Death Ride (Blue Bandits MC Book 5) (2 page)

Jamie Franklin watched the biker she’d just drugged fall face first onto the concrete parking lot. She winced.
Damn, if he’d been awake that would have hurt like a bitch. Not that it wasn’t going to hurt when he finally did wake up.
Guilt assaulted her as she stared down at the man her brother hovered over
.
She wasn’t too keen on this plan but Evert had insisted. He felt it was the only way they would be able to get the Blue Bandits president to listen to them about the club.

Not that she thought it would be easy to make him see reason after taking in the intense way he’d looked at her as he’d fallen. After what she had just done to him, he had every right to spit the
bitch
insult at her but it stung a little that he had called her one. Letting out a sigh, she realized that even though she’d agreed to trap the poor man for Evert, she wasn’t sure it had been the right thing to do. He’d been really pissed if the glare he’d managed to give her before he finally passed out had been any indication.

“Evert, maybe this was a bad idea and we should just leave him here for his MC to find. I mean he was pretty mad and that won’t help your case. And why did you tell him my name was Becky?” Jamie asked while tilting her head to watch Evert check the man’s pulse.

“Jamie, how many times do I need to tell you that my name’s Blade, not Evert. And I told him you were Becky because I don’t want him to know who you are. If he learns you’re my sister, he will try to use it against me or hurt you to get at me. We’ve also been over why we’re doing this and I’ve already told you this is the only way to make this work.” Her brother glared up at her from where he knelt beside the biker with an exasperated look on his face. She rolled her eyes because he could just get over it, she wasn’t calling him by that silly name.

“First of all, that’s not what our mother named you so I won’t call you by that stupid handle,” she informed him, wondering why the name his buddies had given him was the only one he wanted to use. Apparently naming your friends something stupid was the same for every man who entered an MC because he’d called the man he was currently turning over Death. Jamie rolled her eyes because it was dumb that they couldn’t just go by the names their mothers had given them. I mean who wanted to be called
Death
?

She felt her stomach twist because she would bet
“Death”
wasn’t his name because he was warm and fuzzy. Nope, that name didn’t bode well for either of them because a handle was usually given to someone for something they were good at. Her brother was good with knives, hence his moniker of
Blade
.

Watching Evert roll him all the way over onto his back, Jamie winced, putting her hand to her face in sympathy because Death’s face was scraped and bloody.
Damn, he would likely have a scar when the cut on his chin healed
. How the ground had done that much damage when he’d only fallen a short distance she couldn’t fathom.

She continued arguing with her brother, “But I still think this was a really bad idea and we should leave him here and try to convince them another way.”

“Jam-Jam, it’s all right. This will work.” Evert’s brow furrowed in determination. Jamie internally shook her head.
Damn, he was going to be stubborn
. Sometimes he could be so damned mule-headed. Not that she was any different and it wasn’t a virtue for either of them. Nope, they were both known to allow that stubborn streak to land them in hot water.

“How many times do I have to tell you, stop calling me that,” she growled. She hated that nickname, passionately. Her glare was hot and Evert, the damned bastard, grinned and winked at her before he motioned for Hock and Red to come help him get Death up off the ground. Jamie walked behind them as they loaded him into the truck bed.

“Wait, put him in the truck. I can’t drive to the clubhouse with him in the bed like that, I might sling him around and he will be more beat up than he already is,” Jamie protested.

“Jam-Jam, just get in and drive him. We don’t want anyone to see him and if he happens to wake up, it’s safer if he’s in the bed of the truck,” Blade explained.

“I don’t care. He’s banged up enough from falling. I refuse to be the one to make it worse, Evert.” Standing with her hands on her hips, she glared at her brother.

Red and Hock snickered as they shoved Death’s legs into the truck and she watched his head hit the wheel well.
Damn, they weren’t even trying to be gentle.

“Be careful,” she commanded, earning sheepish smiles from the two of them.

“He’ll be fine. Trust me, he’s had worse than a few scrapes and bruises. You just need to relax,” Blade muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Yes, I’m sure that’s true but if he wakes up all banged up is he going to be in the mood to listen to what you have to say?” Jamie asked with a dark glower.

“Jam-Jam, let me worry about that. I’ve got this under control. You just drive him back to the clubhouse and we’ll take it from there.” Blade’s voice was frustrated and he looked like he wanted to strangle her. Not that she was worried because she knew he’d never hurt her despite his level of frustration with her.

“I’ll drive him but don’t expect it to be quick because I am not going to be banging him around the truck bed to get him there fast,” Jamie told him as she stomped towards the truck.

“Jamie, damn it. Just go a normal speed and try not to draw any of the Blue Bandits’ attention if you see them. If they catch you with their president passed out in the bed, you won’t be treated nicely,” Evert warned, his voice filled with worry.

“I’ll be fine,” Jamie told him, reaching up to grab the back of the seat to climb into the truck.

“Damn, I knew I should have driven the truck here instead of my bike,” Evert grumbled as he stood in the door of the truck.

“It’s not that big a deal. I’m capable of getting him to the clubhouse even though I am beginning to think this was a bad idea. Besides, if they’re looking for him they’re more likely to pull you over than me,” Jamie told him, rolling her eyes.

She hated when he acted like she was useless. She wasn’t an idiot and she could manage to drive him to the clubhouse without incident, even if she was worried about him being unconscious and rolling across the truck bed every time she turned.

