Twisted Pieces (Back Down Devil MC #5)(33)

Jordyn was asleep on top of the covers in the same clothes from before. She looked beautiful with her hair sprawled out behind her. Like a peaceful angel resting on the devil’s bed.

Jace put the beers on the nightstand and stepped out of his boots. He reached down to scoop her up and then climbed onto bed, kicking the covers down. Gently, he placed Jordyn back on the bed and covered her. He walked back to the door and turned off the main light. He sat down on the bed next to Jordyn and turned on a small lamp next to him. He grabbed a beer and twisted the cap off. He stared ahead, thinking.

I care about her. I shouldn’t. I don’t want to. I want her to be safe. Happy. Gone from this goddamn clubhouse. And gone from this goddamn life.

Jace looked over at Jordyn and for the first time since getting taken to prison, he feared for his own life. If the alleged evidence against him was actually brought to light, it was all over for him.

Jace squeezed his eyes shut.

He couldn’t face this right now.

When he opened his eyes, Jordyn rolled over. She threw an arm around him and smiled with a sighed. She climbed up him and put her head to his chest.

“You made it back,” she whispered.

“Always,” Jace whispered.

He kissed the top of Jordyn’s head and finished the beer. He dropped the empty bottle to the floor and reached for the second one.

Jordyn was making it impossible for Jace not to want to spend forever with her. Something had to be done.





fourteen.



Jordyn stood in the mirror in the same bathroom in the same building. This time tears built up in her eyes. She wiped them away and let out a shaky sigh. For the past three nights she spent her time in Jace's bed … his body against hers, her body rocking at him, taking, accepting, Jace eager to love her body. And, yes, Jace eager to f*ck her when she needed it most.

But each morning, Jace gave her a ride to her apartment where she dressed and got ready for another day of hell with Mr. Strokner.

Mr. Strokner had been eerily quiet and normal for the past few days, but that changed this morning. In the hall, Mr. Strokner stopped Jordyn and put his lips to her ear.

“I want those panties… meeting at two… I’m going to have those panties with me during the entire meeting. And you’ll be there too.”

Jordyn wanted to throw up. But she managed to nod and move on with her morning and early afternoon. Her stomach couldn’t handle lunch and right now, her emotions couldn’t handle standing in this damn bathroom to take her panties off.

But that’s what she needed to do.

Jordyn shut her eyes and managed to take her panties off without looking at her reflection in the mirror. She balled the panties up in her hand and squeezed them tight, wishing they would disappear.

She then left the bathroom and walked to the conference room.

Mr. Strokner had three private conference rooms on his floor. They were for the most important and pressing business matters. This meeting was taking place in the conference room closest to his office.

Jordyn checked Mr. Strokner’s office first and he wasn’t there. She found him in the conference room, already setup and waiting for her.

“There she is,” Mr. Strokner whispered. “All mine.”

“Hello, sir,” Jordyn said.

“Do you have something for me?”

“Yes, sir.”

Jordyn opened her hand and showed Mr. Strokner her panties. They were all black with a lacy trim. Mr. Strokner grabbed them and smiled. He smelled them, just like he had done with the others. He squeezed them tight in his left hand for a few seconds before slipping them into his pocket.

“I want you here for this,” Mr. Strokner said. “I want you to observe and then I want you to ask a question when it’s over. If it’s the right question, you’ll be rewarded. If it’s the wrong question, you’ll be punished.”

Punished?

Jordyn had never heard the word punished used before by Mr. Strokner. Hearing it and seeing the look on his face when he said it horrified her. But she kept her composure and simply stood in place and looked at Mr. Strokner.

“I can see you understand me,” he said. “Now, please go to the end of the table and sit.”

Jordyn went to the last chair and sat down. A few minutes later, Mr. Strokner’s personal secretary brought three men into the room. They were all dressed in suits, carrying briefcases. They looked very nervous to be near Mr. Strokner. Bold and maybe even a little callous, Mr. Strokner refused to stand to greet the men.

The business meeting got right down to business. The men started to rattle off numbers, interest rates, and something about special financing provided by the county and even on a state level.

Mr. Strokner laughed. “Financing? Do you know who I am?”

“Well, Mr. Strokner, if there were an issue with funds being tied in other investments…”

“I can finance myself and half this damn town. If I wanted the land, I would take it,” Mr. Strokner said with a cocky smirk.

“We feel that the problem will only grow,” one of the men said. “It’s risky and we need the right man to make it happen. That man is you. We have the muscle and manpower to support you.”

“I love how I’m going to steal land, but yet I have to purchase it.”

“Well, for all legality purposes,” another man said. “You could understand that. We’re not the outlaws here.”