He was kind and tried to include my brothers, but they refused. They stared at him as if he was an intruder to their lives.
When Dad would find my ball in the backyard, flat, he never suspected the guilty ones. When he found a toy of mine, shattered in the garage, he assumed he accidentally ran it over—
“It’s time to walk-n-talk, Nine Lives.” VP rolled my IV pole closer and helped me sit up on the table at the vet clinic, sure to arrange the collection of blankets to cover my naked parts. As I sat there, my feet dangling off the side, blinking in dismay, he asked, “Queasy?”
Boy was I. “And my stomach hurts.”
VP eyed all the bandages on my bare stomach, then lifted a brow with an expression that said, “No shit, kid.”
I laughed, which hurt. “No. I mean the inside of my actual stomach. Like, cramping.”
Prez came walking into the room with bags of McDonald’s and a tray of drinks. “It’s probably those pain meds on an empty stomach. You should know that with all your old injuries.”
Gazing at scars on my right arm and leg, I didn’t mention I was clueless to what he was talking about.
He stopped walking, his shoulders caving. “You were never given pain killers, were you?”
His disbelief had the ping-to-the-heart returning. His words had me realizing my mom hadn’t exactly taken proper care of me. None of which I wanted to think about. “It’s no big deal.” I confessed the only excuse I could tell myself and them, “She didn’t have the money.”
To break the awkward silence, VP finally said, “Hey, shit happens, right?”
My eyes were locked on the bags of food. There were only three of us, yet Prez was holding four overstuffed bags and a tray of drinks. I had never seen so much food, ever.
Noticing my stare, Prez gazed down to his armful. “Uh, Elle says this shit will kill me, but since you are unkillable, I figured, why not.”
I didn’t know who Elle was, but his words made me smirk because I liked to hear I was a badass.
“Ah, shit,” chuckled VP, “this kid has an ego already.” He accusingly eyed Prez. “Reminds me of a little fucker I used to know.”
Now I really smiled. I didn’t know why at the time, but being compared to Prez made my heart soar.
Pushing away the dangerous feelings, I asked, “Who’s Elle?”
He set the bags next to me. “A goddess who rocks my ever-loving world.”
I teased, “You got you a Pretty Girl, Prez?”
Digging in a bag, he replied, “Kid, you have no idea.” Next to me on my operating table, he laid out every kind of burger McDonald’s offered. “The most beautiful woman you’ll ever see.”
Desperate to grab some food, I shook my head. “Nah. That title belongs to Lacey.”
He gestured to the buffet of grease. “Eat so you have the energy to handle my delivered ass beating. Elle is queen. The end.”
“Dude.” Talking to Prez, VP hand-waved to my abundance of injuries. “Ass beating talk? Too soon, moron.”
I couldn’t help it. I started laughing. Which hurt.
Holding my stitched stomach, I laughed. “Why am I finding this so funny?”
Smiling, VP shrugged. “Because you’re on meds?”
Prez asked me, “They too strong? Do I need to hand-feed you? Because no one wants that. I’m not gentle.”
That’s how it was with these men. They didn’t get all emotional. They poked fun at a very sad and depressing situation, then carried on. I appreciated that. Dissecting my life wasn’t on the top of any to-do list. That spot belonged to Lacey. So, I grabbed a burger and took a huge bite. Instantly, my eyes slid shut as I chewed. “It’s so warm.”
Instead of making my comment stranger than it was, Prez said, “If you like warm—” his brows bunched at VP who had an alleging stare. “What? I wasn’t going to talk about pussy, you dirty bastard. I was going to tell the kid about needing to eat the fries first.”
Not letting go of the best burger I had ever had, I dug in a bag for some fries. Slightly appalled, VP and Prez watched as I shoved a handful into my mouth.
I moaned. Then tried to talk around all the food, “Oh. Yu rit. So goo’.”
VP couldn’t take his eyes off me. “Holy shit, feeding him is going to break the bank.”
Prez, smiling, shook his head as he put a straw in a Coke and handed it to me. “Wash that impressive mouthful down before you choke.”
