Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

R anger saying that Jumper did not look happy was an understatement. Beyond that, he didn't look well .

As Bear pulled an SUV up next to the car she'd been driving, Jasmine ran over to the passenger side. When she first pulled on the door, it was locked, but then she heard the click and was able to open it.

Jumper was pale. Really, really pale. She'd never seen him look so ashen before. He only had one eye open, and that eye was glaring daggers at her. He was slumped back in the passenger seat like his head weighed too much for him to lift.

She moved in to hug him, but his words stopped her before she could.

"Get in the fucking cage," he growled. Despite his anger, his words were slow and slurred. Like it took effort for him to pronounce them.

Jasmine shook her head. "I can't leave yet. There are injured dogs?—"

"Jasmine Rose, get in the fucking cage right now. For once in your life, forget about the damn dogs and get in the fucking cage!" Jasmine gasped and Jumper winced. Though she suspected that had more to do with the pain his shouting had caused rather than regretting his horrible words.

Jasmine looked up to see that Bear was paying far too close attention to the steering wheel. He was not going to be any help to her or her cause.

Stubbornly, Jasmine jutted out her chin. "I'm staying. I can help here."

Jumper's nostrils flared. "Jazz, I'm not arguing with you about this?—"

"Neither am I," she snapped. "And if you knew me at all, you would know that I'll never forget ‘the damn dogs'," she mocked, "and if you loved me at all, you would be supporting me right now. Instead, you—what?—broke yourself out of the hospital to come chasing after me even though I was with your brothers and completely safe?"

"You weren't safe!" Jumper shouted. He flinched again and clamped his mouth shut. For a long minute, Jasmine thought he was going to be sick. His pale skin started to look flushed. After some deep inhales through his nose, Jumper finally said through gritted teeth, "You weren't safe, Jazz. I watched as you were taken from me and I was too far away, too injured, to help you. Do you have any idea what that felt like?"

Some of Jasmine's anger seeped away. "Jumper, there was nothing you could have done. Demo was shot trying to stop me from being taken. Do you know what it would have done to me if that had been you ?"

"Jazz, please, come home with me. I promise you that my brothers will take care of the dogs here. They'll call a local vet clinic and get them situated. Please . You do not have to be the one who is here. Let us take you home." Jasmine opened her mouth to respond, but Jumper added, "And, frankly, I think I need to get back to the hospital."

Then he threw up again.

It wasn't until several days later that certain pieces of the Johnstown puzzle came together. By the time Steel and the others had reached the warehouse, Doug McCrery and the three Python members were dead. All of them had knife wounds at various arteries as their cause of death.

Based on the timeline, though, it could not have been the mysterious female biker who killed them. She had been in the clearing with Jasmine and Sophia at the time when Doug McCrery and the Pythons had been killed.

The fact that there were five dead Pythons either in VDMC territory or when the VDMC had been nearby was concerning. Steel did not want a club war. As far as anyone knew, though, the VDMC had not been near the dogfighting warehouse or the restaurant.

Keys was able to track the restaurant's connection to the Pythons. Normally, Demo would do the financial tracking like that, but he was still in the hospital recovering from his bullet wounds. Jasmine stopped by to see him every day and make sure he had everything he needed while in recovery.

The restaurant was part of the Pythons' money laundering scheme. The restaurant was a cash business and could be used to clean their money. Keys was also able to track down a laundromat, a nail salon, and a clothing store in Johnstown that had connections to the Pythons. Steel had ordered him to put it all together in a folder, though no one knew what that folder was for yet.

In addition to doing a financial audit on the Pythons, Keys was searching for the mystery woman. She obviously had a partner, who was just as proficient at knife-fighting as she was. After it had been discovered that the mystery biker was not Scar, Bulldog doubled his efforts to find him. Bulldog had been convinced that Scar had been around town, still watching over them, but knew that Scar would have never allowed Jasmine and Sophia to be kidnapped. He'd have swooped in as only Scar could and saved the day.

The mystery woman's identity was still unknown. Keys had found traffic camera footage with her license plate, but the plate came back as belonging to a dead Army colonel. While that man did have a daughter, she was married with kids in Vermont and worked as part-time librarian. Just to be thorough, Keys showed Jasmine a picture of the daughter and she said that that wasn't the biker. Sophia echoed the statement.

Sophia had been…different since the kidnapping. Jasmine was worried about her friend. She was acting closed off and aloof. It was like her sarcasm had been scared out of her. Jumper had pulled strings and gotten Sophia an appointment with Dr. Rutenberg. Jasmine had offered to go with her, but Sophia insisted on attending alone.

