Connected in Pain

by Ryan Michele

  It was taking every bit of control in my body not to wrap my hands around this bitch’s throat and squeeze the life out of her. Always knew the bitch was dumb, but this layer of dumb was a new low.

  “You mean to tell me you forged paperwork claiming you two idiots were the owners of this house and used it to get money to shoot up your fuckin’ arm!” The rage flowed through my veins, and I had to ball up my fists in order to keep them under control.

  “We had to!”

  “Bitch, you fuckin’ did not. This is jacked even for your ass.” I took a step back and took a deep breath. “You have no option. You’re goin’ to rehab right now. You stay until you’re clean, or this house and all the shit in it is gone. Van is gone. No more chances. No more anything.”

  Jenny was full out crying now as she moved to Stan and sunk to the floor next to him.

  “Bitch, I can’t believe you went to Ebony.” Ebony was a loan shark who was high up on the food chain because she’d made a mint off assholes like these, not being able to pay her back and confiscating their shit then selling it. She was straight no holds barred. Now, I was going to need to meet up with her and fix this problem.

  Like I needed another damn thing on my fucking plate. Fuck.

  “I’m sorry,” she cried, but I was done.

  “Let’s go. Now.”

  “You can’t…” Stan started getting back to his feet, but I pulled out my gun. This dog and pony show was over with.

  “Fucker, you tell me I can’t do somethin’ one more time, I’ll start takin’ off your body parts one by fuckin’ one.”

  He halted and took a step back.

  In the other hand, I grabbed my cell calling Hornet and Rooster. “Come get her.”

  Two seconds later the guys came in, lifting a sobbing Jenny. “Take her to Convorse.”

  “You want her that far away?” Hornet asked.

  “If I could get the bitch further away in this short of time, I’d fuckin’ do it.”

  “Right,” he answered and took Jenny out. Fuck her clothes. She could live naked for all I cared.

  Staring Stan in the eye, two shots went right to his head as he fell to the ground in a heap. Fucker messed with Ravage putting out house up so he could shoot it or snort it. Fuck him.

  Punching in Phoenix’s number, he answered on the second ring.

  “Need you at Jenny’s house. Stan needs help gettin’ out of the house. Bring a tarp.”

  “That sounds like a shit job.” He chuckled.

  “One that you like doin’.”

  “Be there in ten.”

  I disconnected the phone turning to the heap on the floor. That was going to be a bitch to get out of the carpet.

  Five minutes later Phoenix was there. Five minutes after that, I was packing my daughter’s stuff and shoving it in my Tahoe. It wasn’t everything, but it was the important shit. Fifteen minutes after that, I was picking my girl up at school to bring her home.

  “And who is this?” I asked, entering my house with my son sitting at the table with a beautiful young woman with brunette hair. At least they were at the table and not back in his room.

  “Greer!” Van screamed at the top of her lungs, running into her brother’s arms and wrapping him up tight. She adored her big brother, and it had been awhile since they were together here. This would be good for the both of them.

  “Hey, peanut. Didn’t know you’d be here.” His eyes jetting back and forth between his sister and me. He knew Jenny, and I’d tell him later. I shook my head.

  “Yeah! I get to stay with Daddy and then Grandpa!”

  “That’s awesome.”

  She released her brother and looked to the girl next him. “Hi.” She did the little wave thing that little girls do. It was cute. I wanted her to stay little for as long as possible. At Jenny’s she didn’t have that. The roles were reversed and Van was the caretaker. It had to end.

  “Dad, peanut, this is Aubrey, the tutor I told you about, Dad.”

  She smiled softly and as I made it to the table, I spoke, “Welcome. We’re counting on you for Greer here to pass math. You sure you’re up for that challenge?”

  Her smile widened. “I’m gonna give it a shot.”

  “That’s a pretty name. I’m Van.” Van introduced herself with a smile.

  “Nice to meet you.” Aubrey smiled then turned back to the paper as Greer winked at me.

  “Out here only,” I ordered Greer who shook his head, but did it laughing. He wouldn’t be laughing when he ended up being a dad at sixteen.

