by Kayley Shaye
“A little?” Damien chuckled. “He’s beyond mad.”
I just rolled my eyes. “Get him for me! Now!”
“Ryder!” Devin shouted. Guess they were too lazy to stand up and find him.
“What?” he yelled back. He was definitely in his office.
“Get your ass out here!” Damien ordered.
Shirtless and sweaty, Ryder came stumbling out the door, buttoning the button on his jeans. He had no shame. “Taking out some anger, huh?” I asked as a half-naked girl came out behind him.
“What do you want? And why are you out of bed?” Ryder asked as he pulled a shirt over his head.
“I need to talk to you.”
“You need to talk to me? Last time, I remember you were the one telling me to leave,” he spat.
“It’s about your . . . family.” It was sort of a play on words, but if I said anything else, I’d give away too much to the guys.
His eyes widened and asked, “My family?”
“Yes.” I locked my eyes on his. He knew that I knew. I could see it in his eyes. “Ryder, come on. We need to talk, and I’m about to fall.”
Ryder’s attitude suddenly changed and he sighed as he walked over to me and told everyone else to mind their own business. I wrapped an arm around his neck, and he helped me back to my room.
Maybe walking out there wasn’t the best idea, not that I had a lot of good ideas.
***
I settled myself into my soft, warm bed. Ryder shut the door behind us before dropping down on the edge of my bed. He started staring at me. “He told you.”
“He did.” I nodded slowly.
Ryder huffed and propped himself up on his elbow. He didn’t break eye contact once. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything,” I said. “I want to know everything. What happened between you two? Why do you hate each other so much? He told me to ask you.”
“Of course he did.” Ryder fell down on the bed, no longer feeling the need to look at me. “We weren’t too far off from graduating. He got held back a year, so we were both seniors. I was seventeen, and he was eighteen.”
I leaned back onto my pillows and listened to him as he went on.
“We were having money problems, so we decided to rob a store one day, not that we had any clue what we were doing,” he explained. “We got caught on the way out, and Jesse turned on me to save his own ass. He broke out of the cop car, and while they were busy trying to chase him down, I escaped and knocked out the cop that was supposed to be keeping an eye on me. Never heard from him after that. He just ditched me and disappeared into thin air.”
“He was probably afraid the cops would be looking for him, not to mention you, and didn’t want you to get locked up.”
“I don’t even think he knew I got away,” Ryder admitted.
“Well, what happened after that? How did this rivalry start?”
“Once the cops got off my back and stopped the search, I started up this club.” Ryder waved his hands around. “Figured I’d need some strong men in case I happen to run into trouble again in the future, not to mention my love of bikes. Never intended on this being a long-term type of thing, but I wouldn’t give this club up for anything,” he rambled.
“Apparently, Jesse joined the Rebels, not that I knew, and worked his way up until he was patched in as president.”
“I think I’m starting to get the picture.”
Ryder nodded. “I didn’t have any idea where my brother was at until we went on a drug run, and I saw him as the head of the group. He was the guy I was supposed to be selling drugs to.” Ryder shook his head. “I didn’t even recognize his voice on the phone when we made the deal.”
I visibly gulped and leaned back into the pillows again. This wasn’t easy for Ryder to explain.
“Anyway, you can probably guess what happened next,” Ryder said. “We took one look at each other, started yelling, and fought, though obviously not to death. Probably, being brothers prevented us from going that far. After that, the members started fighting about the stupidest things just because they wanted something to fight about.”
“And that was the start of this rivalry.”
“That it was part of it anyway.” Ryder ran a hand through his hair. “Ever since then, we’ve been at each other’s throats. He’s ruthless now.”
“So you didn’t bring the club in to fight Jesse just because you were pissed at him?” I asked, realizing I was wrong. I got mad at Jesse for something he didn’t do.
“Hell no. I wouldn’t put my men in danger because I was mad at my brother. Both clubs hated the other equally already. No one even knows we’re brothers.”
My mouth dropped. “They don’t?”
“No, I’d like to keep it that way.” Ryder stood up. “Seriously, Sage.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone, or why didn’t you tell me? You know you can trust me.”
“I do trust you, but if they find out, it’s only going to cause more problems.” Ryder walked over to the window and rested his hands on the windowsill.
“You know he won’t kill you, right?” I asked.
“Sure he will at this point, I think.”
“He told me he can’t kill you.” I sat up.
“Jesse can kill anyone if they piss him off enough,” Ryder looked over his shoulder, “but he doesn’t want to break Mom’s heart. That’s the only reason he hasn’t done it I’m sure.”
“And what about the money that we stole? He can get that back from you without killing you. Can’t say the same for the other guys though.”
“He cares about you, apparently. That’s why he hasn’t blown up this whole damn place yet. He’s not going to try to get the money back. He knows how much you care for this club,” Ryder explained.
“You didn’t even know I was involved with him, so how did you know all of that?” I asked curiously.
“I didn’t. I just now realized it.” Ryder turned around. “Now I know why all hell hasn’t broken loose.”
