I threw back another icy, clear, burning shot of numbing juice. “I just don't want a lap dance from some nasty ass snatch with gonorrhea falling out.”
Ozzy laughed before killing his last shot of tequila. “Ah, that one burned.” His eyes got a little watery as he wiped his upper lip with his leather sleeve.
Abel took the seat next to me. “Have you seen Tre?”
I shook my head. “Not since he went into the back with that last dancer. He’s probably getting his knob washed again.”
Abel waved over to the anorexic looking bartender in a bright pink corset and lace thong to match. “I’ll take a Bud please.” She smiled sweetly, grabbing it for him out of the fridge behind her.
“Thanks, darlin’.” He threw a five down on the bar. After taking a few swigs, Abel looked down at his watch and sighed. “Go check it out, Ryder. He’s not known for his longevity.”
I grabbed my beer and made my way into the poorly lit back area. The strobe lights from the front made it hard to see down the hallway. Pulling back the sticky blackout curtain, I had to jump into savior mode. Trent was on the ground, facedown and foaming at the mouth. He was shaking, soaked in his own piss, and the goddamned stripper was nowhere to be found. I grabbed Trent and pulled his pants back up, holding my breath from the stench of puke and piss. Throwing his arm over my shoulder while he moaned and spit, I carried him to the front.
I waved over to Abel and all the guys rushed to me. “He’s fucking ODing, boss.”
Abel grabbed his phone and called Crickett. He said, “Meet us at the ER,” then hung up with just those words.
“Ozzy, you drove your truck?”
Ozzy nodded and dug the keys out of his pocket.
“Ryder, take Trent to the hospital. Ozzy will take your bike.”
I grabbed the keys, shifting Trent’s weight a little to keep his head up. “All right.”
Abel started for the front door, turning around quickly. “Oh and take that damn cut off of him and yourself.”
I had no time to argue or question it.
“Keys, front pocket,” I yelled over the load music to Ozzy. He pursed his lips and quickly grabbed for my bike keys.
“Okay, let’s get the dumbass into the fucking truck.”
We huffed and puffed, carrying his dead weight through the packed parking lot. It took us a couple of minutes to get Trent shoved into the backseat with a towel under his head. It was weird that I wasn’t driving my own vehicle, but Trent was turning pale as he coughed and gasped for air.
“This fucker is going to make a mess of this thing. Damn it.” Ozzy slammed the door shut. “Drive like hell. We’ll see you there.”
I flew down the highway, praying that a cop wouldn't see that I was pushing a hundred in Ozzy’s Denali. The thing was an expensive ass truck and Trent was pissing and puking all over the backseat. I had to roll the windows down to keep from barfing.
The emergency room staff made quick work of taking Trent into the back on a stretcher, a nurse straddling him and taking his vitals while the other ran him down the hallway. I waited with the rest of the guys by the front doors. They came in a pack, each one with looks of sheer anger and frustration.
“Fuck!” Abel was pacing, sucking hard on a dying cig.
Crickett came trotting down the sidewalk after them. “What’s going on?”
I put my hand on her shoulder, seeing her panic subside when she saw that Abel was ok. “Tre fell off the wagon again. We’re not sure what he took yet.”
All the guys were trying to figure out where Trent would have even gotten the stash.
“We shouldn't have let him out of our sight. That goddamn junkie can’t say no to anything. Fucking ass.” Ozzy flicked his ash onto the ground.
“He’s a grown ass man, we shouldn't have to babysit him.” Abel worked his jaw. “Ozzy, Miller, y’all head inside and stay with him. Try to get to the bottom of this. I know that chick he was with, she wouldn't have given anything to him. She must have been paid off to lure him back there. Jesse, head back to Secrets, see if you can convince her to talk.” Abel handed Jesse a thick stack of cash from his wallet.
“No worries. I’m sure the whore will loosen those lips for me.”
“What can I do?” I took a step closer to Abel, his eyes boring into me once he realized I was talking to him.
“Go the fuck home. This isn’t your concern any more.”
That’s when I realized that more shit than I knew was going on. It was for members only and I was just a damn prospect. It was why they’d had me drive Trent to the hospital and hadn't come up until they knew he was safely inside: I didn't have a cut on, so I was the least likely to be recognized.
“Everyone else, let’s get back and make sure our shit is taken care of. I’m going to the shop to make sure it’s locked down. Holt, the bar’s already closed up and the girls are home?”
My dad nodded.
I traded keys with Ozzy. “See ya later, brother.”
He hit me on my back. “Good work tonight, Ryder.”
“Thanks man.”
I lay in bed, staring at the fan, trying to wrap my head around everything that was going on. It had been hours and I hadn’t heard anything about Trent. Even though I thought the guy was a creep, he was still my brother and deep down, I cared.
No news better mean fucking good news.
I grabbed my leather jacket and pulled my boots back on. I knew I needed a little bit of fresh air and the quiet road to clear my head. I unlocked the front door and nearly jumped out of my skin when the living room light flicked on.
“Going somewhere, son?”
Holt was sitting in his recliner with a fifth of whiskey in one hand and his revolver in the other.
