Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

" W hat the fuck?" Jumper shouted, loud enough to make Jasmine wince and his own head to pound in protest.

"Doug McCrery made bail," Carlos repeated somberly. "I don't understand why a judge would grant it, but he did."

Jasmine and Sophia sat on the couch in the clubhouse's main room. Carlos was standing in the middle with Jumper and some of his brothers. Though it was a Sunday, he couldn't drive his sled to join the club run with his head injury. He certainly wasn't going to risk Jasmine's life by pushing the issue, nor would he allow her to ride with another brother while he remained behind. Pirate, Ghost, and Ranger had volunteered to miss the run too. At the time, Jumper had thought it was just Tim McCrery still on the loose and had told his brothers that he was fine to protect the girls on his own.

Now that Carlos was here and breaking the news that it wasn't just Tim McCrery anymore, Jumper was grateful that his brothers had stayed behind too.

Jumper saw Ghost pull out his phone and step aside. Most likely he was calling Bear to tell him to turn around. As Road Captain, Bear would be in the front leading the club. If Bear suddenly made a U-turn and headed back towards the clubhouse, the others would follow automatically, even if they didn't know or understand the reason why.

If it had just been the club members out, Ghost might not have made the call to bring them back. However, there were ol' ladies and club kids on the ride. No one was willing to risk their lives.

Ghost would also be calling Mitch, who was the prospect on guard duty at the gate to inform him of the increased threat.

"Do you have any idea where the brothers are?" Jumper demanded of Carlos. He was seriously regretting that Keys hadn't stayed behind too.

"I have the license plate of the car who picked Doug up. It was a black Yukon and not registered to one of the McCrery brothers." Carlos handed a piece of paper over to Jumper. He looked to the women on the couch, whom he had known since grade school. "I'm really sorry. I never thought he'd make bail with the charges against him."

"It's not your fault," Jasmine assured him.

The guilt on Carlos's face said that he thought it was. Jumper had known Carlos for a long time. While he wasn't a member of the club, he was family. Until recently when he'd put distance between himself and the club, it hadn't been obvious that he wasn't one of them. Carlos loved his new nephew and nieces, and Jumper knew he cared for Abby, his new sister-in-law too. The rift between Carlos and Bulldog had to do with how Bulldog had handled Abby's situation, and refusing to involve the cops from the start.

Even Jumper couldn't help but admit that the club had strayed off the legal path a lot recently. His eyes landed on the hidden hatch door in the floor only feet from where Carlos stood, completely unaware of the horror that had taken place in the cellar below.

Carlos turned his attention to Jumper. "Take care of them."

Jumper knew that the plea came from a good place, but he still stiffened. "Jasmine's mine, Santiago. I'll always take care of her."

Carlos tried to fight a smile at Jumper's declaration, but failed. "And Sophia? As much as I'd like to arrest her most days,"—there was an indignant hey that rang out behind them—"she's like a little sister to me."

"She and Jazz are a package deal," Jumper informed him. They both were ignoring Sophia's grumblings.

Jasmine came up to hug Carlos before he left. Sophia stood off to the side with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I guess this means I won't be losing my bodyguards even though the clinic is nearly repaired?" Jasmine asked.

Cage's construction company had been working to fix the front of the clinic so Jasmine could have her clinic back and stop her house calls. She'd expressed worry that she'd lost some clients permanently, even though transferring them to neighboring towns' clinics was supposed to be temporary.

Jumper just glared down at her. Did she honestly think otherwise?

"You're such a good boy," Jasmine cooed. "Yes, you are." The long pink tongue flicked out, leaving a wet trail down her cheek. Jasmine laughed and didn't bother to wipe it away. She'd likely get lots more dog kisses before this visit was done.

Mrs. Claudette was in her mid-sixties. After her husband had died of a heart attack three years ago, their grown children had gifted her with what they had thought was a purebred Cocker Spaniel puppy to help keep her company. Problem was, he just kept growing and quickly surpassed the standard size for a Cocker Spaniel. Though Jasmine had offered to do a DNA test to find out what breeds Cashew was, Mrs. Claudette said she didn't care. Cashew wasn't going anywhere and she didn't have any plans on breeding him.

Cashew now weighed fifty-eight pounds, and Jasmine quietly believed that there was some Labrador mixed in with the Cocker Spaniel. His ears were pure Spaniel, though, with their signature fuzzy look.

