RANGER: Heartlands MC

by Love, Frankie

  “No, I’m not, Ruby. I know you. You can’t work in the bar because it would make you unhappy—”

  “It’s good enough for Roxanne.”

  “But you’re not Roxanne. She loves shooting the shit with the bikers. She has different dreams than you.”

  We stand there, staring at one another. I don’t know what he wants and I certainly don’t know what to give. I feel stuck, over my head. I thought opening up to him about Slider would help us… instead, we’ve grounded to a halt, going nowhere.

  “I want to go back to the apartment,” I tell him. “I want to get back before dark.”

  He nods, hands me my helmet. “I love you, Ruby, but I don’t love you pushing me away.”

  I don’t answer. I don’t know how to answer. I’m scared. More scared than I was the day I ran away. This time, I’m scared that the man I’m holding onto as we zoom down the highway is the same as every other man. Out to own me.

  When we get back to Ride or Die, I head to the studio and Ranger says he’s going to cool down with a beer.

  It’s been a long day, and the sun has long since set. Knowing we both need a bit of space, I head upstairs and wash my face, trying to get a handle on myself.

  I make a cup of tea, and even though it’s still warm out, inside I feel cold — chilled to the bone. Like I’ve made a massive mistake.

  And after only a few sips of the chamomile, I know in my gut that I have. It doesn’t take me long to realize what I really wanted Ranger to say.

  I wanted him to say this… Stay here with me. Be with me. We will get Lydia and we can make this work. I need you with me.

  Instead, he told me I couldn’t be a bartender.

  It makes me mad, thinking about what I wanted and what I got.

  I need to tell him how I feel, what I really want.

  Because what I really want is him. And I need to know if he wants me too.

  I leave the apartment, taking the steps two at a time, my heart beating as I berate myself for pushing Ranger away. Choosing to believe the worst instead of the best.

  I wave hello to Bulldog at the entrance. “You okay?” he asks.

  I nod. “Yeah, just need Ranger.” He lets me inside, and I look around the dark bar, trying to find Ranger.

  What I see instead stops me in my tracks.

  Makes my blood go cold.

  Ice cold.

  My stomach rolls as I watch the man I’ve been sleeping with clap my ex-fiancé on the back, clinking beers.

  Ranger and Slider and talking like they are old friends. Friends.

  I’m in a trance, standing near the exit, covering my mouth as sobs threaten to escape.

  Has he been lying his whole time? Ranger and Slider in on some conspiracy together?

  When Slider pulls out his phone and snaps a selfie with Ranger, I feel my worst fear confirmed.

  “Congratulations, man,” Ranger says. “You’re getting married tomorrow!” Then he calls Stella over. “We need a bottle of Jameson. I got to take a shot with my buddy.”

  Slider is still getting married? Does he think I am coming back? Or is there someone else?

  My stomach falls. Lydia.

  “I live about eight hours away. Long ass trip home, but it’ll be worth it when I get there tomorrow. She’s a real beauty, my bride,” I hear Slider say. “She’s not exactly legal, but the laws are nice to men like me here. So long as a parent signs off, you can marry ‘em young.”

  I can’t stay any longer. I can’t listen to this.

  I have to go. Now.

  I leave the bar with tears streaming down my face and practically fall into Roxanne’s arms.

  “Sweetie? What is it?”

  I shake my head. Not wanting to put words to this.

  “What do you need, Ruby? What’s happening?”

  “I have to go home.” My voice shakes. “My sister… I need to see my sister…”

  “Okay, want me to get Ranger?” she asks, searching my eyes. But I can’t meet her gaze. I’m too devastated.

  I grab Roxanne’s hand. “No. I don’t want him to know. Swear you won’t tell him?”

  She follows me up the stairs to the apartment. I start shoving clothes in a tote bag, not really caring what stays behind. Only caring about seeing Lydia. Getting her away from my father’s house before Slider gets his claws in her.

  I know he was talking about marrying her. I was sure she would be safe, given how young she is. But it turns out, he’s even more of a sick bastard than I thought he was. She is too young. So innocent. It’s not fair.

