Lexi, Property of Rhyder: A Motorcycle Club Romance (Blood Brothers MC Book 6)

by J. A. Collard

  The rumble of motorcycles sounds in the distance, and I quickly stand to attention, adrenaline now running through my veins. My gun is placed behind my back and tucked into my jeans, ready to use at any moment. Headlights shine ahead, and I look at Prez who’s face is telling me to keep calm. I promised him I wouldn’t do anything that could possibly jeopardize our club and the Sinners, and that’s why I need to keep my anger in full check.

  I blow out a breath, and with my eyes focused on the men ahead, I stand patiently as one by one, they get off their bikes, and two vans park to the side.

  “Hey, Ombre,” the leader says, giving Tate a shake and a pat on the back. Tate does the same while I look at the rest of the El Pasos who are all wearing red bandanas.

  Tate turns to us, saying, “These are my boys.”

  The leader nods.

  “Brothers, this is the President of the El Pasos, Angel.”

  I nod my head in a simple hello, and Quill steps in and shakes his hand. Angel asks Tate to walk with him, and they step off toward the vans deep in conversation.

  What the fuck is he saying?

  I should be with Tate.

  They reach the van, and Angel grabs a piece of paper and hands it to Tate. He reads its contents then looks at me.

  Fuck, it’s probably the girls’ names.

  I see Tate scan the paper for a while, then he slowly looks up at me again, his body slumps in what looks like disappointment.

  Fuck! Fuck! Fuck.

  But then something changes, and he looks back at me with hope because there’s the smallest of smiles on his face.

  They continue to have their conversation, and then Tate leaves Angel and walks back to us, his face now giving away nothing.

  I want to yell, is she fucking there? But I hold back, remembering the promise I made to Quill.

  Tate starts talking, “Okay, the plan is… the truck will be here any minute. Angel has asked us to take some girls and deliver them to this address.” He pulls out the piece of paper which I snatch away from him. “Chill, man.”

  At this stage, I can’t fucking chill, All I can do is focus on what’s on the piece of paper that appears like a manifest. Scanning over the printed document, I notice there are no names, only numbers.

  I quickly turn to him. “What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?” I ask, shoving the piece of paper against Tate’s chest.

  “You’re gonna fuckin’ blow it, brother,” Tate says is a low voice.

  “Is there a problem?” Angel asks, stepping forward.

  Tate plants a fake smile, and I clear my throat realizing how close I am to fucking up this whole operation.

  “No, problem, Angel. My brother here is tired and wants the job over with.” Angel stares at me for what seems like ages. He’s assessing me and has one of those glares that you don’t want to mess with. Shaved head with a tattoo on his cheek, I can’t quite make out what it is in the dark, but it looks like a cobra. Scrutinizing eyes stare at mine, and he senses something’s up.

  So, I break the ice by saying, “Let’s get goin’. Time’s not on our side.”

  Angel straightens, then smirks. “Your boy is right. Let’s do this.” He grabs the paper back from Tate and scans it again. “Girls from one to four are going with you. Make sure you get them to these addresses. Angel turns the paper to face us pointing to the addresses next to each number.

  Tate nods, then says, “We have our van, we will get them there tonight.”

  I hope to God that Lexi has one of those numbers because if she doesn’t and she’s still on that truck, there’s no one who’s going to be able to stop me from getting to her. I have to come up with some kind of plan if things turn to shit.

  Headlights appear in the distance, and Angel states, “Showtime, boys.”

  My breathing picks up, and I fight with my body to keep still. Once the truck parks in front of the bikes, I squeeze my fists beside me at my sides using all the willpower I can muster not to run to the truck and see for myself if Lexi’s in there.

  Angel steps forward when the driver jumps out of his truck. They shake hands and have a discussion.

  “Easy, Tiger,” Hawke says as he steps in beside me.

  Hawke’s our VP and a good fucking man, one of the best. He knows what it’s like to come close to losing someone who means a whole lot to you because he almost lost Luisa when she was shot at the clubhouse when we were ambushed. Things turned out okay, though, they’re married now and have twins and are happy.