“This has nothing to do with me thinking you incapable and everything to do with me worrying about them catching you with him. But if I leave my bike here it would be taken by whoever comes looking for him and I am not allowing that to happen to my wheels. Just be careful,” Evert finally said with a little grunt as he shut the door.

Jamie glanced into the back of the truck bed as she took off. Watching Death slide down towards the tailgate, she winced.
Damn, this was going to be a long drive
. She really hoped she didn’t cause a lot of damage to the poor man—not that she hadn’t already caused enough damage by allowing him to fall flat on his face in the gravel parking lot.

Jamie pulled the truck out of the lot and watched her brother and two of his gang members climb on their bikes. Evert waved at her and took off, zooming around her with Red and Hock right behind him. She twisted her hands on the steering wheel as she watched them fade into the distance. Now she was on her own until she reached the clubhouse. Feeling her nerves coil tightly in her stomach, she glanced back at Death. He was still covered by the tarp they’d thrown over him and he bounced with every rut she hit in the road.
Damn, he was sure going to be sore when she finally got him home.

Her palms were sweaty and her lip was probably red from all the times she’d bitten it by the time she turned down the last road headed to the clubhouse. Jamie let out a little sigh because she was almost done with this chore. If she wasn’t sure that Evert would find another way to kidnap him, she likely would have turned around an hour ago when she was twenty minutes from the bar and returned him. Jamie didn’t like feeling that Death’s captivity was her fault, even if it was.

She knew her brother, and Evert was just as stubborn as she was. If she’d returned Death, he might have come up with a plan that put Death in more danger than this one did. She was almost sure the reason Evert had dug in his heels on this plan was because it was the least likely to get anyone killed. Jamie wasn’t so sure this was the best idea Evert could come up with now that they’d put it into action, but before she’d actually done it the plan had seemed sound.

She pulled up in front of the large farmhouse and shut off the engine, glancing back to see Death slide around the bed as the vehicle came to a halt. The door to the house opened and two of the men walked out and headed towards the truck bed. Jamie climbed out of the cab and moved to the back of the truck where they were already pulling the tailgate down. Ripper and Thorn jerked Death up out of the bed and began trying to carry him into the house.

“Be careful. He’s already been thrown around for the last hour and a half on the way here. He doesn’t need any more bruises,” Jamie snapped at them.

“Relax, sweet-cheeks,” Thorn snickered, rolling his eyes.

Jamie hated when he called her that even more than she hated being called Jam-Jam by her brother, mostly because she didn’t like him very much. He made her skin crawl and seeing his smile at the moment sent a shiver down her spine. She really hated that guy with an extreme passion. Evert walked out as they hefted him up, holding him by his arms and legs, which didn’t look comfortable. She watched the way they banged his head a bit on the side of the truck and winced.
Damn he was gonna have a headache when he woke up
.

“Glad you finally got here, little sis. I was starting to get worried. It’s been an hour and a half and that drive should have only taken an hour max,” Evert said, coming over to stand before her, his brow raised in question.

Jamie glared at him, her arms crossed in front of her and her teeth smacked together. “I had a man in the bed of the truck and I wasn’t about to sling him around like a sack of potatoes.”

“I told you he’d be fine, Jamie. Ugh, it doesn’t matter, you made it back and that’s what’s important. Go on in and get something to eat. Lissa’s in the kitchen and she made potpie for dinner,” Evert muttered after giving her a brief hug.

Jamie nodded; she didn’t have to be told twice. She was starving because she’d been too nervous to eat before she’d left and Lissa’s potpie was always amazing. She entered the clubhouse headed to the kitchen while Evert walked in behind her. There weren’t many people hanging around downstairs, likely because it was two in the morning, but the few that were there lay on the couches or sat at the bar. Lake winked at her as she walked by and she smiled back. Of her brother’s friends, he was likely her favorite. Of course, Crook was a close second and Bam was also in the running.

“Glad you’re safe, kitten,” Lake said, brushing a hand over her head as he stood up. “I’m headed to bed now that our girl’s safe,” he informed Evert, who nodded.

“You two are beyond overprotective. I just didn’t want to hurt him any more than necessary.” Jamie rolled her eyes and smiled at Lake, who chucked her under the chin with his fist in a brotherly gesture she was familiar with.

“Kitten, you know that when it comes to you that’s never going to change,” Lake said before pushing her towards the kitchen. “Now go eat.”

“Yes, daddy,” Jamie mocked as she did as she was told but only because wanted some food.

“Smart ass,” Evert grumbled from behind her.

Shooting her brother the finger over her shoulder, she entered the kitchen. Lissa was already pulling a plate from the oven. She wore a flowy pale blue gown that only came to mid-thigh. It was low-cut and showed off her heavy cleavage. Her wheat-colored hair curled as it flowed over her shoulders as she moved to set the potpie on the counter before looking up at Jamie.

“Everything go okay?” she asked, her face covered with a frown.

“Yeah, not sure it was the right thing to do though,” Jamie muttered as she sat down on the stool in front of the plate.

“I don’t know why Blade involved you in this mess. It’s bad enough that he came up with his crazy plan to kidnap Death Rider but to involve you.” Lissa was shaking her head as she leaned forward resting her arms on the counter as she watched Jamie pick up her fork. Jamie wasn’t surprised that Lissa didn’t agree with her brother’s plan. She’d been quite vocal about Jamie not being the one to enact this plan. She’d insisted multiple times that she should be the one to do the job for him. Evert had shut that down quickly and Jamie knew that they were still not speaking over the incident. Jamie understood that it wasn’t because Lissa thought that she wasn’t capable of doing it but instead that Lissa worried about her.