Rain woke and looked around, fuck a duck, she thought, I slept with them. Dammit all to hell. She slowly moved down between them, making sure she didn’t disturb them because she needed to get the fuck outta here. Rule number one, never spend the night with anyone, ‘fuck ‘em and leave ‘em’ that is her motto and she wasn’t changing it. Too many strings came from relationships.
When she reached the end of the bed, she slid off, grabbed her clothes, pulled them on swiftly, and left. It wasn’t until she was outside on the street that she remembered they had been at Slinging Ink. Thank God, she thought, at least she didn’t have to explain to anyone what the fuck she had done.
Taking a deep breath she pulled her cell phone out, which was still in the back pocket of her jeans and walked right toward Starbucks, yes she needed the elixir of life, coffee. Of course, she wasn’t obsessed like Harmony, hell, no one was that obsessed. The woman stabbed someone with a spork for messing with her bagel. As she hit the front door Rain changed her mind, possibly Harmony was right, because right now she spied the Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake, which was only in season once a year, and apparently Rain had missed that memo. She loved that shit.
She saw her reflection in the window and grimaced a little. Her jeans were baggy and sagged on her waist, held up by her favorite belt, which had a buckle with bling-crossed guns. She was wearing her Harley boots, and a cropped t-shirt with a bike on the front. Her long blond hair was a mess, but still looked good. Damn, she looked like she was headed out for the night instead of beginning her day. Fuck it, she thought and swung open the door.
She walked to the counter and ordered. Then she heard Harmony and the other Lady Riders come in. She should have known they would be here; it was their morning ritual.
“Hey, Rain,” Harmony called and the others came up to her.
“Hey,” she said. “I ordered and will get us a table.”
The women stared at her and then Shady laughed loudly. “She got laid.”
“Hell yeah she did,” Freedom said. “Get a big table, the others are coming too, they are right behind us.”
Rain frowned and hung her head, shit, they were all going to be there, and they were all going to give her shit. This sucked, it was worse than the walk of shame, it was the Starbucks happy place walk of shame. Not cool.
“Get me another Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake,” she snapped as the other laughed and she grabbed her coffee and pastry and walked off.
In the back was a large group of tables they always sat at. There was a young bunch of boys sitting there, no more than eighteen, and they grinned when she walked up.
“Hey, mama,” one of them said and Rain rolled her eyes.
“Move,” she said quietly, and the boys laughed.
“Mama, why don’t you sit with us and we can talk about what we are doing later,” the same boy said. The others were just smiling, and looking at their apparent leader in awe because he had spoken to her.
Rain softened her features and walked around the table and reached up her free hand and ran it through the teen’s hair and then leaned over and smiled at his friends who were watching intently. She could see with the looks on their faces that they were in shock at what she was doing. Rain licked her lips seductively and then whispered right next to the boy’s ear, “Baby, haven’t you heard? Caffeine stunts your growth, and I am sure your cock can’t afford that. So why don’t you run along and see if the pharmacy has some cock enlargement pills that will help you out. Then come and see me.”
The boy jerked his head back as his friends held their hands over their mouths and laughed loudly. The leader stood and glared and her, then with his head he motioned to the others and they moved.
Rain laughed to herself and then cleared the table and pulled up chairs for everyone. The others had just showed up when the boys stormed through the door.
Shady and the first group came to the table laughing and put down their drinks. “Rain, I see you haven’t lost your touch.”
She grinned, “Don’t have time for little boys messing around.”
Bob shook her head. “Shit, I could have totally initiated them into manhood.”
“Cougar,” Freedom snorted.
“Hell yeah,” Bob said and sat down. “I get some good tips from the young bucks at Bitches. Their daddies give them a big allowance to go to the strippers.”
The women laughed and waited until everyone was sitting down before they began. Rain ate her pound cake quietly, soothing herself for what was to come.
“So,” Abi said with a wink to Rain. “How was it?”
Rain shook her head and said, “I got off, and I left, no biggie.”
The women laughed and then moved on, thank God. Shady took over by saying softly, “What did you find out, Bree, Nike?”
The two women looked tired but they grinned at each other. “A lot,” Bree said and looked at Rain with a sad expression. “I know this is gonna suck and bring up shit, and I am sorry.”
Rain shrugged, “Whatever.”
“Okay,” Nike said. “First off, your mom and sister.”
“Wait. What? And it is half-sister thanks,” Rain said. “They are not involved.”
Bree looked at her sympathetically. “Not knowingly your mother, but your uh half-sister? We may have an issue there.”
Rain whispered, “What the fuck?”
Nike nodded. “Okay, here is what we have on that end. Your half-sister has been hanging around with Zane and his second-in-command. We traced several of her new purchases, one of which is a large apartment building in San Diego, the signatures were verified, it was her and Zane who bought it, and she signed off on locks, lingerie, clothes, décor, and other things which leads me to believe she is completely aware the place is a whorehouse with underage children.”
