Club Thrive: Predator

by Alison Mello

  “Shelly, I’m going to drive your car back. Slade will drive you and Ryker in the SUV.” I agree, since I don’t think I can drive safely at this point. As soon as we’re on the road, I call Mikey.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he answers, excited to hear from me.

  “He was at the park.” My voice is shaken.

  “Fuck, where are you now?” he growls.

  “Please, Mikey, remember what I told you.”

  I hear him take a deep calming breath. “I’m sorry. Where are you?” This time his voice is much calmer.

  “I’m in Slade’s SUV with Ryker. We’re on our way home, but he’s pretty shaken up.” I’m trying to sound strong, but I am failing miserably.

  “I’m on my way, baby.” He cuts the call as we’re pulling up to the apartment.

  Slade walks Ryker and I upstairs, helping us carry our stuff. His face is buried in my shoulder and he won’t let go of me. Brea comes running into the dining room and I can see she’s concerned, realizing we’re home early. “What’s going on?” Brea asks.

  “Eli was at the park. He came up to us and it scared Ryker.”

  Her eyes go wide. “Come here, buddy. Let Auntie hold you.” He finally lets go of me but does the same thing to Brea. He squeezes her and buries his face in her neck.

  As soon as Brea walks away with Ryker I let out a deep breath. “Holy shit, I wasn’t prepared for that at all,” I say to Slade.

  “I’m sure you weren’t. What did Mikey say?” He walks me over to the table and pulls out a chair for me.

  “He’s on his way here.” No sooner do I say the words he knocks on the door.

  “It’s Mikey,” we hear him shout. Slade checks the peep hole and then opens the door. He comes rushing in and wraps me in a hug. “Are you all right?” I nod my head, and to my surprise Ryker comes running into the room.

  “Mikey!” he shouts just before he leaps into his arms.

  “Hey, little man.” Ryker squeezes him tight.

  “Please don’t let him hurt me,” Ryker says through tears. I can no longer hold back, my emotions come pouring out. Mikey holds the both of us as we cry.

  “Ryker, I love you and your mom so much. There’s no way I’m letting him anywhere near you, okay?” He nods his head, but he’s still shaking and crying. When I pull out of Mikey’s arms, my sister is standing there leaning against the entryway, waiting to see what will happen next.

  “I love you too, Mikey,” he says through sniffles.

  “Ryker, can you go sit with Auntie Brea while I talk to Mikey?” He nods his agreement and then runs back to his aunt.

  Mikey wraps me in a hug. “I’m sorry for pushing you away, Mikey.”

  “Shh, it’s my fault. I should have realized you were strong enough to handle this.” He looks down into my eyes. “Will you please come stay at my place? I think it’s much safer than here.” I nod my head. “Can Brea stay with Eric? I don’t want her here alone.”

  “I’m sure she can.”

  I almost forgot Slade was with us until he says, “I’ll go sit with him while you guys iron things out with Brea.” He walks out of the room and a second later Brea comes in.

  “What’s the plan?” she asks.

  “Can you stay with Eric?” Mikey asks her.

  “Of course.” She says like it’s no big deal.

  “Good, you girls go pack. I’m going to help Ryker get his stuff together and we’ll take it one day at a time.” We both agree.

  Chapter 14

  Mikey

  I’m so relieved Shelly has agreed to stay at my place. I was really hoping she wouldn’t fight me, and to be honest, I would have been surprised if she had. I could hear from her voice how shaken up she was over Eli meeting them in the park. I need to talk to her about what Eli said, but first I need to get them settled at my place. This isn’t a conversation that Ryker needs to relive right now.

  “Hey, little man. What do you say we pack some of your stuff and head to my place?”

  He jumps down from the couch and takes my hand, pulling me to his room. He pulls out his backpack and shoves his stuffed animal and his blanket in it, zipping it up. “I’m ready.” He looks up at me with the saddest eyes, it nearly kills me.