Sophia wasn't the only one affected by the kidnapping. Jasmine was waking from nightmares too and was extremely jumpy. Loud noises brought back the gunshots and visions of blood on Demo's chest. She'd closed her clinic for several days following the kidnapping to not only take care of herself, but also Jumper.

Jumper had been taken immediately back to the hospital from Johnstown. After Jumper had vomited, again, Bear had put his foot down and said he was taking Jumper back—it was Jasmine's choice to stay or go.

She'd gone. No matter how angry she was at Jumper for his anger at her, she was not prepared to send him back to the hospital without her. She ended up driving the SUV so Bear could take care of Jumper in the back. Using Bear's phone, she gave Ghost instructions on how to care for the dogs in the shed until a local vet could arrive. Jasmine had called them herself to get their word that they would not turn any dogs over to the state. She also got Ranger's word that he would remain with the dogs and transport any that were able back to Mount Grove.

Jumper had a seizure halfway back to the hospital. She'd had to hang up with Ghost to call nine-one-one. Once it was relayed that there was a field RN in the vehicle treating him with diazepam, a police escort showed up on the highway to guide them into Mount Grove. Jasmine had never driven so fast in her life, but Bear kept assuring her that Jumper would be fine.

He was partly right.

The seizure was a symptom of the brain hemorrhage he had. The hypothesis was that he'd gotten the hemorrhage when his head had hit the street, but it had been minor at the time. He'd made it worse by forcing himself to be up and moving around. Also the increased pressure from the constant vomiting. It also explained why he hadn't been able to use his right eye, which apparently he'd never disclosed to Bear. His only saving grace was that it was an epidural bleed and able to be drained. However, that also meant drilling a hole in his skull. Jasmine was beyond elated that a craniotomy was not necessary.

The bad news was his recovery time. Jumper was not allowed to ride his motorcycle for a minimum of six months. He would need to ease back into regular activities. He wasn't allowed to operate heavy machinery, which meant that he couldn't work at Grumpy's garage for some time too. Additionally, he might have some short-term memory issues. It was encouraged that he write things down—like to-do lists, eating schedule, and such—until he was feeling better.

Jasmine stayed at the hospital with him through it all. His parents were also there, and she got to spend some in person time getting to know them. While she thought that Jumper's mom was sweet, she loved his dad. He had such a calming presence that she instantly felt comfortable around him.

Her own parents sent their love but were not coming up for a visit.

Pirate moved into the clubhouse for the time being so their parents could use his bedroom at the apartment. The entire club pitched in to help Jasmine empty her own apartment and move into Jumper's bedroom. When he was discharged, she'd already be moved in.

As angry as Jasmine had been for how Jumper had treated her, she'd let it go. He hadn't been himself with the head injury. She was more angry with Bear and Pirate for allowing him to leave the hospital in the first place and potentially making his injury worse. While there was the possibility that the brain bleed would have happened regardless of if he was still in the hospital or not, he would have gotten immediate care if he had been in the hospital.

During his coherent times, Jumper told her not to blame the others, because there was no way he wasn't going to find her.

Which then led Jasmine to a full circle back to being angry with herself. If she hadn't gone to the warehouse with Bulldog and the others, Jumper would have stayed in the hospital.

There had been fourteen dogs in that shed. Six of them had been euthanized by the Johnstown vet, including the bulldog the mystery biker had carried out of the shed that had pulled on its chain so hard it had cut its neck. The rest were being given to a shelter for rescued fighting dogs

To her surprise, the VDMC had put together a poker run to raise money for abused animals. Jasmine had cried upon hearing that news.

Sophia had taken the girl Pitbull puppy that she'd grown attached to. She named her ‘Captain Chaos', though just ‘Chaos' for short. Pirate had the other three puppies at his room in the clubhouse until Jumper and Jasmine were able to take them again. Though, with how attached Scotty and Lila were to the puppies, she wondered how many she would actually be taking back into her care.

Once released from the hospital, Jumper had to go to physical and occupational therapy. As did Demo. Both of them bitched and moaned about it like toddlers, but Jasmine had strongarmed them into going and sticking with their schedules. Dr. Rutenberg even started making house calls to check on Jasmine and Jumper. Jasmine had also started to see him privately.

Aerial was probably the only one who walked away unscathed. Jasmine had cried for hours upon hearing that Jumper had been training Aerial to respond to protective commands with the intention of safeguarding her. It had been another reason she'd forgiven him.

