Ryker: MC Romance

by Percy Preston

  “I promise. I’m just a call away if you need me. Okay?” He searched my face with concern. I loved that he worried about me, but the truth was, I was just exhausted.

  “I don’t know what I would do without you,” I said. He hugged me tighter, kissing me again before he pulled back.

  “You stay safe.” He squeezed my hands before he turned to leave.

  After I gathered my things, I met Aunt Fern at her car. She loaded up Hope in her car and I got in my own.

  She lived close, and it didn’t take long before I was settled in the guest room. Dawn would be here before I knew it, but I figured any sleep was better than none. I tossed and turned under the comforter unable to find sleep. My mind was too bogged down with the events of the evening and my need to speak to Elle.

  Plus, I was nervous she’d say no or that this wouldn’t give us the results we needed. Have a little patience. This is going to work.

  I was waiting for Elle at the table in the little brunch spot I used to come to all the time when I lived in Coronado. My heart was racing, and I tapped my fingers on the thick file of evidence I had collected. I was nervous and the longer I sat here, the more nervous I became.

  I was ready to pass this off to Elle and terrified she’d say no. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long before she came in through the front door.

  She looked horrified. I could only assume that meant she’d already heard the news of what happened to me. She sat down, staring at me blankly, and waited for me to say something.

  “Before you say anything, I need to know that you’re okay,” she said.

  I smiled. “I’m okay, Elle. Thank you.”

  “Now, why did you ask me here? I’m sure it has something to do with what happened last night.” She reached over and grabbed my hands on a sign.

  “Yep. Prepare yourself.” I squeezed her hands and began telling her the story from the beginning. I didn’t leave anything out. If she was going to help, she had to know every detail. I needed her to understand how bad this had gotten.

  She stared back at me with a look of concern on her face. If we hadn’t been separated by a table, I had no doubt she would have pulled in for a hug. I handed her the file. I told her enough about last night to trigger the glint in her eye that told me she would run with the story.

  “Are you sure you want to do this, Anna? I know this job meant everything to you. Once the story breaks, I’m not sure you’ll be working for the police anymore.” She hesitated, giving me a chance to back out. I appreciated her concern, but I had already made up my mind.

  “I’m sure, Elle. This has to end, and the rest of Coronado has to see that the Black Souls aren’t the problem. All Ryker has ever done was try to protect me. I know that must be hard for you to understand, and trust me, when I first took over this investigation as lead detective, I thought the same about these bikers. It wasn’t until I met Ryker that I realized how wrong this all was. He doesn’t deserve to spend the rest of his life behind bars for something he didn’t even do.” I explained.

  “I’ll print the story, because it’s too good to ignore. The fact that it’s from your perspective means I don’t have to rely on rumors to get it pushed through. I just want you to make sure you understand what you’re doing. Once people start to talk, there’s no going back,” she warned again.

  “I know. Let them talk. This community has wrongfully had it out for bikers for too long. Yes, there are bad ones out there, but it's not the Black Souls and it's unfair to judge them before seeking the truth. I’m headed to the office right after this, so I can break the news to the chief myself. Once this starts to gain traction, I imagine you’re going to need me for an interview, as will the rest of the press,” I said.

  She nodded, and sipped her glass of water. “Yep. I’ll be in touch. I need you to be safe, okay? This is all so crazy, and I never expected you to get caught in the middle of something like this. Though, I’m proud of you for doing the right thing. I can’t say I’m ready to change my mind about all the bikers I see around Coronado, but I’m glad you have Ryker in your life. I don’t know anything about the guy, but if he saved you twice already, then that’s a win in my book.” Elle gave me a warm smile.

  “He changed my life, and now it’s time for me to do right by him. I’ll keep my phone on for your call. If anything goes wrong, let me know,” I said.

  “Nothing is going to go wrong with this one, Anna. You brought this to me because you knew it was too good for me to pass up. This is going to catch everyone’s attention, and it will be front page news tomorrow morning. I can practically guarantee that.”

  “Thanks, Elle.”

  We finished up our brunch, and parted ways. As much as I tried to clear my mind, the memories of the last few weeks flood back to me. I stood outside the front doors to the police station and every single doubt I had came crashing down on me.

  Get a grip, Anna. I fixed the front folds of my suit jacket, smoothing my pants. It was time to get this conversation over. The chief was about to get a piece of my mind.

  This was the chance you’d been waiting for. I pushed my shoulders back and walked in, ready to knock this out of the park.

  17

  Ryker

  Today was the day.

  Anna was talking to the chief of police. After everything she had done to hide helping me from him, now it was all about to surface. I was worried about how things are going to go, especially now that this story was about to break.

  I didn’t know how to feel, being branded the good guy when I knew there were still so many other things I did on a daily basis that went against that. Though, at the end of the day, all I’d ever done was stood up for my club, protected the girl I was falling in love with, and made sure everyone around me had the chance to live out their lives however they wished.

  Lucifer taught me that, like Reaper before him, and it was the first time that I felt like I stood a chance.

