I sit down at the table with my brothers and Peggy. “So what’s the plans for today? I know tomorrow is Daddy’s funeral but what are we doing today? I think we should do something, I am so sick and tired of sitting in this house.” Everyone looks at me as if I have lost my mind. “What?” I ask around a bite of eggs.
“You just seem so… I don’t know. Okay, normal? I don’t know what word to use for how you’re acting.” Nate gives me a peculiar look.
Sitting there eating every damn bite on my plate, I finish my food and stand to put the plate in the sink.
“Oh, Faith. I forgot to tell you that some very crude man called last night. Asked for you and then said some very…” Pegs clears her throat. “He just asked for you and then was very nasty. I told him to F off and then hung up.”
I start to snicker. Peggy Sue grew up in a very Christian family, and nothing was ever done that you wouldn’t do in front of the church. The reason why her family disowned her after she got pregnant is that she had sex before marriage.
Pegs has always been so proper and, just like the rest of us, she has a very strong drawl to her speech. She stands about five foot six with average length blonde hair and she is very pretty. She has the perfect figure also, I have always been a little envious of her figure.
“Did he happen to say his name or anything?” I ask her as I walk over to the counter to find my cell phone to look at the caller ID.
“He said his name was Ziggy; he was very crude. I don’t know how you can associate with people like that, Faith.” She shakes her head and goes back to washing dishes.
“You know what? I didn’t give you a life lecture when you took off with Beau. Now, did I?” She shakes her head no.
“Well, since I didn’t give you any advice, I don’t need yours at this moment in my life. All right?”
Pegs steps back and puts her hands up. “All right, maybe you should go pull the stick out of your ass and we will start this day over again? How’s that sound?”
I gawk at her. I forgot that she is one of those girls that can give your shit right back to you.
I getting ready to say something back to her when I hear them. I know they are not that far away, which means they are probably just getting to the driveway. I drop my phone and run towards the front door. Oh, I am so happy to see the two bikes getting closer to us. I notice that one of them is Ziggy but I am not sure who the other guy is. I am sure he is a prospect or something; I think that’s what they call those guys that aren’t really in the club but they want to be. Ryder and I had a conversation about this before he left, but I can’t remember for the life of me what he said.
The familiar rumble comes to a loud rest. Pegs is standing next to me. “Who is that?”
“That’s Ziggy… He is my new family.” I look over at her and smile, right before I bounce down the stairs and jump into Ziggy’s open arms.
“Faithie, good to see ya kid! How’s it been? Sorry I wasn’t here for when your pops went.” He returns my bear hug with one of his own.
“Oh, it’s all right. I had my brothers here, Peggy Sue came back, and now you are here, so nothing else could possibly go wrong. I just wish Ryder was here.”
He sets me down on my feet and looks down at me. “Well, I have some kind of bad news. We won’t be able to stay as long as you were hoping. We need to move you and Layla to the clubhouse in Arizona.” He runs his hand through his hair while he exhales and looks over my shoulder. “Who’s that?” I see a twinkle in his eye.
“Oh, that’s Peggy Sue. She is now a package deal with me. What do you mean we have to go to Arizona? I want to go home, back to Layla’s.” I know that I am being a little whiner but I have been through a lot and I want some attention on me for a minute or two.
“She is fucking fine. I am gonna have her. Telling you this right now, Faith. Don’t stop me from getting next to her. She was such a snappy little bitch last night on the phone.” He keeps eyeing Pegs over my shoulder.
“Ziggy, she isn’t for you. You just stay away from my best friend.” I play punch him in the stomach.
“Whatever, girl. I will do what I want.”
“You better be careful. I will sic Ryder on your ass!” I start to chase him around the driveway a little bit, then it hits me. “Zig, what’s going on with Ryder?”
“Come on, let’s go inside, and I’ll bring you up to speed.” He pulls me into his body and I realize that life is going to be okay.