  “You’re scaring me, Ruby.”

  “I just need some money for a cab. I will pay you back, I promise. Actually, here,” I say, sliding my mother’s diamond ring from my right ring finger. It was her engagement ring and I found it in my father’s things before I ran away. “Pawn this.”

  “I’m not pawning that,” she says. Reaching into her purse, she hands me a wad of cash wrapped with a rubber band. “It’s five hundred dollars. But you better swear to me you’ll call me in a few hours to let me know you’re okay.” She jots down her number and presses it into my palm. “And maybe use that cash to buy a phone.”

  “I’ll pay you back,” I say, taking the stairs two at a time while Stella follows. I rush over to one of the many cabs in the parking lot and open the back door. “And please don’t tell Ranger.”

  “I promise I won’t tell Ridge. So long as you promise to call.”

  “Ridge?” I ask, swallowing as I slide into the back seat.

  “Yeah. His real name’s Ridge.”

  I nod, feeling like this simple fact is a punch to the gut. What did I really know about Ranger? I didn’t know his real name, or apparently his friends. I knew nothing except what I wanted to see.

  “Right, of course,” I say, then I wave goodbye, pulling the door shut.

  I tell the cab driver the address to my father’s house, knowing it’s the nail in my coffin.

  But hopefully it will save my sister’s life.

  11

  Ranger

  I push back from the bar stool, bottle of whiskey in hand. “What did you say?” I ask Joe, an old buddy from the Army I haven’t seen in a few years. Last time I saw him, he was going through a hell of a time, in trouble with his commanding officer or something — but I never got the full story. I avoided gossip all my life, and when I was a Ranger, it wasn’t any different.

  “Shit, man, it’s all good. She’s a good girl.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about? Marrying a child?”

  Joe laughs, a grin on his face that looks a bit more sinister than I like. “She might not like the arrangement, but her virgin cunt is gonna like my co—” He grabs his junk just as I pull him off his stool and push him against the wall.

  The bar breaks out in roars as everybody looks on. I have him against the wall and am not backing down. “You’re forcing her to marry you against her will?”

  He struggles against me, but I’ve got my hands tight around his shirt collar, smashing him against the wall. “Her father agreed to it. And she knows better than to make him mad — not after her older sister already pissed him off. Was supposed to be marrying her tomorrow, but plans changed.” He laughs. “Lucky me.”

  “Sister?” The blood drains from my face. This story sounds too similar to another I’ve been hearing about recently. Ruby’s story. My blood runs cold as I think about the nickname Ruby mentioned. Slider. Joe never went by a nickname in the Army, but with the last name Slidinsky, Slider could definitely be his nickname.

  “Slider. You’re Joe fucking Slidinsky.” Heat rises within me and I want to kill this man here and now. He hurt the woman I love, scarred her and scared her, and I won’t let him think he can do it again.

  “Stop, I can’t breathe,” he says, kicking at me. “Help,” he says, looking around wildly.

  My boys are here now. Killian and Chain and Gage. They pull me off Slider, which is a good fucking thing because I’m
out of control. I’m willing — wanting — to kill this man and it seems everyone in the bar knows it.

  “You will not get your claws in Lydia, you understand?” I growl at him as Killian and Gage hold him.

  “You know Lydia? How?”

  I want to punch, wanna fight — but I know that won’t help anyone.

  “Don’t say her name, you piece of shit.”

  He laughs like the cocky fool he is. “Fuck you,” he spits. “You’re just jealous I’m getting her tight pussy.”

  I can’t take it anymore, I pull back, swinging at him with eyes wide open, slamming my fist against his jaw. The crack reverberates throughout the bar and I swear every eye is on me. I don’t give a shit. This is my bar, my home. He will not come here and desecrate it. Not on my watch.

  “That’s enough, Ranger,” Killian says. “We’ll get him out of here.”

  I don’t care what they do with him, so long as I have Ruby in my arms, so long as I ride with my boys until we get Lydia safe, here, out of harm’s way.

