Jax's Dilemma:Insurgents Motorcycle Club (Insurgents MC Romance Book 2) (31 page)

“I want you and the kid to meet me at our restaurant—you know, the one we met at a few days ago. If you want the brat to keep breathing, you won’t tell the biker you fuck about this. Got it?”

She nodded. When he released her arm, she rubbed where he hurt her, and backed away. The car door closed and drove away.

Tearing up the stairs to her bedroom, Cherri’s heart pounded as her wobbly legs barely held her weight.
I gotta get out of here. I gotta get Paisley and get outta here.
She kept repeating the words again and again like a mantra.

After slamming her bedroom door, she collapsed on her bed and buried her face in her pillow, bunching up the quilt in her fists as she cried. She cried for the young girl whose mother didn’t protect her against her monstrous stepfather, for agreeing to be McFahey’s mistress, for her beloved Paisley whom she loved more than life, and for a short-circuited relationship with Jax, Everything turned to shit in her life, but she couldn’t stay on the bed crying while Paisley was not with her. She couldn’t let McFahey see Paisley because she knew he’d take her daughter away from her forever. She’d rather die than let that happen.
I should’ve left two months ago. I wanted to spend time with Jax, but my selfishness made Paisley a target. Fuck!

Wiping away the tears and blowing her nose, Cherri ran to her closet and took out two suitcases. Throwing clothes into them, she scooped up all her makeup, creams, and toiletries. She had to get Paisley and leave town.
Stay focused, Cherri. You need money to get out of town.

Frantically, she dashed to the closet, pulled out a hamper full of rags and towels, and dug deep down with her shaky hands until she pulled out a metallic bronze makeup bag. Unzipping it, she dumped the contents on the closet floor. Sitting cross-legged, she gathered loose bills—her getaway stash—and counted them aloud, making piles of one hundred, fifty, twenty, ten, and five dollar bills. With a frown on her face, she placed the twenty-two hundred dollars in an envelope, cursing herself for not saving more, and for not taking the five hundred dollars Jax threw at her for the dance.

She’d tried to put away one hundred dollars a week, but with the money she paid Sarah to take care of Paisley, her living expenses and incidentals, and her reduction in salary, thanks to Jax, she was lucky she saved as much as she did in the time she’d been at Dream House. Looking at the stack of green bills again, she shook her head and bounced a curled knuckle against her mouth as her breathing accelerated and her stomach quivered.

Her butt leapt off the floor when a car in the street backfired, sounding like a gunshot. Wringing her hands, she paced the room, prodding herself to concentrate. At one point, Jax would’ve given her the money, she was certain of that, but not anymore—not after he found out about her past. It didn’t matter because she wouldn’t have asked him anyway. If he knew the true situation, he’d make matters worse by charging out like a knight in black leather. No, she’d have to figure this out alone—something she was used to doing.

Glancing at her phone clock, she realized Dream House would be closed in about three hours and in four, it would be dark and empty. Dream House was her ticket to taking Paisley and going far away from McFahey. Planning to go as far as she could, she’d make sure he’d never find her by changing both their names. Inhaling a big breath and exhaling it slowly calmed Cherri—she had a plan. Dialing Sarah’s phone number, Cherri prayed she was up and would answer the phone. After the sixth ring, Cherri almost clicked off when she heard Sarah’s voice.

“Hi, Sarah? I’m sorry I’m calling you so late. Were you sleeping?”

In a strained voice, Sarah answered, “No, not really. Why’re you calling so late?”

“I’m coming by to pick Paisley up. Is she okay? Is anything wrong?”

“Everything’s fine. I’m just tired, that’s all.”

“I’ll be coming late, like around four in the morning. Sorry, but I want to get an early start. I’ve decided to move.”

“Oh… okay. I’ll see you when you come.”

“Thanks, Sarah.”

A wrinkled brow formed on her face as a knot in her belly pulsed. Sarah sounded odd, and Cherri prayed Paisley wasn’t sick or something. Chiding herself for thinking the worst, she went into the hall and tapped on her roommate’s door. Ginger, wearing her hearts and rainbows nightshirt, opened the door, yawning. “What’s up?”

“Sorry to wake you, but an emergency has come up with my family. Can I borrow your car? Please? I’ll owe you big time.” Cherri smiled sweetly while her heart thudded against her chest.

“Your family? I didn’t know you had any family around here. Is it serious?”

“Yeah, it is. I’ll be back before noon tomorrow. Can I?”

