He dropped to his knees, still holding Terri around the waist and giving her his support. “Are you okay, babe?”
“I’m kind of woozy, but yes. If you’re okay, I’m okay.” She blinked. “I was so scared when I heard the shooting. I was afraid my parents set up an ambush and you’d be killed.”
“We walked into a trap, but I had to make sure you were okay. I would rather die than see you be hurt.” Ryker took her hand and caressed it. “I love you, Terri Martin, and even though this wedding isn’t planned, at least by me and you, if you’ll have me, will you marry me?”
“I love you, too, Ryker.” She bit her lip, smearing her lipstick, and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I will, but I want my friends here, too. Jolie, Nikki, Leanna, and Sherelle. Can we wait until I’m not so dizzy?”
“No,” Terri’s father interrupted. “We have to do it now. Once you’re his old lady, his entire family has to protect you, and that includes the Metal Wolves. Not all of them are here, and if you walk out of this barn without being Ryker’s wife, your life is still in danger, as is ours.”
“Don’t do it, Ryker,” his father growled. “Thorn was shot and taken to the hospital.”
“So was Blake,” Terri’s father replied. “He’s my nephew. We have to end it now. So shut your trap.”
“Oh, yeah? If it weren’t for my son here, I’d blow your entire barn to smithereens,” Ryker’s father shouted. “You have to pay for Earl’s death.”
“We’ve had our deaths, too,” Terkel shouted back and snapped his fingers at one of the men standing by. “Show him what we have on him and his boys.”
One of the Metal Wolves, the same prospect who had been guarding the bikes, stepped forward. He lowered his sunglasses and opened his vest.
He was wearing an FBI agent’s badge.
Ryker took a step back. This had to have been a sting.
“I’m Agent Warren Wayne,” the man said. He extracted a folder from his vest and opened it. It was full of photos. He flashed it in front of Ryker’s father’s face. “Your sons are going to jail. Cuff them.”
“What the hell?” Exclamations punctured the air along with the clicks of handcuffs.
“Ryker, you knew about this?”
“You squealed on us?”
“Ryker didn’t know,” Warren said. “He’s the only one of you with clean hands. Terkel has been working with us to clean up the motorcycle clubs. Unfortunately, you boys decided you were above the law.”
“This blows.”
“Fuck this.”
Ryker’s brother’s shouts were drowned out by the rumble of a new set of Harleys cutting off outside the barn.
“You can either stay for your brother’s wedding or get hauled off now,” Warren said. “But you better behave for the ladies.”
Squeals and high pitched chatter combined with Pachelbel’s Canon from the sound system. Terri’s friends rushed in, all dressed in hideous looking bright orange dresses full of ruffles.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Terri held onto Ryker’s arm and jumped up at the sight of her best friends in the entire world. “They’re here. Ha, ha, and they’re wearing ruffles.”
“Don’t we look awesome?” Leanna tottered up to her on too high heels. Her bosom, which was already well pronounced, was jutting like a prize turkey breast, complete with the added ruffles.
“Does my hair look okay?” Sherelle pushed at her curls. “I told them I wasn’t wearing no helmet, but goody two shoes Gage over there insisted.”
The man she pierced with her glare raised his hand and shrugged. “I was told you were precious cargo.”
“Precious, my foot. If I were precious, why’d you give me a rough ride. I tell you.” Sherelle huffed. “Lead foot on the bike.”
“Um, the accelerator on a motorcycle is on the handle,” Nikki corrected, looking like she finally caught Sherelle with a mistake. “Let’s get this wedding on the roll. I tag maid of honor.”
“No, me,” Jolie screeched. “Warren made all the busts after I clued him in on the entire connection between you two, so I made this wedding possible.”
“You?” Terri waved her hand. “You weren’t supposed to tell anyone.”
“I told you he was investigating them,” Jolie said. “Besides, this was my idea.”
“Your idea?” Terri said. “You mean to lock me in the coffin was your idea?”
“Wait, wait, that was my idea,” Nikki said. “I was at the Romeo and Juliet show, dressed as a biker chick and saw your parents after the show. Your mom said you’d never go for it, and your dad thought up the bullet proof coffin to protect you.”
