Lisa Ch. 07b: Jessica

"Well, Beth, I have some news for you that may make you feel that way again. Don't look around okay? Just act normal. But I texted the men to come to the bar. I'd always intended to tell them about this ... you. But just never had the courage. But the guilt is killing me ... I can't go on without them knowing the truth."

"So you decided to come clean?" Beth whispered.

Jessica nodded. "I'm sorry. But if you leave now, and if they're not here already, they won't even know ..."

"But ... you didn't want to be my friend. If they're here now they'll know we're ..." "Good friends?" Jessica ended. She smiled. "I don't care. I tried Beth. I tried to keep my distance and I just couldn't. You're too nice. And I'm afraid that maybe you'll end up on the worse end of this then me."

Beth shuddered. "I'll take my chances." She said.

They hugged. "I don't know what you want to do, but I'm not going to look for the men. I just want to enjoy tonight, if they'll let me. And be as natural as I can be."

"Right. Okay. Well, I guess I'll go cuddle with Tom for a while. Who knows if this is the last time I'll see him."

"Beth!" Jessica gasped in horror.

"Kidding .." Beth said, kissing her forehead, winking and pushing away from the table.

"Jessica!" Stephen and Lilly, the bar owners, said in unison.

"Your favorite meal, chili, a bun and bowl of rice." Stephen said, "It'll make you feel better. I had a word with that brother of yours. He'll be much nicer to you now!" Stephen said placing the plates in front of her.

"Thank you." Jessica said hoping that Jim was kind to Stephen. Ever since the concert Stephen and Lilly were all over Jessica. Hugging her, joking with her. She hoped that Jim's anger didn't cause him to do or say something he didn't mean.

Lilly wrapped her arms around Jessica and kissed her head. Stephen put his good arm around her shoulder. They were all over her, and she loved it. It was like having parents again.

"No Jessica, thank you again, for everything ..." Lilli said and began to tear.

"Oh Lilli, please, don't cry. It was nothing really ..."

"Nothing?" Stephan boomed, "Nothing? You and your brother and our fantastic staff ... you raised a hundred thousand dollars! That wasn't nothing!" and he grabbed Jessica's head between his two humungous hands and kissed the top of it. "We love you Jessica. From the bottom of our hearts ... we love you."

Jessica teared up. This was unexpected and unnerving.

"Okay, okay, Lilli. Come on dear." Stephen said, prying his wife off of Jessica. "Let the poor girl eat. She'll need her strength for tonight. Come, come ..." and with a final hug, kiss on the Jessica's cheek, and wave, Lilly and Stephen disappeared.

No sooner where they gone then Mark and Dave scooted around the table and sat on either side of Jessica.

"Good job not so new girl." Dave said with a smile. "You made those two very happy."

"It wasn't just me ... "

"I know. But it was your idea. Eat up, half an hour till we go on." Mark said. Jessica began to shovel the food into her mouth while Mark and Dave bantered around her.

"Oh hey." Dave said as Jessica ate her last bite. "Remember how Nick the dumbass bouncer put glue in my shampoo?"

"You mean after you put dye in his?" Jessica asked with a laugh. They both worked out at the same gym.

"Yeah. Well, this afternoon I put Nair in his shampoo." Dave said with a laugh.

"You didn't ..." Mark said.

"What's Nair?"

"It's a cream that makes your hair fall out. Women use it for their legs instead of razors." Mark said.

"Oh no ... " Jessica said, "You didn't!"

"Dave you asshole!" Nick bellowed and slammed his hands on the table. Jessica jumped at the sound and then gasped. Nick had no hair on his head. He was as bald as a bowling ball. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Done eating?" Dave asked, jumping up from his seat. Jessica nodded. "Half an hour till we go on. Wanna go get ready?' "K." Jessica said standing.

"Let's go!" Dave said, turned Jessica and hoisted her on his shoulder, and then ran for the back stairs.

"Don't drag Jessica into this!" Nick yelled as he chased them.

The men stood up and watched the man running away with Jessica.

"What the fuck?" Angus demanded. He and Scott began to move after them.

"Don't worry about that." The waiter said having come to take their order. "That's just Dave horsing around."

"I'm going to break his fucking legs." Angus growled.

"Sir?" the waiter asked, blinking at Angus.

"Who's he lugging on his shoulder?" Scott asked. "Is that his girlfriend?"

Angus groaned and the waiter took a step back, looking at him with concern.