  “Go wash up, Van. I’ll bring your stuff in.”

  “Okay!” She took off happily thinking this was a little vacation getting to spend time with the men in her life. Soon, I’d tell her she wasn’t going back there, but now wasn’t the time.

  Lugging in the boxes, my mind rolled around everything going on with the club and at home.

  We were still waiting for someone to report the money missing at the Alabaster home and were keeping our eyes and ears open for whoever was supposedly looking for us. Tommy was in luck because we had a run tomorrow, so he had a few extra days to pull his head out of his ass and get us what we needed.

  My two kids under the same roof. It felt good, but there was something still missing. One day at a time. That was all we could do.

  11

  Rylynn

  Client number one called me earlier saying her husband was going on a business trip and gave me the ins and outs of his schedule. I was on the road tailing this guy who didn’t go over sixty-five miles an hour driving me nuts. Did he not know what a gas pedal was?

  Since waking up this morning in a hotel on the boarder of Georgia and Alabama, this guy had done nothing wrong that I could see. He was B-O-R-I-N-G. He was in his hotel alone, my room had a good view of his window. I peeped and went into the offices only to come out hours later, went to get food, and then back to the office.

  Currently, he was eating a Ruben sandwich in a greasy spoon, and I was four booths behind him watching. With a college sweatshirt and my hair up in a messy bun up on top, I looked invisible, blending into the surroundings. Now if I would’ve come in with all black on, that would have made me stick out like a sore thumb.

  It was something I’d learned along the way, mostly by watching my father. How to be stealthy. How to blend into the crowd and become a nobody that no one would remember. Be seen, but not. It wasn’t an easy task and I’d failed several times, but with each attempt, I got better.

  This guy was driving me to think about changing careers. I almost wished he had something exciting happen during this trip so I could do something. His wife said he goes back tomorrow morning and he’d done nothing but work, eat, and sleep. No woman on the side for him.

  Taking a bite of my burger with ketchup, I looked around the place not even knowing what it was called. Judging from the beat-up booths and torn vinyl on the chairs, it’d been around for quite a long time.

  Seeing the glob of dust above the window the waitresses and cooks used to put the food out, I went back to my burger trying to forget it. Lord knew what I put into my mouth, but it tasted damn good. Funny how a greasy spoon burger always hit the spot, drunk or not.

  My guy hadn’t moved other than to pick up his damn sandwich. He kept looking down, playing on his phone. Maybe texting his chick on the side? Who was I kidding. This guy didn’t have anything anywhere.

  A bell rang over the door, my eyes instantly darting to it. The burger froze midway to my mouth, breaths seized and muscles went tight.

  The Ravage Rebellion came through, Crow the third one in. He was smiling at something the guy behind him said. That smile was killer, and I hadn’t forgotten it a single moment since he left me on my doorstep.

  My heartbeat picked up, and I felt the blush heat my cheeks just in watching him from afar.

  He was so gorgeous—strong arms, hair tousled from the wind of riding, leather fitting him like a glove along with jeans that had tears in them every w
hich way. My body throbbed craving him, wanting him.

  It wasn’t until he turned my way and our eyes connected seeing the stunned look on his face that I became unstuck. Shit, shit, shit!

  His strides were long, and I knew he was going to blow my cover. There was nowhere to hide and nowhere to go. Blowing my cover wasn’t an option. This husband was already boring enough, and I wanted to be done with it. If Crow exposed me, I wouldn’t be able to get this close to the guy again and get this job finished. Shit.

  I launched myself out of the booth and flew into Crow’s arms, jumping up and wrapping my legs around his hips. He caught me with ease, and I could feel his laughter against my breasts causing my nipples to harden.

  “Act like you’re here for me. Have one of your guys grab my bag and carry me out of here,” I whispered in his ear, trying desperately not to smell him but coming up short. Dirt, air, sun, leather and Crow was what he smelled like, stirring my body up.

  “What’s the deal, Pixie?” His hands squeezed my ass, and my hips of their own volition began to move feeling his hardness. Snapping myself out of it, I hoisted myself up more so I couldn’t feel his cock and burrowed my face in his neck to not be seen.