I looked down at my sheets and smiled a little. Jesse wasn’t going to mess with the guys because he knew how much I cared for them. It was true. That explained why he kept his mouth shut last night when he brought me home. He didn’t fight them or call up his club.
And now, I wanted to hit myself for the way I treated him on the phone.
“Ryder?”
“Yeah?” He looked at me.
“Would you kill him if you could? If it wasn’t for your mom?” I wanted to know.
Ryder looked to the floor and shrugged. “I think I could. After all of the things he’s put me through.” He walked to the bed and leaned down. “I think I could.”
My stomach dropped. That wasn’t the answer I was hoping for.
“But he’s my brother,” Ryder cut in almost immediately. “He’s still blood whether I like it or not.”
Ryder watched me for a few more seconds before he turned and left the room. What was I supposed to say to that? I couldn’t even imagine shooting any of my family members, yet he came right out with it like it’s nothing. I guess he really felt betrayed when Jesse left him. I knew that wasn’t the whole story though. Jesse had a reason for it. Why else would he leave his brother behind?
Groaning, I reached for my phone to text Jesse. I hoped he wasn’t too mad with me, but I was about to find out.
I’m sorry for my little outburst on the phone earlier . . . I overreacted, I started.
I knew you’d come around, he texted back a few minutes later.
You’re too cocky for your own good, I answered with a smirk.
I know, sweetheart, but don’t even act like you don’t love it, he responded.
My stomach fluttered at this. It was official—I was falling for Jesse Miller.
Chapter Seventeen
I was dreading the day ahead of me. I had to go to school whether I liked it or not because I could not afford to miss the last two weeks before graduation. I had managed to swipe some crutch
es that were lying around the clubhouse. Let’s face it, the guys got shot and injured a lot because we were always outnumbered. Most clubs around our area had over forty members, and we were down to twenty then. But that doesn’t matter with regard to my schooling. I just had to make it out the door without being questioned as to where I was going. I reached for the crutches by my bed and lifted myself up. By the time I got out the door and into the main room, Ryder’s stupid ass walked out of his office and caught me. What was he even doing up that early in the morning?
“And where do you think you’re going?” He was shirtless, and his hair was a mess.
“To school,” I muttered and continued towards the door. Ryder was faster, of course, and he stood in front of the doorway. I glared at him.
“How are you going to get there?” Ryder asked smugly.
“My bike of course, idiot.”
“With crutches?” He laughed.
Oh. That’s why he thought it was just hilarious. “I totally forgot about that, but it doesn’t matter. I can just take the van.”
Ryder pulled the keys out of his pocket and dangled them in front of my face. “Without the keys?”
Dammit, I forgot about that too. “Give them to me!”
“Nope.” Ryder held them higher like a little kid. “You’re supposed to stay in bed. You’ll never get better if you continue like this. Can you even drive?”
“I have two weeks until graduation. I can’t afford to miss any more days, or I’ll never graduate!” I spat. “And you know what? I’ll just call Jesse for a ride if this is how you’re going to act.”
“Fine, fine,” Ryder grumbled. “Don’t call him. I’ll take you, but I’m staying with you.”
“You what?” I asked. “You can’t stay with me. My teachers will throw you out immediately.”
“I’m not going to leave you at school with a gunshot wound.” Ryder pushed the door open. “And they’ll let me stay. Trust me.”
I walked out carefully and turned around towards him. “What are you going to do? Act like you’re in high school?” I laughed.
“You’ll see.”
***
I didn’t think things could get more chaotic. I sat in my literature class until the teacher walked in. I sat in a desk closest to the wall, and Ryder decided to sit in a chair against the wall. Every chick stared and drooled, of course. Some boys, however, seemed intimidated. Or maybe the boys were just angry that he had all of the ladies’ attention.
“Sir, what are you doing in this class? You have to go now,” Mr. Matthews told him.
“Nah, I’m good here.” Ryder leaned back in his seat with a smug look. I cringed as I was slightly embarrassed.
“Can I ask why you are here?” he raised his voice.
“Keeping an eye on Sage. That okay with you?” Ryder asked.
“Sage looks fine to me. A twisted ankle is nothing to worry about,” Mr. Matthews said. “Now, I need you to leave. We have to start class right now.”
Okay, so I may have lied. I couldn’t believe they bought it, but that was probably because I had my jeans down over the bandages and they couldn’t get a good look at it. I didn’t want them to either, or the police could get involved.
Ryder shot me a look and turned back to my teacher. “A gunshot wound is something to worry about.”
Gasps came from my classmates, and I wanted to smack Ryder as usual. Now, they’d never shut up about it!
“I told you I will be fine. Don’t cause a scene,” I told him. I couldn’t believe he literally blurted that out.
Ryder leaned in towards me and smiled. “Too late for that, Sage. I’m not going anywhere.”
Mr. Matthews left his desk and headed straight towards us with a furious look on his face. “Either you leave now, or I’ll have you dragged out of here.”
I bit back a laugh, and I knew Ryder did too. Didn’t he see the back of our cuts? One didn’t mess with the Warriors and got away with it. Maybe I was just being cocky about it, but there was no denying that it was true.