  I chuckle and sit down on his little bed. “I think we need more than your teddy bear and a blanket.” He shakes his head no. “How about your DVDs? You can watch them in your room.” He shrugs, not caring. At this point I think he just wants to get out of here. I take his backpack, open it back up, pull out the blanket and stick his DVDs in there along with a few other toys. He smiles as I zip up his backpack. With his blanket in his hand, I scoop him up and carry him to the dining room, where Shelly is waiting for me with a bag packed.

  “Are you ready to go, baby?”

  “Yeah, just waiting for Brea,” she says, sounding anxious.

  “I’ll have Cole follow Brea to Eric’s place and I’ll follow you guys to your place,” Slade informs us.

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Brea comes into the room with two small bags. “I just spoke to Eric. He’s going to meet me at his place.”

  “I’ll have Cole stay with you until he gets there.” Slade assures her.

  “Thank you. I don’t think he’ll come after me, but I’ll certainly be more comfortable there knowing he’s with me.”

  “No problem, ma’am.”

  We all walk out together. Slade, Cole and I are scanning the neighborhood as we get everyone settled into cars. Nothing seems strange or out of place, so we take off toward my place with Slade following behind as planned. Ryker is in the backseat dozing off. “Ryker, do you want to listen to your Disney music?” I ask him, trying to keep him awake a little longer. I want him to nap when he gets home so Shelly and I can talk.

  “Yes, please.” He starts bouncing his legs to the music and singing along as he stares out the window.

  Ryker is just starting to doze off again when we pull up to my place. I grab him from his seat and carry him up with Slade following behind us carrying Shelly’s bag. Slade waits in the living room while Shelly and I take him to his room. I gently lay him down and Shelly covers him with his blanket, tucking his bear in with him. He starts to stir, but she runs her fingers through his soft curly hair until he settles back down. We both tiptoe out of the room and she whispers, “I think he’s good now. He’s really tired from all the emotions he’s had to deal with today.”

  “I’m sure he is. We’ll keep a listen for him. Let’s go sit in the living room and talk.” She nods her agreement.

  When we get back to the living room, Slade is standing by the door. “Mikey, do you want me to create shifts and stay the night?”

  “Nah, we’re good. He can’t get up here anyway.”

  Slade nods. “You two have a good night.” He walks out the door and we both get settled on the couch.

  “Can you tell me what happened today?”

  She lets out a deep breath. “We were at the park talking about you actually. Ryker asked me why we hadn’t seen you and I was explaining to him. It’s funny, because he made me realize how much you mean to us.” I give her a small smile. “Anyway, he approached us as I was apologizing to Ryker for his father not being around. He said he was here and wanted to see his son. I told him no. Ryker knew instantly who he was. I know he did because he was squeezing me so hard and his little body was trembling as I spoke to Eli.” She snuggles into my side. “That’s when Slade and Cole came running in.”

  “Why did it take them so long?”

  “It’s my fault, I asked for space. I didn’t want Ryker to know they were there and have to explain why we were being followed.” She lets out another breath. “They must have realized who he was when I raised my voice at him and they came rushing in. Mikey, him being in the park was scary, but that’s not the worst part. He says he’s fighting for visitation rights.” She starts to shake all over again. “I can’t let him near my baby boy.”

  “Baby, we’ll hire th
e best damn lawyer my money can buy. He is not getting visitation.” I pick her up and place her on my lap. “Tell me you believe me. Tell me you know I’ll do anything to keep you two safe.”

  She nods. “I believe you,” she whispers and then presses her lips to mine. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  “Me too, baby, and I’m sorry. I’ll never keep anything from you ever again.” I look into her eyes so she can see I’m sincere. “I don’t want to live another day without you and Ryker in my life.”

  Her mouth crashes down on mine. She pulls away to straddle my hips and she begins kissing me again. Grinding her hips against my cock, she presses her forehead to mine. “Please, make me forget today, Mikey. Show me how much you love me.” I pick her up and carry her to our room, where I gently lay her on the bed. I push the lock on our door, so if Ryker wakes, he doesn’t walk in on anything, and by the time I get back, Shelly’s stripping her clothes off. A smile spreads across my face.