****
Peggy Sue
Standing on the front porch of Faith’s house, I watch her interact with the most amazing looking man I have ever seen. Just looking at him makes my body do things that I know are a sin. Who is this man and why is he in her life? I shake my head slightly just to try to get my thoughts back under control. He’s a biker; he looks dangerous, even mysterious. I need to remember how he talks to women.
Noticing that he is also staring at me, I instantly straighten up, turn on my heels, and walk back into the house.
I spent most of my life growing up in this house; I can remember walking down the stairs on Prom night. It’s so hard to believe that Faith’s dad is gone; he was like a father to me. I hate that I wasn’t here to say goodbye. It hurts that his last thoughts of me are hurting his daughter like I did.
My son, Tucker, starting to fuss in his pack-n-play in the corner of the living room. Walking over and look down at my little bundle of joy. I hear the heavy feet walking up the steps, and the door opens.
“So, this is where you grew up, huh, kiddo?”
I hear the voice that I not been able to forget, it has been in my head since I heard it. I cringe and pick up Tucker, grabbing his diapers and wipes. “Excuse me,” I say as I squeeze by the two leather-clad men standing in the entryway of Faith’s house.
“Where you off to, hot stuff?”
“I am going to tend to my son. The name is Peggy, not hot stuff.”
I start up the stairs to the guest room. As I reach the top of the stairs, I hear him say something about how hot and sassy I am.
What am I going to do? I came here with hope that I would be able to spend some time with Faith and get everything patched up so that Tucker and I could shack? up with her. We really don’t have anywhere else to go.
You really screwed the pooch on this one, didn’t ya? Oh, I wish I could KILL my voice of reason some times! The bitch is so spot on!
After changing Tucker’s diaper, I sit back on the bed and feed him. Thinking back on everything that has happened in the last year is unreal. I never thought that I would be twenty-one years old with a three-week-old child. I thought that I would be going to graduate school right now and renting some trendy apartment in Chicago. Falling for Beau was the biggest mistake of my life. I lost my best friend, my family, and, most of all, my freedom. I am blessed and happy to have my child but it is also not something I planned for or hoped for right now in my life.
I hear the sound of boots coming up the stairs and Tucker starts to fuss a little bit. Crap, I forgot to close the door all the way.
“There you are. Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something?”
I look up to see this amazing looking man standing in front of me.
“I’m just feeding my son. Can I help you?” I shift Tucker to the other tit and I see him staring right at my tits. I quickly cover up the one that Tucker was just on.
“I just thought that I would come introduce myself and get to know you a little bit. You know, you were fucking feisty on the phone last night. I will say you fuckin’ turned me on, got my dick hard. That’s for sure.”
“Are you serious? What, were you born under a rock? Do you really think you can get a woman speaking like that?” I shake my head at him. “And please, don’t speak like that around my son.” My son is not going to be raised around these types of people that are for sure.
“Name’s Ziggy. I’m Ryder’s best friend and all around good guy.” He looks at me and gives the cheesiest smile that I have ever see
n. I can’t help but laugh.
“Ziggy? Please tell me that your parents weren’t that cruel?”
“Ziggy’s a fuc—freaking nickname. My real name is Ezekiel and Zeke is the shortened version. But everyone calls me Ziggy, you smart ass.” He looks like he’s starting to lighten up a little bit.
“Good save on the language. So Zeke is it?” He nods. “Tell me… Why are you here?” I ask and he has a blank look on his face; I surprised him. Wonder what he was hoping I would say to him.
Clearing his throat, he starts to talk. “I am here to escort Faith back to Arizona to the compound.”
I hurriedly burp Tucker and fix my shirt. “Excuse me, I think I am going to go find Faith and ask what the hell is going on.” I walk past him and down the stairs to find Faith so we can have a little chat.
****
After a nap with Tucker, we are all sitting down for dinner when Faith’s brother, Will, starts up a conversation with the other biker who arrived with Zeke. It has been a silent staring contest between Zeke and me ever since we saw each other.
“So, what is going on exactly Faith?” I hate sitting here in silence and hearing everyone chew makes me want to puke.
She looks like I caught her off guard or something. “Well, I figured that we would go to Arizona for a little while and then we will head up to Kentucky and get settled in. How does that sound?”
