Jase (Kings of Korruption MC Book 3) (21 page)

Ellen

I make it to
the coffee shop a little later than expected. The bus was running
fifteen minutes behind, causing me to miss my transfer bus. This is
just not my day. I’d slept in this morning, spilled my coffee all
over the kitchen table, and stabbed myself in the eyeball with my
mascara wand, not once, but twice. I’m ready for it to be over.

Seeing Charlie
and Laynie at a table on the patio, I get my coffee and danish and
move outside to join them. “Hey!” Charlie says as I approach. “We
were worried you weren’t going to make it.”

I smile and
take a seat before turning my attention to Charlie. “So, did you
have your ultrasound?”

Her face
breaks out into a wide smile. “I did. I’m due May third. That makes
me eight weeks tomorrow.”

The three of
us squeal like a bunch of school girls. We spend the next hour
talking about babies, and thinking up unique baby names that I
sincerely hope she never actually considers.

“
So,” Laynie prompts, changing the subject. “How are things
with Jase?”

My face heats
and I sputter a little as I think back to what she heard that
night. “Good,” I choke out. “Great.”

Laynie’s head
falls back and laughter bursts from her small frame. “What’s going
on?” Charlie asks.

“
I’ll let Ellen tell you,” Laynie manages to say between
bursts of giggles.

“
That night at the clubhouse, when you told us all about the
baby, Jase and I got into a bit of a fight, as you know.” Laynie
sputters and giggles some more. Charlie frowns and cocks her head
at her clearly insane friend, motioning for me to
continue.

“
Anyways, we ended up making up…” Laynie snorts and I
continue, “Against the wall, around the side of the clubhouse.
Laynie was outside with Dex and heard it all.”

“
Oh God,” Charlie says, trying hard to sound serious, but I
don’t miss the laughter in here voice. “That’s hilarious.” The
three of us burst into a wild round of laughter.

Once we’ve all
settled down and are starting to catch our breaths, Charlie speaks
again. “So, did you get it worked out?”

“
What?”

“
Whatever it was you were fighting about? It was that girl,
wasn’t it? The one from the bar that night.”

I nod. “We
worked it out. We’re good now, actually. He’s been coming over a
lot, and even spending some quality time with my son, so that’s
good. Different for all of us, but good.” I polish off the rest of
my coffee and place my cup back on the table. “Can I ask you ladies
something?”

They both
nod.

“
Is being an old lady hard?” I ask.

Laynie is the
first to speak. “It’s got its moments. Your man can’t tell you
everything all the time. Sometimes, he has to do things that go
against everyone’s moral code, including his own, and that’s not
fun. Sometimes, they do things that are dangerous, but you may
never even know about.”

“
On the other hand,” Charlie continues, “you will never find a
man as fierce and loyal, more loving, or more protective than these
men. They love their ladies, and they love them hard.”

“
What about the whores?” I blurt out. It’s why I asked in the
first place.

“
They’re just that—whores. They’re there to keep the men
happy, and are all hoping to land the title of old lady
someday.”

“
And you’re okay with that? With them keeping your man happy?”
Maybe I can’t handle this as well as I thought.

Charlie
laughs. “God, no. When Ryker and I first got together, they tried
to get rid of me. One of them gave it her best shot, but I ignored
her and held on tight. Besides, I find creative ways of my own to
keep him happy.”

We all laugh,
getting disapproving looks from the old lady a few tables over.
“That girl, the one that tried to get rid of you, you ignored
her?”

Laynie
raises her hand. “
I
didn’t ignore
her. That bitch gave me a hard time too. I broke her
nose.”

“
I don’t know if I can do that.”

“
You won’t have to.”

Charlie’s
phone alerts her of a text, and we all wait while she checks it.
Her hand covers her mouth and she sits up straight in her chair.
“Oh my God,” she says breathlessly. “Sarah’s in labour!”

“
She is!” Laynie cries, reaching for her purse.

“
Yes! Ryker just texted me. He said she texted Bosco, looking
for a ride. He’s staying with her until you get there.”

Laynie grabs
Dexter’s harness, commanding him to get up. “Who’s Sarah?” I ask,
feeling out of the loop.

“
You met her a few months ago,” Charlie says. “At the bar? She
was there with Mouse. She’s Mouse’s wife.”

Mouse. I
remember Charlie taking some time off last year when he died. She’d
been devastated.

“
I hate to run, ladies, but I’m her labour coach. I got a baby
on the way!” she squeals, then rushes out onto the
sidewalk.

I check my
watch and realize that I really should go too. Bryce will be home
from school soon, and I have to prepare myself to deal with
Paul.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Jase

I
check my watch
and realize it’s almost three o’clock. I place the hammer on the
new customer service desk I’ve been building and call out to the
guys, “I’ve gotta get outta here.”

“
Where’s the fire?” Reaper calls from his spot on the ladder.
He’s been working on the install of the new security system, and
still has a lot to do.

“
I need to get to Ellen’s before that cocksucker does. He’s
coming to pick up Bryce, and Bryce doesn’t wanna go,” I explain as
I pull my cut back on and move towards the door.

Reaper takes a
step down the ladder, his eyes on mine. I notice we’ve got the
other guys’ attention too. “You need backup?”

The truth is,
I don’t know. I don’t know how I’m gonna deal with this asshole
when he shows up. Ellen had tried to get a hold of him, but he
hadn’t answered his phone. I can’t kick this guy’s ass with Ellen
and the kid standing right there. Maybe having a couple of the guys
there will scare him off.

