Ride or Die

by Marie, Kay

  "What's a morganite," Rivet questions.

  "It's a pinkish stone. I’ve read it's the universal stone of unconditional love.

  "That's awesome!" Wren says.

  "Rivet, go tell the prospects to order some pizzas for us so we can start our girls' night!" Minx tells her. My phone buzzes, Ryan’s name flashes across the screen.

  "I'll be right back," I tell the girls and walk into the kitchen. "Hello?"

  "Hey, Sólnyshka. How are you," Ryan asks.

  "Better now." I sigh.

  "I heard about your little run-in with Lexus," he says.

  "Ugh, who told you?"

  Ryan laughs. "Hollywood texted me," he admits.

  "Of course he did," I mumble.

  "I only wish I had been there to see it," he tells me. "Just imagining you punching her is pretty hot."

  "Don't you dare talk like that right now," I say. "I'm with the girls and you won't be home for another two days."

  "You better be ready for me when I get home. I'm gonna show you how much I've missed you," he promises.

  "I'll definitely be ready." I giggle.

  "Alright babe, I'll let you get back to your girls night. I just wanted to hear your beautiful voice," he says. "I'll text you in the morning before we get on the road."

  "Okay, sounds good," I reply

  "Have fun with the girls."

  "I will," I say and we hang up. I walk back into the living room and the girls are trying to decide on which movie to watch first.

  "Cali! You're the tiebreaker. Do you want to watch an action movie or a rom-com," Emma asks as I sit.

  "Hmm, action," I respond.

  "Damn it," Rivet says.

  "Yessss," Minx shouts. Junk food, movies, and girl talk. This is exactly what I needed tonight.

  27

  Buster

  The four of us are all chillin' in one of our rooms, watching TV and eating Chinese take out when I get a text from Hollywood.

  From Hollywood: Bro, your ol' lady has a hell of a right hook!

  To Hollywood: What the fuck happened?

  From Hollywood: Typical Lexus, talking shit. Cali apparently had enough and punched her right in the face, broke her nose!

  I laugh out loud and the guys all stare at me.

  "Cali broke Lexus's nose," I explain.

  "Atta girl!" Rascal says.

  "That bitch deserved it. She's had it out for Cali from day one," Shade says.

  To Hollywood: That's my girl.

  After a while, Minx texts me. She's hanging out with Cali tonight and is supposed to be trying to get an idea of what kind of engagement ring Cali would like.

  From Minx: I found out what kind of ring Cali likes.

  From Minx: Picture attached.

  The picture is a screenshot of a rose gold ring with a round stone with smaller ones around it. It's at a jewelry store outside of Austin. I could easily stop there on our way back home. I'll call the store in the morning and make sure they actually have it in stock.

  To Minx: Good work. Thanks, Minx.

  I finish eating and head back to my room. I call Cali as soon as I get in my room to talk to her for a few minutes. It's killing me being away from her. I'm ready to get back home to her. Thinking about her breaking someone's nose has me turned on and now is definitely not the time for that. Once I get off the phone with her, I lay down for bed but my mind is racing.

  We wake up around eight to eat breakfast at the hotel before heading out. As soon as we're on the highway, I call the jewelry store. I'm in luck because they have one left and it happens to be the right size. I have enough money saved I can buy it outright and not have to worry about payments. I give the lady my card information and tell her I'll be in on Friday to pick it up. I leave her my information and Rascal's information on the off chance I can't stop tomorrow. I'll send Ras to get it while I'm spending time with Cali.

  The drive back to Amarillo seems to take longer than our drive on Tuesday. It's probably because I'm ready to finally get this shit over with and get back to Cali. I'm getting pretty anxious about proposing to her. She originally wanted to take this shit slow, but we kinda screwed that up. She's the one, though, and even if we have a long engagement, I need to know she'll marry me. I need her to be mine in every way.

  We get to Declan's warehouse after four. When I called him to tell him when we'd be here, he told me he wouldn't be able to meet with us. He has more meetings or something. Rascal pulls the truck into the warehouse and locks up. After that, the four of us stop for an early dinner.