  “I gotta see Ruby, make sure she’s okay.” My heart pounds as I take my stairs two at a time, needing to find my girl, pull her into my arms, tell her I hate fighting. Tell her what I really need is her here, with me, always. I got freaked out when she mentioned going to the city. I got scared. Because the idea of her ever leaving me, ever being in this big, wild world without me by her side, scares the shit out of me.

  Not because I don’t think she can handle herself, but because there are plenty of men like Slider — wolves in sheep’s clothing — and I don’t want her to get hurt. Couldn’t bear it.

  “Ruby,” I call, opening my apartment door… but there is no one here. She’s not here. My pulse quickens as I look around, hoping I’m wrong, that she’s here, in the bathroom, under the blankets… but no. She isn’t anywhere. My apartment is empty.

  No. This can’t be happening. I run downstairs, see my bouncer. “Where’s Slider, that fucker I just punched?”

  “Shit, man, he was here with some buddies. Fhey found him all beat up and they just left.”

  Fuck. I punch a wall, my fist burning, but the anger rises up inside me so damn fast. “Have you seen Ruby? Anywhere?”

  He looks around. “She was with Roxanne earlier. Want me to get her? She’s not working tonight but I think she’s in the garage with Maddox.”

  I nod and he runs off.

  When she comes to me, her eyes are filled with worry. “Oh shit, what happened?”

  I explain the Slider situation, asking if she knows where Ruby’s at.

  “She made me promise not to tell.”

  “Listen to me,” I say, my eyes filling with goddamn tears. “I can’t lose her. I love her. You understand? And now she’s in trouble.” I explain about her sister, the wedding, and Roxy shakes her head, shocked.

  “Oh God.” Roxanne covers her mouth, tears brimming in her eyes. “I was trying to do the right thing. She didn’t want you to know… She was upset, but I wasn’t going to question her.”

  “Just tell me what happened,” I say, trying my goddamn best to keep my cool.

  “She mentioned her sister. Said she had to go help her. Had to go get her. I gave her five hundred bucks and made her promise to call me once she got somewhere safe.”

  “You what?” I drag my hands through my hair, trying to steady my breath.

  “It’s her right to do what she wants, Ranger, but I would never have let her go if I’d known.”

  “Fuck.” I slam my fist into my open palm. “Any idea where she’s headed?”

  Roxanne shakes her head. “I’m so sorry.”

  I just know what road I found her on, but I never asked what her father’s church is called, what town it’s in… I got the impression it’s off the grid with a low profile. Slider said he lives about eight hours away, which could mean a hell of a lot of places. And considering the first exit after the bar is a four-way interstate — he could be going any direction within ten minutes.

  “Fuck!” I growl. “Is there a card on file for Slider? Any chance I can get an address?”

  Roxanne nods. “I’ll go find out. Use your computer and see if you can find him online.”

  I nod, telling her to let the club know what’s up. We have to find Ruby, come hell or high water.

  She is my life, my love. And I can’t lose her. Not now, not like this.

  12

  Ruby

  By the time I get off the Greyhound bus, my body aches. I cried for hours on the bus before I fell asleep, but it was hard. I kept waking up, my head leaning against the window, praying that everything that happened last night was a dream. A terrible nightmare.

  But when the bus makes its final stop and I step off the platform back in Dixieville, I’m wide awake.

  I know what I must do.

  Getting in yet another taxi, I give my father’s address, headed to the house where I will await my future.

  It’s early dawn. The sky is just beginning to rise and it’s just five a.m. I tell the taxi driver to drop me off half a mile from home. I walk quickly down the dusty road to my father’s house and climb on top of an old lawn chair so I can access the window to the bedroom Lydia and I shared. It’s already half open — the old house doesn’t have central air so we keep the windows open and fans going day and night in the summer months.

  I climb through the window into the most familiar room of my life. Pale pink walls, worn wood floors, a yellow wool rug between our beds. The rug we knelt on each night as we said our prayers. Bowing our heads and hoping for a sign. Salvation. A way out of the life we had.

