Ryder: MC Biker Romance (Great Wolves Motorcycle Club Book 8) (14 page)

Ryder

I loved and hated Jules’s
plan. But it was the best one we had so I agreed. My part of it was easy. And I
relished it. But her part? I hoped I could survive the shit she was going to
have to deal with.

The Great Wolves
MC in Southwood was going to fuck with the Devil’s Hawks. I checked in with
Sawyer and let him know what was going down.

“I’m going to get
under his skin.”

“Sounds like you
are already, or were with that daughter.” Sawyer pointed out.

“It’s going to get
ugly for a few days, but that’s the point.”

“There’s no
brokering a peace? Split the town or some sort of compromise?” It was Sawyer’s job
to look at all the options.

“I’ve got all the
club here on board. They’ve been terrorized by Devil’s Hawks for decades. And
it’s gotten worse the more they’ve gotten legit. They actually have more
members because of the rep of the Great Wolves name but the Hawks have
intensified their bullshit. There will be no peace between these clubs if Sonny
Maldonado is in charge.”

“Ok. You’re not
the Prez there but you know I hold you responsible for those brothers.”

“I know. This
patch means more to them then I realized, and I’m not about to lose one single
member here.”

“Ok. Then fuck Sonny
Maldonado up Ryder. And call if you need more Grand City Wolves. Also, tell Ridge
to duck. I need him back here when this is all done.”

“Gotcha man. Oh
and I think I’ll probably need Larry for a day or two.”

“He’s on the way.”

With Sawyer on board,
there was nothing stopping me.

The first stop was
their club. I had Larry pay a visit. Larry was the least physically
intimidating looking Great Wolf in Grand City. He was also the smartest. We
fixed him up with a truck and a cover story.

“Can I get a
little pussy before I set this thing going? Seems fair.” The idea that Larry,
who had to be in his fifties, could catch some Devil’s Hawks tail made me
laugh.

“Shit yeah. Just
get it all zipped up before you come back out.”

“Ain’t my first
rodeo Ryder, don’t you worry.” We sent Larry into the Hawk’s Nest but as far as
they were concerned he was a perverted old trucker. Not a loyal Grand City
Great Wolf.

The Devil’s Hawks
club was off the highway exit. You could get everything from a message with a
happy ending to a heroine with a sad one there.

Larry went in
looking for pussy. It was a cover story that didn’t take much acting on his
part. Plus Cruz had given him a good idea how the inside of the club looked.

“So there’s a guy
at the door. He’s usually stoned. There’s three or four usually in the back,
and Sonny Maldonado comes in and out of the place. He issues a few orders gets
a blowjob and then rides out.”

“Yeah, he actually
lives at a place in the woods. A hunting cabin that he uses for shooting but
not hunting.” I knew this thanks to Jules.

“And no one gets
hurt?” Cruz reminded Larry. It was part of the plan. Maybe Sonny and his thugs
would get what was coming to them, but the girls at the club didn’t ask for
this. Cruz was worried about that from the beginning, and we’d made a plan that
would keep them safe.

I had a hard time
imagining Cruz as a Hawk, but he was back in the day. Sonny had said he
couldn’t cut it, but I knew different. Cruz left the Hawks because he was a decent
man with a fucking moral code. Sonny Maldonado’s only code was cruelty and
cash.

“Also, I’m going
to be sleeping something off there. I’ll pull the alarm as soon as I hear your
rides,” Larry said. He was having fun with this one.

I had one more
check to make before we unleashed.

“You need to be by
his side. Period. There’s no deviating.” I told Jules the details on the phone.

“I got it. Don’t
worry,” she said.  But I worried. If I had my way I would have her out of
Southwood and sitting in my Wolf Den in Grand City. But she wasn’t leaving with
me until she did what she set out to do.

I didn’t like it,
but I respected it.

Just before 7 a.m.,
we made our play. The alarm was going off at the Devil’s Hawks club as we
circled on our bikes. Cruz, Nero, Polk, Bret and I were in the lead. We had
half a dozen more Wolves behind us.

We circled three
times and when I saw Larry get in the cab of the truck he’d driven I knew it
was time. He’d gone through the place to be sure it was empty. And I trusted
him.

