Reckoning (Book 5, the Redemption Series)

Chapter 1

Jake rolled over in bed and checked his phone. Damn. His alarm was set to go off in ten minutes. He'd been awake for hours with the hope of falling back to sleep, but it didn't look like it was going to happen. From the light in the bathroom, Jake could tell Mary must've slipped out of bed to get ready for work without him noticing. Maybe he had dozed off again, but it hadn't been good sleep. Which was no surprise. He was haunted by Tom's letter.

Jake's continued investigation into his best friend's death had yielded nothing concrete— also not a surprise. The case was over three years cold, and his only clue was Tom's newly discovered note that read more like a riddle. Jake had executed the man responsible for Tom's death after he got away with the crime, but Jake later learned unseen forces had pulled Caleb's strings. At one time, Jake thought Sonny, Caleb's brother and the leader of the motorcycle club, was responsible, but Jake no longer thought that.

What kept Jake awake at night was his fear that a bigger monster than the Devil's Hand had orchestrated Tom's death. Mary didn't have Jake's concern, but one line in Tom's letter had Jake convinced otherwise. It read that Tom had been tricked and manipulated by snakes and devils. The devils were obviously the Devil's Hand, and Sonny, the leader of the Devil's Hand, could certainly be considered a snake, but Jake thought that would be redundant. No. Snakes were listed first, and the more dangerous of the two.

One good thing from this terrible situation was that Mary had asked Jake to move in with her. Not only was he head over heels in love with the woman, but Jake could protect her and her children better if they were all under one roof. It was a little awkward since Mary was Tom's widow, but they found a way to navigate their complicated past. The least of which was Jake and Mary had a one-night stand while Tom was still alive, and one of her children may be Jake's biological daughter, but they planned to keep that secret to theirgraves.

Mary stuck her head out the bathroom door. "Are you awake?"

"Yes."

"Good. What do you think of my outfit?" She stepped into the bedroom wearing a navy pantsuit and heels.

Darn. Jake wished she was still naked from the shower. Or sporting an easily accessible robe. That would make getting out of bed less of a chore. Mary had an ass that was firm yet fleshy and smooth as marble. He couldn't be more enamored with it. And that he got to touch it every day was a dream come true.

"I don't know. Give me a spin."

Mary rolled her eyes but complied. "You just want to look at my butt."

Jake smiled. "Guilty as charged."

"You're terrible."

"Why don't you come back to bed, and I'll show you just how terrible I can be?"

"Didn't you get enough last night?"

"I can never get enough." Jake jumped from the bed and took Mary in his arms.

"Quit. You'll mess me up."

"No, I won't," he said, nuzzling her neck.

"Yeah, right." She shook her head. "Stop it, and I'll give you a rain check for later."

Jake said, "Speaking of later, why don't you come to the hockey game with me and my dad this evening?"

"Didn't he buy just two tickets?"

"I think my mom paid for them, but yes. We have two tickets."

"Then how does that work?"

"I'm sure we could scalp our seats down by the glass and get three higher up."

"I'll pass. Besides you promised your mom, you'd spend quality time with Ted."

"True. However, I think it's equally as important that he meets the special woman in my life."

She wrestled free from his grasp. "Nice try. You're not using me as a crutch. Tonight is about the two of you."

"But I don't want to give him a second chance. My dad is a jerk."

"You don't have to tell me. I certainly have my own daddy issues."

"Fine," Jake groaned.

"Fine."

"I'll see you tonight after the game."

"Wait." Mary stopped with her hand on the bedroom door. "Are you still visiting Bobby before work?"

Their old friend Bobby was currently in the hospital after complications from his quadruple bypass surgery. Not a surprise to anyone who knew him, the three-hundred-pound Italian loved his deep-dish pizza and beer. He was lucky to be alive in more ways than one. Bobby had also suffered a near-fatal gunshot in the aftermath of Caleb's execution. Not exactly Jake's fault, but he still felt responsible since he'd allowed Bobby to be part of the incident.

Jake said, "Yes. I need to make sure the big dummy isn't screwing up his release."

"I think Natalie is on top of it."

Bobby and the ICU nurse, the one who had graduated high school with them, had struck up a relationship during his recovery. Jake couldn't be happier for his friend. Natalie was loud and a little rough around the edges, but she was the perfect woman for Bobby. She would take his shit and give it back to him ten-fold. And under her care, Bobby had already lost ten pounds though he could stand to lose fifty more. He liked to claim he was big-boned, but according to the National Institute of Health, Bobby was obese.   

Jake said, "Who would have thought that it would take almost dying for Bobby to find love."

"Love always finds a way."

"Ain't that the truth."

Mary gave Jake a long kiss and went downstairs.