“No, I’ll pay off the debt and you’ll go free. He gets his money and you get to get out of here.”
“You think he’ll take to that idea? He’ll just be fine with an Inked Reaper buying one of his girls? No. He won’t. He’s already pissed that I’ve even been talking to you. I’m not going to be the cause of some war between the two clubs. You guys all act like you’re getting along, but I know you hate each other. It would be just the thing for Jayson to use against you. No. I won’t do that.”
“Sometime real soon you’ll need to learn that you don’t control the things I do. It’s the other way between us.” A knock on the glass drew our attention. Lucas pointed toward the bar.
“He’s ready,” Lucas jerked his head and Mason held up his hand.
“On my way.” He finished sliding his belt back on and getting himself situated before he looked at me. “You don’t go anywhere. We aren’t done with this talk.” He was gone before I could manage a retort.
Most girls dreamt of a man riding in on a white horse to claim their hearts. Not one of them ever dreamt of a man driving up on a Harley offering to buy them.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MASON
Jayson sat at the head of his table rambling about an upcoming drop. It was to be a big one, twice the load than we’ve done before. I wasn't’ even listening. In my head played images of ripping his fucking throat out. How many times, I wondered, had that fat prick snuck his way into Lucy’s room?
I had kept my temper, while she told me everything she needed to tell me, because I didn't want to scare her, but my blood boiled. Watching that asshole laugh and make merry as he went about usual business made me want to puke on his fucking table. Tick had finally shown up and kept nudging me to bring my mind back to business at hand. If he knew what I knew, would he have sat so idly by?
“The pickup is fifteen miles south, closer to the border controls than I like, but doable…”
Lucy was right. If I offered to pay off her debt, Jayson would be suspicious. It wouldn’t be a fair deal and he’d probably take insult to it. He seemed to have some weird obsession with her. Even if he ok’d the buy, what the fuck would I do with her then? She had nowhere to go, she’d needed somewhere. The clubhouse seemed an obvious place. She could stay with me, get a job, and go to school. Hell, we could get a place outside the clubhouse. Buy a house.
“Mason, you and Tink there will meet up with my guys at the drop point.”
“Tick.” Tick corrected him.
“Tink, Tick, whatever.” Jayson laughed. “Same shit. You two meet up with my guys, the four of you will finish the ride up to San Marcos and make the handoff.”
“Why the second pick up. The four of us should go down for the pickup and head straight. No stops.” I pointed out.
“Too long of a haul. Need to break it up” Jayson said with a sideways grin. He gave off the vibe that he wasn’t giving us the full plan. I looked to Tick, who was shaking his head.
“Not that long of a haul. We’ll be there for the initial pick up.” He jammed his finger into the table. “Last thing we need is to keep pulling off the highway with that shit in the truck. One shot straight through.”
“I’m telling you how this is gonna run. Not The other way around.” Jayson’s voice hardened. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lucy walking around the bar.
A patched member stopped her and began chatting her up. The conversation seemed casual enough, he stepped back as she talked. I turned back to Tick. “We’ll run it by Marcus, if he’s not okay with it, we’ll be back to hash out a new plan.”
“Fine. You do that.” Jayson smiled like we’d just given him some gift. Fallen into a trap?
I looked back over at Lucy. The guy was closer, touching her arm with his fingertips. She shook her head, but he pointed over her shoulder. Her shoulders sagged and she nodded. Defeated. My fists clenched instinctively.
Tick kicked me under the table, bringing my attention back to the room. I scooted my chair back, folding my hands behind my head trying to give a causal appearance while getting a better look at what was unfolding outside the room. Jayson continued to ramble on about the drop- a simple endeavor he was trying to fuck up with all of his relay shit. From the corner of my eye, I saw the asshole grab Lucy and pull her back toward the main hallway. The hallway that led to her bedroom.
My hands fisted again, my muscles clenched. I couldn't’ do a fucking thing. If I barreled into her room, I’d be putting her and me in danger. My club would lose the alliance and the deal with the cartel. Instead, I sat in the room listening to Jayson's bullshit.