The first Church meeting after Jumper's and Demo's discharge had been interesting. They were all trying to piece together the timeline of what had happened in Johnstown. No one could figure out who had killed Doug McCrery or the Pythons. Since the VDMC did not want it known they had been in the area, the bodies had not been discovered until almost two days later. Someone had called in an anonymous tip to the police to investigate the warehouse.

With Demo's arm in a sling, he was having trouble writing or typing. Bear was helping him out by taking notes, but Demo kept pointing out the errors in Bear's notetaking. Though humorous, it was disruptive and Steel kept having to pause for the two to stop bickering like an old married couple.

Lucky, who had baby Conner strapped to his chest, was pacing the back wall of the room to help his son remain asleep.

Angel spent the meeting glaring at Cage because he'd bought Bree a PlayStation without asking Angel if it was okay first. According to the rumor mill, Angel had shouted at Cage that he was not Bree's father and had no right to buy her presents like that. Bree had returned the PlayStation to Cage in tears, not wanting to upset Angel. Realizing that their conversation had been overheard, Angel had then returned the PlayStation to Bree, which had instantly cheered the teenager up. While Cage and Bree were happy with the results, Angel, clearly, was not.

Cage spent the meeting with a shit-eating grin on his face directed solely at Angel.

Star, who was still grumbling about his name, wanted to lead a group to spy on the Pythons. Ghost agreed that the Pythons needed to be monitored, but Steel had shot them down. He didn't explain why, only that he wanted to wait in regard to the Pythons.

Pumpkin was not present at this meeting because he'd been called out on a tow job. He also worked at Grumpy's garage and was the only employee with his CDL.

Bones looked like he was in pain most of the meeting. Jumper could relate; all of the chattering amongst the brothers in addition to Steel's loud voice was giving Jumper a headache. Bones kept rubbing his left leg.

Keys had his nose practically pressed up against his computer monitor. Grumpy, who was sitting next to him, kept reaching for his shoulder and pulling him back away from the screen. Keys would slowly creep forward again and the vicious cycle would continue. Finally, Grumpy pulled a pair of reading glasses out of his cut's inside pocket and forcefully put them on Keys' face.

Ranger and Pirate were towards the end of the table writing out the Johnstown timeline. No other vehicles or sleds had been seen on the fire lane or near the warehouse. They were trying to narrow down a timeframe and location for Keys to search more traffic cam footage to find the mystery woman biker's accomplice's mode of transportation. However, the times that they'd figured out, Keys claimed there was no viable footage. They were starting again.

At the end of the meeting, Steel called Bulldog, Ghost, and Jumper to stay behind. Lucky stayed too, even though he wasn't named. As Vice President, his presence was implied. He continued to pace as Ghost moved into his seat to be closer to Steel.

Steel put a file folder on the conference table. Jumper wasn't sure what was in it until he opened it. The Pythons' financials.

"We have enough here to make the Pythons' lives hell even without turning it over to the cops. The Pythons did not directly hurt us." When Jumper made to speak, Steel forcefully spoke over him. "They had one rogue member who kidnapped two of ours. By going to that warehouse, we encroached on their turf."

"We could give that file to Carlos and call it a day," Bulldog suggested. "Might make him actually talk to me again."

As much as Jumper wanted to help bring peace back between the Santiago brothers, he did not like that option. "Unless they're charged as a RICO case, some of the Pythons might go free."

"Again, I'm not sure that's our problem," Steel argued. "They did not harm us. I have no reason to harm them."

"Other than the fact that they run drugs and are involved in the flesh trade?" Jumper shot back at him. His head was pounding and he was aware he was being short.

"They aren't doing that here ."

"They were running a dogfighting ring in our own backyard!" Jumper snapped. "The McCrery farm is just outside our borders."

Bulldog cleared his throat. "According to Keys, there's no financial proof that the Pythons were involved with the McCrery brothers before three months ago. Which is when the warehouse in Johnstown was purchased. As far as Ghost and I can figure, the dead dogs appeared because the McCrerys were cleaning house and moving their operation to Johnstown. The Pythons were never moving here."

Jumper seethed. He did not like that the Pythons were going to get off scot-free. Mind, the Python that had been involved in Jasmine and Sophia's kidnapping was dead, as well as the Python who had threatened them with a gun. He wasn't sure what else he wanted done to the Pythons, but he wanted some form of retribution. If they hadn't gotten involved with the McCrery brothers, none of this would have happened. Jasmine would have never been in danger.

