Jed Wrong

Chapter 1

Sadie

Sadie was damn lucky to have gotten her old job back at Bottoms Up, considering she hadn’t exactly left on the best of terms. She’d simply left work one night and never returned, no notice, no response to any of her boss’s messages. Thankfully, Tom was an understanding and forgiving man. Once she told him about the Phantom Furies MC manipulating her and everything she’d been forced to do to protect her nephew, he’d felt bad for her and put her back on the line-up. She wasn’t proud of the fact that she resorted to playing on Tom’s pity for her, but with another mouth to feed, she didn’t have the luxury of playing nice.

Oliver was her five-year-old nephew and the love of her life. He was her brother Ryan’s son, and she’d been helping to raise him since he was born. He’d gotten a club whore pregnant, and when she found out, she told Ryan she didn’t want to be a mom and planned on getting an abortion. He’d begged and pleaded with her not to get one, and she could sign it over to him when it was born. He didn’t know anything about being a father, but he knew he wanted to be one. Ultimately, it all came down to money. He’d offered her enough, and she agreed. As soon as she popped Oliver out, she was gone. Of course, Ryan had no idea how to take care of a newborn, so he’d moved in with Sadie, and she had been taking care of her nephew ever since.

At least when Ryan was around, he helped out financially and was a hands-on father. He didn’t always have a lot of time to spend with Oliver, but the time he did carve out was quality time. She hated how much time the Phantoms demanded of him, leaving him less and less time with his son. It didn’t take long for Sadie to grow to resent the club and its dark influence on her brother. The toll it was taking on him was obvious as he tried to live two different and separate lives—one in the shadows with the club, and one in the light with his son.

When she was told that Ryan had died, there was only one logical reason as to why. The Phantoms had killed him. Ryan had always had a knack with numbers, and after he’d let it slip to her that the books weren’t adding up, it didn’t take a huge leap to think that someone within the club was skimming money. She believed that it was the president, Crockett, who killed her brother to shut him up.

The Sons assured her that they had dealt with the Phantoms—she took that to mean they annihilated them—and she didn’t have to worry about them anymore. Good riddance. She hated them all. And because of her shitty experiences with the Phantoms, she was having a difficult time trusting the Sons.

Race and his club had done so much for her that she felt like an ungrateful bitch for keeping them at arm’s length. They’d saved her from the Phantoms, gotten Oliver away from their evil clutches, and brought them both to Redemption to start over. They were kind enough to set the two of them up in an apartment and didn’t charge her rent because they knew she still had to make payments on her house in Taos. She still paid for utilities, groceries, and other necessities.

She’d managed to secret away enough of Ryan’s money to pay for his funeral and give her a little nest egg. It wasn’t much, but until her house sold, a huge chunk was coming out every month to pay for the mortgage. If her house ever sold, she hoped to find a small house here in Redemption that had a yard big enough for Oliver to play in. Apartment life wasn’t exactly kid-friendly. He had nowhere to run and play, and now that the weather was cold, he had less opportunity to play outside.

Not only did she feel like an ungrateful bitch, but she also felt like a hypocrite, given that the club also owned the place where she worked. Stripping at Bottoms Up wasn’t her ideal job, but it paid damn well and had exceptional health insurance. Without it, she would plow through those small savings in no time. She hoped that if she saved enough money from her job to add to the proceeds from the sale of her house, she would eventually find a different job that allowed her to work during the day and be home with Oliver every night.

The Sons had been fantastic to her, even though it was clear she wanted nothing to do with them. Race, the president, had gone out of his way to be as helpful as possible. He’d offered to help her sell her house in Taos, so she wouldn’t have to deal with that on top of getting settled in Redemption, getting Oliver enrolled in school, and finding a job. She had a full plate and appreciated his lightening the load even if just a little. Normally, she would take care of something like this on her own, but honest to God, if she had to deal with one more thing, she thought her head might explode.

She put the finishing touches on her makeup, then stood up and assessed her costume in the mirror. She wanted to make sure everything was in place and covered until it was time to take it off. Under her schoolgirl costume, she wore a lacy bra and a G-string. That’s as far as she was willing to go.

“You’re up next, Sadie.” Tom stuck his head in the dressing room door to tell her it was her turn.

“Thanks, Tom. On my way.”