  “Please, Crow. I’ll explain everything once you get me out of here,” I pleaded into his neck, my lips touching there bringing his taste inside me once again.

  “You in trouble?” he asked, and I wanted to roll my eyes. Why was that always the first thing that men thought? Couldn’t a woman not be a damsel in distress? Just out doing her job? Not every woman needed a man to rescue them.

  “No. Just please do this for me. Swear I’ll explain.”

  “Only if I’m in your bed tonight,” he responded, and my body stilled. It took everything inside of me not to look up into his eyes. What I wanted to see there, I wasn’t sure, but good or bad part of me was dying to know.

  “What?” I asked, stunned as my body flared, excitedly anticipating what Crow would do in my bed. Who was I kidding? I knew exactly what he’d do to me. Fuck me until I couldn’t move. Which wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

  “You heard me, Pixie. Tell me your answer.”

  Shit, shit, shit. It wasn’t like this was our first time together. It was really a no-brainer.

  “Fine. Just get me out of here.” His smell was overpowering me, and I needed fresh air to clear my head. Crow could not scramble my brain cells.

  “Fuck you feel good, baby.” He did too. My vixen hips wanted so badly to grind on him.

  “What’s going on here?” I heard a deep voice ask with humor lighting his tone.

  I felt Crow’s laugh once again. “Phoenix, grab that bag.” His head moved, but I kept my face inside his neck shielding me from everything.

  “This isn’t funny,” I said against his neck.

  “This is fuckin’ hilarious,” he responded.

  We were on the move, heading out the door and into the parking lot. “You have a specific place you want me to take ya? I mean this is fun and all, but I’d rather have my cock inside of you.”

  “Would you stop?”

  “No.” He was blunt as usual. I growled and he laughed, “Now who’s Grizzly?”

  “Did you see that guy in there with the wine-colored shirt, sitting alone four booths in front of me?”

  I felt his neck twist. “Yeah. Doesn’t look like your type, babe.”

  “Yeah, I go more for the Smurf type. All small and blue balled.”

  He laughed hard shaking my body.

  “Would you pay attention?” I clipped.

  “I am, Pixie. You’re just damn funny.”

  He was pushing every fucking button inside of me, and I loved it and hated it at the same time. “Take me somewhere that he won’t see my face.”

  He sobered turning all business, his voice and body coming alert, but kept moving. “He givin’ you shit?”

  “No. He’s my target.” My back was pressed against something hard and only then did I lift my head from his neck, trusting that Crow did as I’d asked. Crow’s face was fierce and so damn hot. My lips tingled wanting to kiss him.

  I sucked in a deep breath of fresh air, but it did nothing to quench the thirst I had for this man.

  “Talk to me,” he ordered, his hands gripping my ass tighter in a warning that also shown on his face. He was ready to rip this guy apart, and there was no need for that.

  “Can you put me down?” I asked, but he didn’t move. I felt the stares from several of his brothers. Looking up, I wasn’t wrong. Crow’s hand came to my face, and he turned it so my eyes were focused on him.

  “No, and start fuckin’ talkin’.”

  Letting out a heavy sigh, I talked, but it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “He’s my husband and I was waiting for his tramp to show up so I could beat her ass.”

  Crow didn’t think what I said was funny one bit. Guess the sarcasm train had left the depot. His brothers said nothing. Right now, dealing with a man who was all man and wouldn’t take any shit—even from someone like me—probably wasn’t my best reply.

  I shook my head all the while watching his expressions wanting to gauge his level of angry from miffed to infuriated. If I had to try to hold him back, I knew it wouldn’t go well, but the guy I was tailing hadn’t hurt me. “Got it. He’s my target. I’m a private investigator. His wife hired me to follow him on a business trip to catch him in the act of fuckin’ around on her.”

  The stony look smoothed out just a bit, but the edge was still there. “You’re chasin’ someone in a town you aren’t familiar with, alone? What the fuck, Rylynn?”

  Now, he was beyond pissed, and his grip on me tightened to almost the point of pain, but I ignored it. “I’m a big girl, Crow, and I’m doin’ my job. This is how I make a living.”

