by Erin Trejo
“Let’s go home brother.”
Tank walks off as I follow. My chest is tight and I can’t breathe. It’s Jason all over again. My heart screams and cries out from the pain. It’s a physical pain.
We all climb into the van and leave the bikes. Joey looks like he saw a ghost. This isn’t the way this should have played out. Not in a million years, did I see this coming.
“Good thing we drove the old bikes out here, yeah?” Ryker looks over with a sad smile on his face.
“Fuckin’ right on that one.” My heart’s not in it. We all know it. We all just try to hold the other one up.
“Are we ready? I heard sirens.” Glancing over at Joey, I nod.
We pull out leaving this mess behind us. Leaving one of our own behind us.
Chapter 41
Ryker
Pulling into the clubhouse parking lot, a somber feeling comes over me. I just lost one of the best friends I had. As if losing Bone not that long ago wasn’t enough, now I lost Torch. My heart hurts more than I ever thought it could. No one speaks as we climb out of the van, defeated. We set out to get some C4, and ended up coming home with one less brother. It’s not right. It all feels wrong.
“I’ll call a meetin’ in the main room.” Creed speaks, but it’s like the words just float past me.
Opening the door, we all head inside to laughter and talking. As soon as Piper looks over at us, the room grows quiet. I don’t know if he said something or not. I can’t focus on anything.
“We need to talk. Everybody out here?” Creed speaks before he steps up next to the bar looking around at everyone.
“We’re all here.” Piper looks over at me, but I can’t meet his gaze. Looking around, I don’t see Jersey out here, and I’m not sure if I’m happy about that or not.
“We went on this run tonight not expectin’ any trouble, but that’s what we found. We lost one of our own brothers tonight.” Creed’s voice cracks before the tears spill down his face.
“Torch didn’t make it out. He took the hit for this club, for his brothers.” Shaking his head, he doesn’t say anything else before he moves straight toward Jada. Tank is gone, and I don’t see Joey anywhere. Bella rushes toward me throwing herself in my arms.
“Oh God! Ryker.” She cries hysterically into my chest before I see Jersey walking down the hallway. Her eyes land on mine, and I can tell she knows something isn’t right. She looks around at everyone crying and holding each other before she rushes toward me. Grabbing her with my free arm, I pull her against me.
“He’s gone, Torch is gone.” Jersey cries as Bella tries to pull away. I don’t let her though; I don’t know where Joey or her dad went. I won’t leave her alone, not now.
“I’m so sorry Ryker.” Jersey holds on tighter when I see Joey. He looks so lost as he looks around the room. I know he’s looking for Bella.
“Bella, Joey needs you sweetheart.” Bella pulls back looking up at me as my heart breaks further. Her little nod does little to reassure me of anything right now.
“I’m sorry Ryker.” With a quick kiss on the forehead, I send her off to be with Joey.
“I need to go in the room.” Jersey starts to pull back but I can’t let her. Instead, I lift her in my arms and carry her down the hallway. My heart feels like it’s in a million little pieces. How is life so cruel? Closing the door, I set her down before moving toward Ansley’s crib. My little angel is laying there sleeping peacefully; I pick her up, cradling her to my chest.
“What can I do?” Jersey watches me as I walk to the corner and sit on the floor. Holding Ansley close to me, I rock back and forth with her.
“Just be with me Jersey. I feel like I’m fallin’ apart here.” My voice cracks but I don’t stop moving. I can’t. I feel like if I do, my world is going to crumble and fall apart. Jersey moves to sit on her knees next to me before wrapping her arms around me and Ansley. She kisses my cheek so many times I lose count.
“I love you Ryker. I love you.” Her words repeat in my ear, soothing me as the rest of the world explodes into a million pieces.
Chapter 42
Tank
My chest tightens at the thought of what we have to do today. Burying one of our own is harder than I thought it would be.
“Fuck! We got company!” Creed hollers from his office as we all stand on alert now. What the fuck else could possibly happen? Just as I’m about to ask him who the hell it is, the side doors fly open. Cops come rushing in from all angles with guns aimed directly at us.