"I have an alternative solution." Steel waited for Jumper to look at him before continuing. "I'm aware you can't ride or drive at the moment. The four of us," he indicated to himself, Bulldog, Ghost, and Jumper, "will take one of the cages up to Pittsburgh to discuss with King what happened. If he plays nice, then we play nice. If he doesn't play nice," Steel tapped the file folder in front of him, "then we make him play nice."

It wasn't a bad idea. Still, Jumper's head was throbbing enough that he questioned whether he was fully following Steel's train of thought. "I thought you didn't want the Pythons to know we were involved?"

"I would rather they find out on our terms than for them to discover we were involved on their own and make their own assumptions. I will not have a club war because they believe we killed their members." The hardness in Steel's tone and gaze echoed the man's name.

"When do you want to go?" Jumper asked.

"I'd like to go as soon as possible," Bulldog answered, "but you currently look like a reject extra from The Mummy ." He pointed to the wrapping still covering Jumper's head.

"Maybe we put the gauze all around his body and set him loose on the Pythons," Ghost suggested with vigor.

Lucky, from across the room, said deadpan, "They have enough guns in that place that they'd shoot him dead before they realized it was a prank."

Steel tapped his knuckles against the wooden table to draw their attention back to him. "We'll leave next Tuesday. That gives you over a week to heal up more."

"Why do you want me even there?" Jumper asked. "I'm more of a liability than I've ever been."

"You've never been a liability," Steel said sternly. He had a look in his eyes that made Jumper feel like a child being scolded by his elder. "Additionally, I thought you deserved to be there for the outcome since it was your ol' lady who suffered indirectly at their hands."

Jumper appreciated the sentiment. "Thank you."

"We'll monitor them in case anything happens sooner than that, but count on going next week." Steel stood up. They were dismissed.

It was a bit of a buzzkill to come home to the love of his life and not be able to greet her as he wanted because his mother was openly watching them from her place on the couch. Jumper stared her down until she looked away, but he saw her watching them out of the corner of her eye as he kissed Jazz hello.

He knew his mom wasn't trying to be creepy or interruptive. She was genuinely happy about Jasmine's presence in his life. Since the woman couldn't keep a secret to save her life, Jumper wasn't going to tell his mom about his proposal plans until after his parents were back in North Carolina. Then it was his father's job to wrangle his wife into not spilling the beans.

"How was your day?" Jumper asked Jasmine as she led him over to the lounge chair. He felt exhausted and would probably head to bed early.

Another activity he wasn't allowed to partake in was sex. While Jumper was willing to risk it, Jasmine was not. She'd put a metaphorical chastity belt on her lady bits and had increased the number of pillows between them. As much as Jumper would like to say that he was able to knock down a bunch of pillows and had the vivaciousness to change her mind, he honestly did not have the energy.

Which was just a kick in the balls if there ever was one.

Jasmine helped Jumper into the chair as she answered, "Good, though I'm a little more anxious about opening up the clinic again than I thought. I really appreciate Keys saying he'd be around and Bulldog putting the prospects on guard."

Jumper appreciated that too, even though it hadn't done much good the last time they'd guarded her at the clinic. He wished he could be there, but he would not be any help. At least not yet. Most activities, even just walking, caused a headache. Thankfully the nausea seemed to have subsided. He did not envy pregnant women who struggled through morning sickness. Throwing up that much sucked .

"I want to stop by the clubhouse later. I have some cookies and a pie for Demo." Since Jasmine wasn't working, she was spending a lot of time in the kitchen baking. His dad was loving having a bunch of freshly baked goodies around the apartment. Unfortunately, Jumper couldn't hold up his promise to clean up after her in his current condition, but his mom was helping with a lot of the cleaning and baking too.

"Call Pirate," Jumper told her. "He'll escort you over."

Once, Jasmine would have rolled her eyes at him insisting she needed an escort. Now, she nodded and reached for her phone.

His mom went into the kitchen and came back with a glass of water. Jumper was supposed to be increasing his water intake during recovery. Between Jasmine and his mom, he felt a bit sloshy with how much he was drinking. Plus, they seemed to forget that the more he drank, the more he had to piss.

Frankly, he was grateful Steel didn't have plans for visiting the Pythons until the following week. Jumper was in no condition to do it this week. Hopefully in nine days.

When Pirate responded that he'd be by the apartment in a half hour to pick Jasmine up, Jumper took advantage of the extra time. He snagged Jasmine's waist and pulled her down on top of him.

In retrospect, not a smart idea, but he wasn't taking it back. Though Jasmine laughed and wiggled and scolded him for the action, she eventually settled and curled up into his side. Jumper held her close, so grateful to have her in his arms. She could have so easily been taken from him.