  “What are you doing?”

  “We may not have much time before Ryker wakes.” She pulls me toward her and peels my shirt over her head. “We didn’t eat lunch,” she says between kisses. “He’s going to be hungry.”

  She rolls her tongue over my nipple while I slip off my jeans. My cock is already throbbing for her. “I’m hungry too, but not for food,” I whisper in her ear.

  She wraps her fingers around my cock. “There’s no time for that right now.” She pushes me down on the bed and climbs on top of me. Lining my cock up with her opening, she slowly lowers herself down onto my cock. I grab her hips and thrust mine forward. She places her hands on my chest and rides me, her beautiful breasts bouncing in front of my face with her eyelids heavy. She licks her full, luscious lips as she rocks her hips. God, this woman is beautiful.

  “Baby, I’m not going to last. You need to come for me.” She climbs off of me, sticking her ass in the air. “Fuck yeah, baby.” I slam my cock deep inside her warm, wet pussy, fucking her hard. She meets me thrust for thrust.

  “Fuck, Mikey.” She screams as her warm wet pussy clamps down on my cock. Her arms collapse while I continue my assault on her pussy, releasing my seed deep inside of her. I’m panting when I pull out and collapse next to her. “I really needed that,” she mumbles from beside me. “But I need to get dressed too.”

  “I know, baby.” I press my lips to hers. “We’ll have time for round two later,” I promise with a smile.

  She giggles and begins to climb out of bed to clean up. That’s the first time we’ve made love without protection, and I’m not sure she realizes it. When she comes back from the bathroom, she sits down on the bed and begins to dress. “Shelly, I’m sorry.”

  “For what?” She looks at me, confused.

  “I didn’t use a condom. I’m not sure what came over me. I’ve never done that before.”

  She gives me a small smile. “Not your fault. I didn’t exactly stop you.”

  “I know, but I should have stopped and I didn’t.”

  Her brows furrow as she puts on her shirt. “Do you not want kids?”

  I look at her shocked. “I didn’t say that, but now isn’t the time to bring a baby into the world. I need to focus on keeping you and Ryker safe. I’d also like for you to graduate school and pass your board exams first.”

  She smiles. “I’ll pass, don’t you worry.” She walks out of the room, swaying her sexy ass hips. Fuck me, my cock is hard again, but it’s instantly forgotten when I hear Ryker scream. I jump up, throw on my jeans, and run to his room where Shelly is already by his side comforting a sobbing Ryker.

  “Sssh, buddy. Mama’s here.” She rocks him. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “Mommy, I wet my bed.” He hiccups.

  “Oh buddy, that’s no problem. I have a washing machine right here. Wanna help me put your stuff in there so it’s all clean for tonight?” He nods his head. I knew that would help him feel better. He loves to help with anything and everything he can and he lights up when he’s given the chance to. I think that’s what pisses me off so much about what his shithead father did to him. Shelly gets off the bed and we begin the process of stripping all the blankets. My washer is huge, so it all fit in one load. “Okay, follow me.” He carries his sheet and his pillow cases while I take his comforter and his blanket. I pick him up to sit him on the dryer while I load everything into the washer. I give him the cup of soap, showing him where to pour it, and then tell him which buttons to press. He looks so much happier now that he has helped us get his stuff clean. “Now, why don’t I make us something to eat while Mommy gives you a bath?”

  “Okay,” he says, his little voice still sounding sad.

  Shelly takes his hand and walks him to the bathroom where I hear her start the tub. I head to the kitchen to figure out what we’ll do for dinner when my cell rings. “Hey, Logan. What’s up, man?”

  “Just checking in to see how things are going with Shelly.” His chair creaks, telling me he’s in his office.

  “Shelly and I are fine, but poor Ryker is a mess. She took him to the park today and Eli showed up.” I explain to him what happened and how Slade and Cole stepped in.

