Ryder

by Ali Parker

  "Wasn't mine, but it's still horrible." I released him and ran my hands down my face. "Tanner's a sick mother fucker. Killing his own sister and her child."

  "His kind of evil knows no end." Axel reached out and patted my chest. "I'm glad to see you up and moving. You scared the shit out of us last night after that explosion. I think you were the one closest to it."

  "Probably." I glanced around. "Where's El?"

  "She's around here somewhere." He rolled his eyes. "She's wearing shorts for fuck's sake."

  "And?" I lifted an eyebrow.

  "And she looks like sex on a goddamn platter. I'm going to put her on the hood of a car and eat her sweet ass around the shorts if she doesn't stop flaunting her ass around me." He growled and gave me a look that I understood all too well. It's the same way I felt around Dani.

  "Got it." I slipped my hands in my pocket. "You gonna be alright if I skip out for a few days."

  "You running, man?"

  "Not a chance. I'm taking Tanner out tonight." I shrugged. "I just need a few days to myself when it's over."

  "Let us come with you. We're a brotherhood, Johnny. It's what we do."

  "I know, but I'm not planning on taking out all the bastards in the Black Heart MC. Just their leader."

  "Then you bring a war to our doors."

  "One that we're happy to have, right?" I tilted my head and studied him.

  "Hell, yes. Let me at least go with you."

  "No. I do this on my own tonight. Tanner was once part of our MC, and he took a turn toward the darkness. I couldn't save him, man. I couldn't save him or Roberto or Jason."

  "You're not the savior, brother. It don't work like that."

  "Maybe so." I smiled and patted his shoulder. "I'll be back in a few days. Text or call if you need me, okay?"

  "Will do, but you check in later tonight? Somehow. Just get a word to me that you're alright and let me know if Mr. King's body needs to be disposed of."

  "I will." I turned and walked out of the shop, hoping like hell that I'd live long enough to see it again.

  I enjoyed my life, but I enjoyed knowing that the risk I was taking would maybe provide some much needed freedom for the people I loved even more.

  It made it all worth it.

  *

  I got off my bike at the playground and called Tanner.

  "Talk to me."

  "I'm at the old playground we use to light up at. Dani is bringing the file over. Come get it and get the fuck out of my life."

  "No trick? No jokes? No guns?"

  "Just a file and a tired old man, you bitch." I glanced up at the stars and said a silent prayer. My mother always believed in God. Maybe her God would hear me and grant me a little bit of grace in what I was about to do.

  "I'll be right there, Jon."

  I dropped the call and slipped my phone in my back pocket as a cop car pulled up. Dani.

  She got out as I walked toward her with a serious look on my face. "You got the file?"

  "I did." She shut the door and walked around the car, extending her hand to me. "Is he on his way to get it?"

  "Yes. Get in your car and get out of here." I pulled her close and leaned down, kissing her a couple of times. "I don't want you anywhere near Tanner when he gets here."

  "No. I'm not going anywhere without you."

  "Yeah. You are." I nipped at her mouth. "Go get our hotel and wait for me. I'll be there before you can blink twice. I'm not able to protect me and you. Don't put me in danger by staying here. Go."

  "Johnny." She shook her head as her eyes filled with tears. "What if something happens?"

  "Something is going to happen. I'm going to clean up the mess I helped make. Tanner was my best friend, and if I'd done things a little differently back then, I maybe could have saved him. He's mine to put out of his misery. He's not happy. He's not human anymore. Get out of here, and I'll find you as soon as it's done, baby. Now." I patted her ass and kissed her again, taking a lot longer than I should have.

  "Fine. Call the minute it's done." She jogged towards the car, her long brown hair dancing behind her as she left. "Promise?"

  "Yes. Get outta here, you needy bitch." I winked and turned away from the car. I needed a few minutes to think.

  Unfortunately, I didn't get more than a minute.

  "Where do you think she's going?" Tanner smiled and walked out of the forest at the edge of the property with something in his hand.

