My Biker Bodyguard (19 page)

"Thank you, Dr. Presberg." Jared waved half-heartedly
as the doc headed down the hall. He passed the returning
officer, who held a steaming, Styrofoam cup. Jared turned to
Mitch. "I suppose it would be all right to go in now, don't you
think? I really want to see Beth before the doctor returns."
"Yeah," Mitch said, "I think it'll be all right now."
The officer held up his cup. "Thanks, I really needed
some java to stay on my toes, y'know?"
"We're heading in," Mitch said, with a smile. "Keep those
eyes peeled."
"Will do." The officer settled into the chair.
Mitch followed Jared into the room, wondering, not for
the first time, why in the world he felt so damned
uncomfortable around Jared lately. Paranoia was a reality of
the job. Without at least a good dose of it, you got lazy or
complacent, and either one might mean the death of your
client.
But this constant jangling of his intuition might be
crossing the line. Jared had nothing to hide. Larson and the
FBI had been over every inch of Jared's life at least twice. The
money was Jared's already, and if in fact Beth should die, he'd
have less than he did now, with Jess inheriting the lion's share.
Even should Jess have been taken out of the equation
didn't automatically mean Jared would get the dough. The
odds were against him. Jared wasn't having an affair, Weston
Jewelers was floating high on sky-rocketing profits for the last
several years. There wasn't any reason for Jared to hire hitmen
and try to steal a family fortune he already had full access to.
Frustrated, Mitch watched as Jared kissed Beth and
brushed back that rich, dark blonde hair she shared with Jess.
His touch was loving, tender, and the look on his face came
straight from his heart.
How he'd envied that loving relationship. There were
times when they completely forgot anyone else was in the
room. No, Jared wasn't guilty–couldn't be. Anyone who loved
another that much couldn't have them killed.
His gaze traveled to Jess, where she sat watching the pair.
A small smile played on her lips. The skin around her eyes
was pink and puffy, brightening the green of her irises until
they sparkled. She turned to him. For a moment, the rest of
the world dissolved. He felt that envy for Beth and Jared slip
away, sluice out of him on a wave of his own feelings for the
woman settled on the edge of the bed.
No, Jared couldn't be guilty. Not if he felt for Beth the
way Mitch felt for Jess. Not in a million years. Mitch went to
her and she stood. When she nestled into his arms as if she'd
always belonged there, he caught Beth's eyes over Jess's
shoulder. They were knowing, and approving. It was a
welcome to the family kind of look and fleeting guilt passed
through him.
How could he have entertained those thoughts about
Jared? He tightened his hold on Jess and smiled. No dreams,
goals, not any amount in his savings account, could replace this
one moment, this heartbeat in time where he belonged to the
love of family.
* * *
Jared remained strangely quiet on the way home and Jess
hoped it had nothing to do with her. She didn't want to be the
cause of any trouble in her mother's life, but she'd gotten the
distinct impression Jared resented her. Ever since Beth asked
to be alone with her.
Maybe it was understandable, after all, Jared and her
mother had been together for a very long time without having
to share their lives, or their love with anyone else. She
imagined what it would be like if her father got a girlfriend.
The idea of Dirty Dan even dating made her queasy. As much
as she wanted her father to be happy, she couldn't imagine any
one of the women they knew living under her roof, giving
orders in her house, or even taking over the kitchen.
Forget this being modern times, the queen had a lot more
clout in the castle than the princess would. Biker princess,
that's all she was. Jess stifled a snort as they got out of the limo
and filed into the foyer. Living in luxury had given her too
many high ideas about her place in life. Despite her mother's
wealth, she was Dirty Dan's daughter. In a way, she would be
glad to return home and to the familiar routine of her days.
Especially with Mitch at her side.
She smiled as Mitch retreated to the back of the estate,
muttering something about getting Pullman to start preparing
for Beth's return. There was a man who would help her learn
what it was like to be her own woman.
Or am I trading one role for another?
Jess frowned. Mitch was not her father, he didn't need her
to keep him out of trouble, to keep him on the right side of the
law. He may not be a cop or the FBI, but Mitch was about as
close to law enforcement as you could get without it being
official. He did need her in a way, she thought as she went up
the stairs to her room.
He needed her in the way that she needed him, in the way
that Jared needed Beth. Because life without your own love,
something that you chose but was not born into, was to never
really know if you were lovable, if you mattered, if you were
worthy of love for your own merit.
A mother, a father, a sibling, a blood relation–that was
automatic love on one level or another. To find your own love,
to make it from the person you are rather than who you were
born as, was to truly discover yourself. Wasn't it?