  "Do we have to stay the night here? I'm ready to get the fuck home," Kicks whines.

  "Yes, we have to stay here. Bull doesn't want us driving late with what we have with us," I tell him.

  "When we get back, I'm going on a long as fuck ride on my bike." He lets out a heavy sigh.

  "Me too, brother. Me too," Rascal says to Kicks. Shade and I laugh. The waitress comes over to our table.

  "What can I get for y'all?" She looks right at Rascal, giving him a flirtatious smile.

  "I'll take a burger with rings and a Coke," he tells her. Her face falls when he doesn't give her the attention she was hoping for. The rest of us give her our order and she walks away.

  "Dude, what the fuck? She was fucking hot," Kicks nudges him.

  "Yeah, and?" Rascal says.

  "Shit, if you're not gonna hit it, then I will," Kicks replies.

  "Good luck with that," Rascal deadpans.

  "You don't believe I could get with her?"

  "Kicks, you have shit for game," Shade laughs.

  "Man, fuck you both," Kicks says.

  Ten minutes later, the waitress brings our food out to us.

  "Can I get y'all anything else," she asks.

  "How about your phone number?" Kicks says to her. She gives him a small smile.

  "Uh, I have a boyfriend. Sorry." She turns and walks away quickly. Shade, Rascal and I burst out laughing.

  "Real smooth," I say to Kicks and he flips me off. We eat our food, leave some cash and head out. When we get to the hotel and get settled, I call Cali but get her voice mail. She had planned on working on her menu for the bakery, so I shoot her a text.

  To Cali: Hey babe. We're stopped for the night. Call me later.

  I lay on one of the beds and turn on the TV. Shade walks in a couple of minutes later looking more stressed than ever.

  "What's up?" I say.

  "My fucking sister. She was nagging me about wanting to leave the clubhouse so she can go spend time with her boyfriend," he tells me. "Her boyfriend, who every time I'm supposed to meet the guy, something happens and he can't make it."

  "That doesn't sound suspicious at all," I say.

  "Right? But my sweet, innocent little sister won't listen to what I have to say. She thinks I'm not giving the guy a chance."

  "You are the overprotective big brother. Of course, she doesn't want to listen to you," I tell him.

  "She's fucking exhausting." He falls backward onto the other bed.

  "Why don't you let her go, but have Sketch tail her," I suggest.

  "That's another thing I don't get. Sketch has been all too willing to stay with her."

  "Don't put too much thought into it. Sketch is a good guy," I remind him.

  "I know. It's fucking weird," he says. "What's the plan for tomorrow?"

  "We'll drive into Round Rock so I can stop and pick up Cali's ring. Rascal will ride with y'all back to the clubhouse while I head to the house. Minx and Rivet are setting up some flowers and balloons so I can surprise Cali. When I get to the house, I'll call Hollywood to bring her over," I explain to him.

  "Oh shit. You're not wasting any time," Shade laughs.

  "I know what I want and I'm goin' after it," I tell him, smiling. I fall asleep waiting for a response from Cali. Raze texted me and told me she and Minx were experimenting with some new recipes Cali found. When she gets in the zone, there's no stopping her.

  The next morning we grab
a quick breakfast and get on the road. We're all anxious to be home. It takes us around seven hours to get to Round Rock. We stop somewhere we can transfer product from my car to Shade's without being too suspicious then go our separate ways. I go to the jewelry store while they head home.

  As I'm walking out of the jewelry store, there’s a suspicious car. The driver has his arm hanging out of the window and a tattoo of a clown on his arm catches my eye. It's all black and grey except for the red eyes. The driver is a hitman for the Torres Cartel. I stay as calm as I can walking to my car. As soon as I get in my car, I send a group text to Bull, Ranger, Shadow, and Rascal.

  Group message: Torres hitman outside the jewelry store. I'm gonna try to lose him before I head anywhere near the clubhouse.

  From Bull: Son of a bitch. Keep us updated. Call if you need back up.

