Lisa Ch. 07b: Jessica

The rider dusted himself off, and Jessica lifted his motor cycle. Jim pulled up and said something that had Jessica holding her hands up to the dusty rider as if in apology and heading for her own bike. Soon she and Jim coasted over the entranceway to the track. The men went to meet them.

"What the hell was that about?" Riley asked. "You could've been killed!"

Jessica pulled her helmet off and shook her hair out. "It was just for fun. Honest Riley, it was safe."

"Jessica ..." Jim grumbled and that caught everyone's attention. Jim didn't often grumble. "I don't care how good you are at riding. I don't want to see you doing those speeds again, do you understand?"

Jessica nodded. Privately she was glad that she'd decided to play things down and not show off with some of the trick jumps she usually did. The way Jim was looking at her she was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to let her ride again.

Just then the four riders who had raced Jim and Jessica pulled up and removed their helmets. Jim groaned, and the men were instantly tense. Jessica looked at them in surprise.

"Gentlemen." The rider who had wiped out said to the men.

"Kurt." Riley said in a tone that did nothing to hide the hostility that he felt. Jessica blanched. "How's Paul doing these days." He added, planting his eyes on Jessica and he was glad to see that she understood what he was trying to convey. For all intense and purposes this was the enemy.

"Fine." Kurt replied, "If you ever bothered to talk to him you'd know that for yourself. But, I'm not here to discuss Paul with you."

"You're not?" Angus asked in obvious surprise.

"No. Do you remember Anthony? Of the central clan?"

"Yes." Riley replied, not liking where this was going. He slid his eyes over to Jessica. He didn't want to discuss clan business in front of her.

"Well, lately his crew has been around. A lot." Kurt said. "And they're always challenging us to races. I don't know if you're aware but Paul' sister married Anthony ..." Kurt paused. Finally Riley nodded. He'd heard. "Well, ever since that development there has been a redirection in hostilities. It seems now they consider the winning of motor bike races as the appropriate way to settle disputes."

"Are you saying that because of Paul' sister, Anthony no longer wants to whack Paul and his clan?" Scott asked.

"Our clan." Kurt said emphasizing the word our and sweeping his eyes over the men to include them. An amused look played on his face. "And that is what I'm saying. They're always just little impromptu challenges, but Anthony's riders are ... good." Kurt said. "They're always kicking our asses."

"What does that have to do with us?" Angus demanded.

Kurt turned his eyes on Jessica. "Jessica is good." Kurt said. "The kind of good that would kick their butts."

"No!" Riley thundered as he moved to stand between Kurt and Jessica. The other men moved too and Jessica couldn't see anything but their backs ... and she was distressed to see that their entire bodies had gone rigid. It reminded her of the times they'd been furious with her ... except this time they were straining their tightly coiled muscles at someone else.

"Why not?" Kurt asked.

"No." Riley repeated.

"It's just for fun." One of the other men said.

"You come anywhere near her again and I'll kill you. Do you understand?" Riley growled. Jessica shrank. Riley sounded absolutely terrifying.

"Get out of here!" Angus yelled in an equally terrifying voice, and Jessica flinched. "You're making a mistake." Kurt said.

"You're the one making the mistake." Scott said in a calmer but strained voice, "If you don't leave now, you'll see what kind of a mistake you're making."

"This isn't over." Kurt said and Jessica could hear the crunch of their bike tires on the dirt.

The men stayed rigid as they watched the four move away.

"We'll move to another track." Jim finally said.

"You bet you will." Riley said.

"I'm sorry." Jim added.

Suddenly the men relaxed.

The men turned to look at Jessica.

Riley half expected her to be angry about how rude he'd been but Jessica seemed pretty shaken. Good. At least she'd understood the gravity of the situation.

"If you ever see any of those men again," Riley said, his eyes boring into her, "you turn around and run. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Jessica said.

"We're not fucking kidding Jessica." Angus said advancing on her and grabbing her arm, "Those men are dangerous. Incredibly dangerous. Do not let them anywhere near you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Angus I understand. Do they want to hurt you?" Jessica asked, fear gripping her. The fact that the men considered Paul and his men dangerous terrified Jessica.

"Angus you're scaring her." Jim said, getting off his bike.

"Good." Angus said, but loosened his grip on her arms and rubbed where he'd squeezed. "Sorry if I hurt you."

"You didn't." Jessica said, getting off her bike too and moving into Angus' embrace, "But I am worried. Do they want to hurt you because you haven't been working?"