It was strange that she never got nervous when she went on stage to dance. She would have thought that having all those people, 90% horny men, staring at her would freak her out, but it didn’t. The energy from the crowd fed into her and bolstered her confidence.

“Is he here tonight?” she asked as she met Tom in the hallway.

“Yes. He’s at the club’s table.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Ugh. She hated when Tinker was here. He made her skin crawl. He was disgusting. None of the girls were overly fond of him, and it had nothing to do with the fact that he’d been recently released from prison. It had to do with the way he leered at them all. He was so skeevy it wouldn’t surprise her if he jacked off under the table while they danced, and it wasn’t her imagination that he focused on her more than any of the others.

The first time she’d been around him was the same night she and Darren had been rescued. He’d instantly given her the creep vibes. She’d seen his kind among the ranks of the Phantoms and knew to avoid him at all costs. Nevertheless, she and the other women who weren’t around when he’d been with the club before were told to never be alone with him and to always be on guard around him. He was dangerous. Yeah, she didn’t need someone to tell her that when she already felt it bone deep.

Sadie stood off stage watching one of the girls finish her routine. She peeked through the curtain, and sure enough, Tinker sat at the club’s table. It didn’t bother her half as much when the other brothers watched her, but as she said, there was something about him that didn’t sit well with her.

The song ended, and the lights came down. It was her turn. She took her position and waited for the opening strains of Warrant’s song to start up. She bowed her head, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. As soon as the lyrics “She’s my cherry pie” blared out of the speaker, her head popped up at the same time the spotlight blinked on above her. She plastered a smile on her face and strutted down the stage like she owned it. The further into the song she got, the more relaxed she became, and by the end, she was having a blast.

She lived for these three minutes on stage. It was the only time her brain shut off, and she was able to become one with the music. No worrying about how she was going to pay for her bills. No worrying whether or not her house was going to sell soon. No worrying about whether or not she was doing a good job raising Oliver. No thinking about a certain sandy blonde-haired man.

Jed was the bane of her existence. She could never figure out if he liked her or hated her guts. She was aware that he was attracted to her, and that was probably what his problem with her was all about. He was drawn to her, and he didn’t like it. He more than likely still considered her as one of the enemy despite never being a part of the Phantoms.

All too soon, the song came to an end, and she headed backstage. She accepted the white silk robe from one of the stagehands behind the curtain. “Thanks.” She slipped her arms inside, wrapped one side over the other, and tied the belt. Stepping into the hall, her shoulders tensed when she heard someone calling her name. She recognized the voice, and dread consumed her.

Oh shit. It was Tinker.

***

Tinker

“Sadie!” he called to her back. She was pulling a white satin robe over the red satin bra and G-string she’d stripped down to. Pity. He hated seeing her cover all that beautiful skin.

She stopped and turned on her heels. “Yes?” She finished tying the sash, her hands dropping to her sides. She didn’t show any signs of recognizing him, and he found that disappointing.

“I just watched you dance, and I wanted to tell you how great a job you did. Had the crowd eating out of your hand.” In her heels, she was eye level with him, and he was fascinated by the light green color of her eyes.

“Thank you.” She offered a half smile, then turned to leave.

His back went rigid at the insult she’d given him. “Excuse me,” he barked as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to face him. “I wasn’t done talking to you.”

“I’m sorry, but I have to get ready for my next routine.” Her eyes shot down to the end of the hall, probably hoping the bouncer stationed there would come to her rescue and save her from the big bad biker. Too bad he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Even if he was, what could he do to him? He was part fucking owner.

“Do you know who I am?”

Her eyes dropped to the patch on his cut. “You belong to the Sons of Redemption motorcycle club.”

“Yes. And as a brother with the Sons of Redemption motorcycle club and one of the owners of this club, you have to do whatever I say. And I say, you need to be nice and talk to me.” It pissed him off that she wasn’t acting appropriately fearful of what might happen to her job if she didn’t show a little more respect.

“I really need to get ready for my next performance.” She tried pulling her arm free.

He jerked her into his body and growled. “I think you and I should get to know each other better if you want to stay employed here.”

“What? I don’t think so. They don’t force the women here to put out to keep their jobs. Now let me go so I can get changed.” She tried again to free herself.

“I don’t think you understand.” He grabbed her by the throat and shoved her up against the wall, catching her by surprise. He loved the way her eyes rounded in fear. About damn time. “I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. And what I mean by getting to know each other better, I mean, I wanna fuck you.”

