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

No need to get
worked up over it anyway. What’s done is done.

Ellen

I toss
the phone onto the couch with enough force that it bounces right
off and onto the floor, the backing and battery pack scattering in
opposite directions.
Damn it!
They should have been here two hours ago. I knew this was a
bad idea.

This is the
first time that my eleven-year-old son, Bryce, has ever had an
overnight visit with his father. Paul had not been happy to find
out I was pregnant and had ignored me up until about a year ago.
Bryce had just turned ten when Paul met him.

I don’t know
why Paul suddenly came around, wanting to get to know Bryce, but
who was I to turn away a father figure for my son? It’s only been
me and Bryce from the very beginning. After my parents had found
out I was pregnant, they’d tried to force me into getting an
abortion. When I refused, they’d turned their backs on me. They
kicked me out of their house, telling me to never come back, and I
damn well never did.

Thank God for
my friend, Julie, and her parents. They’d taken me in, helped me
get on my feet, and taught me all the right ways to be a parent.
But they moved away a few years later, and even though Julie and I
are still great friends, she lives in Toronto now. We see each
other a few times a year, but that’s it.

About a year
ago, Paul had looked me up on Facebook and sent me a message,
saying he would like a chance to get to know our son. I didn’t know
what to say. I’ve never lied to Bryce, and he always knew that his
father was out there, but that we were teenagers when he was born,
and his father wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibility. Bryce
had always taken that for what it was, and never asked
questions.

I was worried
that if I let Paul come around, after a while, he’d lose interest.
How would that affect my boy? Or what if he decided that he wanted
joint custody of Bryce? I couldn’t deal with that. Every decision
I’ve ever made, since the moment I saw those two pink lines on that
pregnancy test, has been for him.

I’d
reluctantly agreed, and we’d taken things pretty slow; slower than
Paul wanted to take it. Over the past few months, I’ve let Paul
take him out of my home, unsupervised. We started off with trips to
the park, or lunches at McDonald’s. Last night was their first
overnighter, and I’ve been a wreck since the moment his big F-350
pulled out of my driveway.

Bryce has
never stayed anywhere overnight besides his friend Jimmy’s, whose
mother I know and trust. For the first couple of hours after they
left, I got some housework done. Then I tried to relax, but I
couldn’t. The house was too quiet. That’s when I’d called
Charlotte, or Charlie, which is the name everyone calls her by.
She’d suggested I meet her at the Pig’s Ear and take advantage of
having a night to myself. I’d taken her up on it, just to get my
mind off of whether or not Bryce had eaten a decent supper, or
remembered to brush his teeth before bed.

Looking back,
I wish I’d never gone. Part of me went because I knew Jase would be
there. He’s easily the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. He’s also
very flirty, which does wonders for my neglected ego. I’ve never
had any intentions of pursuing him, but we’d had a moment last
night, however brief it was.

When his date
had practically attacked him from behind, immediately ending our
moment, I could tell he was embarrassed—especially when he’d
forgotten her name. Who the hell forgets the name of the girl
they’re with? When she began talking about their little hook up in
the bathroom, Jase’s eyes were on me, and I’d watched the blood
drain from his face.

It had felt
like a slap to the face. I don’t even know why I’d been so bothered
by it, or why I’m still bothered by it now. I had a pretty good
idea of what kind of guy Jase was, but the proof being right in
front of me was more than I could handle. She’d slapped him, and he
deserved it, but I found myself wanting to claw her eyes out for
it.

So the first
chance I got, I left. I just wanted to be alone. I was tired. I’d
always thought that the Kings of Korruption were cool and
mysterious, but now that I’ve gotten to know a few of them, I
realize that they’re just regular people, and Jase is just a
player. I haven’t allowed myself to be played since Paul all those
years ago, and I’ll never let it happen again.

The front door
slams against the wall as Bryce bustles in, carrying his backpack
and a giant red foam finger. “Check it out, Mom. We went to the
hockey game last night!”

I raise my
eyes to see Paul coming in behind him, a wide smile on his face as
he watches his son. Looking back to Bryce, I force a smile. “That’s
awesome, Bud. Sounds like you had fun.” I reach out and tousle his
hair as he beams up at me. “Why don’t you take your stuff to your
room? I need to talk to your dad alone for a minute.”

The smile
fades from Paul’s face and his eyes narrow. “Okay,” he says slowly,
giving me a look that can’t be mistaken for anything other than
what it is—a warning.

Once Bryce is
in his room, I turn to Paul. “Why didn’t you answer my call? I was
worried sick!”

His body
straightens and he barks out an amused laugh, but I don’t miss the
angry edge to it. “Jesus, Ellen,” he snaps. “We were having a good
time, even
with
the phone
ringing every five goddamn minutes. You need to cut the cord,
woman. You’re smothering the kid.”

I jerk my head
up. “Is that so?” I struggle to keep the anger I feel from making
my voice quiver. I lift my arm and point down the hall towards
Bryce’s room. “That little boy down there, the one you say I’m
smothering? He’s eleven-years-old, Paul. I’ve been taking care of
him all by myself his entire life, without any help from you.” He
sighs and opens his mouth to interrupt, but I continue, “Sometimes,
in the middle of the night, he still has nightmares. When that
happens, I go into his room and play with his hair and help him
think of something happy to replace the scary images in his
head.”

