by Jessie Cooke
“Because you’ll be helping yourself too. Someone told that MC that I robbed their bar and you helped me. We were set up, Storm. I’ve been hiding out ever since I heard, but I’m out of money and my buddy is not going to let me stay much longer. You have to help me prove we didn’t do this shit.”
“I don’t have to help you do anything. I don’t even have to believe you. You just got out of jail for robbery. Why should I believe you didn’t do this one?”
“You never came to court and you never took my calls, and let me explain what happened that day. I didn’t rob anybody. That girl I was with, we started drinking and fooling around at her place and in the midst of having a great time, she started telling me how she and her girlfriend robbed her ex earlier that day. I thought she was just fucking around, but she showed me the stuff they took, she said they needed a place to keep it for a few days, and she’d pay me if I let her put it in my garage. We needed the money, babe...”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Sorry, but we needed the money. All I did was help her move it into my garage. I don’t know to this day how the cops knew where it was, but since I had the stuff and they found a gun in the house I wasn’t supposed to have, my attorney advised me to plead guilty and take the deal. I could have done ten years hard time if a jury convicted me.”
“None of what you just said makes me want to help you,” Storm said, “But I do want to help myself and, unfortunately, proving you didn’t do this will go far in doing that. Where are you staying?”
“I got nowhere to go, Storm. My buddy is inside. This is his car. He says I can’t come back to his house with him, his old lady laid down the law.”
“Sounds like a smart woman,” Storm said, “So how do I get in touch with you?”
“I was hoping you would let me stay with you.”
Storm was laughing when she heard Ryder’s voice behind her. “You’re welcome to come stay with me.” Things happened fast after that. Denny pushed the car door open and Storm tried to kick it closed before he got out. He was stronger than he looked, however, and he shoved it into her so hard that she was knocked back into her own car. She was slightly dazed but the sound of boots on metal brought her head up in time to see Ryder running across the hood of her mother’s car, sliding across the trunk of the red one...and tackling Denny into the pavement. Denny was yelling her name, and a crowd was beginning to gather. She considered getting into the car and just driving away, but one or the other of these idiots would just follow her. Instead, she walked over to where they were, pushed herself through the gathering circle, and said:
“I hear sirens—if you two don’t want to end up spending the night in jail, we better get out of here.” Ryder had Denny down on his back and Denny looked like he was making a feeble attempt to get the much bigger guy off him. At Storm’s command, Ryder stood up, bringing Denny up with him by his collar. He set him on his feet and said:
“Don’t run.” The side of Denny’s face was abraded from the pavement. Denny reached up and touched the spot softly and winced.
“I won’t, but don’t tackle me again.” Storm heard the sirens getting louder and closer.
“I’m leaving; you two do whatever you want.”
“Storm,” Ryder called after her. “Drive him to your place, please?”
She stopped and turned to look at Ryder. God, she hated the way he made everything inside of her turn to hot liquid even when she was pissed off at him. She thought about telling him to fuck off, making him let Denny ride bitch on his bike. That thought almost made her smile, but she controlled it and told Denny, “Get your ass moving, I’m leaving.”
12
“Nice place,” Denny said as they walked into Storm’s apartment. Ryder was right behind them and Storm was still annoyed with them both.
“What did I tell you in the car, Denny?”
“To not try to make small talk. Sorry, a little nervous here. Maybe a beer would help, or some weed. You got any weed?” Before Storm could answer him, Ryder took hold of the back of his neck and shoved him toward the couch.
“Sit down and shut up.”
Denny did as he was told. He wasn’t quite as stupid as he looked, Storm supposed. She finally looked at Ryder and said, “You were watching me, again?”
“Yes,” he said, unapologetically. “Until this is over, you’re stuck with me and if you still want me to go away, I will.”
Denny snorted. “She kicked you to the curb too, huh?”
