Jase (Kings of Korruption MC Book 3) (9 page)

The one
instance, I did make the mistake of answering. Paul had gotten very
gruff and confrontational, demanding that I let him speak with his
son. I’d hung up, right after he’d threatened to show up at my
house and shove my phone up my ass. I keep the phone calls listed
on my phone, ready to show the judge exactly what I’ve been dealing
with, but I wish there was a way to go back and record that
particular conversation.

Worried that
it might be important, I answer. “Hello?”

 “
Hey, El.”

His voice is
smooth as silk, and makes my heart race. “Jase?”

“
Yeah. Charlie gave me your number.”

I don’t know
what to say. My heart is firmly lodged in my throat, and the
butterflies in my belly are threatening to carry me away. I didn’t
think I’d even hear from Jase again once he learned I had a kid,
and after the way Bryce had spoken to him, I figured he’d be long
gone by now.

“
I just wanted to call and let you know that I wouldn’t be
able to pick you up from work today. Something came up here at the
clubhouse, and it’s gonna keep me tied up for a while.”

I clear my
throat and try to control the quiver in my voice. “You were
supposed to pick me up?”

“
El.”

He says it
just like that, like I should know better. “I didn’t know if I
would hear from you again after yesterday,” I admit.

“
Please,” he snorts. “It takes more than a pissed-off kid to
scare me away. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of a
badass.”

I can’t help
the laugh that escapes my lips. “Really? I hadn’t noticed at
all.”

“
Nah, you noticed. And you liked it.”

“
Okay. So you’re not picking me up. I appreciate you letting
me know.”

“
I want to see you. I can pick you up tomorrow.”

“
I’m not working tomorrow.”

“
Well then, let’s go for a ride.”

I bite my lip
to hide my smile, my heart thumping at the excitement I hear in his
voice. He really does want to see me again, and that’s good for any
girl’s ego, but it’s especially good for mine.

“
I can’t,” I say, surprised at how disappointed it makes me
feel. “I have plans tomorrow.”

“
Hot date?” he teases. If he only knew how badly I wished that
were true. I would much rather be on a date with Jase than sitting
in a stuffy old courtroom with Paul and his vulture of a
lawyer.

“
Yep. Sorry.”

“
The next day then,” he says, clearly not giving
up.

I can’t
contain my smile. “I can do the next day. I’m off that day
too.”

“
I’ll pick you up at eleven. We’ll grab some
lunch.”

“
Okay,” I whisper. God, I hope I don’t end up regretting this,
but Julie’s right. I need to live my life too.

“
Okay,” he says. “See you then.”

“
See you then.”

“
Oh, and El?”

“
Yeah?”

“
Pack a swimsuit.”

I hear his
soft chuckle just before the phone disconnects. I can’t believe I
just said yes. I just accepted a date with Jase Matthews.

CHAPTER NINE

Jase

A
s soon as I
hang up the phone, I hurry across the lot and into the clubhouse.
Everyone else is starting to arrive, but there’s no sign of Gunner.
Bosco comes in and looks around the room, stopping when his eyes
land on me. His long legs eat up the distance between
us.

“
What’s going on? Prez doesn’t usually hold church at this
time of day.”

“
Don’t know. He got a call that pissed him off, told me to get
everyone here for church, but I haven’t seen him since.”

Ryker comes
rushing in, Reaper hot on his heels, medical bag in hand. This
isn’t good.

The two men
hurry down the hall without a glance in our direction, moving
towards the bedrooms in the back.

I look around.
Just about everyone is here. The Kings of Korruption is changing.
Not long ago, we were down to only ten patched members. We’d done
some recruiting since then, and now we’ve become a larger group
with over twenty patched members, both young and old. Everyone has
a job to do, and everyone knows their place. Seeing Lucy and Pepper
over in the corner, I realize that even the whores have shown up to
see what’s going on.

By the time
Tease arrives, we’ve already been sitting here for twenty minutes,
but there’s been no movement from down the hall. We wait another
fifteen before he stalks over to the bar. “Fuck this, man. I need a
fuckin’ beer.”

He’s pulling
one from the fridge when Ryker comes down the hall and into the
room. “Church in five, boys.” His voice sounds drained and weary. I
catch his eye and raise my brow, wanting to know what the hell is
happening down there, but he shakes his head.

Five minutes
later, everyone is in their seats around the table, or along the
side walls. Nobody says anything as we walk inside. I see two of
our older members, Slots and Shady, sitting in their places, their
faces beat to hell. Shady has his arm in a cast.

“
Let’s get to it, shall we?” Gunner drawls. “As you can all
see, Slots and Shady had a little trouble today. The two of them
were out on a supply run and stopped at a gas station, but never
bothered to notice the crew of Crips that had probably been
following them the entire fucking ride.”

I watch the
faces of every man in the room, and they are pissed. These fucking
Crips. They seem to get bolder every day.

“
Believe it or not, these two were lucky. It could’ve been a
whole lot worse. I’d have them tell you the story, but it seems
Slots’ jaw is broken, and he needs to get his ass to the hospital
so they can wire the fuckin’ thing shut, so I’ll summarize. They
stopped at the gas station over on Hillside, went inside to pay,
and when they came out, their bikes were gone. There were five
gangbangers waiting to drag them around back and kick their asses,
and as you can see, they did.”

Slots and
Shady look up from the table while Gunner speaks, and I feel my
anger boiling close to the surface. Neither one of them are big
fighters, both of them tough in their own way, but not known for
cracking skulls. The fact that it took a group of them to beat the
shit out of two old men is a joke.