“Oh my God!” Rain said stunned. She had never gotten along with her half-sister, they had a hate-hate relationship, and Rain was okay with that. Even Zane was part of their competition, shit, Rain knew her half-sister was jealous when she was married, because Angel had tried to turn Zane’s head several times before he asked Storm out. Hell, at the end Angel had laughed when Rain said she wanted out, told her she was stupid, she said nothing could be so bad that Storm would walk away from the money. But even with all that, she would never have thought her half-sister would stoop that low.
“Uh,” Bree said. “And she is also named in several other holdings with your husband, all of which are barely on the legal side of things. She convinced your mother to invest in a shipping company they are using to transport drugs and women. From all indications, it looks like you mother has no clue, she just went along with the recommendation from your half-sister.”
“Now, Zane,” Nike said and looked at her again apologetically. “Better to just rip the Band-Aid off, babe. Intercepted a few emails, it looks like someone got a picture of you in Mexico, he knows you are with the club, and he is gearing up to get you back.”
This was the first time she smiled. And yeah, it probably looked like she was a bit mental but damn, that was seriously fucking funny. “Get me back?” she laughed and they all frowned and looked at her. “He has no clue who the fuck he is dealing with anymore. He only knows the weak bitch I once was, fuck him. I will meet him on his turf and we will see who the fuck comes out unscathed.”
Shady slammed her hand down on the table and said, “The fuck you will.”
Rain shook her head. “You don’t know Zane, I do. I mean yeah, years ago living with him scared the crap outta me. He was mean, he was a bastard, and he beat me down into a weakling. But, guys, I met you. I get I fucked up. I get that I held something from you, but it wasn’t because I was scared of him. I was scared of losing you all. I could give a rat’s ass about him, fuck, with the training I have gotten, I can kick his scrawny, perfectly slicked black haired ass.”
They all looked surprised. “I thought you were scared of him,” Freedom said softly.
Rain looked at her, and then stared at
each of the women she called sisters and said, “Yeah, I was afraid of you all getting hurt. But honestly, I get what Shay had been trying to say, we have a code, we live it, breathe it, fucking taste it.”
Shady smiled and then said, “A bitch who is in it for the long run, will stay with you and have your back no matter what.”
“Well said. But not necessary,” a man’s voice said from behind them and Rain froze, she knew that voice. Fuck.
The women all looked behind her but Rain didn’t have to, she knew that voice, even though it was one she hadn’t heard in more than five years.
Chapter Nine
“Okay,” Creed said from the front of the room, they had called a meeting first thing this morning after hearing the women were doing the same. “We need to get ahead of this shit before it comes back to bite us all in the ass.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for the Lady Riders to be here?” Kink said slowly and looked at Charro and Knight who were looking like they needed a hangover treatment. The two men were silent but listening intently.
“Normally, I would say yes, but I have a bad feeling about this guy, Zane. Some of the shit we dug up on him doesn’t look good. Plus, Rain is still legally married to the guy, regardless of everything else, things could go real bad if she suddenly has a change of heart,” Creed said and that is when the men exploded.
“What the fuck?” Knight yelled. “Change her mind? Did you even listen to her?”
“And besides the fact, she is ours, we claimed her and we will fight for her,” Charro snapped.
“Yeah, that is what I am talking about,” Creed said quietly. “How will you feel if we sit back and one of the women get hurt?”
“Uh, you have met Shay right?” Slider snorted.
Creed grunted. “Yeah and I met Harmony too, and I know she can take care of herself most times. But this guy, Zane, he is connected, and when I say connected, I mean to every fucking body that deals with anything remotely illegal. He runs the West Coast, and apparently, Angel, Rain’s bitch of a half-sister is fast becoming just as powerful in those circles. She has a way with dealing with shit that even I cringe at.”
“Yeah,” Charro said reluctantly. “But going behind their back like this could cause more of a shitstorm than we want.”
“My commander used to say, ‘Do what needs to be done, and ask for forgiveness later’, can’t think of a better motto right now to use because when push comes to shove I ain't leaving my woman’s ass out there hanging without me,” Poke said and all the men nodded.
Knight knew there was no way they were going to win this particular battle with the club, and he had to admit they were right on some aspects of it. Rain would just have to get over the fact they were going to help and had their backs as well.
“This is what we know,” Raven said from the side of the table and began to explain everything they had discovered. Chills went down all of their backs as they listened to the fucked up shit that was happening in Rain’s ‘blood’ family. What a fucking mess.
“I also made a few calls. We all know who General Tang is and truthfully, I respect the guy, but he can’t do some of the things we can and keep clean,” Creed said and the guys all nodded. “Also, the girls are tough, but we have the experience an operation like this takes. So it goes without saying that we are going to do what we have to do in order to keep them safe.”
The men mumbled in agreement and Charro leaned over to Knight and said, “What do you think?”
“I think, we do both, ‘cause I agree with the guys, but I have seen the girls in action, and they are some mean ass bitches. I have no doubt they will be able to deal with this, but the number of men this dude has is gonna be the issue,” Knight said and Charro nodded.
“Besides, Rain is ours and no matter what that means, we protect her,” Charro said. “If she gets pissed, we deal with it.”
Knight grinned. “Yeah we do.”