Ryder stood up and Mr. Matthews took a noticeable step back. Ryder smirked and rubbed his hand over the wood of my desk. “This is pretty old. I bet it won’t take much to burn it.”
I saw how it was going; he wanted to play dirty!
“Hell, it won’t take much to burn this whole school down. I can bring up a couple of my guys and—”
“Okay, okay! You can stay!” Mr. Matthews raised his hands and stepped back to his desk. “Just sit down, shut up, and don’t cause any more trouble than you’ve already stirred up.”
Ryder winked at me and returned to his seat. “You won’t even know I’m here.”
***
“I can’t believe you threatened my teacher like that,” I muttered to Ryder as I stuffed my books back into my locker. I glanced down the hall and glared at a group of kids who were staring.
“What else was I supposed to do?” Ryder asked.
“I don’t know!” I yelled in frustration and slammed my locker. “I’m never going to live that down. ‘Sage brings her bodyguard to school.’”
“I guess it’s a good thing you’re getting out of here in two weeks, huh?” Ryder leaned against the lockers. “Who cares what they think.”
“Usually I don’t, but I’m getting tired of being stared at like a zoo animal. You aren’t?” I asked.
“I don’t give a damn,” Ryder replied.
What a typical Ryder response. “You sound like your brother.”
“Don’t even go there.”
I smiled and reached for him. “Come here, you asshole.”
Ryder smirked and engulfed me in a hug. “You know, you really have changed a lot since you were first patched into the club.”
“How so?” I asked, releasing him.
“Before, you wouldn’t even say ‘ass’, and now it seems like every other word that comes out of your mouth is a cuss word.”
“I guess I got that from you, huh?” I asked.
“I guess you did.”
I smiled and gestured to him. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I think you’ve sat through enough classes today.”
I started walking towards the exit, and Ryder caught up to me easily. He walked so close to me that I figured he thought I was about to collapse.
“High school nowadays is even worse than it was five years ago.”
“Tell me about it,” I huffed once I was finally in the car.
Ryder got into the driver’s side and started up the van for the ride home. Boy was I ready to kick back on the couch but first, I needed to clear something up. “Ryder, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, sure.” His eyes were focused on the road.
“Would you meet up with Jesse to talk sometime? None of his club members or guns anywhere in sight?” I asked.
“Hell no. He’d try to pull a fast one.”
“No he wouldn’t. He said himself that he can’t kill you, so what’s the problem?” I asked.
“That doesn’t mean I trust him,” Ryder said.
“I want you to see your brother and work out whatever problems you two have. I don’t want to feel like I’m going behind your back when I see him, and I sure as hell don’t want the clubs at each other’s throats until the end of time.”
“Even if we work our crap out, the clubs will still be at each other’s throats. You think the members are going to let everything go just because their presidents made up? Hell no. Too much damage has been done for that to happen,” he replied, “and you are going behind my back. Every time you walk out that door, I’m going to be afraid that you aren’t going to come back because you’re screwing around with the wrong club.”
I sighed and rested my head on the back of the seat. “Ryder, please?”
“No. It’s too late to patch up the mess between us,” he said as we pulled up at the clubhouse, “far too late.”
“You say that now, but I’ll get you to change your mind,” I said as I opened my doo
r.
“Not a chance,” came the answer as he killed the engine.
“Yeah, we’ll see about that.”
Chapter Eighteen
Everyone wants an easy life, one that isn’t filled with hardships, stress, work, and anything else that are thrown into the mix. For me though, I didn’t just want an easy life. I wanted a memorable, happy life, one that I worked hard for. I didn’t want everything to be crystal clear. I didn’t want everything handed to me on a silver platter either. At the same time, I wanted to be free. Just for a day, I wanted to forget everyone and everything and do what I wanted. I didn’t want to worry about getting shot, stabbed, or hell, even kidnapped. I wanted to push the club to the side, just for a little while.
But let’s face it, things rarely work out the way you want them to.
***
The guys had picked on Ryder all day about going to school with me, but that didn’t get them anything other than a glare from him. I knew any of them would go with me if I asked them to though. They just didn’t want to look like a wuss.
I hadn’t spoken to Ryder since the afternoon when he refused to see Jesse. I don’t think he was mad at me, he just didn’t want to see his brother.
I wasn’t going to worry about sneaking out and seeing Jesse anymore. Those two were going to make up whether they liked it or not. I had a plan, I just had to put it into place.
Out of the blue, gunshots rang out and my door busted open and slammed back just as quickly. There stood Jesse with a shotgun dangling from his hand. He just stared at me like he’d seen a ghost.
I sat up slowly and moved over to my side.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“What are you talking about? Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be busting into other clubhouses!” I shouted over the voices and banging on my door. What the hell?
“Wait, you didn’t hear?” he asked. He was looking stunned.
“Hear what?” I asked as I shook my head in confusion.
Jesse stood there and sighed, running a hand through his hair. “You didn’t hear. I can’t believe you didn’t hear,” he repeated.