"Jessica? God no they're just friends. Jessica is married."

"Fucking right she is." Angus growled.

"Her husband must be real pleased about her fucking around with another man. He'll have a thing or two to say I bet." Riley grumbled wondering where the hell Jim had gone to.

"No sir, probably not. But he's off at war. Won't be back for a while. But she's not fucking around. Dave and her are just friends." The waiter said but took another step back when all the men glared at him.

"At war?" Angus bellowed. "Then who the hell was that shaking the shit out of her earlier?"

"Oh, that. That had to be a family disagreement. Jim and Jessica usually get along."

"Family disagreement?" Josh asked.

"Brother and sister spat I guess. I mean, they play on different bands but they usually get along great. Nothing like that's ever happened before."

"Brother ..." Josh said.

"And sister?" Scott added.

"Ah, yeah." The waiter said, the stunned expressions on the mens' faces making him even more nervous. "Can I take your order?" he said indicating his pad and pen.

"And they play in bands?" Riley asked.

"Yeah. So can I get you anything?"

"Not now." Riley said.

The waiter nodded and left.

"Let's find go find tweedle dee and tweedle dum and get the hell out of here." Scott said. "I've got some things to say to Jessica."

"Say?" Angus boomed. "Say? We're going to fuck her fucking brains out is what we're going to do. Until none of us can walk right. And then ... then, we'll fuck her some more!"

Suddenly the lights dimmed in the bar, and the men noticed a stage straight ahead but a little to the right. It was dark on the stage but they could see silhouettes of people moving on the stage.

A cheer went up in the bar and people moved in front of the stage. The lights blazed on the stage, music erupted, and Jessica ... in considerably revealing clothes launched into a song. She was flanked by two of the men she'd been talking to. One being the man who'd carried her off on her shoulder. There was a male drummer and a woman played piano. And to the left of Jessica, Beth, and two other women sang and danced in well choreographed moves with Jessica and the men.

The men dropped back into their seats and stared at Jessica.

The crowd screamed, and a mob of people thrashed around on the dance floor.

Jessica had makeup on and looked right at home on the stage. She worked the crowd and put everything into the song.

"Fuck ..." Angus grumbled when Jessica and Beth shimmied together. Grabbing the bottle of whiskey he drank directly from it.

"She was trying to talk to you about Beth yesterday, wasn't she?" Scott asked.

Angus grunted in response.

"This is what she kept apologizing about." Josh said.

As if from out of nowhere Jim pushed a chair next to Scott and sat down.

"What are we going to do?" Jim asked.

"I don't know Jim. To which one of the multitude of issues we have to deal with are you referring?" Riley growled, finally pulling his eyes from Jessica long enough to glare at Jim. "Jesus Christ Jim, are you alright?" Riley asked shocked by Jim's appearance. He was clenching his fists, staring at Jessica and he looked like he was shaking.

"No." Jim said. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I just want to go over there, grab her and ... " Jim's voice faded. He stared at Jessica and it took all of his self- control to stay seated.

"Own her?" Scott finished for him.

"Yeah,." Jim agreed, looking at Scott from the corner of his eye. "I've never felt like this before. Except that one time when we water tortured her pu...pussy. I'm going crazy here."

"I get the same thing whenever she's done something she wasn't supposed to." Scott said.

"Usually she doesn't have to do much to get me going." Angus said.

"How can you stand it?" Jim asked as he fought to suppress the urges rolling through him.

"It leads to great sex." Scott said.

"Specially now that she's willing." Angus added.

"I don't like it." Jim said. "I'm out of control and God knows what I'll do to her when I get my hands on her.

"You're the one who brought her here." Josh said. "You should be okay with this."

"This?" Jim asked indicating the bar. "Shit yeah, I have no problem with this. And I can explain all of it ..."he added when the men leveled their eyes on him.

"Don't say anything." Angus thundered. "I don't want to hear it from you. Jessica can explain it."

"This is all me." Jim said. "She wanted to tell you guys right from the start. I convinced her to wait and then Beth showed up and complicated things ..."

"I want to hear it from Jessica." Angus repeated.

"But Beth ..." Jim began.

"Shut the fuck up." Angus ordered. "I don't want to hear it."

The men paused. Angus was really pissed.

"Okay, well, none of this bugs me." Jim glanced around the bar. "What is driving me insane, what's making me feel like Jack the fucking Ripper, is her deal with Paul. She can never do that again."

