Strays (Red Kings #1) (23 page)

30

July 20
th

The Florida sun was situated high in the clear blue sky as Jackie drove along the interstate with the windows down, letting in the humid summer air. With a pair of sunglasses perched on the bridge of her nose, she admired the palm trees and coastal scenery that was presented to her on the journey out of the small town of Lakeside.

A loud groan from the passenger seat momentarily diverted her attention from the road as she looked at her traveling companion.

“Are we there yet?” Jagger asked with a yawn as he sat up to look at their surroundings, noting sadly that they were still on the interstate. “Oh.”

Jackie laughed and focused her attention back on the empty stretch of pavement ahead of them. “We'll be there in a few minutes. You know, you really didn't need to come with me. I've been to the gallery before. I think I can handle it.”

“I'm sure you can, sweetheart. I'm just here for backup in case any snobby buyers try to cheat you out of some cash.” She couldn't help but smile as Jagger gave her a mischievous grin. In truth, he was there because of the unfriendly relationship that the Kings currently had with the Jacksonville-based Dead Saints MC. They didn't want to take any chances, and that meant having somebody accompany Jackie on her trips to the city.

“Well, thank you. I know you guys were up late last night. You must be exhausted.” They came to the exit ramp designated for Jacksonville traffic and turned, heading towards the downtown area where the art gallery was located.

“I don't mind. I get to spend time with my favorite girl.” A wink and a laugh followed his statement. “But you can always buy me some lunch to make up for dragging me out of bed at the crack of dawn.”

“Ten is the crack of dawn? Well, excuse me. I seem to be unaware of that. But I suppose we can stop and eat if you promise not to beat up any senior citizens while we're here.” They pulled into the small lot in front of the gallery and Jackie parked the truck in her usual spot, raising her eyebrows at Jagger's mock-indignation.

“You're gonna go there? It was one time.
One
time! And mostly an accident,” he said, trying to defend his actions from their last adventurous outing.

“Right, of course.” She looked at him disbelievingly as they got out of the vehicle. “Make yourself useful and grab the paintings, please.” Jagger obliged grudgingly and picked up the two canvases from the bed of the truck, then followed the young woman to the storefront.

They shuffled past an elderly couple exiting the building and Jackie could hardly contain her laughter as Jagger mustered up all of the politeness in his body to smile and greet them, even going so far as to hold the door open for the old lady.

“See? I can be nice,” he muttered stubbornly as they entered the spacious room. Jackie's eyes swept around as she looked for Diane, the gallery owner. Spotting her at the desk near the back, she made a beeline for the woman, a smile on her face and a greeting at the tip of her tongue.

Jagger paced around the room in boredom, his stomach growling in anticipation as he thought of the food that awaited him as soon as Jackie was finished. A ringing cell phone disrupted the quiet of the gallery, and he reached into his pocket to silence the mobile device as he received glares from both patrons and employees.

“I'll just go outside and take this,” he muttered cheekily as Diane motioned him out of the building. “What's up, Nash?” he said into the phone as he stepped onto the sidewalk. “How's life in Macon?”

“I'm gonna kill somebody.”

The Lakeside sergeant at arms snorted at the usually peaceful man's words and placed his free hand on his hip as he looked into the store window to watch Jackie. “Dean is still being his charming self, huh?”

“How'd you guess?” Nash replied sarcastically. “His new 'I hate the world' bullshit is really grating on my nerves.”

“Yeah, I heard about all of the fights and meltdowns he's been having. Must be real fun.”

“You don't know the half of it. I keep trying to convince him that getting rid of Jackie was the dumbest thing he's ever done, but it's like talking to a goddamn brick wall.”

Jagger watched the woman in question as she hung up one of her new paintings in an empty space on the gallery wall, inspecting its position carefully before smiling in satisfaction. “Dean, the killer that I've known for years, is heartbroken like some love-drunk pussy?” he asked skeptically. “You've got to be kidding me.”

“You haven't seen him. If he doesn't kill himself doing something stupid in the next week, I'm gonna kill him. I need you to talk to Jackie. Bianca tried, but she obviously didn't accomplish much. I was hoping you'd have better luck.”

“You want me to talk mushy love stuff with a woman? Are you insane?”

“Besides hauling Dean's ass down there and locking the two in a room together until they make up, I don't have any better ideas.” The older man sighed on the other end of the line. “Bianca told me that Jackie was planning on leaving town at the end of the month. I'm almost out of time and completely out of options. I can't watch Dean tear himself up anymore.”

“Alright, alright. I'll give it a shot. But I don't fucking guarantee anything.” A movement in the reflection on the glass window caught Jagger's attention and he frowned at what he saw. “Hey, I gotta go. I'll let you know how the talk goes.” He hung up without waiting for an answer and quickly made his way inside.

Three bikers from the Saints MC watched him go as they sat patiently on their parked motorcycles across the street.

“Jack, you about ready?” Jagger asked as he glanced repeatedly over his shoulder at the bikers. They must have caught on to the fact that the Kings were making frequent trips into their territory, even though the men playing escort on the ride to Jacksonville had been sure to remove their cuts each time and purposefully didn't drive their club-endorsing bikes.