  Glancing over at him, I give him a slight nod, letting him know I get it. Pulling in a breath, I calm myself as another man steps out the other side of the truck wearing camouflage gear and a shotgun over his shoulder. They head toward the back of the truck where there are another two men dressed the same. My feet are burning to move, to check if Lexi’s in the truck, but I can’t. I have to remember I can’t jeopardize this deal. There could be a lot of bloodshed if I fuck things up for us tonight, so I must keep reminding myself to keep calm. Play it cool. How I feel and my actions are two entirely different things.

  Angel turns around, and he waves Tate over as he leaves us to check things out.

  I go to move with him, but I’m held back when Prez places his hand on my shoulder.

  Fuck!

  Waiting impatiently, I bite the inside of my cheek as I watch Tate walk toward Angel. They both vanish behind the truck, and I hope to God Tate has a good memory and has the image of Lexi and Paige burned into his brain.

  Time goes slow as we wait for them to show their faces again, when suddenly, Tate appears with one girl in his arm and another three held by two of the men in camouflage and Angel. The girls have a black sack over their heads, so I can’t make out their faces. Once Tate passes me, I follow behind with Prez and the other boys. We get to the back of the van, and Tracker opens the side door to let them in. The girls are carried into the van, and my hands itch to rip the black sacks off their heads to see if any of them are Lexi.

  Once the girls are seated, Angel and the other two men turn around and leave us.

  Angel turns to Tate, saying, “If you run into any trouble, call me. We will deal with it. We have connections all around here, including the police.”

  Tate nods, saying, “Will do.”

  Then Angel opens the front of his cut and takes out a folded envelope, then places it in Tate’s hand. “That’s your cut.”

  Tate thanks him, opens the envelope, and his eyes widen. Then he folds it up again and places it in the back of his jeans. I know it’s all an act. If Tate didn’t show he was happy with the cash deal, Angel would know something’s up.

  They shake hands.

  Then Angel says, “Thanks for your help, hermano. I’ll call you next month. We might need your help again.”

  “Sounds good, brother,” Tate adds.

  All I can think is we need to get the fuck out of here, so I can rip off these girls’ hoods and check them.

  Angel finally walks away, and once they’re out of sight, I quickly jump in the back of the van and rip off their bags. Their eyes are shut, and with the darkness, it’s hard to make out any features. I grab my phone and turn on the torch function and place it on the girls’ faces. One by one, they come into view, and when my eyes land on this one girl, I know it’s not Lexi, but I’ve got the closest thing to her. It’s her sister, Paige. I grab her face between my hands and tap her lightly on her cheek. “Paige? Paige,” I say with as much tenderness as I can in this moment.

  “Is that Lexi’s sister?” Prez asks, and I look away from Paige to Prez.

  “Yeah, it’s her.” My eyes look away for a moment at the faces of the other girls just in case I got it wrong and missed something, but none of these girls are Lexi. They all appear so young, it makes my skin crawl.

  I pull away Paige’s hair from her face, which is stuck there obviously from her tears, and once again hold her cheeks in my hands. “Paige, where’s your sister?” Her eyes flutter open slightly, but she
’s all over the place. They’ve given her sedation, and she’s still completely out of it. “Paige, where’s Lexi?” I repeat.

  Her eyes open at the mention of her sister’s name, and hope fills me.

  “Do you know where she is? Was she in the back of the truck with you?”

  Paige’s eyes widen when she takes me in, and all the men gather around her.

  Hell, she probably thinks we’re the ones who kidnapped her.

  All of a sudden, she screams loudly, and I quickly cover her mouth with my palm not wanting to gain any attention from the El Pasos or the other men.

  “Shush… you’re gonna cost us our lives. I’m Rhyder, I’m a friend of your sister’s. I’m not goin’ to harm you. I’m here to help.”

  Paige’s eyes widen as she looks at me. She’s finding it hard to keep her head upright, so I hold her still.

  “Rhyder?” she whispers.

  “Water. Get me some fuckin’ water,” I yell over to the boys.

