Authors: Unknown
Not after humiliating him in front of his biker buddies. Jackson it is then.
He's standing right outside the bathroom, his arms crossed.
“You are not going back,” he obviously heard her side of the call.
She matches his stance, “I won't if you help me. He took my friend.”
He nods his expression serious.
“I still have a few contacts,” he says.
Then he makes a few calls in a low voice.
When they lived together, he rarely talked about his past. All he told her was that he had served time for his country and that his parents died while he was deployed. Despite being a tough looking dude, he always seemed to have a sadness to him. Back then, Sadie had done her best to make him smile and laugh. Her own happiness depended directly on the number of smiles she got from him.
Sighing, she thinks of how sure she'd been that Jackson loved her back.
Ending a call he turns and smiles at Sadie.
“I called in the best guy for the job, my best friend Trevor. He owns a private security company and he has a bunch of ex special ops guys working for him. I haven't seen him in a few years but he agreed to help right away. Send me a picture of her to pass on,” he says.
Sadie hugs him gratefully and he holds her tightly against him.
“Thank you,” she says.
Sadie knows she can trust him with this, if not with her heart.
“I'm just happy you didn't try to run out on me,” he says and kisses Sadie on her forehead.
She just smiles back. In a few days, she'll be gone and in a few more, he will barely remember her.
“Let's go, it's past four, and you said you need to buy some things. Do you need money?” Jackson leads Sadie out of the room, both bags on his shoulder.
She can't help but feel guilty. What had made her fall for him was his gentle and caring side. Now, he's making it harder to remain detached from him. Why is he being so nice and helpful? Can she still dump him?
“I have my own money, but thanks,” she says.
“Let's go before the granddaughters descend on us!” Jackson says.
Sadie
“
How many pairs of shoes does one person need?” Jackson is grumbling.
Sadie bites back a chuckle. Poor guy, his hands are full of shopping bags, his expression one of helplessness. This will surely make him think twice before trying to shackle himself to her. What can be more painful to a manly man, than to shop for three hours straight?
“
If I were you, I wouldn't count my shoes! It will just remind me of all the ones I abandoned to come with you,” she says.
He sighs dramatically as she enters a sports and outdoor store. Shopping has always been her weakness. Back in Dallas, she could never let loose, mainly because Sydney was such a crazy shopper too. Someone had to keep the house from looking like one of those hoarder houses.
She finds a few more things. Camping might not be fun, but shopping for camping supplies sure is. Who knew that you could by a portable potty tent? She gets easily distracted and Jackson steers her away from several things probably they don't need. Like the port a-potty tent.
“
Ooh, do you think we'll need another two heated polar blanket? Will we be camping?” she asks enthusiastically.
He groans, “My god woman, you're a shopping monster! You do know there are stores in Montana too?”
Sadie is deeply offended. She only bought a new Montana winter wardrobe, a new makeup set, twenty-five pairs of shoes, and a lot of random stuff that caught her attention.
“
Hey, I get cold easily! I need to be prepared! Besides, I got some great stuff for you too,” Sadie says a tad bit defensively.
She bought a bunch of stuff she knows he won't like. Even skinny jeans.
Jackson groans again, “I am not wearing those hipster clothes.”
Now he is just being ungrateful.
Sadie shakes her head, “Fine, we'll go,” she remembers her hair, “just as soon as I get some hair dye.”
“
I like the red,” he says.
“
Too memorable,” she explains.
They find a beauty supply store and Sadie gets a few new hair colors.
At the checkout, Jackson grabs a box and laughs, “What are you going to turn into a rainbow?”
Sadie glares at him, still offended by his earlier comments, “Maybe I will,” she says.
Grabbing the shopping bag she hurries ahead of him towards the parked truck.
“
Sadie, hold on. I think your shopping skills are amazing, really. If there is a shopping contest out there, you'd win,” he is obviously just humoring her, but she decides to push him a bit farther.
Turning she asks hopefully, “So, you'll wear the awesome things I got you?”
His expression is priceless, he swallows, then nods, “Sure, um but not soon.”
Poor Jackson, he apparently hates 'hipster clothes'.
Sadie has to admit that simple jeans and a T-shirt really work for him.
“
Alright, let's get going,” she says.
They load everything, well Jackson loads everything into the truck, and they take off.
“
So,” she says innocently, adjusting the radio, “how do you feel about boy bands?”
His answer makes her laugh.
Jackson
“
I want two number ones, a number six, ten chicken nuggets, large fries, and a diet Coke” Sadie is leaning over him, at his window, screaming into the drive thru screen, she turns and asks, “What do you want?”
He can't help it, he laughs, “You're going to eat all that?”
She is lean and obviously has no complex about out eating him. His only serious girlfriend, back in high school, had never taken a bite in front of him. Hell, even Trevor always complained about the women he dated not eating when on dates.
She narrows her eyes at him, but it loses its effect since she's practically sitting on his lap.
“
I'm starving. Now, order,” she says menacingly, before returning to her seat.
He orders and pulls up at the window. Before the lady can hand him the bags, she's climbing over him again.
“
Extra ketchup, extra barbecue,” she barks out at the baffled lady.
Then she sits back in her seat waiting calmly.
