Breaking the Rules (Roaming Devils MC #1) (8 page)

“Or we can sit in my car.” She unlocked the doors and he got in the front seat while she got in the driver’s seat. He leaned over, resting his head on her shoulder. She saw drug addicts that craved their drug of choice but she didn’t have much experience with those trying to quit the habit. Ella turned slightly, kissing his forehead.

“Can I ask how much you breathed in? Did you snort it?”

“No.” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. “I’m not high and I didn’t do it to get high.”

She believed him. The struggle he went through was not that of someone that teetered back and forth with drug use. He didn’t really seem to want to feel the way he felt.

“Can you tell me what happened? Was someone using around you?” Of course they were. The whole fucking club shared drugs.

“No talking.” He pressed his face into her neck. “I’ve got a bad headache.”

Ella squeezed him to her, hating that he felt horrible. “If you can gauge how much you inhaled, then I can figure out how long this is going to last.”

“It’s going away.” His lips moved against her neck. “Coconut is better than coke.”

She frowned. “What?”

“You smell like coconut.” He groaned, taking a deep breath. “It’s fucking delicious.”

She smiled, chuckling lightly. “Maybe you really are high.”

He kissed her neck. “I could eat you right now.”

She pulled back and stared into his eyes. He cupped the back of her head and pulled her mouth against his. She’d never kissed anyone like him. Most guys didn’t know how to seduce with their tongue. They shoved it into a woman’s mouth and thought that was sexy. But Ryker knew exactly what he was doing.

His phone buzzed and he jerked away from her to answer it. He went from complete happiness to agitated within seconds. “I’ve got to go.”

She rubbed his arms. “Do you feel better?”

His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “More than you know.”

He kissed her briefly before getting out of the car. She watched as he walked around and got on his bike. The roar of the engine sounded next and she smiled at him. Then her mind drifted to why he’d breathed in cocaine. She didn’t know much about their operation, but she did know that most of the club members did drugs. The first thing an addict needed to recover was a new environment and she couldn’t help but applaud his ability to stay mostly clean while still being part of the club. So many people couldn’t do it and wouldn’t do it.

Blowing out a breath, she decided to go home. If she didn’t have to be at work, then she wasn’t hanging around.

Chapter Six

It was no fucking surprise that Ryker was greeted by a pissed off crew when he got to the club. Ghost had two of the stronger members grab him and hold him while his fist made contact with Ryker’s face. It was the only fucking way he could get some punches in. He gave an uppercut to his jaw before throwing a few punches at Ryker’s stomach. Ryker spit blood to the ground and stared at the sorry bastard.

“Enough.” Razor came toward them. “What the fuck happened between you two?”

Ryker didn’t look away from Ghost. He stood there, waiting for his chance at retaliation. Ghost was a little bitch boy. It was written all over his face.

“He went to the bitch’s apartment again.”

The damn idiot was grasping at straws. “Actually, I didn’t but you don’t have enough fucking common sense to know that, bitch boy.”

Ghost punched him again and Ryker smiled. Razor stepped between them. “Go cool off,” he told Ghost. Razor turned toward him and motioned for the other members to let him go.

Ryker jerked his arms away from them and stared at his father. “Brotherhood, my ass. You had that damn asshole follow me to the drop off. I don’t need a fucking babysitter.”

“Brotherhood.” Razor rubbed his scruffy chin. “What exactly does that mean, Ryker? What have I told you all your fucking life?”

Ryker stared at him. The man before him had given him life, yet he had no reservations about forcing him to get rid of the only thing that made sense to him anymore. When he’d been a kid, his father hadn’t been around much. Ryker’s grandfather had been the president of the club and Razor his sergeant-at-arms. His father went around living whatever kind of life he wanted doing whatever the hell he wanted behind his grandfather’s back. Razor didn’t like family. He liked legacy. He wanted a kid and ended up with one. Ryker didn’t know much about his mother other than her name. Razor had taken over full responsibility for him at his birth. His grandfather had done the same, raising Razor to be the sadistic bastard he was. Razor had wanted that same fate for Ryker, a kid to carry on the Roaming Devils’ name.

“It’s family. Community. It’s about loyalty and respect.”

“And where does the doctor fit in that?” Razor met his gaze. “You disrespected me by not listening to a direct order. I told you to stay away from her and you run back to that pussy like a coke whore needing a fix.” Razor pursed his lips. “I question your loyalty, son. Before this bitch came into your life with her sad little request of us helping her daddy, you were on a fast track to becoming the leader of this chapter. Everyone in this fucking club knew that you would succeed me despite Ghost’s position. You can’t fucking do that if you got your face down in some girl’s lap.”

He shook his head. “My loyalty to this club has never been in question. I do what I need to do. What I do in my own time is
my
fucking business.”