I look at my best friend as if she has grown a third eye. “You’re tellin’ me that you want us to pack up everything we know and move across the US and then back across the states. Why are we going to Arizona to begin with? Explain to me why.” I stop eating, rest my fork on my plate, and throw my arms across my chest. Zeke starts to say something, but I give him a death glare and he stops. “Explain to me and your brothers what the hell is going on, Faith.”
“Ryder is in some deep trouble and I’m being asked to go to his family’s property so that they can keep an eye on me. All right?”
I look from her to the two big guys sitting at the table. Just what the hell has this girl gotten herself into? Just look at him over there, with his long brown hair, sexy brown eyes and sun kissed skin. God, I wonder what it would feel like to… Oh, lord! Reel it in, girl!
“Okay, so we are going to Arizona. How long will we have to be there?” In the same second, I finish my sentence, the bald guy gets a phone call and excuses himself from the table. “Zeke, how long will we have to be in Arizona?” I look at him across the table; he looks so uncomfortable, almost like he doesn’t belong at this table with us.
“Well, we would be leaving here within the next day or so.” I hear Faith clear her throat. “Of course, after Faith lays her father to rest. We need to get back to the compound as soon as we can.” He is shifting in his chair to stand up at the same time that baldy walks back into the room.
“We need to get the girls packed up and ready to move in the next forty eight hours. Prez called lockdown in the next seventy two,” Baldy says to Zeke.
“Are you sure, Tank? Wonder what the…” He stops mid-sentence and seems to realize where he is all of a sudden. “Ladies, we need to get things ready for our travels. Faith, where’s your car?”
She stands from the table and walks over to the pegboard on the wall. “It’s in the barn.”
I shake my head. “Wait a second. Just because some guy calls and says that we need to go hide somewhere, we’re going to jump on doing it? What the hell kind of people are you?” I stand up from the table and start to walk toward my son. “Sorry, I am not going anywhere with these guys, Faith.” I sit next to the pack-n-play on the couch and look at my son lying there, so innocent. Something tells me that our lives are about to change.
Chapter 11 -
Rogue
Today is the day. It is the day when Ryder goes down by my hand. I have waited for this day for several years. His stupid ass posse abandoned him and left him to take the heat. Zig and Flem are pussies. I’ll deal with those two losers soon enough.
I grab my gear and head out to my Mercedes to travel out to the secret spot in the desert where the fight will go down. I don’t want to take my bike for fear of one of the club brothers recognizing it. They don’t know about my Mercedes. I keep it locked up in the garage and rarely drive it. I am on a mission to remain incognito today. There is a lot riding on today and everything must go down as planned. We can’t fuck this up.
I arrive at the event tent, hurry up, get to the dressing room assigned to me, and lock the door. I know Ryder has been training with Uri and Kristoph; he apparently kicked the shit out of Uri a few days ago. That doesn’t worry me; I’ve kicked the fuck out of Uri on several occasions. He’s an ugly motherfucker and looks more intimidating than he really is. Several years ago, before I joined the Dueling Dragons, I was the top underground fighter in the United States. I was 14 and 0, undefeated when I hung up my belt and walked away to become club muscle. Tonight is my return to the circle, but I won’t be returning as myself. I will be Vladimir Constav, a new arrival from the Ukraine.
I make a quick call to Deacon to make sure he’s ready and everything is going to be timed just right. He assures me that the brothers are all heading out to the fight location soon and Prez is staying behind to call for backup if needed. He has the Feared Demons on stand-by in town. We have a truce and partnership with their club. We’ve used them on occasion to back our shit up when needed. Deacon assures me that everything is a go and Bambi will make her appearance at the club once it’s been cleared out. The whores are banned today due to “Operation Rescue Ryder.” Prez wants a church meeting after Ryder has been set free and whores are a liability in his opinion. Won’t he be surprised to have a visit from the sexy ass Bambi and an offer of a quick blowjob to thank him for his help with the kid? Then it’s lights out for the old man and Ryder.