Terri’s jaw slammed to the ground. “Do you have any idea how dangerous this was for Ryker and his brothers, not to mention the guys who got shot?”
“Whoa, time out,” Sherelle said. “It wasn’t easy getting your mother or Ryker’s mother in the same room. Let’s just get this wedding over with.”
“Who wasn’t in on this?” Terri’s gaze traveled from one friend to the other. Each turned their guilty eyes from her except for Leanna who waved.
“Don’t blame me for the pumpkin cake,” Leanna said, jiggling up and down in her excitement. “I did the best I could with the short notice. We had a Halloween in April party cancelled. But look, we have spiders, and we’re wearing orange and black, so we all match. At least it’s not pink!”
“Oh, Leanna, I love you.” Terri swept her bosomy friend into her arms. “You can be my maid of honor.”
The others must have distracted poor Leanna, who could never keep a secret, from the plot by giving her the cake and decoration project.
“Okay, now that that’s settled,” Terri’s father said, taking her arm. “We’re walking down the aisle.”
“Wait a second.” She dragged her stockinged feet. “I’m not wearing shoes, and you’re not in a wheelchair. Did you have a miracle or what?”
“Later, babe.” Her father nodded at a Storm Demon who opened a shoebox. “Let’s get you married off and to your honeymoon.”
“Go ahead, Terr,” Ryker said, giving her a tiny push. “I can’t wait to make you my old lady.”
“And not a moment too soon,” her mother finally chimed in. “Your thirtieth birthday is a few days from now.”
“Are we ready?” Terri turned to Ryker. Now that it had all sunk in, and her body was waking up from the drugs, the jitters were taking over. She moistened her lips. “Is this truly what you want to do?”
“Yes, I have no doubt, but if you need more time …” His amber colored eyes, so yellow like a leopard’s, glinted warm like honey.
“No, I’m ready.” She squeezed his hand and turned toward all the men standing in the barn. "Line up the Harleys and turn on the headlamps. Then I’ll walk down the aisle like this is a real biker wedding.”
This time, the music was drowned out by the rumbling of the motorcycles lined up outside of the barn. Each biker gunned his engine as she and her father walked by, and when she entered the barn, her eyes locked on Ryker, her groom.
He stood tall and proud, still wearing his leather pants, boots, and a plain leather vest with no patches. His shirt sleeves were rolled up and someone had given him a cowboy hat. He took it off and put it over his heart, his eyes gleaming full of love.
A minister was standing in front of the empty casket with a big black Bible in his hand. He cleared his throat and said, “Dearly beloved, we are—”
“Wait! The bride has no flowers,” a man’s voice barked.
Terri whirled around right when her father caught a fist to his head. Ryker’s father grabbed her into a chokehold and stuck a gun into the side of her chest.
“Listen up, FBI man.” He turned Terri toward Jolie’s fiancé, Warren. “Let my sons go, or she’s a goner.”
“Dad. Stop.” Ryker charged toward them.
“No, stay back,” Terri shouted when she saw her mother jump to her feet with a gun pointed at Ryker.
“I’ll shoot, son. Don’t
come any closer,” Ryker’s father shouted.
“I’ll shoot, too,” Terri’s mother said with a sneer. “I never liked this little punk.”
“Mom, please don’t,” Terri wailed. “Dad, do something.”
Her father wrung his hands and marched to the FBI man. “Uncuff all the boys. Let them go.”
“Dad, what are you doing?” Terri cried. “They’ll kill us.”
“No,” her father said, turning his eyes on Ryker’s father. “The violence stops tonight. We let your sons go, and in return, you give me your word in front of everyone here. The fighting’s over.”
“Tell your old lady to drop her weapon,” Ryker’s father growled. “Now.”
“Not unless you drop your weapon first,” Terri’s mother shrieked.
“You always wanted to be first before.” Ryker’s father sneered. “Isn’t it ladies first?”
“You never treated me like a lady.” Terri’s mother turned the gun toward Ryker’s father. “I hate you, asshole.”
