“Yeah?” a voice I recognized from my dreams said into the phone. The deep, raspy tenor had grown over time and slithered down my spine all the way to my knees, giving them a slight tremble. It took only one word to make my stomach flip.
Fuck, I knew this was a bad idea, but I wasn’t that girl anymore. He would not have power over me. I wouldn’t allow it.
I paced my small living room, needing the movement to get my knees back in line.
“Cade? It’s Trix Lamasters.”
“First, the name’s Spook. Second, who?”
That one kind of stung. Alright, more than stung. It tore another hole in my already battered heart was more like it. The asshole didn’t even remember me, but what did I expect, being one in a sea of many? There was absolutely no reason I would have stood out to him.
“We went to school together,” I tried.
Silence.
I rolled my eyes to the ceiling, hoping divine intervention would give me the gift of patience or a gun. Neither came.
“Whatever. I get you don’t remember me, but you have one of my employees there. I need to talk to her. She owes me money, and I need it back.”
“Trixie Lamasters.” I could hear the devilish grin as his words snaked over the phone. Not going to lie, my pussy quivered.
No one called me Trixie anymore, because once upon a time, he did and I had loved it. After he abruptly left my life, taking the one thing I could never get back, I refused to let anyone call me by that name. Never again would I allow the hollow feeling that name represented to seep through me. Now, hearing him after fifteen years, the vault of memories opened wide, something I did not want to happen. I didn’t want to feel, yet each recollection of the past bombarded my mind.
“Long time.”
I paused mid-step as a flash of younger Cade hit me. Shaking my head clear, I continued to pace through my living room.
“Yeah, very long. Anyway, you have a woman there by the name of Nanette King. Can you hand her over to me?”
I wouldn’t let the smoothness of his voice draw me in like it had all those years ago, reducing me to a pile of teenaged mush. Strictly business, I told myself, because business I could handle.
“How do you know she’s here?”
“I had her followed, and it led to you.”
I guessed he didn’t like the fact that I had found her that way, judging from the muttered curses that followed. Each word made me smile. I had a payroll of people who worked for me now, and some little twit-fart would not run off with my money. That wasn’t how I operated my business.
Nanette had fallen off the radar. Cade’s club happened to be the last place she was seen; therefore, I had to call him. I may as well have strapped zip-ties around my wrists, locking them in place.
“First, if she’s at the club, there’s a reason. Second, bitches here don’t go by their real names, so I don’t know if she’s around, because I don’t know a Nanette. Third, you come to the clubhouse, and we’ll talk.”
Business was business, but my heart spiked at the thought of seeing him again.
Cade’s club, Vipers Creed MC, had been in Dyersburg for years. Even before I came into this world, their presence had been well known. This town had tales, but these days, the Vipers were mostly known for Creed’s Automotive where they made custom bikes and cars in their own little world located on the outskirts of town.
I’d hoped to avoid a meeting since I couldn’t see any point to it. I wasn’t in the mood for a high school reunion. The past needed to stay there, locked up tight.
“I’ll describe her to you. Tell me if she’s there, and I’ll send someone over to get her,” I declared, trying to veer him from this path.
Negotiations were something I excelled at. There had to be an arrangement that suited us both, one we could manage over the phone. It would be the best course of action. The less contact I had with him, the better. I could have Ike, one of the bouncers at Sirens, pick her up. Win-win all around.
He chuckled, and my body went on alert because of the slyness in it.
“Babe, you don’t get how this works. You want something from me that I have, bring your ass here, and we’ll discuss it. Tomorrow night, seven.” Silence.
This time when I looked at the screen, the number fifty-seven blinked rapidly. He’d hung up on me.
“That arrogant piece of shit!” I growled, tossing my phone to the couch where it bounced on the cushion.
I should have known he’d still be a dick. Some things never changed. Guess I was going to meet up with Cade after all.
I completely ignored the slight tremor that thought caused.
The story continues in Challenged (Vipers Creed MC#1) available through all major ebook retailers!
Ryan Michele Bio
Ryan Michele found her passion in making fictional characters come to life. She loves being in an imaginative world where anything is possible and has a knack for special twists readers don’t see coming.
She writes MC, Contemporary, Erotic, Paranormal, New Adult, Inspirational, and many more romances. And whether it’s bikers, wolf shifters, mafia, or beyond, Ryan spends her time making sure her heroes are strong and her heroines match them at every turn.
When she isn’t writing, Ryan is a mom and wife living in rural Illinois and reading by her pond in the warm sun.
Website -- www.authorryanmichele.net
Facebook -- www.facebook.com/AuthorRyanMichele
Twitter -- @Ryan_Michele
Goodreads -- www.goodreads.com/RyanMichele
Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/RyanMicheleNewsletter
Table of Contents
Part One: (Past) – Out of Necessity … It Begins
Chapter One: Eye on the Prize
Chapter Two: Fury
Chapter Three: Endless Possibilities
Chapter Four: Plans Change
Chapter Five: Dreams
Chapter Six: California Kid
Chapter Seven: Hellions Ride
Chapter Eight: Control the Chaos
Chapter Nine: Future Looks Bright
Part Two: (Past) – Out of Love and Loyalty … It Continues
Chapter Ten: Ass and Sass
Chapter Eleven: A Doll
Chapter Twelve: Barbeque
Chapter Thirteen: Doing Time
Chapter Fourteen: Homecoming
Chapter Fifteen: Losing It All
Chapter Sixteen: It Takes a Club
Chapter Seventeen: Crash
Part Three: (Present) – Out of Pride … It Comes to a Head
Chapter Eighteen: Threats Keep Coming
Chapter Nineteen: Truth Comes Out
Chapter Twenty: Take a Stand
Chapter Twenty-One: A Lesson in Family
Chapter Twenty-Two: Holding On
Chapter Twenty-Three: Couldn’t Be Prouder
Part Four: (Present Day) – Out of Legacy … It Survives
Epilogue
About the Author
Excerpt from Final Ride (Hellions Ride Book 9)
Excerpt from In The Red (Devil’s Due Book 1)
Excerpt from Challenged (Vipers Creed Book 1) by Ryan Michele
Originals Ride: Hellions Motorcycle Club (Hellions Ride Book 8) Page 13
