The Beginning—A Duet: Ryder & Two Worlds Colliding (7 page)

“You’d deny these kids the garden that was clearly designed for kids to play in?” He nodded toward the boy and kissed Isabella’s cheek. “That would make you a super bitch.”

“The kids need the garden after what they’ve been through—” Mia clapped her hand over her mouth, as if she’d already said too much. On hearing her mother’s voice, little Isabella squirmed in Ryder’s arms, reaching out for her mother. He laughed down at her and moved toward the bed, depositing her on her mother’s lap. He stroked softly over Mia’s thigh, her lithe tanned limbs spread invitingly over the sheets. Something passed between them at that loving gesture, as if he was soothing her.

Ryder leaned over the girls and roughed the boy’s hair lovingly. “Time for a bath, big man,” he said as he picked the boy up as if he were a feather. He threw him in the air a few times, while Mia watched with big eyes. The boy squealed with delight, his shyness forgotten.

“Ryder. Not so rough.” She chided. “His asthma.”

“Sorry. Forgot. But Jamie’s a big boy. He can handle a bit of rough and tumble. Can’t you James, my man?”

Jamie nodded enthusiastically. Clearly Ryder brought him out of his shell.

Ryder high fived him and carried him upside down out of the room, toward the bathroom.

“Lock the door behind you when you leave.” Ryder called over his shoulder. I got the hint. I was no longer wanted around. He was probably hoping to get the kids to bed early so he could have alone time with the sexy woman in his bed.

The thought of them making love irked me beyond belief. She was everything I wasn’t. She looked like a sex goddess and I was the inexperienced virginal girl. After being with a woman like her, no man would give me a second glance.

Even though I didn’t want him, the realization was like a knife twisting in my gut.

Mia’s voice brought me out of my thoughts. “Don’t go. Please stay a while and chat? I haven’t had anyone to talk to in weeks, besides Ryder and the kids. I need woman talk.” Her doe-like eyes were pleading.

She patted a space on the bed, inviting me over. I hesitated. Did I really want to get into this?

“Ryder clearly doesn’t want me here.” I hadn’t realised that I’d spoken my thoughts out loud, until she laughed.

“You don’t strike me as the type of girl who would care about what a man wants. Anyway, Ryder’s bark is far worse than his bite. Underneath all that tough guy shit, is a caring heart. I know, because I’ve seen it many times. Although he’d kill me if he knew I was telling you.”

“Really? Could have fooled me,” I chuckled. I settled on the bed next to her.

“Yes, really. In fact, the meaner he is to you, the more he actually likes you.”

Isabella crawled toward me and climbed into my lap. I stroked her baby soft skin.

I scowled. “Then he must really like me. He’s been nothing but mean and rude to me.”

Mia nodded toward Isabella. “Have you noticed how good he is with the kids? He can’t help himself. All that love he’s been hiding—since he was a kid and was abandoned by his mother—comes to the surface every now and then.” She winked at me.

My heart twisted for Ryder.
So that’s why he’s so unforgiving.
Being abandoned as a child would have broken any kid’s heart. I was glad Mia was giving me some insight into Ryder. Besides Harrison, I’d never seen a man that carried so much anger in him. It couldn’t be good for him.

I planted a kiss on Isabella’s head. “Listen, if you ever need help with the kids, I’m usually free in the evenings. I’m happy to help out. Just give me a call.”

I nearly bit my tongue once I’d made the proposition. It was stupid. It would mean I had to see Ryder and Mia as well, not only the kids. Thankfully, I knew most people never took up these kinds of offers. I’d be safe.

“You’re very sweet, Jade. I may just take you up on your kindness. Ryder has your number?”

“Yes. No problem.”

Holy crap. I always got myself into situations like these. Why couldn’t I just mind my own business?

We chatted for a while, mostly about the kids. Mia was so sweet and loving, I had no idea how she could stand to be with a man like Ryder. But the way she spoke about him so lovingly, I knew they had a very special connection. There were so many questions I wanted to ask about Ryder, about his life, but it seemed totally inappropriate.

Mia’s eyes were heavy, I could see she was tired. I placed Isabella on the bed next to her mother and said my goodbyes—I definitely didn’t want to still be here when Ryder returned from the bathroom.