“Shut up!” they both snapped at him at once. He set his lip in a pout, but at least he was quiet. Ryder sat in the recliner, leaving the only spot for Storm on the corner of the couch next to Denny. She sat down and said, “Scoot over.” Denny moved over, an inch. A hard look from Ryder sent him moving further away to the other edge of the couch.
“Where were you the night that 92 Proof was robbed?”
“I was partying on the rez with some of my boys.” Storm rolled her eyes. Denny fancied himself a gangster, but he wasn’t even cool enough to hang with that lowlife crowd.
“Who? I want names and contact numbers.”
Denny chuckled. It seemed he was looking to get his ass beaten. “Right, I’m gonna hand out my boys’ numbers to a Skull.” Ryder stood up and Denny visibly flinched. Storm watched him curiously as he walked over and opened the front door.
“If you don’t want help, then get the fuck out.”
Denny looked at Storm; she shrugged like she didn’t give a shit. Truth was, she really didn’t. “Man, you don’t understand. Would you give out names and numbers of your bros?”
“I’m not the one trying to clear my name. Like I said, tell me what I need to know or get the fuck out.”
“Okay,” Denny said, “Fine...I’ll point you in the direction of them. I don’t know their numbers, just their names and where they hang out.”
Ryder closed the door and said, “And they’ll tell me you were there all night?”
“Yeah, they will, I think. We got pretty fucked up...”
“You’re wasting my time, and Storm’s too.”
“I didn’t do this,” Denny said. “I know I seem like a fuck-up, but I’m not a criminal. I’m a...”
“Loser,” Storm said.
Denny looked at her and said, “Yeah, thanks. I’m a loser. I lack...”
“Motivation, social skills...”
“Thanks, Storm, but I got this, okay?” She shrugged again. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but she was enjoying having a little bit of fun at his expense.
“I’ve had some tough breaks and I’ve made some bad decisions. Storm was the only good thing that ever happened to me and I fucked that up. But I promise you, man, I am not stupid enough to rob a bar that everyone in Boston knows the Skulls own. I’d have to be a complete moron, which I’m not. And that’s not even bringing up the fact that I’m not a criminal. I shouldn’t have helped those girls out that day...”
“Shouldn’t have fucked them either,” Storm put in. Ryder was looking back and forth between Storm and Denny. He seemed to be enjoying the little show as well.
Denny swallowed hard. “Right, I shouldn’t have done that either.”
“In my house, in my mother’s bed.”
“Dude, her mother’s bed? What the fuck is wrong with you?” Ryder said.
“Is this a roast or do you two want to know who I was with that night?” Denny looked like he was about to cry. Storm thought that might just make her day, and then she wondered if she was being unnecessarily mean. She looked up at Ryder and he winked at her. Every feeling she had was instantly replaced with one of lust. It was like he put some kind of spell on her and all she could think of was writhing naked with him under the sheets.
“Hang on,” Ryder said. He took out his phone and pressed in a number. After a few seconds he said, “Hey, it’s me, this guy has some names for us, you ready?” The person on the other end must have said yes because Ryder put the phone on speaker and told Denny, “
Go ahead.”
In a soft, shaky voice Denny said, “Mikey Short, he lives on the rez and works for his grandfather, Short’s Plumbing. We were at his house, all night.”
“Who else was there?” Ryder asked.
“Stinky...”
“Stinky? That’s his name?”
“It’s all he goes by. He’s a fixture on the rez, you won’t have no problems finding him.” Ryder rolled his eyes and Denny went on, “Pablo Cruz, Monte Black, and Wino.”
“I suppose ‘Wino’ is his first and last name?”
“The only name I know,” Denny said.
“You know where any of them live besides Mikey?”
Denny shook his head. “Nah, man, they’re new friends. I met up with Wino in jail and he introduced me to these guys. They’re chill, man, and hanging with them keeps me out of trouble.” He looked at Storm then and said, “Mikey’s old man said he might be able to get me a job too...if I can test clean.”
It was Storm’s turn to snort. Denny was no hardcore drug addict, but since the sixth grade she doubted he’d gone a day without smoking weed...except maybe in jail, and even that wasn’t guaranteed.