Now that her mother was awake and Grady soon to be
captured, the future was wide open, as the song went. Gone
were the days when her biggest concern was wondering if
Trash would get mixed up with the wrong girl or if J.D. would
find fault with every lube job and tranny she rebuilt. Now, she
would think of Mitch and what his day was like, who'd hired
him, what danger he would face.
She stopped at the top of the stairs and realized that she'd
be sitting in the tattoo parlor or kneeling in front of the brake
lines on a Harley, worrying if he'd survive his latest job.

No way. I can't do that.
She would go insane in a month, locked up in a loony bin
by two. They were going to have to talk about what kind of
work he'd do in Milwaukee. What if he didn't want to give up
the protection racket? She wandered to her bedroom and stood
in the doorway, thinking.
Who was she to dictate to him what he did with his life?
If he didn't…she was back to her living in fear again, only
worse. This wasn't like being afraid her father would end up
back in prison or that Trash and J.D. would follow him. Mitch
could turn up dead.
She couldn't live like that. She just couldn't. Her stomach
tightened. Did she have the guts to tell him this? What if he
refused to change professions, do something other than what
he'd built his life around, what would she do? Would she
refuse him?
"Are you willing, Jess? Will you take this chance with
me?"
Why did this always happen to her? Why did she leap
before she looked? This was supposed to be the best day of her
life–she'd been reunited with her mother and Mitch had said he
loved her.
"No, he said I think I love you," she whispered to the
silent room. Not exactly a promise of happily ever after.
Jess turned and flopped backward on her bed, staring at
the tray ceiling.
What the hell am I going to do now?
Mind going blank, her eyes burning, and the bed cradling
every sore muscle in her body, she stretched and yawned. How
long since she'd had a good night's sleep? She couldn't
remember. Back in Milwaukee, she'd been so upset by Mitch
and what his visit meant, she'd tossed and turned more than
she'd slept. Since coming here, she'd never felt truly
comfortable.
Meeting her mother, awake, had relieved much of her
discomfort. Grady seemed a far-off threat, who didn't really
matter anymore. Eyes heavy, Jess thought she might close
them for a little while and get some much needed rest.
A soft knock on the door startled her awake. She'd
drifted. From the darkness behind the curtains, she must have
slept for a good while.
"Come in." She called and sat up on the end of the bed,
scrubbing her face back to life.
It was Mitch. His dark smile urged the steady cantor of
her heart into a gallop.
Oh boy
. All the vultures of fear began
circling in her brain again, ready to pick apart her happiness.
Could she give up feeling this intensely alive whenever he was
near?
"How you doin' sleepy head?" He came in and closed the
door behind him.
"Good." Smiling to cover her worry, she stood and slid
her hands into the back pocket of her jeans. "And you?"
"Good." He grinned now and she couldn't help but smile
in return. "Hungry? Dinner's ready. We're planning on
visiting Beth again after we eat."
He came to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
His hands hot and comfortable on the slope of her back. She
held his strong forearms, enjoying the play of muscle beneath
the fabric of the long-sleeved navy shirt he'd changed into.
"Dinner sounds good."
Her stomach rumbled loudly between them.
"Sounds like the rest of you agrees." He pulled her tight
against him and lighting struck the sensitive region beneath her
belly button.
"Guess so." That wasn't all it agreed with. They met
halfway in a kiss that made her hunger for more than just food.
His strong hands slid up her back, fingers threading through her
hair, palm cradling her head. When he pulled back, her face
felt flushed and she was slightly dizzy. The best feeling in the
world. "You're like a drug I can't get enough of."
His hooded eyes smoldered. She was intensely aware of
every part of him that pressed against her, the contact of her
breasts against his hard chest, the thrust of him against her
pelvis, his hands at her hip and neck. He kissed her again, this
time more urgently, more demanding.
He breathed harshly when he pulled back. "We should
stop. Jared's waiting for us."
She couldn't catch her breath any easier. "Okay." At that
moment, he could have suggested they run naked through the
house in a game of tag and she would have agreed.
Reality washed back over her as he opened her bedroom
door and looked back, waiting for her to go out ahead of him.
She cleared her throat, tucked the stray ends of her unbound
hair behind her ears, and with more confidence, repeated,
"Okay."
Behind her, Mitch uttered a low laugh. "Can't wait for
dessert."
Her body tingled in response.
No, giving up Mitch is not
an option
. Either she had to resign herself to living in utter
fear, or she would have to find a way to suggest that putting
himself in danger was not all that fun anymore. Some way for
him to see that loving her was more important than dying for a
job.
She had no doubt that whatever client he took next, he
would protect them with his life if the need arose. Mitch was
just too damned honorable to do anything less. With that
thought, she forced the scowl off her face for Jared and went
downstairs.