“
Those Crips could have killed these two, but they didn’t,”
Gunner continues. “They didn’t because they weren’t looking for a
war… yet.” I snap my eyes to Gunner and I’m pretty sure the other
guys do to. “This was a warning. Those fuckers know we killed their
men, and they aren’t going to let it go. They’re biding their time,
but make no mistake. They’re coming for us.”

Ryker and I
exchange a look. He’s thinking what I’m thinking. The last time
something like this happened, our prospect, Mouse, got shot and
killed, gutting every single brother in here. We can’t let that
shit happen again.

“
We’re back to vigilance boys. You know the drill. No man
alone, always carry a gun, and keep your eyes peeled for suspicious
vehicles carrying gangbangers. Any questions?”

Reaper speaks
first, “Aren’t we gonna fuckin’ do something about this?
Retribution? We can’t just let this shit slide.”

Gunner nods.
“Oh, we’re not. I put a call into Tip, my contact with the Bloods.
Told him we need some more intel on where these fuckers hang out,
where they live. He’s gathering the info for me now, and I should
have it by the end of the day. After that, we’ll figure out a plan
of attack, but trust me when I say that this will not go
unpunished. Nobody fucks with the Kings of Korruption.” He looks
around at all of us, his eyes fierce and angry. “Anything
else?”

Nobody says a
word. Gunner lifts his gavel and brings it down with a bang. “Then
we’re done here. Go home, fuck your women, and for the love of God,
watch your backs.”

Ellen

A brief phone
call last night with Stella McRae did nothing to mentally prepare
me for the fear I I felt when I walked into this courthouse this
morning. My heart hammers against my chest and my mouth runs dry
when I enter the crowded waiting room. Stella had told me that only
her and Paul’s lawyer would go inside the courtroom to present our
cases to the judge. I haven’t seen her yet, but I can only assume
she’s here somewhere, and is much more prepared for this than I
am.

Long wooden
benches line all four walls, each crammed full of people doing
their damnedest to ignore everyone else. I find an empty space
between a young girl in her early twenties who looks bored out of
her mind, and a tall, attractive, dark-skinned man in his thirties.
Neither acknowledges me when I sit.

Looking
around, I’m relieved to see that Paul isn’t here.
Maybe he won’t
show. Maybe he was all talk.
I barely finish that thought before he struts into the
room, his shoulders squared, and his eyes narrow in on
me.

He walks over
and stands in front of me, smirking. “Ellen.”

I look up at
him, not knowing how to respond. My lawyer told me that under no
circumstances was I to engage Paul in any conversation whatsoever.
She told me that I should avoid him at all costs and document
everything he says when he attempts to contact me.

“
Oh, what? Now you’re just going to ignore me?”

Before I can
respond, Stella walks in alongside a man, both in black robes. They
stop and she motions for me, while the man next to her motions for
Paul.

Walking off to
the side where we can speak privately, Stella keeps her voice low.
“I’ll go in there, plead your case, and hear what the plaintiff’s
party has to say. There’s no doubt in my mind that the judge will
remand this case to a later date. He’s going to want clarification
and evidence on some of the issues being brought forth. You just
have to wait out here and be available in case the judge wants to
talk to you, but I doubt he will.”

“
Okay,” I respond, my body wound tight with fear. Stella turns
and heads for the door, waiting for the bailiff to open it. Just as
she’s about to go in, she gives me a wink and disappears
inside.

Paul’s lawyer
must have spoken to him about talking to me because he takes a seat
on the far side of the room. Though he doesn’t attempt to converse
with me again, he stares at me the entire time, making me squirm in
my seat. The man to my left leans over and raises his chin in
Paul’s direction.

“
That your ex?”

I give him a
tired smile and answer, “Yes.”

“
Guy’s a creep. Good on ya for gettin’ away from that crazy
fucker.”

I smile wide.
“How can you tell he’s creepy?” I whisper back.

“
Look at the way he’s lookin’ at ya. That shit’s not cool.” He
doesn’t take his eyes off Paul as he speaks. “When you leave, let
me walk you to your car, okay?”

I pull away in
surprise. “How do I know you’re any safer?”

He looks away
from Paul and grins at me. “I guess you don’t, but I will tell ya
that I’m a happily married man.” He points at his wedding ring.
“And I’m worried that this guy will give ya trouble when you try to
leave. You don’t need that.”

Warmth fills
my belly at his kindness. His wife is one lucky lady. “Okay, but I
don’t have a car. I’m calling a cab.”

“
Then I’ll wait with ya for your cab.” I can tell he’s not
going to budge on the issue.

“
Thank you,” I whisper.

Just then, the
doors to the courtroom creak open and both lawyers walk into the
room. Stella motions for me to follow her, her mouth drawn into a
tight line. I follow her up a steep set of concrete stairs and down
a narrow carpeted hallway, right into a small interview room.

I take a seat
next to her and wait for her to speak. “That Paul is a real piece
of work, and he’s not going to go down without a fight. This is
what we have. If you agree, you sign this paper and we can all go
home until the next court date, which will be in two weeks.”

She holds a
stack of papers out to me, but uses her finger to point at each
paragraph as it explains the terms. “The judge has granted Paul
weekly visitation, but since he’s had limited contact with Bryce,
she agreed that supervised visits are best while we continue our
case.” Her finger moves to the next paragraph. “Paul claims that
you moved out of your parents’ house in an attempt to hide from him
when your child was born.”