F
riday night. I flopped down on my bed and closed my eyes for a moment, reliving the bizarre experience from that afternoon. I still had no more information on Ryder, other than he was a doting father and had a sexy wife, who he clearly couldn’t wait to spend alone-time with. Probably to make baby number three.

Somewhat reluctantly, I had to admit that they made a gorgeous couple and produced beautiful babies. Totally different to what his and my babies would look like. Mia carried the dominant genes: dark olive skin and raven hair and big brown eyes. Her DNA was powerful, because I saw very little of Ryder in the children, other than the dark hair they all had and the dimpled cheeks when they smiled.

If I had Ryder’s babies, I’d want them to have his piercing grey eyes. His dimple in their cheeks when they smiled. I wouldn’t mind if their hair was dark like his or blond like mine, I knew they’d be cute as hell.

Goddamn! What was I thinking? Having babies with Ryder would mean I’d have to have sex with Ryder. Yet strangely, the idea was not as awful as I’d initially thought. There was something about him that got my panties damp. I’d never believed the notion that women were drawn to badass men. I was sure I’d never be that dumb. Bad boys weren’t my style.

But my treacherous body was betraying me, showing me that I was like most other women. Since all six foot two of taut muscles and bad attitude had walked into my office that day, I hadn’t been able to think of anything else other than Ryder—his eyes, his lips, him on top of me...

An image of him with Mia played in my mind. Her big breasts luring him, his hands all over her velvety skin, kissing her, fucking her—making babies. Why that image riled me as much as it did, I couldn’t understand.

I tried to read a book on my e-reader, as I usually did to relax after work, but I just couldn’t concentrate.

Marcus was picking me up for a movie later. In spite of it being a blockbuster that I really wanted to see, I wasn’t that excited. Did my lack of enthusiasm have anything to do with my date being Marcus? Shouldn’t I be thrilled at the thought of going on a date with my new boyfriend?

Besides the movie, Marcus had lined up all sorts of outings for the weekend. He sure was taking this courting thing seriously.

If only Marcus could get my hormones raging the way Ryder did, everything would be perfect.

“H
ey, man,” I croaked. Hammer gripped my arm and his heavy body bounced against mine as he hugged me in a fierce bear like grip.

“Hey, brother,” he growled, a grin splitting his face. I’d known Joe, aka Hammer, since I first came to the Scorpio Stinger MC. In my book, he was as close to a real brother as a man could get.

I’d come to meet my boys from the club to catch up and make a few arrangements. We met at a park which was only two minutes from the house we were renting. It was just safer here and quicker for me to get back to Mia and the kids.

Ratbag patted me on the back and repeated the greeting. Fuck, I’d missed these guys. They were practically my shadow at the club, and not seeing them for a couple of weeks was something I wasn’t used to.

“So what’ve you fuckers been up to? Causing shit?” They shook with laughter.

“It’s no fun when you’re not part of it, man.” Hammer was still grinning—he hadn’t replaced the tooth he lost in the showdown. Guess he was keeping a low profile, like the rest of us.

I rose an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you cunts missed me? Fuck, you’ll make me cry.”

Ratbag looked at me as if I was crazy. “What makes you think that, bro?” He drawled in his heavy Australian accent.

Yeah, I’d never admit I missed the fuckers. Or the way Ratbag called the brothers “bro”, as they did in the Land Down Under. He never failed to amuse me with his stories about his homeland and their strange way of speaking.

Since I’d found Ratbag on the streets one night five years ago, pissed out of his fucking skull, he’d pretty much latched on to me as his mentor.
Yeah, like I could ever be someone’s hero.

He’d been robbed of his passport and all his cash by one of our rival gang members and had nowhere to go. Since he was in the country illegally at the time, there wasn’t much he could do, other than live on the streets. Yet somehow, because of his crazy accent, somebody always gave him money or food.

The food he’d guzzle down, because usually he’d have skipped a few meals by then. Ratbag was
always
hungry—he could eat and drink any man under the table. He had an appetite that never quit, yet he was as skinny as he was tall. Even though I was six foot two, I still had to look up to him. And he was fast—he could outrun anyone. Hammer joked that he’d seen Ratbag dodge a bullet once, Matrix style.

The cash he’d collected over the days, he strapped to his body and when he had enough saved up, he’d go on a binge. He’d buy a ‘slab of piss’, as they called a carton of beer in Australia, and treat everybody to a beer or two. For a night, he’d be OK, accepted into the fold of the homeless, and have a few friends.