Mitch couldn't wait for the meal to be over so they could
visit Beth and come home and go to bed. He listened and
laughed at all the appropriate moments when Jared and Jess
touched on amusing stories from their pasts.

Every tidbit about her life deepened his sense of belonging
to her, to her family, to the life he had originally been born
into. A life that no longer meant struggle and street survival,
but one built on the concrete foundation of hard work and good
times.

If she gave him another flash of that dimple, another of
those sweet side-long smiles, he would demand she get her rest
and drag her up to his room. Where, in all likelihood, they
would get very little rest at all.

"When Beth found out the Ladies League was going to
start traveling, she resigned from the committee." Jared paused
to swallow a bit of salmon. "She said she didn't want to be that
far from me and that rooming with a bunch of busy-body bored
women was not her idea of serving the community."

Jess laughed. "From what you've told me, I can
understand that. I'm really looking forward to telling my dad
that she's okay. I was gonna call when we got back, but I…got
distracted."

I'll call him as soon as we get back from the hospital."
"I've got a lot of work to catch up on too." Jared tossed
his napkin on the table. "I've been so worried over Beth and all
that's been happening, I've barely gotten a thing done."
The door opened and Pullman stuck his head in the room.
Instantly alert, Mitch asked, "What's happened?"
Pullman smiled sheepishly. "Hate to disturb your meal
folks, but Detective Larson's on the phone for Mitch."
"Be right back." He stood and caught Jess's worried
frown as he went toward the door. She had worn the same
expression upstairs before dinner. There was something going
on with her, something that she wasn't talking about. He
tucked that thought away to mull over later, and followed
Pullman into the hall.
"Why didn't he call me on my cell?" Mitch checked his
phone and saw the charge was gone. Figured. "Never mind.
My battery's dead. Did he say what he wanted?"
Pullman shook his head. "No, but he sounds excited."
He nodded and accepted the cordless. "Mitch here."
"They got Grady. They're inbound right now." Larson
spoke fast and breathless.
"What? Wait." Why didn't Mordstrom and Davis tell
them they'd finally caught up to Grady? Mitch glared at
Pullman who happened to be in the line of fire. "When did
they catch him?"
"Yesterday, can you believe it? I just now found out."
Larson used a few choice words.
Mitch echoed them. "They're flying him back?"
"Their ETA is at LAX, in about an hour, you want a ride?
I'm on my way there now."
"Yes. I'll be waiting." Mitch nodded at Pullman who was
gesturing, begging to know if it was about Grady. Finally the
bastard had been caught, and Larson had informed him. They
were back on friendly terms. "Thanks."
"Not a problem. I'm on my way."
Mitch turned off the phone and handed it back to Pullman.
"Tell the gate Larson's on his way up."
"Yes, sir." Pullman's bland face lit up in a wide grin.
"This is great news, isn't it?"
"It is." Mitch clapped Pullman on the shoulder and went
to tell Jess, and Jared too. When he returned, they were silently
staring at the table. At the sound of the door, they jumped and
regarded him with questioning eyes.
"What's happening?" Jared asked quickly.
"The FBI got Grady and they're already in flight. They're
due to land in about an hour. Larson's picking me up and I'm
gonna head out there with him. We'll go tell Beth the good
news when I get back."
"I want to go with you." Jess stood, her chair nearly
toppling in her haste. She steadied it without looking.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Jess." Mitch
didn't want to be responsible for watching her in such a busy
and crowded public arena as an airport. Too much could
happen and there was no way to really tell if the danger was
completely over now or not. "It's safer here."
"I thought once Grady was caught," Jared said, "we'd be
able to return to business as usual?"
"You will," Mitch said, "but until we're sure no other hits
were contracted, we can't be certain. Jess," he went to her and
rubbed her shoulder. "I don't want to lose sight of you. That
would be hard enough without the FBI bringing in a captured
killer. Stay here where you'll be safe. Okay?"
She studied him for a tense moment than nodded. "Okay,
I will. But call me as soon as you can. Let me know you're
okay."
"I will," Mitch promised. His cell wouldn't charge in
time, but he could use a payphone. "I'll be back soon to let you
both know how it goes."
Jared sat back looking drained. "Thank you, Mitch. I'll
just be glad when it's all over and done with."
"We all will." Mitch kissed Jess quickly and firmly on the
mouth. "I'll be back before you know it."
"Better be," Jess said with a searching gaze. "I'll be
worrying about you."