After sucking on the straw and swallowing the mouthful, I asked, “If I give you my first paycheck, can I have more of this food?”
He opened another bag. “We’ll worry about that shit later. For now, eat all you want. You need energy to heal. And Doc wants you on your feet after this.”
“Sure. I can do that. I heal real quick.” I shoved the rest of my burger in my mouth and started to chew until I saw their shocked expressions. “What?”
VP seemed to struggle for words but recovered, saying, “What sauce do you like with your chicken nuggets?”
Totally intrigued, I swallowed my mouthful of burger. “I have no idea. What are my choices?”
Prez snarled, “Kid, what did you normally eat?”
Proudly, I smiled. “Ramen Noodles. I can get a whole case for like three bucks.”
He gestured to a counter across the room. “Dagger, lay out every sauce I got. Let’s use his hunger to our advantage.”
“Dagger?” I asked.
Both men blinked.
Prez was shocked. “Holy shit! Talk about the cart in front of the horse. Yeah, he’s Dagger. I’m Lynx.”
Grabbing more fries, I happily waved. “Hi, I’m Tate.”
Traditional meeting? No. Not at all. But, there’s nothing traditional about deadly bikers saving a kid who desperately needed it.
And, as they always do, these two men moved us along.
Dagger grabbed a pair of sweatpants from a chair behind him. “Can he slip these on first? There is only one kind of naked show I like while I eat.”
It was a little awkward, and painful, but we eventually got the pants to my knees. Then Dagger slipped plastic flip-flops on my feet, saying, “Doc said not to let you walk barefoot in this place. He said they come across some scary shit in the animals, and he don’t want all the germs and shit in your wounds.”
Forgetting about my damaged soles, I hissed as I stood and put weight on my feet to pull the pants all the way up. Now upright, I could definitely feel the effects of the painkillers. The inside of my head felt like fluffy cotton, causing my thoughts to drift occasionally. I grabbed hold of the IV pole which was on wheels. Luckily, a big ol’ black leather biker boot shot out to stop the wheels.
Dagger had his arms wide and braced as if not sure if I was about to topple over or not. “Need to take a leak, kid?”
My bladder squeezed as if to remind me I even had one. “I think so.”
For being off the table and walking to a bathroom, and back across the room, even though it hurt like hell, I was rewarded with little pieces of chicken and different flavored dipping sauces. My taste buds were being zapped with so many flavors it was hard to pick a favorite, but then I thought of my girl.
“Honey?” snarled VP. “Out of all those choices, you pick boring ol’ honey?”
With a genuine smile, I nodded. “Yeah. It’s sweet. Lacey loves sugar kisses.”
Both men grumbled about “up-chucking” their lunch.
Not me, I kept eating. I ate so much I think I earned respect from the deadly bikers.
When Prez opened a pill bottle, I noticed the label and nodded. “Antibiotics. I must finish the bottle. Know the routine.”
His head jerked back. “You’ve never had pain killers, but you know about these?”
“Yeah, fortunately for Lace and me, our brothers never listened to doctors—never finished their prescriptions. Lace and I knew to stock up on them for when—” I stopped when noticing the heavy stares from Dagger and Lynx. It was shocking to realize I had let down my guard with th
em. That had me suddenly in the mood to not share more secrets. “Uh, no big deal. We just needed them sometimes.”
“Yeah… Sure,” said Lynx, who was trying not to appear as baffled as he was. “No big deal.”
Dagger followed suit. “Yeah, we get it. Like I said, shit happens.”
“It sure does.” I peered down to my new flip-flops on the linoleum flooring. Here I was getting shoes, medicine, and food, but had no idea how my girl was being treated. “Do you, uh, think it would be okay if I saved some of this food and,” I blindly gestured to the meds in his hand while keeping my eyes on my new shoes, “for Lace?”
Silence lingered before Lynx blew out an exhale. “You will never move on without her, will you?”