Blam! Blam!
Blood splattered Terri’s face and she screamed. A big splotch of red spread over Ryker’s white shirt as he reached for her.
“Ryker, Ryker!” She staggered toward his direction, oblivious to the blood misting over her eyes.
Someone knocked her down onto the ground and smothered her. The ooze of blood made her wet and sticky, yet she felt no pain other than her heart bursting, knowing Ryker had been struck.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
One week later
“Dearly beloved,” the minister intoned. Gusty wind flapped his comb-over from his bald head and flipped the pages of his open Bible. “We are gathered today to show our love and support for the Slade and Martin families …”
It was a sunny day. The bright blue sky was filled with fluffy white clouds, and the grass was crisp and green at the gravesite. Too beautiful to be burying the dead.
Tears rolled down Terri’s face as she rubbed her eyes, blinking and staring at the fresh dirt in front of her.
“Our hearts ache over this situation,” the minister continued. “But our Lord God is in control. We are not too proud to entrust all our grief to Him—that He would minister to our hearts, and …”
Terri placed her hand over her heart. It hurt, so, so badly. No mere words could take away the deep pain and the darkness that engulfed her day and night. Her mother died protecting her. How could she ever live with herself?
Especially after it came out that Ryker’s father had stalked her mother when they were young, forcing her to run into the arms of a rival biker gang to escape his abusive clutches.
Tears dropped from her face onto the fresh turned sod. No wonder her mother hated the Slades so much and believed Ryker was bad news. Except Ryker wasn’t, and the sins of the father should stay with the father, not be smeared on the son.
Someone handed Terri a rose to put onto the closed casket. It was the very same one her parents had entombed her in. How crazy could that be?
Her mind wandered to that fateful evening at the motorcycle rally, the night she’d turned thirteen. Everything had been her fault. She should never have smiled at the little boy, the one with the golden eyes who had been viciously teased by his brothers for never having kissed a girl before.
She’d only wanted him to feel better, and she’d known that touching her tits would make him feel like a man. He was a gentle boy, one who thought before he acted—hesitant at first, and he’d been respectful. She’d had to encourage him by placing her hand on his and guiding him to her breast.
As for the kiss, it was magical. The moment their lips had touched, she’d felt a warm glow spreading over her. He didn’t know how to kiss, but as his lips moved, he had become more confident. His arms had wrapped around her, and she had felt his smile as he gave her a taste of his tongue.
She swallowed at the lump in her throat and dangled the rose so that it faced down. Nothing would ever be the same again. Ever. When her mother had warned her of Ryker, she should have taken heed and stayed away from him.
Except he was not his father. He was a good, honest soul. He served his country. He was a war hero, and she couldn’t stay away from him unless she cut out her heart and handed it to him.
The minister droned on, quoting Bible verse after Bible verse. He went into a eulogy, assuring them that their dear departed ones had made it through the gates of Heaven.
Terri hoped her mother had indeed gone to Heaven and was sitting at the feet of Christ. Maybe Jesus could finally explain to her why she should be forgiving. Maybe now, all her tears had been wiped away and she was looking down on them with acceptance and peace in her heart.
A large hand clasped Terri’s shoulder, and she instinctively leaned into Ryker’s side, seeking his comfort. He winced, reminding her of his wounds.
“Sorry, I forgot,” she mumbled, backing away.
“Never be sorry, babe.” He hugged her tightly against his chest.
The bullet Ryker’s father fired had passed straight through Ryker and ended up killing her mother. She, of course, had shot first and hit his father in the chest.
She’d died instantly, whereas Ryker’s father had hung on a few days before succumbing to his injuries. Meanwhile, Ryker had suffered a collapsed lung, but he’d made it out of the hospital in time for the double funeral.
“It’s all my fault. How can I not blame myself?” Terri wept into Ryker’s chest. “If I had never let you kiss me. If I had never met you.”
“Don’t you say that.” Ryker’s voice rasped. “You and I were meant to be together. I felt it from that first kiss.”
“Was all this tragedy meant to be?” Terri shuddered in his embrace. “My mother and I might not have seen eye to eye, but she was my mother. I loved her.”