"I don't think so." Angus said, but looked over at Riley.

"They're supposed to be on our side." Scott said kicking the dirt. "But I'm not so sure."

"They ... they took over Sean's control, right?" Jessica asked.

The men looked at her in surprise.

"You have a good memory." Josh said, exhaling, trying to get rid of some of the tension that he felt.

"Yeah, they muscled in ... in a quiet way. No one got hurt. Physically anyway." Riley added.

"And now this Anthony guy is trying to muscle in on Paul?" Jessica asked.

"Jesus ... you picked up a lot." Angus said blinking down at her.

"It looks like it Jess." Jim said. "But I guess Paul' sister is making it hard for Anthony to do an all-out take over."

"Good for her." Jessica muttered. "Sorry ..." Jessica added when the men looked at her in surprise.

"You have an interesting way of looking at things Jess." Scott said shaking his head.

"I'll come back later and move our bikes to another track." Jim said, "But right now Jess and I have to go, or we'll be late."

"Okay." Riley said, eyeing Jessica. "So if you see those guys again you'll...?"

"Run away."

"And the next time you ride, you'll ...?" Angus asked.

"Um ... slow down?" Jessica asked with uncertainty.

"Never mind riding." Riley said, "Anything. Anything you do Jessica, don't take any unnecessary risks. Got it?"

Jessica nodded.

"Repeat it." Scott said.

"No unnecessary risks." Jessica said, "I promise."

"Okay. Well, we'll hang out until you leave." Riley said, "Just in case Kurt and his goons try anything else."

Fifteen minutes later Jim was watching the men get smaller in his rearview mirror. Jessica sat in the passenger seat, thinking.

"Don't let Kurt ruin your day." Jim said reaching over and taking her hand.

"That'd be easier to do if I knew you guys weren't in some kind of danger."

"We're not. Really!" he said when Jessica looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Whatever is going on is between Paul and Anthony. Trust me."

"Okay." Jessica said, thinking it over. Jim seemed pretty sure. So she decided to push her concerns away, and a huge smile replaced her concerned expression.

"That's better. Having a good day?"

"The best!" Jessica exclaimed. "I can't believe this is all real! Everything is so ... so, great!"

Jim chuckled, and brought her hand to his lips. "I'm glad that you're happy."

"You're happy too, right?"

"You better believe it!"

"So, what was all that stuff about the SUV this morning?" Jessica asked, "And all that winking?"

"Oh. Well, those new cars all have built in GPS systems. So, you're traceable. Not what we want until we're ready." Jim said.

"You didn't want the men to be able to follow us?" Jessica asked, guilt rolling over her.

"No, not yet." Jim looked at her, obviously confused. "Are you upset by that?"

"Well, I thought we weren't trying to hide things from them. Not actively hiding things from them. Jim, we have to tell them. And soon. Please. I don't think I can take the betrayal that I know they'll feel when they find out that we kept this from them already."

"Okay, look. We'll make the CD today, have our night out and tomorrow we'll tell them. Okay? If they flip, then I guess Tracy will have to deal with not having a lead singer for the competition."

"Oh drat." Jessica said feeling guilty again, "Do you really think they'll get mad? I mean, we jammed with the guys from the clan, went sky diving, motor biking ... "

"Kept it a secret from them ..." Jim added.

"It wasn't a secret."

"They'll see it that way though. I think they'll be at least a little ticked."

"You're right. Okay. We'll wait until after the competition ..."

"Sorry Jess." Jim said looking at her guilty expression. "I should never have put you in this position."

"It's okay. I decided that on my own." Jessica shook her head. "No use worrying about it. Let's go make a cd!" Jessica said forcing a smile. Jim smiled back but felt guilty too. He figured he was probably in for another good beating. And he deserved it. Crap.

************************************************************

"Hey Jess."

"Great job Jess."

Jessica waved her hand in an embarrassed way as the two waiters patted her shoulder as they passed by.

"Looks like you made quite an impression." Jim said with a smile.

"We ... we made an impression." Jessica said.

"Hey, I only sang with you. You're the one who managed to fire everyone up into an angry mob of second rate singers."

"Second rate?" Jessica demanded, "They were great!"

Jim chuckled, "They were, I'm just kidding."