That had my head finally snapping up to see the two men I needed to understand what she meant to me. “It took years of my childhood to learn that my life isn’t normal. That not every boy had—” I swallowed, deep secrets choking me. “She was taken from me once before.” My chin started to tremble. “But I found her again.” I slammed a hand to my wounded chest. “Air. She is the air for my damaged lungs.”
Lynx faltered back a few steps, shock owning his face while he nodded, patting his chest as if one-hundred-percent understanding my meaning.
“Ah, shit,” mumbled Dagger.
I fought tears. “The only air I will ever want. Please don’t punish me because you think I’m young and don’t know what I want or need. Because… it’s her. It will always be her.”
Still somewhat stumbling, Lynx turned from me and left the room. The back of his leather vest read Steel Stallions with a logo of a horse to match under it. The horse looked strong, his mane blowing in the wind.
“Give him a minute, kid,” said Dagger.
Trying to catch my breath I hadn’t realized I lost, I nodded. “Sorry.”
“Nah. Nah. Nothing to apologize for. That man only has a couple Achilles heels, and you have managed to tap both of them today.” He chuckled. “That may be a saving grace for you. He’s a powerful ally to have on your side. And, kid? He’s on your side. Trust me. I can read that man’s thoughts.”
I was yet to have the capability to understand what a profound statement had just been made. My thoughts were full of one only. “Have you heard any more about Lacey?”
“We’re being told the doc that found her at Serenity is invested. It seems you both have found guardian angels. So, no need to save food or meds for her. She’s covered. But we will need your and Lacey’s full names so we can see if there’re any missing person reports filed.”
All the food in my stomach suddenly soured. “W-Why? Are you going to send us back? I won’t go back. I won’t take Lacey—”
“Breathe, kid. Breathe. We’re not sending ya back.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Police are involved, kid. That complicates things.”
I swayed on my feet. “Tell me how to uncomplicate it.”
He grabbed an arm. “Easy, Nine Lives. We’ve already discussed there ain’t no ten.” He pulled me toward the table. “You need to sit before you hit the ground.”
Barely registering that I was sitting again, I asked, “Will the police take her from me?”
“No. It, uh, it’s more like they will keep an eye on her, so… we just have to get creative.”
Just the thought of losing her was making it hard to breathe. “Creative?”
“As Prez said, we don’t exactly follow the laws the Po-Po try to enforce. So, we get creative and work around them.”
It’s wild to think about it but, my brothers trying to end my life actually gave me a brand new one. On Sunday, when my body should’ve started its decaying process in some woods, it was healing fast and now in a car headed for a rental house.
Lynx wouldn’t tell me how much my “vet” bill was, or the sweatpants and T-shirt I was wearing, but I got him to agree to start a tab that I could pay off once I had a job.
Technically, Lynx and Dagger were strangers to me, but it didn’t feel that way. You could say we clicked. It was nice being around men who didn’t want to hurt me. Being on guard all the time was exhausting.
Lynx and Dagger kept teasing me for being a Bulldog, but it was truly them who were the dogs ready to attack. In a car driving down the road, they sat in the front, both with scowls, watching our surroundings like hawks.
I was in the backseat staring out the passenger window. “Where the fuck am I?” There were tall mountains off in the distance. I didn’t recognize the terrain one bit. I had lived where everything was flat.
Dagger, from the passenger’s seat, said, “He’s been so worried about Lacey that he’s just now asking.”
Prez turned the steering wheel. “Crazy ass Pup, you’re in Colorado.”
“What? Damn.”
“Where you from?” asked VP.
“Kansas. Hey, can I see the picture again?”
VP tossed his cellphone over his shoulder. “Sure thing, Nine Lives.”
In his photos, there she was. A Prospect had managed a picture of Lacey sleeping in a hospital bed. My eyes welled seeing her safe. I could see past all the scrapes the dirt road caused her ivory skin. My finger grazed his phone. “My Pretty Girl.”
Stopping at a red light, Lynx told me, “They don’t know who she is. She didn’t have an ID on her.”
“She wouldn’t,” I replied. “Her mama never took her to get her learning permit.”
In dismay, he peered over his shoulder. “She’s got a mama? You told me there was no one to call to help her.”