People streamed
out. Larry’s main job was to pull the alarm for us. Thanks to that everyone inside
scattered. Women, Hawks, hangers-on, and the randoms like Larry poured out of
the place. No one wanted to be there if the fire or police department showed up.
Larry had done his job, and now I was going to do mine.

I threw the
cocktail. This fight was personal to me.

We took the same
approach they did when they tried to torch the auto body shop. Great Wolves lit
the fucking place up just like they’d done to us.

Except I was
better at it. The Hawk’s home base was going up good. There would be very
little left.

As we set it on fire,
we made real sure that anyone who was there saw it was us. We’d also slashed
every bike tire we could find so it would be a while before we had company.

The Great Wolves
MC could bite just as hard as the fucking Devil’s Hawks. Harder.

I was kicking the
hornet’s nest on purpose.

My last circle
around Devil’s Hawks disintegrating clubhouse on my bike and I had what I’d
come for. Sonny Maldonado was there, he’d been alerted to the disaster. He came
roaring up on the bike. He couldn’t do anything but watch as fire consumed
their dirty ass club.

Sonny Maldonado
looked at me with death, revenge, and blood in his eyes. It was exactly the look
I’d wanted.

And I wasn’t done.
Great Wolves were going to fuck him up without laying a finger on him.

That was the plan.

I didn’t pray much,
but I did send one up when I saw Sonny’s eyes.

I prayed that
Jules knew what she was doing and didn’t wind up paying for all her father’s
sins at the end of this road.

I prayed that she
stayed in the pocket of The Judge’s black robe just out of Sonny’s reach.

I also asked
forgiveness, not for what I did to Sonny, but what she had to do with The Judge
to stay in his pocket.

I choked on the
bile that rose in my throat and mingled with the black smoke of the Devil’s
Hawks torched club.

Jules

Paint, flooring,
furniture, and only the occasional partial nudity. I used every single excuse
to be in Richard’s office. I was alone more and more and naked less and less. A
small dose was all he needed to stay happy. Especially since I’d become more
actively interested in his life. It wasn’t hard to fool a man. No matter how
smart.

When I was alone
in the office, I searched every scrap of paper I could find.

I found every file
I could. Every judgment related to every Devil’s Hawk appearance in Richard
Wexler’s courtroom.

I also looked for
purchases. I looked for bank statements. There was a pattern to the court dates
and the lifestyle The Judge lived. I took photos with my phone of everything.

Each day I spent
half my time searching and half my time tearing up Richard’s office so it
looked like I was re-decorating. Which I actually also had to do for him to buy
my story.

“This is a mess.
How can I work?” The Judge was getting cranky as I dismantled his office piece
by piece.

“Richard come now.
I’m going to make it your sanctuary. You can surely handle a little
disruption.”

“Only if you’re
the one causing it.” I made sure he always had his comfortable chair, his desk,
and me. I catered to his needs like he was an infant. For a man who’d spent
most of his life single the simplest things made him putty in my hands.

I found the more I
ministered to his arthritis and had his favorite foods available the less he
pawed at my breasts. The more I said yes to going on in public with him and
made a fuss over him in front of his old man friends the less he tried to
dominate me in private. I truly was a trophy and staying polished for company
was my job.

Today was particularly
important. I was to be in his office all day. I’d arranged for contractors. I
knew The Judge’s schedule. I would even get ready here before the event he
wanted us to go to tonight. If Daddy were going to come after me, he’d have to
do it in full view of the courthouse employees.

Ryder was doing
his part. I looked out the window and saw black smoke in the distance. The Devil’s
Hawks clubhouse was no more. I knew it. But that meant they were going to be roving
around and who knew where they would land? The hair on my arms stood up on end
as the sirens wailed in the distance. This was a dangerous plan that we’d put
into play.

Daddy wouldn’t let
this attack stand, and that’s what I was counting on.

Would he take the
day? Would he strike at night? I tried not to think about it. I was setting a trap,
and I had to have the guts to let it play out.

I spent the day
searching, recording, and navigating contractors in The Judge’s office. I
didn’t go home, and I didn’t go out on the streets. I needed to make it tough
for Daddy to get to me.