Jasmine was back in her clinic for the first day. She was beyond elated, as were Amanda and Devin. Cage's construction crew had gone above and beyond, adding a new bench to the seating area, and had even fixed the sink in the public bathroom that kept clogging up after someone had decided to wash their cat in it a few months ago. There was still a faint smell of fresh paint in the main area, but Jasmine breathed it in with relief to be back.

Mr. Groveton, Sophia's father and Jasmine's silent business partner, even stopped by to see the new front of the clinic. The man had given Jasmine a tight hug and told her how proud he was of her. He even met Jumper, shaking her boyfriend's hand with a father's assessment.

After Jasmine had graduated high school, her own parents had sold their Mount Grove property and moved to Florida. They hadn't been back since. While she loved her mom and dad, there was no arguing that distance had bettered their relationship. Her mom had a strict belief that what made a person who they were was on the outside , not the inside. She'd forced Jasmine on numerous diets throughout her youth and one summer had refused to allow Jasmine anything other than salads to eat. It was a rough pill to swallow, knowing she was such a disappointment to her own parents.

Sophia's parents on the other hand had always been there for Jasmine. Jazz's secret teenage wish that Mr. and Mrs. Groveton would adopt her had nothing to do with their money and everything to do with how they treated her. As an adult, they were still very much present in Sophia's and Jasmine's lives, including loaning Jazz the startup money she needed to start her clinic. Having Mr. Groveton's approval regarding Jumper was more important to her than her own father's.

Thankfully before he left, Mr. Groveton had whispered in Jazz's ear, "I like this one."

Jasmine hadn't been able to stop smiling since—even when Cashew's tongue had tried to give Jasmine her second shower of the day.

The first thing that Jumper did upon driving Jasmine to the clinic was park his and his brothers' bikes right out front of the clinic. Like they were creating a barrier between her and the McCrery brothers. While six bikes were parked outside, there really were only four brothers patrolling the clinic.

Pirate worked as the high school's security guard and Grumpy owned an auto garage. Both Pirate's and Grumpy's bikes, however, were parked out front to create the illusion that there were more club members in the building.

Jumper and Aerial were present, along with Keys, who was working on his computer, and Ghost and Ranger, who generally had their days free since the bar didn't open until later. Sophia was also at the clinic. She had set up a small pen for the puppies in the back room. Amanda was also helping to take care of them as Jasmine and Devin were overbooked that day to help make up for the week they were closed.

Jasmine saw Cashew and Mrs. Claudette out to reception. She handed Amanda Cashew's file and was handed the file for Mittens, a pregnant street cat the Gunderson kids had adopted.

She felt someone approach her and turned to see Jumper. He held out a water bottle, along with a plate full of apple slices, peanut butter, and cheese cubes.

Jasmine accepted the water bottle gratefully. "Thank you. Unfortunately, I don't have time to eat right now?—"

"Eat," he pressed. "If anyone here has an issue with you taking five minutes to have a snack, they'll have to deal with me."

Jasmine couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face at his loud pronouncement. Michelle Gunderson, who had gone to high school with Jasmine and Sophia, pointed to Jumper behind his back and mouthed "wow" before giving Jasmine a double thumbs up.

Not wanting everyone in the waiting room to watch her eat, Jumper followed her into the back room where Sophia was puppy-sitting. Jasmine ate quickly, gave Jumper a kiss in thanks, and then headed back out to the waiting room to collect Michelle and Mittens.

"She's in love with you, you know."

Jumper turned to Sophia after watching Jasmine leave for her next appointment. He wished she hadn't scheduled her appointments so close together, but she claimed she had a lot of client visits to make up and she didn't want any of them to permanently leave for another vet. He got it, but still didn't like that she'd barely eaten her lunch or how exhausted she looked when it was barely two in the afternoon.

Jumper looked at Jasmine's best friend and the woman whose opinion Jasmine probably cherished most in this world. "I'm in love with her too."

"But you haven't told her?" Sophia put the puppy she had been cuddling into the pen with her brothers and sister. Jasmine hoped Sophia planned to adopt the female puppy and, honestly, Jumper seconded that wish. Mainly because he had a feeling Jasmine was going to adopt all the puppies if she couldn't find homes and families she deemed worthy of them. Which meant that Jumper was going to have a lot of dogs in his future.