  I sat on the barstool in the kitchen of the clubhouse. I twirled the bottle of beer in my hand like it was a glass of whiskey, waiting patiently by the phone to hear from Anna. She texted me earlier to tell me everything went well with her friend, and the story was going to press first thing tomorrow. I was glad that went well, but I was still anxious.

  I kept glancing at the front door of the clubhouse, expecting the police to show up and drag me out in handcuffs. I wasn’t nearly as confident as Anna and half expected to be locked away for good. When the door finally opened, I jumped out of my seat ready to rush toward Anna. But it wasn’t her.

  It was Lucifer. He headed straight for me, and looked just as curious as I was. “Anything yet?”

  “Her friend agreed to run the story, but I’m waiting to hear how her conversation with the chief went. She’s playing with fire here, Lucifer. She knows the chief has the power to destroy her. After what happened at her apartment, I don’t think I’m ever going to feel safe with her doing anything like this again. This is my last shot. If this doesn’t work, I’m not going to let any of you keep trying. I can’t let anyone get into trouble because of me.” I couldn’t bear to see anyone that I cared about get hurt. It was too much. I needed to protect the club and Anna. I couldn’t do that while they were all trying to keep me out of jail.

  “Don’t talk like that. Anna is going to sort this out. I have a good feeling about this.” He looked just as confident as Anna, like he had already decided that nothing could possibly get in the way of this.

  Regardless of what the outcome was, it was still going to change things for us. We were about to become a household name in mass media, and that would mean there would be even more eyes on us than usual. When I first brought the decision to Lucifer, he wanted to run with it because it was the only thing that would keep me from going to jail, but he would have to rethink every operation that we’d ever done. I hated that I was putting every member of the Black Souls in this position, but if it were any one of them, I would’ve done the very same thing.

&n
bsp; “Things aren’t going to be the same around here anymore, you know that, right?”

  “I know. Look, we’ve been through some real shit as a club. We’re going to have to get more creative about how we hide things, but at the end of the day we protect each other, and that’s what we’re doing for you. One club member behind bars means we’re all going down, no matter how you look at it. Who knows, this could also work out in our favor. We could be seen as the one club out of them all that isn’t causing any trouble for Coronado. If that’s the case, all this is going to do is make our lives easier.” Lucifer patted me on the shoulder before he ventured into the fridge to get himself a beer.

  “When did you turn into such an optimist?” I asked. It wasn’t that long ago that he was tortured and brooding. LIke how he used to be when Reaper was the one calling all of the shots.

  “Someone out there still wants me dead, and someone within the Black Souls is feeding them information. All of that is what got you into this mess in the first place, and the more time I spend worrying about it, the crazier I become. We all need to take a step back here, because when we finally catch the fucker that is responsible for all of this bullshit, we’re going to put his ass in the ground.” Lucifer smiled and raised his beer to me.

  “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

  He stayed with me while we anxiously waited by the phone. A second didn’t go by that I hoped to see the screen light up with a call from Anna.

  I was worried about her, but I knew she was capable of pulling this off. She was one of the strongest people I knew, and after all that she had been through, she still managed to keep her head on straight. I admired her for it, and it made me like her even more. I couldn’t wait until this was all over, and Anna and I could spend some quality time together. If she even wanted anything to do with me after all the shit I put her through. I hoped she would. It was clear to me now how much she now meant to me, and regardless of whether or not she wanted anything to do with me when this was over, I promised myself that I would always protect her.

  She changed my life, and I’d never forget her.

  18

  Anna

  I held the thick file in my hand, and took a deep breath as I entered the police station. I kept my eyes out in front of me, but I could feel all the eyes on me. Harold’s assistant tried to stop me from walking past, but I wasn’t going to let anything stand in my way. I’d waited too long for this, suffered through the worst of what the chief had done, and I was going to do whatever it took to protect the man I was falling in love with.

  Harold was a smart man, but not smart enough to keep his informants in order. The fact that he even pushed the Hell Riders to testify in the first place was enough to get rid of him. I grabbed a hold of the door handle to his office. When I opened it, he was sitting behind his desk clutching his glasses. Without a word, he pointed at me to shut the door behind me.

  “Anna, I was wondering when I’d see you. How have you been holding up? I heard about what happened,” he said, acting as if the entire situation didn’t have anything to do with him.

  “Don’t act like you don’t know what really happened. We both know you had a hand in orchestrating it?”

  “What kind of preposterous accusation is that?” He stared back at me with an angry glare. I plopped the copies of the evidence I collected before him. I didn’t bother sitting. Looming over his desk gave me a sense of power I hadn’t felt any other time I’d been in here.

  “What the hell is this?”

  “Evidence that proves you’ve been out to get the Black Souls MC from the very beginning. Statements from the Hell Riders bikers who were arrested alongside Ryker. Funny how they all shared the same story that you were the one that told them the only way out of this was to sell Ryker out,” I said with newfound confidence.

