The only dark spot in her life was Rider. He had moved to another chapter and seemed he was happier there than he ever had been with the Cool Creek chapter or that was how it seemed to her. Lizzie heard reports from time to time, but no one wanted to discuss Rider with her. They felt that he had been party to the attack that the Devils had planned to kill Lawless’s and Shadow’s old ladies. Lizzie knew Rider would never betray his brothers. She also knew how crazy he could go over a woman… as long as it wasn’t her. He had been careless, but that was his only crime. It seemed that it was enough for the brothers to turn their backs on him. It made no sense. She had seen them stand up for men who had done far worse.
She huffed out a breath and tried not to let it hurt so much. What did she care anyway? She was beginning to think she had dodged a bullet with Rider. He would never have cared for her. He would have toyed with her heart until he’d broken her and then he would have paraded a string of women under her nose. She would have lost her heart and never recovered. Spec was more what she needed anyway. He was her friend and sometimes when they both needed more, he was her more.
Lizzie gave herself another look in the mirror. She looked good. She was making dinner for Spec tonight and she was nervous. She looked around her bedroom and decided it would do. The little apartment had been one thing she had demanded when her father had insisted she move back to Cool Creek. He had fussed about her safety and she had stood up to him for the first time in her life. She thought he respected her for it, but it was never easy to tell with him. The only things she knew about her father was that he was a cold blooded killer when he needed to be and that he loved her to distraction. That was enough. It was all she needed to know to respect him and know that he would always be there when she needed him.
There was a knock on the door and she felt a flutter in her belly as she always did when Spec arrived. He made her nervous for some reason, but he made her laugh too and that was priceless around the brothers. She knew she wasn’t in love with him anymore than he was in love with her, bs t with hut there was something and it almost scared Lizzie. Spec was dangerous in every way and that seemed to feed something deep inside of Lizzie. Something dark and primal that shouldn’t be allowed to roam free. She knew it was there. She knew it was the same darkness that haunted Shadow sometimes and that made killing part of the family business. It was the reason she had dedicated her life to helping people.
She opened the door and smiled when he tilted his head to the side and looked her over. She looked too. He was not a normal biker and it showed in the way he presented himself. Spec preferred to be clean if possible and he liked to style his light brown hair to look messy, but it was a very deliberate look. He wore wire rimmed glasses and tended to adjust them often. He was also slimmer in build than most of the brothers. She would almost describe him as lanky although he had plenty of muscle too.
“Well, do I pass inspection?” She asked when his inspection made her want to fidget.
“Remains to be seen, but I look forward to inspecting you further Lizzie.”
His voice was quiet, but filled with promise. Lizzie could barely breathe. He had the look of a hungry predator and Lizzie felt her body grow moist from just his gaze on her.
“I’m looking forward to it myself.” Her voice was breathless and she knew he’d noticed the change. He noticed everything.
Spec gave her a half grin and walked in when she stepped aside.
“Dinner can wait Lizzie. I can’t. Not tonight.”
She wanted to ask why. She knew he had been gone for a couple of days on club business and she wondered if something had happened, but she knew he wouldn’t tell her anything. She hated the looks on the men’s faces after something went sideways. They seemed haunted. Some more than others.
Then she was being pulled against him and all thoughts flew from her head. Spec was an exceptional lover. He paid attention to what she liked and he exploited those things. He knew how to pleasure her more than she knew herself and she loved the nights when he was hungry for her.
He devoured her. Lizzie couldn’t process the level of pleasure she was being given. She screamed and sighed and begged for more and was always rewarded with anything she needed. Spec was especially hungry tonight and he loved her for hours. It was dark when he finally allowed himself release and sank down beside her in bed. He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her head as she drifted to sleep. The last thought in her mind was that he had completely avoided talking to her, again. She was too tired to dwell on it though and drifted to sleep.
Lizzie woke to raised voices, one in particular, her father.
“What the fuck was that tonight? You got a goddamned death wish?damned dwish?d
She listened. Spec sounded almost bored. “There was no danger.”
“There is a bullet hole in the seat of your bike.”
“It’s not in my ass so I’d say that’s pretty good.”
“You are too damned reckless. I don’t like it and I don’t like my daughter getting mixed up in it.”
“I don’t remember asking.” Spec sounded like he was talking to a child and Lizzie knew it would piss her father off.
Lizzie heard rustling and knew her father was pacing. Part of the rush she and Spec got from being together was the disapproval from every one. They all said he was too dangerous even if he looked like a mild mannered man.
“The risks you take don’t make any sense. Why are you always trying to get killed?”
“I’m not. I just operate under the assumption that my acceptable risk level is much higher than most. I don’t take risks that are more than I am willing to take.”
“And what happens when Lizzie pays for those risks? Do you give a damn about that?”
Lizzie heard a crash.