"I'm fine with this." Riley said, "Other than the brother sister thing. That's just ... weird." Riley said, looking at Jim who rolled his eyes. "We've all gone out with Jessica so that's not a problem. And Angus ... I'm not even going to go near the Beth thing. That's all yours. I'm with you Jim, what do we do about Jessica going behind our backs and making a deal with Paul." Riley asked.

"You mean what do we do to Jessica?" Josh asked eyeing Angus.

Riley nodded. "What she did was just ..."

"Dangerous." Angus said swinging his eyes back to Jessica's writhing form on the stage.

"She saved our asses." Josh said. "You can't tell me that the visit from Paul's men the other day was anything but a tactical move." He added when the men looked ready to argue. "If Jim or Jessica had said no, that phone call they got before leaving would have resulted in bullets in our heads."

"She saved our asses," Angus said through gritted teeth, "by risking hers. Are you okay with that?"

"No. But we have to cut her some slack for that. What she did is understandable even if it's wrong." Josh said.

"We can agree to that between ourselves Josh." Angus said leveling his eyes on him, "But don't you dare tell her that. It has to be black and white. No choice."

"In her mind that can't ever be an option again." Riley added.

"Can you imagine what could have happened?" Scott asked. "She could have just disappeared and we never would've known why or where to find her."

The men were silent.

"That could still happen." Josh said. "Now that people in the clan know her. She's at risk."

"That's why we're going to fuck her long and hard. We'll fuck her with our dicks, with our hands, fucking machines, dildos, every inanimate object that we can find. And when we're done you can bet that when she sees Kurt or Paul she's going to run." Angus growled.

The men looked at him.

"And what are you going to do about Beth?" Riley asked.

"I don't give a shit about Beth."

"She told Jessica that Kevin raped her." Jim said.

Angus' jaw dropped.

"Jessica's been worried that you would be mad at her for not telling you sooner. That maybe you'd want to go back to Beth."

Angus stared at Jim in utter disbelief.

"So, while you don't give a shit about Beth, Jessica does. And all of her concern seems to be centered on the fact that she didn't tell you about the bar and Beth . The deal with Paul and the race are barely a blip on her radar." Jim added.

"Holy shit." Scott said.

"Fuck this. We've gotta get her out of here. Now." Angus said.

"She's almost done the set." Jim said. "I'll get Tim," he said nodding his head at the man who'd waited on the men "to ask her to get my guitar picks out of the car. After the scene she and I made earlier it's better that we don't go dragging her out of here in front of everyone. We'll be okay in the parking lot."

There was silence as the men watched Jessica. She was still singing and dancing but she'd jumped into the crowd and was gyrating with the audience.

"She's practically having sex with those people." Riley said in a controlled voice. It took all of his control to keep from going over and grabbing her. "You let her do that?" he asked Jim.

"That's a style of dancing. Everyone does it." Jim said.

"I repeat, you let her do that?" Riley growled.

Jim exhaled. "Yes, I do."

"She's really good." Josh said. "The whole band is. Why wasn't it more obvious when she played with Sean and Corey?"

"Different kind of music." Jim said.

The song ended and the lady that had been hugging Jessica earlier was on stage with a microphone.

"Good evening everyone. I just wanted to take this opportunity to share the great news that Stephan and I received. As you know, these two bands ..." she said indicating the band on stage, "and our wonderful staff created a cd and ran a concert to raise money for our children who need full time assisted living. They managed to raise one hundred thousand dollars." A cheer and applause filled the bar. "And ... and ..." she said and waited for everyone to quiet, "an anonymous donor matched that amount." Lilly's voice broke and tears dribbled down her cheek. She put her arm around Jessica and pulled her to her. "So in celebration I'd like to ask Jessica, who inspired all of this, her band and the staff to sing the single 'Sing' for us. I'd ask your patience as our staff take the next few minutes to come out and join in."

The crowd clapped and cheered and the men noticed cooks, bus boys, waitresses, waiters, everyone gathering and looking at the stage. Their waiter stood two feet from them, two other waiters with him.

Jessica played a riff on the guitar and then she and the lead male singer began, and the employees, even the audience joined in. The men recognized the song as one that Jim and Jessica had sung in the bathtub. Jessica put everything into it ... like she had in the tub. All the singers did and it made the impression it was intended to. Even to the men. When the song ended, another cheer went up and then the staff returned to work, and Jessica and her band got off the stage. Carl's band took their place. Jim was glad this wasn't his normal night out. He was in no condition to entertain people.

