Connected in Code: (Ravage MC Rebellion Series Book Four) A Motorcycle Club Romance of Wrong Way & Hayden

by Ryan Michele

  She cut me off, holding a finger in the air. “No. Every relationship you have had in your life has been difficult. Not one has been smooth sailing. You need to think of the situation like this. If Wrong Way were to die in the next thirty minutes, what would you do?”

  The air left my lungs as my insides wound up so tight I couldn’t move an inch. Dead. Gone. That thought was too terrifying to put into realization.

  Sitting in the same place, unmoving, was what I did for the next few hours, letting that realization sink into me.

  It felt as if my heart went with him. Dead. Gone.

  41

  Wrong Way

  “She’s still icin’ ya out?” Warden said, leaning against the doorjamb. I’d just gotten back to Hayden’s house after another failed attempt to see her. I got why she was pissed, but I needed her to talk to me. There was too much that hadn’t been said.

  “Pretty much.” I attached the drywall and began to mud the surface. The hole needed to be fixed and on the other side of it, I was using steel. That way, if anything was to happen again, no one could get inside this room. Fuck, I was thinking of putting steel on all the walls at this point. Make it a safe room.

  It took several of us to pull up the carpet and rip up the plywood beneath. Her asshole of a father’s blood seeped all the way to the wringers. Those we doused with bleach, not wanting to fuck with the main structure of the house. Then we put in all new flooring.

  Her computers were still at the clubhouse, just on the off chance another cop, besides Kenny, would come by to look at the place. Kenny was filtering most of it and keeping the paperwork as clean as he could should the feds decide to take an interest in the case. One never knew once the Ravage MC name was brought up.

  My brother was a good guy through and through. While we led very different lifestyles, he had my back and in this case, Hayden’s too.

  “Tough spot, man. She’ll come around.” He shifted off the frame. “Just don’t give up.” He turned and was gone. A man of few words. But ones that were very true.

  Life always gave us curveballs. Hayden was mine. Hitting me right between the damn eyes.

  “Hello!” I heard Grams say and bolted up, heading to the door. There were several tools out, and I didn’t need her falling over a cord or something. That was the last thing she needed, a broken damn hip.

  “Yeah.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Yeah, Reid, really? That’s how you say hi to me?”

  Walking up to her, I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her cheek. It felt good to have her embrace. I didn’t realize how much I needed it until she gave it freely, and I was able to soak it in.

  “Now that’s better.”

  We broke apart, and she looked around the room. “When’s she comin’ home?”

  “Don’t know. She won’t talk to me, and Ms. Janey is her watchdog.”

  Grams chuckled. “Oh to be young again. I always loved the push and pull of a relationship. It was how you solved the problems that was a true test of the strength together. You both are stubborn creatures.”

  “She certainly is.”

  Grams shook her head. “And you are too.” She motioned to the couch. “Come sit.” I followed, holding her arm so she didn’t trip. We’d cleaned up the mess the shattered television left and put a brand new one in its place. While that asshole knocked Luna out, she didn’t have any cuts, so there was no blood in this room.

  “Talk to me.”

  I told her what she needed to know to get the point without the actual details. The less she knew the better, but she wouldn’t stop until she got what she wanted.

  “Come here,” she ordered and I did. She reached up and smacked me upside the head, my hand flying up to where she hit.

  “What the fuck?”

  “What the fuck…” she grumbled. “You know, it took me two years of her living in this house before she’d even say hi to me. She’d wave, but never said the word ‘hi’. It took another year for her to actually start talking to me. Small things about the heat or grass. Then about another seven months before we could start having a conversation. It took a total of four years before she came over and had tea with me. She’s only lived here for six years. And let me tell you, she’s worth the fight, the wait, and so much more.”

  While I knew this, I also knew where she was going with it, and it wasn’t going to help the situation.

  “And how did it start between you two?” Grams asked, and I knew it had been a dying question on the tip of her tongue for a while now.