“I know,” he said. “But I really do want to clean up my life. I want to do better. If I have to stop smoking to do that, I will. But first I need this shit cleared up so I don’t have to worry some ass—I mean, some biker is going to jump me in the parking lot. By the way, how does my face look? It hurts like hell.”
Again, at exactly the same time Storm and Ryder both said, “You’re still ugly.” It was too much for Storm; she started laughing. Ryder watched her with amusement in his eyes until she caught her breath and was able to stop. Denny was looking at her like she’d slapped him in the face.
“Oh, Jesus, Denny, stop being such a baby and have a sense of humor.”
“I’ll get my sense of humor back when Dax Marshall knows I was set up and I had nothing to do with this.” Ryder had his phone back out and as he pressed in another number Denny said, “Who are you calling, man?”
“Dax Marshall. He’ll be a little pissed off that I woke him up so early in the morning, but I’m sure he’d love to meet you.”
Denny looked at Storm like he wanted her to save him. She turned her head. He might not have had anything to do with this robbery, but he was looking to the wrong person if he wanted a savior. It was time for him to man up and take care of himself. Clearing this up with the Skulls would be a good first step, and she wasn’t about to coddle him while he was doing it. She and Denny listened to Ryder talking to Dax. Before he ended the call, there was a knock on Storm’s door. Ryder pulled it open and there was a young man in a Skulls vest. The tiny patch on its front said “Prospect” and the name stitched underneath, “Tigger.” “He’s here,” Ryder said into the phone. He ended the call and said, “That was fast.”
“I was across the street,” Tigger said.
“Doing what?” Storm said, “Watching me?” Tigger looked at Ryder instead of answering her and Ryder said:
“Yes, he’s your official tail tonight. I was just icing on the cake.” Storm rolled her eyes. Sometimes his vanity was cute and other times it was just plain annoying. Ryder looked at Denny and said, “Tigger will be your escort to the ranch. Dax will be waiting to talk to you when you get there. You give him any shit, he’ll shoot you and dump your body in a canal.”
“I’m more about the knife,” Tigger said, flatly.
“Alright, he’ll slit your throat,” Ryder told Denny, who looked like he was about to have a seizure.
“That actually sounds messy,” Tigger said. “Maybe I’ll just pull a plastic bag over his head and watch him gasp for his last breath.” Storm knew they were fucking with Denny, and it was working. Her skinny ex-boyfriend looked like he was about to piss his pants.
“Whatever works,” Ryder said. “Just make sure if he gives you any shit that it’s the last time he fucks with one of us.”
“You got it,” Tigger said. He looked at Denny then and said, “Let’s go, man.”
“Storm, are you just going to let them take me? What if they kill me?”
“I’ll feel bad,” she said. “So, don’t do anything stupid.”
Storm and Ryder watched Tigger and Denny go. She waited until the door was closed behind them and she said, “Dax won’t hurt him, right?”
“Not unless he does something stupid,” Ryder said.
“You can go now too,” she told him.
He raised an eyebrow. “Okay. I’ll be across the street if you need me.”
“I don’t need you to watch me.”
Ryder shrugged. “I have my orders. Besides, have you thought about what’s going to happen when those loan sharks your mother owes money to get tired of waiting for their payments? They won’t be able to find her, will they? What makes you think they won’t come looking for the next best thing?”
“They haven’t so far,” she said.
“That’s because they got their fifteen grand she owed them, but at the end of this week she’ll be down another seventy-five, right?”
“They got fifteen grand? From who?” Storm was confused. She was working her ass off to have an extra thousand dollars to pay them by payday. Where had her mother gotten fifteen grand, and why didn’t she tell her?
“No idea,” Ryder said. “Dax thinks it came from you.”
“I wish I had fifteen grand to give them, but I don’t. For the last time, I had nothing to do with that robbery.”
“And I’m here to try to help you prove that. You can keep pushing me away, but I’m not going anywhere until this is all settled.”
“Why?”
