“Yeah, your friend, Madisen, said she’d have Rebel meet you. I’m going to drive you to the airport in Colorado Springs. I didn’t want to risk having you fly out of here in case they’re watching for that. He’ll meet you on the other end in Nashville. I’ll call them as soon as you take off, so they know when to expect you.”
“Dolly, wait a minute. I need to think about this. Did she say who was coming with him?” I knew I didn’t want to see Ajax. If I had any other choice, I wouldn’t be asking the Warriors for help.
“No, but I told her what you said, not to tell Ajax. She didn’t sound happy, but she said she wouldn’t tell him. Honey, you need to go. You’re not safe. I think they can help you. Please, if anything happened to you, I would hate myself. I should have known you wouldn’t just run off. I let that bitch fool me. Well, not again. Come on. Go take a shower and I left some clothes on the bed for you to change into. Then we’ll head out.”
I moved to the bathroom on autopilot. I had to admit the hot shower helped to revive me some. On the bed were a pair of panties, a bra, yoga pants, and a sweatshirt that looked just like ones I had. I quickly changed. It felt good to be clean again. They hadn’t exactly given me clean clothes or allowed me to shower. I brushed my hair with a comb she’d left on the sink and brushed my teeth with the unopened toothbrush I found beside it. Feeling more human, I went to find her.
In no time, she had me in the car and headed toward the airport. When we got there a little over an hour later, she parked and walked inside with me. I gasped when we headed to the ticket counter.
“Dolly, I can’t fly! I don’t have any ID or money.” She smiled as she handed me my wallet. It had my identification and was stuffed with money. I looked at her.
“It was no big deal for me to sneak up from the diner to your apartment to get this and a change of clothes. I didn’t risk taking anything else in case they searched for signs of you being there.”
“But where did all this money come from?”
“Call it a gift.”
“I can’t take this, Dolly.”
“Don’t argue. Yes, you can. If you want to call it a loan, when you get your inheritance, you can repay me. All you need to worry about right now is getting there and staying safe.” With tears in my eyes, I hugged her.
“Thank you so much,” I whispered. She sniffed.
“Get going before you make me cry. Call me when you get there so I know you’re safe. And here, before I forget, here’s your cell phone. Good luck.”
I gave her one more hug then hurried over to the counter. I lucked out since it was so late and there was a seat available. I took it. An hour later, I took off for Tennessee. As the miles flew by, I wondered what Rebel and the ones he was bringing to help would have to say. I closed my eyes to doze.
Ajax:
I was about to lose my mind. After three months of no word from Jessica, and no sign of her, I’d given up hope. She was gone and I’d never see her again. I had to admit these past few months I’d become useless to my brothers. I barely worked. I couldn’t concentrate. When I wasn’t sleeping, I was drinking and trying to forget her.
I’d tried to forget her with one of the bunnies one night. It was a stupid move. When I tried to have one suck me off, I hadn’t even gotten my pants undone, before I was telling her to get lost. More than one had approached me, trying to console me but I didn’t want them. I only wanted Jessica.
When I did sleep, I dreamed of her. I would see her lying in my bed, at the bakery, around the clubhouse. My brothers kept telling me not to give up hope. However, I was done hoping and praying. It was time to face facts.
Then Rebel and Bull had called me into Bull’s office earlier today. I sat there stunned when he told me about the call Madisen had received from Jessica, and what a woman named Dolly had told her. I was reeling when they got done and I was enraged. How dare they threaten my woman? I’d fucking end every single one of them, starting with the whore of a stepsister.
Then Rebel told me about Jessica telling Madisen not to tell me. I lost it. I threw a chair across the room before Bull and Rebel along with Tank got me under control. I told them there was no way in hell I was staying away from her. She was mine and I planned to make that crystal clear. They reassured me they expected nothing less.
So, here I was, hours later, waiting for her plane to land. Dolly had called to tell us what flight she was on and when it was expected. She made us promise to take care of Jessica and to keep her informed of what was going on. It sounded like Jessica had made a friend. I paced the hallway outside of the security gate. Bull came over to me.
“Ajax, I think it would be best if you wait at the car.”
“Why?”
“Because if she sees you, she might make a fuss. We don’t want security getting involved. Let us wait and we’ll bring her to the car. Once she’s there, you can talk to her. She’ll be riding with you all the way back to Hunters Creek. That’ll give you time to hopefully iron things out.”
I hated that he was right. She could very well make a scene. I reluctantly nodded. I made him promise to text me as soon as they saw her. He promised. I headed back out to where we’d parked the car and the bikes. I got in to wait in the dark for her to get here. While I waited, I played through my head what I wanted to say to her. Not like I hadn’t been doing it for months, but I still wanted to practice. It was too important for me to mess it up. I had to find a way to win my woman back, for good. The agony I’d been feeling would be nothing if I did lose her forever. I nervously tapped on the steering wheel.
My cell vibrated in my pocket. I took it out to see Bull saying they would be out in five minutes. He advised me to stay in the car until they got her to it. I sat there full of nervous energy, shaking my leg as I watched the entrance. When she came out, I felt the breath leave me. Even though it was dark, I could see it was her. I’d never seen anything so beautiful in my life. I had to lock myself down to stop from getting out of the car and running to her.
As she got closer and walked under the lights in the parking lot, I started to see more. She looked thinner and her face was tired looking with dark circles under her eyes. She staggered for a moment and Bull grabbed her to steady her. What in the hell was wrong with her? Had they hurt her? Dolly had only said Jessica’s family had held her prisoner for a couple of weeks. She hadn’t said much else since she didn’t want to go into details over the phone. My heart hitched. Was she hurt? Did we need to take her to the hospital?
They made it to the car. She was looking at Bull when I got out of the driver’s seat. Hearing the door open, she swung around and froze when she saw me. As our eyes met, I saw alarm then pain went through hers. She backed away, shaking her head.
“Why is he here? I told Dolly to tell Madisen not to tell him,” she cried out.
“She didn’t tell him, I did,” Rebel told her. “Listen, Jess, he needs to be here. He’s your man. He has the right—”