Authors: Ryan Michele
The door to my office opens just a crack, and Ma sticks her head inside. “Can you talk for a few?”
I give her a smile. Damn, I love this woman.
“Always, beautiful.”
She awards me with a smile of her own as she comes to the side of my desk. She obviously has something heavy to say because she normally would be kissing me right about now.
“Say it.”
“Shaina.”
Mixed feelings come over me at the mention of her name, but I lock it down. She came in a bitch and learned a really hard lesson.
“Know you wanted her here, so she’s here.”
“Thanks for that.”
“Want to tell me why it was such a big deal for you?” I ask, curious. When she came to me and asked, my first thought was no way, but I went with my gut, instead.
“I had a feeling, and just talking to Princess confirmed it. Shaina’s fucked up worse than I thought when I asked you to have her here. Princess thinks she may be thinking about killing herself and wants to know where all the guys stand with her. She thinks it would be good to know if everyone feels the hate or if she is welcome in Ravage.”
I lace my fingers and put them behind my head, leaning back in my chair. Ravage doesn’t give second chances. If you fuck with us one time, you’re out. She fucked with us, so why do I have the urge not to force her out? Why do I feel like I should be the one to protect her in some way? It must be because of Diamond. I loved that man, and she is an extension of him.
“I’ll talk to the guys.”
Ma wraps her arms around my neck and presses her lips to mine. When she pulls away, she tells me, “I love you.”
“Love you, babe.”
And Ma is off.
I look around my office, an office that used to be Diamond’s. An office I’m in because of me staking my claim on Ma all those years ago, which got him killed. If he were here, he would know what to do with Shaina. He’d know exactly where to find Ransom.
I have one person I can call, and if I do, my club and I’ll owe him big. Beyond big. The even worse part is I can’t tell the guys. I need to fly this under the radar. It’s a risk, but Ransom needs to be found and destroyed.
I grab my cell and dial.
“Yeah.”
“Rhys, my office.” I hang up.
He will ride and do what needs to be done.
“You sure about this?” Rhys asks after we cut the engines to our bikes.
“Last resort. Need that motherfucker now,” I reply, taking off my leather gloves and swinging my leg off my ride.
The drive wasn’t bad, only three hours, but the weight on my shoulders grew with each passing mile. As if it weren’t heavy enough already.
“Let’s do this shit,” Rhys says, taking my back as we walk up the beaten path to a very extravagant looking ranch-style log cabin.
The wraparound porch is the highlight with four old chairs resting on it. Flowers hang from the banisters, bright reds and yellows. The sight makes me smile, reminding me how my ol’ lady loves those damn things.
The front door swings open, and there
he
stands, gun in hand, aiming it directly at us. Damn, he’s a brute of a man. Even at seventy-five years old, he looks to be my age.
His sharp eyes laser in on me. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Need somethin’,” I tell the man as his eyes go to Rhys.
“Rhys,” he says, earning him a chin jerk.
“Baby, who is it?” She steps to the side of him, and her eyes lock on mine then fill with tears. There is absolutely no stopping her as she darts out the door and to me. She’s still as beautiful as the day she left, pretending to be dead along with her husband. Long, brown hair shines in the sunlight, and the eyes, the same eyes that I stare into every time I look at my wife.
“Malcolm!” she cries, throwing herself at me and wrapping me in her arms.
I take a moment to enjoy the feeling. It has been years since I saw her. Years since my in-laws disappeared from civilization. Very few people know they are even alive. As far as the government knows, they died in a car crash over twenty-five years ago. They fell off the grid in every way possible to everyone’s eyes, but Richard knows his shit. He may be off the grid, but he knows everything. How he does it, I never ask, but he has what I need right now.
“How’s my girl?” Helen asks with a wide smile, an exact replica of my ol’ lady’s.
“She’s good.”
“And Harlow and GT?” she asks excitedly.
“Helen, there is so much going on with those two that it would take me a year to let you in on everything. Just know they are good, but I need to talk to Richard. It’s important.”
She looks a little defeated, and I hate that I did that to her. She’s a good woman. Raised an even better one.
“You’ll tell her after we’re done,” Richard demands from the stairs.
I fully admit I’m not used to taking orders; I gave up that ticket a long time ago. But out of respect for my woman, I lift my chin and get Richard’s smile.
“Okay, I’ll run along, and you let me know when you’re done,” she says, scampering off inside the house and closing the door.
“Better be good,” Richard says, moving to one of the old rocking chairs with Rhys and me following.