“Get off me!” She tried to shove him away, which only made him angrier. He tightened his grip on her throat, momentarily cutting off her air.

“Now let’s see how wet you are from all this foreplay.” He started to reach between her legs, but suddenly found himself flying backwards and being pinned to the opposite wall behind him.

***

Jed

“Yeah. Suck it just like that.” Jed was close to coming as he watched his cock slide in and out of Tori’s mouth. She was on her knees looking up at him, one hand working his cock and the other working between her legs. Fuck. His balls tightened, and his cock thickened even further. The woman got off on making the brothers lose control. “Fuck, you’re really good at that.”

They barely made it inside his room before she had her hands on his jeans, working on getting into his pants to free his cock. He didn’t even have a chance to close the door. He caught his phone as it fell from his pocket and placed it on the dresser next to the door. He laughed at her eagerness until the woman swallowed him deep, and it turned strangled. Despite how much he enjoyed Tori’s oral talents, he wanted to come in her pussy right now. He pulled himself free and picked her up beneath her arms, causing her to squeal in surprise. He spun her around and lifted her skirt, knowing full well she wouldn’t have panties on underneath. “Hands on the dresser.” She immediately complied, tossing a mischievous smile over her shoulder. Her mouth fell open in a silent gasp as he entered her in one powerful thrust.

“God, Jed. You’re dick’s so hard,” she moaned.

“That’s right. And you’re going to come all over it in just a minute.” He hammered into her, the feel of her pussy milking his cock bringing him closer and closer to the edge. He reached a hand around the front of her, aiming for her clit. He worked her hard the way she liked and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back into each thrust. Her pussy’s grip on his cock got tighter and tighter. He gritted his teeth against the need to come as sweat formed on his brow.

“You need to come, Tori.” He slapped her pussy three times, then pinched her clit. Her orgasm slammed into her with such force that her knees gave out. He inwardly chuckled. If he hadn’t been holding her up, she would have collapsed to the ground. He tunneled inside her tight pussy faster, his own orgasm just a few strokes away.

“Fuuuck!” He shouted and threw his head back as his cock exploded with his release. As he rode it out, he slowed his pace until he leaned forward over Tori’s back, his arms still wrapped around her, holding her up. “You good?” he asked as soon as he could catch his breath.

“Oh, yeah,” she panted. “I’m really good. Can we lie down now?”

Jed laughed and playfully nipped at her neck before gently pulling out. “Yeah, babe. We can lie down.” He reached for his condom to dispose of it at the same time his phone started to ring. The distinctive sound he’d assigned to Bottoms Up had him tensing. Yeah, he’d designated the song “Cherry Pie” to the strip club’s number after he’d seen Sadie dance to it. So sue him.

He picked it up and answered, “Yeah?”

“The one you wanted us to keep an eye out for? Tinker? He’s here,” one of the bouncers from the club told him.

“How long has he been there?”

“Just walked in.”

“Thanks. Be there soon.” Jed disconnected and frowned at his phone. He’d planned on spending the rest of the night fucking Tori, but now it seemed he had to go deal with whatever trouble Tinker cooked up. He turned to find Tori already put back together, a half-smile on her face. They’d been in such a hurry that neither one of them had gotten completely undressed. “I’m sorry, babe. I hate to run out on you like this, but…” He didn’t need to fill in the rest. She knew how things worked around here.

“That’s okay. Maybe if you get back soon, we can pick up where we left off.” She patted his shoulder as she walked by.

Jed snagged her hand at the threshold. “If you find someone else to have fun with, go ahead. I don’t know how long this will take.” It was Friday night, and he didn’t want her sitting around waiting for him.

After she left, he disposed of his condom and got himself back in his jeans. Grabbing his phone off the dresser, he shoved it in his pocket and went to find out who was in the common area. The place was crowded, and it took him a minute to see that Race was still here, sitting at the bar, talking to Dagger and having a beer. Their old ladies were on the couch, talking and laughing about God only knew what.

“Hey, Race.” Jed leaned on the bar with his folded arms.

“Jed,” Race grinned at him.

“Got a call from one of the bouncers at Bottoms Up. Tinker’s there.” He shook his head at Miles, who held a beer up in question.