“Okay, sure, just make sure you bring it back with the same amount of gas that’s in there.”

“Thanks. I owe you.”

With Ginger’s car keys in the palm of her hand, Cherri went back to her room to bide her time until Dream House was empty. Lying on her bed, she closed her eyes, trying to catch some sleep before beginning her new journey. Sleep didn’t come, as Jax’s hurt eyes filled her mind; beyond his anger, his roughness, and his cruel words, she saw sadness and hurt. For a small slice of time, she thought he may have cared for her, but she’d never know for sure. She didn’t want to think about him, to think about what may have been between them; it was over, so there was no point in dreaming about what could have been.

Deep inside her, the pain of never seeing Jax again gripped her with such ferocity it took her breath away. To never again see his boyish grin, run her hands through his soft hair, taste his saltiness in her mouth, or feel his warm lips on hers made her chest ache as an acute stab of emptiness cut through her heart. She turned from side to side, hoping the movement would erase the longing, the pain, and the image of Jax’s disappointed eyes. A long, forlorn sob escaped from her.

At three thirty in the morning, Cherri sat upright in her bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. It was eerily quiet, and a cold sweat began its descent from the back of her neck down her spine. Shivering, she pulled her covers around her trembling shoulders as she looked at the time. She had fallen asleep, and even though it was later than she planned, she had to follow through with it; otherwise, she’d be McFahey’s whore and Paisley would be lost to her forever. Jumping up, she gathered her suitcases, took one last look at her room, quietly padded down the stairs, and walked out into the chilly early morning air.

As she sat in the parking lot of Dream House, she stared at the dark windows and the security lighting around the building. The strip bar’s security wasn’t very tight, because the MC figured since the bar was owned by an outlaw biker club, no one was dumb enough to break in. Catching her breath, she knew her stupidity wouldn’t sit well with the Insurgents, but she had no choice, and she hoped they’d understand that.

Slowly slipping out of Ginger’s car, she walked over to the small back door off the alley, put the key in the lock, and disengaged the alarm when she entered the strip club. Not needing to turn any extra lights on—she knew the club inside and out—she strode over to the office and, once inside, pressed her hand on one of the wall panels which immediately swung open, revealing a safe. Standing in front of the safe, she took a deep, pained breath and closed her eyes as a thickness formed in her throat. The Insurgents—Hawk and Banger, in particular—trusted her to be assistant manager of the club, and she would be betraying that trust. She supposed it was her night of betrayal: Jax, Emma, Hawk, and Banger. Betraying Emma especially pained Cherri because she was the only true friend Cherri had in the town. Emma had believed in her before Cherri believed in herself, and she was slapping Emma in the face with this one action—stealing the day’s proceeds.

With shaking fingers, Cherri punched the numbers, entering the safe’s combination. The red light flashed and the door swung open. Ignoring her nagging conscience, Cherri focused on what she
had
to do, took out the money, and counted it—sixteen thousand, two hundred and fifty dollars—and closed the door.

As she drove away from Dream House, she made a vow to pay every penny back to the Insurgents, even if it took her a lifetime. She headed toward Sarah’s house, muttering, “I’m so sorry, Jax. Please forgive me.”

When Cherri arrived, the car’s tires crunched over the gravel driveway. Sarah’s house was a dark silhouette against the lightening eastern sky. Cherri stepped out on the gravel ground and slowly walked up to the porch, the steps groaning under her weight. Ringing the doorbell, she waited for lights to wink in the windows and Sarah to open the door, but there was only silence. Swallowing hard, Cherri stared at the front door as a thread of foreboding weaved its way around her nerves. With a sweaty hand, her fingers turned the doorknob. The door squeaked open, and she walked into the darkened living room. As her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, she heard a shuffle off to her right side.

“Sarah?” she whispered.

More shuffling then before Cherri could determine where the noise came from, a strong hand went across her mouth and nose, stifling her startled cry. Shadows flitted to the front and side of her as the room began to shrink and her body floated away, white spots clouding her view. She fell deeper and deeper into the void, and as she slipped away, a low, cruel voice hissed in her ear, “Welcome back, honey.”

Everything went black.

S
leep evaded Jax
as thoughts of Cherri stuck in his head. A knot in his stomach had been his constant companion since he yelled at Cherri the previous night. Rubbing his eyes with his fingers, Jax sighed loudly. He was so angry at her, but in the first rays of dawn, his fury subsided. Wanting to talk with her and give her the chance to explain things permeated his mind. He grabbed his jeans from the floor, dressed, and left the clubhouse.