  Tears fill my eyes as I see my sweet sister sound asleep. The bedroom door is closed, and I know my father won’t be up for a few hours.

  We have time.

  I kneel before her bed, taking her hand in mine, sweeping her hair from her face. My sister who I raised, who is my best friend and only confidante.

  “Lydia,” I whisper. “Hey, I’m home.”

  Her eyes blink open sleepily, confused at first, and then she shakes her head, tears spilling onto her cheeks as she sits up. “Ruby?”

  I press a finger to my lips.

  She nods in understanding. Soft blonde hair falling in her face, morning light streaking through the window, she seems to glow. “What are you doing here?” she whispers, scooting over in the bed and letting me crawl in beside her.

  I explain as quickly as possible what happened… how the car caught on fire, how Ranger saved me… how I gave myself to him.

  “You did?” Lydia gasps, covering her mouth. “You love him?”

  I sigh, pressing my hand to hers. “Oh sweetie, I thought I did.”

  “What happened? Why are you here?”

  I explain seeing Slider in the bar, how Ranger and he were clearly friends. And how I heard Slider say he was getting married. Today.

  “Is it true?” I ask. “Are you being forced to take my place?”

  Lydia’s chin trembles, her shoulders shake, and I pull her close, letting her cry. “As soon as Father realized you’d left, truly left, Slider was angry. Right away, Father offered him me — without even a blink. Slider’s been in Jonesboro on business with his men. I know whatever they do is shady, but Father won’t hear of it. Slider is set to arrive this morning, right before the wedding.”

  “I won’t let that happen,” I tell her.

  “There is no stopping it, especially if Ranger isn’t what you hoped he was… you can’t go back there.”

  “No, but you can go. I will stay and marry Slider, and you can take a bus to Jonesboro. I have money.”

  “I’m not leaving you.” She cries against my shoulder. Holding me tight. “We have to stick together.”

  “Then we both go, right now. We can run and we can get away, Lydia.”

  Lydia hesitates, and I see a familiar fear in her eyes. Finally, she nods. “Okay,” she says. “Let’s go. I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

  Silently, we pack a bag for her, an
d she dresses quickly. Her cat, Muffins, is on her bed and she leans down to give her a big kiss, crying as she does.

  We hear our father upstairs, getting out of bed. Heavy footsteps. My pulse quickens. I won’t be caught in his web again. We have to hurry.

  Wordlessly, we climb out the window, knowing the bus stop is just five miles away. We can run there, through the woods, and not be seen.

  We tiptoe over the gravel driveway, our feet crunching as we move quickly toward the back meadow that is covered in clover. But as we go, Slider’s big black pick-up truck rolls up, and he honks his horn hard when he sees us.

  “Where you going?” he hollers, jumping out of the truck, his buddies Lionel and Jordy jumping out of the cab. “Get back here,” he shouts.

  We crouch low, scared. “We can’t get away,” I say, clutching Lydia’s hands. Wishing we’d left a few minutes earlier.

  “Just don’t leave me,” she says and my heart breaks. Days ago when I drove away, I thought leaving was the right thing to do… but now that I see how hard this must have been on her, I know I should have taken her with me, our father be damned.

  Tears fill my eyes. Did I leave Ranger in the exact same way? Without asking him to explain? To help me understand? No… he is friends with Slider — that alone tells me everything I need to know.

  Doesn’t it?

  It doesn’t matter now. Because now Slider and my father are running toward Lydia and me, reaching us with arms outstretched, a gun in Slider’s hand. There isn’t a chance in hell they will let us go.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” my father shouts, his hand on my arm, tugging me to stand.

  “Didn’t want to miss the wedding, did you?” Slider says. I take a look at him. His eye is black, his jaw is bloody. Someone roughed him up really good. “We were set to marry in a few hours. But considering you’re a runner, we might as well head out now. The original plan is back on, I take it, Leroy?”

  Father nods. “Looks like Ruby came home just in time.”

  His words make little sense, and Lydia is hysterical. “Why, Father? Why are you doing this?” she cries. “We don’t need a bigger church. We just—”