Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

" G et back inside," Jumper ordered low to Jasmine. "Call Carlos and, whatever happens, you stay put." He felt her hands leave the back of his shirt, but he didn't turn to watch her enter her apartment building.

Jumper studied the men approaching them. Just as Mrs. Guthrie had described, one was tall with broad shoulders. The other was shorter with a swimmer's build. Both were filthy with mud and grass stains. They were clearly brothers; they had the same sharp jawline and green eyes. Having never seen them before, Jumper didn't know which was Doug, nor did he know the other brother's name.

As they neared, Aerial stepped in front of Jumper. Her hackles were up, her teeth were bared, and a low growl emanated from her.

Both men looked down at her, and Jumper could have sworn he saw interest on their faces rather than alarm. Jumper put his hand on the polyester hilt of his SOG at the small of his back. His heart started beating fast, his ears ringing. He felt a wave of dizziness come over him.

Fuck, not now… He could not afford to have an anxiety attack right then.

Jumper forced himself to take a deep breath. He had to stay strong, to stay in the here and now. He had to protect Jasmine. The secure doors into her apartment building were glass. If they chose to make a scene, they could easily get inside to her.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" Jumper made sure to stand tall, his cut visible. They needed to know that it wasn't just him they were coming after. The entire VDMC stood between Sophia and Jasmine and the McCrery brothers.

"The girl took something of ours," the taller one said with a pure southern twang. "We want it back."

Jumper was pretty sure he wasn't talking about the puppies. Based on what Jasmine had said, they were planning on burning the barn down with the puppies still inside. That meant, they believed she took something from the human body.

"What did she take? Maybe I could get it back for you." And perhaps incriminate them in the process of learning what they believed that she took. Jumper believed Jasmine when she said she'd only taken the puppies and hadn't known about the body in the next stall over.

"That's between us and her," the smaller one snapped. He lifted up his plaid shirt to show off the handle of the gun in his jeans. "Go get her." His accent made the word get sound like git .

Jumper would never understand why any man would willingly put a gun down the front of his pants where he could accidentally blow off his junk. However, it did put Jumper at an advantage. If he could narrow the space between him and the brothers, he could use his knife before the man could get to his gun.

"She's fine where she is," Jumper told him evenly.

The brothers glanced at each other like they thought Jumper was stupid. Clearly, they were under the delusion that having a gun gave them the upper hand. Generally, it would, but Jumper was a former SEAL. He might not have served recently, but he still had his training. There were some things that were ingrained in him through Hell Week, where the only easy day was yesterday .

Jumper's hand tightened on the hilt of his SOG, resolve settling over him. He was a fucking SEAL. These two dipshits were not getting past him.

Aerial's growling got louder. The taller brother nudged the shorter brother, lifting his chin towards Aerial. Greed and desire entered both their eyes.

"Tell you what," the taller one drawled. "Give us the bitch," he nodded towards Aerial, "and we'll forget about the girl."

Jumper nearly laughed. "You're welcome to try and take her," he said evenly. "I should warn you though that she's a former police dog and won't go docilely." He pulled the SOG from behind his back and expertly twirled it into an earth grip. "Neither will I."

Both brothers took a step forward, their eyes fixated on Aerial.

"Aerial, verdedigen ," Jumper snapped, giving the order in Dutch to defend. He would not give the order to attack until after the brothers had made the first move. He did not want Aerial getting into trouble for biting a human without it clearly being in self-defense.

Still growling, Aerial started walking backwards towards Jumper. He widened his legs as she stepped between them. She would stay there and move with him until ordered otherwise.

The wail of sirens could be heard from a distance. The brothers paused but didn't stop until the roar of pipes echoed down Main Street. Best sound in the world as far as Jumper was concerned. They scowled at Jumper and Aerial before they took off running in the opposite direction of the approaching sirens.

Jasmine was sitting on the couch in the Via Daemonia clubhouse. She couldn't seem to stop shaking. Jumper and Aerial had nearly gotten into a fight over her. While she was beyond happy that the police and the club had shown up prior to any violence breaking out, she wished she had an answer as to what the brothers believed she'd taken from the barn.

Sophia, Lila, and Scotty were carrying the puppies into the main area. Sophia had two while each child had one. Jasmine had gotten to know Scotty over the past year since he'd gotten Spot, a two-year-old golden retriever service dog. Though Spot hadn't needed anything beyond his yearly checkup, Scotty liked to stop into the clinic when they were passing to give Jasmine a rundown of everything the two had been up to. It always made Jasmine's day when she saw Scotty walking Spot in with his service harness.

