Page 23 of Jacked and Jaded

It took him ten minutes to get to the hospital, another ten to find a parking spot and another ten to get to her room. Holy hell, this place was a maze of hallways.

They were stepping off the elevator when he got a bad feeling. Jackson always listened to his gut. Something was off. He picked up his pace, feeling an urgency to get to Calliope as quickly as possible. The light above her room was on, meaning someone had pushed the call button, wanting a nurse. Was something wrong with Calliope? Had she taken a turn for the worse or did she just need more pain meds? Fuck, it could be anything.

The closer he got the more he could hear people’s voices raised in argument coming from her room. The door was half open, so he pushed it the rest of the way and couldn’t believe his eyes. Son of a bitch! What the fuck was Clint Maxwell doing there?

Jackson roared as he shot across the room, grabbing Clint Maxwell by the throat and slamming him into the wall. “What the fuck are you doing here, motherfucker? Come to see what you’ve done?”

Clint’s eyes were rounded in shock. “I just wanted to check on her. See if she was okay.”

“Does it look like she’s okay?!” he shouted in Clint’s face. “Look what you’ve done to her!” He pulled him off the wall and made sure he got a clear view of what he’d done to Calliope.

Tom and Maureen were standing between Calliope and Clint, keeping the man from getting anywhere near her. Behind them, he could see that Calliope was doing her best to act like she wasn’t afraid of Clint, but Jackson could see the way her mouth was pinched and the strain around her eyes. She was barely holding it together. He needed to get this prick out of her room.

About that time a nurse came in to check to see what Calliope needed. Without taking his eyes off Clint, he instructed the nurse to call the police. “Ask for Officer Daniels or McMillen. Tell them Clint Maxwell, that’s right, cocksucker, I know who you are, is here harassing Calliope Reynolds. He’s the man who did this to her.”

The nurse immediately rushed off to do as he said.

“Now, you and I are going to wait for the police out in the hall because you’re upsetting my woman. If she’s upset, I’m upset. And you don’t want me upset. Bad things happen when I’m upset. Get me?” Keeping a firm grip on Clint’s neck, he ushered him toward the hall. Just as he was passing by her bed, he tried to turn his head to say something to her. “Don’t look at her. She no longer exists for you.”

Jackson shoved him down the hall toward the windows, his dad at his back. Both men blocked his exit. If he took a step, Jackson or his dad matched it. Tom stuck his head out the door and his dad told him to close the door.

Now that Clint was no longer being physically restrained, he started to get some of his bluster back. He slicked his hair back and rotated his neck. He opened his mouth to speak but Jackson cut him off. He held up his hand. “Keep in mind that we are in a hospital and make sure you use a civil tone. There are sick people here that don’t want to hear your bullshit.”

“You have no right to keep me here.” Clint thought that since he was a lawyer, he had the law on his side. Too bad the Sons of Redemption didn’t care.

“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong. You beat my woman, putting her in the hospital, and then have the audacity to show up here to see her? What is wrong with you? I don’t get it. How do you beat the shit out of a woman and then turn around and think to visit her like she’s recovering from the flu? Didn’t you see what you did to her? Did that not affect you at all?” Jackson shook his head, completely disgusted with this sorry excuse of a man. “Something is seriously not right in that head of yours.” Jackson stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his stance wide, ready to pounce on the man if tried to make a move.

An evil glint appeared in his eyes and he sneered. “Your woman?” He laughed. “I don’t think so. She’s been my woman for the last year. Where have you been? I’ll tell you where. Nowhere. Where were you when she was sleeping in my bed, sucking my cock and fucking me?”

Jackson started to take a step forward until his dad spoke up. “Jackson.”

“Jackson?” Anger contorted his features. His face began to turn red, his nostrils flared and his lips pulled back over his teeth. “You’re the fucking Jackson she was calling out to in her sleep.”

“Yeah, that’d be me,” he confirmed, pissing the guy off more.

Clint didn’t have anything to say to that. His hands fisted at his sides, and Jackson could see how badly he wanted to throw a punch at him. He really wished the asshole tried. For a minute the man actually looked as if he was considering it, then backed down as he realized Jackson would kick his ass. Figured the man was all bluster. Pussy. “I see she left her mark on you, too. Nice.” Jackson smirked. “How’s it feel knowing a woman messed up your pretty face?”

Clint damn near vibrated with rage by now. “Do you have any idea who you’re messing with?” Clint puffed out his chest, thinking to intimidate Jackson and his dad.

“I know exactly who I’m dealing with.” Jackson leaned forward, making sure he had Clint’s attention. “A dead man.”

Clint frowned at that bit of news. He obviously didn’t like to be outdone. “Oh, really? The way I see it, you’re the dead man. Do you have any idea the connections I have? The people I know that can take you out so fast, you won’t even know it happened?”

Jackson threw his head back and laughed at Clint’s attempt to scare him. He quickly sobered and stared him in the eyes. “Iam that kind of people.”

Before Clint had a chance to try and one up him like a ten-year-old, Officers Daniels and McMillen arrived. “Mr. Maxwell? What are you doing here?”

“I came to see my girlfriend. I wanted to see if she was all right.”

“Seriously?” Officer McMillen’s jaw hit the floor. “The girlfriend you beat the crap out of and sent to the hospital?” She shook her head. “I can’t decide if you’re the stupidest man I ever met or one that thinks he’s completely above the law. Which would still make you the stupidest man I’ve ever met.” She took a step closer and lowered her voice as if trying to tell him a secret. “Let me let you in on something. You can’t be anywhere near Miss Reynolds. She has a restraining order against you and you know that. You are in violation of said restraining order. You know what that means?”

Clint’s expression went from confusion to completely put out in seconds. “Yep. You guessed it. You’re being arrested. Again. That’s not going to look so good when it goes before the judge. Two arrests in less than twelve hours? Wow. Is that a record, Daniels?”

“I believe it is,” he replied cheerfully as he secured Clint’s arms behind his back and clicked the handcuffs on him. “You keep this up and you’re going to have all kinds of firsthand experience as to what your clients go through. I suppose it will help you better serve them, huh?” He walked off with Clint Maxwell in cuffs, reading him his rights.

Jackson turned to Officer McMillen. “Does she really have a restraining order against him?”

Her smile was huge. “Yeah. We took the liberty of filling it out for her. All she needs to do is sign it. If anyone asks, she asked us for one this morning.” She reached behind her back and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “Come on. Let’s get this signed.”

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