  "Hopefully far away from here." I pulled out a pack of cigarettes. I hadn't smoked in ages, but my nerves were completely fried. I lit up a cig and offered it to him. "Want one?"

  "No. I smoked a joint before coming up here." He glanced around and lifted the item in his hand. "I knew you would win the girl over. I tried, you know, to get her to bend a little. To come to the dark side."

  I snorted. "I live on the dark side, Tan. She's already here. She's the worst cop I know. Well, maybe outside of some of those bastards you have working for you."

  "Maybe." He ran his thumb over a bright blue button on the panel. "You know it's not your fault that things turned out like this, right? It was my mother's fault."

  "I should have been there for you, but I was lost in the grief over losing my brother and my father so close together." I took a deep drag from the cigarette as I watched him.

  He nodded. "Your father I had nothing to do with, but your brother... he was my fault."

  "I'm sorry?" I tossed the cigarette toward a puddle of water on the ground. "You couldn't have had anything to do with Roberto. He OD'd. You know this."

  "Yeah. I know real well." He looked up, his dark eyes filled with hate. "Did you sleep with my mother, Jon? Was that you I saw between her legs, fucking her the day my dad shot himself?"

  And there it was.

  I nodded. "I was a kid, Tanner. Your mom was a whore and a beautiful one. I got toked up and came to see you. I had no idea what I was doing."

  "Right." He was far too calm. "I had no clue what I was doing either the day I sat on Roberto's chest and fed him pills until he convulsed and threw up blood all over me." He shook his head, his eyes dead. "I was high just like you were."

  "You didn't do that. You wouldn't." I gripped my hands into fists. I wasn't going to shoot him. I was going to strangle him until he died under the pressure of my fingers.

  "You fucked my mother!"

  "I thought she was Candace, you bitch!" I moved toward him aggressively as he held up the device.

  "Well, the score isn't settled, asshole. You made me kill my sister. I'm one down."

  "You did that shit because you're a sick mother fucker." I glanced down to the device. "What is that?"

  "Let me show you." He lifted it and hit the button.

  I charged at him as something exploded from behind me. The sound and smell left me with one conclusion. Dani's car. He had to have set a bomb on Dani's car.

  "You sorry bastard." I took him down and straddled him as I wrapped my hands around his throat. "You're a disease that has spread all over my life, taking everything I love and destroying it."

  He flipped us around and pulled out a blade, jamming it in my chest before I could get to him. "No, you're the one destroying it. You saved my life only to change the entire course of it in one afternoon." He twisted the knife and pulled it out, preparing to stab me again. "Did you read the goddamn note that my dad left?"

  "Tan. Stop it. You know I didn't do that shit on purpose."

  "He put your fucking name in there." He pressed down harder, and my arms shook as I tried to hold him away. "He put in the note for me to tell you that he fucking loved you like a son. You sorry son of a bitch. You were the one he found her with." He laughed maniacally. "He just didn't know it was you, Jon. He killed himself over you and then left a note reminding me to tell you that he loved you."

  "I loved him too, and I loved you, bastard." I pushed back up, but the explosion the day before had me weary, and the thought of Dani being dead down the road gave me very little to
fight for.

  I saw the faces of my family. My friends and the MC. I heard the sound of Dani's voice, but I couldn't tell where it was from so I didn't try to.

  A gunshot rang out, and the pressure of Tanner subsided as he dropped to the ground beside me.

  "Tan?" I whispered and rolled on my side as blood covered my fingers from the stab wound. It was too close to my heart. Maybe it was time to go. My mom and dad would be waiting anyway. Roberto. Candace.

  "Johnny." Dani dropped down beside me and got into my face, her tears coating my skin as she cried uncontrollably. "Hold on, baby. The ambulance is coming."

  "But your car," I took a painful breath and groaned. "He blew it up."

  "I'd already gotten out of it, Johnny. I was running back to hide in the bushes and shoot him. He's dead. Please don't leave okay? Just hang in there. Please. For me."

  "For you," I whispered and reached up to touch her silky hair one more time before the darkness took me under.