“Guess I don’t need to ask what else could wrong, yeah?” Looking over at Creed, he shakes his head.
“On the ground!” The guy that appears to be heading this shit up screams as we all make our way to the floor.
“Don’t touch me!” Screams erupt from the hallway and I know its Cher. Turning my head, I see her. My little fighter. Her face is read with anger as the cop drags her out into the main room.
“Get on the ground.” He throws her to the floor which raises my blood pressure. As I start to get up, the butt of a gun connects with my eye. Son of a bitch!
“Stay down! You move again, I’ll shoot!” Getting back into position, I glance up at the asshole that just blacked my fucking eye.
“He throws my old lady around like a fuckin’ rag doll again, you will be shootin’.” Gritting my teeth, I want nothing more than to jump up off this floor and beat his ass.
“Tank, calm brother.” Creed hollers over at me before I hear him get hit next. We lay there for a few minutes until all the women and kids are brought into the main room.
“Up now!” This little son of a bitch is pissing me off. We all climb up and look at each other, all cuffed behind our backs. The grin that comes across my face just pulls at every part of my insides. This right here is something Torch would have loved. He would have made it hell on these cops.
“Something funny?” The man steps into my face. He can’t be any bigger than 5’7’’ and maybe 145 pounds soaking wet. If I wasn’t cuffed, I’d snap his ass in half.
“There’s a lot funny. It all starts with you.” Smiling down at him, I can see the muscles in his jaw flex. He doesn’t like being talked down to.
“We have word that you boys may know something about a warehouse explosion. Anyone have anything to say about that?” Mr. Small Badge walks around stopping in front of each of us. He gets the same thing from all of us too, nothing but a grin.
“What kind of question is that?” Creed pulls the attention to himself as the guy’s just keep smiling.
“It seemed like a good one. There was a warehouse, it exploded. We heard it was you. That seems like a pretty easy one.” The man stands in front of Creed before his eyes jerk behind him.
“You! Come here.” Turning my head, I see he’s pointing at Jada. Oh hell, shits about to get serious. Jada walks up next to Creed, with Heather in her arms. If he tries one fucking thing while she has that baby in her arms, I will fucking lose it.
“I know you. You didn’t run with Angel’s before.” Jada’s eyes jerk to Creed’s before they come back to rest on the man in front of her.
“Detective Richards. Never thought I would see you again.” The hatred that flows from her amuses me.
“I could say the same. How are you involved here?” Creed tries to side step the guy and get in between them, but Jada shakes her head at him. Swallowing hard, I watch her bulk up in front this guy.
“This is home. These people are my family. Let’s make that deal.” Confusion runs around the room. What the fuck just happened here?
Chapter 43
Creed
“What the hell are you talkin’ about Jada?” Looking over at her, she refuses to look at me.
“I don’t know if that offer is still open. You seem to have switched sides on us. We thought they killed you in all honesty.” The detective stands firm in Jada’s face, but the boldness that radiates from her sends my heart soaring. Jada shrugs before she speaks again. “You call it changing sides; I call it f
inding my way home. You want the information or not?” The man looks amused at what’s taking place in front of him. I’m fucking confused.
“Jada, what the fuck is goin’ on?” Her eyes never break from his. It’s like a battle of the strongest minds here. I don’t know if I should be proud, or pissed.
“Keep your fucking mouth shut.” The man speaks to me but again, their eyes are connected. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were about to go head to head here.
“I got this Creed. Bella, come here please.” Turning slightly the guy nods to the other officer to let Bella come over here. Jada passes Heather off to Bella before turning back to the man.
“Let them go, and take me. I’ll give you everything I know.” I start to protest that, but Jada throws her hand up stopping me. Damn, I think I like this side of her. It turns me on bad!