"I've…indicated," Jumper said lamely.

Sophia did not look impressed by his answer. "Come on, man. What's the hold up?"

Jasmine had assured Jumper that she hadn't told Sophia about his ED or what had happened with his mom. While Jumper appreciated her confidence, it also meant her best friend didn't have all the facts.

When Jumper didn't say anything, Sophia put her hands on her hips. "Do you not think she's worthy of you or something? Do you think she's lacking?"

"God no!" Jumper snapped automatically. At Sophia's raised eyebrow, Jumper said softer, "It's me who's lacking. But," he added when Sophia went to speak, "I am working on it. Jasmine is aware of where my head is at and, more importantly, where my heart is at. She's thankfully willing to wait for me."

"You're referring to something with your PTSD. I know she hasn't told me everything that's going on with you—which is fine," Sophia assured him. "As much as my bestie and I don't keep secrets from each other, it's more important that you're able to rely on her and she with you. If I have to be in the dark about some things so she can get her happily ever after with you, then that's what I'll do."

Surprise had Jumper's eyebrows lifting. He honestly had assumed Sophia would fight to know everything and pressure Jasmine into revealing his secrets.

"I love Jasmine," Sophia defended. "She's the best person I know. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her."

Jumper nodded, knowing the feeling. "I want to ask her to be my ol' lady. The image of her wearing my cut is intoxicating and I want to make it a reality."

"So what's holding you back?" Sophia asked. She looked honestly curious, not like her usual judgmental self. "If it's a fear of rejection, I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. She wants to be your ol' lady."

"I know," he said with a sigh. "I don't think she'll reject me." Then he confessed, "That's the problem."

Sophia shook her head, her face twisted in confusion. "Not following your logic here, Jump-Man."

He ignored the nickname. "Jasmine will say yes. She wants it as much as I do—the house, kids, dogs… All of it." He paused before adding, " Now . She wants all of that now . But what if, down the line, she gets sick of having to make contingencies for me? What if she decides that I'm not worth the fight anymore?"

Sophia watched him silently for a long while. So long that Jumper shifted on his feet uncomfortably. "Abby and Harper explained to us how bikers view their ol' ladies. Once you guys claim one, it's for life, right?" Jumper nodded, though he was pretty sure the question had been rhetorical. "No divorce or anything. She can leave, but you can't replace her. If she did leave, would you want to replace her?"

"Fuck no." Even if Jasmine walked out on him, she'd still be his . No matter where she went or—he cringed—who she was with, she was his .

"It's admirable," Sophia said dryly. "The loyalty you and your brothers show towards your women. It's absolute and dream worthy. Women pray that they'll meet a guy like you and settle for less when they believe they'll never find him." Sophia walked forward as if she was headed out towards the waiting room. She paused just to the side of Jumper. "What makes you think that Jasmine's loyalty to you is any less?"

Three days later, Jumper was walking Aerial outside the clinic. The club assigned two of the prospects, Will and Mitch, to guard the clinic, along with Jumper and Demo. As much as Jumper wanted more of them present, they had everyday lives, their own families, and jobs that were also a priority. They still parked more motorcycles outside of the clinic than members inside to hopefully deter the McCrery brothers from trying anything stupid. Demo was an accountant and worked to keep all of the club's books and businesses up to date and accurate. After Sheriff Hannigan had accused the club of using their charitable collections and donations to launder money, Demo worked twice as hard to make sure every penny was accountable. He'd taken over Jasmine's office to work with the door open so he could keep an eye out and ear on the clinic's lobby.

Carlos had informed the club that neither brother had been back to their farm, and it was believed that they were in Johnstown, which was a violation of their bail agreement. With no cause, though, to investigate further, Carlos's hands were tied.

Jumper's were not.

Just in case the brothers were remaining local, the club decided it was proactive to send Ghost and Ranger, who were exceptional trackers from their time as a SEAL and an Army Ranger, up into the mountains. The two of them packed up their MOLLE backpacks and had headed out nearly four days before. They had regular check-in points with Bulldog and otherwise would maintain radio silence.

Additionally, Keys had set up motion sensors around the McCrery farm to notify the club if either brother returned to their property.