Rhys sits next to Richard while I lean against the railing with my ankles crossed. Richard’s eyes connect with mine, determination exuding from them.
“That fucker Ransom is still hung up on Charlotte.”
He shakes his head. “Doesn’t surprise me one fuckin’ bit. My girl is somethin’ else.” He clicks his tongue.
“So, you know what’s going down?” I ask.
His eyes turn into a
did you really just ask me that shit
look. “I know everything.”
“Figured you did. Care to tell me why you didn’t communicate all of this to me?” I ask, a bit pissed off.
“My intel on it was slower than I would have liked, and you had your people on lockdown, so I figured you already knew,” he says calmly, and I let it slide.
“Need a lock on him. Where is he? Who’s he with? What does he have at his back? I need to destroy him.”
“Get that,” he remarks, rubbing his stubble of a beard. “What’s the return?” Always the deal maker.
“Your daughter’s safety,” I deadpan.
“No, I left you in charge of that shit years ago when you went to battle for her … when you protected her. That’s on you,” he tells me straight out.
It’s true. He did, and I don’t regret a moment I have had with my woman. True, I did gain respect from him by pulling Ma out of that mess she was in. Richard wanted to kill Ransom and set a plan in motion. Once he saw how I could keep her safe, he tapped it down, not wanting another battle on his hands.
“What’s the price?” I question.
“Bring her up here and the kids. Helen wants to see them. It’s been too damn long.”
I quirk my brow. “Princess and GT think you’re dead. You want them to know differently?”
“Want to see my grandkids.” At least, owing him big isn’t as bad as I initially thought.
“The reason you’re in hidin’ gone away?”
Richard was in some serious dealing with a drug lord, and the only way for him to get out of the mess was to plan his and his wife’s deaths. It was a pain in the ass to pull off, but we did it. Ma, Rhys, Dagger, and me, that is. From Ravage, we’re the only ones who know these two are alive.
“Yep. So is his worthless crew, parents, family—everyone. There’s a little shit who took over, and his days are numbered, too.”
“You do all this from all the way out here?” Rhys asks.
“You’d be amazed what I can do, son.” Richard gives a slight tilt of the lip, the one that says he knows how good he is and owns it.
“Fuck,” Rhys says, sitting back in the chair.
“So you want to see your grandkids and your great-grandkid.”
Richard’s eyes light up.
“Cooper. Princess’s man has a kid. Now he’s hers,” I tell him.
“Well, fuck me. Didn’t think that would happen.”
“So much for knowin’ everything,” I grumble, and he narrows his eyes.
This trip down memory lane needs to stop, and shit needs to get done.
“Need you to find him and two of his men,” I cut to the chase.
He studies me. “Gonna bring me my grandbabies?”
I lift my chin. Fuck, that’s the least I can do. “After all this shit blows over.”
Richard reaches into his pocket and pulls out a flip phone, the same kind of burner phone we use. He pushes some buttons then lifts it to his ear. “Ransom. Find him. Sending you a pic,” he orders then shuts it and tosses the phone to me.
Good thing my reflexes are still good; I catch it mid-sail.
“Take that. I’ll call you on it when I get word.”
I slip the phone into my cut. “Thanks.”
“Go in and tell my wife about her grandkids and the great-grandkid.”
I push off the ledge just as Rhys says, “How do you still do it?”
“Secrets aren’t meant to be told.”
Thwack.
“Count, Bella,” I growl as my hand stings from the blow. It’s a delicious one, and watching the red form in the shape of my hand on her bare ass is one of the sexiest things I have seen in my life.
“Five,” she says softly.
My girl loves getting her ass spanked, and I’m happy to give her that.
She lays over my knees, ass in the air, torso aimed down, her hands touching the ground. With each slap, her tits bounce against my leg, and my cock grows harder.
Thwack.
I give her five more then plummet my fingers into her wet heat.
“My girl’s hot for me.”
She moans, and I move my fingers quickly, giving her just enough friction but going nowhere near her clit.
Her body hums for me, but she’s a good little girl who keeps herself still, exactly how I like her.
I remove my fingers and slap her ass hard. “Knees.”
She complies quickly as I push my soaked fingers in my mouth. Her taste explodes on my tongue.
I look down at my woman. Her pupils are so contracted all I can see is the beautiful exotic purplish color her eyes take on.
“Taste so fuckin’ good, Bella.” I lick and suck my fingers, giving her a show.
Her lips part, and her chest heaves in and out. Damn, I love watching those tits of hers bounce.