Twisted Pieces (11 page)

“
Are
you serious?
”

“
Yeah.
It
’
s time everyone starts
to realize how much of an asshole Strokner is.
”

Jace kissed Jordyn
’
s forehead and then walked her
to his motorcycle. He handed her his helmet and saw that she was staring at the
dying man.

It was always hard to get through
those first few moments. It was an innocence being stripped away forever. Jace
had lost that innocence many years ago, so he didn't have the patience to wait
around for Jordyn to get over it. There was business to handle. And it was
quite simple - if you were alive but not focused on surviving, you were better
off dead.

eleven.

The image would be there forever.
The sight of Jace standing over the man and pulling the trigger again and
again. Each bullet spraying blood as it entered his body. Jordyn had never seen
anything like it, and the way Jace did it so calmly made her realize that he
was indeed a murderer. The
alleged
concept meant nothing now. Jace
was
a murderer. Now Jordyn just had to decide a whether spending time with a murderer
was a path she wanted to be on.

Could some murders be justified?

It was a question that bothered
Jordyn the entire ride back to the Back Down Devil clubhouse. There were a lot
of motorcycles there this time. When Jace opened the door and ushered Jordyn
inside, the clubhouse was full. Guys and women all around. Pool games. Dart
games. Music blaring. Laughing, arguing, the sound of someone punching another
in the face. The clank of shot glasses and the shattering of beer bottles as
they were tossed into the trash.

The entire time Jace held Jordyn
’
s hand tight. He walked with a
purpose and didn
’
t stop
until he was standing in front of a taller, muscular guy who wore a patch that
said
President
. The muscles on Jace and these guys were much different
from the muscles on the guy Jace shot. The chemically enhanced muscles were
gross looking compared to the real ones that covered these men all around her.

“
Miller,
can we talk?
”
Jace asked.

Miller
…

“
Yeah.
Everything good?
”

“
Not
sure. This is Jordyn. She works for Strokner. We need to talk, with her.
”

“
She
good here?
”
Miller asked
and curled his lip.

“
Yeah,
she
’
s good. Let's go to the
table. I want her to tell you what she knows.
”

“
What
she knows?
”
Miller asked.
“
The table
…
?
”

“
Miller,
she just watched me take out a prospect from Coast Road. Fucker followed me and
pulled a gun. I kicked him off his ride and shot him.
”

“
Christ,
”
Miller said.
“
Why would
…”

“
Table?
”
Jace asked.

Jordyn watched Miller look around.
He then rubbed his chin and nodded.
“
Go
ahead. I
’
ll be in.
”

Jace pulled Jordyn again. They
stopped in front of a large set of doors. Jace gave her a serious look and then
opened the doors. The next room contained a large banner displaying the MC's
name and a long table with chairs. A chill ran through her when she realized
that she was standing in the room that determined life or death.

“
This
is a special place,
”
Jace
said, interrupting her thoughts.
“
Fucking
remember that.
”

Jordyn stood and waited. A second
later, the door opened and in walked two men. One was Miller, the other she
didn
’
t know.

“
Miller,
Gaige,
”
Jace said.

Jordyn nodded.
Gaige.

“
What
’
s this all about?
”
Gaige asked.

“
Jordyn
’
s been working for Strokner,
”
Jace said.
“
He hired her because she reminds
him of his daughter, and he wants to fuck her. That's what he's into."

“
That
’
s sick,
”
Miller said.
“
That
’
s Blaine territory.
”

“
Well,
Strokner is fucked in the head, man,
”
Jace said.
“
He had Jordyn
deliver a folder to me that had all my arrests in it. Including the current
one. There
’
s something not
right. I
’
m telling you.
”

“
Miller
said you were almost attacked by Coast Road?
”
Gaige asked.

Jace nodded.
“
They know I know about the drugs
they took off that boat. They must have seen me. I
’
m telling you, they
’
re
dealing. And the judge is somehow connected. I just know it."

“
One
step at a time,
”
Miller
said. He then looked at Jordyn.
“
You
work for Strokner?
”

“
Yes,
”
Jordyn said.

“
What
do you do?
”

“
I
used to do business stuff. Paperwork, meetings, spreadsheets.
”

“
Used
to?
”
Gaige asked. He took
out a cigarette and lit it.
“
What
do you mean by
used to
?
”

“
Now
Strokner just wants
…
me,
”
Jordyn said.

Jace's hands balled into fists as
he listened to the story again. How Strokner started with comments then started
to touch her. Then he demanded to see her. Then he wanted to sleep with her and
when she said no, he hit her. And now, he was collecting her panties and making
comments about power and the club.

When Jordyn stopped talking, Jace
put an arm around her. She was shaking with fear.

No one was speaking. Gaige turned
and walked down to the end of the table. He took a few deep drags of his
cigarette. Miller had his hands on his hips and shook his head.

“
What
a stand up guy, huh?
”
he
asked.