  Peace. For the first time in my life... I knew peace.

  Epilogue

  Dani

  Two Weeks Later

  I finished up making three fluffy pancakes and put two strips of bacon on the plate before I loaded it up on the tray I'd bought a few weeks back.

  "Perfect," I mumbled and reached down to pull my breasts up a little. My tiny pink bra and panties were new and itched in all the wrong places, but they looked good. That's all that mattered. If things went the way I wanted them to, I wouldn't have them on very long anyway.

  "Dani?" Johnny's voice met me in the hallway as I turned the corner to walk into the bedroom of our large hotel suite. A quick call to Johnny's friend Jax and we were in the penthouse suite in downtown New York the minute the hospital let him go.

  "Right here, baby." I smiled and let my eyes wander down the length of his sexy body. Tattoos raced down his stomach and wrapped around his hips. Thick black tats wrapped around his arms and legs down to his ankles. It was the first time I'd gotten a chance to really see him fully naked in the sunlight. Or maybe that was when I got him home from the hospital. Either way, he was something beautiful to behold.

  "What's that smell?" He pushed up with his arms behind him and flinched a little. "Fuck. When is this thing going to heal?"

  "It's your heart, Jon. It's not just your skin." I put the tray down and turned to face him. "You want breakfast then me, or me then breakfast."

  "Hm?" He turned his face toward me as his eyes widened a little. "Fuck. Where did you get that?"

  "From the lingerie store in the mall under the hotel. This place is crazy. Jax outdid himself."

  He motioned for me to come to him. "He always does. Turn around for me. I wanna see the full picture before I rip it off of you."

  I stopped beside the bed and turned around slowly, feeling like a princess on display for my king. "You like it?"

  "I love it." He gripped my wrist and tugged me toward the bed before leaning down and sliding his hands over my bare ass cheeks. He squeezed and pressed his mouth to the side of my neck. "Get up here and fuck me. It's been two weeks since this damn doctor fixed my chest. I need you."

  Two weeks were what we were told to wait if we didn't want to break the stitches in his chest. Two fucking long weeks to the day.

  I got up on the bed and straddled him, and he ran his hands over my breasts and up to my hair. He tugged my bun loose as he licked and kissed my breasts.

  "God that feels good." I rocked my hips, needing to feel the length of his cock against my wetness. "I want you inside of me."

  "Patience, Kitten." He leaned back and smiled. "You look incredible. By far the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Take your bra off for me, Dani."

  "Your flattery-"

  "Will get me everywhere I want to be." He reached up and tugged at the front of my bra. "Off. Now."

  I reached behind and worked it off before tossing it behind me. "Tell me if your chest hurts."

  "Not a chance." He tugged at my nipples and licked his lips. "Panties next, you bad girl."

  "No condom." I moved to my knees and then stood up with his help. I slid my panties down my legs and started to move back into his lap.

  "No. Let me taste you. Come ride my face." He leaned his head back and pulled at my hand.

  "Like this?" I walked to the top of the bed and put my knee on his pillow. He lifted up and pressed his mouth to my pussy as I gasped at the sudden contact.

  "Just like that," he mumbled as he forced my other leg up. I gripped the headboard and pressed back, forcing more of his tongue inside of me.

  Pleasure rolled through me and over me in delicious waves as he worked me with his hands and tongue, his teeth and lips. When I couldn't take another second, I bucked against him and came long and hard.

  "Mmmhmmm." His moans vibrated against my clit, sending me into over drive.

  "Shit." I found my footing and stepped back before lowering myself onto his lap.

  "Turn around. I wanna see your ass while you work me." He pulled me close and kissed me deeply, leaving the taste of my lust on my tongue. I licked at his mouth before turning and straddling his thighs.

  "Don't do anything, Johnny. Let me do everything."

  "Hush and get to it." He held onto his cock as I lowered myself onto him. The pressure was delicious, and I wanted to take my time, but I was so fucking wet that he slid in deep the first time I pushed back on him.

