Savage
I watched from the dark hallway as Jess fled church like her ass was on fire. Seeing her head towards the infirmary, I walked back into church and closed the door behind me. Taking a seat I asked, “Well?”
“She isn’t talking,” Ghost offered, when Reaper and Phantom stayed quiet. Nodding, I leaned forward placing my elbows on the table. “I told you she wouldn’t.”
Out of everyone in this room, I was the one who spent the most time with Jess. From what I knew, she was closed off, quiet about anything personal, and never volunteered information. No, my Jess wasn’t a Chatty Cathy like Darla was, who spilled her guts the second she was hauled into a separate room.
Gawd could that woman talk. Half of the shit made absolutely no sense and what shit did was just plain vicious and mean. There wasn’t a single nice bone in her body. When Darla talked about the Florida Chapter and Jess’s mom, we couldn’t get her to shut up.
As for the information we got from her, it wasn’t much, just a lot of gossip that furthered Reaper’s discord about that Chapter. Everything still needed to be verified and if any of it was true, God help the surviving members because they would have a lot to answer for.
When Reaper finished with Darla, he gave her a final warning. One more fuckup and she was out. Banished for life which only infuriated her even more. She tried looking to me for help but I didn’t give a fuck. I wanted her gone. She struck Jess, which was a big fucking no-no in my book.
After that, we all sat around trying to figure out how best to handle the situation. I was all for letting it go because I knew Jess wouldn’t be forthcoming unless she trusted us and she didn’t. I didn’t need to be in the room to see that but Reaper wanted to try. To appeal to her on some level. He wanted to show a strength of unity, that the club was as solid as they came, that together they were unstoppable. It was bullshit and he knew it. Fucker didn’t trust his own shadow unless it was vetted and cleared. But he was the President and no one went against him when he gave the order.
So, I played dumb.
I played my part good too.
Too bad it soured my stomach.
I hated lying.
What’s more is I hated deceiving Jess like that.
What she didn’t know was I already knew about her past before Massacre brought her to church. When Darla said what she did, alerting everyone that Jess wasn’t who she claimed to be, Reaper had Phantom and Sypher working overtime to gather what they could. It didn’t take them long, less than an hour. When Sypher found the old photo of my sister and Jess at some summer camp when they were fourteen, we all knew that just maybe Jess knew more than she was letting on.
My sister just didn’t have regular friends like most girls. Kitty was picky and calculated. If she claimed Jess as a friend, then maybe Kitty could have possibly told Jess some of her secrets. If she did, then the club needed to know what they were. It was a long shot, yes but the club needed to know for sure.
The fucked-up part of this whole deception was that I actually had feelings for Jess. I really liked her. In fact, I loved her. I wanted to ask her to be my Ol’Lady. Reaper knew. I told him as much.
I was crystal clear.
I just didn’t see that happening any time soon.
“We need to find another way, because I don’t see her telling us what we need to know,” Phantom stated. “She hates the club, everything it stands for. She isn’t going to talk.”
“Phantom’s right, Reaper. You saw how she reacted when you leaned towards her. She thought you were going to hit her. She expected it.”
“Fuck,” Reaper slammed his hand down on the table. “When I get my fucking hands on that mother fucker, I will reap his fucking soul. What kind of shit did he have going on his chapter?”
“It doesn’t matter, Reaper. That chapter is dissolved. Those that are left, are here.”
“Can we trust them, though?” he countered.
“There is one way to find out,” Ghost grinned.
Reaper nodded, “Fine. Get Shadow on it. I want to know fast. Tell your brother not to fuck around this time. I want answers, yesterday.”
Ghost nodded and quickly sent off a text.
“We need to find a way to get Jess to trust the club,” Phantom said, getting back on point.
“And just how in the hell do you suggest we do that Phantom? With what we all saw that girl will never trust any of us. Ever. She barely tolerates Savage. Besides, we don’t even know if she knows anything. It’s all hypothetical right now and I don’t like the idea of putting her through the paces if she knows nothing. She’s a sweet girl and has done this club a solid.”
I don’t know what made me think of it and I was sure that if she ever found out, she would never give me a second chance. That wasn’t Jess’s way.
She was a one-shot kind of girl.