by Lexie Davis
She took the phone. “You remember that?”
“Yeah.” He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “Get some rest.”
A million emotions stirred inside her as she stared at the door long after he’d gone. Remembering the smallest details about her hit her right in the feelings and she wasn’t sure what to think about that.
Chapter Nine
Ryker walked into an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere outside of town. The smell of blood was rancid, and the deeper he went, the stronger it got. Then he heard a man scream in pain. He rolled his eyes. Sonny was a sick son of a bitch when he wanted to be. Much like his father.
“What the hell is going on here?” Ryker asked, cringing as he glanced around the room. Their own private torture chamber. Ryker stared at the man that hung from chains dangling from the tall rafters. He was suspended onto his toes, with the strong metal links wrapped around his neck.
“I’m just having some fun with my new pal here.” Sonny waved a knife around. “Creating artwork and whatnot.”
Ryker glanced over at Vampire. “Who’s the dude?”
“The Young Blood guy that Ghost sold to.”
Ryker took a deep breath. “So we’re going to make this a blood battle?”
“Ah, yes.” Sonny smiled. “The bloodier the better. Sends the best message, don’t you think?”
He stabbed the guy with the knife, slicing the skin but not driving deep enough to actually hurt him fatally. The guy screamed out again. Ryker had never been into torture and gore. Killing was part of the business, but making a fucking mess of it was not. The older members liked to send messages and make others fear them, whereas Ryker tried to look for other solutions. He wasn’t afraid to kill, but death wasn’t always the answer.
His phone beeped and he glanced at the readout. Stepping away, he answered it. “Yeah?”
“Where are you?” It was Razor.
“Watching Sonny perform his handiwork. Why? What’s wrong?”
“That bitch you’ve been fucking has given us over to the cops. They’re coming to raid the clubhouse.”
“She hasn’t done anything. Don’t fucking bring her into this.”
“Yeah? Her daddy’s name was brought up. How the fuck did he know anything if not from her?”
“He’s been gunning for us for years. Don’t blame Ella for her father’s stupidity.”
“She’s got her claws in you, boy. She’s going to take us all down if you keep letting that cunt rule your fucking life.”
“Don’t. We’ve had this fucking conversation before. Don’t ever bring her up again. She didn’t turn us in to the police. Let me see what is going on.”
“Yeah, well, get here soon. The fucking cops are on their way.”
Ryker hung up and slapped Vampire on the back. “I’ve got to go. Make sure he doesn’t go overboard. He gets a little psycho when you give him a knife and an enemy.”
Vampire smiled. “I’ll do what I can.”
Ryker left the warehouse knowing that his father was going to put everything on Ella and demand that she be dealt with. Ratting out the club to the cops was a serious offense. He didn’t know what the fuck he would do about it either. He pulled in the parking lot and got off his bike. The police were already there, storming the building like a fucking army going to war. Ella’s father stood off to the side with a cane, watching.
Ryker pursed his lips. “I wasn’t aware that you were well enough to join the force again.”
Her father glanced over at him. “I couldn’t miss the action. Taking down you assholes will be a great accomplishment for the department and the city.”
“Huh.” Ryker rubbed his chin. “As I do recall, we are the assholes that saved your fucking ass from death.” Her father didn’t say anything. “Or did you forget that? Ella came to me. Begged me to sell her cocaine. Told me that it was the only way they’d spare your life, when you and I both know that’s a fucking lie.”
Her father swallowed hard and glanced away. “Don’t bring my daughter into this.”
“I didn’t. You did.” Ryker pointed to the warehouse. “You’re fucking with the wrong people. Razor thinks that she’s responsible. That she told you something that provoked this. Razor doesn’t like her much anyway, so getting rid of Ella would not even make him flinch.” For a moment, he saw panic in the other man’s face. “Now, let me tell you something. If anything happens to her because you started this war, I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish. Young Blood beating the shit out of you will seem like paradise compared to me.”
“Is that a threat? Are you threatening a police officer?”
Ryker didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Go take care of your daughter. She’s sick and I’m sure she’d like to have her father take care of her.”
He narrowed his eyes at Ryker. “How do you know she’s sick?”
“Because I spent the entire fucking night with her.” Ryker propped his hands on his hips. “And it was pretty bad. She had a fever and shivered all night. She was resting when I left her. Go be the fucking hero she thinks you are instead of being the fucking dick I know you to be.”
“Stay away from my daughter!” He lifted his finger and pointed it at Ryker’s face.
“Or what?” Ryker asked.
When he didn’t say anything, Ryker walked away. The man pissed him off more than anything. How Ella shared the same genes with him was a mystery. She was the most perfect creature he’d ever met and would ever meet. Her father was a fucking asshat.
“Well, what happened?” Ryker asked Razor, who sat at the picnic table outside the building.
“All the shit inside was taken out.” He lit up a cigarette. “We’re good.”
Ryker rubbed his eyes. “That asshole is to blame for this. He’s fishing.”