Since starting to see my own mother in a different light, I couldn’t help but recognize the similarities between the two moms. I never met the woman, but she never took Lacey to the doctor or anything. Shouldn’t she have done more to care for her daughter? Her suspicious injuries? Or was it truly just that her mom was always working her two jobs and was unaware of what was happening under her roof. Either way, her mom missed or ignored some serious signs.
Wishing neither were true, I exhaled. “And I didn’t lie.” I stared out the window again. “I’m all she’s got.”
“Not no more, you hear me?” Lynx was getting fired up again.
I could feel my shoulders caving when they should’ve been straightening. “I hear ya, but be patient with me. The rule ‘too good to be true’ keeps rolling around in my head. Right now, hope feels like a double-edged razor.”
“Fuck, kid,” grumbled Dagger.
Pulling into a driveway, I saw a white and blue house that sat high due to the two-car garage underneath it. It was way nicer than the home I grew up in. My home used to look real nice, too, but started falling apart after my dad died. I figured my mom wasn’t able to raise three boys and tend to all the upkeep. The pool turned green and the paint faded. The roof eventually started leaking. My brothers never helped to change the deterioration. They were too busy terrorizing me in their spare time.
“Ugh,” complained Dagger. “Neighbors.”
There were several other houses on the street, but they weren’t on top of each other like where Lace and I grew up.
Lynx hit a button on the car’s visor that opened the garage door. He pulled us in, right next to two beautiful dragons—black Harleys with gleaming chrome.
Getting out of the car, I paid more attention to not banging my door into the bikes than to all my injuries. “I love the sound of your dragons.”
“Dragons?” asked Lynx while shutting the driver’s door.
We were still in the garage as the large door slid shut. “Yeah, your bikes sounded like angry dragons the other night. It was… comforting, if that makes any sense.”
Dagger beamed. “My HOG is life. You’re making perfect sense to me.”
The shiny bikes were similar, but each had different renditions of painted horses and running wolves. The artwork was outstanding.
“Wait.” While gesturing to the designs, I thought back… “You said I sure ain’t no wolf yet.”
Putting a key into the door of
the house, Lynx smiled. “That day will come.”
We walked up two steps and through a small laundry room that Dagger and Lynx barely fit in, then entered a kitchen that opened up into a large living room. “Wow.” I gazed about. “This house is way bigger than mine—I mean, where I used to live, I guess.” I started getting nervous. “I, uh, don’t think Lace and I can afford this house. Can we rent a smaller one?”
Both men blinked.
Dagger tilted his head. “What? No, this rent ain’t fallin’ on you, kid.”
“Nah, we got you covered.” Lynx tossed keys on the white kitchen counter. “And, once we get your girl, we head home. Our roots are in Austin.”
“Texas?” I was stunned. “Then, why are you here?”
“Some club business, until we came across,” Dagger grinned at me, “a situation.”
I winced out of guilt and aches due to healing stab wounds. “Sorry about that.”
Lynx reached into the fridge. “Dag, the bitches hooked us up. Want a beer?”
He teased, “Did we find Swiss Cheese in the woods?”
“Why, yes, we did.” Lynx tossed him a bottle of a clear liquid that read Sol. He tossed me a bottle of water.
I didn’t cringe in pain when I caught it. There was no way I was going to puss out like that in front of these guys.
“Swiss Cheese.” After chuckling, Dagger popped the cap then took a healthy swig. “The kid has so many road names already. And the boys haven’t even met him yet.”
“Road names?” I asked, ignoring their crude sense of humor that I truly found funny.
Prez shrugged. “Nine Lives, Pound Pup, Bulldog, Swiss Cheese. Now you’ve added Dragon.” He took a big sip of his beer, then exhaled. “Yum. Mexican beer. I’m missing home even more.”
I asked, “If you don’t live here, who filled your fridge?”
“Trusted wives of a sister chapter. You okay, kid? You’re lookin’ a little pale.”
Trying to ignore pain and a flipping gut, I brushed it off. “All good.”
Hostile Saint (Steel Stallions MC Book 1) Page 4