"Again."

She repeated her steps.

And missed.

"Again."

She missed again.

"Focus, babe, or we'll be here all day if we have to, 'til you hit the damn thing."

He knew just what buttons to push to make her determined to make the shot. She steadied her arm, breathed in, exhaled and squeezed the trigger.

This time the bottle exploded.

Blood grabbed the gun from her hand as she swung around, excitedly.

"I hit it!"

"Yes, ma'am."

She jumped up and down.

"Good job. Now shoot the shit out of those cans like they're Ashley."

"How do you know about Ashley?"

"Lucky guess."

He handed the gun back to her. She took aim and fired.

Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam.

When she was empty, he took the gun from her as she turned to him.

"Thank you. That felt so good."

"You're welcome. So, what'd Ashley do this time?"

She hesitated to tell him all of the reasons she disliked the girl, so she just shrugged. "I just find it hard to be nice to her, and I'm a nice person."

"Yeah, well, some people suck the nice right out of you."

"How do you know Ashley?"

"For about five minutes, I thought about fucking her. Thankfully, I had the good sense to drown that kitten in the river."

That brought a smile to Jessie's face. "Well, thank you for this. I needed it."

"I could tell."

"Now what?"

He nodded toward the targets. "Now you practice until it comes natural and easy. Never know when trouble might come callin', sweet cheeks. And you need to be able to defend yourself."

And then she knew he must have heard her story and knew all about the danger she was in. And she wondered if the reason he'd brought her out here had less to do with Ashley and stress relief, and more to do with the trouble that followed her. And that said a lot about the man. That he cared enough to take his time with her like this, preparing her like he was.

"Why are you being nice to me?" she blurted, before she could stop the words.

He studied her a long moment, and then began reloading his gun. "Let me put it to you this way. I'll try being nicer, if you try being smarter."

She frowned. "Smarter? What do you mean?"

His eyes met hers.

"Look, I know Ghost. He's a good guy. And for reasons I haven't figured out yet, unless it's your sweet ass, he's taken on your shit. All of it. And from what I hear, it's a lot."

Jessie swallowed. She couldn't deny it, any of it.

Blood continued.

"He's taken your back. That means something. You need to trust he's got this. That he isn't going to let anything happen to you. So, I guess what I'm saying is, wise up and quit giving him grief. Deal?"

She looked off at the horizon, contemplating his words. They were true. Everything he said was true. So she did the only thing she could do. She nodded. "Deal."

He handed her back the gun, his chin lifting toward the targets. "Have at it, Annie Oakley."

She grinned and took aim.

An hour later, they pulled back up at the clubhouse. Blood led her through the common room, catching the eye of Boo, who was behind the bar, mopping. His mouth dropped open when he saw she wasn't still in the room that he and everyone else knew she was supposed to be locked in. But apparently he knew better than to question a full-patched member, so his mouth clamped shut.

Blood led her down the hall and deposited her in the room, sitting her down on the bed. He reached for the handcuff still hanging from the bedpost and held out his hand, waggling two fingers for her to lift her wrist.

"Please, Blood. Don't handcuff me. I promise I won't go anywhere."

"I know it. 'Cause you'll be cuffed to the bed."

"Blood, please, don't."

"Stop whining. I'd hate to leave duct tape marks on your face, but I will."

She thought he was joking, but with Blood, she couldn't be sure. She didn't know what his limits were, and she didn't want to cross them. So she lifted her hand, holding it out to him.

"Good girl." He clamped the handcuff around her wrist. Then ruffled the top of her head and headed for the door.

"Blood."

He paused with his hand on the knob, and turned back to her.

"Are you going back to New Orleans? Will I see you again?"

"I'll be around for a while longer. You'll see me again, sweet cheeks."

Then he walked out.

She yelled through the closed door, "Quit calling me that."

She heard a fist hit against the wall of the hallway, and she smiled.

About an hour after Blood left her, Boo came in with a fast food bag. He stepped over the broken glass and approached the bed.

