by KJ Dahlen
Condor frowned. “Who is your father and why would he have you beaten?”
She exhaled loudly and shook her head. “That, my rescuer is a long story.”
“I got time,” Condor insisted.
“You may have time but I don’t know you. Why should I tell you anything?”
“Because little girl, I need to know who you are and what happened at that cemetery.” Condor growled.
“Why? I’m not your problem.”
“You are now. You’re in my house and in my bed right now. When I brought you here, you became my problem.” He glared at her. “Now talk, tell me what I want to know.”
She sighed hard and looked away from him.
He waited.
After a couple of minutes, he grunted. “So, no story? Come on.”
“My throat’s dry, can I have—”
“Yeah, yeah. Just stay here, I’ll get a bottle of water from the fridge.” He stood and made his way to the kitchen. All the while wondering why she had clammed up. He couldn’t blame her really. She had been through some real shit and she didn’t trust anyone. I wouldn’t either.
When he got back to the room, she was out of bed and staggering to the window.
Just as she got to the windowsill, her knees gave out.
Chapter Three
“Fuck.” Condor seethed and rushed to catch her before she fell through the glass.
“Ohh!” she gasped out when he swooped her up.
Carrying her back to the bed, he laid her down. “What the hell?” He glared down at her. “You aren’t in any fucking shape to be...” he paused. “...escaping.”
She looked pale again, and huffed out a shaky breath. “Yeah, I found that out quick enough.”
Condor went around the bed and grabbed the bottle of water he’d dropped. He came back around and looked down at her. He waited until her eyes focused on him. “Are you really thirsty?” he asked. “Or was that just a ruse to get me out of the room?”
She let out a weak sigh. “No, I am thirsty.”
He sat down again, and twisted the cap off the water bottle. Handing it to her, he then reached around and supported her back to sit up more, so she could drink.
As he held the bottle for her, he caught her sweet scent and it instantly hit his senses. Damn...
She drank as her body trembled.
With the shape she was in and her weakness, Condor pushed his instant attraction away and pulled the bottle back. “We don’t want you heaving. You can’t drink a whole lot yet.” He gently lowered her back to the pillows.
Nodding, she sank into the softness. For a long few minutes, she stared up at Condor as if taking him in. Studying him like a bug under a microscope. Then she finally spoke, “It all began before I was even born. My mother was a Biker Bunny as you call them but she wanted so much more. She wanted the status of being the club’s first lady. She thought if she could trick the president into getting her pregnant, he would give her the status. But he didn’t.” She shook her head. “Instead, he kicked her out of the club telling her to get rid of the kid and get on with her life. She tried to make it on the outside but she just couldn’t do it. She got mixed up with some...” she paused. “...let’s say, some not so nice characters before she had me. Then she got hooked on drugs just before I was born. After she had me, she tried to sell me to my father but he went looking for her and damn near killed her. I think if he could have found me that night, I wouldn’t be here. But my mom was smart for once in her life. She wouldn’t tell him where I was.”
Condor sat and took in her story, his disgust rising higher and higher
“Then she left town and she stayed away for ten years. When she came back, he found her and it was then when he killed her. I stayed with my grandmother until she passed away when I was thirteen. Then I went into the system. The only problem I had was there was no record of my birth as I was born at home without a doctor or midwife present. So, I had no birth certificate. That made it hard for my dad to find me and it saved my life at the time. Then one day when I was fourteen, one of my dad’s men saw me walking home from school.” She paused then looked at him with tears in her eyes. “He dragged me into an alley and told me there was a standing order out for all his men, if they found me to kill me. He even put a price on my head. Then he stabbed me. He wouldn’t let me go but instead, he just watched as I started to bleed out. He waited until I passed out to leave me there. The bastard must have thought I would just bleed out.” Shaking her head, she said, “I don’t know how I lived but I did. I lost over half my blood supply. I knew I couldn’t stay where I was after that.”
“What did you do?” Condor wanted to know.
“I did what I had to do and no one... unless they walked a mile in my shoes, can tell me I did wrong. No one.”
“What’s your name honey?”
She glared at him. “I’m not your sweetheart and I’m not your honey either. Stop calling me that.” She growled. “My mom named me Ricki.”
Condor caught his breath. “Ricki huh? Would that be because she named you after your dad?” He growled, even knowing he was right in thinking she was named after her dad, Richard Kyler, a.k.a. Slasher, the President of the Road Dogs MC and the Princes mortal enemy. Yeah, he’d figured it out. And he also knew why her eyes had seemed so damned familiar. He himself had met the man, years back. The Road Dogs had been the club Hammer had sold them out to. The same club Hammer allowed to kill their old President and three others of the cabinet just to get a path through to their territory, to get their drugs and guns and other contraband out.
“Yeah, that’s the bastard.” She nodded. “I see you know him all too well, huh?”
He ran his hands over his head. His dark hair tangled in his fingers, but he didn’t even feel the pull. “Holy shit, girl. Why the hell did you come back here?”
“My mom is buried here. I wanted to visit her grave just once in my life,” she said softly. “I’ve been running for ten years now and I would have thought he would have forgotten about me by now. But I guess not.”