  Tracker wastes no time getting some out of our cooler and handing a bottle to me. I quickly remove the lid and help her to drink, hoping it will help get some fluid back into her body. She gulps down the water, and it’s then I notice how young she actually is. I finally notice all she’s wearing is a flimsy negligee thing which barely covers her young body. I place some more water to her parched lips. When she stops drinking, some of it spills from her mouth as she’s unable to swallow anymore. I remove the bottle noticing that her negligee has fallen low revealing one breast. Oh, for God’s sake! I quickly lift it by one of the thin straps and tie it in a knot keeping it high on her chest.

  “Paige. Can you tell me if your sister was with you in the truck?”

  Her eyes fill with tears and sadness hovers like a cloud over her. “Lexi… it’s all my fault,” she says as I hold her by her shoulders.

  I give her a small shake and say, “I need to know if Lexi was on that truck with you because if she is, I have to go back to the fuckin’ truck and get her out of there. And I’m goin’ to have to explain to fuckin’ animals why the fuck I’m lookin’ for a girl. Do you hear me, Paige? Do you understand what I’m tellin’ you?”

  She nods slowly then says. “No, she wasn’t with me. She already has a master.”

  What. The. Fuck!

  Tate pokes his head in the van saying, “Rhyder, we need to go. They’re wondering why the fuck we’re not moving. I’ve said one of the girls was sick in the van.”

  I turn to Tate. “Paige said Lexi wasn’t with her. You get a look at those other girls, brother?”

  “I did. I spoke shit to Angel, and for some reason, he actually allowed me to have a look at the girls. She’s not in there, brother. Definitely not there.”

  I turn fully toward him. “Are you one hundred percent sure?”

  He nods. “I’m sure. Most of those girls are young… like twelve or fifteen…” he sighs, “… and blonde. It ain’t Lexi.”

  I look from Tate and then Prez, Hawke, and Tracker and know they’re waiting for me to do something crazy.

  “Let’s leave, Rhyder. We will think of something, but here is not the right time. Maybe Paige can give us more details when she’s slept off whatever shit’s in her system,” Prez states.

  Goddammit! I know he’s right.

  I slam it against the inside of the van cursing, “Fuck.”

  I startle the girls, and Paige begins to cry. She slides away from me and backs herself against the van wall.

  I move in and whisper, “Shush, it’s okay. I’m sorry.”

  Her tense body eases slightly.

  I turn to the boys. “Let’s get out of here. Now!”

  LEXI

  I hear a knock at my door and then a click. I’ve been locked in my room for most of the day, and I’ve had nothing since lunch. Gail visited me earlier and offered me afternoon tea, but I didn’t want it. She mentioned that Master will allow me to dine with him for dinner. However, I must behave or else he will send me back to my room without food. Gail also said that once he feels he can trust me, he will let me roam around the house freely, but for now, I’m his prisoner, and I must obey his every word.

  Gail brought an evening dress with some lingerie. She told me that Master asked that I wear it and not to disappoint him. At first, I threw the garment to the floor, saying I wasn’t going to wear the flimsy silver dress, but Gail begged me to do as Sir Lawrence wanted because he would force me to wear it if I didn’t follow his commands.

  After Gail finished speaking to me, she shut the door behind her and left me there on my own. I sat there for a while telling myself I wasn’t going to wear the stupid silver dress or the barely-there G-string and bra set that basically covered nothing of my body. But my stomach rumbled, and I needed some air and to get out of this room. I was torn between starving and sitting in a locked room all night, or having dinner downstairs but having to wear the ridiculous dress and lingerie.

  So now here I sit, wearing exactly what I said I wouldn’t, waiting until I am allowed to go downstairs.

  Gail steps into my room with a smile. “I’m glad you chose to listen, Red. You look exceptionally beautiful,” she says as I stand from the bed allowing the front of the dress to fall to the floor. Two long slits along both sides show my full legs when I walk. I’m wearing matching silver heels. It most certainly wouldn’t be something I would normally wear. Actually, I wouldn’t be caught dead in something so revealing. Plus, my dad would kill me if he ever saw me in something like this. But Master expects me to wear it, and I am not sure I want to know what happens should I go down to dinner disobeying him.