  “First saw her when she was weeding your flower bed in the backyard.” I remembered her dark hair pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head. Her shorts were jean cutoffs that hugged all the right places. The tank was a normal every day one, but the way she wore it had my cock growing hard.

  “Right,” she said. “And what did she do?”

  I remembered it so fondly. “She said hi, took off her gloves, and went through the gate, into her house and didn’t look back.” And that ass when she moved swayed with each step. The short shorts helped as well. A view I’d never forget.

  “Yep. And…” she pushed.

  “I really don’t need to rehash this.”

  She gave me the eye. The only woman in the world who could give it to me and I’d talk. So I did. “Small things. She was rollin’ up the hose when I was here, and I went over and helped her.” I smiled. “She told me should could do it, but I won that round. Then there was the tree that lost a branch in her yard. She had a chainsaw she rented from a store and was gonna cut it up.” Laughter bubbled this time. “Gettin’ that thing away from her wasn’t easy. Woman almost took off my arm.”

  Looking over to Grams, her face was soft and attentive.

  “Months of catching her.”

  “And planning things,” Grams chimed in.

  “Thought you didn’t know the whole story?”

  Grams leaned back against the couch. “Know more than you think, Reid Maxwell. Continue.”

  “Yeah, planned a coupla things. Like changin’ her tire when it mysteriously went flat. It was all in good fun.” It was. The teasing and temptation she had going on made me rock hard every damn time I saw her. Not only that, there was something about her as a woman that intrigued me. It was this pull to her that I couldn’t deny.

  “About ten or eleven months ago, things started to change with her.”

  “Yeah, son. She let you in.” Her words settled in my chest, hitting me hard. Hayden didn’t let anyone in, but she let me. Fuck.

  It was my turn to fall back to the couch. “Yeah. She did.”

  “Life is too short for the what-ifs.”

  That was the damn truth. “One thing though, Grams.”

  “What?”

  I leaned forward giving her my eyes. “I have zero intention of giving up or letting her go.”

  She smiled. “That’s my boy!”

  42

  Hayden

  The phone felt heavy in my hand, almost foreign. The last time I held it was when this horror show happened, and I was sitting in my car trying to get Rocco to answer.

  Not having it for weeks felt freeing in a way. There was no connection to the outside world except for the people who were in the room with me. I actually liked it, because they were the only ones I cared about.

  Rocco stayed at Ms. Janey’s, but I’d been given the all clear to go home. My body ached, but the pain meds helped, and staying at Ms. Janey’s for another week was going to kill me. Loved the woman, but four weeks in her house I found was my limit.

  My lovely father cracked a rib and sprained my ankle. The rest of the injuries were bruises and cuts. Everything hurt, though. I swore he kicked or hit every part of my body. The doctors said it would get better, but I was still waiting for that day.

  I needed to make a call, but my hands shook. Ms. Janey’s words from days ago still rang through my brain. If Wrong Way died… I could never get past that part because the thought made my heart
bleed.

  When I arrived here, the damage to my home and office were totally erased, as if nothing ever happened. I remembered, though, every stinking second. Stepping into the room where I killed my father, I could still see him lying there in a pool of his own blood, exactly where he wanted me to be.

  It felt almost freeing. Damn, I was turning into a lunatic. Who killed someone and thought it was freeing? It was, though. While I never thought my father would come looking for me, knowing that he was burned to ashes meant I didn’t have to worry he’d find me ever again. That part of my life was over. And yes, I was the next of kin, but I did not claim him. Therefore, he was burned. Good riddance.

  Luckily, Kenny talked to the prosecutor and persuaded him that killing my father was self-defense. So I was truly free. Except my heart wasn’t.

  I knew Wrong Way fixed my house, not wanting me to come home to the mess. That was the kind of man he was, always thinking about the people he cared about. He did it for his Grams, his brothers, and me.