“What happened?”
“I went to her grave and I guess I didn’t notice the three men standing a little ways away. They must have seen me though. I was walking away, when one of them called out my name. When I turned around, he laughed and said Picker must have left me too soon, if I was still alive. Then they said my dad would be happy to know they finished the job for him. They started hitting me and when I passed out, they just left me there.”
“How long were you out there?”
She frowned. “I’m not sure. The first time I woke up, it was night time and I tried to move but couldn’t. I hurt too much and I must have passed out. I woke up later and it was still dark so again, I tried to move and I managed to get to the top of the hill. I knew I couldn’t stay there, so I kept going and passed out when I rolled down the hill. I woke up and it was daylight, but I still couldn’t move very far. Next time I woke up, it was dark again.” She sighed and said, “I was just so tired of being scared, so tired of having to run all the time, of looking over my shoulder every day, just so dammed tired. I closed my eyes and just stayed where I was. I thought if I died, no one would miss me anyway. Honestly, I wished for death. It would be the kindest thing to happen to me at that point.”
Condor shook his head. He knew about wanting to die. But sometimes, it just wasn’t in the cards for a person. They weren’t supposed to play their last hand just yet.
She snorted. “Then next thing I know you come along and disturb my sleep by bringing me here.” She closed her eyes. “Why couldn’t you just have let me alone, Prince of Hell?”
Condor shook his head. “Prince of Hell, huh?”
She slowly nodded, as her eyes remained closed. “Says it on your cut.”
“The name’s Condor and yes, I am a prince.”
She showed a slight smile on her lips.
“But as for leaving you there to die...Not how we roll, sweetheart. We protect woman
and kids. Well, the innocent ones anyway.”
She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Well, damn,” she swore. “A biker with a heart? You are a unicorn my fried, a god dammed unicorn.” Just then, her belly growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten in a while. Not only that but she was thirsty as hell. “Can I have some more of that water?”
Condor nodded. “Yeah.” He handed her the bottle. “It also sounds like maybe I should make you something to eat too.” He stared at her for a long couple of minutes.
She drank some more from the bottle then paused to look at him. “What?”
“Look. I just wanna help you to get on your feet. I got nothing to gain by hurtin’ you. So, promise me that while I get you a meal that you won’t try to leave yet. Just stay a bit, take it easy, and heal before you go running off, K?”
Ricki bit at her lip and studied him for a minute. “Yeah. I’ll stay a bit. Thanks.”
Condor gave her a nod and left the bedroom.
He had to believe she was at least smart enough to stay put. He knew he looked intimidating as far as a large man went. But he hoped she could see he was only helping her. He made sandwiches for them both, put them in an old pizza box and grabbed 2 cokes from his fridge, placing the cokes in.
Then he spotted the backpack and slung it over his arm. He went in his bedroom, carrying her backpack and the food.
When Ricki saw it in his hands, she closed her eyes while looking relieved. “Oh, thank God! I thought maybe those assholes got that.” She held out her hand for the pack.
Condor handed it over to her and said, “Wasn’t sure if it was yours or not, but I took it anyway.”
“This pack holds everything I own. Thank you for safeguarding it.”
“Everything?” he asked. How could someone put their whole life in a pack?
She nodded.
Condor set the pizza box on the bed.
Ricki looked down at it. “Pizza?”
He shook his head. “No, this is my not so fancy food tray.”
She scrunched her brows.
He opened it up to reveal the sandwiches and coke bottles.
“Clever.” She gave him a slight smile.
He shrugged. “I improvise well when I have to.”
They both proceeded to eat the ham and chesses.
Condor noted she was starved as she packed the sandwich away quick. He thought he should have brought her some chips too, or made her 2 sandwiches.
They sat for a bit as she drank her coke down.
The room got quiet. It was a comfortable silence though.
Condor noted her color looked a lot better and her body seemed to relax.
Finally, she spoke again, “When my mom died, I took all the papers she had and carried them with me into the foster system. That’s part of what’s in that backpack. I had to hide them for a long time and when I ran away, I finally read them.” She paused then added, “I think I know why my dad’s men keep coming after me.” She looked away as she whispered, “...and why he killed my mom.”
“Why is that?” Condor asked with a frown.
“According to his father’s will, he will inherit a lot of money this year, but only if he has no children. If he has a child, it’s the child who will inherit the money, not Richard. Why his dad set it up that way, I have no idea but he did.”
Condor frowned. He grabbed his phone and called Talon. “You and Falcon need to get here quick. We might have a bigger problem than we realized. Bring Rogue too.”
Chapter Four
Ricki looked over at him. “What are you doing?”
“The Princes need to know this information, especially if the Road Dogs are coming to kill you. And believe me when I say... if they find out you’re here with me and that you survived, they will come here for you.”
Ricki closed her eyes and groaned.
Condor reached over and tipped her chin up, so she would be looking at him.
She opened her eyes and stared at him.