In turn, Jasmine had gotten to know Lucky, Scotty's dad, and Harper, his new mom, too. Harper had given birth to her son, Conner, at the beginning of the month. While Lucky was upstairs in the same meeting as Jumper, Harper sat at the bar nursing the baby and keeping an eye on Scotty—though Scotty had proudly promised his dad that he would keep an eye on his mommy and baby brother.

Lila was Abby's daughter. She was six years old and reminded Jasmine of the Energizer Bunny . She just kept going and going and going… No one should have that much energy, was Jasmine's opinion. She felt sorry for Abby and Bulldog, who had eloped back in March but were planning a summer wedding with their family and friends. Abby was currently sitting at the bar with Harper looking over wedding magazines. In her arms was Georgie, the baby Abby had been pregnant with when she'd been brought to Jasmine's clinic in the middle of the night. While Jasmine was thrilled to know that both Abby and the baby were doing well, she still hadn't gotten an answer as to why her clinic had had to be used so clandestinely versus going to a hospital. She wondered if she ever would.

Harper and Abby had invited Jasmine to look at magazines with them, but Jasmine had politely declined. She wasn't in the mood to socialize.

Sophia sat down on the couch next to Jasmine and handed her a puppy. Even after just a day of regular feedings, all four looked so much healthier and were more active. Scotty and Lila sat on the floor by their moms and played with their two puppies.

Jasmine leaned over, placing her head on Sophia's shoulder.

"Did you hear about my apartment?" Sophia asked.

Sophia's apartment was technically a large guesthouse to the side of her parents' house. It used to be an external garage, but her dad had upgraded it to a guesthouse when he'd put an addition on the main house that included an internal garage. When Sophia and Jasmine had moved back to Mount Grove after college, Sophia had moved into the guesthouse rather than live in her parents' house with them and referred to it as her apartment. The way the Groveton's driveway curved, one would pass Sophia's apartment before they reached the main house.

Jasmine shook her head. Her eyelids felt so heavy. Jumper could have been hurt today, because she'd been reckless. Because she'd investigated on her own and hadn't waited for Carlos. Jasmine clutched the puppy to her chest tighter. She wasn't sorry she'd saved the puppies, and yet… If she hadn't, Jumper wouldn't have had to faced down two deranged murderers.

"Jazz?" Sophia's hand waved in front of her eyes.

Jasmine's head popped up. "What?"

"I was telling you about my apartment and you just sat there."

She shook her head, "Sorry. I was thinking." Jasmine sat up straighter. "I'm listening. What about your apartment?"

"It was broken into!" Jasmine gasped as Sophia's exclaimed. "If I wasn't here feeding the puppies, I might have been there."

"Do you know what happened?"

Sophia shook her head. "My mom called me. The gardener found my door hanging off its hinges."

She pulled out her phone to show Jasmine pictures. Jasmine's eyes widened in shock and horror. Sophia's door was nearly broken in two. Inside, her furniture was destroyed. The blade of a thick kitchen knife was slammed into the center of her kitchen table in an obvious threat. It looked chaotic, for sure, but also rageful. There seemed to be no purpose. Some of the drawers and cabinets were left closed and seemingly untouched. It appeared like the target had been her more expensive items, like the crystal vase that had been on her kitchen counter, her plush couch, her television…

Jasmine learned forward when Sophia scrolled to yet another picture. "Wait, go back."

Sophia did. Jasmine reached over and enlarged a section of the photo. Then she sat up and looked at her bestie. "That's how they found me. You have had the picture on the wall from when I first moved into my apartment building. We're literally holding up a sign with my new address on it."

Sophia turned her phone so she could see what Jasmine was pointing out. Her eyes narrowed. "Well, fuck."

When Jasmine had signed the lease for her apartment, Sophia had made her a celebration sign out of posterboard and a lot of glitter. Enough glitter to make fairies jealous. The two of them had joked that Jasmine would lose her security deposit from the amount of glitter that would be left behind whenever she moved out.

"How did they find me , though?" Sophia asked.

"Your car's a bit of a novelty around here," Jasmine reminded her. "All they'd have to do is inquire about a red Volkswagen Beetle and the entire town would point your way."

Sophia grimaced. "Who knew the Bug would be my downfall."