Jasmine and Sophia were still sleeping at the clubhouse, though Sophia had mentioned that she was thinking of moving— temporarily— back in with her parents. Jumper wasn't sure that was a smart move on Sophia's part. However, Sophia continually stressed that as much as she enjoyed watching the shirtless porn show the club brothers offered her each morning as they headed into the kitchen for breakfast, she needed to get back to her usual routine. Staying with her parents until her apartment was fixed was smarter than going somewhere alone. Still, neither Jumper nor Jasmine was happy about the idea of Sophia moving off club property before the McCrery brothers had been apprehended.

There was a children's park down the way from the clinic. It was a good spot for Jumper to walk Aerial while keeping an eye on the clinic. He made sure to walk her at different times each day. Dr. Rutenberg was very impressed with how well Jumper was coping with the continued stress of Jasmine's situation. Jumper's nightmares even seemed less intense. Each morning that he woke up to see Jasmine on the other side of the pillow wall they had erected between them, Jumper felt a bit more of his soul heal.

Perhaps it was too much to hope that one day that pillow wall would no longer be necessary. Even six months ago, Jumper would have never dreamed that he'd be in an emotional position to date Jasmine, let alone sleep next to her. Sex with her had once seemed like a laughable concept on his part. Maybe in another six months, he'd look back on this moment right now and be proud of yet another obstacle he'd been able to overcome.

He had been thinking of their living situation. Jumper did not want Jasmine to return to her apartment once the McCrery brothers were caught. He wondered if she would agree to move in with him and Pirate. As much as Jumper wanted to live in a place with privacy with Jasmine, he wanted to be realistic. Having his brother in the apartment with them might make for some awkward moments, but it might be best for Jasmine's safety. At least in the beginning.

Maybe one day he'd build her a house. Unlike some of this other brothers, Jumper didn't have a huge savings account or already own a house with equity that he could sell. He only worked part-time. Living with Gus gave Jumper the security of knowing that rent and utilities would be paid on time regardless of how many hours he was able to work. Gus had access to his finances, as did Demo. If Jumper was triggered and unable to work, he was financially covered by his brother.

He didn't like not being financially independent, but that was the harsh reality of his situation.

But if he was getting better… Maybe he could talk to Grumpy about increasing his hours. Or maybe he could look into another job. Something that paid more and gave him similar hours to Jasmine's so he wasn't working nights while she worked days. They'd never see each other if that was the case.

And Jumper really liked waking up next to her—even if there was a pillow wall between them.

Building a house would cost money that Jumper didn't currently have. Even if he was emotionally ready to build a house on club property like some of his brothers had done for their families, he couldn't financially.

He needed to have a chat with Demo and see what his financial options were. Maybe he could talk to Keys. He was starting to branch out from doing only cyber security. Did Keys need a partner or an employee? Was Jumper mentally and emotionally capable of being a ‘security guard'? He'd have to talk to Dr. Rutenberg about the idea too.

Maybe Jumper could borrow the money from the club to build a house on the property for Jasmine and him. They could rent it or pay it back like a mortgage.

Jumper and Aerial headed back towards the clinic. He saw the front glass door open when he was nearly to the crosswalk. A woman walked out, holding the door wide. Demo followed. He had a large white dog in his arms. The Great Pyrenees looked like it was either asleep or unconscious. Maybe just sedated. It's enormous head was lulled to the side off of Demo's bicep.

The woman's hatchback blocked the other door, so Jumper didn't see Jasmine exit the clinic. Yet she was standing by the cage after Demo closed the truck's door. The dog was resting in the back. The patient thanked Jasmine, shaking her hand, and then gave Demo a kiss on the cheek.

Even at his distance, Jumper would swear that Demo was blushing. It brought a smirk to Jumper's face as he planned on giving Demo shit about it when he reached the clinic.

Demo wasn't as open about his affairs with the club Honeys as some of the brothers were, but Jumper knew that he did spend time with them behind the closed door of his clubhouse apartment. Demo lived and had an office at the clubhouse as well as the club's Harley-Davidson dealership. Jumper wondered who the woman with the giant dog was and if Demo knew her from around town. Which brother was next on the ol' ladies club's list of who would fall in love?

The patient pulled away in her hatchback. Jasmine waved, a smile on her face. Fuck, Jumper loved that smile.

Jumper looked both ways before crossing the street. He was about halfway across when the squealing of tires caught his attention.

