The Rocker That Savors Me (The Rocker...) (23 page)

The next day I me
t Zeke and he took me in, and I forgot about the threat I had made to Tommy.

So it came as a surprise when two weeks later a stuffy looking lawyer had knocked on Zeke’s door. He worked for Tommy Kirkman and he had something for me.
A check for five thousand dollars if I signed the nondisclosure, keeping me from every telling anyone about who Tommy was to me. It wasn’t much, not considering the amount he had given my mother to keep her mouth shut, but I didn’t care. I was done with Tommy. I didn’t need him. I had someone that cared about me now, someone who worried if I was actually eating. 

So I took the money and signed the nondisclosure
, never thinking I would ever have to explain myself to anyone where Tommy Kirkman was concerned…

“Layla!”

My head jerked up and I wiped at my tear stained face. Jesse was outside pounding on the front door. “Layla, open up and talk to me!”
He sounded just as angry as he had back at the party. Some of my numbness started to fade, and before I could think better of it, I was on my feet and across the living room pulling open the door.

Jesse

Father.

Father?

Father!

Lana’s last words kept echoing in my head. Layla was Tom’s daughter. It was a relief. The first thing that had crossed my mind was…

“Fuck!” I scrubbed my hands across my face. “Fuck!” The look on Layla’s face as I had yelled at her came back to haunt me. Now that my rage, my jealousy at thinking that my friend had touched Layla in any way
, was evaporating, my gut filled with dread and fear. I had assumed the worst when I should have known immediately that my Layla wasn’t like other women. She hated rockers and would have never have been involved with one.

I was the exception
. I knew that I was one lucky bastard that she had given me her heart. I had no excuse for the way I had behaved. Unless you counted the fact that I had never been jealous in my life until tonight. It wasn’t a good feeling, and I hadn’t known how to handle it, so I had taken it out on the woman I loved. And now I might have lost her…

My heart contracted painfully
, and I pulled the keys from my jeans pocket as I turned toward where I had parked the Escalade.

Before I had gone more than a few feet
, I saw the three men coming towards me. The lights from the house and the lamps outside gave me more than enough light to see that Tom wasn’t happy. The two goons that acted as his personal body guards had their jaws set, and I knew what was coming before my old friend even opened his mouth.

“Nice punch there, Jesse.” Tom rubbed his hand across his already swollen jaw. “That girl must be good on her knees because I
have never known you to…” He broke off abruptly when I took a menacing step in his direction.

“You don’t talk about her like that.
Ever!” I snarled at the guy I had once considered a good friend. “I’m going to marry
‘that girl’
.” If she would still have me. If I hadn’t just screwed up everything.

Tom snorted. “Why would you do that? She’s just after what she can get from you. All that rocker money
, just like her mother. As soon as she gets what she wants, you will be history, my friend.”

“You know nothing about her. How could you? You haven’t had anything to do with Layla her whole life
, so don’t tell me what you think you know about your daughter, old man.” I watched Tom’s eyes darken when I said the word
‘daughter’
.

“She’s no daughter of mine. I don’t care what those blood tests said. She’s not mine.” He turned to go back into the house, but the goons stood in the same place. “It was good knowing you
, Jesse.” Tom called over his shoulder, laughing in a sickeningly humorous way that made me grit my teeth.

I didn’t take my eyes off the old rocker as he made his way into the house. If he thought that two over muscled wannabe thugs were going to end me
, he had another think coming. I had spent my life fighting, with odds bigger than this against me. I could handle these two without breaking a sweat…

The first punch came from behind
, and I fell to my knees. A third goon had come around from behind. I should have known better. Tom liked to fight dirty. Hadn’t I seen just that the few times we had gotten into bar fights all those years ago?

Muttering a curse
, I rolled to my side as one of the other goons swung his foot and tried to connect with my ribs. He just barely missed me, and I was thankful for my quick reflexes. When I got to my feet, the last goon was waiting on me, and I ducked to escape his right hook, countering with a punch to his mouth as I side stepped him.

Strong arms caught mine from behind, holding me in place. I struggled, realizing that a fourth goon had come to join our little party. The other three took advantage of having me restrained and started taking turns using me as a punching bag. The air was knocked out of me by the first guy, making me double over to suck in oxygen.

It wasn’t much of a fight that was for sure. Not when I was unable to defend myself against four steroid junkies. A punch from the guy to my right made my head snap back, and I tasted blood as my teeth snapped together and I bit my tongue. Fuck, that hurt!

“Jesse!”

Shane! I raised my head and saw my band brother just as the guy to my left started in on my kidneys.

“Axton!”
Shane shouted. “Get out here!”

“What the fuck man…” Axton broke off when he saw what was going on and then I heard running feet as they hurried to
help me. The guys to my right were tackled to the ground, and I heard them grunting as my friends used their fists to keep them down.

The guy still holding me tightened his arms. The goon that had been having so much fun trying to rupture my kidney wasn’t deterred by the arrival of my help. If anything
, he seemed more into it with the sounds of his co-workers getting the shit beat out of them behind him. He got cocky and eased up on me just a little.

That was all I needed. I kicked with my right leg and connected with the fucker’s favorite man part. I watched in satisfaction as the muscle man clutched at his junk. His face turned an unnatural shade of purple
, and he fell to his knees. He was out of the game, no recovering from the force of my kick any time soon.

The goon behind me let up on his grip
, and I used my head to knock him back. My shaved head connected with his nose, and I felt something warm and wet gushing down my neck. The guy fell back, taking me with him since he hadn’t let go of me yet. I pushed away from him as soon as I was on the ground. Getting to my feet, I kicked him in the ribs on my way to help Axton.