At the end of the day,
The Judge and I head to Riverside. The fanciest restaurant Southwood had to
offer. He mingled with diners.

“That one there,
he’s the biggest donor to my last campaign.” He told me where to smile and
when. I did exactly as he said.

He slid a hand on
my lower back and slightly inside the fabric of my dress. He was going to be
sure all his old friends saw. Fine Judge Wexler. Touch me where you want,
you’ll never get close to the real me. That I knew, and it helped me withstand
a night of smiling at his friends.

When the night was
over Richard deposited me at my place with a peck on the cheek.

“You did a lovely job,
Jules. Will I see you tomorrow?”

“I’ll probably be
in your office before you!” Richard was getting used to me being in his space.
He had no suspicion and put very few restrictions on me.

“Good night child,
I’m too tired for any of my favorite diversions. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Richard kissed me
on the forehead, and his driver would transport him to his house. I thought I’d
found what I needed in his office, but that would be the next area to conquer
if I didn’t have enough ammo. I just hoped like hell I could pull this off
before I had to walk down another aisle.

It was a long day,
and I hadn’t heard from Daddy. The longer he simmered, the more I worried about
how he would strike out.

When the elevator
doors opened on my loft, I didn’t have to worry anymore. Daddy had sent me a
message.

A loud, clear,
violent, and direct message was all over my loft.

He’d more or less
destroyed it. The walls were spray painted. My bed was shredded. Stuffing from
the pillows floated around the place in strange tufts, every dish, every
mirror, every bit of clothes, everything The Judge had paid for was either
shattered or cut to bits.

I walked through
the mess and knew exactly who did this or who ordered it done. I didn’t need to
call the police or Richard. This was a message from Daddy to me.

I walked over to
my workspace, the only place I really cared about in here, my jewelry design
work table. Whoever had ransacked my apartment had taken a hammer and smashed
my work table.

I was certain
Daddy hadn’t done the dirty work himself. No, one of his guys did I’m sure. But
he did leave a note.

“Just the beginning,”
it said, and it was Daddy’s writing.

I looked around
and tried to decide what to tackle first. I had sparked this. I knew Daddy
would come after me. But it didn’t make it any easier seeing how much
destruction he’d authorized.

My phone buzzed,
and it startled me enough to make me jump. I looked at the number. It was
Ryder.

“Hey.”

“Hey, are you back
at your place. Door locked.”

“I am.” I decided
right then I wasn’t going to tell Ryder what I’d come home to. He’d done enough
today, and he hated Daddy plenty for both of us.

“Nero and Bret are
taking shifts outside.”

“You don’t have
people to spare.” I walked to the window, and sure enough, there was Nero, on
his bike, patrolling like he was a beat cop.

“Cruz and I will
decide that.”

“Did it go okay
today?”

“Your Daddy’s
shithole club is gone. If that’s what you mean.”

“And he saw it was
you?”

“Sure did. Plain
as day. Are you sure I can’t bring you here?” Ryder wanted me with him. I
wanted to be with him. But The Judge needed to believe I was his. At least for
a while longer.

“Retribution is
going to start soon.”

“Yep. Stay safe
Ryder.”

“I’m not worried
about me. I’m worried about you.”

“Don’t. I’m fine.”

“Okay, do you have
everything you need?” he asked.

“One more day. And
I think I will.”

“Good. I hate
every second you’re with him, but I also believe it’s the only reason you’re
alive right now.”

“Part two
tomorrow?” I asked.

“Yep. I am going
to tell you again. Stay in the courthouse. Stay close to The Judge.”

“I will.”

“Good night Jules.
I love you.”

“Good night. Love
you more.”

I wanted to be in
his arms I wanted to leave this apartment that I lived in, but that wasn’t
really mine. But I had to be patient. We needed to push Daddy one more time,
hopefully over the edge, and into something that he couldn’t come back from.

And hopefully,
something that Ryder and I could survive.

That part was key.
It was going to be a long night. I’d clean the glass, the stuffing, my work
area, all of it. But before I did. I uploaded every photo I had on my phone
into the cloud.

The pictures I’d
taken on my phone were more important than anything else.

They were the
leverage I hoped I knew how to use.