It happened so fast—and yet so slow. Jumper looked to his right. The end of Main Street created a T in the road. Around the corner on the left came a van. It took the turn so fast that it went up on two wheels for a second in an effort to make the tight turn into the clinic's parking lot.

Jumper stood directly in its path on the crosswalk.

His heart pounded as the bumper rapidly approached him. He told his body to move, but his legs remained frozen. A flash of memory overtook him and he was suddenly back in the house in Iraq. His team had infiltrated at night, hoping to take the terrorists by surprise and rescue the journalist hostage before anyone knew they were even in the village.

As soon as Wizard called out, he'd known. He'd been on the staircase, guarding it as the others cleared the lower floor. Heat signatures showed that the hostage and terrorists were on the top floor of the five-story building.

A female screamed.

The house shook violently. A wave of heat threw him back against the wall. His helmet struck painfully with the concrete. He looked up just in time to see the ceiling collapse down on top of him.

Something collided with his chest. Jumper felt himself being thrown backwards once more—only this time he thought he felt fur.

Jumper landed hard on the hot asphalt of the road. Something landed on his chest. It knocked the wind out of him, but also brought him back to reality. Trying to ignore the pain, he lifted his head to see the back tires of the van narrowly miss his booted feet by inches.

Jumper scrambled, trying to stand but a wave of dizziness took him back down. Bile threatened to rise.

He saw Demo push Jasmine behind him. He watched as Demo pulled his gun as the front of the van took out the motorcycles lining the front of the clinic. He heard echoing shots of Demo's gun and the shattering of glass.

Pop! Pop!

Jumper yelled out as retaliating gunfire resulted in two red blotches appearing on Demo's white shirt. He tried to run, to move, but his head was pounding, his ears were ringing. It was like the Earth had tipped on its axis. He stumbled and tripped, unable to walk straight.

Demo fell.

The van screeched to a halt. The rear two doors were thrown open so violently, they slammed into the paralleling sides of the van. The echoing bam sent a flash of memory across Jumper's vision again.

Jumper felt something wet and sticky on the back of his neck. He went down onto his knees just as a figure burst from the back of the van.

Jasmine, who had her hands pressed to Demo's chest to try and stop the blood, was lifted up under her armpits. She shouted and kicked and raked her nails against any piece of flesh she could find, but she was no match against the man's superior strength.

Jumper tried to move. He tried to get to her. When he opened his mouth to shout, vomit spewed out instead.

Something caught his eye.

Aerial.

His German Shepard remained obediently at his side. As soon as he saw her, Jumper pieced together that Aerial had somehow used her bodyweight to push Jumper out of the way of the van. It was a miracle she hadn't been hit in the process.

Jumper's eyes landed on Jasmine. The sick and twisted reality was that he couldn't get to her in time. He knew it—and he hated it. But that was fact. He was going to have to watch as Jasmine, the woman he loved, the woman he wanted to marry, the woman he wanted to hold onto and never let go, was taken from him. She was being forced into the back of that van and Jumper couldn't do a damn thing to stop it.

He didn't know where she was being taken. He didn't know what would happen to her once she was in that van. Statistics said nothing good. Her kidnapper wasn't wearing a mask either. The fact that he wasn't hiding his face did not improve Jasmine's odds of survival once she was inside that van.

Jumper's hand went to the clip on her service vest at Aerial's side. His other slipped and slid over the one at her neck. Jumper wasn't sure why his hand was covered in blood, and he fought to keep his grip on the clip to get it undone.

For a split second, Aerial turned her head and he stared into her brown eyes. Something passed between them. Jumper could only describe it as an understanding.

" Beveiligen ."

Aerial shot off like an arrow, streaking across the street and parking lot in seconds.

Jumper blinked, his vision starting to blacken. He saw it though. As the ringing in his ears became so intense that his brain felt like there were sharp needles being pressed into his head, he watched as the man dragged Jasmine into the back of the van. The van started driving off. The man stuck his hand out to close the one door even as the van scraped against the light post and broke a headlight. Just as the man reached for the second door, Aerial took a flying leap into the back of the van.

The second door slammed closed.

The van tore off, heading away from Main Street.

Just before darkness overtook him, Jumper could have sworn he saw a lone figure on a motorcycle race after the van.