I put on my fighting gear and the leather mask my uncle provided to hide my identity. I’ll keep a wife beater on to hide the tat on my back of the phoenix rising. That would be a dead giveaway. I am busy taping my hands up when there is a knock at the door. It’s my uncle. I open the door quickly, shut it, and relock it.
“Boy, are you a little paranoid?” He laughs aloud.
I give him a glare. “You and I both know this place is going to be crawling with Dragon brothers soon. I can’t be seen.” He nods in acceptance of my paranoia. “Is everything set? Has Ryder’s water bottle been drugged yet?” I need a guarantee that he’s going down for the count so that I can lay the deathblow to his skull. If he’s fully conscious, he will put up more of a fight.
I can hear the crowd starting to roar out beyond the dressing area in the outbuilding on the property. The fighting circle is located under a tent out in front of the buildings. This is my uncle’s property but it’s listed under one of his shell companies so it’s not traced back to him directly.
My uncle slaps me on the back. “Are you ready? This is the most important fight of your life.” He says it with trepidation in his voice.
I blow out my breath to center myself and look him in the eye and nod. “Ya ponimaju. spasibo.” I understand, thanks, I tell him in Russian. He smiles at me. He dislikes that I speak English more than I speak Russian. I look at him, knowing exactly what he is thinking. “Znatʼ odin jazyk nikogda nedostatočno.” I smirk at him, telling him one language is never enough.
He pats me on the back and walks out. He never wishes me luck before a fight as it’s seen as a bad omen in our culture. I open the door and listen to the yells of the crowd under the tent. It’s the rush I need to psych myself up. I know that things are being taken care of back at the club by Deacon and Bambi, so now, I focus on taking Ryder out.
***
Bambi
This is it. Today, Rogue will gain control of the Dueling Dragons motorcycle club. I feel anxious about the entire situation, but I know it has to happen or I will never make it back into the circle of the club. Rogue’s plan involves him taking out Ryder and, at first, I was afraid of him doing
that to the father of my son, but Ryder threw me away, as if I were trash. I no longer care if he lives or dies. Rogue will step up and take me in as his old lady and elevate my status among these pricks.
I walk into the deserted club knowing Prez is the only one here. All club whores have been relegated to their own homes today as there is a top-secret church meeting scheduled since they think they will be returning with Ryder in hand.
Walking down the hallway to Prez’s office, I suck in a deep breath. My task today is distraction so Deacon can slip in and put a bullet to his head. “Okay, Bambi, you can do this, woman,” I tell myself.
I lift my arm and knock on the door.
“Enter.” I hear the gruff deep baritone voice of Prez.
I slowly grab the door handle, open the door, and peek my head in. He looks up from his desk and his eyes grow wide. “Bambi, what the fuck are you doing back here?”
I give him my best fake ass smile. “Well, nice to see you, too, Prez. I stopped in town to visit my brother and he wasn’t home, so I decided to stop over to see if he was here. I know Ryder is in Kentucky now so I knew I wouldn’t be risking him seeing me.”
He shakes his head and runs his hand over his beard. He looks over at me and eyes me up and down. Fucking pervert. He’s old enough to be my fucking grandfather. I know what my role is in this plan, however, so I turn on the charm and keep the bile from rising in my throat. The thought of sucking his cock makes me want to puke, but I have to distract him so Deacon can sneak in and shoot his ass.
I walk further into his office and shut the door, leaving it slightly ajar for Deacon to be able to sneak in undetected. I walk up to his desk and sit on it, making sure to spread my legs to give him a peek-a-boo view of my naked snatch. I need to entice the horny old fuck.
I lean in a little closer to him, and give him a nice eyeshot down my shirt to my tits, which are heaved up high on my chest with my red pushup bra. I know Prez has always wanted to sample my wares. He never did when I was whoring around the club before I became Ryder’s old lady because his old lady would have shot his ass. Lucky for me, his old lady passed away last year in a car accident. I know he’s ready to play a little.
Ryder's Last Run (Dueling Dragons MC Series) Page 12