“Same with my dad,” Ryker said. “In the end, they chose their own destiny. Your father tried to make peace. You have to remember that, and my mother has finally let go of Earl’s death. She’s sorry and wants to welcome you into our family.”
“I don’t know if I could ever put this behind me.” Terri twirled the rose. “If I hadn’t wanted to walk between the row of motorcycles, maybe your father wouldn’t have grabbed me.”
“Stop.” Ryker tilted her chin up to face him. “They chose their fate, and we’re choosing ours. To go on loving and living the life we were meant to have together.”
The minister’s voice rose as the wind shifted. “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.”
“We have hope,” Ryker finished. “Let’s take it and ride with it together.”
He was right, of course. The living had to go on living and let the dead rest in peace.
Terri let the wilted rose drop from her hand. “Amen. I’ll always love your ride.”
“And I’ll always ride your love.” He fist bumped her. “Forever.”
Chapter Thirty
Ryker fought the butterflies churning in his belly as he straddled his bike at the head of a line of Harleys and a few Victories. The motorcycles rumbled on a knoll overlooking a waterfall. Redwood towered on the hills surrounding the creek, letting in ribbons of sunlight to spotlight the makeshift redwood altar where he and Terri were to be married.
Even though it had only been a month since his father and Terri’s mother had been buried, both families agreed to bury the hatchet. Ryker’s brothers had been freed when it turned out Warren was a fake FBI agent hired by Terri’s father from Bad Boys for Hire to entrap the brothers. As for Terror Terkel, he’d also had everyone fooled into thinking he was a disabled veteran and a paraplegic. Even his own daughter believed him to be disabled.
But desperate times called for desperate measures, and despite all the deaths, peace was finally a real possibility.
The brothers gunned their engines, drawing Ryker’s attention to the clearing. Bright blue flowers were woven between the slats of a redwood arbor, and the soun
d of a roaring Harley Road King drew closer. The chopper did a wheelie, lifting its front wheel before bouncing down onto the path, spewing redwood chips in its wake.
Terri was riding in the passenger seat behind her father. To pay their respects, the rows of bikes on both sides flashed their emergency lights and the bikers manning them revved their engines until the entire forest was covered with a deep-throated growl.
The Harley drew to the altar and Terri hopped off. Instead of the traditional beaded wedding dress she had on in the casket—that one had belonged to her mother, she was wearing jeans, boots, a tight white tank top, and a bandana around her neck.
His Terri was a true, blue biker gal at heart. Behind her trailed her maidens, Leanna, Jolie, Sherelle, and Nikki, each on the back of a motorcycle. Their escorts helped them off and led them to Terri’s side where they took their places. Gone were the ruffled orange dresses. Each of them also wore jeans, boots, leather, and tank tops.
Ryker took a bright blue bouquet of forget-me-nots and placed them in Terri’s hands. “I’ll never, ever forget the first time I met you at the bike rally. You are always, and forever, imprinted in my heart.”
Her radiant eyes were blue and true with love for him. “Nor will I ever forget you, my biker blue.”
“Cut the gooey stuff,” Ryker’s brother Drake said. “Let’s get on with the show.”
The minister stepped forward with his huge, black Bible. He didn’t have to ask Terri and Ryker to join hands, because they were already holding each other, but he did yell, “Cut the engines, guys,” several times until every motorcycle was silent and the sounds of birds and small animals could be heard above the rush of the waterfall.
“Dearly beloved …” he started.
Ryker lost himself in the love he had for his Terri, the only old lady he would ever have. As the minister droned, he envisioned them riding off into the sunset, frolicking through sandy beaches, hiking to the tops of volcanoes, and trekking in the deepest jungles. He saw children, tow-headed boys and girls, with blue, green, and amber eyes. Birthday parties, graduations, weddings and christenings. But most of all, he felt Terri’s arms around him, riding, always riding down that long road of life, holding hands and loving each other. Loving and living the life meant for them.
Bad Boys for Hire: Ryker (Bad Boys for Hire #1) Page 12