“Son a bitch.” Race shook his head in disgust. “Let’s go.” He slid off his barstool and asked Dagger if he wanted to ride along.

“Sure.”

“I’ll meet you both outside.” Jed didn’t stick around as they went to tell their wives they were heading out. Instead, he went outside and waited on his bike. While he waited, he noticed Tulsa coming around the corner with one woman under each arm. He didn’t recognize them and figured they were hangarounds.

“Hey! Where ya off to?” Tulsa stopped next to his bike. It was funny, but the drunker Tulsa got, the thicker his southern accent got. The ladies loved it and went on and on about it all the time.

“Got a situation at Bottoms Up.”

“You need me to go with you?” Tulsa frowned.

“Naw. Race and Dagger are coming. We got it. Go have fun.” Jed hitched his chin toward the door swinging open, where the two men in question were exiting.

The drive to Bottoms Up took them close to fifteen minutes despite traffic. The weather was getting colder, and it was only a matter of time before he’d have to trade his bike for his truck or his 1969 Chevy Camaro, depending on whether the roads were clear or not. Pulling onto the lot, they parked their bikes in the club’s reserved area near the front door.

“Thanks for the heads up.” Jed clasped forearms with the bouncer who called to warn them of Tinker’s arrival. The place was packed, causing them to stop and go several times before they ended up near the bar. They scanned the crowd for any signs of the mean bastard who ruined their Friday night.

Jed remembered how Tinker used to treat the women back in the day, and it pissed him off that they had to serve as babysitters to a grown ass man to keep him from hurting any of them now. Why couldn’t they just kick him out of the club now and be done with it? The thought crossed his mind several times a day, every day since the fucker’s return. It was only a matter of time before he hurt one of the women, or he sought his revenge against himself, or Dagger. Everyone knew it.

He felt the club shouldn’t have to spend all their time tailing him like a child, pulling his ass out of the fire when he inevitably messed up. And he would mess up. Trouble always had a way of finding Tinker. He needed to stress the need for Tom and his crew here at Bottoms Up to keep on their toes whenever he came around.

“Either of you see him?” Race asked above the noise.

“No.”

“Nope.”

“Where the fuck did he get off to?” Race appeared to wonder out loud.

From where they were standing, the club booth appeared empty except for a half-empty mug of beer and two empty shot glasses. It looked like Tinker had been busy. If they figured out where the hell he got off to, maybe they might be able to salvage the rest of their night.

“VIP room?” Dagger suggested.

“God. I hope not.” Race’s frown deepened.

“Bathroom?” Jed interjected.

Dagger went to check the men’s room, and when he came back, he shook his head.

This was ridiculous. Given that Tinker had already been drinking at their table, it was only logical that one of the waitresses might have seen where he’d gone. He clocked Violet cutting through the crowd on her way to the bar and stopped her to ask which of the women worked the club table tonight.

Her eyes lit up as she answered. “I am. Do you guys need anything?”

“We’re looking for one of our brothers. His name’s Tinker.”

“Oh. I showed him to your table earlier.”

“Do you happen to see where he might have gotten to?”

“Um, I think he headed that way.” She pointed to the hall that led to the office and the dancers’ dressing rooms. Shit.

“Okay. Thanks.”

Race led the way to the dark hall and came to a complete stop. “Are you shitting me right now?” he growled.

Tinker had one of the dancers pinned to the wall with one hand wrapped around her throat and the other moving like he planned to touch her between the legs. The woman’s hands were pulling at his wrists, trying to escape. Race was on him before either he or Dagger could move, yanking him off the woman and slamming him into the wall behind them, getting all up in his face.

Jed turned to ask the dancer if she was okay and was stunned to find it was Sadie. The anger he’d felt at Tinker manhandling one of the women turned to rage. The fucker had had his hand wrapped around her throat. His gaze immediately dropped to where she rubbed her neck, and he couldn’t stop the growl that slipped free.

“What the fuck?” came out like he’d swallowed glass. His gaze locked on the obvious red marks marring her perfect skin. They were dark enough that he worried they might bruise.

“Why are you growling at me? I’m the one who was being assaulted.” She roughly pulled her robe closed and tried to tie the sash with shaking hands.

“How long have you been back working at Bottoms Up?” He shoved a hand through his hair. Did she have any idea how lucky she’d been that they found her before things with Tinker got worse?