"Don't." Mitch strode to the door, eager to get his gear on
and head out to wait for Larson. Tonight could mark the end of
this job and send him on a new journey–one to Milwaukee and
a new life. He only hoped nothing went wrong at the airport.
* * *
In her room, Jess debated changing into an oversized
sweatshirt in order to escape her bra. The tension in her neck
and shoulders, waiting to hear from Mitch, was nearly enough
to ask Jared if they had a masseuse on retainer. Instead, she
perched on the edge of her bed and called her father. She
waited through ten rings and then tried the parlor.
"Tattoo's and Tails, spit it out," J.D. said over the music
punched up a notch for the Friday night crowd.
"J.D." Jess grinned, "Is my dad there?"
"What? You didn't call to talk to me?"
She chuckled. "Well of course. Hi, how ya doin?"
"I'm about as broke down as Trash's sex life."
"Did he break up with what's her name?"
"Yeah, and now he gets why I wouldn't let him tattoo her
name on his arm!" The last he yelled away from the phone, as
if he shouted so Trash could hear.
"I'm sure he's beside himself with gratitude, J.D." Jess
shook her head. How much she missed all of them. "But hey,
I really need to talk to my dad, is he there?"
"Well, first you gotta fill me in. Did they catch that
bastard yet?"
She plucked at the bedspread. J.D. hated talking on the
phone and rarely did more than greet and grunt. Was he
stalling? Maybe he just missed her too. "Yes, they caught
Grady. And my mom came out of her coma. I got to meet her
today."
"That's great, kid." J.D. sounded distracted now. "What
did she say–you know about all the stuff that happened?"
"Not much." She stood, and rubbed the knots in her neck
and shoulders. "Listen, J.D., are you gonna get my dad or
not?"
In his silence she could hear laughter and a few loud and
deep guffaws that could only come from Tiny. Relief swept
through her. If there had been something really the matter, no
one would be hanging out in the parlor and joking around.
"J.D.?"
"Yeah, I'm here." J.D. cursed. "Look, he was expecting
your call earlier, he almost didn't go tonight, afraid this would
happen."
"Go?" She gripped the phone tighter. "Where did he go?
Why was he afraid I'd call?"
"I told him he shoulda told you weeks ago." J.D. swore
again. "Dan's a good guy, but he's too damned tight-lipped.
Look at the mess he's got me into now. I gotta be the one to
tell ya."
"Tell me what for cryin' out loud?" Jess kept from yelling
at him, but just barely.
"You remember Diane, from Sturgis '05?"
"The one with the leather shop?"
"Yeah, that's her. That's who he's with."
"Is that all?" Her dad was out on a date? She uttered a
giddy laugh. "Don't scare me like that. I thought you were
gonna tell me he was back to fencing again, or worse. Why
would you be afraid to tell me that?"
"Well," J.D. chuffed like a horse. "I don't know. Dirty
Dan didn't know what you'd think of him maybe bringing in a
step-ma or something, I guess."
Jess remembered how she'd cringed at the idea of another
woman in charge of the house and shop. How much had
changed in such a short time. "I'm happy for him, J.D. Maybe
I might have gotten upset before, but not anymore."
"Things changing all around, ain't they?" He sounded
nostalgic, as if she were already gone.
"Maybe, but I'm coming home soon. I miss everyone."
Jess sat again on the edge of the bed, overwhelmed. "Give
everyone my love. Tell Dad the good news about Grady and
my mom. I'll call again tomorrow."
"Okay, Jess. You take care of yourself." J.D. paused.
"We…we're not quite the same without you, y'know."
"I know. I love you too, J.D." She hung up.
Jess glanced at the clock. How could it only be 6:30 in the
evening? The long hours of the night stretched before her.
Hours full of waiting and worrying, despite Mitch's order not
to. The ticking of the clock grew louder and louder as she
watched the second hand pass by each Roman numeral.
Each tick was the cocking of a gun aimed at Mitch's head,
each tock was a coffin lid slamming shut. When the
metronome of anxiety grew too large, she jumped off the bed
and headed for the stairs. Jared could help pass the time.
Better than being stuck alone with her imagination.
* * *
Larson used his dash light and sped through traffic,
weaving in between cars with an expertise that left Mitch
feeling comfortable in the passenger seat. Not an easy feat.
"The bastards didn't even tell me they'd pinpointed his
location." Larson buzzed around a rust-bucket Toyota. "I hate
that. Bad things happen that way. Lack of communication.
When will they ever learn?"
"Probably never," Mitch held onto the door grip as Larson
spun the wheel to turn into the service entrance at LAX. "At
least they're bringing you in to charge him with old man
Weston's murder."
"Yeah, like that'll make a difference now. Once the Fed's
are done with him, there won't be much left for the rest of us."