Looking up at him in confusion at his slightly hurried tone, Jackie nodded hesitantly. “I just need to pick up my check from Diane's office.”

“Well, how about you go do that. I skipped breakfast. If I don't eat soon, I'm gonna pass out.” There was no point in freaking her out by telling her that they'd been spotted by a rival gang. Besides, it wasn't her they were after. He waved his hands towards the back of the gallery when she didn't move, then gave her a little shove to get her going. “C'mon, c'mon.” Ever since the Kings had
visited
the warehouse near the border of Lakeside, the Saints had been popping up everywhere and it was starting to become a problem.

The two exited the building a few minutes later as Jagger demanded that he drive. “Okay, jeez. You can drive. What's the hurry?” No sooner had she tossed him the keys did a group of motorcycles fire up, drawing her attention to the threatening bikers situated on the other side of the road. “Oh,” she mumbled, then jumped into the truck without being prompted. “What are they doing here?” she whispered loudly as Jagger started the engine and peeled out of the lot.

“Probably just want to see what a biker like me is doing in Jacksonville. No need to worry, sweetcheeks.”

Jackie kept her eyes locked on the side mirror as they drove, watching the bikes follow them at a steady pace. “Oh yeah, and how long are they gonna tail us?”

“Just until we're off their territory. Relax, they're not going to make a scene in the middle of downtown. Not with only three guys.” Jagger momentarily wondered if Dean had taught Jackie to leave a gun in her truck at all times, then made a mental note to get her one just in case. They drove quickly back the way they came out of town and onto the highway. A few miles down the road, the Saints seemed to be pleased with the distance and disappeared from the rear-view mirror in seconds. Both occupants of the vehicle breathed a sigh of relief and sat back more comfortably in their seats.

“How about some lunch?” Jackie looked over at the biker, thinking maybe he had gone crazy. “What? I gotta eat. I'm a growing man.”

She smirked and eyed his midsection as she teasingly mumbled, "You can say that again." Jagger glared at her and took the next exit, which brought them to a gas station and a small restaurant seemingly in the middle of nowhere. They parked and entered the building, where they were seated by a young waitress at a booth next to the window and, at the biker's request, away from the other customers. Keys and sunglasses were placed to the side of the table as they surveyed the eighties decor of the eatery. 

They placed their orders a few minutes later with the same girl, who seemed to be the only one in the place to wait on the small handful of patrons.

“So, Nash called me,” Jagger said awkwardly, hoping this conversation that he had promised to have would go quick and smooth.

“I don't want to talk about it.”

He sat in silence after hearing her words, wondering if that meant he didn't have to pursue any further conversation. But the quickness in her response made him slightly curious, so he sighed in defeat and tried a different approach. “He said that Dean isn't doing too good.” This seemed to get her attention a bit, but her eyes stayed trained on the silverware she was fiddling with. “Said he's been in a really pissy mood since you left.”

“He wanted me gone.”

Jagger nodded, not able to deny that fact. “Yeah, he might have at the time. I think he's starting to realize that wasn't the greatest idea.” Jackie looked up at him curiously, knowing that if Jagger was going through the discomfort of having this conversation with her, then there was some value to what he was saying. “He needs you, sweetheart. He'll never,
ever
tell you that, but he does. I've seen the way you two act together. And I know that he's not perfect at this whole relationship bullshit, but you have to give him a chance. Guys like us aren't great with these kinds of things. I'm sure if you talked it out, you could go back to being... whatever it is you guys used to be.”

“I can't, Jagger.”

“Can't what? Commit to fucking his brains out every night? From what I hear, you guys had no trouble with that.” It was hard not to smile at his words as images of past late night encounters with Dean filled her head. They had done a lot of messing around during their time together. The result of their activities was the reason she was in this situation to begin with. “I don't see why everyone is making such a big deal about this. Just go back to Macon, have some great make up sex, and forget any of this bullshit ever happened. You lovebirds will be as good as new.”

“What about my paintings at the gallery? I'm starting to build a name for myself here.” Jackie was trying to give him a legitimate excuse not to go back without telling him the main reason that was currently residing in her pregnant stomach. The gallery wasn't that big of a deal really. All she had to do was ship some new paintings in every few months and have Diane mail her the check.

Unfortunately, Jagger saw this same basic solution.

“I'm sure you guys can work something out. It's called FedEx. Hell, the guys could even bring some down during their runs if they had to. Problem solved.”

“What about Tyler?” This was the one thing she was having a tough time dealing with. Leaving Tyler at the end of the month was going to be a challenge. She could only hope that the guys would look after him for her. Jackie knew it was selfish in some ways for her to leave Tyler, especially without talking to him first.

“What about that idiot? He's a grown ass man. He can take care of himself.” That wasn't exactly the response she was hoping to get, as it did little to ease her concerns. Jagger narrowed his bright blue eyes at her across the table. “You're planning on leaving Lakeside anyways, so I know you've already thought about all of this shit. What's the real reason you don't want to go back?” He paused, then rolled his eyes and lowered his voice to a soft mumble as he leaned forward. “It's not the whole killing thing is it? Cause killing people doesn't automatically make you a horrible person.”