Page 16 of Hell Yes
Rochelle shrugged. “I can’t tell you much. I picked her up on a road just outside of Mosley five years ago. She said she was leaving a religious order. Apparently, she was supposed to marry some sixty-year-old man and she was only eighteen at the time.”
Jesse considered that. Mosley. It was a good a place as any to start.
“She didn’t tell you her real name?”
“Nope. She’s not stupid.”
No, it didn’t appear that way.
“Okay, let’s get you checked out. Temperature first.”
Once Jesse confirmed that Rochelle had no fever, he urged her to continue to rest and get lots of fluids. Nate was puking his guts out and had spiked a fever. Jesse gave him electrolyte drinks and said if it continued through to tonight, he’d be back at midnight to give him a saline IV.
When he was done seeing his patients, Jesse hauled ass back to the main house and Xander’s war room.
As usual, Xander had his headphones on, typing away. When he wasn’t working on the club’s security and tech, Xander also helped run the drug manufacturing. In short, Xander was busy and hardly slept. Not that he needed to. He liked to brag that he got 3 or 4 hours and he was good to go. And Jesse had seen Xander fuck. It wasn’t all bragging.
The dogs ran up to their second favorite person and nudged his arm. Xander turned, yanking off his headphones. He petted the dogs and then turned his attention to Jesse.
“Check out Mosley, Alberta,” Jesse demanded. “That’s the town where Rochelle picked up Val.”
“On it,” Xander turned back to his laptop.
“What are you listening to?” Jesse asked, curious.
“Audiobook. Helps me relax.”
“What kind of books?”
“Anything with a lot of descriptive sex,” Xander chuckled and started typing again. “Okay, let’s see here. Mosley, Alberta, population 445. Bigger than Longford. Home to farmers, an old limestone quarry, and, oh yes, a religious order called Holy Sacrifice, led by a man named Simeon Darling. He’s reputed to have several wives and about thirty or so children.”
“Ugh, I can’t imagine one rugrat, never mind thirty,” Jesse shuddered. “That must be where she’s from. Can you find out the names of all the people who live there to get her real identity?”
“That might be a challenge. Says here they don’t believe in modern day communications like the internet. And they don’t believe in registering births or government documentation of any kind. The only reason Simeon shows up on the net is because he made the news when he moved from B.C. to Alberta twenty years ago. He was arrested for DUI.”
“Really? Mr. Holy? Okay, well, I still want Val here with Sam. Tonight. Call the diner and tell Sam to bring her.”
“You think we can use her?”
Jesse was working out scenarios in his head and nodded. “Remember Colt was gonna take her? What if Sam shows up to his next gambling party, with his payment plus Val to sweeten the deal? Except, we get her to spy for us while Sam’s playing. We know that the Krypt crew won’t suspect she’s anything but a piece of ass.”
“That’s a bad idea.”
“Why?”
“She’s shy, and from what I can gather, doesn’t sleep around. Ever. That’s like sending a virgin to be sacrificed.” Xander shook his head. “It’s not gonna work.”
Jesse sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I want it known that if Sam doesn’t comply and work with us, she’s gonna be used as collateral against his loan. And tell Sonny to get the bunker ready for tonight.”
“You’re ruthless,” Xander quipped and waggled his eyebrows. “I fucking love it.”
“You love yourself. Get back to work.”
“Yes, boss. Oh wait, that’s Gage,” Xander replied with a middle finger. “So you, Jesse, can kiss my ass.”
“You wish.”
CHAPTER 6