Chapter Sixteen: The Deal is On
Jaz
There was no way I could gamble anymore. I’d been scared straight. The Devil Riders? I had no idea who they were, but for some reason I was on their hit list. My gut told me it had something to do with Biloxi, but my heart was still racing from seeing Ink battle on my behalf. I felt helpless watching him get hit by that man. It almost broke me and it was my fault. I wiped the tears from my face as the taxi stopped.
I had to do what was right by him and myself. Now, I had these men after me. I wanted to be with Ink and this event confirmed it more than ever. I’d never experienced true love except by my parents and they were gone.
An epiphany struck me—obtaining my dealer’s licence would curb my craving of the thrill and help Ink. I paid the taxi driver and could barely punch in the numbers to my building because I was so scared. I only let a breath out when I got behind the doors safely. I slid down the door clutching my chest. I ripped my cell phone out of my purse and texted Ink.
I’m home safe. xxxooo
Good. Call you after shift.
Thank you Ink.
I got you Jaz. I got you.
I started crying again at the message. He really cared. Maybe I could stay, maybe I could come to love the town, especially with Ink here. Once I got a shower and calmed my nerves, I looked up dealer licensing to see how long it would take for me to train. Six weeks.
This is it Jaz. You’ve taken a chance on just about everything else. Take a chance on Ink.
The next day Ink rang me, inviting me down to Wheelz to properly meet his ‘second family,’ the Rebel Saints. He made it clear this would be a meeting as well, and they wanted to talk to me.
I walked into Wheelz just before four. Ink told me to come early.
He greeted me at the door when I came in. “Hey. Glad you could come down early,” he said, giving me a light, warm kiss on the lips.
“I’m kind of nervous, I don’t quite understand—”
“I want to see you protected, Jaz. Bones, the club president, wants to meet you and the crew does too. This is a big deal and we already have a lot to handle as a club. I can’t let you take this on by yourself though. The Road Warriors are relentless,” Ink said under his breath as his penetrating gaze met my eyes.
“I get how dangerous they are. I had no idea they owned that casino. It’s so crazy how that’s happened…” my voice trailed off. “I won’t let you down. I promise.” I stroked his face.
He grabbed my hand and kissed my fingers. “Okay, come on, meet the crew!” He winked at me as we headed over to a decent-looking guy with a hard jaw and a warm smile.
“You must be Jaz. I’m the club president, Bones. We’ve heard quite a bit about your story. You kind of got yourself into a bind right now, huh?” he added with conviction.
His face looked tough, but I could sense the kindness in his eyes. “Yeah, I have.” I looked down, circling my foot on the floor.
Ink stroked my hand in reassurance.
“I don’t know any of these guys?the Road Warriors or the Devil Riders. But I know I can help you at the casino. That’s my game,” I said honestly, and that was the truth. I sensed he was sizing me up the same way I looked at my opponents. He was trying to tell if I was lying or not to him.
“That’s what we are considering right now,” he said, tapping his hand on the pool table.
Another burly guy came from around the side of the table to shake my hand as well.
I shook the outstretched hand big enough to be a paw.
“Hey, I’m Bear. How you doing, Jaz?” he said in a gruff voice.
I felt a bit taken aback by his height and demeanor, but he seemed friendly enough. “I’m doing okay right now,” I said gently as I leaned into Ink.
“Good to hear. Good to hear,” was all he said.
I met the rest of the crew and they all seemed like down-to-earth guys and not as intimidating as I first thought. They all asked me a lot of questions, which was understandable if they were going to defend me.
Ink pulled me to the side of the pool table away from them for a moment. “We had a meeting earlier to talk about the club decision to protect you from both of them. We put it to a vote about you,” Ink explained.