“You’d fucking hate this,” I muttered to Rave’s ghost as I pulled out the folded paper with Ryder’s name on it. “You’d tell me there must be another way and to find it. I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t see it, couldn’t see the alternative unless we went into the Sinners’ clubhouse with miniguns and AR 15s. Not smart.
Sucking in a sharp breath, I forcefully pressed each digit on my cell as I damned the call I was making.
“Hello?” Ryder answered right away.
“Need some help with that bike?” Reciprocity—it was going to be the hook that would lure him into doing our bidding. I’m already a terrible father.
“Actually, yeah. I can’t seem to get the engine to stop bucking.” He took the bait unknowing the string that were attached to it.
“Well, I can swing by with a flatbed and bring it to our shop. No sense in you ripping your hair out when we’re professionals.” I’m going to hell. I just sealed my fait.
“How fatherly of you,” he said with a snicker.
If he only knew.
“I guess. I just can’t sit by knowin’ I can help.” At least that was an honest answer, I did want to help him.
* * *
“It’s definitely running lean.” Abel wiped the sweat off his brow as he stood up from checking out Ryder’s Dark Horse. “I’d check the fuel injectors too, but it’s looking like you’re going to need a new regulator and fuel pump at the least.”
Ryder rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess it’s a good thing y’all are here, because that is way over my fucking head.”
“I’ll teach you. A man should be able to take apart his bike and put it back together.” I grabbed my toolbox and pulled over a couple of stools.
“I’ll leave ya to it. If you need anything, just holler.” Abel patted Ryder on the shoulder. “It’s good to meet you, son.”
“Thanks.” Ryder was staring at the engine compartment, confused as hell.
“Don’t worry, we have all the parts in stock. You’ll be back on the road in a few hours.”
Time for some father-son bonding at its finest.
I motioned to Ozzy as he walked out of the back room.
“Mornin’ Holt.” Ozzy raised his coffee mug up to us.
“It’s one in the afternoon.” I blinked at the grizzly roughneck as he narrowed his eyes at me.
“It’s mornin’ for me,” he replied defensively. “What do you need?”
I handed him the parts list I had scribbled down while Abel and I checked out the motorcycle. “It’s all here.”
Ozzy grunted. “Don’t we have prospects to do the grunt work?”
“I don’t see any, and you’re just boondoggling around here like a schmuck. This is Ryder, by the way.” I motioned to the kid as he took Ozzy’s hand.
“Ryder, good to meet you. I’m Ozzy.”
“Likewise.”
We hadn’t told anyone else about the situation or plan. Until it could be brought to the table after Ryder said yes, I didn’t want rumors to fly or the news of new blood in the family to get back to anyone who shouldn’t know about Ryder. If we were going to make this work, the less people who knew about it, the better.
“So, Ryder…” I hated small talk, but I didn’t know what else to do while he sat there watching me take the engine of his bike apart. “Where’d you and your mom end up?”
“You don’t have to do this.” His eyes were soft as he wiped grease off his hands onto an old rag.
“Do what?”
“Do the whole getting-to-know-me thing. I mean, at the end of the day, we’re just two strangers who have a weird connection. This was probably a bad idea.” The way he looked so defeated made me want to try even harder. It was a weird situation, but I was his father, and I needed to at least try to get to know the guy.
“I’m not doing anything. Look, kid, I have no idea what I am doing here. I don’t know what to say or ask. I just know I was robbed of being your dad for nineteen years. You’re grown, and I fucking get that. You don’t need a father but I can at least be your friend, and we can try to get to know each other.”
“Okay. I grew up in Lawrence, Kansas—lived there my whole life. A little over a year ago, I moved to Atlanta for a welding apprenticeship, but the company downsized last month and I was laid off. Figured it was time for another change. I hopped on my stallion and here I am. I don’t know what the fuck to do with my life at this point. There’s nothing to go back to, and I have no idea where I’m going. That’s me in a nutshell.” By the time he was done rambling, I had the compressor and fuel pump out and ready for the replacements.
“Your mom still in Lawrence?” I asked before taking a swig of my beer.
Ryder’s lips pursed as he rubbed the back of his neck. “She’s currently a resident of the Alpha Recovery Center out there. Here’s hoping tenth time is the charm.”
That stung. I knew what it was like to have a junkie for a mother. At least Pauline was still alive, but I hated that my kid had to grow up in a similar situation to what I had.
“I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say.
He shrugged. “At least she’s getting help, right?”
I handed him a fresh beer from the cooler. “My mom lost the battle right before I met your mother. So, know that when I say I know what you’re going through, it ain’t me just blowing smoke up your skirt.”
“You like working here?” It was palpable how much Ryder wanted to talk about anything else in the damn world.
“Don’t know anything different. Abel’s old man had me start working here when I moved in with them in high school, and I’ve been a grease monkey ever since. I also help run our bar, the one that you stumbled into the other day.”
“Everyone seems pretty chill around here.” Ryder’s glare was locked on the top of his beer can.
“This place is a catchall for lost souls and broken spirits. We make it work the best we can. We’re all kind of a dysfunctional wreck of a family, but it has its moments.”