  Why did all this heart shit have to hurt so damn much? Where were all the smart as hell people out there who could make pills. Could they make one for a broken heart? Was that too much to ask?

  Lifting the phone and sucking in a breath, I went to his name and hit the green button. My hand started to shake, and I grabbed onto the countertop to steady myself. It rang twice before he picked up.

  “Hayden?”

  My voice caught in my throat, and I had to clear it. “Yeah. It’s me.”

  “Hey. How are you?”

  “Feelin’ okay.”

  “I need to see you.” My chest hurt because I wanted that too. Missing him was a pain that would never go away.

  “I need to see you too. Can you come to my house?” Just then there was a knock on my door. “Are you at my door?”

  He knocked again as he chuckled. It took me a moment to get there with my ankle, but I swung the door open, and there he stood, his face neutral. That I didn’t like. His expressiveness was one of the traits I loved about him. He was shut down, but I hadn’t given him much of a choice in the matter.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey.” He gave me a small smile.

  “Come in.” I stepped away from the door as he came through. Taking heavy breaths, I turned around to see he’d stopped just inside the walkway. “Let’s go in the living room.”

  Just then Luna came bounding down the hallway and came to a skid, hitting Wrong Way’s leg. He moved back and bent down, petting my dog. Taking this opportunity, I went into my kitchen.

  Not that I had anything in it, but maybe I had some tea or Diet Coke. Opening the fridge, I was in luck because someone, probably Wrong Way, had stocked my fridge, and so I grabbed two sodas. Luna’s collar jingled, telling me she was in the room. As I turned, Wrong Way stood with his hip against the counter.

  I held out the Coke to him. He took it, but set it on the counter unopened.

  His gaze lingered on me like a warm blanket, and I suddenly had to get everything out. “Thank you for fixing my house.”

  His eye quirked. “You’re welcome.”

  My hands were starting to feel clammy. He was letting me take the lead on this, probably thinking I was going to push him away again. I needed to tell him how I felt. I needed to get it off my chest.

  Like ripping off a Band-Aid, I let it spew. “I didn’t take any of your club’s information, and the fact you thought I did hurts.” An unease came over me. We’d given each other our bodies and minds, but hearts, we hadn’t really gotten to that point. Had we?

  He didn’t move from his place, sensing I needed some space for this conversation. “The words ‘I’m sorry’ seem so wrong, yet right. Want you to understand where it all came from. When I found the IP address then it linked to your home address, I thought to myself, no. She wouldn’t do this. I know it. Then we came to check it out, and there it was on your computer, blinking right before my eyes.”

  My heart felt as if he was taking a hammer to it, but I stood strong, achy but strong. This information wasn’t new.

  I had a second chance at life, and I could fall apart when he wasn’t in front of me.

  “I texted you. Didn’t you get it?”

  He pulled out his phone from his cut and began pushing buttons, then turned it around.

  Be Safe

  I’ll be over later.

  My throat caught. He didn’t get the text. Why didn’t he? I grabbed my phone, going to the text string. I must’ve forgotten to hit send because it wasn’t there either.

  “I…”

  “That doesn’t matter now.”

  He was right and as much as I hated it, we had bigger issues to discuss.

  “I told you about the brother who died.” I nodded, wondering where this was headed. “He was in charge of all our security and accounts. Years he had our trust, my trust. He gave our information to our enemy so they could bring us down. We, me and my brothers, and Rylynn almost died because of it.”

  He gave me this information, and I wasn’t sure what to do with it so I asked, “So, you have issues with trust too?”

  It was his turn to nod. “I didn’t want to believe it. But what Lemon did is still very raw with me. I vowed never to let my club down again.”

  “Wait, how did you let them down?” While I understood where he was coming from clearer, none of this sounded like it was Wrong Way’s fault one bit.

  He looked down to the floor, and a deep vulnerability came over him. It changed the air around us and sucked me in. This was an entirely new side of the strong man I’d come to know and love. Yes. I said love.

