Chapter 4: Jessica
Today was another weird day. Ajax stared intently at me all day. I had no idea what had gotten into him, but it was freaking me out. I just wanted to go home for the day and lock myself inside, so I could get away from him. However, that dream was ruined when Madisen called and begged me to bring some desserts from the bakery to the compound for some kind of dinner they were having. They had out-of-town guests. I couldn’t tell her no.
So, at five o’clock, I found myself headed to the compound with Lash, Demon, and Ajax following me. As we pulled into the compound, I saw a lot of people milling about. I pulled into a vacant spot and shut off my car. I jumped as my door swung open and Ajax was there, helping me out of the car. He turned his head and yelled at the prospects to get the desserts out of my car.
I protested. “I can get them, Ajax.”
“They can do it. It’s what they’re here for. Let’s go talk to Rebel and Madisen. I want to introduce you to some friends of ours, the Dark Patriots.” I let him take me toward them with his hand on my lower back. His hand felt like it was burning through the thin fabric of my top. I suppressed a shiver.
As we walked up, the three guys with them looked at us. I gave Madisen a hug. She’d really become my best friend. When I let her loose, she turned to the guys.
“Jessica, this is Gabe, Griffin, and Sean. They’re friends of the club. Guys, this is Jessica. She’s my friend and my right hand at the bakery.” I shook each of their hands. As I finished shaking the last one, Gabe’s, Ajax stepped in close to me and wrapped his arm around my waist. I threw him a surprised look. What in the world was he doing?
Gabe and Griffin both chuckled and gave Ajax a chin lift. What was that all about? If I lived to be a hundred, I’d never figure guys and their silent language out. I decided to ignore them and talk to Madisen about the bakery. While we talked about it, the guys talked about some motorcycle Gabe had recently gotten.
A little while later, Madisen and I excused ourselves to go to the clubhouse and check on the desserts I’d brought. We were almost to the door when a police car came pulling up to the gate.Madisen and I paused, curious to see who it was. I saw Rebel and Bull headed toward the gate. To my surprise, out of the car stepped Officer Talbot. He walked over to Jake who was at the gate. It looked like they were arguing. As the guys got to them, we could now hear what Talbot was saying. He was yelling louder.
“I said to open the damn gate! I’m the damn law. I need to check on her,” Talbot yelled at Jake. The guys looked at each other in confusion. I exchanged a puzzled look with Madisen. Who in the world was he talking about? Bull stepped up closer to the gate.
“What can we do for you, Officer Talbot?”
“I need you to tell this guy to let me inside. I need to do a welfare check.”
“A welfare check, on whom?” Officer Talbot looked around until his eyes landed on me. He began to stare at me. I sucked in a shocked breath. Surely, he didn’t mean me? His next words left me in no doubt he meant me.
“I need to check on Jessica. I was told she was made to come here against her will. I have to be sure she’s okay.” His words rang out across the quiet yard. I was stunned.
“I need to go find out what this is about,” I told Madisen. As I walked over to the men at the gate, she followed me.
“Who told you she was made to come here against her will?” I heard Bull ask him. Talbot didn’t answer. He just stared at me even harder. He was starting to worry me. Who would have told the police such a thing? When we got to the fence, I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile.
“Officer Talbot. What a surprise. I heard you say you needed to check on me. That someone told you I was made to come here. I’m not sure who you were talking to, but I can assure you, I’m here of my own free will. I work for Madisen and the Warriors. We’re friends. I have nothing to fear from them. None of them would harm me or make me do anything against my will. Thank you for being concerned.” My hopes that this would reassure him were dashed. He scowled. His face got dark in color and he straightened up to his full height. He leaned in closer to the gate.
“I need to talk to you alone. Come out here and let’s talk.” He gestured for me to step outside. Ajax moved over to stand beside me.
“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 we have trouble, you and I,” Ajax hissed at him. His face was full of anger. What did he mean by saying the police officer was stalking me? I watched as Talbot’s face grew red and he gave Ajax looks that were full of what could only be hatred.
“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 lay hands on Talbot. I didn’t want him to get in trouble because of me. I put my hand on his arm. Don’t. Let me talk to him.”
Ajax pulled me aside, away from Talbot. “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. He’ll see I’m not here under duress then he’ll leave. You guys are right here. He won’t try anything.”
Ajax didn’t look like he liked that idea. I didn’t want him or the other Warriors to get into trouble because of a misunderstanding. “Goddamn it, Jessica, no! He’s got some kind of obsession with you. You may not see it, but I do.”
“Ajax, he’s an officer of the law. He’s not going to hurt me. I think you’re crazy. He doesn’t have some obsession with me.” He glared at me. I gave up and went back toward the gate. Ajax was right behind me, shaking his head, looking pissed, and muttering. He surprised me when he told Jake to open the gate, so I could step outside.
I’d hardly cleared the opening before Officer Talbot shocked the hell out of me. He grabbed me and started to drag me toward his patrol car. I struggled to get away from him, but his grip on my arm was too tight. I heard the guys yelling. I could feel my heart trying to beat out of my chest in alarm. Ajax was right, he was crazy.
Suddenly, I was jerked away from Talbot. I saw it was Ajax. I cried out in pain as Talbot hung on and tightened his grip on my arm. I knew I’d have bruises. Talbot began to rant. “Come with me, Jessica. I’ll save you. I won’t let them hurt you. Not again.”
“Please, let go of me. No one is hurting me except you. Let go of me!” He hung onto me. As he ignored me and kept trying to drag me away, Ajax hit him in the mouth with a right hook. Talbot staggered back and finally let go of my arm. Rebel pulled me behind him. I was shaking so hard my teeth chattered.
I stood there in shock as Ajax and Talbot exchanged blows. I felt like I was in a fog. Nothing made sense. I looked up and out of nowhere saw another squad car come barreling into view. It came to a squealing stop and out jumped Chief Scarelli. He was the local police chief and came into the bakery a lot too. He was nice and always liked to chat with me and ask how I was doing. He ran over to the still fighting Ajax and Talbot. He helped Bull pull the two of them apart. Talbot looked like he’d been beaten all to hell. Ajax looked like he’d barely been touched or even broke a sweat.
“What the hell is going on here, Talbot? I told you to stay away from the Warriors!”