“
Actually, that might be kinda perfect. As much as I want to
beat this prick into the ground, Ellen and Bryce are already
tweaked enough. It would scare the shit out of them. But the guy’s
a pussy, hiding behind the law. A little intimidation might be just
what he needs.”

“
Whatever you say, man,” Reaper says with a smirk and climbs
down off the ladder.

Tease, Bosco,
and Hulk put down their tools and follow me out to our bikes. We
make the drive in record time, pulling up in front of the house
just as Paul’s getting out of his truck. I step off my bike; my
eyes pinned on him where he stands, seemingly frozen on the
spot.

“
Your lead, VP,” Reaper says low enough that Paul can’t
hear.

I flick my
eyes up to the house and see Bryce watching from the living room
window, his mother trying to pull him away. He doesn’t budge. I can
feel the weight of his stare as I walk towards his father, my boys
right behind me.

“
Window,” Tease warns.

“
I see him.”

I can
physically see Paul’s Adam’s apple slide up and down as he
swallows, his eyes flicking from me to the others. His face is
ashen, but he stands up a little straighter, his fists balled at
his sides.

“
Paul, glad I caught ya,” I say as I step between him and the
front door.

“
I’m just here to pick up my kid, man.”

I purse my
lips and tilt my head to the side. “Yeah, about that. Your kid
tells me that he doesn’t wanna go.”

Paul’s face
twists with anger. “I’ve got a court order—”

“
Court orders don’t mean shit,” Tease sneers over my
shoulder.

Paul looks to
me and I shrug. “He’s right. Bryce tells me you weren’t all that
nice to him on his last visit, Paul.” I take a step forward. “You
care to explain that?”

“
Fuck that,” he spits. “The kid’s full of shit.”

I take another
step forward, and can feel the angry energy radiating off the guys
behind me. “He also informs me that you called him a pussy. Does
that sound like bullshit to you too, Paul?”

Paul throws
his arms up and shakes his head. “Jesus Christ. What the fuck is it
to you how I talk to my kid? Let me have my son, or I’m calling the
police to report Ellen for breaching a court order.”

Another step
puts me right in his personal space. “Not gonna happen, Paul.”
Every time I say his name, I say it like a curse, and I smile
inside when I see his anger go up another notch. “See, Bryce means
something to me, and if he feels like he doesn’t want to see you
anymore, then he’s not gonna see you anymore. You can call the cops
if you’d like, but I gotta warn ya,” I motion to the angry group of
men behind me. “We don’t like cops very much.”

Paul’s angry
glare moves from me to over my shoulder, and I’m not sure exactly
what he sees, but if Tease’s shoulder bumping up against mine is
any indication, I’m willing to bet he doesn’t look too happy with
Paul right now, and that’s enough to scare anybody. Paul’s face
pales even more, and I can practically see the moment his balls
crawl back up inside of him.

“
I’ll tell you what, Paul.” I reach out and clamp my hand down
on his shoulder, squeezing it until I see him flinch. “If Bryce
changes his mind, I’ll be sure to let you know, but in the
meantime, you need to disappear. Yeah?”

Paul’s eyes
drift over my shoulder and up towards the house, and I know he’s
looking at Bryce. “Eyes off the kid,” Tease growls, pressing
against my back.

“
Let me tell you what you’re gonna do,” I say. “You’re gonna
climb back into your fancy truck, and you’re gonna get the hell out
of my sight. You’re not gonna call the cops, Paul, and you know
why?”

He gulps
loudly.

“‘
Cause even if they cart me off, these guys here won’t like
that either. There are about twenty-five more of us back at the
clubhouse that wouldn’t like it either.” I point my finger and
press it into his chest. “Now disappear.”

Paul turns and
hurries back to his truck, glancing back several times to make sure
we’re not following him. Once inside, he starts it up and peels out
of the driveway. He’s gone in an instant.

I look up at
the house and see Ellen standing there, her hand on Bryce’s
shoulder. She smiles at me, but it’s Bryce I’m looking at. His face
is solemn as he stares back, and simply nods before moving away
from the window.

Poor kid.

Ellen

I watch from
the window as Jase says goodbye to the others and wait for him to
come inside. When I hear the front door open, I hurry to it and
jump into his arms.

“
Thank you,” I whisper, emotion overwhelming me. Since this
whole court thing started, Paul’s behaviour has been unpredictable
and terrifying. I’d been worried that this whole situation would
end up being a grizzly news story on the eleven o’clock
news.

Jase grasps my
face in his hands, and presses a kiss to my lips. “No need to thank
me, baby. Just glad he’s gone.” He looks around. “Where’s B?”

“
He went to his room after Paul left. I think he was
upset.”

“
Of course he was.”

I look
at Jase in shock. “El, the kid’s dad is a total douche. His
mother’s boyfriend just sent him packin’ before his eyes, and the
guy left without a word, making him a douche
and
a pussy. That kid’s head is all kinds of confused
right now.”

I glance down
the hall at Bryce’s closed door, and rake my fingers through my
hair. “God, I hate this! Raising a kid is hard enough, but there’s
no rule book on how to handle this kind of situation. I’m so afraid
I’m messing this up.”

“
Not possible,” he declares. “You love that kid, and he knows
it. That’s why he can afford to be such a miserable little prick to
you sometimes, but he’ll figure it out. He has you to help him, and
me if he needs it.”

“
You know an awful lot about kids, and how to get through to
them.”

He presses a
kiss to my forehead. “That’s ‘cause up until a few weeks ago, I
think I was still one myself.”

Jase turns,
and I watch as he walks down the hall and taps a knuckle against
Bryce’s bedroom door. “Hey, B. Can we talk?”