“I will not hear that bullshit. You should know me better than that. She is safe with me and if you ever suggest that she isn’t again, it will be more difficult for you to pick yourself up off the ground.”
Lizzie heard the door slam and then footsteps. She closed her eyes but he knew she had heard.
“I meant it Lizzie. I will never put you in harm’s way if I can prevent it. You can trust me on that.”
“I always have.”
He looked relieved. He climbed back into bed and just held her.
And they slept.
Three
Rider sat in a club house near Atlanta, Georgia and watched the women paw at each other as they danced on the bar. This was not a Defenders’ house, but they were friendly enough. The men here didn’t try to get in his business and he liked it. He didn’t want to share his sob story over a beer and commiserate like a bunch of old ladies. He liked his beer cold and his women blonde. He got both here and nothing else. He missed the club, but he was learning to be alone. It was something a man needed to be able to do, stand his own company.
Rider had gone from his parents to his riding coach to Preach. He had never stood on his own feet. It was time he figured out how to do that. He was beginning to think he was a dick and he didn’t care for his own company all that much. It was almost funny.
Atlanta was a long way from Cool Creek, but the memories had followed him. He had thought the move would revive him, but he felt more dead than alive. It was almost like Ginny had killed him and he had been living a sort of half-life since the attack. Like a fucking zombie searching for something he couldn’t name. He wanted to go home, but home wasn’t what he remembered. The brothers looked at him differently now and it felt like he was being burned. The club was all he had in the world and now he was losing that too. He’d already lost Lacey and now Lizzie. He was thoroughly fucked.
He picked up his beer and drained it and motioned for another. Alcohol no longer gave him a buzz, but it was something to do to pass the time. He needed more. He needed something stronger to blot out the pain, not just the physical, but the mental too.
Ginny had done a number on him and he was lucky to be alive. He had some nasty scars from th
e knife she had used to carve him up, but he was healed for the most part. A couple of the bones still ached where they had been broken, but he could still ride and he could still fuck and those seemed to be the only things he was good at anymore.
Rider looked up when a lanky man sat down with him. He thought his name was Shaker, but he couldn’t remember. The man was a druggie. Rider could tell by his placid skin and red rimmed eyes. He had no respect for the type. The man looked like he wasn’t quite sure of Rider. That was something else he liked about the place. They didn’t look at him as the pretty boy. He wasn’t as pretty as he’d once been and the scars gave him a look that many respected.
“You look like shit.” Shaker put in.
“Fuck off.” Rider didn’t care for the man, but he thought Shaker was dangerous so he didn’t want to insult the man. He didn’t want to look weak either though so he continued to show indifference.
Shaker just leaned back in his chair and grinned reminding Rider of a less reputable Lawless. That thought also gave him pause. Lawless was bloodthirsty and it didn’t take long to see it. He told himself to stay far away from Shaker.
“Bet I have a cure for what ails you.” He raised a brow over his light blue eyes. “Interested?”
“I doubt it.”
Shaker nodded and took a deep drag off the joint he always seemed to have. He raised a brow at Rider and offered the joint. Rider wasn’t much of a drug user, but several of the brothers smoked pot and it didn’t seem to bother them much. He reached out and took the joint hoping it would offer him a respite from the shit spinning around i bling aron his head. He sucked deep and held it for a few seconds before releasing it into the air. It was bitter, but he refrained from commenting on it to Shaker. Shaker looked pleased when he took the joint back.
“Just a few minutes and you’ll feel all better. Next time you’ll have to pay for it though.”
Rider just shrugged. Shaker got up and went to the bar for a beer and was replaced by another of the Georgia brothers, Tank looked Rider over.
“That shit will fuck you up, but it’s too late now ain’t it?” He grinned as if he was enjoying the show. Tank was the number two in the Rakers’ club. Rider didn’t like the way Tank was looking at him.
Rider frowned. “What’s that mean?”
“Means that ain’t just weed man, there’s something a lil extra in there and it will fuck you up. You better get ready for a trip, but it’s a good one. I imagine you’ll be looking for a way to make money soon enough. That shit ain’t free. When you start looking, I’ll be around. I have a few things you might be good at.”
Tank stood up and walked away. Rider felt uneasy. These boys liked their drugs and they liked them hard. He had steered clear of them, but he felt that he may have just fucked up, but who really gave a shit anyway? He would ride out tomorrow or by the end of the week. This place looked less like a haven all the sudden. He wasn’t about to get in with this bunch of junkie assholes.
