Jase (Kings of Korruption MC Book 3) (22 page)

Bryce’s
muffled voice carries down the hall, then Jase steps inside,
closing the door behind him. I slowly walk down the hall, but I
don’t hear anything coming from the room. I consider approaching
and listening from outside, but somehow that just feels wrong right
now. Somehow, with barely knowing him, Jase seems to be more in
tune with my kid than I do, and instead of making me feel jealous,
I feel grateful. I trust that whatever Jase is saying in there is
exactly what Bryce needs to hear.

I wander into
the kitchen, my ears straining to hear Bryce’s door open. I pull
out the vegetables, cutting them up to make the salad, then move on
to prepping the chicken to go into the oven. Finally, I hear the
door creak open, and after a few seconds, Jase and Bryce are
standing in the doorway.

“
Hey, babe. Just grabbin’ a beer, then B and I are gonna play
a little Call of Duty. That okay?”

My heart soars
when I see the way Bryce is looking up at him. The admiration I see
in his eyes in something I’ve never seen from him. “Yeah,” I choke
out, trying to fight back the tears I feel creeping out. I’m just
so glad that my boy is okay.

“
Hey, Bud. Why don’t you go get it set up? I need to talk to
your mom for a second, okay?”

Bryce nods and
runs out, no doubt jumping over the back of the couch, excited to
be playing his favorite game.

“
You okay, El?” Jase asks, his face full of
concern.

I smile and
pull a beer out of the fridge. “Fine.”

He frowns and
approaches me, pulling me into his body. “You sure?”

I nod and
swallow back the lump in my throat. “He’s not comin’ back, babe.
That fucker is gonna be having nightmares about Tease’s ugly mug
for months. He’s not gonna risk pissin’ any of us off, especially
Tease.”

I mentally
picture Paul running from Tease in fear. “Well, you’ll have to
thank Tease for me.”

He snags his
beer from my hand. “You good?”

“
I’m good.”

“
Good.”

I watch his
back until he’s almost out of the kitchen, and call out,
“Jase?”

“
Yeah babe?”

“
Thank you for taking care of my son.”

“
Always, babe. For both of you.” With that, he turns and goes
to play a video game with my son, who adores him, leaving me there
to beat back the overwhelming emotion of realizing that I’m not
falling in love with Jase Matthews—I already am.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Jase

I
look around at
the new garage and can’t help but smile. This place is everything
I’ve ever wanted, and in just a few weeks, it’ll be up and fully
operational. I’ve even got a few interviews set up next week for
new mechanics. We’ll be pumping out custom choppers like nobody’s
ever seen before.

The guys and I
had spent the entire day here again today, working on the showroom
and moving in all the equipment from the old place back at the
compound. It’s all coming together.

My phone
alerts me to an incoming text.

Ellen: Hey
you.

Me: Hey, baby.
How’s work?

Ellen: Good.
On my break right now. Just wanted to tell you that Bryce is really
excited you’re coming to his game.

I grin. What
can I say? The kid loves me.

Me: Me too.
Just getting ready to go now.

Ellen: I was
thinking that maybe you could spend the night tonight? That is, if
you want to ;)

I swear my
dick does a happy dance. Since all that shit with Paul went down
the other night, Bryce hasn’t left my side. We’d spent the entire
weekend together, just the three of us. Well, I spent most of my
time playing video games with Bryce. He went to bed at a decent
time, but Ellen was terrified that he’d catch us in the act, and
she wasn’t ready for me to spend the night when he was home, so I’d
been out the door by midnight, without getting any action at
all.

Me: You ready
for that?

Ellen: I was
always ready ;) It was Bryce I was worried about.

Me: Can we put
him to bed early?

I can picture
her on the other end, rolling her eyes.

Ellen: Good
things come to those who wait.

Me: If I wait
any longer, my balls will burst.

Ellen: You’r
e terrible. Wish my kid luck for me


I have
to smile, knowing exactly what annoyed tone she would have used if
we were talking. Stuffing my phone back into my pocket, I take a
final look around before turning off the lights, stepping outside
and pulling
the door
shut. With a turn of my key, the door is locked, and I’m ready to
go.

I’d parked my
bike on the far side of the lot to make room for the moving trucks
we’d been using earlier today. I check my watch and realize that if
I’m gonna make it to Bryce’s game on time, I’d better haul ass.
Traffic at this time of day is always a bitch in the city.

I’m just
reaching for my helmet when the loud roar of a vehicle hits my
ears. I turn just as a black Escalade screeches to a stop behind
me. The passenger door swings open, and my eyes are level with the
barrel of a gun.

I put my hands
up as I look into the eyes of the man screaming for me to get down
on the ground. Colt stares back at me, his eyes still filled with
so much hate.

I drop to my
knees, my mind racing as I try to think of a way out of this mess.
From the corner of my eye, I see another guy open the back door of
the SUV, and I turn to look in his direction. That’s when
everything goes black.

Ellen

The phone at
the nurse’s desk rings just as I’m finishing up my final rounds. I
rush forward to get it, knowing my supervisor gets angry if it
rings more than three time.

“
B unit,” I say, a little out of breath.

“
Ellen, I have your son’s school on line three. They said that
nobody came to pick him up after his basketball game.”

My stomach
twists in a painful knot. “Put them through.”

I take the
call from the school, my heart racing as I assure them that I’ll be
right over to pick him up. I disconnect the call and press the
extension number for my supervisor, letting her know that there’s
been an emergency, and I need to get to the school. Since my shift
is almost over, she hurries down to take my place.