  “You chase assholes down and what, take pictures of them?”

  “Can you put me down?”

  His tone was a bit condescending, and I didn’t care for that much.

  My back was pressed harder into the concrete, his chest pressing into mine. Fuck, how could I be pissed and be hot for at him at the same time?

  “I fuckin’ said no. I should turn your ass over my knee.”

  “Love to see you try it, big man, but that ain’t happenin’. Put me down,” I barked louder and felt the air around us tense. I knew why. This was the president of the Ravage Rebellions MC. No one talked to him like that, and here I was some woman that really none of his brothers knew who was standing up to their leader. I’d grown up my entire life being around men who were real men and knew the boundaries. But I was getting angry. I mean, who did this guy think he was? He sure as shit wasn’t my keeper. “Now.”

  “I don’t know if I should throttle you, fuck you, or kill you.”

  This made me laugh for some insane reason, pissing Crow off more. “Pixie,” he growled.

  My laughs calmed, and I sucked in a deep breath. “Look. Yes. I’m here tailin’ this guy to get pictures of him cheating, but since he’s boring as fuck, I’ve been just babysitting. He goes back tomorrow morning, and so do I. It’s all good.”

  “It is not all good.” He released my ass, my legs falling to the ground and catching me, but he didn’t let me go. Instead, he whipped me around and pulled my back to his front to face his brothers.

  I only knew one of them, Brewer because he was the vice president. The others I had no clue, but I didn’t cower. No man wanted a woman who would couldn’t stand on her own two feet. Lucky for me I’d had a lot of practice between my father and Cruz; it was a given.

  The all stared at me trying to place me, and I lifted my chin. Crow introduced them. “This is Brewer, Wrong Way, Rooster, Hornet, Tex and Lemon. I nodded as he pointed to each one.

  Brewer’s head tipped to the side, light dawning. “Fuck. You’re Rhys’ kid.”

  A smile crept up my lips. Maybe some women would get pissed or frustrated to be connected to their parents. But not me. I was happy to be my father’s kid. Happy to be in the Ravag
e MC. There was nothing there that made me feel in anyway like his words were an insult.

  “Christ, Crow. Did you fuck her?” a man with dark black hair said as he looked at our stance. The look on his face was interesting, but I couldn’t tell which way he was going with it. He was introduced as Phoenix. “Fuck, even I’m not that crazy.”

  I decided to speak. “Actually, my inner hellcat was let loose, and I climbed him like a tree.”

  Chuckles spread through the guys, and I was happy they got my meaning. Like I said, sometimes people got it and other times they didn’t.

  Crow’s grip tightened putting pressure at my chest, gaining me his attention. “Had you purrin’ just fine,” he said slowly in my ear nipping my lobe. My knees tried to give out, but I held strong.

  “Never said you didn’t.” Then I turned my head around to him and peered into his eyes. “Why are you here? Rebellion is three and a half hours away.” I winked. “Or three if I’m driving.”

  His eyes flared in that sexy way, like when he came deep inside me. “Club business.”

  I broke his spell by turning back to the guys. Those were the magic words for me to shut up and mind my own business. “Right. Okay, I need to get to my Jeep so I’m ready to roll when this guy leaves.”

  Crow’s arm tensed, but didn’t release me. “You think for one fuckin’ second I’m lettin’ you go so you can follow this asshole to his piece or wherever? I’ll tie you to the back of my bike before that happens, Pixie.”

  I smirked, kind of liking that idea, and turned in his arms. “While I’m happy to be tied up, I need to get the goods on this guy, or by the way this is going, not getting the goods on him so I can close this case and get paid.”

  “That’s. Not. Gonna. Happen,” Crow growled. He had to bend down slightly to get in my face, and I was a tall woman. It made the movement all that more intriguing. His words should piss me off as he was again telling me what I was going to do; instead, they made me wet. Full out if I could get some friction between my legs, I’d come, wet.

  Shit, all this guy had to do was breathe on me and I was turned on. Touch me and I wanted to purr like a damn kitten.