“Can’t do that. You know as well as I do that you have to be inside, at least for the minimum time. We have nothing to hold you on.” Jada’s lips curl into a devilish smile. Oh shit, this is not good. Her little fists ball at her sides and I know exactly what she’s about to do. Her hand pulls back before flying through the air. She nails the little prick right in the nose. Blood pours before the other guy tackles Jada.
“Don’t you fuckin’ hurt her!” The prick pulls a tissue from his pocket holding it to his face as Jada laughs. The man yanks her up with her hands cuffed behind her back like the rest of us.
“I could have planted weed on you. Fucking hell.” The prick holds the tissue to his face as I look between the two of them. I don’t know what kind of past they have, but I sure as hell want to find out now.
“I figured you could too, but I enjoyed this a whole lot more.” Jada’s smile stays in place the whole time she watches him. When he turns around she looks over at me.
“What the hell was that, darlin’?” I can’t help it; I smile like a fucking fool. That was priceless.
“Long story. I’ll tell you later. I’m a little busy right now.” Jada steps toward me before I lean down and kiss her quickly.
“Move them out!” Prick yells again, but Jada tries to protest.
“Oh hell no! I said take me!” He shakes his head before he stands in front of her again.
“You’re going, trust me, but so are they.” Nodding toward the guy’s she smiles once again.
“We’ll see how far you get with that Richards.” Jada snarls before she turns and stands in her place in the line.
Shaking my head, I can’t believe she did that.
“Stop shaking your head Creed. I still have that old Jada in me.” Laughing, I follow the line out the door and to the waiting van.
Chapter 44
Ryker
Leaning against the wall in the cell with my arms crossed over my chest, I can’t stop thinking about Torch. It’s been four days. We’ve been in this hell hole the whole time. We have the club lawyer working on things, and we should be getting out anytime now.
“I still can’t believe she hit that fucker.” Chuckling, I look over at Tank. He has been repeating that shit for days now.
“That was some good shit. I didn’t know she had it in her.” Creed laughs before looking at both of us.
“She’s had that shit in her. She just kept it well hidden.” Nodding, that she did. I sure as hell didn’t see it coming from her.
“What is it she knows that they want?” Tank looks at Creed. The whole atmosphere in here just changed. I don’t think any of this shit has to do with Fallen Angel’s but I guess Tank needs to be reassured.
“I’d guess the shit with the Dusts’. I really don’t fuckin’ know though.” Creed scrubs his hand over his face before I take my usual spot in the corner. It feels safe there. Tucked away in myself is where I’ve been for days now. The look on that kid’s face haunts my dreams. Even though I didn’t plan on killing him, in the end, I did. I took his life like it was any other day. Torch being gone doesn’t sit well either. He was a good friend. Crazy as fuck, but he had my back more times than I care to think about. He lost it all, for us. I know why he did it though. He told me once before that he had nothing left in him. Nothing left but this club.
“You boys are free to go.” The jailer steps up unlocking the doors to let us out. I drag my ass out of the corner I’m lost in, and follow the guys out toward the front.
“Where’s Jada?” Barking at the little prick that locked us in here, he grins at me.
“I didn’t realize she had two men.” Taking a step toward him, he jumps back quickly.
“She has a ton more at the clubhouse. She’s family. Hey, how’s that nose feel? It ain’t lookin’ too good from this angle.” Tank laughs as the other guys file out the door.
“I can have your ass back in here in a matter of seconds.” The look on his face makes me laugh.
“Yeah, I bet you’re right. Problem is, next time you come into my home and throw another woman to the floor, I’ll bust more than your motherfuckin’ nose.” Creed grabs my arm pulling me back away from the asshole before I lose it completely.
“Take a walk Ryker. Jada’s outside.” Nodding toward the door, I do as I’m told while Creed finishes up with the lawyer.
Pushing through the door, my heart hammers in my chest. I take a deep breath of the cool air before I lock eyes with our little fighter.
“You busted that motherfucker’s nose. Good job darlin’.” Jada smiles while she walks over to me. Wrapping her arms around my waist, I hug her back.