He asked, “What I’d like to know is how your mother got a copy of old Archie’s will. He’s still very much alive. He might not be the man he once was... but he’s still alive and kicking.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know how she got it but she must have taken it when he kicked her out of the club. She once told me that when she left, she never went back.”
Condor stood back on his heels and frowned. “Then if she left here, why did she come back? She must have known if he caught her, he would kill her for sure.”
Ricki didn’t say anything but instead, she looked away for a moment. She knew what brought her mother back to San Francisco, but they didn’t need to know that, not just yet if ever. That was something only she and her mom ever knew.
A few minutes later, Condor got a ding on his phone and when he checked it, he left the room.
Ricki just sat for a few minutes in the bed. She didn’t know what to do now. Here she was in the middle of another storm and she barely felt like caring, really.
Condor returned a few minutes later with several men. “Brothers, I’d like you to meet Ricki Kyler,” he introduced them.
Ricki snapped her head toward him and snarled, “I never carried that bastard’s name, and I don’t want to. My name is Ricki Jamison.”
Condor shook his head and, went on, “Ricki, this is my President, Talon. Our VP, Falcon, and Rogue.”
“Kyler?” Falcon stared hard at her. “Not as in Richard Kyler, a.k.a. Slasher from the Road Dogs?”
Condor nodded. “Yeah, that’s him.”
“Fucking hell, Condor, what the fuck did you pull us into here?” Talon asked.
Condor shook his head. “I just found her, boss. I didn’t know who she was until she told me.”
“What happened to her?” Falcon asked as he viewed the bruises.
“Her dad’s men did this to her on his own orders,” Condor told them quietly.
“What the fuck?” Talon exploded. “Her own father?”
Condor nodded.
Ricki exploded, “I am right here in the same fucking room, you bastards. Talk to me not around me. I fucking hate being ignored.” She seethed with her anger.
“Listen to the mouth on her.” Falcon shook his head.
Ricki turned her head and snarled at him, “Go fuck yourself.”
Talon came forward and gripped her chin in his fingers. They tightened when she tried to jerk away from his grasp but he held her tight. “Listen to me bitch, you need to learn some respect. You’re talking to the council members of the fucking Princes of Hell MC.”
She seethed at him through her squeezed jaw, “I treat people the way they treat me. You look at me and see a piece of shit when you don’t even know me. I’m so tired of being judged by who he is. By this Slasher fuck. I am not him. People have been doing that to me since the day I was born. You don’t know what I’ve been through and yet, you’re judging me by who my father is. Well to me, that bastard was never my father. He fucked my mother that’s all, he’s just a fuckin sperm donor. One that wanted me dead from before day on, so don’t you talk to me about respect. You’ll get it from me when you give it.”
Talon glared at her for a moment then released her and went back to where he stood before. ‘Damn, what a mouth.” He looked disgusted.
“Maybe we should take this out to the kitchen,” Condor suggested.
“No, I want to hear her say whatever it is she has to say.” Talon shook his head.
“Then ask me, not him,” Ricki all but shouted.
Talon raised a brow at her, looking disgusted by her attitude. “Ok, why does Slasher want you dead?”
“His father’s will states that Richard will inherit a shit ton of money in a few weeks from his father’s estate if he never has any children. If he has kids, the money will go to them rather than Richard. I think that’s why when my mother told him she was pregnant, he threw her out, and why he eventually murdered her. She probably wouldn’t tell him where I was. I know his men
found me four years after she died and tried to kill me. Then when they found me a couple of days ago, they tried again to kill me.”
Condor nodded. “Question is boss, how the hell did he have a copy of Archie’s will twenty five years ago. Hell, Archie is still very much alive today.”
Talon stared at him while he thought about his man’s questions. “That’s a dammed good question. Might be worth looking into.”
Rogue snorted. “I can answer at least why Archie did what he did.”
“Say the words brother,” Falcon demanded.
“Old Archie made a small fortune doing legit business and when Richard started up the Road Dogs, he embarrassed the hell out of dear old dad. There was nothing Archie could do to get his son away from the MC. Then when they went rogue, Archie drew a line in the sand. Richard crossed it time and time again. Archie had no choice but to walk away from his son. I imagine he did this for effect.” Shaking his head he added, “Archie also surrounded himself with bodyguards for protection. Richard’s been waiting for him to die for years now. But Archie is still around and that just pisses Richard off. It wouldn’t surprise me if he made an attempt on his dad’s life one more time.”
No one spoke as they thought about what Rogue said.
“What a fucking bastard.” Ricki shook her head. “He’d murder his own father just for the green? That’s really low.”
“That’s Slasher.” Talon scoffed.
Condor stared at her. “He’d murder his own daughter for the same.”
“We might be doing the old man a favor by telling him his son wants to see him dead,” Talon stated. “And that he has a granddaughter.”
“I got no family after that bastard killed my mom and my grandma died when I was thirteen.” Ricki shook her head. “I have no claim on Slasher or his family.”
“You may not think you do but you are Archie’s granddaughter. He should at least know about you,” Rogue told her.
“Why?” she asked. “Slasher never claimed me, so I’ll never know for sure if I’ve got his blood or not.”