It had taken three hours but they had managed to cut a great single for the charity event. All of the staff had assembled at the studio and the first couple of takes had been on the pathetic side. People not used to singing, and others who were shy, simply hadn't put any heart into it. Jessica had urged them to feel the emotion behind the words, and then she and Jim had actually done a run through of the song on their own to demonstrate the intensity required. By the end Jessica had hyped them up to a screaming mass of protestors furious with the injustices done to disabled people. And the single had been great. And then to make the cd even more worth buying, the two bands had worked together to put a few more songs on it.

This seemed to lead to an uneasy truce between the bands, and they now sat around a long table back at the restaurant, eating dinner. And staff kept greeting, congratulating or joking with Jessica as they went about their business.

"So we'll alternate playing tonight?" Carl asked Tracy, getting up from the table.

"Okay, sure." Tracy said standing also. Carl held out his hand, and after a moment of hesitation Tracy shook it. Everyone around the table grinned.

"Let's go practice." Carl said to his band and Jim pushed his chair back from the table.

"Have fun." Jim said kissing Jessica on the forehead, "See you later."

"Bye." Jessica said and went back to concentrating on the food on her plate.

"Jess, do you know this chick?" Tracy asked elbowing Jessica.

Jessica looked up to see a red head standing with her hands clenched, staring at her.

"Um, no." Jessica said.

Her expression looked sad, and strained, and nervous.

"Where's Jim?" she asked in a tense tone, her eyes flickering around the room, but always settling back on Jessica as if expecting her to disappear.

"You know Jim?" Jessica asked in disbelief. The woman nodded.

"Okay. I'll go get him." Jessica said starting to get up.

"No, no, no," the woman said reaching out as if to grab Jessica's shoulders but then pausing and simply holding her hands out. "that's okay. I'll just sit here with you." She said and dropped into the chair next to Jessica that Mark had just vacated. The woman watched Jessica sit, her eyes constantly slipping away and flitting around the room in a nervous way.

"So, what's your name?" Jessica asked, studying the woman. Jessica couldn't guess an age for her. Something told Jessica that she was supposed to be a young woman, but the dark circles under her eyes, the worry etched onto her face, made her look much older.

"I'm Be ... Anne." The woman said, "I'm Anne."

"Hi Anne," Jessica said,"I'm Jessica and this is ..."

"I know. I know you're Jessica." The woman interrupted.

Jessica exchanged glances with Tracy, Dave, and Rachel. Something was off about this woman. A scary off.

"Are you okay?" Jessica asked finally seeing nothing else that could be said, "You seem a little off."

"No. I'm not okay. My boyfriend's best friend raped me. Got me pregnant. I did what I thought I should ... but it was wrong. Everything was wrong, and now I'm the outcast. Again."

"Holy cow." Jessica said, reaching out to grab Anne's hand. "Did you call the police?"

"The police?" Anne asked her, looking at her in obvious confusion, "I couldn't call the police. No, no police."

"Jesus Christ!" Jim suddenly bellowed from behind Jessica, making her jump.

Jessica looked over her shoulder and saw Mark standing next to Jim. Mark looked like he was ready to hurl himself in front of a bullet. His eyes were on Anne and Jessica realized that he had gone to get Jim.

"Beth what the fuck are you doing here?" Jim demanded.

"Beth?" Jessica asked turning back to the woman, her mind going blank.

"Beth-Anne actually." The woman said, and she was now holding tight to Jessica's hand.

Suddenly Jessica felt things falling into place ... practically hearing a clicking sound as each reality became clear. This was Beth. Angus' Beth. And she'd been raped by his best friend.

Oh no. "Jim ... Jim." Jessica said looking back at him, but he was moving forward. He reached down, pulled Jessica's hand out of Beth's and yanked Jessica up by her arm and shoved her behind him.

"You have a lot of fucking nerve!" Jim was yelling at Beth. Beth stood up too but she looked broken. Tears welled in her eyes, Jessica peeked around Jim.

"Jim, I think Josh may have raped her!" Jessica said.

"Josh?" both Jim and Beth said at the same time.

"You know ... he used to have some issues. At night ... controlling himself ..." Jessica said quickly.

"It wasn't Josh." Beth said between sobs. "Josh wouldn't hurt a fly. It was that asshole Kevin. Kevin raped me and said he'd kill Angus if I told him."

A collective gasp came from those around the table, and in the general vicinity. Jim swore under his breath as he looked at all the people who had overheard the conversation.

"You stay here!" Jim said over his shoulder to Jessica, "And you come with me!" He grabbed Beth's arm and dragged her to the front door. Jessica followed.