I was about to keep spilling my guts about the love I had for my organization and the rest of the people I thought of as family, but then Raine came into the shop with lunch for her dad.
“Hey, Holt. Is Dad in the back?” She smiled at Ryder, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
Shit.
They made goo-goo eyes at each other while I answered, “Yeah, I think Abel’s on a call in the office.”
“Thanks. I’m Raine.” She never took her eyes off of Ryder.
“Ryder.” He clambered to his feet, shaking her hand like a fumbling goober.
“It’s nice to meet you. See you later for my bartending lessons, Holt.” She smiled sweetly in pure Raine fashion.
“I’ll be there, little lady.” I looked from one to the other scared of the connection that were undoubtedly making.
Her hips waggled away, Ryder’s mouth salivating more and more with every swish.
“I want in,” he stated.
That was too easy. Leave it to his libido to get the better of him and make him want to stick around. What did he think? That I was born yesterday? Still, I let it go. He was barking up the wrong damn tree—Abel kept his daughter on the tightest of leashes. Over his dead body would she end up with someone like us, and Ryder was proving to be a ringer.
“No, you don’t.” Rave’s words all those years ago replayed on a loop in my head. I would never want that for any child of mine. It’s too fucked up and far too dangerous. I had held onto those words tightly and in that moment I realized how true they were.
“Well, I already ride a bike—isn’t that the whole point of the motorcycle club thing, anyway?” Ryder’s idea of our organization was so far off base to was almost comical. I could feel the idealism inspired by the media and movies emanating from deep down.
“That’s so far from the point. Yes, we’re motorcycle enthusiasts, but that is just the smallest tip of the iceberg.” I wanted to tell him about the death and heartbreak
that came with wearing our skull and bones on his back but I knew that I would be failing Abel and ruining our diabolical plan.
“What else do I have going for me?” Ryder’s smoldering eyes locked with mine. “I need something, and this seems as good a place as any to stick around for a while.”
“If you want in, there’s only one way they are going to let that happen. We don’t trust outsiders. It was a stretch for me to even get your bike in here today.” There was no going back. Ryder was going to do our bidding, and he had no fucking clue what he was asking for.
“What’s that?” he asked naïvely.
“You have to prove yourself, and it ain’t going to be easy.”
“What do I have to do?”
Chapter 5
“You sure about this, kid?” Abel asked in the back office from behind his desk in the bar.
Ryder was standing in the corner, resolute in his determination to show us how much he wanted to be part of our fucked-up family. “Yeah. If this is how I’m going to prove to you guys that I have what it takes to make it here then I’m game. I’ve never backed down from a challenge before—ain’t gonna start now.”
“You’re going to have to get in good with those fuckers and make them think you’re one of them. It’s not going to be a walk in the park to say the least. They will test you. They will try to break you down. I hope you’re good in a fight and are a half-decent shot because they are going to lay into you hard.” Abel was right. I didn’t even think about how much Ryder was going to have to deal with to prove himself to the Sinners.
Ryder rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve never shot a gun before.”
Abel laughed. “Fuck, if he didn’t look like your doppelgänger, I would swear he wasn’t your kid just from that statement alone.”
“Well, there ain’t any time to waste.” I took my Beretta Nano out of its ankle holster from the inside of my boot. “We’re going to start with the basics.”
“Is that a damn toy?” Ryder asked, and Abel about died from laughter.
“Kid, you’re going to have to learn how to handle something like that before you can upgrade to something you think is manly.” Abel always put in his two cents, and it was one of my favorite things about him. He was a dick so I didn’t have to be.
“Take a seat. You’re going to learn everything about this puppy.”
I pulled the chair next to me out for Ryder.
He sank while Abel watched with amusement.
“The Nano is a locked-breech, striker-fired, double-action only pistol with no manual safety,” I began, watching as Ryder tried to focus on something he knew nothing about. “First things first: field stripping.” I held the gun in my hand and went step by step on how to take the gun apart. “Remove the magazine and make sure the chamber is empty.”
Ryder scooted closer to get a better look at what I was doing as I let the mag fall into my hand.
“Next you have to depress the striker deactivation button, which is over here on the right side of the grip frame, near the rear, to uncock the striker, which is this right here. Then you turn the disassembly pin on the right side of the gun, here, just above the trigger, approximately a quarter turn counterclockwise. Move the slide forward off the frame, and then lastly, you remove the recoil spring assembly and the barrel—and there you have it.”
I swiftly put the gun back together and handed the firearm to my son. “Now it’s your turn. You need to be able to take it apart and put it back together correctly and quickly before you even think about shooting the damn thing. Practice makes perfect.”
* * *
“Nice one!” I beamed with pride, checking out Ryder’s tight grouping.
It took about a week for me to be comfortable enough with Ryder’s shooting ability to send him off on his mission. I was edgy as fuck. He was calm as hell.
“Thanks.” He grinned as he took the target sheet from me to get a better look at it.