Razor arched an eyebrow. “Your own time? You’re my fucking sergeant-at-arms. You have no fucking time of your own. Everything you do is for the club. It’s a reflection of the club and it is for the greater good of the club. What is the fucking hold this bitch has over you? Ever since you were a kid, you’ve been sniffing around her. There’s no place for that bullshit here. None. She’s a threat and she’s a problem. If you cannot see that, then I’m going to have to make you see that.”

The two beefy members grabbed him again. Ryker tried to get away from their grip, but he didn’t go anywhere. They tightened their hold on him to the point his arms fucking hurt from being twisted at an odd angle.

“Do it.” Razor motioned toward Ghost, who pulled out a needle.

“No.” Ryker shook his head, struggling more.

The club was no stranger to using drugs to control people. It was how they kept their women coming back for more without regard for their dignity. He’d been clean for so long. Struggled with it for so long. Tears filled his eyes as Ghost found a vein and inserted the needle.

The cold rush flowed through his veins and it felt pretty damn good. Ryker’s eyes drifted closed as his head dropped forward. The feeling was almost orgasmic. When he gagged, the beefy members let him go so that he fell facedown on the floor. The rush was the best part. It took over his body and made him feel like he was king of the fucking world.

Ryker lay there in his own personal hell. He felt too damn good to be pissed at what was happening around him. It was a fight inside him that he couldn’t control. He knew exactly what they’d injected into him and knew exactly what game they were fucking playing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ghost filming him and vowed to slit the dickhead’s throat when he got a chance.

Sweat poured out of his body and one of the prospects brought him a bottle of water to cool him down. He stared at Ghost.

“You got what you fucking wanted. Get that damn thing out of my face.” He poured the water over his head. He’d give them the fucking show they wanted. Then he’d kill them without blinking an eye.

****

When Ella was put on-call, she hadn’t realized that meant for the ER too. For whatever reason the hospital was short staffed that night and she had to fill in for the trauma doctor that left unexpectedly in the middle of his shift. It’d been a few weeks since she’d worked in ER, but it felt like a lifetime. There was a certain pace and expectancy that came with emergency care that really kicked her butt after the fifth hour. She still had a few more to go.

“Ally, I’m going to take a break. I didn’t get any lunch and I really need to eat something before I pass out.” Ella left the ER for the restaurant within the hospital. It was a cozy little diner that had a good selection of food that tasted decent enough. She bought herself some meatloaf and a drink before she settled at one of the empty tables.

She grabbed her phone and decided to return calls. Her father had dialed her twice, asking about dinner. That was more than three hours ago. And Ryker called. She pursed her lips. The thought of him needing her again while she was working worried her. He really hadn’t looked good before and she didn’t know what the damn club made him do, but he didn’t need to be around the drugs. She clicked on his message and realized it was a video. Frowning, she pushed play.

On the screen she watched as someone injected Ryker. Then the phone was handed to another person as they filmed Ryker nearly climaxing from the shit they shoved into his veins. The video cut to another scene where he snorted a line of cocaine off a table in what looked like the club. He glanced up at the man filming him and raised his middle finger, laughing. Ella sat stunned. She watched him do another drug, injecting something into his vein. He said something about the Roaming Devils, though she couldn’t understand him, and the video ended with him pulling the tourniquet and pushing the plunger of the syringe. His eyes closed as his head dropped back, a smile stamped on his face.

Ella clicked her phone off and set it aside. She was tired and cranky. She didn’t know what kind of fucking game they were playing with her, but the man on that screen wasn’t the real Ryker. Grabbing the container her food came in, she yanked it off the table and tossed it into the trash. They knew he was weakened by whatever had happened that day. The idea that someone could do something so callous to another individual was beyond rational thinking. But it was how those monsters played. Nothing was ever what it seemed. Ryker would never send her a video of him doing drugs. Especially when he wanted her help in staying off them. She didn’t believe for one second that he did that on his own. Now more than ever he needed to get out before he ended up dead.

Mad at herself for not pressing him for more details, she went to the elevator. If she had leverage on them, then she could do something. They wanted her out of his life, she got that. They thought she was a threat. The sick bastards were the real threat. His father was the worst threat. Ella punched her father’s floor number and waited for the doors to close. Her father would know what to do about it. He’d be pissed, but he’d know what to do.

She rode the elevator to his floor and let herself in to see him. He smiled at her, his face still bruised and swollen from the beating.

“Hey, dollface. What’s wrong?”

“Razor.”

Her father sat up in the bed, grunting from pain as he shifted slightly. “What happened?”