  In thinking about him only being on earth for thirty minutes, the thing that kept running through my head was I love you. I love you. I love you.

  “I should’ve caught on to his game. I let down everyone who relies on me, my parents, my club, and now you.”

  It was my turn to step to him, my hand going to his arm. “What he did is not on you. He made his choices, and look where he ended up.” I remembered the conversation about this Lemon guy, and he was very much dead. His parents, well, I didn’t know what happened other than Ms. M once shared with me she had a son and daughter-in-law, who died in a tragic car accident. That was for another day.

  He lifted his gaze, and our eyes locked. It was as if this big, tough biker split open for me, revealing all of his hurt and anger. This was the real Wrong Way, this was Reid Maxwell. The man he didn’t show the world. The one he was only showing me.

  Tears fell from my eyes, and I wrapped my arms around his body, placing my temple to his chest. It took him a few moments, but his strength came around me.

  He kissed the top of my head then laid his cheek on it.

  We stood there in my kitchen, in the small town of Rebellion, just allowing our feelings to wash out as we held each other tight. It was time for him to hear the whole story and the stuff I held back from Kenny.

  “I was terrified.” The tears continued to fall, but I had to get this out. “He was hurting Rocco, and the only way I could get him to stop was to tell him what he wanted to hear. When you were on your run, I got an email wanting me to get every bit of information on the Ravage MC. I told them no. My father was the one who sent it, but I didn’t know at the time.” I looked up at him, but he was a bit blurry. “I tried calling you, but it went straight to voicemail, so I texted you and thought I’d tell you when you got home.” My head shook as he cupped it and placed it back on his chest. “Only things happened before I had the chance to talk to you.”

  He gave me a soft squeeze. “I didn’t get a text.” I sagged. Of course he didn’t.

  “He had three big guys with him. My father said one of them knew computers and not to fuck around or he’d kill Rocco.” More tears fell as he held me tight in his arms. “Rocco, he’s my family. When I had no one, I had Rocco and he had me. His screams. I’ll never forget his screams. I hear them at night.”

  His lips came to my head again, and his arms got tight
er. It felt as if he were giving me his strength.

  “I didn’t tell your brother all of this, Wrong Way.” I looked up at him. “I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble.”

  “It’s alright. You did good.” He kissed my forehead, and I turned to rest my cheek on his chest.

  “Since I had to make it look like I was doing as told, it took me a while to get all the ducks in a row. I knew two things. One—we were dead if we stayed in that house. Two—he would want proof that I did what he asked.

  “I faked as much as I could. I thought he would want proof, so I used the local bank and an oil change station for fake, fast information. It was easy numbers, names, and addresses. After I got it all together I used your code, RRMC. That, I was able to get before you shut your systems down, but I was already in the thick of it by then. That was the only thing I grabbed from you, thinking that if what my father said was true, the brute guy knew his way around the computer and had already tried getting in your stuff. If he did, he’d know the code.”

  “How’d you get Rocco out?”

  43

  Wrong Way

  My body physically ached for the woman in my arms. If I could shut out everything in the world and never let her feel an ounce of hurt again, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

  She did so much to protect me and my brothers. That was what loyalty meant.

  As she finished, her body went weak, and I scooped her up then went to the couch. Setting her on my lap, I rested her head on my shoulder, her long hair falling down my arm.

  “So fuckin’ sorry, Hayden. I shoulda given you a way to get in touch with Ravage before I left. That’s on me. I wish I would’ve been here for ya.” The guilt gnawed inside me that I failed her. I’d never had a woman that I cared enough about to give her that kind of information, and I fucked that up.

  Her breathing began to even out. Hopefully her tears were subsiding. “Hayden, look at me.”

  It took her a minute, but she did, her eyes red and puffy. She swiped at her nose then wiped it on her pants. This made me smile.