"I brought you a hamburger. Ghost called and said it'd be another hour before they get back, and he thought you might be hungry." He set the bag on the bed and handed her the drink cup. Then he righted the table she'd thrown across the room, and he set it back next to the bed so she could set her drink back on it.

"Thank you. Can you let me go to the bathroom?" She lifted her wrist and rattled the handcuffs.

He eyed them. "Um, yeah, sure. Let me get the key."

A couple minutes later he returned with the key, released her and escorted her down the hall to the bathroom.

When she was finished he escorted her back and waited, allowing her to finish eating before he put the cuff back on her.

"I'll get one of the girls in here to clean up the mess."

"Thank you, Boo. I'm sorry about that. I was a little upset."

He just nodded without comment, then slid out the door.

About five minutes later, there was a tap on the door, and Ashley stepped in, holding a broom.

"Boo sent me in to sweep up the glass." She looked anything but happy about it.

Why did it have to be her? He couldn't have sent anyone else? She supposed the girl was going to rub her nose in it now. Ashley began sweeping the glass in a pile.

"Guess you were pretty pissed off. I would have been pissed, too. I don't blame you for smashing up everything in sight. I'd have done the same thing." When Jessie just glared at her without commenting, Ashley's eyes lifted. "I told you the truth, you know."

Jessie turned her head away, trying to fold her arms, but the handcuff prevented her from doing so, and it rattled with her attempt.

Ashley's eyes dropped to the cuffs, then she put her finger to her mouth, as if warning Jessie to stay quiet.

Jessie frowned as she watched Ashley peek down the hall, wondering what on earth she was doing. She quietly closed the door, and then approached Jessie. Her hand slid into the hip pocket of her jeans and pulled out a key ring, holding it up.

"I was at the bar when Boo came in to get the key to let you go to the bathroom, so I saw where he kept it. When he told me to come in here and clean up, I went behind the bar when he wasn't looking and grabbed it."

"And? Are you going to let me out of these?" She rattled the cuffs.

Again Ashley shushed her and hissed quietly, "Do you want us to get caught?"

Jessie shut her mouth.

"It's no secret I want you gone, but I wasn't lying to you. I told you what JJ told me. Now, its up to you if you want to believe it or not." She shrugged. "Maybe Ghost will let them turn you over, maybe he won't. But is that a chance you want to take?"

"Are you going to release me or not?"

Ashley crossed her arms. "If I do, you better never rat that it was me that let you go."

"Who do you think they'll blame it on?"

She shrugged. "Boo, I guess."

"Fine. I won't rat you out."

"Can I trust you?"

"Can I trust you?" Jessie quirked a brow at her. "Besides, how will I get out of here without being seen?"

"Climb out the window." Ashley gestured to the window in the room. "It faces the side of the clubhouse. No one will see you, but if you're going, you'd better hurry. The guys could come back anytime now."

Jessie held her arm up. "Okay, quick, unlock these."

Ashley tossed her the keys, and they landed on the bed next to her. "Here, do it yourself. Just wait until I sweep up this glass and leave the room."

"Fine, but hurry."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

Ghost strode into the clubhouse, Shades, Griz, Hammer, and JJ with him. The club business had taken way longer than any of them had expected. He'd never meant to leave Jessie cuffed to that bed for most of the day, and it was late afternoon now.

He made a beeline to the bar and moved behind it, squatting down next to the lower shelf where he'd left the key for Boo. When it wasn't there, he looked over to where the man was standing at the other end of the bar.

"Boo, where's the key?"

Boo looked over at him. "Where you left it."

"It's not here."

Boo frowned and checked his pockets. "I'm sure I put it back."

Ghost stood, his jaw ticking impatiently as he waited for Boo to check all his pockets twice.

"I swear to God, Ghost, I remember putting it back. Maybe it fell on the floor."

"Find it," Ghost snapped. "I'll be in the room with Jessie."