Razor didn’t say anything as he took a drag off his cig. Ryker knew that once Razor believed something to be true, it was difficult for him to think otherwise. He didn’t believe for one second that Ella told her father anything. She was innocent and he would do his best to convince his father of that.
“Were you with the girl all night?”
Ryker stared at him. “She doesn’t know anything about anything.”
Razor took a puff, the end of the stick lighting up a bright orange. “He had to know something to get a warrant. How the fuck would he know if not from her?”
“He’s making shit up.”
Razor snorted. “You and I both know that’s not how the DA works. He knows something. He had to. That’s the only way they could get the warrant.” He flicked the ashes from his cigarette. “Find out what he knows.”
Ryker rubbed a hand over his face. This was a fucking nightmare and it was about to get worse.
****
Ella found herself feeling better by the late afternoon. She got up and found some clothes to pull on before heading to the kitchen to find something to eat. Someone knocked on her door and she groaned. She didn’t want visitors. Her throat was still scratchy but it didn’t hurt as bad. She grabbed something to drink and went to look out the peephole.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, smiling at her father.
“I came to ask you why you’re fucking Ryker.”
She frowned. “What?”
He barged in and she closed the door behind him. He looked like a madman. Pissed off at the world and that included her.
“We raided the Roaming Devils’ place today. Did you tell him to hide the drugs? Did you tell him that you showed me that video?”
She shook her head. “Of course not. Why? How did you raid the club?”
He huffed a breath. “I sent the video to my phone. I turned it in to Mike and he got the search warrant we needed to get the bastards, except the fucking place was clean.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “You sent the video they sent me to your phone?”
“Yes.”
She gasped and covered her mouth. “Oh no.”
“What?”
“They’re going to come after me.” She shook her head. “That video was Razor’s sick attempt to keep me away from Ryker. If they find out that the video was sent to the police, then they’re going to think I ratted them out.”
Realization crossed her father’s face. Anger filled her to the point that she had to walk away from him. Tears threatened to spill onto her cheeks. She was a liability. Her father had just fucking proved that.
“I can protect you from them. You can move home. We’ll get uniforms on the house…”
“No.” She shook her head. “You couldn’t even protect yourself from them. They helped you. They saved you. Why would you do this? Why would you put me in the middle?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I wasn’t thinking. I thought you’d leave that fucker alone but you clearly have no self-control.”
“No self-control?” Ella’s voice rose. “So you think what I have with him is all about sex? That I clearly don’t go for a decent man, but a guy with a hard dick. You are no different than Razor.”
“He’s a master manipulator, Ella. It’s part of their psychotic gang. They fuck with your mind to get you to do whatever the hell they want and then they blackmail you if you ever try to get out.” He stared at her. “You need to stay away from him.”
“Get out.” Ella shook with anger.
“Ella, you’ll see it one day. You’ll see that I’m right. I know more about this than you.”
She shook her head. “You don’t know shit.” She walked over to the door and opened it. “Get out.”
Ryker stood on the other side of the door. Ella didn’t want to deal with it anymore. She felt better, but not one hundred percent. Her head hurt and her throat still ached. She damn near lost it when she saw that Ryker held a grocery bag with a box of ice pops in it.
“Ella, please listen to me,” her father pleaded.
The tears spilled onto her cheeks. She grabbed the bag and held it up for her father. “He brought me Popsicles. He’s such a fucking bastard.”
She opened the box and grabbed one, biting into it to soothe her aching throat. She couldn’t face them.
“Ella, I love you.” Her father paused. “You’re my little girl.”
She shook her head, eating her Popsicle as tears streamed down her face. A hand finally touched her shoulder and she jerked away from it. Ryker stood there with concern filling his face. Her father was gone and Ryker had closed and locked the door.
“Do I want to know what that was about?”
She tossed the Popsicle in the sink and turned to him. “I shouldn’t have come back to this town. I should have stayed in Cambridge where I belonged.”
He shrugged out of his cut and sat on the edge of the table, watching her. “What happened?”
“He told me about the raid.” She shook her head as tears fell down her cheeks. “That night Razor sent me that video, I was hurt and I was mad. I was in my dad’s room at the hospital and he asked me what was wrong. I showed it to him.”
Ryker reached for her. “Take a deep breath and calm down. Your throat will thank you for it.”
“He sent it to his phone.” Ryker smoothed his hands along her arms, not saying anything. “My dad gave it to his department and that’s how they got the warrant to search the clubhouse. If Razor finds out, he’s going to think I did it.”
“Take a deep breath.” Ryker cupped her cheeks.
“I didn’t do it.” She pulled away from him. “I mean, I didn’t do it on purpose. I-I…”
Ryker stood and pulled her into his arms. He held her tight and kissed the top of her head. “Nobody is blaming you, least of all me. Please calm down.”
“But Razor…”
“Razor would only have a problem if someone got caught, mainly him. Nobody went to jail today. It’s okay.” Ryker kissed both of her cheeks. “Baby, it’s okay. I’ve got you. Nobody is going to hurt you.”
She wound her arms around his neck. “Why does he do this when I’m sick? I felt better before he came over and now I feel worse.”
