watch the game or what?”

Jules downed the rest of the hot coffee, snatched half a dozen cookies off the plate and headed to the door.

“I’m taking a two-point spread!” Jules said. Then he stopped and grabbed a beer on the way to the living room.

“Fuck that you are,” Prosper replied and grabbed a beer of his own. But before he hit the media room, he also stopped to grab his woman’s ass.

Hal hit the door twice in rapid succession, then stopped. The woman he assumed was Prosper’s wife answered.

“Sorry to bother you, ma’am. Your husband is expecting me,” he said.

The blond woman smiled slightly and nodded. Then she moved away from the door to let him in. Hal had noticed the security cameras that were placed all along the perimeter of the property. They had seen him coming.

Hal’s military training steered him even here—his eyes took in everything. The house was big, but built shotgun style with one long hallway down the middle and two easily accessed exits. Hal guessed that in a house this size there was a labyrinth of small corridors off the main hall as well. The house itself was set high, with its back abutting a stone ledge. The windows were long and narrow
and while they let in a lot of natural light, they were set close to the roof and did not allow easy access to the outside. To the untrained eye, the house was an architectural dream of unique use of space and light. To someone who knew what to look for, it was a fortress.

Hal was not surprised when he was led into a back office. He was also not surprised to see that Jules was there with Prosper. He had hoped that he would be.

Prosper nodded to the seat next to him.

Hal took that seat with a silent greeting to both. He was not fooled at all by Jules’s outward appearance of detachment.

Fucker had it down.

Hal was known to pull it out himself when he needed to. Every Marine mastered that stare before he even left boot camp. That focused blank one. The one that glared at each hopeful recruit from every damn enlistment poster. It was a look that was intended to represent years of time-honored tradition, and to scare the piss out of the enemy. Marines were taught to hold that focus no matter what. If a bee flew up their ass, or a snake slithered down their goddamn boot, their orders were to remain steady.

Yeah, Jules had it down.

And Hal threw it right back at him.

Prosper was the first to break the silence.

“If you boys are done with your pissing contest, I’d like to get this shit over with.”

Hal turned his attention to Prosper. “You and me and your boy here, we got some unfinished business,” Hal began.

“Ain’t nobody’s fucking boy,” Jules snarled.

Hal sighed deeply then, and raised both of his hands in surrender.

“No disrespect intended. Never been good with words. You ask me whatever you want. And I got a few things to say. We talk
this through until it’s all good, then I’ll be on my way.” Hal’s intent was to get this over with as soon as possible. Explaining himself to these two guys wasn’t exactly how he wanted to spend his day. He got right to the point and spoke directly to Prosper. “Your VP and me had a talk about the shit that went down at the house. He said I’d have to see you, but as far as he went, we’re good.” Hal paused long enough to show Prosper the respect he knew was expected. “What do you say?”