“Okay, we are still waiting for a few more pieces of information, but as it stands right now, we are going to be taking a road trip to Cali. Mostly because some of the players we are talking about are not ones we want to fuck with. When I say that, I mean because I would rather stay under their radar. The Feds have been watching Rugel, and we do not need to draw their attention. So this will need to be an in and out. I have called Freebyrd, and Magnum already left to get things ready for us. We also need to make sure the girls don’t know what we are planning until the time comes. That is why Mag went, he and the Cali guys are gonna get the lay of the land, if they can take out Rugel they will, if not, then we are gonna have another plan.” Creed turned to stare at Kink and him. Knight closed his eyes, shit, yeah; they were the best snipers in the group. Fuck a duck, Rain was going to be pissed.
“Could be the only way,” Fork said before Kink could open his mouth and the man leaned back and looked at Knight. Shit, they’d worked together before and he knew they could again. Knight’s only problem was hiding it from Rain. He looked at Charro who nodded.
“Gotta do what you gotta do, man,” Charro muttered and Knight nodded to Creed and Kink. Looked like they’d be going to the range to get their guns lined up.
“Okay, as soon as we get some more Intel we will meet again and decide how to proceed. In the meantime, guys, get Rain’s ass back to the compound, can’t have her running all over town with a target on her back,” Creed said.
“Oh this ought to be fun,” Kink laughed. “I love watching Rain get pissy when people tell her what to do.”
“Yeah, just ‘cause you got the attitude the other night,” Knight laughed.
“This time it is not me, so yeah, gonna be fun,” Kink laughed loudly and Knight and Charro shook their heads. She would do what they wanted her to do.
“All that money for surgery and you end up a stripper in a biker club?” her father said loudly and all of the women froze.
Rain smiled, turned, and looked at her father. “Oh look, the sperm donor is here. Care to actually sit at the same table as me for a few minutes before I kick your ass to the curb again?”
General Tang shook his head and then pulled out a chair. The Lady Riders looked at him with both curiosity and hostility. No one talked about their sister that way, however Rain didn’t seem to be upset.
“I see you still have the mouth of a sailor. I knew I should have made you join the damn Navy.”
“And I see you are still hiding behind that uniform so you don’t have to deal with the real world.” Rain’s voice was getting thicker by the minute. Abi stood and addressed the General, before he could sit down.
“How do you take your coffee?” His eyes met hers and his features turned unamused.
“Your father must be as proud as I am.” His eyes scanned her up and down, noting the tight black leather vest that zipped up the front in a halter type cut with nothing underneath and the black leather pants that tucked into her boots. “At least waitressing has its purpose,” he added.
“My parents died when I was a kid. I’m pretty damn sure they are looking down and proud as fuck of me, considering I hold the National Champion belt in the women’s MMA division. I’m not a fuckin’ waitress, but I figured it’d be a better idea to get your ass sitting and sipping coffee before this turns ugly. Now go get yourself something and come sit down. Right here, dear ole dad.” She reached over to a free chair against the wall and slung it beside her. It was a direct view to Rain, but Abi also wanted him next to her in case he didn’t come for a family reunion and tried to start shit.
Surprisingly, the General chuckled and went to the counter to order. “Your father is a fuckwad,” Shady said.
“No shit,” Rain responded sarcastically.
“He says one wrong word and I’m on his ass, got it?” Heaven reached in her pocket and pulled out her blade, getting it within easy reach under the table.
Rain smiled. “Thanks, girls.” Her father came walking back and her smile faded. He ignored their scowls and sat down, scooting his chair in to sit
with a rigid posture and his chest puffed out like a fucking peacock. The girls were all slumped over or kicked back comfortably.
“I won’t sit by and watch my daughter be murdered. They are some very bad people, which given your poor judgment when it comes to men, I am sure you already know. He’s coming for you and he won’t back down until he has you. You’re going to go home and pack up your things and be ready to fly in an hour.”
“The fuck you say,” Heaven answered for her. She glanced over at Rain and saw the same reaction the rest of the table held. Oh yeah. She was one of them no doubt about it. Gone with the rich bitch, in with the badass.
“Young lady, this doesn’t concern you. It’d be in your best interest to keep your nose out of our business.” His condescending tone pissed off the entire table.
“That’s where you’re wrong. See, Rain is one of us. We are a family, and if one has a problem, we fix it together. We don’t turn our backs on each other just because they may have made a mistake or a bad call of judgment,” Rose said with her arms folded over her chest. His eyes shot to her and he scowled.
“Family? You call this high school rock-band-in-the-garage-club family? None of you know what the real meaning of that word is and I’ll tell you the same thing. Back off out of our conversation.” He was getting irritated, which didn’t faze the girls in the least.
“I wouldn’t expect a man like you to understand what family is. We love one another and support each other. Not to appear good for the public eye or force each other to save face. We take care of our own and don’t cut anyone out because of a bad marriage. If I’d been around Rain back then, she wouldn’t have fallen in that trap. We’d have kept her from ever getting involved with Zane to begin with. So tell me, General, why are you here?” Bree spat.
“Again, little girl, that doesn’t concern you.” He gave Rain a disapproving glance that had her sitting upright in her chair.
Rain Falls: MC Romance (Lady Riders Book 1) Page 6