“
He
’
s an asshole who lost his mind.
More than that, he
’
s threatenning
the club. You may not take his threats too seriously, because the guy is a suit
and tie piece of shit, but I can
’
t
help but remind everyone of what happened with Caius
…”

“
He
said that name,
”
Jordyn
said.
“
I remember that.
”

Miller grabbed Jordyn by the arm
and pulled her away from Jace.
“
He
talked about Caius to you?
”

“
Yes,
”
Jordyn said.
“
He said Caius wanted him to help
but he refused. He knew that Caius was too emotionally involved. That
’
s when he said he was right then
and he was going to be right again now.
”

“
Fuck,
”
Miller said. He look at Jace.
“
So what
’
s your plan? Since you seem to be lining things up
and taking care of it.
”

“
First
off, Miller, I
’
m sorry
about that shit with the judge, okay? I didn
’
t
even touch the kid and nothing happened. But this is all connected, I can
fucking feel it. Murder charges. Evidence that hasn
’
t been presented yet. Me getting left in prison for
weeks. Strokner. Coast Road. Drugs. I just have this feeling
…”

“
This
is my fault,
”
Gaige said.
He turned and kicked a chair.
“
I
let that guy in.
”

“
You
did what you had to do,
”
Miller said.

“
You
protected Emily,
”
Jace
said.
“
And you made sure
Strokner was good enough to keep his mouth shut.
”

“
Which
he has,
”
Miller said.
“
But now we
’
ve given him too much power.
”

“
Then
we take him down,
”
Gaige
said.

“
We
can
’
t just kill him,
”
Miller said.

Jordyn felt her lips slowly part.
She couldn
’
t believe what
she was hearing right now. These bikers were talking about getting rid of
Strokner. Were they going to just shoot him like Jace had just done to that other
guy?

“
Then
what do we do?
”
Jace asked.
“
I mean, he
’
s sick
…
Christ, Miller, he showed Jordyn the eyeballs.
”

Gaige came running forward. He
stopped just inches from Jordyn and stared at her.

“
He
showed you the eyeballs?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
You
understand what they are?
”
Gaige asked.

“
He
told me.
”

“
And
now we
’
re supposed to just
trust you?
”

“
I
watched Jace shoot a guy to death. I understand some of it now.
”

“
I
don
’
t fucking like this,
”
Gaige said.
“
At all.
”

“
You
were the one who gave him the eyes,
”
Miller said.
“
But as I
said, we
’
re not going to
just barge in there and kill him. If things are connected like Jace thinks
…”

“
Then
what?
”
Jace asked.
“
After getting left in prison, I
’
ve had a folder delivered with
my record in it and then I almost get ambushed and killed. What needs to happen
next?
”

“
Me,
”
Jordyn said. She slowly broke
away from the three men in the room.
“
I
need to happen next.
”

“
What
are you talking about?
”
Jace asked.

“
What
I
’
ve been doing,
”
Jordyn said.
“
I
’
ll
keep doing it.
”

“
That
could work,
”
Miller said.

“
Fuck
no,
”
Jace said.

“
Why
not?
”
Gaige asked.
“
She your old lady?
”

Jace gritted his teeth and his body
tensed. Jordyn felt the anger and tension in the room
…
and sensed jealousy. Could Jace really be jealous?

“
He
hit her once,
”
Jace said.
“
That
’
s unacceptable.
”

“
He
hit her because she didn
’
t
listen to him,
”
Miller
said.

“
So
I
’
ll listen,
”
Jordyn said.
“
I
’
ll
give him my panties when he asks. If he talks, I
’
m
all ears. Like today
…
he
showed me the eyes, then poured a drink and talked. Then he kicked me out of
the office and told me to take the day off.
”

“
It
’
ll get worse,
”
Jace said, talking right to
Jordyn.
“
A guy like
Strokner, he won
’
t be
satisfied. He
’
ll keep
pushing. He
’
ll think he has
more power than he does.
”

“
Which
is what we need,
”
Miller
said.
“
Let him dig his own
grave.
”

“
And
that
’
s what Shay thought
about his brother, didn
’
t
he?
”

“
That
’
s different,
”
Gaige said.
“
Caius had power. He hurt us,
man. But Strokner is a goon. He can
’
t
…”

Jace looked back at Gaige.
“
What? Can
’
t hurt Jordyn? Did you see the blood on her lip?
”

“
I
want to do this,
”
Jordyn
said.
“
Mr. Strokner lied to
me. He gave me a job that I
’
ve
always wanted
…
but it was a
lie. He knew what he really wanted when he hired me.
”

Jordyn had so much more to say, but
it was for Jace's ears only. Maybe when she confessed everything to Jace about
her life, her grandmother, and everything in between, it would make sense to
him.

“
How
long do we let this go?
”
Jace asked.

“
See
where it takes us,
”
Miller
said.
“
If things are
connected, we
’
ll be able to
find a better connection and then we can act.
”

“
I
can
’
t just leave there,
”
Jordyn said.
“
He
’
ll
go insane. I
’
m trapped. He
has power. And money. I'm afraid if I say or do anything wrong, he will hurt
me, make me disappear, or something like that.
”