Not a lot went by Rocky. Ender heard so many things in that simple statement. Most of which, he got that if Piper wanted him, he was free and clear to have her; that from her father and the club. He’d meant both. Ender nodded.
Rocky, who stood eye to eye with Ender, issued a final command. “Make sure she sees her mother.”
“And then what?” Ender asked, waiting for specific instructions like stay the fuck away from my daughter.
The big man shrugged. “Let her go if that’s what she wants.”
Rocky had a moment to consider all his choices over the years and whether he would have done things differently if he could. But he knew better than anyone you can’t change shit, so don’t worry about shit.
Ender nodded. His brothers talked and a few of them nodded in his direction as he walked by, giving him the respect he’d earned. None of them seemed to judge him for Piper. While he hadn’t fucked her yet, he’d made it clear today in front of everyone he intended to. He was knotted up tighter than a rope fitted to be a noose.
Entering one of the bay doors of the garage out back, he walked farther in. Covered with a tarp was his baby. Bright yellow and not fit for covert work, he’d restored a classic Harley he’d bought from a dump for pennies on the dollar. It was his pride and joy to bring it back from the dead. Something about that made him feel godlike.
He walked it out of the bay and into the summer sun. He straddled it, loving the feel of the new seat. Everything was his taste as he’d chosen all the finishes.
It purred to life and he closed his eyes for a second. Where would Piper go after her little speech? She’d made it seem like she was going to score, but that wasn’t her M.O. She’d said that shit for shock value to people who didn’t get her, like Taylor and her brothers. But he and her dad got her. And just like that he figured out where she’d be.
He drove off and immediately missed the feel of Piper’s body around him. And wasn’t that some shit. He’d enjoyed the solitude of riding solo. But after a number of days, he’d grown used to her arms wrapped tightly around him. It was time for her legs to join that scenario. She had better prayed for mercy, because when he had her naked and in his bed, he was not going to waste time playing nice.
32
The house was small and well maintained on a block of other homes that showed their age and neglect. She rode up to find her biological mother sitting on the concrete landing, a step away from the ground, with a cigarette in her hand.
She stopped at the edge of the empty driveway and got off the bike. Not having worn a helmet, the only thing left for her to do was kick the stand to keep the bike from falling over. With that done, she braved her legs. Many times she’d driven by this house, sometimes catching a glimpse of her bio mom and other times not. But never once had she had the nerve to stop.
“Priscilla.”
The name irritated the hell out of her. It reminded her of the naïve girl she’d been. And not the warrior she’d become.
“Oh, that’s right. You prefer Piper,” the woman who’d given birth to her said.
She nodded.
“I guess I deserve that. The only two things I ever gave you were life and your name.”
Piper had never thought of it that way. Only that Priscilla sounded way more girly than she felt.
“So,” the woman on the porch said. “Rocky made you come all the way out here to see me?”
Words had failed Piper again, so she nodded.
“But you didn’t want to come?”
That was an easy answer. Piper shook her head.
“I’m sorry for it. Sorry for all of it. I was a mess back then. Not that there’s any excuse.”
Tricks thought about the drugs and how they had ruled her life and how long it took her to kick the habit even with Rocky helping her through it.
“Tell me anyway,” Piper said.
Tricks sighed, slipping back into the past. “The love of my life…” She paused because saying that phrase made her think again about how much time she’d lost with him while acting like a damn fool. “Rocky left me for another woman, while telling me he didn’t love her.” She thought about that day when she’d assumed he’d come to ask her to marry him only to find out he planned to marry another. “Young and dumb, I took my hurt out on myself. Choosing drugs to dull the pain along with other unfortunate choices.”
Piper knew some of the story. “If you left him, why did you go back?”
Tricks laughed, though nothing was truly funny. “You’ve never been in love before, have you?”
Frizzy hair lighter than Piper’s hardly moved when she shook her head, disgusted by all her bad choices in life.
“I’ve been in love,” Piper admitted.
Or so she thought she had. The sergeant in her unit, a man she’d come to respect. A man she’d later had a clandestine affair with under the noses of the government’s no fraternization policy, she’d loved.
“That pretty boy doesn’t count.”
“I don’t count Taylor at all. I was young and stupid and didn’t know what love was.”
He hadn’t. Having chosen what his brothers thought over her, made it clear in her mind how little he’d valued her.
“Yeah, exactly. So who was the lucky man?”
Piper hadn’t spoken his name aloud in so long she wondered if she could say it. “Brian.” She took a minute before she explained. “When I turned eighteen and left for military to get away from Rocky’s rule and Taylor’s cheating ass, he’d been my sergeant, the man I thought I would marry.”
His ghost conjured in her brain. He hadn’t been what you call handsome, not the way Taylor or Ender were. It had been the way he carried himself and how he’d treated her. He’d never made her feel less in their unit because she was a woman. She’d been given the same treatment as the rest of the guys and made to her earn her place in their squad like everyone else, which she had.