“One week.” Her hand was still shaking as she smoothed a hair behind her ear.

He realized his tone made him sound like a jerk, but witnessing Tinker’s hand wrapped around her throat had shaken him up. Taking a deep breath, he fought for calm. “Are you okay?”

She wouldn’t look at him, her eyes pointed down the hall toward the dressing rooms like she couldn’t run away from him fast enough.

“Yes. I’m okay.” Did he detect a little raspiness in her voice? Was she on the verge of crying, or was it because her throat hurt from being strangled?

“Are you sure? Did he do anything else other than put his hand on your throat?”

She shook her head, her eyes downcast. “You guys got here before he was able to do anything other than grab me by the throat.”

“Come here.” He took her by the elbow and pulled her into the storage room, where he ushered her around some boxes of booze to position her under the light to have a better look at her throat. “Son of a bitch left marks on your neck. It looks like it might bruise.” His gaze lifted from her neck to her face. She was pale even under the makeup. “Do you dance again?”

“Yes.” A small mirror hanging next to the back door caught her attention. She went to check her reflection, gently touching the red areas. She grimaced when she probed one a little too hard. “Great. I’m not sure I can cover this with makeup.”

Jed’s stomach bottomed out, remembering how Tinker had pinned Sadie to the wall. What would he have done if they hadn’t come along when they did? The possibilities made him sick just thinking about it. “Maybe you should go home and skip the rest of your dances tonight.”

“I can’t.” A fire sparked in her eyes as she turned to face him. “I’m not letting that asshole cheat me out of a night’s pay and tips. I’ll figure something out if I can’t cover it with makeup.”

“You need to be careful around Tinker. He’s dangerous.”

“Jane and Ginny already warned me, and for the record, I was minding my own business. I was coming off stage when he pinned me to the wall. He got angry that I wouldn’t stay and talk to him. He said he wanted to get to know me, and then he threatened my job.”

His gut told him that she wasn’t telling him everything, but for the moment, he didn’t push.

“How am I or any of the other girls supposed to avoid him if he’s part-owner of Bottoms Up?”

Again, it came back to reminding Tom and his crew to be vigilant at all times. He was entertaining the idea of assigning one of the guys to discreetly follow Tinker around if he showed up again. Who was he kidding? Now that the bastard knew about the Sons’ connection to the strip club, he’d be here all the time. Maybe he would have one bouncer at the end of the hall, one outside the exit door from the stage, and one outside the dressing room?

“Sadie.” The sound of Race’s voice drew their attention to the doorway where he stood with his hands fisted at his sides and his eyes locked onto the marks on her neck. He moved closer, Dagger and Tom filing in behind him. “Damn. I am so sorry he got his hands on you. It never should have happened.”

Sadie nodded her head and glanced at Tom. To the man’s credit, he was fuming. He didn’t take it lightly when one of his girls was injured. No one was allowed to lay a hand on the women working here.

“Sadie, you should take the rest of the night off.” Tom’s eyes kept dropping to her injured neck.

“That’s what Jed said, too, but I’m not leaving. I’ll figure out how to cover this up, and I’ll finish my routines tonight.” She patted his arm as she walked by, effectively ending any further conversation with them.

“I don’t think she understands what actually happened here tonight.” Dagger shook his head as he stepped back, allowing her to disappear into the hall.

Jed agreed. She was on Tinker’s radar now, and that was a very bad thing. He’d worried that when Tinker asked about her the first night he’d been back, he’d tagged her. Now he was positive.

“Make sure someone follows her home tonight. I wouldn’t put it past Tinker to wait for her to leave work and follow her home,” Race told Tom.

“I’ll take care of it myself.”

Race clapped a hand on his shoulder before he and Dagger turned to leave. “You coming or staying for a while?”

“I think I might hang out here for a while.” He wanted to talk to Tom and tell him to take Sadie off the schedule. As long as she worked here, Tinker’s access to Sadie was going to be way too easy. Despite their best efforts, things fell through the cracks, as evidenced tonight when the bouncer assigned to guard the entrance to this hall was called away from his post.

As enforcer for the club, Jed took his job of protecting the club and everyone in it seriously, and because Sadie had been taken under the Sons’ wing, that included her as well. He wasn’t proud of what he was about to do, but it needed to be done. For Sadie’s safety. “Tom, you got a minute?”