  “Anna, you and I both know this is not enough to sway any reputable jury. How do I know you didn’t fabricate all of these things? Including your witness statement from last night?”

  “I had a feeling that you might say that. I brought you this. Have a listen.” I played the recording from my phone that was taken at the club. It clearly proved that his hands were dirty. He may not have come up with this entire idea himself, or paid off anyone to get what he wanted, but he did enough to try to force the confessions of those bikers in order to convict the one he was after. His obsession with the Black Souls was what got him here, and it was a shame that he was about to lose everything.

  There was a day when he was a great cop and great chief. He built his career promising protection and working tirelessly to take down the bad guys. But his blatant disregard for the law made it that much easier for me to see that none of this was as straightforward as we imagined. There were blurred lines around this case from the very beginning. If there was one thing I knew for sure, it was that Ryker didn’t deserve getting arrested.

  The Black Souls may have gotten involved in illegal activity, but they weren’t out there causing commotion on the street just for the fun of it. That wasn’t them. That was how the Hell Riders behaved and they definitely deserved to be behind bars.

  Harold ignored my plea about the Hell Riders when they first attacked me. He didn’t care what they did or how much they could have hurt me. He only cared about his own agenda.

  Now, the ball was in his court, and he had to decide whether he was going to drop the charges against Ryker, or face public scrutiny without any way of protecting himself.

  The recording finished, and he looked up at me with defeat in his eyes. It was the first time since I took the job that I felt like I did something right, and I didn’t want to lose that feeling. “There’s also a 911 call from last night where one of the Hell Riders mentioned you. Something along the lines of the chief promised they’d walk.”

  “What do you want?” He asked.

  “Drop the charges against Ryker, arrest the Hell Riders bikers like you were supposed to because they’re the ones that deserve to go away for all of this. You’re going to step down as chief. You’re not fit to do this job anymore, and something tells me you never were,” I said.

  He looked up at me shaking his head. “You’re not going to get away with this, Anna.”

  “I already have. Oh, here. You might want to read this.” I tossed a copy of Elle’s story at him that was going to be printed the following morning.

  “It’s just a rough draft, but you can already see where this is going. You’re the one that’s not going to get away with this, and if you comply, you can go quietly without having any one come down on you for what you’ve done. Do the right thing here. You don’t really have any other options.”

  “Fine. You have a deal.”

  It was like music to my ears. It had gotten too much for me to bear, challenged me in ways I never thought possible, and I finally managed to make it out. Harold sat there, completely taken aback by what I said. The fact that he believed for so long that he was always one step ahead of this made his defeat so much sweeter for me.

  I managed to pull the rug out from under him, and did what no other detective in this office had been able to do. I knew it was no secret that the chief was used to pulling strings to get him what he wanted, but I never imagined that it would be anywhere close to this.

  I smiled to myself as I headed out of his office. As soon as I was outside, I pulled out my cell phone and called Ryker. I wanted him to hear it from me first. I couldn’t wait to tell him and the rest of the Black Souls that everything was going to be okay.

  It wasn’t the end of the road for our troubles, and there were still a few unanswered questions that were taking up space in mind, but at least I knew that we could solve them together. I could stand by his side, and we could make sure that no one ever tried to take the Black Souls down again.

  “Anna, how did it go?” He picked up immediately, and I could hear the anxiety in his voice. I smiled to myself, wishing I was there to tell him in person.

  “You’re a
free man, Ryker. Everything went according to plan, and the chief will be arresting the Hell Riders bikers for what they did.” I heard his breath relax through my phone.

  “Oh my God, Anna. Thank you! I don’t know what to say, or how to say it because this has been just as hard on you as it has been for the rest of us, but thank you,” he said.

  “It’s the least I can do. I’ll stop by tomorrow, once everything gets settled and the story prints. It’ll quickly hit the front page of every news outlet and tabloid around town. I think it’s best I lay low until all the paperwork gets processed, and everything is official.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Stay safe. I’ll see you first thing tomorrow,” he said.

  I wished I could’ve gone to him right then, but I needed to stop by Elle’s office to thank her again, and to make sure that the story was on its way to be printed. It was the last step in my plan to ensure that the Black Souls would finally have the reputation they deserve. This was the only way to ensure that the public stopped viewing them as thugs, and understand that they are people too. I wanted the rest of the world to see what I saw. Ryker was a good man, and he protected me even when he didn’t know who I was.

  Ryker stepped in to make sure that I was safe when he didn’t have to. I had the very same perspective as everyone else did, that all bikers had their hands in the kind of illegal activity that deserved jail time.

  I pressed him for information, and he saw right through me. But it wasn’t enough to keep me away. I realized right after that night that I wanted to get to know him. Ever since then, it had been an uphill battle trying to right the wrongs that were done to him. But we finally succeeded.

  I glanced back at the chief’s office, wondering what must be going through his mind right now. There was no way he’d have the chance to shut this down. I covered all of my bases, made sure that nothing would break this defense.