War could be a lonely place, but relationships on base between soldiers were forbidden, much less between the ranks and in the same units. That didn’t stop the need during those raw moments of emotion that had nowhere to spill out.
Brian had sated those needs and shown her a different side of sex. Where he dominated on the battlefield, he’d dominated her in bed. And after being so strong in every area of her life, she needed someone to take control at times. Being with him had been primal with need and lust. He had to cover her mouth so her cries of pleasure during their lovemaking wouldn’t be overheard.
Unfortunately, he, like Taylor, hadn’t loved her enough. Civilian life had been hard for him. Conventional jobs weren’t in his nature. So he’d found common ground with a motorcycle club or they’d found him. Ultimately it hadn’t mattered. She’d begged him not to join. Even went so far as to entertain an offer from a paramilitary group and got them to offer him a position so they could both use their skills. That hadn’t been enough. He’d gone and joined the MC anyway.
One night he’d driven off with his newfound buddies and never returned. All their wedding plans had been squashed by an eighteen wheeler.
“Oh,” Tricks said.
Piper blinked, focusing back to the present. She was sure Taylor had a hand in Brian’s demise. After Brian found out about her real father and his position, he’d wanted to meet the man. When she hadn’t gotten around to it, he’d invited him to their wedding. And not a month later, Brian was gone.
“He’s dead now,” Piper announced. “And no man is worth all the trouble.”
“You just haven’t met the right one.”
Piper scoffed. “And Rocky is.”
“Hey, nobody said I was the poster child for love. But I can say he was there. Even after all the shit I did, like hanging out with Death’s Angels, getting in deep with one of the members to get back at your dad. One night the bastard beat the shit out of me for daring to call him on his cheating. Having no one else, I called Rocky. And guess what?” She didn’t wait for Piper to answer. “He came. I’m
pretty sure you were conceived that night and I never looked at another man after that.”
Hearing the story about her bio parents getting it on made her want to gag.
“But you never came for me, never told me the truth even though Rocky must have told you when he shared the news with me.”
Tricks thought for a second unsure of how to say it.
“After Rocky saved me that time, it didn’t mean everything was okay. I was still a junky in need of a fix. Rocky kept me mostly clean while I was pregnant, but…”
Piper didn’t want to know. She hadn’t suffered ill effects from the woman’s drug use.
Tricks continued, “I still loved and hated him. He was shacked up with someone else and what woman wants to share.” She turned thoughtful. “It took a while, but finally I stopped fighting what was. I was his and he was mine. That woman may have had his name, but I had his heart. He’s proved that time and time again. When I got my shit together, he got me this place.” She spread her arms. “It ain’t a palace, but it’s where I’ve been, and his people check in on me and make sure I have what I need. And Rocky keeps me updated with your life and shows me picture of you.” Before Piper could ask, Tricks added, “I didn’t think it was right to try and take you from your mom. She did a good job raising you.”
Piper nodded, knowing that if Tricks had shown up back then, she wouldn’t have accepted her.
A rumble in the distance meant time was up. She’d been found.
“Trouble?” Tricks asked, recognizing the look on her daughter’s face.
Tricks had been so honest with her, she decided to reciprocate.
“I might have borrowed this bike without permission.”
Tricks barked out a laugh so hard, she began to cough uncontrollably. Something in Piper’s upbringing had her helping the woman get the oxygen mask on.
“Thank you,” Tricks breathed, sounding like she was on a mission to Mars with the thing over her mouth.
Her bio mom took several cleansing breathes, wishing, and not for the first time, that she hadn’t waited so long to forge a relationship with her daughter. There had been times, but she’d been afraid. And now it was too late.
Inevitably, the bike came to a stop not too far behind Piper. She took several seconds to think because she wasn’t sure how she would feel about whoever had been sent to fetch her.
“Can I use your bathroom, Tricks?” Piper asked.
The urge to turn around was pretty much nonexistent.
Tricks pulled the mask away, having caught her breath for the moment. “Sure, but at least call me Tammy, if you can’t call me Mom.”
Piper nodded. Mom had been reserved for the woman who’d raised her, giving her a good home life with her husband, the man she called dad. Even though she’d been her aunt, Rocky’s sister, Piper had grown up believing her to be Mom until Rocky had come clean about who he truly was to her. It felt wrong to call anyone else by that name. She’d died several years back and Piper wouldn’t spoil her memory.
“The house ain’t big. It’s down the hallway to the left,” Tricks added.
Piper forced the name out of her mouth before going inside. “Thanks, Tammy.”
The screen door squeaked as she opened it. Her potential jailer hadn’t said a word and she didn’t look back. Instead, she entered and immediately searched for an exit. It didn’t take long to find one in the tiny house. Just off the kitchen, she spotted a side door. The only problem was she’d have to cross past the open front one to get there. If she turned in that direction it might be obvious what she was up to. So she followed Trick’s directions to the bathroom.