Jumper was in no way grateful that Jasmine had been kidnapped. If he had to live that moment over again, he never would have frozen, lost in his flashback, and moved himself out of the way of the oncoming van. While Aerial had saved his life, she'd taken him out of commission to help Jasmine. However, there was a silver lining to what had happened and, with Dr. Rutenberg's help, Jumper was choosing to focus on that.

His fear of holding her while he slept was gone.

As soon as he'd woken from his surgery, Jumper instantly knew two things:

First, Jasmine was his and he planned on making her his in every way possible. Legally as well as the MC way. He wanted his ring and his cut on her.

Second, he'd been such a fool. He'd wasted so much time with her being afraid of hurting her or not being good enough for her. Jumper would never think that way again. Instead, he would work every day to be worthy, to always strive to be the man she loved, and never take her for granted again.

There was a familiarity to both of these thoughts that made him think that perhaps he'd had them before or that they had been building for some time. His memory was sporadic since his head injury. Regardless, he hadn't forgotten those thoughts since he'd woken up. To make sure of it, he even wrote them down in his journal Dr. Rutenberg was having him keep.

Jumper heard the change in Jasmine's breathing and knew she'd fallen asleep. No matter how unharmed she was from her ordeal, she'd still suffered. He knew Dr. Rutenberg was trying to get her to understand that as well as let go of her guilt. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Jumper looked over her head at his mom on the couch. She gave him a knowing nod and then pulled her phone out. Jumper knew she was telling Gus not to come because Jasmine had fallen asleep. He mouthed, "Thank you," to his mom.

Honestly, Jumper wasn't that far behind her. He must have dozed because one blink his mom was back at her place on the couch and the next the overhead lights were off and only the light from the kitchen cased some illumination into the room. The couch was empty and the shades of the living room window were closed.

Jasmine was still sound asleep on his lap. She had a telltale sign she wasn't sleeping comfortably, though. Her eyebrows were scrunched together and there was a frown on her lips. Jumper cupped her face around her ear. He started at her forehead, leaving soothing kisses, and worked his way down. He was at the curve of her jaw when she let out a low moan.

"Stop." Jumper pulled away immediately at that word. Though hurt at her rejection, he needed to see what was wrong. Jasmine burrowed her face further into his shirt, hiding most of the area he'd been kissing. "We're not supposed to have sex, remember."

Though her voice was muffled, Jumper heard her loud and clear. A laugh escaped from his lips as relief filled him. She hadn't been rejecting him or his kisses. He pressed his lips to the back of her head, the only area he could reach now. "Pretty sure it was just a kiss, Jazz. My bathing suit parts were nowhere near yours."

Her body shook with laughter. Jasmine picked up her head, a smile on her beautiful face. Jumper was grateful his mom had left the light on in the kitchen so he could see Jasmine clearly now.

"You know damn well that you would keep going if I allowed it."

Jumper raised an eyebrow. "Not out here where my parents could walk in on us. But, if you're giving the green light, our bedroom is right over there— umph! " He faked being struck hard by her light tap on his chest.

Jasmine scowled at him and then took a look around. "We're in the living room."

Jumper nodded, but had to stop abruptly. The motion was making his ears ring, which was a precursor to a headache.

"Oh no!" Jasmine gasped. "I fell asleep. I never took Demo his cookies!"

"Are you sure you're not trying to fatten him up like a pig for slaughter?" Jumper questioned. "The number of sweets you've been giving him…?"

Jasmine lightly smacked his chest again. No doubt the moment his head wrapping was off, she would add more force to those taps. Jumper was looking forward to it.

A small blush appeared on her cheeks. Jumper's eyes narrowed slightly. It hadn't occurred to him that perhaps Jasmine was feeling something more for Demo than gratitude. After all, Demo had been the one who had taken bullets trying to rescue her. Jumper had not been there. He'd failed. Did she wish it was Demo's lap she was sitting on? Was that the reason she kept bringing Demo sweets and offering to help him around?

Jealousy was new for Jumper. He hadn't been jealous of Molly—even when he found another man in bed with her. He had never felt this overwhelming possessiveness towards Molly that he did towards Jasmine. Perhaps that should have been a sign that Molly wasn't right for him from the beginning, but he'd been too young and concentrating on his military career to really notice.

He certainly noticed now.

Deep down, Jumper knew he could trust Jasmine, as well as Demo. His club brother would never do anything to disrespect Jumper and Jumper had claimed Jasmine. Even if Demo did have feelings for Jasmine, he could never act on them. That would be an act so heinous, he'd be banished from the club. Unlike Scar, whom the club just considered to be a former member, Demo would be put through a vicious trial that would end in his exile…if he was still alive at the end.

