Jayden.
Aces MC Series.
By Aimee-Louise Foster.
Club Members.
Mitch.e.l.l "Duke" Groves - President.
Ethan "Diesel" Stokes - Vice President.
Andy "Bear" Harper - Sergeant at Arms.
Daryl "Justice" Hayes - Treasurer.
Frank "Hound" Watson - Secretary.
Mark "Woods" Davies - Road Captain.
Connor "Spike" Stokes.
Jake "Locke" Dixon.
Caleb "CJ" Jones.
Paul "Rex" Regus.
Charlie "Stoney" Henderson.
Jacob "Skinner" Burns.
Tyler "Whip" Watson.
Blake "Recon" Washington.
Elijah "Lyric" Grey.
Prospects.
Buster.
Ramsey.
a.s.sociates.
Amy Stokes - Diesel"s sister.
Harlow "Ink" Webb - Diesel"s old lady.
Taylor "Ash" Miller - Duke"s old lady.
Maggie Watson - Hound"s old lady.
Louise "Angel" Walker - Spike"s old lady.
Sam Barkley - Prost.i.tute.
Chloe Watson - Salon worker.
Paige Watson - Stripper.
James Hudson - Doctor.
Jayden Watson - Hang around.
Cade Smith - Hang around.
Prologue.
Jayden.
"I"m f.u.c.king sweating pints." I removed the embroidered hanky that my mum had given to me, from my pocket and wiped my brow before working my way down my cheek towards my neck. Unlike the UK, Afghanistan had clearly defined seasons. I"d experienced the bitterly cold winters and the blistering hot summers but even after twenty-one months out here, I still wasn"t used to the climate.
Our commanding officer had told us last week that we were still needed out here for another three months as our team were responsible for striping down the operation centres that we weren"t handing over to the Afghan army.
"Here take one of these." Winks pa.s.sed me a chilled bottle of water from the cooler and I gratefully took it placing the bottle onto my forehead to try to cool myself down.
I let out a heavy sigh, "Thanks, that"s just what I needed." I turned the lid cracking the seal and lifted the bottle to my lips to swallow the cool liquid, feeling the refreshing sensation as it hit the back of my throat and trickled inside hydrating my body. I lowered the half empty bottle and glanced behind me as a loud noise came from the scaffolding.
"Get your a.r.s.e down from there Cook." Boyd shouted, surging forward to address him.
Cook gave Boyd the bird to a bout of sn.i.g.g.e.rs from the rest of the detachment, all sitting around on their break.
"Watson, give me a hand with this mate." Cook pointed to a huge bolt at the top of the scaffolding that he was trying to loosen.
"What are you doing?" I asked rising to my feet and casually making my way towards him.
He shrugged, "What do you mean?"
I rolled my eyes, "We"ve just had a break, give us five minutes to prep and we"ll be with you."
Cook sighed, "Some of us would like to get home eventually to our loved ones, we"re not all fortunate enough to have our girlfriends out in the field." He stated sarcastically in reference to my long term girlfriend Tia who was also out here in Afghanistan.
"Give me a minute I just need to get my safety equipment on." I strolled towards the table where our equipment was stored. "And I"ll bring yours up also, you"re gonna end up hurting yourself."
I heard some of the guys laugh and knew that Cook was taking the p.i.s.s behind me. I shook my head sn.i.g.g.e.ring to myself as he always had the ability to make people laugh, that"s one of the reasons we got on so well. Army life wasn"t for everyone and there had been some real s.h.i.tty days over the past four years but it was that camaraderie that kept us strong and the endless banter from Cook.
My dad had tried to install the importance of family over the years to the point of where he tried to force it. Being one of four children, it was inevitable that we weren"t always going to get along but dad pushed and pushed, and I think he was part of the problem regarding the breakdown in communication between us all. I was closest to Paige growing up, still am although I"m thousands of miles away. I always referred to Paige as being like marmite, you either loved her or hated her but that"s my draw towards her as she keeps me on my toes and I never knew what was going to come out of that mouth of hers.
"Watch out!" I heard the shrieks behind me but didn"t have time to turn around before I was. .h.i.t by something with considerable force. Everything after the impact happened in slow motion as I watched my detachment run towards me panic stricken, and the throbbing in my ears made everything sound like I was underwater.