Riley's cell phone rang.

"What the ..." Riley said looking at the caller id. "Fucking Daryl."

"You already told him we weren't going to be there tomorrow." Scott said.

"Daryl's calling you?" Jim asked in surprise. Daryl was another clan head under Paul but the men rarely had anything to do with him.

"They have some fucking job lined up tomorrow. Despite the fact that Sean, Corey, and even Paul told him that we wouldn't be there, he keeps insisting we go."

"Must be huge if he's calling you directly." Jim said.

"Ignore it." Angus said. "We have more important things to do." He nodded his head at Jessica.

Jessica, Beth and their friends started gyrating on the dance floor.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" Angus growled and got to his feet. The men followed his line of sight and got up too. Paul' body guards were making their way up to the dance floor. They were dressed in tight fitting, short sleeved muscle shirts and jeans. They had their hair slicked back and looked like they were dressed to go out for the night. They walked in a formation that made it look like they flanked a young woman who walked just in front of them. They made their way to the dance floor.

"Is that Paul' sister?" Josh asked.

"Looks like her." Scott said.

Beth moved to stand between Jessica and the trio.

"I forgot to mention that Beth is pretty protective of Jessica." Jim said. Angus groaned.

The two guards raised their hands, and turned in a slow circle.

Jessica had her back turned to the trio and was gyrating with one of the men from the band.

Paul' sister said something to Beth who looked surprised, then skeptical. But the bodyguards spoke to her too and Beth visibly relaxed. She nodded and turned to Jessica.

"Jess." Beth said and put her hand on Jessica's arm Jessica turned, saw a small, young pretty blond woman standing behind Beth, smiling at her. And then she saw Abe and the other bodyguard and immediately she looked panicked.

"We're not here on business." Abe said raising his hands palms out.

"That's right. Jessica, my name is Stasia. I'm Paul' sister." The blond said and extended her hand. Jessica hesitated and then took it.

"You're married to Anthony." Jessica said.

"That's right. I'm visiting my brother right now." Stasia said. "And when I visit him I usually go out bar hopping with my pals Abe and Rick." She indicated the bodyguards. "My husband is pretty ... protective. So I don't get other opportunities."

Jessica nodded. "I know the feeling."

"Anyway, I told the boys that I wanted to meet the girl that saved the day. They mentioned this bar. So we thought we'd kill two birds with one stone ... I just want to tell you how thankful I am that this whole territory business was resolved peacefully."

"I didn't do very much." Jessica said.

"Are you kidding me?" Abe demanded and Jessica was surprised by the huge smile plastered on his face. "You cut Paul down to size. There's only one other person that I've ever met who can do that." He said sliding his eyes to Stasia and Jessica was surprised to see affection in his eyes. She glanced at Rick, and he too was watching Stasia with very apparent emotion.

"Yes. The boys mentioned how you averted bloodshed amongst Paul's own men." Stasia said. "I am truly grateful."

"Oh, well, you're welcome." Jessica said. "It was nothing really compared to the fact that you were able to get Paul and Anthony to agree to a race to solve the problem rather than an all out war."

Stasia smiled. "I knew I'd like you. We seem to think alike. Do you mind if we stay and dance? We can move away a little if you'd like."

"Please dance with us." Jessica said studying Stasia more closely. She looked young. Very young. Jessica was fairly certain that her i.d. was phony.

"Dave, Tom, Mark, Tracy, this is Stasia, Abe and ... Rick?" Jessica asked the other body guard.

"Rick, yeah." He said and extended his hand. Introductions done the group expanded to make a larger circle, including Stasia, Abe and Rick and the dancing began again.

Jessica watched the trio in astonishment. They were good. Really good. Jessica had taken the two bodyguards to be muscle bound oafs but they moved with a natural grace and co-ordination that made them look like Chip and Dale dancers. Abe noticed Jessica watching him and he leaned close to her.

"Appearances can be deceiving can't they?" he asked with a chuckle. "I mean, I look at you and I would never guess that you play hard ball with the best of them. I swear to God, it took all I had to keep from laughing out loud when you refused to take Paul' shit. I sure as hell hope that I have you in my corner when there's trouble."

"So long as you're in the same corner as my husbands' , you got it." Jessica said smiling with pride, despite herself.

Abe laughed, made a fist and tapped it against Jessica's. "Deal."

And they resumed dancing.

"Get her out now!" Riley bellowed at Jim.