I dug my keys out of my pocket. “Just for a ride to clear my head.”
My dad pursed his lips. “It really ain’t safe to be riding alone right now, Ryder.”
I shook my head. “I’ll take my chances. I need out of this damn house for a bit.”
“Just be alert and bring your gun.”
I pulled up my jacket and cut so he could see my Kimber tucked safely in the back of my jeans. “Locked and loaded.”
“That a boy. Ride safe.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Any news on Tre?”
My old man shook his head. “We’ll hear something in the morning.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
Holt took a swig from the bottle. “Everything is going to work out. Abel will make sure of it.”
“I fucking hope you’re right.” I pulled open the front door, waving goodbye to my dad.
The cool night air stung my nostrils as I tried to just ignore all of the thoughts rattling around in my brain. I had no idea what was going on with my club, I wasn’t allowed to be with my girl, and my life just felt completely out of whack. I rode for what felt like an hour; my forearms were even starting to get a little bit of arm pump. Before I knew it, I was pulling up to the Hellock’s driveway.
I shot off a text to Raine, hoping she would still be up too.
Me: Hey babe, you up?
Raine: Yeah, can’t sleep either?
Me: Nah. I went for a ride to clear my head.
Raine: It’s a beautiful night out.
Me: It pales in comparison to you.
Raine: hahaha. Yeah right.
Me: You have no idea how breathtakingly gorgeous you are, do you?
Raine: There are prettier people in this world, I've seen it, it's a thing…
Me: Your beauty radiates from inside and makes your outside blinding.
Raine: How are you such a tough guy and then say things like that?
Me: Because every king has a queen that makes him see the softer side in life.
Raine: I’m your queen?
Me: That’s how I see it, anyway. It’s late, beautiful. 831.
Raine: what does 831 mean?
Me: eight letters, three words, one meaning.
Raine: And I love you
. I can’t wait to kiss you again.
Me: Good. Open your window.
Raine unlocked her window and helped me climb into her bedroom. I knew it was a terrible idea but I just needed to be close to her. “I know you have to be up in a few hours, but I just needed to hold you.”
We crawled into bed, and I wrapped my arms around her middle.
“This is perfect, babe.” She softly kissed my cheek.
I breathed her rose and lilac sent in, shifting the pillow under my head a little. “You’re perfect. Get some sleep. I have an alarm set for five, so I’ll be out of the house before Abel wakes up.”
“Everything all right, baby?”
I tightened my grip around her, making sure I was holding Raine with every inch of my body. “It is now.”
4
Ryder
My phone blared under my pillow; five in the morning had come way too fast. Raine shifted in my arms, rolling over to sleepily kiss me. Just as our lips brushed together, I felt my entire world fall into place. She was my home, my world, my everything.
“Good morning.” Her sweet voice melted me while she rested her head on my shoulder.
“Good morning, baby.” I shifted a little, reluctantly ready to get out of bed before Abel knew I was in the house.
“Don’t go yet.” She hugged me tighter, burying her head into my chest. Her messy, dark hair was everywhere as I fought to find her gorgeous face.
“I have to. If Abel sees my bike in the driveway, he’ll have me hanging in the tree out back before his morning coffee.”
She sighed, sitting up in bed. “I just hate this so much. Why can’t he just understand that no matter what, I want to be with you?”
I grabbed her shoulders, looking dead into her soft eyes. “Come hell or high water, I will prove myself to your father, Raine. I promise. I will be the man you deserve and he will see it.”
She shook her head, tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes. “I just don't know if that is even possible, babe. My dad is the most stubborn jackass in the entire fucking world.”
“But, Raine, I’ll give it all up for you if that is what it takes. The club, this place, my job—none of it matters to me without you. I need you. I want you. You’re my forever. I don’t care about the rest.”
She let her head fall onto my shoulder. “You’re my always, Ryder. You have my heart.”
“Then I will make this all work. Promise.”
My phone started blinging with text after text, half of them from Abel.
“Shit babe, I have to get home and then deal with these.” I showed her the name that kept scrolling across my screen. Raine kissed my cheek and followed me to the window.
“I love you.”
I ducked out the window while saying, “I love you, too.”
Hopping down from the second story roof, I heard the worst possible sound I could in that moment.
“Well, good, you’re already here.” Abel’s face was red with fury as he trotted down the front steps. “So fucking help me God, boy, you’re testing my patience.”
I threw my hands in the air. “I just needed to see her. Nothing happened.”
Raine came flying out the front door. “He’s telling the truth, Dad. We just slept.”
Crickett followed on Raine’s heels, trotting down the front steps. “Fuck.” I heard her say it as she cinched the belt of her dark blue robe tighter around her waist. “Everyone get the heck inside now,” Crickett yelled and by the look on her face, she meant fucking business.
Abel spun around, ready to pick a fight with his old lady. She threw one hand in the air. “That means you too, Abel. I have fucking had it with all this bullshit. We’re going to settle it now, because there is far bigger shit going on than who your twenty-one-year-old daughter decides to love.”
Reluctantly, we all filed into the house.
Crickett poured cups of coffee while we all sat around the dining room table, silently waiting for all the shit to finally hit the fan.
