Ridin' Dirty: An Outlaw Author Anthology (OAMC Book 1) (49 page)

A few hours later, Ellie says she needs to get home. She has fifteen missed calls from her so-called boyfriend, and not one message. He must really fucking care about her. I have a feeling that he won’t let her leave because she makes him too much money.

“Danielle, I’ll take you by the club tomorrow, and we will deal with both of those fucking dicks. I’ll make sure you never have to dance again.”

Her eyes light up, and she gets a big grin on her face. “Really? You would do that?” she asks.

She knows the answer to that question already. She knows I would do anything for her, even after she left me all those years ago. She was the one back then, and she still is now. Nothing can change that shit. I don’t care what I tell myself to help me sleep at night. No woman will ever compare to her in my eyes.

“You know I would do anything for you.” Her smile falters, and I can see tears in her brown eyes.

“I’m sorry I ruined us. I was being selfish, and ruined the best thing I have ever had.” Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. She’s actually apologizing?

Pulling her into my arms, I kiss the top of her head. “I didn’t fight for you like I should have either. We both fucked up.”

She looks up at me with a small smile. Looking into her eyes, I know I’ll never stop loving her. As much as I wish the last six years didn’t happen, they did, and we can’t take that shit back.

Walking her out to her car, I tell her that I’ll stop by her place tomorrow before we head to the club. Nodding her head, she wraps her arms around my neck, and pulls me down for one more kiss.

Watching her get in her car and drive away, reminds me a lot of the day she left me.

***

Watching Danielle walking towards me with a frown marring her beautiful face, I could feel it in my gut that something was about to happen. She has been really distant lately, and no matter what I do, it never seems like enough.

When she gets closer to me, I can see the tears that are staining her cheeks. She’s finally gonna end us. Part of me knew this was coming. She had been hinting at it all week when I made my decision to prospect for the Wayward Saints MC with Brant, Jase, and Robbie.

We have been fighting like cats and dogs since I told her I was thinking about it. But when I told her I was going for it, she flipped the fuck out on me.

“Ellie, what’s wrong, baby?” I ask, when she finally reaches me. I try and pull her into my arms, but she pushes my hands away from her.

“I’m not your baby anymore, Ryder. You lost that the day you told me that you were joining the Wayward Saints!” she spits. Her voice is getting louder, and I can see the tears starting to pour down her face.

“Danielle,” I start, but she cuts me off and continues.

“Don’t ‘Danielle’ me. I told you before that I didn’t want to you join that stupid club! I wanted us to continue living our dreams. What happened to our plans? Huh? We are supposed to get married, and have kids. Being part of this club, you can’t raise kids. They are violent, and I won’t raise kids in the violence that you are going to subject yourself to. I can’t stand here by your side, watching you put your life in danger every day! I love you too much to watch something bad happening to you,” she chokes out.

I try and grab her arm, but she turns and walks away from me without another word. I watched her walk to her beat up Honda, and drive away without even trying to stop her.

***

I should have ran after her or forced her to see my perspective, but I didn’t. Instead I let her walk away from me, and never looked back. I made a mistake back then, but watching her leave again, I vow to never make that mistake again. This time I’m not letting her walk away; I won’t give her the choice this time.

Walking back into the clubhouse, I see Brant and Jase bullshitting at the bar. Making my way towards them, I slap them both on the back, and take a seat on the barstool next to Jase.

“Was that who I think it is?” Brant asks eyeing me.

I nod my head, and order a beer from the prospect.

“You’re fucking kidding right? That bitch broke your fucking heart when we started prospecting. What the fuck is she doing here now?” he asks.

“I know. She needs help,” I mumble.

“You’re fucking kidding me?” Jase scoffs.

“You’re still fucking whipped,” Brant smirks.

“Fuck you,” I bark out. They both start fuckin’ laughing, and as much as I want to deck them both, I focus on what’s more important. Danielle and making sure she’s safe.

“Fuck, please tell me you didn’t just fuck her and that’s why you’re helping her?” Brant says on a sigh.

I don’t even bother answering the question. He’s smart; he’ll figure it out without one word from me. We’ve been best friends for a long ass time, and he can read me better than anyone else can.

“Fuck, Ryder. What the fuck were you thinking?” he groans.

“She needs my help. She’s working at Mickey’s; they are forcing her to sleep with men for money, and she wants out,” I say, looking over at both of them.