Paul closes
his mouth and stares at me. “Last week he fell off his bike and
scraped up his shin. He came into the house, bloody and crying, and
the only thing that could calm him down was a hug from his mom.
He’s a little boy, Paul. You can’t even come close to knowing him
as well as you think you do. So, I suggest you keep your parenting
tips to yourself, until you’ve actually spent a lot more time being
one.”

His eyes
narrow until they’re nothing but slits, glaring daggers in my
direction. He closes the space between us in an instant, grabbing
my upper arm roughly. His fingers squeeze and dig into my skin
through the sleeve of my shirt. I don’t even have a chance to react
before I hear Bryce bustle back into the room.

“
Mom! Did you get tha—” His eyes widen and lock onto the place
where his father grips my arm. “What’s going on?”

Paul releases
me and takes a step back. “Nothing, buddy. Your mom and I were just
talking.” He walks over to Bryce, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “I
gotta go. Talk to you later, okay?”

Bryce nods,
and without looking back, Paul leaves.

CHAPTER TWO

Jase

I
poke my head
into Gunner’s office, peering around the door. “Hey, Prez. You got
a second?”

Gunner looks
up from his computer screen and pushes back from his desk. “I do.
Anything to get me away from looking at this fuckin’ financial
bullshit.”

I step inside
and hurry to the chair directly across from him, my movements short
and jerky. I never dreamed I’d be so nervous talking to Gunner
about this. He raises his eyebrows and motions for me to speak.

“
I wanna open up a shop,” I blurt out.

Gunner frowns.
“What do you mean? You have a shop out there already.”

I take a deep
breath and sit up. “No. What I mean is, I want my own shop. I want
to use the back bay garages to start up my own custom chopper
shop.”

Gunner’s
eyebrows creep impossibly high on his forehead. “That’s a risky
business, Jase.”

I nod and
swallow hard. “I know. Trust me, I know, but here’s the thing. In
the last six months, I’ve built three bikes by myself, and I sold
them all to rich guys wanting to look badass when they’re out
riding.” Gunner doesn’t speak, but motions for me to continue. “The
last chopper I sold was for more than sixty thousand.”

“
How did you find a buyer willing to part with that kind of
cash?”

“
He saw me riding it. He liked what he saw and made me an
offer.”

That’s when I
notice his apprehension fade. Now he’s seeing dollar signs. “What
have you done with the profits?”

“
So far, I’ve used it to buy more tools, and I’ve put a big
chunk of it towards building my next bike. I’ve already gotten
three more orders for custom made choppers that I’ll start after I
finish the one I’m working on now. The problem is, it’s just me,
and I only have one of the bays. If I had all three, I could hire
one or two guys to help me, and we could work on a few projects at
once. More space and more hands equal more profit.”

He leans back
in his chair, looking thoughtful. “It sounds like a great idea, but
opening a shop like that isn’t a game. What happens when you get
bored and decide you wanna try something else?”

My body
tenses. “What do you mean, ‘When I get bored?’ I’ve been wanting to
build choppers all my fucking life.”

Gunner lets
out a long, weary sigh. “Jase, I’ve known you since you were a kid.
In all those years, not once have I ever seen you get serious about
anything.” My stomach tightens as I see where he’s going with this.
“I can’t let you open up a business just like that, with the club’s
backing, so you can play Orange County Choppers. It would be a
waste of money and resources.”

I sit forward
in my seat and look him right in the eyes. “I’m serious about this,
Prez. I can make this work.”

He looks at me
cautiously. “I’ll tell you what. You show me what you can do on
your own with one more bay. If you can sell three more bikes in the
next six months, we’ll look at the numbers and go from there.”

I feel
empty—drained of purpose. I’d been nervous to pitch this idea to
Gunner because I knew he’d be skeptical, but I never imagined he
had such little faith in me. Never serious about anything? What the
hell is that supposed to mean?

I give him a
half-hearted shrug. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Without
another word, I turn and walk out of his office. Anger washes over
me. Does every motherfucker in this club think of me this way? Do
they all think I’m just some screwup who can’t stick to one
thing?

I stalk
down the hall towards the exit, my fists balled tightly at my
sides. Gunner’s words play back inside my head.
I’ve known you since you were a
kid. In all those years, not once have I ever seen you get serious
about anything
.

Letting out
the low growl that’s been building in my chest, I turn towards the
wall and slam my fist right through the drywall. It doesn’t make me
feel better. Reaper’s head pops around the corner with his eyebrows
raised when he sees me yanking my arm from the fresh new hole in
the wall.

“
Everything cool, Jase?”

That’s when I
make a decision. Gunner wants me to get serious, so I’ll show him
how fucking serious I am. He wants me to sell three bikes? I’m
gonna sell four, and I’ll do it without any help from this fucking
club, or it’s money.

Ellen