"Me," Jasmine snapped playfully. "I've been saying it for years, especially when the AC decided to stop working."

Sophia scowled.

Jasmine looked over at the stairs that led up to the super-secret meeting room the club was gathered in. Jumper had called it ‘Church' but Jasmine wasn't sure why. She doubted they were praying.

"What are we going to do now?" Sophia asked. "Carlos wants to assign a deputy to watch me, but honestly I'd feel more safer staying here."

Jasmine did too. Then again, she'd feel safe wherever Jumper was. No matter what he thought himself capable of, Jasmine knew to her core that he'd never hurt her. She just needed to convince him of that.

Sophia tipped her head up towards the stairs and the closed doors at the top of them. "What do you think they're talking about?"

Jasmine shrugged. "Secret club stuff, I guess." She indicated towards Abby and Harper, who were still bent over magazines on the bar top. "They acted like this was normal for the club."

"They're ‘ol' ladies'," Sophia said like it was equivalent to royalty. "Is Jumper going to make you his ol' lady?"

A blush touched Jasmine's cheeks. "I'm not sure. We've never discussed it. I think, right now, I'm just ‘girlfriend'."

"What's the difference?"

Jasmine shrugged. "Honestly, not sure. But they have cuts with their man's name on them."

"Is that it?" Sophia asked.

Again, Jasmine shrugged.

Sophia, being Sophia, wasn't going to let it go, though. She called over, "Harper? Abby?" The two turned on their barstools to face them. Abby had finished breastfeeding her daughter and was holding her against her shoulder. Jasmine couldn't tell if Georgie was asleep or not. Harper's son was still under the nursing blanket Harper had over her chest and shoulder. "What's the difference between a girlfriend and an ol' lady?"

The two exchanged a look before Harper said, "Ol' lady is the MC equivalent to a wife. Only there's no divorce in this lifestyle."

"What do you mean?" Jasmine asked. "You can't leave?"

The smile Harper sent her was both amused and curious. She carefully got up off the stool, navigated herself around the kids and puppies on the floor, and came over to sit in the loveseat by the couch. Abby followed with Georgie, who Jasmine could now see was resting but not asleep. Abby's daughter had bright green eyes like her mom.

Harper peeked under the blanket covering her chest before straightening. "Not quite done yet," she commented offhandedly. "Anyway, back to your question. I can leave, sure, and, legally, I could divorce Lucky, but that wouldn't allow him to claim another ol' lady. The way Lucky explained it to me is it's about respect. Even if we parted ways or if, God forbid, something happened to Lucky, I'd still have the club's protection, as would the kids."

"The guys are possessive," Abby added. "They're overbearing and protective, and they'll never allow you to open a door yourself, but they're also sweet and loyal."

Jasmine and Sophia exchanged a look. Sophia's was full of concern; Jasmine's was full of wanting.

Sophia spoke first. "So you became an ol' lady when you married Lucky," she asked to Harper, "and Bulldog?" to Abby.

Abby shook her head. "Marriage isn't a requirement. A patched member can claim an ol' lady without marrying her. Our men just like seeing rings and cuts on us." She held up her left hand to show off the emerald engagement ring on her third finger.

Jasmine bit her lip. "Jumper and I aren't even close to talking about marriage or ol' ladyships or anything like that."

Harper cocked her head to the side. "You've ridden with him, though, right?"

"You mean on his bike? Sorry," she fake grimaced, "his sled ."

The ol' ladies laughed. "Yes," Harper answered.

Jasmine nodded. "He took me riding on our first date." Both Abby and Harper smiled at that news. "What?" Jasmine asked.

"They don't let just anyone backpack for them," Harper explained. "Especially women. You have to be a member of the club or a club kid, like Sissy, to get a ride like that and not have it mean something."

Jasmine wasn't sure she was following. "I don't understand."

"Jumper wouldn't have let you onto the back of his bike if he didn't intend to make you his ol' lady," Abby said with a sweet smile.

"It might not be right away," Harper added quickly. "But the intention is there, trust me."

Jasmine swallowed. She was caught between wanting it so badly and trying not to get her hopes up. Jumper and she had a long way to go before they could even begin to discuss marriage and making a life together. The last time they'd tried… Well, he'd walked out on her.

Harper glanced behind her at the staircase. "He wouldn't be up there trying to figure out your protection schedule if he didn't care for you."