I watch their faces turn from amusement to anger, and I know that they’ll help me deal with this shit. Even if he gives me a hard time about me hooking up with Danielle again, he always has my back.

“Shit, brother,” Jase says, running his hand through his hair.

“What’s the plan, Ry? I know you’ve got something in mind,” Brant says, eyeing me.

“I’m gonna go down there tomorrow, and tell Vincent and Evan that she’s done. If I have to, I’ll put a bullet in both of them to help get her out of there.”

“Well it’s good to know she finally likes the MC life,” Brant snickers. “It will make her appreciate it. There isn’t anyone else that would kill for her.”

“Just because she wants my help doesn’t mean shit. She could walk out the door again tomorrow. She’s selfish and I already know that she ain’t gonna change,” I state. It’s still a possibility that I’m not ready to hear those words come out of her mouth. Hell, if I have a say in the matter, she won’t be going anywhere other than my bed for the rest of our lives.

“Who ain’t gonna change?” I hear Anslie ask from behind me.

Brant pulls her to him, and kisses her neck. “Ryder’s ex.”

Anslie’s head turns towards me, and she looks at me pointedly, “Ex?”

Smirking, I just nod my head, but she doesn’t take my shit.

“What’s her name, and why are you guys talking about her like she was just here?” She asks, looking between us.

You would think that with Brant and Anslie having two kids and one on the way, she would be more concerned about them, than my fucking love life. Nope, she loves to remind me that I need to settle down with a nice girl who will stick by my side. It’s a load of bullshit, if you ask me.

The only woman I ever thought would stay by my side decided that I wasn’t what she wanted anymore. To hell with all that falling in love bullshit. I’ve done that and won’t be going back unless it’s with Ellie.

“Danielle, she was just here, and she needs my help,” I say, looking over at Anslie. Her eyes widen, and she gets a huge grin on her face.

“Oh, my God! I so want to meet her. When is she coming back?” she asks, like a giddy fucking kid.

“I don’t think she’ll stick around,” I mumble.

Anslie moves in front of me, and points a finger at my chest. “Then she’s the stupidest bitch in the world. You are amazing, Ryder, and you deserve an ole’ lady who realizes that.”

Looking at Anslie, I can’t help but smile, “Thanks, Ans.”

The next afternoon, I call Brant and Jase, and find out where they are. They tell me they are on their way, and I call Ellie to see if she’s home. I call her, but never actually get ahold of her. After a dozen phone calls and another dozen text messages, I decide on just stopping by the club, and getting her out of this shit without her going with us.

When they pull up to the clubhouse, I straddle my bike, and we take off towards Mickey’s.

Pulling up to Mickey’s, I see the car she was driving last night, and I wait for Brant and Jase to walk over to me.

“What’s up?” Brant asks, checking out the car. He lets out a low whistle, and runs his hand over the hood of the car.

“I haven’t been able to get ahold of Ellie, but this is the car she was driving yesterday,” I say, looking through the windows. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary, so we all make our way inside.

One by one, we make our way inside the club, and the music is blasting. I can’t fucking think straight with how loud it is in here. We make our way towards the bar, and I ask the bartender when I can find Evan. He looks us over before he points to a curtain off to the side of the stage. I toss a twenty on the bar, and Brant and I make our way towards the curtain.

Walking into the room, I see some asshole with his hand in Ellie’s hair, and I just fucking snap. Making my way to him, I tell him to get his hands off of her. He releases his grip on her hair, and turns to face me. “Who the fuck are you, and what are you doing back here?” he growls.

I hear Ellie whimper, and I see red. I make it to him in two strides. I grab him by the neck, and squeeze. He releases Ellie completely, and she runs over to Brant. “You and her are done. You ever fucking come near her again, and I’ll put a fucking bullet in you.”

“You can’t fucking do shit,” he spits. “I fucking own her, and I will not let her go.”

Grabbing my gun from the back of my jeans, I press it into his temple, “Try me.”

“You’re fucking making a mistake by threatening me,” he gasps, when I squeeze his neck harder.

“I don’t give a fuck. She’s done working here, and if I see you again, I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.” I cut his air off. When he starts to try and fight me, I push him away from me, and walk over to Brant and Ellie.

He gasps for breath before he threatens me, “I will make sure you fucking pay for this shit.”

“Fuckin’ bring it, motherfucker,” I growl. I want him to come at me. I would love to fuckin’ put a bullet in this fucker. He had his hands on Danielle, and that isn’t something that will ever fucking fly with me, ole’ lady or not.