Flicking the lights on, she glared at her reflection. When had she truly looked at herself last? Drawn eyes and the perpetual frown were the earmarks left of a life, which had been a string of unfortunate circumstances. First in line was her bad taste in men, men who had let her down in so many ways, from her father to Taylor to Brian. If only she had an eye for women. Somehow she thought that lesbians had it so much better. At least another female understood the needs of a woman.
She had to get out of here and away, back to New York just as soon as she finished her assignment. But she had to get away from the biker first.
Flushing the toilet for show, she turned the handle of the door and peeked out.
“Going somewhere?” a voice she recognized said.
Closing her eyes, she could only imagine how pale she must look with the blood draining from her face. She’d been well and truly caught.
33
As the enforcer or fixer for the club, he’d seen many scared birds take flight in hopes to find escape. Although he hadn’t seen Piper searching, he’d spent enough time to know that she was looking for an escape route.
“You have eyes for my girl,” Tricks said.
“She’s not your girl.”
Tricks dipped her head, knowing he was right. Shame colored her cheeks and had her reaching for oxygen.
Ender had been a good soldier and followed orders. He’d made sure the boss’s woman was tidily taken care of. But that didn’t mean he had to like her.
He couldn’t imagine what kind of woman would destroy her life with drugs and give up her child for a man. But then again, he’d liked strong women, like Piper. Ones who didn’t need saving because they could save themselves. Though, he’d saved Piper that first night. But even the strongest person would succumb when outnumbered. So he hadn’t counted it against her.
Moving up the stairs, he didn’t waste any more time. If he did, he would find himself on a hunt. And he doubted very much Piper would like who he was when he found her. Better squash this now. Besides, he heard another bike approaching. No doubt Rocky had showed up, not knowing his only daughter was there.
Through the door, he’d opened it just right so it didn’t make the noise it had when Piper went through. Then again, he’d been to the house many times before and knew all its secrets.
He waited just to the left of the door for her to open it. When she did, she made the mistake of not checking in his direction. When he called out to her, she jumped.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked.
“Me,” he said, crowding her to the point she backed up.
Between his sheer size and intimidating glare, she moved farther backward into the bathroom as if there was any chance of escape.
“I’m not scared of you,” she said, angling her chin up at him.
“Aren’t you?”
She stared into his dead eyes, wondering if the man had any emotion other than the I’m a mad man look he gave her.
“You’re just a bully,” she said defiantly.
“I’m here to claim what’s mine.”
And he intended on collecting.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Claiming what?”
“You’ve been teasing me for days. Now that you’ve set yourself free, you can make good on all your hard work to keep me interested.”
“Interested?” she asked, playing dumb.
“I have to admit getting yourself off in front of me almost broke me. Seeing your pussy and smelling it has kept me hard all day. I plan to taste and feel it wrapped around my dick before you leave this room.”
“Says who?” She jabbed him with a finger.
Beneath it, there was the solid muscle she’d dreamed about. Seeing him shirtless and covered in ink had kept her wet every time she’d been forced to lie next to him.
“Me,” he growled, tired of the games and wanting this to be over.
She was his weakness. He’d almost broken his vows and helped her that night she moaned while pushing two fingers in and out of herself.
“What are you going to do? Rape me? Because I doubt my father will let you live if you do.”
He held up two fingers. “Two things. I don’t have to rape you because you’re going to willingly give it to me. Two, your father has already blessed this little event between us.”
Her jaw dropped.
Was that how little her father thought of her? Was she some kind of prize to his club brothers?
“Don’t look like that. He knows you’re no princess, can handle yourself and make up your own mind. He didn’t give you to me, only his blessing. If you want to ask him yourself, he’s outside.”
“Rocky’s outside?”
“Where else would he be? Tricks is the love of his life. He wasn’t lying about that.”
“And you’re just going to fuck me while dear old Dad listens.”
The deadly glare he gave her didn’t frighten her. If anything, it made her want him more.
“I doubt he’ll hear anything with your mouth otherwise occupied.” His cocky grin was priceless.
“If you think I’m sucking you off, think again.”
It was a dare. She wanted to do it. But the game that started between them dictated that she had to mouth off. It was all a part of their weird foreplay.
“You know you want to. So get on your knees, Pipe.”
She couldn’t completely hold back the grin. Her mouth quirked a little around the edges. Brian had made her realize how much she enjoyed being dominated. But not by just any man. The man had to know that her subservience wasn’t a sign of weakness but of strength.
Slowly, she lowered herself, keeping her eyes firmly on his. He didn’t smile in triumph, which earned him points. He watched her with fascination, probably wondering if she’d bite him given the chance. And she might do just that if he played the role of victor instead of lucky bastard. She didn’t get on her knees for just any man.
As she slid his zipper down, his hand covered hers. He pried it away, not sure yet if she was fucking with him or if she was serious. The woman before him was full of many surprises. So he freed his cock. Because he was commando, she had a serious eyeful as he waited for her questions.
Licking her lips, she was ready to devour the man. Only when he pulled it out, his cock was as inked up as the rest of him.
Ride or Die (Devil's Edge MC #1) Page 17
