Chapter Five
Jasmine
I slump against Ty’s chest, and even through his leather I swear I can feel his heart hammering against my cheek. His arms are tight around me, holding me close, and my eyes drift shut in post-orgasmic euphoria.
In the back of my mind, I know what this is, but for a few timeless moments it’s easy to pretend the last ten years never happened. That there’s no vast gulf of time and unforgiving MC loyalty separating us.
I always did have a great imagination.
His fingers caress my back and then tangle in my hair like they used to. One of the reasons I’ve never cut it short is because of how much he loved it long.
Stupid reason, and I’d die before telling anyone, especially Ty.
Idly, I trace the tip of my finger over his ink. At first glance, his sleeve appears tribal, but in fact, it’s a tapestry of jungle animals. Although he had a few tats when I knew him, he’d had only a lion’s head on this bicep, and right now that’s hidden beneath the sleeve of his T-shirt.
I can still see it in my mind, though. The king of the jungle, that’s Ty. Leo all the way. When I left, did he laser off the intricately detailed sign of Cancer that his friend Cade tattooed in the lion’s protective shadow?
Of course he did. A shy, home-loving crab has no place in a jungle. Andjungleis only an analogy forMC, but maybe that’s just another of my prejudices.
I stifle a sigh, and it’s not my imagination when he rubs his jaw over my head, an unspoken gesture of comfort. At least, I’ll take it that way. Why not? When we were together he was always so sweet and loving after we had sex. I could’ve stayed in his arms forever, where it was just the two of us, and for a short time the outside world ceased to exist. As my finger reaches his elbow, he relaxes his grip on me and rests his wrist across my thigh so I can continue my exploration.
Unease weaves through me as I make out the body of a snake wrapped around his forearm.Doesn’t mean anything.I don’t even want to touch it, but force myself to trace the scarily lifelike keeled scales, and Ty rolls his arm over to display the head on his inner wrist.
Nausea grips my stomach, and it takes everything I’ve got not to push back from him and get away from that ugly, terrifying reptile. There’s no mistaking the triangular head or those evil, elongated fangs.
A snake.Thesnake.
The reason I left, and the reason why I never returned.
Ty’s uncle.
“Viper.” The word slips out, unwanted, and scalds my mouth. Jesus, I’m going to vomit.
“Yeah.” Ty heaves a sigh, and his fingers caress my shoulder as though he has no idea anything’s wrong.That’s because he hasn’t any idea…“Got this done four years ago in his memory.”
The words thump through my head, and it takes a few seconds before I comprehend. “He’s dead?”
“It was a stupid fuck-up.” His body tenses, matching me, but all that’s screaming through my mind isthat fucking bastard’s dead…“Just doing a regular protection run. You think of all the shit he did, and he gets killed doing something like that.”
There’s a harsh rushing sound in my head that drowns out the rest of his words. All I can see is Viper’s face leering down at me as he fastened his pants.You’re a sweet little fuck. Just like your mama. Guess we’ll be seeing you at the club now, huh?
I swallow the bile and squeeze my eyes shut.You have no power over me.And now he’s dead, and any tiny hope I’d clung on to over the years that one day I’d get justice withers and dies.
It was always a hollow fantasy. I fled L.A. to get away from him, to get away from the Bastards and from Viper’s sister, Angie Jenson. I got on with my life.You didn’t fucking break me.
“Jas?” Ty cradles my face and eases me back so he can look at me. Since I can’t meet his eyes, I stare at his mouth instead. “Babe, are you okay? I guess it was a shock the way I just came out with it, right?”
“Uh huh.” It’s all I can manage. He always idolized his uncle. Looks like nothing’s changed there, but that was only one of the many reasons why I couldn’t tell him what happened at the time.
I grew up in the Bastards’ shadow. I knew how shit went down. And a terrified seventeen-year-old daughter of one of their strippers didn’t go up against their enforcer if she wanted to live.
She kept her mouth shut.
A shudder racks me, and I gingerly climb off Ty, who appears reluctant to release me. “Cold?” He picks up my dress from the floor and hands it to me, a strange smile on his face, as though he’s waiting for me to tell him why I’m reacting so badly to his news.
Like that’ll ever happen. I made my choice a long time ago, and it was the right one.
“A little.” I pull on my dress and fork my fingers through my hair as he gets rid of the condom and zips himself up, but a part of me can’t let it go. “His past caught up to him, then?” God, I hope so. I hope that piece of shit suffered right to his last breath.