Grabbing Ellie’s hand, I pull her to me, and we all walk out into the club. Jase is standing by the bar with an amused look on his face when we come out. “What the fuck you smiling about?” I ask him.

“You guys will love to see who just fucking walked in,” he points in the direction of the stage, and we see a woman that’s the spitting fuckin’ image of Anslie. Sure she looks a little worn down, but the resemblance is fucking uncanny.

“We need to get the fuck out of Black Hills territory,” I remind them.

They both nods their heads, and we all walk out the front doors. We all get on our bikes, and I motion for Ellie to get on behind me. She looks at her car, then back at me, and slowly walks my direction.

“What about my car?” she asks. I look back at it, and then back at her.

“Who bought it, babe?” I ask. If that fucker did, then who knows what’s on it. For all I know, it could have a tracking device on it.

“I did,” she says hopeful.

“Fine. We’ll sweep it when we get back to the clubhouse. Follow us, and don’t let anyone get in front of you. Stay close behind Brant and Jase.” She nods her head, runs to her car, and gets in.

“You two in front of her, and I’ll stay behind her.”

They both nod their heads, and Jase says, “Yeah I’m sure you like being behind her alright.” They both fist bump, and then start their bikes. Shaking my head, I wait for them to pull out with her following closely behind them. Cranking my bike, I follow them towards the clubhouse.

When we finally hit the gates of the clubhouse, I don’t feel as tense. If someone is stupid enough to come here and start shit, then they deserve the bullet that they will get for coming on our property.

I watch Ellie get out of her car, and she makes a beeline for me. “Are you okay?” she asks. I nod my head, and turn off the engine. Getting off my bike, I look over at Jase and Brant. They both nod their heads, and motion for us to come with them into the clubhouse. Prez is gonna want to ask Ellie a bunch of questions about Anslie’s mom.

As soon as we walk in the doors, we practically run into Prez, and his ole’ lady Henley.

“Prez we need to talk to you,” Brant says, walking around them.

Prez looks over at Brant, and then he looks at the rest of us. “What about?” he asks, eyeing Ellie and I.

“We went to deal with something and we saw someone that I’m sure you’re gonna want to know about,” Brant says. Prez looks at him, and then back at us.

“My office,” he says, nodding his head. He gives Henley an apologetic look, puts his hand on her belly, and then leads us all to his office. Not sure how we are all gonna fucking fit in the tiny office, but whatever.

We all pile on inside the office, and Prez takes a seat behind his desk. Henley goes to stand beside him, and I have to give that woman credit. She’s a natural for this life, and makes a damn good ole’ lady.

“Fucking spill it. You fuckers are cutting into my getting laid time,” he growls. Henley smacks his shoulder, and shakes her head.

“We were at Mickey’s getting Danielle here out of there, and we saw this woman,” Brant says. Jase pulls his phone out, and shows Prez the picture he took of Anslie’s mom.

“Fuck,” he says, looking at the screen. Henley looks at the photo, and her eyes widen a bit.

“Where’s Anslie?” Prez asks, looking at Brant.

“Home with the boys. You think she’ll go after her?” he tenses up, and I can tell he’s getting worried. I haven’t heard a lot about her mother. But I do know she was a shitty mother, and didn’t care what happened to Anslie as a kid.

“I don’t know, but I’m not taking any chances. Danielle? What do you know about my ex?” he asks, staring at Ellie.

She looks at me. I squeeze her leg, and urge her to answer him.

“She comes in like once a week, and she doesn’t stay very long. I think she has something going on with the owner, but I’m not too sure. The only time she comes in is when he’s there, and he’s rarely in the club. Typically his guys run the business, and he just gets a cut. She doesn’t talk to any of the girls. Every time I see her she gives me a dirty look, and practically runs into me every time we walk by each other.”

“What’s fucking new?” Prez mutters. “How long has she been hanging around?” he asks, looking over at us.

“Couple of months,” Ellie says, quietly.

“Wonder what she’s fucking doing here,” Brant grits out.

“She was here a few weeks ago, fucking with my life and Anslie’s.” Looking over at Brant, I see his expression change.

“What?” he roars. “What the fuck do you mean Anslie’s?”

Prez sighs. “I told her not to tell you. But she told me her mom was texting her, threatening to get you locked up. Your old man, and I are dealing with it.”

Shit, this is gonna get fuckin’ bad quick.