Jett gets to his feet, gorgeous girl swallows visibly. Jett is six-foot-three and built like a brick shit house. Any woman would be intimated. Hell, most men are. Is she actually insane?
“Who the fuck are you?” Jett's voice is menacing, but before the girl has the chance to answer him, he's grabbed her arm and is dragging her to the back office. She hasn't said one word in protest, but it doesn't stop me following them as quickly as I can. Jett would never hurt a woman, but it won't stop him putting the pressure on when he wants information.
He roughly pushes her into the office. I step inside and close the door. Either the girl is crazy, or she's been through all of this before because she doesn't look at all scared of either of us. When two huge ass bikers are staring you down, you don't just stand there with a raised eyebrow like you don't give a damn if they shoot you right now.
Crazy girl.
“Now tell me how the fuck you know my name!” He bellows. She folds her arms around herself. “You gonna answer me?”
“Are you always this angry?”
“Listen to me, you little bitch!” She laughs at him. Actually laughs! “Why you...”
He takes a step forward, I take one toward him, pressing my hand against his chest. “Calm down. She's a woman.”
“A woman with a big fuckin' mouth and too much information! Fuck this,” I don't get to say anything before he pulls out his cell. I'll wager he's calling Shepard. And from the heated discussion, I know I'm right.
“Do you want to tell me how you know who he is before you're interrogated?”
“Nope.”
“It would be better for you if you did.”
“I'm not scared of either of you. I've been around this kind of thing my whole life. Do what you want.” Yeah, she's fuckin' crazy.
“Be that as it may, you're a young woman all alone in a place you have no business being.”
She turns to look at me with a huge smirk on her face. God, those eyes of hers, so deep blue I could drown in them. She's nothing special, I'm attracted to most women. I'll fuck each and every one of them if they want it. Only if they want it.
But this girl, I don't know, there's something about her that I can't seem to put my finger on. Just looking at her has my dick stirring in my pants like never before.
Okay, so she's kinda special.
I think the fact she's not scared of us is a huge turn on for me. Scaring women doesn't do it for me at all. Not like those damn Devil's Hornet pricks.
I feel something when I look at her, something I've never felt looking at any other woman. Is she the girl I've been waiting for?
“Don't worry, poster boy, I can handle myself. Believe me, I can.”
I bet you can, little lady.
Before Jett is even finished with his call, the door opens. Shepard walks in with his cell to his ear. He narrows his eyes before pushing his cell into his leather jacket and closing the door behind him.
Shepard is fifty-one years old. But he's as strong as a man half his age. As strong as his son. Hell, they look so much alike they're often mistaken for brothers. They're the same height, but Jett is bigger built.
Shepard is the leader of The Snakes Henchmen here in Tennessee. He's a damn good president with many morals. He's not afraid to dole out the punishments when needed. He's also not afraid to kill for what's right. He's taught me some things over the years I've been part of this club. I owe him so much, my life included.
“Wanna tell me what the hell is going on?” Shepard asks as he steps deeper into the room. I look from Jett to the brunette in front of me. Her eyes are closed, and I can see tears soaking her lashes. What the hell is with this chick?
“This bitch,” I wince at Jett's choice of words, “walks in here asking for you. How the fuck she even got past the gate is beyond me.” Shepard doesn't say anything; his expression gives nothing away. “She also seems to know my given name. Nobody knows my name!”
“Calm down, Jett. Have you asked politely for her to tell you how she knows your name?” Jett says nothing. “I didn't think so. You can be far too hot-headed sometimes, boy. Young woman, can you face me, please?” She looks at me for a second before turning around to face Shepard. “Would you mind telling me why you came here?”
“I came looking for you.”
“Why?”
“Don't you recognize me?”
“Should I?” He raises one eyebrow while crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes travel the length of her body and back up to her face. I know Shepard, he'd never fuck around with any woman, especially since he's married and faithful to one of the most amazing women I know. That's why I know he's not looking at this girl with lust. Which is crazy, she's fucking gorgeous. But he's curious. “Have I seen you before?”
“Yes,” She nods. “Around fifteen years ago. You knew my mother.” She turns her head to look at Jett, who looks as though he wants to rip her head off. “You knew our mother.” Each one of us stands a little straighter. Their mother?
Jett opens and closes his mouth so many times it's almost comical. If they have the same mother that means this girl is Jett's sister. It means I know her too. Fuck! But she looks nothing like... No, wait, yeah, she does look like the little girl I once knew.
But no wonder Jett's looking at her all bug-eyed, he wanted her, even touched her leg in a provocative way. Bet he feels fucking sick. I laugh inwardly, the stupid dick.
The girl turns back to Shepard. “Don't you recognize me, Daddy?”
Shepard's hand shoots to his mouth as he gasps a breath.
This girl really is his daughter?
It can't be.
Or can it?
“It cannot be.”
“She's lying!” Jett says. “She can't possibly be...”
“I am.” She cuts him off. “My name is Anna Campbell.”
“Proves my point!” Jett yells. “My sister’s name is...”
“Nova Jackson.” She cuts him off again. “My mother's name is Celia Campbell. My father's name is Vincent Jackson, my brother is Tate Jackson. My birthday is the same day as my brother’s, September fifteen. I am twenty-two years old. My brother is twenty-seven. My father is fifty-one. My parents met almost thirty years ago, they were never married but they had two children. Tate and me, Nova. My daddy called me his Supernova.”
I feel like I shouldn't be here. But then if Shepard didn't want me to hear any of this he would have told me to leave the room already.
Neither Shepard nor Jett's eyes have left the girl yet. Maybe they've forgotten I'm even here.
“My mother wanted to leave my father, this way of life, and take her children with her. By that time I was seven, my brother twelve. She told me some story as to why she left her son behind, but she took me with her because she wanted better for me. Or so she said.
“I as
ked for you both every day until a couple weeks after we left, that's when she told me that you had both died. She told me that I couldn't tell anyone my real name, that if I did, the bad people would find us and kill us like they had my brother and my daddy.”
I am so fucking confused. My eyes are darting all over the place.
Okay, I know about Nova, I remember the little girl from when we were kids, the little girl who used to follow Jett and me around like Willow did. The little girl who told me she wanted to marry me one day. But this can't really be her, right?
“We moved around a lot when I was little. I never knew where I was from one day to the next. There were lots of men. Always men.” She shakes her head. “Bikers mainly. She had a thing for them.
“Can you believe that? She left because she didn't want this life, yet she just moved from one biker to the next. And none of them were ever very nice. My mother married a man from a dangerous club when I was twelve, a man who wasn't very nice to either of us. A man she killed when I was eighteen.”
“Celia killed a guy?” Shepard asks.
Nova nods her head. “He was beating on her like always. I tried to stop him. He got angry, started smacking me around like always. I fought back. He didn't like that, so he stabbed me in the chest.”
She subconsciously places her hand over her chest, right by her heart. Shit, he could have killed her! Shepard's eyes widen. I've seen that look before, it's the look he gets right before he kills a man.
“He was laughing at me as I lay there slowly bleeding to death. He leaned over me and told me he was going to watch me die. That it was a shame my father couldn't have been there to see it. He would have liked to watch the look on your face when you saw the light go out of your daughter’s eyes. Mom shot him through the back of his head. I didn't even see it coming. She called an ambulance, and, of course, they managed to save my life.”