Outside he dragged her over to an empty corner of the parking lot.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Discussing clan business in a public place like that?" Jim growled sounding so angry that Jessica hesitated to let him know she was there.

"It's not clan business, it's my business." Beth said. "Angus hated me when he found out about the abortion. Hated me. And so did everyone else. And now I finally worked my way back into their good graces, and now everyone is friends with Jessica." Beth noticed Jessica and looked around Jim. "And now they hate me again. Angus told them to not talk about me to you, to not invite me anywhere. I love to shop, I love spas, I love to sing and dance ... They all came to your place last night and left me home alone! Please, please, I can't go through this again!"

Jessica felt tears pooling in her eyes as she stepped closer.

"I told you to stay in the bar!" Jim said turning on Jessica.

"Jim, can this be true?" Jessica asked, going into his arms. Jim looked like he was going insist that she go back into the bar but then he exhaled and pulled her against him.

"I don't know." He finally said eyeing Beth who was now full out crying. "But it's convenient that the would-be rapist is behind bars where we can't ask him."

"He was an asshole!" Beth yelled, "He was an asshole, and Angus became an asshole too. But, now I hear that he's changed ..." Beth looked at Jessica again.

"Did you tell Angus any of this?" Jessica asked.

Beth shook her head. "I tried. I tried but he wouldn't talk to me and then when he got wind that it hadn't been his baby ... it was a thousand times worse. I swear, if he could have killed me by looking at me, I'd be dead right now."

Jessica nodded and mumbled. "I know what you mean."

Jim looked down at her in surprise and then looked angry again.

"What do you want Beth? Other than to fuck things up for Angus again? And how did you find us?"

"I, I followed you. Last night when I couldn't come to the party ... I followed Don and them out to your place, parked the car off the road and waited for you to leave. I've followed you all day."

"Why?" Jim demanded.

"Because. Because I'm lonely ..."

"Oh my God. You can't honestly think that we're going to ... to, hang with you?" Jim asked in disbelief. But as he spoke, Jessica began to pat his chest.

"She could Jim. Not with us specifically, but with the crowd."

"No!" Jim said.

"I'm sorry Beth, but I don't think I can be your friend." Jessica said and her heart broke to say it. "To be honest I think you and I being friends will lead to more problems when Angus finds out. But ... I'll see if Tracy will let you onto the band. You could hang out with them whenever you want."

"Thank you!" Beth wailed.

"Are you crazy?" Jim demanded.

"Maybe." Jessica said, "But honestly Jim, do you think that Angus would have done what he did to Beth if he'd known the truth? His heart was broken for the wrong reasons Jim. Here's a chance for him to know the truth."

"He's going to kill us." Jim said in surrender. Jessica tried to smile, stood on her tip toes to kiss Jim's cheek, and then moved to put her arm around Beth.

"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up, and then I'll introduce you around."

"Thank you." Beth sobbed.

Jim followed close behind the pair wondering what the hell they'd gotten into.

Weeks had gone by in a blur. They were the happiest days of Jessica's life, despite the fact that the men had gone back to work. Doing surveillance only, but battling with Paul about it all the time. They took turns going out, each one rotating out.

And despite the joy in Jessica's life, her guilt grew more and more each day. Guilt because she hadn't yet told the men about the bar ... or Beth. The competition had come and gone, and their group had won. Beth had fit in like a duck on water and was great friends with the band. She'd even kind of started dating Tom. She didn't play an instrument or sing but she had a natural talented for choreographing dances. She would lip sync on stage and dance with the band. And Jessica had been unsuccessful in keeping arms-length from Beth. She was a very nice lady, once her nervousness was gone. It turns out she was the same age as Angus and she seemed to take the age difference between Jessica and herself as a reason to mother Jessica. She always seemed to be hovering over Jessica. And Jessica, to her shame, kind of liked it. It was like having an older sister, or a mother again.

To add to her guilt, Jessica wondered if Angus would love Beth again, once he knew the truth. Maybe Beth was Angus' true love and the only reason he was allowing himself to share Jessica with the other men was because he was so heartbroken that he thought that was the best he could do. Over and over Jessica tried to find ways to tell Angus about Beth. Until that came out, she and Jim couldn't tell the men about the bar.

Jessica sat on a rock in her overalls, drinking water and watching Angus work on his car. She contemplated again how to tell him everything. If she wasn't such a big chicken she'd just blurt everything out and be done with it. But deep down inside she was terrified that Angus would turn his back on her just like he'd done with Beth.