I tried to push up from the ground only to be held firmly by Boyd leaning his body weight on mine, "Lay back down Watson and don"t worry, we"re gonna get you out."
Get me out? I didn"t understand what they were saying and why would I worry, it"s not as if my life was in any danger!.
Chapter 1.
Jayden.
The gravel crunched beneath my boots as I made my way across the yard towards the clubhouse. It was quiet considering it was late morning but the only noise I could hear were the faint sounds of the air gun being used in the garage at the far corner of the yard. I knew that my dad wouldn"t be here until this afternoon as he had a hospital appointment, Paige had done some digging for me in order to make this whole process run smoothly. He"d find out eventually that I was home but there were a few things I needed to take care of, before being bombarded with questions from my mum and dad regarding why I"d returned early.
I pulled on the heavy metal door, it squeaked as it opened which would alert people to my presence but again the place was deserted. Stepping into the clubhouse I looked at my surroundings. I"d spent many days here over the years at family functions and parties, and it hadn"t changed much over that time. What was a fun and exciting place as a child, soon lost its appeal when I knew how much my mum and dad had sacrificed in order to fulfil their duties at the club. Those very duties had taken them away from their biggest duty of all, looking after their children. That mistake and lack of judgement had resulted in Harry becoming a big part of our lives.
I was still coming to terms with Paige"s ordeal although it had been some weeks since her revelation. She"d completed a stint in rehab for her drug abuse and had attended counselling sessions to help her come to terms with the abuse but that wasn"t something she"d learn to live with overnight. That was going to be a long process and I was pleased that I was back here to help Paige with her recovery. She"d carried that secret around with her for years and I now understood why she was so temperamental.
Paige had always been hot headed but either way you couldn"t ever not admire the way she wore her heart on her sleeve and told everyone exactly how things were, whether you wanted to hear them or not. I sn.i.g.g.e.red to myself as I strolled further into the room thinking of the many people she"d upset over the years including myself.
"Can I help you man?" I turned towards the voice to see a stocky bloke of similar age to me and smiled when I saw he was a prospect. Poor sod, I bet he"d been put through his paces, I wouldn"t do that for love or money.
I extended my hand and moved towards him. "Hi I"m Jayden," I stated as his eyes widened by my gesture and speed as I was nearly upon him. He looked uncomfortable as to what to do but released his hand from his pocket, and held his arm out ready to accept my hand shake. "I"m here to see Duke."
He drew his brows and let out a low sigh a.s.sessing me. "Does he know that you"re coming?" he asked hesitantly.
"No but if you let him know that I"m here, we"ll be able to sort this out a lot quicker." I couldn"t help my smart mouth, like Paige it had gotten me in to trouble over the years but it was always better to be up front.
"And if you know anything about this club, you"ll know that you can"t just rock up hoping to speak to Duke. He"s a busy man." He folded his arms across his chest and starred at me waiting for a response.
Not such a p.u.s.s.ycat after all, he did have a little fire in his belly. "I"m Jayden, Hounds son. He"s not expecting me but I"m sure he"ll be pleased that I"m here."
"I sure am!" I turned on my heels in the direction of the voice to see Duke stroll towards me with his arms held open wide. He scooped me into his embrace and gave me a manly hug patting me on the back. His gesture surprised me but I went with it, patting him on the back with the same gusto. Duke soon pulled away and held me at arm"s length a.s.sessing me, "I spoke to your dad this morning and he didn"t mention that you were home." He stated confused. I pursed my lips and I noticed Duke"s expression change as a wry smile crossed his face, "He doesn"t know does he?" Duke dropped his hands from my shoulders and placed them into his jean pockets as he rocked back and forth on his heels continuing to a.s.sess me. I shook my head, "Well this is interesting, so you either want to surprise him or you"re coming here to ask me something before he knows you"re home."
I drew my brows, not quite understanding how he"d worked it out already but he was a shrewd man and not much escaped him.
"The latter but can we go somewhere private to chat?" I asked glancing around the still empty clubhouse but I now felt the added strain of getting this information off my chest.
"Yeah not a problem, follow me." Duke turned and sauntered in the direction of his office and I followed eager to get the conversation started.
"So what"s on your mind Jayden?" Duke perched on his desk and folded his arms across his broad chest.