“Out of that whole club, I knew you would be proud of me.” Jada giggles into my shirt before pulling back.
“Whatever you did, I appreciate it.” Looking down at her she smiles.
“I didn’t do much Ryker. Honest. He wanted information I had from my time with Kenny. I gave it to him with a little twist.” Shaking my head, Creed comes out of the building.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here!” Screaming at the top of his lungs, I don’t think I could agree more. Throwing my arm over Jada’s shoulders, we filter to the van the lawyer brought over.
“Hell of a right hook.” Jada looks up at me laughing before we climb in.
With a heavy heart, I sit against the side of the van. I just need a second to catch my breath. This is just the beginning of the end. I can feel it.
Chapter 45
Tank
Rolling over, I groan at the pain that radiates through my back. I never knew a burn could hurt worse than a fucking gun shot. The last few days have been tense around here. Everything seems off. Nothing’s going right.
“Dad, are you ok?” Bella sits on the edge of the bed finally moving from the chair she’s been perched in for days. She hasn’t left my side after Doc checked me out. He gave me some pretty heavy pain medicine that kicked my ass.
“Bella, I’m the dad. I need to ask you that, yeah?” Rolling her eyes, she smiles at me.
“I’m worried about you. Hell, you were burned, and then arrested.” Her giggles are music to my ears. I miss that little laugh of hers. So angelic.
“Yeah, you know they say when it rains, it pours. It fuckin’ poured in here.” Smiling at her I adjust myself in the bed until I’m sitting up.
“Let me change that. Doc said it needed to be changed every few hours.” Bella hops off the bed heading into the bathroom before coming back out with clean dressings.
“Cher can do it baby girl.” Again, I get the eye roll.
“What, am I not good enough to do it?” I look at her expression before she starts laughing again. The little shit.
“You’re the fuckin’ best, Bella. Don’t you ever forget it. I want to talk to you though.” Bella climbs on the bed behind me before I feel her pulling the old dressings off. I try not to move so I don’t startle her, but that shit hurts like hell.
“About what?” Her voice is calm and steady. My sweet baby girl.
“Well, you know the shit we get into around here. There’s just a few things I need you to know. I love you, Bella. I’d ne
ver leave you on purpose.” My voice hitches slightly when I feel the medicine touch my burns.
“I know dad. We don’t need to do this.” Shaking my head, I do need to do this.
“I wouldn’t leave you if I had the choice. You, Cher, and Griff mean the world to me. If somethin’ ever happens to me I need to know that you’ll be ok Bella.” I hear her sniff behind me. My heart breaks. I don’t want to have this conversation, but I need to know that Bella can move on with her life. She has to. I feel her put the new dressing on before I grab her hand. I pull her around to my side before I wrap my arms around her.
“I just need to know you can move on. You deserve so much more than I can give you baby girl.” Bella cries into my side. I know this is hard for her, but she has to understand what she means to me.
“I’ll be fine dad. You taught me how to live. I’ve never lived so much until I came here. Never worry about me, ok?” I love how strong she is; how strong she tries to be.
“I always worry about you Bella. You’re my daughter.” Shaking her head, she looks me in the eyes.
“Promise me, dad. Promise me that you won’t worry, ok?” The way her eyes plead with me kills something inside of me. Somethings not right.
“Bella.” She shakes her head again before looking me dead in the eyes.
“Promise me.” Her voice turns demanding before I nod my head.
“I promise Bella. I promise.” Throwing herself back into my arms, I hold my little girl.
Chapter 46
Creed
We said our goodbyes to Torch in a not so familiar way. We didn’t have a body to bury which is strange in itself, but we all did what we needed to do. Sitting here at the bar, we laugh and talk about old times with Torch. Piper is off to the side lost in his own world. This is harder on him than it is for the rest of us. He always planned on going before the rest of the guys here. This is our lifestyle whether we like it or not. As hard as I’m trying to pull us in another direction, there’s always that one thing that sticks around to haunt the hell out of us.