When the club had been writing their bylaws, only Steel had had an ol' lady. It had been Steel who had put those amendments in regarding ol' ladies and club kids. Lucky had quickly seconded it because his daughter, Sissy, had been sixteen at the time and would be around the clubhouse a lot. The idea that a brother would betray another brother that way… It had been something drilled into them in the military, and they'd carried it over into the club.

Do not betray your brother.

Steel had been very clear from the beginning that he wanted a peaceful club, somewhere for veterans to gather and be united as they were in the military. Some needed homes, others needed space. Unlike other motorcycle clubs, Steel did not want the Via Daemonia to be vicious by nature. However, he always made the annotation that they would be if they needed to be. Recent events had proved that statement more true than they ever thought it could be.

Regardless of what Demo felt, Jumper knew he wouldn't act on it. Demo was honorable, and he knew what would happen if he did try to touch Jasmine.

Jasmine, however, did not have any such boundaries. While it was understood among the brothers that ol' ladies were off limits, there were no bylaws that ol' ladies had to follow. Ol' ladies were a relationship built on trust and love. If an ol' lady betrayed the club, it was the brother who paid the consequence. Jasmine was, in a way, free. She was not bound to Jumper in a legal sense—not yet anyway—and she could leave if she chose. It wouldn't change Jumper's feelings or her status in the club.

If she chose to pursue Demo…

Jumper metaphorically shook his head. That was the jealousy talking. Jasmine loved him and only him. Jumper knew that. More, he trusted her. She would not betray him.

However, it didn't explain that blush.

"What is it?" Jumper asked.

Jasmine, though, just shook her head with her lips clamped tight.

"Jazz, tell me, please."

She opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. Her cheeks remained red. "I've been eating a lot of the sweets too."

It took Jumper a moment to realize what she was implying. He'd joked about fattening up Demo, and she thought he was including her in that statement too. Jumper wanted to roll his eyes but, unfortunately, knew from experience that that would only start a headache.

He put his hand below Jasmine's chin and lifted her head up so she would meet his eyes. Christ, he loved her eyes. They were as beautiful as the sea.

"I hadn't noticed," he told her honestly.

"It's just stress eating," she said quickly, almost like an explanation. "I haven't been getting my steps in each day with being away from work. Once I'm back there, I?—"

Jumper leaned down and stopped her with a kiss. He made sure she was looking at him when he repeated more firmly, "I. Hadn't. Noticed."

She bit her lip. "Really?"

He nodded carefully. "You could gain twenty or fifty pounds, Jazz, and I probably wouldn't notice and I certainly wouldn't care."

Her nose made an adorable little scrunch. "As sweet as that sentiment is, I really don't want to ever gain that much weight."

"I'm going to need to start some light exercising soon. We can take walks in the morning or evenings. Nothing strenuous. That'll help you get your steps in too."

She smiled. "I'd like that. Mostly because it's an excuse to be with you, though."

"You never need an excuse for that." He bent down and kissed her lips again.

"We should get to bed," she spoke against his lips.

Jumper shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Because you'll erect the Great Wall of Pillows between us, and I rather like you in my arms." He tightened his hold on her to emphasize his point.

Jasmine was silent for a moment as she thought this through. He watched, wishing he could know exactly what she was thinking. Finally, she said, "I'll remove the pillows with ," she added quickly when she saw his face light up, "the understanding that if your hands start to wander, they go back up."

Jumper chuckled and took her lips again. "I make no promises."

The club run the day before had been interesting. Neither Demo nor Jumper were in any condition to ride their bikes. With no ol' ladies pregnant and the infants covered by the grandparents, all of the other ol' ladies had gone, in addition to Sissy, Scotty, Cassie, Bree, and Lila. Since Jumper couldn't go, Jasmine wasn't going. There'd been an awkward offer from Pirate that she could ride with him, but Jasmine had shot that down as soon as she'd seen Jumper's face. As sweet as she thought Pirate's offer was, she understood that she did not ride on any bikes other than Jumper's without a good reason. Therefore, it looked like Jasmine was not going to get to go on any club runs this season.

She was okay with that. Really. She'd rather be on Jumper's bike anyway.

Not forgetting her idea to learn to ride herself, she'd signed up for the club's next motorcycle class their Harley-Davidson dealership offered.

To her surprise, most of the other ol' ladies had also signed up. Tessa was the hold out and hadn't given much of an explanation. However, Jasmine found her lack of wine glass at the barbeque pretty telling.

