“She isn’t going anywhere alone with you, Talbot. You think I don’t know what the hell is going on here? You come into the bakery every day and stalk her ass. No one told you shit. Leave now before you and I have trouble,” he hissed.
Talbot’s face grew red. He shot looks of hatred at Ajax. “Fuck you! You’re nothing but dirty, outlaw trash! You think I don’t know you’re panting after her. You’re always around her. You and your club sit outside her house at night. It looks like she’s a hostage. Now, let her out here now, or I’ll have the whole damn bunch of you arrested.”
Ajax growled and went toward the gate like he was going to go out and beat the hell out of Talbot. Jessica stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Don’t. Let me talk to him.” Ajax pulled her aside. Talbot couldn’t hear what they said but I could since I was closer.
“You’re not going out there, Jess. There’s something wrong with him.”
“Ajax, please. I don’t want him to arrest you guys. Let me talk to him, so he can see I’m not here under duress. Then he’ll leave. You guys are right here. He won’t try anything.” I could see Ajax wasn’t down with the idea. I couldn’t blame him. I didn’t like it either. Talbot wasn’t dealing with a full deck. While all this had been happening, I saw Bull on his cell, texting. I hoped he’d reached out to Scarelli. He needed to take his boy in hand.
After arguing another minute or two, Jessica went back to the gate and Ajax followed her, shaking his head, looking like he was about to explode. He nodded to Jake to open the gate enough for her to step outside. She’d barely cleared the opening when Talbot grabbed her and started to drag her toward his car. We all yelled out in shock. Ajax tore through the gate and went after them. Several of us were on his heels.
Ajax grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away from Talbot. She cried out in pain as Talbot hung on and tightened his grip. He was ranting about saving her. She pleaded with him to let go of her. Ajax changed tactics and went after Talbot. He hit him in the mouth with a right hook. Talbot staggered back and let go of Jessica. I pulled her behind me. She was shaking like a leaf.
A few blows were exchanged between Talbot and Ajax before another squad car came barreling into view. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was Scarelli. He came to a squealing stop and jumped out. He rushed over to the still scuffling Ajax and Talbot. To be honest, Talbot was getting the raw end of the deal. Scarelli and Bull pulled them apart.
“What the hell is going on here, Talbot? I told you to stay away from the Warriors.”
Talbot went into his spiel about Jessica being here against her will and that he was only trying to protect her. He yelled he wanted Ajax arrested for assaulting a police officer. Scarelli looked at Bull in bafflement. He looked around until he saw Jessica, then he walked over to her.
She was wrapped in Madisen’s arms, crying. “Jessica, can you tell me, are the Warriors threatening you? Are you being held here against your will?”
She shook her head. “No, I am not. He’s talking crazy. No one here is hurting me or threatening me.” Scarelli asked her to tell him what happened, which she did. After she was done, Tank stepped up. He handed Scarelli his phone. Apparently, Tank had thought to record it, though our cameras would have caught it too. After watching the video, Scarelli went back to Talbot. As soon as he was near him, Ajax backed off and came over to hold Jessica. She melted into his arms.
“Talbot, she’s obviously here freely. You have to stop this shit. Let’s get you back to the office.” His words set Talbot off again, and he tried to rush at Jessica again. Scarelli, Bull, and two other guys grabbed him. They held him down as he yelled and fought. In the end, Scarelli had to call for backup. Another car was dispatched, and Talbot was taken away. When he was gone, Scarelli stayed long enough to apologize and assure Jessica he’d be made to stay away from her. Ajax took her inside the clubhouse. I stayed outside with the others. None of us could believe what had gone down in the last hour.
The rest of the evening passed more subdued as we thought about Talbot. I didn’t see Jessica or Ajax again. They must have stayed in his room. After dinner, some of the guys stayed at the clubhouse to talk, drink, play pool or darts. Madisen insisted I stay for a while to talk to Sean and the guys. When I came to bed around eleven, she was out cold. I took a quick shower then crawled into bed with her. It felt nice to hold her and relax. Sleep soon claimed me.