"I never doubted if he cares for me," Jasmine said hastily. "But I don't want him getting into fights over me."

"I don't think you'll be able to stop that," Abby said with a slight grimace. "They're all protectors at heart. Jumper's not going to just sit back and let something happen to you. With the guys' military history, they have enough fighters if it came to…"

Abby kept talking, but Jasmine stopped listening. Enough fighters . That's what Abby had just said in reference to the club. Except Jasmine had heard those words before too.

Suddenly she gasped, her eyes going wide. She was on her feet and partway up the stairs before she realized she was still holding a puppy. She briefly heard the others calling out to her and Harper's warning that she wasn't allowed in the super-secret meeting, but she ignored them. She now understood why the Pitbulls looked like they'd been in fights—because they had been . The McCrery brothers were running an illegal dogfighting ring!

"…to try and find him," Ghost was saying just as the Church double doors burst open.

Everyone stood up, including Jumper, as Jasmine came into the room. Harper holding Conner, Abby holding Georgie, and Sophia holding a puppy chased in after her.

"What is going on?" Steel demanded.

Seeing Jumper, Jasmine rushed forward. He stepped around his chair to meet her. He put his arms up for an embrace but, instead, Jasmine put the puppy she had been holding in his arms.

"They're dogfighters," she told the room. "The McCrery brothers. They're running a fighting ring."

Jumper was busy trying not to drop the squirming puppy in his hands. Steel stepped towards Jasmine. "As appreciative as I am for this information, Dr. Sharpe, it is inappropriate for you to?—"

"I know, I know," she interrupted and waved off Steel's scolding. "Super-secret meeting for the big bad club members. Got it. But don't you get it? If the McCrery brothers are fighting dogs then the guy they murdered might be linked to dogfighting as well."

While Jumper would never believe Steel would yell or hit Jasmine for interrupting him, he also wasn't going to put up with any disrespect. Jumper moved between them, facing Jasmine. He handed the puppy back to her. "Baby, now isn't the time. We appreciate you telling us your suspicions, but you could have just texted me."

Jasmine took the puppy back but didn't back down. "You're not getting it. It's not a suspicion. I heard the brothers in the barn admit it." Slightly more sheepish, she added, "I just didn't remember that I had until now."

"What exactly did you hear?" Lucky came forward. He went to Harper's side like it was automatic, an impulse. He wrapped one arm behind her back, pressing his lips to her temple. She leaned into him, and it was like a weight had been taken off her shoulders.

Jasmine looked over and saw that Bulldog had also moved to Abby. He had taken Georgie from her and had her little body pressed up against his chest. His stance was both possessive and protective, though he wasn't touching Abby.

Sophia was hanging back in the doorway, like she wasn't sure if she should stay but she also wasn't going to miss the chance to be in the know.

"When the brothers came in, they were talking about the puppies' mom. One asked if the other thought she'd given birth yet. The other replied that he didn't care if she did because they had enough fighters. That's when they started pouring the gas around."

"They could have been referring to people fighters," Lucky argued back.

Jasmine shook her head. "The other two Pitbulls, the ones found dead. They had new and old wounds consistent with dogfighting."

Steel spoke up. "We'll take what you've said under advisement but, ladies," he said pointedly to all of them, "I must ask you to leave."

Jasmine looked at Jumper with wide, desperate eyes. He ran a finger down her cheek. "I'll make sure it's discussed," he promised her. Then nodded towards the door, "But you do need to go."

Jasmine opened her mouth to argue but then thought better of it. She scrunched her nose in an adorable manner. "Fine," she snapped, clearly disgruntled. She held her chin high as she started towards the double doors where Sophia stood waiting.

Jumper's eyes narrow in suspicion. "Jazz," he warns in a low tone, "these people are dangerous. Do not go off on your own again."

She spun around to face him again. The hand not holding a puppy was behind her back. "I won't," she promised. "I learned my lesson about investigating on my own."

It was a good thing she wasn't a professional poker player. He heard some of his brothers snicker as they caught on to her lie too. Sophia was barely keeping the smile off her face, another giveaway.

Jumper approached her, pulling her hand out from behind her back. Her pointer and middle fingers were crossed. He raised an eyebrow at her.

Jasmine tried to smile innocently at him.

Fuck, he was so screwed when it came to this woman. How was it possible to be pissed at her but still find her irresistibly adorable? He'd never felt this way with Molly.