The club had ridden out, leaving Demo, Jumper, and Jasmine at the clubhouse with the Honeys. Jumper was definitely feeling better, but was still prohibited from lifting heavy objects or straining himself. Demo was another story. The shoulder he'd been shot in was the same side as his missing three fingers. The missing digits had already caused nerve damage in his left arm, and now the shoulder injury was compounding that.

Setting up the barbecue with the Honeys was interesting. One of them, Evette, didn't even help and spent the time fawning over Demo. Jasmine wanted to gag, but kept her mouth shut since it didn't seem like Demo minded the attention. None of the Honeys acted like Jumper even existed, which was good.

Several of the Honeys glared at Jasmine's new cut that proclaimed her Property of Jumper like it was toxic. Or maybe, they thought she was the toxic one and the cut should have been theirs. Jasmine could care less as long as none of them started anything with her as they'd tried with Tessa and Abby.

Now, Jasmine was helping get the spread of snacks and drinks out to Harper's living room. This was her second time at an ol' ladies' night but her first as an official ol' lady. She even had her new cut on. Mainly because she had a hard time taking it off.

All of the club kids were with the men, including the babies. Jasmine thought it was beyond sweet how the club brothers who weren't even the father of any of the kids pitched in to help care for the club kids so the women could have some alone time. It brought home even more how family driven the Via Daemonia were.

They even took Matthew and Nelson, Harper's nephews, with them so Paige, Harper's sister-in-law, could join in. Since Jumper and Pirate's parents were still in town, Rhonda was joining in too, as was DeeDee, Tessa's mother-in-law, and Louisa, Abby's mother-in-law.

It had been explained to Jasmine that once Harper and Tessa had become ol' ladies, that Jenna and they would get together every few weeks for a girls' night. Then Angel had had a parenting issue with Bree, and she'd started regularly joining in to get some parenting advice and to also get a break from parenting. Sissy had been around at the time and had joined in too. Then Abby had come into the club's life. She'd invited Paige after discovering that her acupuncturist was also Harper's sister-in-law and was struggling with being a new single parent. Jasmine didn't know the full story, but it sounded like her husband, Harper's brother, was missing and presumed dead.

Jasmine wasn't particularly close with any of the other ol' ladies, but she did like them. They'd even encouraged her to invite Sophia to their gathering. While Sophia had joined in the last time, she'd declined this time. She also hadn't gone to the club's barbecue the day before. Jasmine was growing exceedingly worried about her friend. She was still seeing Dr. Rutenberg, so she wasn't interfering yet, but Jasmine wanted her bestie back, sass and all.

Everyone was claiming their seats and getting situated in the living room. Some dining room chairs had been brought in so no one had to sit on the floor. With the five ol' ladies, in-laws, and Sissy, Jasmine wondered if perhaps they should start taking over the clubhouse for their gatherings. Harper's living room had never looked so small before.

No one had really started talking yet when there was a clatter on the wood coffee table. Jasmine wasn't the only one who looked—and her eyes went wide at the white stick with a pink cap and the word pregnant across it. She looked up to see who had thrown it.

She expected to see Tessa sitting there with a proud smile on her face, except Tessa was looking down at the test with just as much shock as the rest of them.

Slowly, one by one, heads started turning and Jasmine followed their line of sight to… Her jaw dropped. Angel?

The entire room went quiet. Angel, who had always seemed like an untouchable badass, looked like she was getting ready to cry. Without thinking, Jasmine rushed to her feet and over to the only female patched member of the VDMC. She was the only other one beside Jasmine who was also wearing her cut.

Jasmine put her arms around Angel, who was seated in a dining room chair, and brought the other woman into a hug. Angel sagged, and Jasmine could feel her entire body trembling. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jenna reach over and put her hand on Angel's knee. Angel, in turn, gripped it tightly. Though some of the mothers-in-law in the group were older than Jenna, it was Jenna everyone looked to as the matriarch.

When Angel got herself under control, she sat up. Jasmine released her hold. Angel quickly wiped her eyes, which were filled with unshed tears, and let out a wet, humorless chuckle. "Stupid hormones."

Jasmine went to take her seat again. Someone tapped her shoulder and she looked to her right to see Louisa holding out a box of tissues. Jasmine took them and passed them down the line to Angel.

Jenna was still gripping Angel's hand. "Does Bree know?"

Jasmine was surprised at the question, assuming, like her, that everyone was wondering who the father was. However, her respect for Jenna went up a notch. The woman was more concerned about Angel's daughter than gossip or scandal.