“I think you’re ready.” It was a bittersweet moment. I was proud as all get out of how hard Ryder was working to get ready for what was in store for him and the paternal side of my outlaw core was exploding with elation. At the same time, I knew I was going to have to send him off to fend for himself, and I wasn’t going to be there to protect him like a father should.
“I really am.” He puffed his check out as he beamed over at me.
“So, the Sinners hang around a bar not too far from here called Mac’s. I got you a motel room about a mile down the road from there. Here”—I handed him a duffle bag I had packed—“there are a couple of burners in there, a Beretta APX with the serial number stripped, and enough cash to get you through a little over a week. It shouldn’t take you longer than that. You’re to check in at least once a day. If you go more than 24 hours without a calling in, I’m coming to get you. No text bullshit. Always call and change out your burners often.”
“Got it.” He grabbed the bag from me, shoving it into the saddlebag of his bike.
“Don’t forget: you’re new in to the area, stumbled into the bar. You’ve never been to this part of town. You don’t know any of us.” I sighed—this is it.
“Should I make up a name or some shit?” he asked, getting on his bike.
“Fuck no.” I lit a cigarette. “The less you have to remember, the less of a chance you’ll fuck up and blow your cover. If you tell the truth, there’s nothing to remember when they start in with the standard third degree.” Odin’s words of wisdom rang out in the cool night air. Even though he was a jackass, he had been right a lot of the time.
“Well, here goes nothing.” Ryder was off, and I had a weight in the pit of my stomach that made me want to hurl.
* * *
“This is a bad idea,” I mumbled over the top of my whiskey glass before killing the contents.
“It’s going to be fine,” Abel reassured. “Get that doubt out of your damn head. It’s time to let the guys in on our little plot.”
I got up from the table in the back room and ambled into the main room of the bar. Sending out a loud whistle was all I had to do to call the ranks to church.
Within minutes, all of our men were sitting around the worn oak with cigarettes lit and strong drinks in hand.
“I appreciate all of your patience over the last week. Before we dive into all the crap I have to fill you in on, I just want to remind you that Rave’s memorial service will be here on Saturday, starting at four.” Abel’s face went blank for a few seconds. “It would mean a lot to Crickett and myself if everyone, including your families, came this weekend. She’s been a trooper through all of this and I know she could use all the support she can get right now. She’ll never admit it, but Rave’s passing has hit her really hard, just like I know it is hitting many of you.”
“We’re all coming, brother.” Trent looked around as everyone nodded in agreement.
“That brings me to our big news: we have a mole going into the Sinners organization to get to the bottom of what happened.” Abel didn’t miss a beat in spitting out our secret.
Every man’s eyes grew ten times as they all started mumbling to each other in disbelief.
“How the hell did you pull that off?” Ozzy spit on the floor after questioning our new leader.
I cleared my throat. “Turns out, I have a son. He showed up here the other day and we were able to talk him into helping out the club.”
“You got a kid none of us have heard of to do our dirty work? How the hell are we supposed to be all right with this one? It should have been brought to the table.” Red was on his feet, yelling at Abel.
Abel put his hand up. “Look guys, we needed to get him behind enemy lines quickly and with the least amount of fuss as possible. I made the call, and that is final.”
“This better work,” Red growled as he took his seat.
“It’s going to. We can trust him.” I didn’t know if I believed the words coming out of my mouth or if I was saying them to convince myself.
Ch
apter 6
Searing pleasure quickly woke me as Pauline’s lips wrapped around the head of my morning wood. The way her tongue played as she sucked in my length was the perfect way to be woken up, hands down. Instinctively, I knotted my fingers in her hair, pushing her farther down.
“Good morning, darlin’,” I cooed as she looked up at me from between my legs with the smallest hint of a smile. “You better let me taste you while you do that.”
Pauline shifted on top of me, straddling my face as she leaned over to continue what she’d started. Her sweet nectar filled my mouth as my fingers gripped the tender flesh of her ass.
The muffled sounds of her moans and whimpers as I indulged her for a while was the biggest turn-on in the world.
Getting my dick sucked was nothing short of amazing, but knowing I was pleasuring her while it was happening made it that much better.
My phone blared from the nightstand, ripping me from my sex-soaked dream of reminiscence about years past.
“Ryder?” It was time for his morning check-in, right on schedule.
“We need to meet,” he barked quickly.
He had been behind enemy lines for just about five days, and finally he had something more to report than getting drunk with the new guys and prospects. He hadn’t even met the higher-up guys yet. They were lying low for good measure, and I didn’t blame them. I would have been doing the same damn thing. They knew how big the targets on their backs were.
“Go to the 24-hour diner. I’ll meet you there in ten.”
* * *
Ryder took longer than I would have liked to join me at the table. When he finally slumped down, the glaring shiner under his right eye smacked me in the face.
“What the fuck happened to you?” I whispered as the server filled his coffee mug.
He waved me off. “It’s nothing, just a little bit of a scuffle with one of the prospects when he got drunk last night. It was totally worth it though.”
The Unacceptables Series Box Set Two: Books Five through Nine with Exclusive Bonus Chapters Page 22