The early morning dew misted over the tree branches as Jax revved his Harley. Arriving at Cherri’s townhouse, he rang the doorbell. No answer. He rang again while he pounded on the door. From inside, Jax heard a muffled female voice. “Wait a sec. Fuck.”

The door swung open and Ginger greeted Jax with a frown. “Who the fuck pounds on doors at the crack of dawn?”

“I came to see Cherri,” Jax said brusquely as he pushed past Ginger and started up the stairs.

“She’s not home.” Covering her mouth, Ginger yawned widely as she leaned against the doorframe.

“She’s not home? Where the fuck is she?”

“I dunno. She borrowed my car for some kind of family emergency. I didn’t even know she had family in the area.”

“When did she leave?”

“Beats me. She came to my room around midnight or a bit later, asking if she could borrow my car. I crashed and didn’t hear her go out.”

Taking the stairs two steps at a time, Jax burst in Cherri’s bedroom and noticed her stripped bed. Opening the closet door, his heart twisted when he saw it was empty. Cherri was gone.

Jax rushed out of the townhouse and jumped on his bike, riding toward Dream House. When he arrived at the darkened strip bar, the knot in his stomach tightened. Scanning the parking lot for Ginger’s car, dread slowly spread over him. Racking his brain, Jax decided to pay Sarah a visit. Jax knew Cherri would never split without Paisley in tow.

As he made a half-circle in the lot, he noticed a dim light in the back office. Approaching the back of the building with caution, Jax let himself in. Walking in the office, he sensed something wasn’t right. As he looked around, he saw one of the wood panels didn’t fit snuggly against the wall. Frozen in his tracks, his heart beating wildly, Jax feared what he may find when he opened the panel and checked in the safe. Taking a deep breath, he punched in the code and the door swung open. Staring into emptiness, Jax exhaled before he slumped down on the leather loveseat next to the wall.
Fuck, Cherri! What the hell have you done?

Stealing from the Insurgents was a very stupid thing to do. Jax knew what was in store for Cherri once her theft was detected—a severe beating or death. Blowing out a big breath, Jax rubbed his hands on his jeans as he tried to formulate a plan. Knowing his first loyalty was to the MC, pangs of guilt ripped through him. He should call Banger or Hawk and report the theft and his suspicions at once, but he wasn’t going to do it. No doubt Cherri needed to be dealt with, but he’d handle it. The tricky part was finding Cherri and replacing the money. Not sure how much was in the safe, Jax hurriedly scouted around the office, trying to find the ledger and any receipts. He found nothing; Emma sometimes took the ledger home with her to finish the paperwork. The money had to be replaced, and he knew the club never kept more than twenty thousand dollars in the safe. He’d have to go back to the clubhouse to get the money.

Jax usually kept a lot of money in his room since he distrusted banks. The MC profited very nicely from the recreational weed dispensaries they owned. Slamming the office door shut, Jax left Dream House quickly. He didn’t have a second to waste. The last thing he wanted was for Emma or one of the brothers coming in early and finding out Cherri ripped them off.

As he rode to the clubhouse, he thanked the voters for passing the law legalizing marijuana. Since the Insurgents ran two legal dispensaries and had a grow license through a straw man, the members were reaping in the money. Since all transactions were cash, most of it was not declared to the IRS. From just the dispensaries, the club pulled in over six million dollars a year, and each of the brothers received a share of the proceeds while the rest of the money rolled into other businesses, like strip bars, restaurants, ink shops, and the latest, a construction project in West Pinewood Springs. The Feds left the Insurgents’ dispensaries alone because the Insurgents made sure crank and crack stayed out of the county. Even though it was a tenuous line between the Feds and the MC, it worked. And the best part was each member and the MC became richer legally. America
was
home of the free and wealthy.

After Jax took the money out of his safe, he headed back to Dream House. The faster he rode, the more pissed he became. His gut told him Cherri took the money to get away from McFahey, but Jax didn’t understand why Cherri was so stubborn and refused to come to him for help. Even though he told her a bunch of things he really didn’t mean, he couldn’t believe how quickly she forgot their good and intimate times together. It seemed like she was okay with taking money from Gunner and McFahey, but not from him. Her explanation of him being a real relationship and the others weren’t didn’t make sense to him. Cherri was his woman and she needed help. The way he figured it was he was the only one she
should
go to for help. He had her back, always.