It seemed unfair in retrospect of the world. It took two to make a baby, and yet it was the woman who was scrutinized. Men could sleep with whomever they want and never be held accountable. Women certainly had drawn the short stick when it came to the genders. Many believed the ability to bear children made it all worth it—and Jasmine had nothing against them as she planned on being a mother someday—but it would have been nice if the universe had made it a little fairer between the genders.

Angel shook her head. "I wasn't going to tell you guys but that damn test has been burning a hole in my pocket since I took it yesterday and I just…" She quickly wiped her eyes. "I never expected to be a mom. A real mom, I mean. I thought Bree would be it."

"You are Bree's real mom," Tessa argued. "I was there. I saw how you fought for her from the beginning. You are her mom."

Sissy nodded. "You're as much her mom as Lucky is my dad. He's my parent of choice, which is far more important than blood." Then she nudged Harper's shoulder, "Especially with Lady Tremaine here being added to the mix."

Harper snorted. "I'm the good stepmother and you're certainly no Cinderella."

Angel, like the others in the room, chuckled. Jasmine had picked up on the joke quickly. Despite that Harper was only four years older than Sissy, she was, technically, her stepmother. Since Sissy was an adult, Harper hadn't adopted Sissy legally as she had with Scotty.

Jenna turned back to Angel. "We're here for you. Whatever you need."

"How far along are you?" Tessa asked, a hint of her doctor voice lacing her words.

"About five weeks."

Jasmine was sure she wasn't the only one trying to think back to five weeks ago and see if they recalled seeing Angel with anyone in particular. Unlike her club brothers, Angel didn't have a male version of the Honeys running around the clubhouse.

Looking closer at Angel, Jasmine realized she didn't know much about the woman. She looked around Jasmine's age, late-twenties or maybe early-thirties. Angel was former Army and had served with Bulldog. She ran a tattoo shop in town. And she'd adopted Bree when the abused teenager had come into the club's lives almost a year ago. Jasmine recalled the blood drive the club had sponsored last August but hadn't pieced together that the drive had been for Bree until she'd gotten closer to the club.

That was it. Jasmine didn't even know if ‘Angel' was her real name or her road name.

"How are you feeling?"

Angel's eyes narrowed on Tessa. "You don't need to doctor me. Ask what you really want to ask."

Tessa's cheeks flushed. "That's your business?—"

"I don't know," Angel admitted. There was so much self-deprecation in her voice that Jasmine winced on her behalf. "I got drunk one night at Demon's . It was stupid. Bree was at a sleepover at your house," she waved a hand absently in Abby's direction, "and I went out drinking with the boys. I don't know his name and I don't know where he's from. We didn't exactly exchange phone numbers."

Tessa's flush intensified. Jasmine knew she was thinking of how she'd met Bear. They'd been a one-night stand too. From what she understood, though, at least Tessa had known Bear's name. They'd shared a connection and it had only been a misunderstanding the morning after that had led to their separation for nearly four months.

Not that Jasmine was judging Angel for her choices.

The room fell silent. No one seemed to really know what to say. Then Jenna cleared her throat loudly. "Well, it doesn't matter because he or she is ours now. Our men have proven time and time again that DNA doesn't matter. That baby is Via Daemonia , regardless of anything else."

Angel's chin started to tremble. She looked like she was barely holding herself together. It had to be so difficult for a woman like her, strong and independent, to have her emotions and hormones taken out of her control. "Don't make me cry, bitch."

Jenna laughed, and the others followed. It seemed like the awkwardness of the moment was over. Then Jenna quieted everyone and turned back to Angel. "We women have to stick together as much as the men do. We're one family, but we deal with things they never will. We need to know, Angel, do you want us telling our husbands?"

Jasmine hadn't even thought of that, but Jenna had a point. Just because Angel had told the women, didn't mean she wanted the men she called her brothers to know.

Angel swallowed and looked around the room. "Not yet, please. I need to still wrap my head around it. I don't want the guys or the kids to know yet."

Jenna nodded and then she looked pointedly around the room. Her stare reminded Jasmine of Steel's. "You heard her. Not a word. Is that understood?"

Everyone complied. Later on, Jasmine was helping to clear the table when she heard voices coming from outside the backdoor. It sounded like Tessa and Angel.

Jasmine didn't mean to eavesdrop, but listened before she realized what was being said.

"You have to tell him," Tessa was saying to Angel.

"I can't," came from Angel. She sounded tired and frustrated. "Even if it is possible, he can never know."

A noise behind Jasmine drew her attention back to where she was and the fact that that was a private conversation outside. She took the plates she was holding over to the sink and then left the room.