  We shared a deep groan, and I sat there, pulsing my hips forward in short fast movements as he gripped my ass and lifted me off and back down on him.

  "You have no idea how fucking hot you are." He pressed his thumb against my ass and squeezed my cheek with the other. "Take your time and fuck yourself real good, Dani. I know you've been wanting this."

  "More than you can imagine." I gripped the sheets between our legs and rode him slow and steady. The pressure building up inside of me forced me to pick up my speed. I reached down and pressed my fingers to my clit, unashamed of the desire to explode in a way that left me whimpering and shaking.

  "Fuck, woman. I'm gonna come if you're not careful." He popped my ass hard, and I lost it, my body buckling and forcing me to lean over further.

  "Dani," he cried out and lifted his hips, driving himself into me as he found his own release.

  I pushed back, meeting him stroke for stroke as he lost himself in the wetness of my body. I pulled off the minute he collapsed against the sheets and turned to check on him.

  "You okay?"

  "Hush and get up here." He pulled me up to lay on top of him. I moved over a little to make sure I wasn't touching the small bandages that remained across his chest. I kissed the side of his upper body and moved down to snuggle into his side.

  "Do we really have to leave here today?" I asked, wishing we didn't.

  "Yeah, but I'm ready to go home. We need to get back to life." He leaned over and kissed the top of my head. "I know it's only been a few weeks, but I'm not sleeping without you. You living with me or am I living with you?"

  "You love that old house, right?"

  He nodded. "I do. It was my mom's, but I love you more."

  "You do?" I moved up to my elbow. I'd figured that it would be months or maybe even years before he told me that he loved me. Maybe death softened him up a little bit.

  "Yeah, but only if you love me too." His smirk was beyond cute.

  "I love you with all of my heart."

  "And your pussy?" He pulled me down for a long kiss as I squirmed against him and called him several less than pleasant names.

  He did love me, and I knew by far more than his words.

  *

  The phone rang as we got into the car to head home. I tensed up, scared for a minute that it was Tanner. He was the only one that seemed to know where we were or what we were doing, but no. Tanner King was dead. I'd shot him in the forehead myself.

  I had the nightmares to prove it.

  "This is Ryder." Johnny answered the phone.

  I got
in the car and buckled up. He did the same and put the phone between us.

  "What's up?" I asked.

  "That was Axel. Something happened at the shop. I'm going to swing by there and see what's up before we head over to your place."

  "I thought we were staying at your house."

  "We gotta get your stuff, sexy girl." He took my hand and pulled it into his lap.

  "Did he say what happened?"

  "No, which means it isn't good." He let out a long breath and pulled out of the parking lot of our fancy hotel. It was back to life, which was a good and bad thing. At least we were doing it together.

  I rested my head back against the seat and closed my eyes as weariness tugged at me. We'd been through a lot in the last month, and I was tired. I knew Johnny was too. Whatever was going on at the shop, I prayed it was something small and easily manageable.

  We pulled up to see Axel and several of the other guys standing around with a pretty dark-haired girl. The building behind them was nothing more than ashes. A firetruck sat to the side of the damage, and a huge group of firemen were cleaning up the mess.

  "Holy shit." Johnny threw the car in park and got out, groaning as he did.

  "Hey. Look who finally got sleeping beauty to wake the fuck up." One of the guys walked toward him and lifted his hand.

  Johnny hugged him before walking over and standing in front of another guy. "What happened, Axel?"

  "Looks like it is what I said it would be." He glanced over his shoulder and back. "Us killing King brought a war to our door."

  "There's only like four or five Black Hearts, guys. What's the big fucking deal?" The first guy walked up and shook his head, acting like it was a joke.

  "There are thousands of them around the world." Johnny glanced back at me and offered his hand.

  I took it, and he pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me. "Who did it?"

  "Jason." The big guy responded and turned his attention to me. "I'm Axel."

  "We met at the lodge." I offered him a smile.

  "I know. I wasn't sure you remembered."

  "How do you know it was Jason?" Johnny took the conversation back.