It was his generosity that impressed me. Even though he had virtually nothing but the clothes on his back, he’d share whatever he had the good fortune of coming his way. I wasn’t an easy man to impress, and I’d never actually tell the fucker that, ‘cause I couldn’t afford him getting a big head about it. But I trusted him with my life. He had a good heart underneath all that fucked up boozing shit. It was a good day when I found Bruce Williams, our Ratbag, the boy from Australia.

“Hey, I need you guys to come to the house to look after Mia and the kids. I need to go to the hospital to see Cobra. Brother isn’t doing too well and I need to discuss business with him. You cool for nine pm?”

“Yep. We’ll be there.”

“You can’t come into the house. Young Jamie is having nightmares about everything that’s happened. I’ll tell Mia you’re outside while I am gone, so she’ll feel safe. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone for, we have a lot of shit to talk about.”

“Take your time, we won’t be in a rush to leave.” Ratbag patted my back. He knew it was going to be hard for me to see Cobra in a hospital bed, shot to fucking pieces, tied to machines to keep him alive.

“You can’t come with the bikes. Wrong for the neighborhood. Leave your bikes at the shopping center and catch a cab to the house. And make sure nobody is following you.”

“Sure, boss.”

“Don’t call me that. Cobra is still fucking breathing. As long as he’s alive, he’s the boss. Got it?”

Ratbag nodded.

“Anything else I should know?”

“Yeah. Razor said there was a fucking cop looking for you. Asked for you by name. Special anti-terrorist team.” I heard the concern in Ratbag’s voice.

“They got wind of the arms deal that went bad. They’re sniffing around the compound. Razor said to stay away from there. Meet at shopping centers or parks whenever necessary.”

Fuck. I knew that shit would come back to haunt me. Cobra and I needed a plan. I couldn’t stay away from the fucking compound forever. I’d go crazy. Suburbia was too quiet for me, the silence at night freaked the fuck out of me. Ever since I was a kid, I couldn’t sleep unless there was noise around me.

“Who’s the cop? Do we know him?” I grunted. I didn’t need more shit in my life. Dealing with our rival MC club, The LA Demon Skulls, was enough.

Ratbag pulled a face. “Mean looking fucker with a vendetta against bikers. Big as a house. If he wasn’t on the copper’s team, he’d be a good brother. He has so much anger, it fucking pours out of him.”

Just what I needed—an angry cop with revenge issues. Fuck. “Do you have a name?”

Hammer worried his lip for a moment. “Aah, it has something to do with the weather. Winter, Summer—”

“Get me all the info on him. Should I be kicking your fucking ass that you haven’t done that already?” I growled.

I shook my head. Was I the only one who could think logically? With both Cobra and me away and just Razor to run the show, I was starting to worry about what was going on at the club. I’d better sort this shit out, fast.

“Hammer,” I barked, “don’t let me down man, I want everything on the motherfucker. Are we clear?”

Hammer was our IT guy. He could hack into any computer and get whatever info we needed. He could also forge a document so that nobody could tell the difference. And even though he’d made Ratbag a new Australian and US passport, Ratbag wasn’t leaving his newly adopted country any time soon.

I’d known Hammer since I was a kid. He’d helped me find Max with his genius hacking skills after we were split up. As soon as I got out of that hellhole of a detention center, I came to the compound with the Malone boys and called it home ever since. Yet I needed to know what’d happened to my little brother. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if he’d survived Tiny’s brutal attack.

Hammer found Maxwell. He was still living with the band, waiting for Marianne to come back. I’d convinced Max that she was never returning, and he came to the Scorpio Stinger MC compound with me for a few years. But Maxwell didn’t fit in. He was too smart. He wanted to read and study, not play pool and darts and drink till he fell down. He refused to get involved in dirty business, and kept telling me I was too smart to live like this for the rest of my life. What he didn’t understand, was that these boys were now my brothers. I owed them my life and my allegiance.

In all that time, the only person Max had connected with, was Hammer, because he was really smart and they could talk shit for hours. Hammer had taught Max how to ride a motorcycle and Max tried his best to be a badass, for my sake. But my brother had grand ambitions—he wanted to change the fucking world. Do something good and worthwhile. Good luck to him.