Axton, on a good night
, could fight with the best of them, but tonight he was drunk off his ass. Any help that he might have thought he was giving me had only been momentarily because now the goon had him pinned to the ground, hitting him anywhere and everywhere. Muttering a curse, I pushed the guy off my friend and kicked the goon in the gut while he was still down.

Behind me Shane was getting to his feet. When I turned to look at him
, I saw that his lip was bleeding but otherwise he seemed fine. “What the hell just went down out here?” he demanded, slightly out of breath.

I blew out a long sigh. “It’s a long story.” I told him as I helped Axton to his feet.

“Where’s Layla? Is she okay?”

My gut clenched. “She went home. We…” I muttered a curse under my breath. “Look, let’s just go home. I need to talk to Layla.”

“You go.” Shane took hold of the unsteady Axton, pulling the rocker’s arm over his shoulder to better guide him. “I’m going to take Ax home. He’s wasted.”

I helped Shane get him into his car before heading back to Malibu. The drive was long
, and I was really starting to feel the effects of the beating I had just taken. All the way home I kept praying to whoever would listen that Layla wasn’t already gone. She had had plenty of time to pack up a few things and get her sisters out of the guesthouse. I kept telling myself that Drake wouldn’t let that happen, that he wouldn’t just let Layla take Lana away from him like that.

But my heart told me that if it came down to it, Drake would go with them. If he had to choose between Lana and anything—anything—it would always be Lana.
Me, Emmie, the guys? We came in second to her now, and that was the way it should be.

That was the way it was for me where Layla was concerned. I had never thought it was possible, but I loved Layla more than I loved Emmie. It was
a different love I felt for both of them, but Layla was the queen of my heart. If I had to choose between the two—and I prayed that I never had to, because it would kill me—I would pick Layla hands down.

I was relieved to find Lana’s car still in the driveway when I pulled in. The lights in the big house were all off, but there were a few still on in the guesthouse. I wanted to run, but the pain in my sides wouldn’t let me. By the time I got to the front door
, I was breathing hard, the pain gripping me in a bad way, making me wonder if that fucker had done some damage internally.

With what felt like the last of my strength I pounded on the door of the guesthouse.
“Layla!” I shouted. “Layla, open up and talk to me.” I pounded again.

Without
, warning the door opened and I was rewarded with the sight of my goddess standing in the doorway. Gods, she was beautiful when she was mad. I smiled despite the pain. I loved her so much my chest ached.

“Oh my God!”
Layla cried. “What happened?” she demanded, all signs of anger gone in the face of the evidence of the little party I had been invited to after she had left.

“Tom didn’t like me punching him, so he had his bodyguards take care of me.” I leaned against the doorframe, feeling weak. “Can I come in? I don’t know how much longer I can stand on my own?”

Her eyes widened. “Fuck, Jesse.” She stepped back to let me pass. Relieved that she was letting me in, I took a step inside and nearly fell on my face. She let out a little cry and reached for me. “Jesus, Jess!” She tried to catch me, but I was too much for her and she went crashing to the floor with me.

“Layla?”
Lana’s concerned voice came from somewhere behind us. “What..? Jesse, there’s blood all over your head and neck!”

I grimaced. “Not mine.” I assured her.

“Then who the hell does it belong too?” Layla demanded, touching a hand that trembled to my head. “Your shirt is soaked with it, Jesse.”

“One of Tom’s boys.
I broke his nose when I head butted him.” Unable to stand, I turned over and laid there on my back. This sucked. I was probably going to have to go to the hospital. I didn’t want to go, especially when there was so much I needed to talk to Layla about.

She was still lying on the floor beside of me
, and I reached for her, pulling her across my chest. She looked worried and tears were making her big chocolate eyes glittery. “Lana, call Drake. Tell him to bring Nik,” Layla told her sister. “We have to get him to the hospital.” It tore me up inside to hear the quiver in her voice.

“Will you go with me?” I asked, stroking my fingers through her hair. God
, I was hurting, but I wasn’t about to stop touching her!

“Of course I’m coming with you.” She was running her hands over me, trying to judge just how damaged I was. “Where does it hurt the most?”

“I think one of them got my kidney pretty good.”

“How many were there?” Lana asked, crouching down beside of us. “Because you look like they really fucked you up.”

“Four,” I told her honestly. “One of them held me while the others took turns.” Layla’s eyes filled with horror, and I grimaced, hating that I had put those images in her head.

“Lana!” Drake was running and I looked up just as
he and Nik stopped in the doorway of the guesthouse.

“Fuck!” Nik exclaimed. “O
h, shit!” He crouched down beside of Lana. “Dude, what happened?”

I was already tired of telling the story. I gave them a quick recap
, and then just laid there with my eyes closed, using what energy I had left to play with Layla’s hair. As long as I was touching her, I was okay. The pain was manageable.

“Help me get him to the Escalade.” Layla urged the guys. She moved away from me to let Nik and Drake on either side of me
, and I protested. “Hush. I’m right here.”

Between the two of them
, they got me to the Escalade and I stretched out in the back seat. Was it bad that I felt like puking? Because I suddenly felt the need to do just that. Drake jumped into the driver’s seat, and Layla got in the back with me. I had to hold my head up long enough to let her sit down, but then I felt utter relief as I put my head in her lap.

Trembling fingers skimmed over my swollen face. My eye was tender
, and I figured it was a rainbow of colors by now. My lips hurt and my jaw ached, but none of that pain could compete with the pain coming from my left side. “I’m sorry, Jesse,” Layla whispered, touching the blood on my chin.