  I showered as expected and applied makeup, and, of course, am wearing the stupid red lipstick.

  Feeling confident, I step out of the room and follow Gail down the stairs.

  I wonder what Gail is to Master?

  Is she also his captive?

  She’s young and beautiful.

  How did she become his housekeeper?

  We make our way past the kitchen. Gail walks through French doors which lead outside to a dinner table, long enough for ten people, but there are only two seats prepared tonight. I check around noticing the beautiful flowers in the center of the table and petals that are scattered on the tablecloth. I don’t see him, but I hear him when he says, “Hello, Red. You look beautiful tonight.”

  I spin to the voice and find Master right behind me. He’s so close I can feel the heat of his body on my back. His hand runs down the side of my neck, and I flinch at his touch. He leans in and whispers in my ear, “You will soon come to want me, just like I want you. It’s only a matter of time, Red.”

  I swallow hard at his intimacy, but honestly, his touch makes me sick.

  How can he force a woman to be what he wants them to be?

  Why does he even want it that way?

  I will never want him.

  I hate him.

  I despise him.

  I hate what he represents.

  I don’t even know him.

  I turn to face him with a million questions running through my mind. “Why me? Why not some other girl? Please, I want to go home,” I cry out, a tear now running down my cheek.

  Master’s green eyes pierce mine with anger now evident. I’ve crossed the line again. I have asked questions when I was warned not to. I step back out of his space, frightened now with his intense stare boring into me. His hand comes out, and I flinch back.

  “I won’t hit you, Red,” he explains, then cups my cheek, allowing his finger to brush away my fallen tear. His eyes focus on my lips, and I hope and pray he won’t try to kiss me.

  It’s not that he’s not good-looking, he is. Actually, he’s a very attractive man, but I don’t want him. I never will. He’s a kidnapper, a man who forces women to have sex with him. He’s a sick man with sick thoughts. All I want to do is eat and go to bed.

  My mind drifts quickly to Rhyder, and I wonder if he’s looking for me? He surely knows by now that I’m missing, and undoubtedl
y my family is searching for me.

  “Where is your mind at, Red?”

  My eyes flick up to his. “I, um… I was thinking about my family.”

  Master steps in closer, our noses an inch apart. “They are your past, Red. I am the only person you should be thinking about, but don’t worry, I will help you think about only me.”

  I frown. “What do you mean?”

  He rubs his fingers over his scruffy jaw and tilts his head. “You are still so young and naïve.” His fingers pinch my chin and pull it down causing my lips to open. “I’m going to have so much fun with you. I don’t think you’ve had many men, and your body hasn’t been fully aroused. But I’m glad about that fact, Red, because I’m going to enjoy bringing your body to life by just using my…” he dips his head above my lips and his tongue flicks out to lick my bottom lip, and as I attempt to move his hand that holds my head in place, “… mouth.” He rasps out the words as his lips touch mine.

  I put pressure on the hand that’s at the back of my head, trying to break free, but he’s too strong and won’t let me go.

  “All in due time,” he says quietly, and then he runs his nose down my neck and looks at me, smiling. Finally, he removes his hand and walks to the table, pulling out a chair for me.

  What the hell just happened?

  With small steps, I make my way to the chair and take my seat. His hands move from the chair to my bare shoulders, and then he removes them and walks around the table to the other side. As soon as he takes his seat, a waiter walks over pouring a glass of wine then he walks to me, but I quickly place my hand over it saying, “I don’t want any.”

  Master cocks an eyebrow, and his eyes turn intense again. “Maybe a little?”

  I agree with a nod, not wanting to anger him again. I take a sip from the wine glass and notice Master’s stare hasn’t changed—this asshole’s watching me like he wants to devour me. He’s right when he says I’m naïve and inexperienced. I’ve never played these games before. I have never wanted to. Well, maybe a little when I met Rhyder, but this is all so new to me.