She rubbed her forehead. “He told me to stay away from Ryker. It was part of our deal. But I didn’t exactly live up to my end of the bargain. Ryker came to me today needing some help coping with his cravings. He’s been clean for a year or two and for whatever reason, he breathed in some stuff today. He looked really bad. I sat with him. I supported him through it. Then he gets this call and leaves.” Ella pulled up the video on her phone. “A few minutes ago I was sent this video.”

He took the phone and watched the video. “Ella, they’re playing you. You need to leave this guy alone. You can’t save an addict. Clearly, he’s not clean anymore. You need to take this to the police. It’s obvious that’s at the clubhouse. That should be enough for probable cause if they’ve got anything there. They could all be going away for years.” Her father almost bounced out of his bed, he was so happy. “This is what we needed Ella. I never thought we’d get it, but this is what we need.”

She stared at him. Turning the video in wasn’t an option. She knew how Razor played. The only one that would pay for the Roaming Devils’ sins was Ryker. It pissed her off that his own father treated him that way. It was something he just accepted and it wasn’t fair. He didn’t know anything different.

“No.”

“No? What do you mean
no
?”

“I’m not giving this to the police. I’m not sending him to jail. Razor is the problem, not Ryker.”

“They’re all a fucking problem, Ella.” He took a deep breath. “Listen to me. I know you have a big heart for lost causes. You think you can fix them and you’re optimistic. It’s a great quality to have, baby, it really is. But these men are dangerous. They are not people you fool around with. I tried telling you that five years ago when I busted that little punk for possession.”

She shook her head. Ryker wasn’t like Razor. He made an effort to stay clean. He held her like she was the only thing that mattered to him. Her heart broke at the very thought of him being used for their sick and twisted games. Tears filled her eyes and she turned away from her father.

“Ella,” his voice was softer. He’d gone from being her father to the cop and was now back to being her father again. “Please tell me you didn’t sleep with him. They play people, Ella. They’re great at manipulating others to get what they want.”

Her tough exterior cracked. She brought her hand to her face and tried to hide her shame from her father but it didn’t work. Her sobs were soft as her shoulders shook from the intensity of them. She closed her eyes and tried to gain control of herself, but once the dam broke, it was hard to keep everything back. She was so stupid. It hurt to even think about it.

Her father got out of the bed and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. She laid her head against him, letting him comfort her. She knew that he shouldn’t have been standing. He shouldn’t have been out of the bed. He had broken legs and a broken arm. A few broken ribs. It had to be extremely painful just moving.

“Honey, it’s okay.” He kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay.”

When she finally stopped the waterworks, she pulled away from her father’s arms. “Get back into bed. You’re crazy for even trying to get out and comfort me.”

“I’d do anything for you.” He wiped her tears from beneath her eyes. “Even if it hurts like hell.”

She rolled her eyes and helped him back to the bed. She took a deep breath and he reached out to her, squeezing her hand. “I know you thought he was different, Ella. You’ve had a thing for that boy since you were a teenager. Just let it be a lesson learned. They’re all the same. I wish I could tell you differently. I wish I had your optimism. I just know better. You need to take that video to the police and let them bust them. If the higher ranking members are there, then that’s an added bonus.”

“Okay. I need to get back to work. I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too.” He kissed her hand. “Send the video to the police.”

She smiled and nodded, agreeing to before leaving the room. She looked like a complete basket case but it didn’t really matter. She pocketed her cell phone and went back to ER to finish her shift. She couldn’t turn Ryker in. Not until she knew the whole story.

It was the least he owed her as far as she was concerned.

****

After her shift ended, she drove to the club. She parked out front and noticed the party was going in full swing. She could only imagine what kind of lascivious deeds were going on inside. She walked up to the door and the burly guy stopped her.

“You can’t go in there.”

“Razor will want to see me.”

“No, he won’t.”

“Ask him. Tell him I got some candy for his sugar habit.” She smiled at the guy.

Instead of asking questions, he opened the door for her. The loud music was enough to make her head hurt. Every time she walked into the club, she had a sour feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t know if Ryker was dead or alive. She didn’t know if she’d find him balls deep in another woman. Anything was possible and she had to stop her imagination from getting too out of control. Her heart thudded as she glanced around, looking for Ryker. With bodies gyrating to the music, the temperature had increased to the point she felt perspiration gathering on her upper lip. They acted like nothing was wrong. That partying was a way of life and they wanted to live it up. With everything that she was, she didn’t want him dead. It was a risky move for her to steal the fentanyl and her friend had almost caught her this time. She’d had to talk her way out of it while blaming her erratic behavior on lack of sleep and long hours. The risk was worth it if she found Ryker alive. Ella pushed through the crowd, disgusted by the lack of clothed women. Women walked around naked while some spun around on the stripper poles with their legs spread. She didn’t spot either Ryker or Razor, so she pushed deeper into the crowd.