“Go lie down.” Ryker kissed her. “I’m going to work on dinner for us.”
“What?”
“I’m ordering us Chinese and we can lie in bed feeding each other.” He rubbed her arms. “I swear, everything is okay.”
“Please, just hold me.” She laid her head against his chest.
“Can I tell you something?” He brushed her hair from her wet cheeks.
She glanced up at him. “What?”
“There is nothing you could do that would ever make me think any less of you. I don’t care if you called the fucking police yourself and told them every fucking dirty deed you know.” He kissed the top of her head. “I trust you and I’m going to protect you. I don’t care if that means you fuck up and I have to take the fall myself. Don’t ever worry about what Razor thinks or what my club thinks of you. I’m the only Roaming Devils member whose opinion matters.”
She nodded. “My father is like your father. He wants to keep me away from you.”
Ryker kissed her cheek. “I’m sure your father only wants what’s best for you.”
“And that’s not you?”
He moved away from her. “Not even close.”
****
Ryker settled on the couch with Ella, watching a suspenseful movie. His Chinese order came and while he had every intention of spending the night with Ella in her bed, feeding her, she was against it. Her legs draped over his while she huddled in the corner of the couch with her dinner. He glanced over and smiled at how engrossed she was in the TV.
“They’re going to kill him.” Ella set her food box down on the coffee table and pulled her blanket higher around her. “Why is he going in there?”
Sure enough, her predictions were right and she jumped, squealing when the murderer grabbed the guy in question. Ryker chuckled at her reaction and she moved closer to him, snuggling against his side.
“You said you would protect me, right?”
Ryker wrapped his arm around her. “Always.”
When it was time to sleep, Ella got up and reached for his hand. “You’re staying the night. I’m still sick and I need you to take care of me.”
He grinned. “Now, you’re milking my sympathy.”
She smiled at him. “I need you. What can I say?”
He walked behind her to the bed. She crawled in first and settled against the pillows while he worked on taking his clothes off.
“We need some erotic music.”
“No, we don’t.”
She laughed. “Maybe I should get a stripper pole. Do guys use stripper poles?”
“Guys have their own pole. They don’t need another.” He crawled in next to her, relaxing against the softness of her pillows. She scooted closer to him, laying her head on his chest while she slipped her leg between his. He had no fucking clue how he’d sleep like that, but he didn’t have it in him to push her away.
Sometime during the middle of the night, his phone rang. Ryker groaned and extracted himself from Ella’s warmth to answer it.
“Yeah?”
“We got shit raining down on us hard.” Vampire’s frantic voice filled Ryker’s ear. “Razor wants you at the club.”
He glanced back at the sleeping beauty in her bed. “I’m on my way.”
He clicked off and went to her. She was so damn beautiful that sometimes she took his breath away. The soft light caressing her skin while she slept had him aching with need. God, he was fucked up for even thinking about going there with her again. It was a constant struggle to keep his hands off her. She deserved so much better than him, but he simply wasn’t strong enough to pull away from her.
He leaned down to kiss her forehead. He loved her. It was raw and uncharted territory, but he loved her more than he loved anything else. Ryker dressed and glanced back at her. If he were a stronger man, he’d leave the club. He’d move to the suburbs with Ella and spend every fucking day he had worshiping
her. God, he loved the way she felt against him. Loved how much he looked forward to it.
She’d told him the effects of the damn video and it physically hurt him to know that she was upset. He knew it deep inside, but hearing her voice the words was different. It was real. Nothing good would ever come of him being in the club. He would have to constantly be worrying about her and whether or not someone was trying to hurt her. He didn’t fully trust his club members to stay away. Razor was too damn determined to split them up. Her father seemed hell bent as well.
“Hey,” Ella groaned as she rolled to her back. “Where are you going?”
He stood in the middle of her apartment. “I need to leave. Go back to sleep.”
“I thought you were staying all night with me?”
He tilted his head. “Rain check?”
She sat up. “Fine. Be careful.”
He kissed his fingers and waved at her before leaving. Her apartment wasn’t too far from the club. He didn’t know what kind of shit was raining down on them, but he could only imagine. He was fucking tired and not in the mood to mess with anyone.
The moment he walked in, two burly members grabbed him and forced him to his father’s chair. Ryker frowned, staring at Vampire, who stood off to the side.
“They forced me to.” He glanced over at Razor.
Ryker turned to his father and stared at him. “What the fuck is this about?”
Razor motioned for the men to let him go and Ryker jerked free from them. His father was a pain in the ass. There were very few club members that wanted to go against Ryker, which was why he recruited the burly twins to do his bidding.
“My contacts at the police department said that the evidence for the warrant came from the fucking video I sent your little bitch.” He stared at him. “And you still want to maintain the idea that she didn’t tell daddy anything.”
Ryker blinked a few times. “Why the fuck does it matter? They didn’t get anything. Nobody went to jail. Her father was reaching and it was a bust.”
“The video had our cocaine packaging on it.” Razor pointed to what he was talking about. On the kilo next to him, there was a marking that was their brand. “Now they know which fucking dope is ours.”