  I start my car. When I pull out of the parking lot, I get on the highway and head north toward Georgetown. Sure enough, the hitman is following me. I pick up speed and weave in and out of cars before taking a random exit. I don't see any cars around so I run a stop sign, drifting to the left and taking off. I glance in my rearview mirror and the hitman is keeping up better than I thought he would. There are some curves in the road ahead, but I don't slow down and neither does the hitman. We drift around a few curves. After the last one, I hit the gas and fly forward. I hit call on my Bluetooth, calling Shade.

  "Buster, what the fuck is going on," he asks when he answers.

  "This motherfucker is right on my ass. I haven't been able to shake him yet," I explain. "I don't have a good feeling about this."

  Before Shade can respond, the hitman's car comes and clips the back left corner of mine. At the speed I'm going, it causes my car to spin out before rolling over three times. When it stops, I’m upside down. I'm shaken up but I don't waste any time. I undo my seat belt with one hand while putting the other hand out so I don't fall on my head. I slowly crawl out of the window and am trying to crawl away from the car when it explodes.

  Everything goes black.

  28

  Shade

  "Son of a bitch!" Rascal, Kicks, and I pulled up to the clubhouse when Buster called. His phone went dead before I could respond to him and now when I try to call back, his phone goes straight to voicemail.

  "What happened," Rascal asks.

  "Buster is in trouble," I tell him. "Get the prospects to unload the product. I gotta find Bull."

  I fly through the front doors of the clubhouse on a mission.

  "Hey, Shade! Welcome back," Porscha calls out.

  "Not fucking now," I growl out, causing her to jump. "Tink, you seen Bull?"

  "He's in his office," she responds. I head down the hallway. His office door is open.

  "Bull, we have a problem." I close the door behind me. He lifts his head, giving me his undivided attention. "Buster called. Said he couldn't shake his tail. He said he had a bad feeling and before I could respond, his line cut out. Now it's going straight to voicemail."

  "Do we know the location he was at when he called?"

  "No," I say. "I can have Tech do his thing to try to find where he was."

  "Do that and I'll call around to some contacts," he responds. "Do not say anything to Cali yet. I'll make sure to tell Raze to keep her at the house until we figure this shit out."

  I nod and turn around to leave his office. I head toward Tech's room. I knock on his door a couple of times. There's some rustling around before the door opens.

  "What's up, Shade?"

  "We need you to work your magic," I tell him. He opens the door wider.

  "Come in," he says. "What can I do?"

  "I need you to see if you can tell me where Buster called me from." He gives me a concerned look. "The cartel finally made a move."

  "Give me ten minutes and I should have something for you." He types away on his computer. I've never watched him work. I don't understand a damn thing on the screen right now.

  "Done," he says. It hadn't even been a whole ten minutes. "It looks like his call came from Georgetown."

  "Thanks, Tech." I slap him on the shoulder. "Keep this to yourself for now."

  I head back toward Bull's office but I'm stopped by a soft voice.

  "Hey, Shade. You guys are back. Where's Buster?" Cali asks, her voice sad. Fuck.

  "He had to run some errands before coming back," I tell her.

  "Oh, okay." She gives me a small smile and heads back out to the main room. I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. I walk into Bull's office again, closing the door.

  "Georgetown."

  "I have some allies there. I'll give them a call," he says. I sit on the couch while he calls his people.

  "Archer, has there been any activity there?" He pauses, listening to the guy on the other line. "Mhmm, one of our guys had someone chasing them. He called and said he had a bad feeling, then his phone cut out."

  I bounce my foot, getting anxious as fuck.

  "Alright, sounds good. Thank you," Bull says and hangs up. "A couple of calls came in. He's digging into both of them and is going to call back. For now, make sure that Minx and the girls are here and not at the house."

  "Yes, sir," I respond and head out to the main room.

  29

  Cali

  It's finally Friday. Ryan should be home today. I've been counting down the hours. I woke up this morning to a couple of texts from him. One was from last night. He called and texted me while I was in the kitchen baking with Minx, trying out new recipes for the holidays coming up. Raze and Sketch have been snacking on the food all morning. The other text I got from him was him telling me they were headed home and should be home around four or five. We've been baking on and off again this morning, but my heads not in it as much as it was last night.

