Page 72 of Jagger
Jagger/Cole
I was pissed the hell off by the time we rolled back through the clubhouse gate mid-afternoon. We hadn’t found any sign of Laskey or his truck anywhere, and everyone we spoke with claimed they had no idea where the fuck he was hiding. The hell of it was, I believed them. Most of them were pissed off at the guy for one reason or another, and seemed like they would have happily given him up if they’d known where to find him.
I walked into the clubroom to find Molly and Sinner sitting on one of the couches watching a movie, with a big bowl of popcorn between them. Viking was sprawled out on the other couch, sound asleep and snoring his damned head off.
I sighed in relief as I dropped down next to Molly, putting my arm around her and kissing her temple. It felt good to have her near me, knowing she was safe. She smiled up at me and whispered to ask if we’d found him. I shook my head and glanced at what appeared to beThe Shawshank Redemptionplaying on the TV.
“What have you been up to today?” I asked and got shushed by Sinner for my trouble.
“Pipe down, this is the good part. The warden is just about to realize Andy screwed him over.” Molly smothered a laugh, and I shook my head at the old man. He had always hated people talking while he watched television, which meant Grandma Frankie had always made it a point to chatter during whatever show they watched. He would fuss at her, she would threaten him with sleeping on the couch, and the next thing you know, they would disappear into their room to “take a nap” for an hour or so. It used to gross me the fuck out as a kid, but now it just made me want that kind of a life with Molly.
We finished watching the movie in relative silence, only interrupted by Viking’s snores. Sinner just glared over at his sleeping form and turned the TV volume up.
Once the movie ended, Sinner clicked the TV off and got up, taking the now-empty popcorn bowl into the kitchen. I glanced over to make sure Viking was still asleep, then pulled my woman onto my lap to kiss her properly.
“Cole, what are you doing?” Molly laughingly protested.
I didn’t bother answering, figuring that my mouth landing on hers was answer enough. After a split-second of hesitation, she started kissing me back, and within minutes we were making out like teenagers left home alone. The mood was broken when Viking gave out an almighty snort like he’d just inhaled his face, startling himself awake in the process. We both laughed, causing Viking to focus his bleary-eyed gaze on us with a frown.
“What the hell are you two up to over there? Jagger, get your filthy paws off that poor girl. You oughta be ashamed of yourself, corrupting a sweet, innocent thing like her.”
I snickered, causing Molly to smack me on my chest as she tried to slide off my lap. I held on tight, then tensed when I heard Lucky pipe up behind us.
“Sweet, innocent thing? You wouldn’t think that if you heard what I heard coming out of their room this morning. Judging by the noises Jagger was making, there ain’t nothinginnocentabout his woman.”
Viking and I both scowled at him, while Molly just blushed and buried her face in her hands.
Molly’s phone rang just then, and she fished it out of her back pocket to answer it.
“Hi Malik,” she greeted the caller, then she listened intently, her face growing pale at whatever the school cop had to say.
“Oh my God, how?” she gasped, putting her hand over her mouth in that way people do when they’ve heard unbelievable news. She listened again, shaking her head a few times in disbelief.
All eyes were on her, and nobody said a word as she shakily disconnected the call. She started to say something, then stopped and swallowed hard before looking up at me with tears in her eyes.
“Chad Laskey is dead.” I sucked in a breath, happy the fucker was gone from this world, but pissed that I didn’t get to help send him on his way.
“He went to the school this afternoon and was spotted loitering in the parking lot by the school secretary. The police were called, and when he heard sirens, he jumped in his truck and took off. Malik said he was driving erratically according to witnesses, and he crashed into a tree a few blocks from the school. He didn’t have his seat belt on. They pronounced him dead at the scene.”
Molly was pretty quiet for the next hour or so, especially after Bull pulled me aside to let me know he’d gotten info from one of the cops who occasionally did favors for the club. My heart almost stopped when he told me that they’d recovered a loaded gun from Laskey’s truck, along with duct tape and some rope.
“We don’t know for sure what his plan was, Jag, but it sure doesn’t look like it would have ended well for Molly. It’s a good thing the motherfucker couldn’t get to her, that’s all I can say.” I glanced at Molly, still sitting on the couch across the room, completely unaware that I was freaking the fuck out on the inside. I hated the idea of telling her the details, but I figured there was a good chance she’d find out from that Malik guy anyway.
“Oh, by the way, Laskey’s wife was arraigned this morning. Since she doesn’t have a record, the judge granted bail. From what I understand, her public defender said she doesn’t have the money to bail herself out, and she doesn’t have any family or friends willing to post bail for her sorry ass. The bitch is most likely gonna have to cool her heels in jail until her trial.”
“Glad to hear it. Thanks, Bull, I appreciate the heads up.”
Molly looked at me as I walked back over and sat down next to her. I pulled her close, and reluctantly explained what the police had found in the bastard’s truck. I could feel her shaking as my words sunk in, and I held her tighter. I ran my hand up and down her back as I whispered over and over that she was safe, Anna was safe with her aunt, and everything would be all right now.
“Let’s get your things packed up and we’ll head to my house. There’s no sense in staying here now that the threat is gone.” Besides, I didn’t want any more of my damned club brothers overhearing me and my Angel. I wanted to pummel Trick and Lucky both, just because I knew they’d heard her come. I hated that. Those sounds she made, her desperate pleading for me, were for my ears only.
It took a while for us to make it out of the clubhouse, since just about every damned man in the place wanted to tell her goodbye. She got so many hugs and kisses on the cheek that I was just about to climb out of my skin. Most surprising was Bull, who normally didn’t give women the time of day, except for Abby. He seemed to have formed an attachment to Molly, which I guess came from trying to track down Laskey, although I heard something about a wayward dart, which made Molly blush and duck her head. I’d have to remember to ask her about it later.
She spent several long minutes talking quietly with King, thanking him repeatedly for the club’s help in keeping her safe. He finally cupped her face in his hands and dipped his head to look her in the eye.
“You are important to my son, which automatically makes you important to me. You’re family, sweetheart. You’ll always have this club at your back.” Then he kissed her forehead like I’d seen him do to Abby countless times, then passed her into Sinner’s waiting arms. Viking was next, followed by Trick, Lucky, Linc, and finally Rome. The two of them had a whispered conversation, which ended with a huge hug. I could have done without her kissing his cheek, though. Those lips were mine, dammit.
Molly called the school principal once we got settled at my place, and Michelle told her to take tomorrow off. I know she could hear the shock still lingering in Molly’s voice, and I appreciated the woman looking out for her.