Larson grunted. "Might as well have stayed home, 'cept I want
the satisfaction of nailing this coward."
Coward was exactly the word. Grady had to hire someone
else to do his dirty work, couldn't afford to get his hands
bloody. Good thing the law didn't see it that way, or more
jerks like Grady would get away with murder every day.
Larson flashed his badge a few dozen times as they
maneuvered through security check points. They pulled up
beside the Fed's government vehicles and surveyed the as yet
empty runway. Larson pointed. "Mordstrom and Davis."
Mitch followed Larson's finger and saw the two agents
standing side by side, their ties whipping in the wind from a
helicopter a short distance away. Obviously they had flown in
to take custody of Grady when the plane landed. Mitch started
to get out and Larson opened his door when the cell phone
attached to the dash chirped.
Larson lifted the phone from its cradle. "Yeah."
Mitch heard the squawk of the caller without getting any
sense of the words, then Larson sent him a look that turned his
guts to ice. Something was seriously wrong.
"When?" Larson asked, pulling shut his door and settling
back into the seat as he listened. "Who else knows?"
Mitch was dying to ask what was going on. His fingers
worked the door grip. Jess. It had something to do with Jess.
There was another hit after all and although Pullman and his
team were in charge, Mitch needed to be there. Right now.
"We're on our way." Larson hung up the phone and
turned to him. "That was my captain. Mrs. Kramer
remembered what happened."
"What?" Mitch didn't recognize his own voice.
"It was Jared." Larson spat his name like a bad taste.
"Jared shot her. It was him all along."
A lion of fear reached into Mitch's chest and shredded his
heart. Here was the pain he'd uncovered, here was the punch
he hadn't felt since his mother died. "Jess is alone with him."
"I'll take you back right now. The captain's already
informing the FBI." Larson turned over the ignition and slung
the car into reverse.
Mitch couldn't wait forty minutes in a car, and opened his
door. Adrenalin rushed into his mind, chilling his thoughts,
turning them cold and ready to react. Like in the ring when the
guy in the other corner might defeat him. He went into the
zone for Jess.
"Where are you going?" Larson called across the seats.
"The fastest way back." Mitch pulled his pistols, one at a
time, flicking off the safeties as he strode toward the helicopter.
* * *
Jess found Jared in his office, his hand on the phone, a
strange look on his face. It crossed her mind he could have
listened in on her call home. Even if he had, it wouldn't
account for his expression. "Anything wrong?"
He jerked his hand off the phone and looked up. "Jess,
you startled me."
She crossed to his desk and stood uncertainly behind the
adjacent chair, thoughts of her mother falling back into a coma
tightening the already knotted and sore muscles across her
shoulders. "You look upset, did something happen?"
"Sort of." He said it in a way that implied a lot more than
sort of.
"Is it about my mother?" She didn't want to pry, but
considering the history of secrets revolving around anything to
do with her mother, she couldn't trust to be told the truth.
"About your mother?" His gaze slowly focused on her
face. "
Your
mother."
The last was uttered with such venom and anger that she
forced herself not to step back. "What's going on?"
"
Your mother
," he repeated and stood. "She hasn't been
your mother for a decade." Face turning red, the cords
standing out on his neck, he shouted, "She's MY wife!"
Appalled, she did step back.
What is going on? What did
I say? Why is he so angry with me?
"I'm sorry, Jared, I didn't
mean–"
"You didn't mean, you didn't mean," he mimicked with
high-toned sarcasm. "You come into my home and turn her
against me. You come here, uninvited and think you can take
her away from me."
He rounded the desk, his hands balled in fists.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Astonished,
Jess tried to understand what happened. What was he saying?
"You know exactly what I mean." Jared kept advancing,
poking an accusing finger at her. "Just like everyone else. Just
like the Ladies League and her AA buddies. Just like
everyone, you come in here and think you can fill her head
with crap, turn her against me."
Jess back-stepped again, her pulse thrumming with sudden
fear. Anger blackened his features, revealed the whites of his
eyes. Her mind raced, grasping images, fitting them together in
a collage of horrible realizations.
The empty hospital room. No flowers, no gifts, no
visitors. Her mother had no friends. Mitch's uncertainty that
Grady was guilty. Jared's eagerness to bring Beth home. His
strange behavior when Beth told him to leave the room. All
those odd moments she now saw as jealousy.
Oh how wrong she'd been. She'd thought they were a sign
of his love, now she understood better. It was a sign of his
obsession. She reached the wall, her back pressed painfully
against the corner of a framed painting. "What did you do?"
"I did what I had to." He stopped, going still, lips in a