Page 108 of Jackass
I steeled myself for her words. Would what she was about to tell me change our lives? I didn’t urge her to continue. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. So I waited, silently.
“After that night with you, when I left the hotel, I cried. I didn’t want to leave you. I didn’t want to be married.”
She looked up at me with tears in her eyes.
“I wanted you, Jack. I wished so much I had met you first. The day I saw you in The Diner the first time, you called me Sammy, I was so afraid he had found me.”
“I remember that day. You looked terrified until you realized it was me. Your shoulders dropped immediately. I didn’t know what had spooked you so much.”
“Derek called me Sammy. So, when I heard it, I thought it was him,” she said, lowering her head to look at the ground.
“Oh, baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I can stop using it.”
And I could.
I didn’t want to cause her hurt every time I said her name.
“No, Jack,” she said, placing her hand on my chest. “I love that you call me something no one else does. Everyone in the club calls me Sam or Samantha. Sammy is for you now. You made itspecial. Don’t change it.”
“Ok.”
I kissed her softly. I wanted to strip her down right then and there, but we had been gone long enough. We needed to get back to Charlie.
“Come on, we need to get back.”
I sent a text to King, asking him to call church. I needed to set some things straight. We climbed on the bike and rode back to the clubhouse.
Having Sammy on the back of my bike felt right. Her arms wrapped around me tight, gave me a settled feeling. I had never had a woman behind me before. There would never be another woman in that seat besides Sammy.
When we got back to the clubhouse, I walked Sammy inside, kissed her and Charlie, and headed straight for church. Brothers piled in around the table.
“Ok, everyone, settle down.” King slammed the gavel on the table, getting everyone’s attention. “We need to fill everyone in on what we’ve learned.”
Nav put Carrie’s picture on the screen at the front of the room, and King told the men everything we knew.
“We don’t know her current whereabouts. So, until we find her, I want eyes on Samantha and Charlie at all times. Samantha does not leave this compound without at least one brother with her.”
“What about her husband?” Tank asked.
“As far as we know, he is still in Arkansas. He hasn’t missed a day of work. We also know he received the divorce papers. He hasn’t signed them or tried to make contact, but he does have her address now. We are expecting some kind of response. Whether he just signs the papers and sends them back, or he comes here looking for her, we’ll be ready for him,” Navanswered.
“Any questions?” King asked. When no one said anything, he continued, “Jack, the floor is yours.”
I stood from my seat and looked at the men sitting round me. Men, I had made an oath to serve and protect. I had their back, always. Now, I needed them to have mine.
“Sammy and I talked about everything we’ve learned. She is feeling guilty about being manipulated by Carrie.”
“That wasn’t her fault. People like that woman are masters at keeping people in the dark,” Romeo said.
“Yea, try telling that to a mom. Everything she’s done since she found out she was pregnant was to protect Charlie. To protect my daughter. That wasn’t good enough for someone here. Someone felt they needed to tell her how selfish she was—”
“Shoulda known she’d rat me out,” Mimic mumbled.
“The fuck did you say?” I growled, slamming my hands on the table and glaring in his direction.
“She fucking lied. I called her out on it,” he said. “She lied about the call, then lied to me again when I asked her if she lied. She was only thinking about herself. And her telling you what I said proves she doesn’t know how to be an old lady.”
“What the fuck do you know about it? You’re a fucking kid.”