A tall blonde caught his eye and for a second he thought it was Lizzie, but her face was all wrong. Her nose was too wide and her chin was too blunt. His Lizzie had the face of a pixie. Her ears were even a little pointy and she hated it. This girl had blue eyes…Lizzie had green ones…
He was beginning to feel strange, but not in a bad way. The woman gave him a sly smile and walked his way. He smiled as his mind grew fuzzy. He felt amazing. The woman said something and he threw his head back and laughed. Damn he felt so good. When the woman dropped to her knees and started working his belt he didn’t protest. He doubted he would protest if she cut his dick off completely. He was home! Finally life was fucking fantastic and he couldn’t remember why he had felt like shit earlier. He couldn’t remember why he had ever felt like shit. Hell, he couldn’t even remember who the fuck he was. He felt like he was flying. It was almost orgasmic.
He heard voices and laughed at the garbles sounds. Fuck them all. He wasn’t moving from this spot. He had found his happy place and it was right the fuck here in this chair.
“That’s so good Lizzie, fuck.”
“My name’s Mindi.”
“Not when you have my dick in your mouth. Your name’s Lizzie or you can get the fuck away from feck away me. Only Lizzie…”
It took Rider almost three weeks to run out of money. He had robbed a gas station, but hadn’t gotten caught so he robbed another. He knew he was in deep and he needed out. The boys were on him to help them run their product, but even in his confused state he knew that was a bad idea. He refused. Rider needed help and the only person he could think of that might help him was Lizzie. He picked up his phone and tried to dial, but it had been cut off for lack of payment. He’d just ride home then. He could clear his head on the road. He would feel better after a long ride.
He gathered his shit and walked out of the clubhouse. He was tired of these fuckers getting up in his shit. It was time to go home. Shaker stopped him as he climbed on his bike. The man had been like a fucking flea, always on his back.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re goin’?”
“I’ve got shit to do. I’m goin’ home.”
“Like fuck you are. We agreed that you’d run the next shipment up to Tennessee. You ain’t skippin’ out on it either.” Shaker stepped forward.
Rider smashed his fist into the prick’s face. He’d been wanting to do that for weeks.
“Fuck you Shaker. I’m tired of your shit. I’m heading home and I don’t give a shit how you feel about it. We’re square so you have no right to try to stop me. Try it again and I’ll put you in the fucking ground. You don’t fuck with a Defender. I am an officer of the Defenders founding chapter. I don’t take shit from anybody, especially not a low life snake like you.”
His cut felt like it fit again for the first time since he’d been hurt. He was a Defender and if they didn’t want him then they could say so. He was tired of running. Tired of drifting. Tired of not knowing where home was.
“You don’t walk away from us Rider. That’s a lesson you need to be taught.” Shaker shouted.
“Bring it on, you son of a bitch. I’m not afraid of your junkie ass.”
“I guess we will see about that.” Shaker laughed. “You’re calling me a junkie? Have you looked in the mirror lately you stupid fucker? You look like shit. Anybody that has eyes can see you’re high.”
Rider didn’t respond. He just climbed on his bike and rode away. He left the prick lying on the ground bleeding.
Four
Preacherman cursed a blue streak after slamming the phone down on his desk. He threw open his office door and stalked into the clubhouse.
“Where the fuck is Lacey?”
The brothers all turned at his shouted question, but no one spoke. Preach had a temper that gave him the reputation of shooting first and asking questions later. No one wanted to be in his line of fire.
“I said where the fuck is Lacey? I need a goddamned lawyer right this fucking second and I don’t have time to play games.”
“Lace is at home.” Shadow said calmly. He was one of the few people who seemed to fear nothing. Not even his father. He took another pull from his beer as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
“Get her the fuck here now.”
“I’m gonna ask you why before I make that call. I’m sure you understand why.”
“Fuck you for that Shad.” Preach shook his fist at his son. “Fuck you. She was mine before she was yours and you still don’t trust me?” Preach was furious. “How dare you think she needs protecting from me. I need her here and I need her here right the fuck now. You don’t question me. You do what the fuck I say.”
“She became mine the same instant she became yours so don’t give me that shit. She is mine to protect from everybody. What the fuck is going on?” Shad’s cool demeanor rattled most and to the others it was downright scary. It even seemed to rattle Preach at times. “When it comes to my family…I do whatever the fuck I think is best.”
Preach
crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his son who remained silent.
“May as well tell him Preach. You know what a stubborn pain in the ass he is when it comes to Queenie.” Lawless said from where he leaned against the bar sipping a beer. He seemed like nothing was amiss in the room when the fact was Preach was about to combust.
“We have a problem down in Georgia. Rider’s been arrested for rape. Is that enough for you to pick up the fucking phone? Is your brother worth a fucking phone call?”
Shadow met his father’s eyes and nodded. This wasn’t good. It would spread the brothers thin and put Lacey out in the open. None of them liked it, but Rider was a brother and that came first. Shadow pulled his phone from his pocket and made the call. He also started planning in his head how he would keep her safe.
Rider (Defenders M.C. Book 3) Page 2