While grabbing
my stuff, I call Jase’s phone, my heart sinking when it rings a few
times and goes straight to voicemail. I hang up without leaving a
message and dial the only person I know that can help.

“
Charlie, I think there’s something wrong with
Jase.”

“
What?” she gasps out. I can hear Ryker talking in the
background before he gets on the line. “What’s goin’ on,
sweetheart?”

“
Jase never showed up for Bryce’s basketball game,” I blurt
out. “The school just called and said no one showed to pick him
up.”

Ryker curses.
I hear him talking to someone, giving orders, and then he’s back on
the line. “You at work?”

“
Yeah.” Tears burn my eyes as I try to keep it together. What
could have happened to Jase? I know he wouldn’t have missed that
game for anything. It meant too much to him that Bryce had asked
him to come.

“
Reaper will be out front in ten, and I’m sending Tease to get
your boy. You need to call the school and let them know he’s
coming. His real name is Travis Hale. They’ll be bringing you both
back to the clubhouse until we can figure out what the fuck is
going on.”

Ryker
disconnects before I have a chance to respond. With shaking hands,
I dial the school back and let them know that Travis Hale is a
family friend, and that he’ll be picking Bryce up. They don’t agree
right away, not until I explain that there’s been an emergency.
Finally, the principal takes pity on me and agrees to release my
son to Tease.

Reaper is
there before the ten minutes are up, and I jump onto the back of
his bike without a word. The ride feels like it takes forever, my
mind going over all of the possible scenarios of what could have
happened.

We pull up to
the clubhouse, and I look around for Bryce. “They’re not here yet,”
Reaper grumbles. “Tease’s ride isn’t here. Come inside and I’ll
grab you a beer.”

Feeling
helpless, I follow him in, desperately praying that Ryker has
something to tell me. Charlie and Ryker come out of the back hall,
both of them looking grim. “Okay,” Ryker says. “We used the Find My
Phone app to locate Jase’s cell, and we managed to find it. We’ll
wait for Tease to get back, then we’ll go get our boy.” His eyes
move past me and he looks to Reaper. “The fuckin’ Crips, man. It’s
gotta be. He’s right in the middle of their territory.”

“
You call Jasper?” Reaper’s voice is filled with
anger.

“
He says he knows nothin’ about it. Thinks it might be that
Colt kid. He’s givin’ us a free pass into the area to pull him
out.”

I look back
and forth between them, not having the first clue as to what
they’re talking about. “Jasper? Colt? What’s going on…
 where’s Jase?”

Charlie comes
forward and wraps her arms around me, while Ryker places his heavy
hand on my shoulder. “We’ll get him back, Ellen. You have my
word.”

Tease comes in
with an excited Bryce. “Mom, that was awesome! Tease drove so fast!
Jase never went that fast when we rode.”

Tease smirks
and winks at him, then looks at me and his head jerks. “Sorry,
Mom,” he drawls.

I don’t get a
chance to respond before every man in the room disappears, all of
them going to wherever it is to “pull him out.” I don’t know what
the hell is going on, but my heart is racing so fast, it feels as
if it’s going to explode.

I stand frozen
in place, my eyes on the door. I can vaguely hear Charlie showing
Bryce the pool table, and then she’s beside me, her arm going
around my waist. “Ryker will find him, Ellen. He loves him
too.”

I look up at
her with tears falling from my eyes. I never told him that I love
him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Jase

T
he sound of two
men arguing slowly pulls me from the hazy fog that I’m trying so
hard to claw my way out of. My head swims and lolls around on my
neck as I try to lift it. What the fuck happened to me?

“
Jasper fuckin’ knows, man! If he finds out I helped you start
this shit, he’ll fuckin’ kill me right after he kills your crazy
ass.”

Groaning, I
try to peel my eyelids apart and see where the hell I am, but
they’re not cooperating.

“
You can’t leave, you stupid fuck. He already knows. We need
to finish this shit and get the hell out of here.”

Colt. That
last voice was Colt. He’d pulled up behind me when I was going to
my bike. Then he’d clubbed me upside the head with the butt of his
gun. That fucker is dead.

“
You can’t just kill the VP of a goddamn motorcycle gang,
Colt. Especially not the Kings of Korruption. Those fuckers will
come for you. You’ll be dead before you even make it out that
door.”

“
Those fuckers killed my brother,” Colt roars. “They showed
up, uninvited, to that deal. They mowed down the Crips, right along
with those other bikers, and my brother was one of ‘em! Did anybody
do anything about that?”

“
We killed their fucking Prez, man, and look where that got
us. They killed everyone that was involved, including our leader.
If we kill this asshole, nothing’s gonna get solved. It’ll only get
worse.”

“
Whatever,” he sneers. “Run home, ya pussy. I’m gonna show
this asshole that the Kings don’t run the fuckin’ show around
here.”

I manage to
open my eyes just enough to see the back of the guy Colt’s been
arguing with, run out the door. I look around through narrow slits
and see myself in a shitty apartment, with concrete walls and
wooden slat flooring. I’m sitting against the wall, my arms tied
behind my back, which explains why they’re numb. The rope used to
tie them is cutting into my flesh, and I’m surprised I still feel
them at all.

“
I know you’re awake, VP.” I can practically hear his lip
curl. “That’s good, because we don’t have very much time. Somehow,
Jasper found out you’re here, and he’s on his way to kick my ass
for fuckin’ with you.” He presses the barrel of the gun into the
centre of my forehead. “Too bad for him, by the time he gets here,
you’ll be dead, and I’ll be long gone.”