“Start talking.” Crickett glared at her husband, arms crossed.
“There ain’t anything else to say. They cannot be together. And that is fucking final.” He slammed his fist onto the table.”
“That’s crap, Abel. You’re just scared that you won’t be her protector forever. It’s not Ryder; you would feel this way about anyone.”
I stared at my hands, gripping the steaming mug of black coffee. Raine was sitting next to me doing the same thing. After a few seconds of chewing on her lower lip, Raine spoke up. “Dad, have a fucking heart.” Raine flew up from the table and started to pace. “Don’t you see how much Ryder cares about me?”
With wide eyes, Abel shoved up from the table and grabbed his daughter, midstride. “Nothing gets in the way of taking care of this family.” He growled. “Especially not something as fucked as my heart.”
Crickett put her hand on Abel’s shoulder. “Look, he’s still here.” She pointed over to me where I sat like a coward, slumped over. “After everything he has gone through. His fucked up home life with his mom, moving in with his dad—who, until a few years ago, was a stranger—and now he’s finally finding his place in the club and this family. Doesn’t that sound fucking familiar? If Ryder doesn’t deserve to be part of this family, I have no right to be here either.”
Abel’s shoulders fell and he took a seat at the head of the table again. “There’s a fine line between being a club member and being a fucking criminal.” I could feel his gaze boring into my skull but I never looked up.
I nodded. “I know.”
“You’re going to have to prove to me that you’re an outlaw, but not heartless.”
“Done.”
“All right then.” Abel got up, his hand outstretched to me. I grasped his hand and we locked eyes for the first time in days. “I still don't like this shit one fucking bit.”
“I know, sir.” It was the breakthrough I had thought would never come.
Raine ran to us, hooking one arm around each of our necks. “Holy fuck. That is not how I thought this was going to go.”
“Thank your mom,” Abel whispered into his daughter’s ear.
Crickett stood leaning against the doorway to the kitchen. “Tough guys, my fucking ass.” She let out a chuckle and poured herself more coffee. “Don’t y’all have some damn club business to handle?”
Abel looked down at his phone, lighting up with message after message. “We need to get to the table.”
“We?” I pulled my jacket on.
“Don’t make me think twice about this. We voted last night. Congratulations, kid.”
I took my seat at the table with my brothers hooting and hollering around me, yelling their congratulations for me finally being patched in. I had been waiting for this moment for so long, I couldn’t believe it was finally here.
My father handed Abel his gavel, and he slammed it down onto the mahogany. The crack of the wood on wood pierced the room and everyone shut up instantly.
“All right, men. Yes, it’s exciting that Ryder finally made it, but we’ve got bigger fish to fry. Jesse was able to sweet talk that skutbag that helped get Trent fucked up last night. He’s doing fine. The doc decided to keep him overnight to detox and he will be released later today. In the meantime, I need Ryder and Red to head over to a Sinners’ hideout in the next town over; that’s where the son of a bitch should be hanging low.”
The group rumbled like they knew exactly what was going on and why the fuck the Sinners member would have drugged our guy. My eyes darted around and Abel took notice.
“I’ll fill you in a little more after all this is said and done, kid.”
I nodded once in response and Abel continued with the meeting. Once everything was finished and discussed, Abel took me aside before sending me off on a wild goose chase with Red, an older club member that had barely said two words to me since I’d ridden up the mountain three years before.
“Are you ready for this, son?” Abel took a
long drag from his cigarette, walking me out the back door.
I dug for my pack. “Born fucking ready.”
“Well there’s some shit that went down before your time that you might need to be aware of before you head out today.”
I lit up and braced myself for the worst. “All right.”
“The day that you rolled into town is the day our last president was run off the road and killed. We had no idea who’d done it.”
“That was Crickett’s dad and your stepdad right?”
Abel nodded before continuing his story. “It took me about a year to figure out that it was all because the Sinners wanted to get Rave out of the way so they could swoop in on a guns trade deal my old man had been working on for a while, completely without us knowing. Apparently, from the journals he was writing in to keep organized, he was worried about a snitch in the club and he didn't trust anyone with the information because of how badly the Sinners wanted to take it from us. He had good reason to hide it, but if he had let me in on the deal, I might have been able to help and protect him.”
He paused, took a few long drags, and then continued. “The snitch my old man was worried about was Trent. He knew that while Tre was using, he’d never be able to be completely loyal. So after the old man passed and I figured all this shit out, I got Trent sober and threatened him within an inch of his life that if he ever used on my watch again, I’d fucking gut him myself.”
“But why would they fuck with Trent now, after all this time?”
Abel smiled a bit. “Because a few months ago, I found the bastard that murdered Rave. I hogtied him to the hitch of my truck and dragged that fucker all the way to their club’s front door. No one talks about it, but it started a war, and I have been waiting for their retaliation ever since. What happened with Tre was the beginning, a warning that they know about our shit and they will play to our weaknesses. It’s not something to be taken lightly. That’s why I need you to go with Red. Out of all of us, the two of you will be the least noticeable.”
“Anything you need, Abel, I’m your man.”
Unspeakable: An Unacceptables MC Standalone Romance Page 4