“
You scared her,” Jackson shakes his head in disapproval as he hands her the food.
She just shrugs and digs into her food, which with the few glances he catches of her eating is pretty terrifying.
“
Can you pass me my burger?” he asks.
The sun is setting as they enter the highway. The temperature is going to drop, he'll need to stop and get a coat out from his bag, Sadie is already wearing hers.
“
Sure,” she unwraps his burger and passes it to him.
In a surprisingly short time, she's done eating.
She turns to him, “Fast food is amazing,” she says, sighing contentedly.
“
I'm disappointed, a good co-pilot feeds the pilot in the mouth,” he says, just to mess with her, “as soon as we got the food, you forgot your duty.”
“
Oops, you never said anything about that,” she sees his expression, and laughs, “you're kidding.”
She gathers the garbage into a bag and places it in the back. Then she settles back in her
seat.
“
Why did you become a biker?” she asks soberly. He thinks about how to answer.
“
The old club president was my friend, and he asked me to join. I had nothing else and he needed members who would be loyal to him,” he explains.
“
So there's always been inner fighting in the club?” she asks.
He remembers Marcus, his friend who'd always had high hopes for Rampage MC. He'd dedicated too much of his life to a dysfunctional MC. Then those hopes had gotten him killed.
“
They can't help themselves. Someone always thinks they can do a better job. My buddy, Marcus, died as president,” he says.
“
Do you think they'll stop coming after you?” there's worry in her voice.
His plan is to resign so that Nick can take over. Nick would have no trouble stomping any opposition and leading the ungrateful club would no longer be his problem.
“
The VP will take over. I'm done with their crap. After Nick takes over, he'll stop anyone from coming after me,” he says.
And he could live his life peacefully, with Sadie.
She sighs, “Thank God. Won't it be hard to leave your MC behind? You look way too relaxed for a guy who is on a biker gang’s hit list.”
Jackson hears concern in her voice, and he feels a tug at his insides. He's spent years imagining what his life would be like with sweet Sadie by his side. Now, he knows there is no going back. Sadie's life has always been hard, but now that she is his, he plans to give her the life she deserves.
He could plan and take back Rampage MC, but he doesn't want to. He wants a life with Sadie, and the five kids she was joking about earlier.
“
Not anymore, sweetheart. Those bastards don't know a thing about loyalty and brotherhood,” he says.
From now on, his loyalty belonged with Sadie and the future they would plan together.
“
How long will we have to hide?” Sadie asks.
“
A few weeks at the most,” he takes her hand and squeezes it, “then we can settle down where ever you want.”
Jackson drives through the night, and this time Sadie manages to stay awake with him. With the help of three large coffees, she keeps up a steady stream of conversation.
“
That's why I became a couponing machine,” Sadie explains.
“
Why didn't you just ask Sydney to cut back on the online shopping?” he asks.
“
It's a disease, I had no idea how to handle it. So I just helped channel all that obsessive shopping into couponing. Then, somehow, it became a competition,” she says with a shrug.
“
Tell me more about yourself,” he orders.
Everything she says is entertaining, even her take on why global warming is fake.
“
Like what?” she asks.
“
Favorite color?” Jackson asks.
“
My favorite color is Cerulean Blue,” Sadie answers.
“
Mine is black,” he says.
She makes a face at him, “Black?”
“
Favorite song?” Jackson asks.
“
The Imperial March
,” she says.
“
Star wars
?” he asks.
Sadie nods, “Also, my favorite movies. Yours?”
He thinks for a moment, “
Metallica
.”
“
Movie?” she prompts.
“
Anything with aliens,” he says.
“
Have you watched a documentary about Sumerians and Aliens?” she asks excitedly.
No, “I meant action movies,” he says.
“
You have to watch it! There is so much evidence that links humans to Aliens. Aliens might have created humans as an experiment. Isn't that cool?” Sadie says, then launches into a detailed minute-by-minute account of the movie.
Six hours, and two large coffees later...
“
I'm telling you, it was an inside job,” she goes on passionately.
Who knew someone so cute could be a nutty conspiracy theorist. If he believed half the things she's said, he would live in an underground bunker, wearing a haz-mat suit.
“
So why did you decide to learn how to fight?” he asks.
She laughs and says, “Sydney has a way of landing right into trouble. Sometimes she just says exactly the wrong thing, and other times she flirts with the wrong guy. After I saw a huge chick body slam her, I decided it was a matter of time before one of us got seriously hurt.”
Jackson thought it was because of what that man had tried to do to her when she was sixteen.
“
Why didn't she learn how to take care of herself then?” he asks.
“
She tried, but she is literally the laziest person out there. The sensei kicked her out after she fell asleep in class. Three times,” she says.
He holds back a laugh. In fact, he can't remember laughing as much since the last time they were together.
“
Sadie, do you want something to eat? We won't stop for a few more hours,” he says.
They've been on the road for seventeen hours, stopping only for gas or restroom breaks. So
far they have taken a few detours in case they are being followed and that makes the trip much longer.
She looks him over with a worried expression on her stunning face. Even with her red hair all over the place, and bags under her eyes, she looks beautiful.
“
You must be exhausted. Are you sure we can't stop so you can get some sleep?” she asks.