He frowned. “Because I like you.”
“You have a funny way of showing it, sneaking around and accusing me and my mother of being criminals.”
“I never accused you of anything.”
“No, I guess you didn’t, but you also never told me you were helping Dax investigate me either.”
“Storm, you have to understand that this club is not a recreational thing for me. These guys are my brothers and this club is my life. Yes, I told Dax that I would report anything I found out back to him. But please believe me when I tell you that I believed the entire time that what I was going to report would be what it would take to clear you of any suspicion.”
“So, I’ll always come second to your club?”
He smiled. “Is that what you heard me just say?”
She shrugged and turned her back to him. She didn’t know what to think. She just knew that for once she wanted to come first and she’d set her sights on Ryder being the one that would do that. She knew that was stupid. He was full of himself. He was a biker. He was...he had his arms around her and she felt his warm breath on her neck. He was going to kill her...that’s what he was going to do.
13
“Storm. I want you. I don’t just want your body. I want all of you. But I can’t have you and my club both until I clear your name. I’m sorry if that sounds to you like I’m putting them first, but that’s not the way I see it. The Skulls are my life and that world is hard for someone on the outside to understand. But believe me when I tell you that loyalty I have toward my brothers and sisters in the club is a good thing. Loyalty is what you need, right? You lost your dad. Your mom has...spun out a little bit, your ex-boyfriend was a cheater and, I have to say, way below your league.” He felt her body shake slightly as in a silent laugh. He took that as a sign of progress. Well, that, and the fact that she hadn’t turned around and put her knee in his crotch yet. “I believe you had nothing to do with that robbery,” he went on, whispering low in her ear. “Help me, help you, prove it. Please. No matter how you feel about me, let me do this much at least.”
Storm didn’t say anything, but she put her warm hands on top of his and when she did, he pulled her back even closer. She let her body mold itself into his and she used her hold on his hands to slide them up toward her breasts. Once he was cupping them, she moved her hand
s up so that she had them around his neck. Then she arched her back and using her hold on him, she rubbed her tight butt into his rapidly hardening cock. He felt it jumping and throbbing, trying to break out of his jeans. He found her earlobe with his lips and sucked it in between his teeth. He held it there and teased it with his tongue, the whole while massaging and caressing her breasts. He could feel her nipples pressing hard into the palms of his hands even through the material of her shirt and bra. She moaned and rounded her hips, pressing back into him more tightly.
He moved his mouth from her ear to her neck and started kissing her, lightly, and enjoying the soft whimpers it elicited from her pretty lips as he did. He kissed across the back of her neck and then down to where her neck met her shoulder. He moved her t-shirt out of his way with his face and he felt her shiver as his beard made contact with her soft flesh. He felt like his core was on fire, and by the way she was moving against him and moaning, he could only guess that she felt the same way.
Storm was driving her head back into him and whimpering as he pinched and pulled at her nipples. Finally, dying to touch that wet pussy, he slid one hand down to the elastic of her sweat pants. He teased her for a while, tickling the bare flesh of her abdomen before at last shoving his hand down inside of her pants and her panties at the same time. He loved how wet she got. He loved touching her. He loved fucking her. She gasped when he touched the engorged lips of her soaking-wet pussy. He moaned into her ear as he began to rub the wetness up and down her slit, making her squirm. With his other hand, he found the hem of her t-shirt and worked his hand up underneath it, and then underneath the edge of her bra. At last he found one of her big, round, hard nipples. It was hard enough to cut glass, and he wrapped his fingers around it and began to roll it and pull on it. He could feel her getting even wetter as he did, and she was making sexy noises, gasping and groaning and practically pulling away from him.
“Too much, baby? Want me to stop.”
“Fuck, no,” she whispered. “Harder.” She had dropped her head forward so that her hair was hanging down over her face, and as pretty as she was to look at, something about that was so sexy to Ryder. He pinched her nipple hard and with the hand already in her panties, he slid a finger up inside of her. “Oh yeah, Ryder.”