  Around three-thirty, we finish cleaning the kitchen and I go sit out on the front porch. It's a great day today, being in the high sixties out. I have one of Ryan's hoodies on to keep me warm. After a few minutes, Sketch joins me out here.

  "Hey, Sketch," I greet him.

  "Hey. You doin' alright," he asks.

  I shrug. "I'm ready for Buster to be home," I admit.

  "I'm sure he's ready to be home with you."

  We sit there in comfortable silence for a while. It's now I understand why Wren doesn't mind him being around so much.

  "So what's the deal with you and Wren," I ask him.

  "There is no deal. She needs someone who will just sit with her," he explains. "Shade is always grillin' her with questions, playin' the protective older brother and it's not what she needs. I'm okay with sitting and not talking."

  "Well, that's awful nice of you." His eyes move to me and I give him a small smile. He's not a bad looking man. He's got long, dirty blonde hair, currently pulled back into a bun and a beard that isn't too long. He's covered in tattoos, even his neck is covered. The sound of the gate opening draws my attention. Shade's car comes through and the gate closes behind it.

  "Where's Buster?" My stomach turns. I go inside to grab my phone. No missed calls, no new texts.

  "Is everything okay," Minx asks me.

  "I don't know. Shade and Kicks just pulled up, but Buster wasn't with them," I tell her. "I was going to go over there and wait for him."

  Minx looks at Raze who nods his head.

  "I'll come with you," she says and we walk out of the house with Raze behind us.

  "Stay here with the others," Raze says to Sketch. We walk to the clubhouse. When we walk in, it's pretty tense.

  "Hey, Cali. Hey Minx," Tink says as we sit at the bar.

  "Hey, Tink. How's it going," Minx asks her.

  "Oh, it's goin'," she says and leans over the bar to whisper. "Porscha got shut down real quick by Shade. Y'all should have seen the look on her face."

  "I can imagine," I giggle. "Do you know where Shade disappeared to?"

  "He went down the hallway. Maybe to his room," she tells me. I hop up and head toward him. He's walking my w
ay with his head hanging.

  "Hey, Shade," I say softly. "You guys are back. Where's Buster?"

  "He had to run some errands before coming back," he tells me.

  "Oh, okay." I give him a small smile and head back to the main room.

  "Did he tell you where Buster is?" Minx says when I sit back down.

  "He said he had some errands to run before coming back," I tell her.

  "I'm sure he'll be here soon." She tries to reassure me.

  A sense of dread washes over me. Something isn't right. Shade walks into the main room and goes straight to Rascal. They're whispering back and forth for a couple of minutes. Rascal takes out his phone and walks outside. Shade pulls his phone out, glances at it and puts it back in his pocket. He rubs his hands down his face before going over to Clutch and Diesel. He whispers something to them and the three of them are walking back down the hallway.

  "Something is going on," I tell Minx on a shaky voice.

  "What? What do you mean? How do you know," she questions.

  I shake my head. "I don't. I have this bad feeling in my gut. Shade was just whispering to Rascal. Then Shade, Clutch, and Diesel all went toward your dad's office. It's going to sound silly, but I can sense there's something wrong," I explain to Minx. She scans the room, her eyes landing on Raze. She looks panicked which makes him jump and make his way to her quickly.

  "What's up?" Worry lacing his voice now.

  "Do you know what's going on with the Riders," Minx asks him.

  "No, I haven't been told anything. I've seen Shade running around but no one has told me anything," he tells us. I wrap my arms around my stomach. Rascal walks into the clubhouse with Emma, Rivet, Wren, and Sketch behind him. The girls are walking over to us and at the same time Shade is walking toward us too. He has his head down with a somber expression.

  "Cali, I need you to come with me for a minute," he says to me once he's at my side. I shake my head, my chest tightening. He gives me a sorrowful look. "Please?"

  I stand and follow him. We walk to Bull's office, where Bull, Clutch, and Diesel are all sitting there looking defeated.