  “Is she staying at your place?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “What are you guys doing tonight?” he asks, sounding like he has an idea.

  “I don’t know. I was just trying to figure out dinner for us because they never ate lunch.”

  “Sky and I will pick up some pizzas. Maybe if he plays with Stephan it will take his mind off of it.”

  A huge grin spreads across my face. “That would be awesome.”

  “Cool, we’ll be there shortly.” He cuts the call and I go to tell Ryker the good news.

  “Hey little man. Would you like to play with Stephan tonight?” His eyes go wide with excitement as he nods his head. “Great, Logan and Sky are going to pick up some pizza and come over so you two can play in your room.”

  “Woohoo,” he shouts out excitedly, causing Shelly and I both to laugh.

  “Well, we better get you cleaned up then. Logan and Sky will be here before you know it.” Shelly washes his hair and then grabs a washcloth to clean his body. His mood has instantly brightened and I’m thrilled. This kid deserves happiness in his life, not the stress and fear his father is putting on him.

  Logan and Sky finally show up with four large pizzas. “Dude, it’s only us.” I start laughing.

  “I know, but I didn’t know what to get, so I got a few different things. Besides, it’s not like we can’t pick at it later. It’s still early.”

  “Thank you, Logan. What do we owe you?” Shelly jumps in so I’ll stop busting on my friend.

  “You owe me one hug.” She laughs and gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  Stephan and Ryker are jumping up and down, excited to be together. “You need to eat something before you go off and play.” He takes Stephan’s hand and pulls him to the snack bar so they can sit down together. Shelly asks them what they want and she serves them each a slice of pizza. It takes them all of five minutes to eat before they’re off and running to Ryker’s room to play. We hear them dump the entire bin of Legos onto the floor and burst into laughter.

  “Well, I guess they’re set for a while,” Logan exclaims with laughter.

  “Are you guys hungry?” Shelly asks.

  “Not yet, but you go ahead and eat,” Sky assures her.

  “Thanks, I’m starving.” She grabs a slice of pizza and eats while we all stand around the kitchen.

  I get Logan the beer I offered him and Sky takes a water. “Shelly, if you need any help with Ryker, please let us know. He’s such a good boy. We have no problem with him sleeping over at our place.”

  Shelly wipes her mouth and nods. “Thank you so much. I really appreciate that.”

  “Actually, I was going to talk to you two about giving Shelly some time off while she deals with this.”

  Shelly instantly shakes her head no. “I need to work.
”

  “Baby, you know money is no issue, right?”

  “It’s not that. I’ll go crazy in this house.” She waves her hand around the room to emphasize her point.

  “You still have your classes and Ryker may need you at night,” I remind her. She lets out a sigh. I can see she’s thinking about what I said.

  “I’ll tell you what. Take this week off and see how Ryker is dealing with the situation. If he’s good and you want to come back, let me know. If you feel like he needs you and school is enough for you to handle, come back when you’re ready,” Logan encourages her. She nods her agreement and shoves the last of her pizza into her mouth.

  “Can we do Monday night dinner here this week?” I ask, hoping that they haven’t already done a bunch of shopping for it.

  “Of course,” Sky agrees.

  “Thanks. I want to take Ryker out as little as possible.”

  “Are you moving in here?” Sky asks Shelly. I flinch slightly because we haven’t fully discussed it. We said she would stay with me, but that was my roundabout way of getting her into my place so I could watch over her. She looks at me and I give her a slight nod, hoping she’ll agree.

  She smiles. “Yeah, we have to get the rest of my stuff and I have to be sure that Brea is all set.”

  “Trust me, Brea is all set. Eric and I had a conversation already. They were just waiting for you to finish school so you could handle Ryker on your own.”

  She looks at me, confused. “Really?”

  I nod. “They didn’t want to rush you because they both love you and want to support you, but they were planning to move in together as soon as you were all set with a new job.”