"How did you know?" she asked shamefaced, and someone behind Jumper laughed.

"Because I wasn't born yesterday," he snapped, allowing his anger to show as much as his worry. "The McCrery brothers already think you took something from them. Do you really think they're going to let you follow them around until they conveniently lead you to the location of their illegal dogfighting ring where you'll be able to take incriminating pictures and report them to the police? Don't be like one of those horror movie heroines that are too stupid to live. You're smarter and better than that, Jasmine."

"I have to do something ," she argued back. "If they're hurting innocent dogs?—"

Jumper cut her off. "Then we, along with the police, will deal with it."

"But—"

"Later," he told her sternly.

Jasmine scowled but turned and left Church. Sophia gave him a double thumbs up, that could have either been sincere or mocking, before turning and following Jasmine down the stairs. Lucky offered to take Conner from Harper, but she declined. With a quick kiss, she also left. Bulldog waved Abby off when she went to take Georgie back. Technically, they didn't have a rule about club babies being prohibited from Church. After a passionate kiss that left Abby breathless, she too left.

Bulldog and Lucky each closed a door.

Jumper went back to his seat, with Aerial at his feet. He turned to Steel. "I apologize about that. I never explained the rules of Church to Jasmine."

Steel, though, didn't look upset as he had in front of the women. "She's got balls, your Jasmine."

Jumper felt a sense of pride at Steel's words, as well as his unspoken approval. "She does," he agreed. "Probably bigger than mine," he joked.

Others laughed. Jumper held Steel's gaze a moment, seeing something akin to happiness in his President's hard eyes.

Looking around the table, Steel asked, "Where were we before we were interrupted?"

Bulldog tightened his hold on his daughter. Like Lucky, Bulldog didn't care that Georgie wasn't his biologically. From the moment Abby had come back into his life, Bulldog had claimed her and Caleb as his. When it became known that Lila and Cassie had no one else either, he'd also taken them in. No questions asked. "Ghost was going over our plan to try and find Scar."

The night of Lucky and Harper's wedding, Scar had made an appearance in Bulldog's house. He showed Bulldog a file folder full of human trafficking victims, as well as a list of cities that Bulldog believed Scar was going to in order to shut down those rings. While Jumper had called this meeting to discuss the situation with Jasmine, Sophia, and the McCrery brothers, Keys had also sent out a message that there was a possible Scar sighting in Albuquerque. As far as Bulldog could remember, Albuquerque had not been on the list of cities Scar had shown him only briefly before vanishing again.

Scar's colors had been stripped. It was a sad fact that they all had to face. He'd gone rogue, but he was continuing the fight the club had started when they'd discovered a truck full of trafficked women in Ohiopyle over a year ago. Bulldog wanted to track Scar down. To what end, Jumper was still unsure. Even if Scar came back to Mount Grove, he wouldn't be one of them. He wouldn't be Via Daemonia .

Steel turned to Bulldog. "You can't go running off every time there's a hint that he's somewhere. You're needed here with your family."

" Scar is my family," Bulldog protested. "He was my brother long before any of you were." Scar had always been an enigma. No one knew his origins—except for Bulldog. Jumper had always assumed Scar was Army because of that, though that suspicion had never been confirmed. Jumper wasn't sure if Steel even knew Scar's legal name. Bulldog said that Scar didn't use it. "And he's out there right now because of me," Bulldog continued. "I need to find him, to bring him home."

" He was home ," Steel slammed his hand down on the table before him. Jumper wasn't the only one who jumped. More softly, Steel repeated, "He was home. And he left again. We can't keep going round and round with this, Bulldog. Scar's no longer our concern."

Bulldog looked ready to argue but Steel silenced him with a look.

"Don't think for a second that any of this brings me joy," Steel told him sternly. "Scar was one of mine. He served us faithfully for six years. It breaks my heart knowing that he walked away from us. But he did ," Steel snapped. " He walked out," Steel reiterated, pointing to the double doors. "He left. It was his choice, Bulldog. My hands are tied. If one day in the future, Scar returns to Mount Grove, I will be happy to sit down with him and figure out what to do next. Until then…" Steel let the words hang there for a moment. "Until then, Scar is on his own."

Steel looked to Keys. "Look into Dr. Sharpe's belief that the McCrerys are running a dogfighting ring in or around town." Keys nodded once. "Unless there is anything else?" Steel paused to see if anyone spoke up. "We're done here."