Buried (Ruined MC #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Adelaide

I tapped my foot lightly on the floorboard of the taxicab in time with the beat of the song playing through my headphones as I stared out the window, watching the rain slide across the glass. It had been raining for a few days, but it was finally predicted to stop, for which I was thankful. I normally walked to work, but walking in the rain wasn’t ideal. And this taxi fare was beginning to get expensive.

But I was honestly also kind of sad to see the rain go away. It always made me feel a little bit better to see the world looking as gloomy as I felt.

It had been three months since I had watched River ride off the lot, and two months and three weeks since I had left Sons of Death’s charter with a small book bag on my back, ignoring Tristan as he begged me to stay, promising me that he’d be better.

But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t stay. I desperately needed to get away.

Joey had gotten me the money I needed to go somewhere, anywhere I wanted, so I could start off fresh.

I looked over my shoulder as the sound of a bike slowly reached my ears. I scowled, thinking it was Tristan, but my scowl lifted when my eyes locked on Joey and the familiar president patch on his cut.

“Walking somewhere, pretty girl?” he asked, coming to a stop beside me.

“Leaving,” I told him. He nodded. “I was going to call you once I got to wherever I end up.”

He straightened up and offered me a hand. “Hop on, pretty girl. I’ll take you wherever you need to go,” he told me. “No strings attached.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. He was letting me walk away. He wasn’t going to try to make me stay.

And I needed to go. I had to get away from here. Away from all of this shit and all of the bad, painful memories.

I slid onto the bike behind him and wrapped my arms tight around his waist, resting my head on his back. He took off, being careful with me on the back of his bike, though I remembered how to ride. I knew he was taking extra precautions because I didn’t have a helmet on and his never fit me. Joey may have always been an asshole, but he was always serious and considerate when it came to my safety.

Once we got to the Greyhound station, he parked his bike and let me slide off before he stood off the bike as well, setting his helmet on the seat. I watched as he reached into his cut and pulled out a thick envelope, handing it over to me. “You’re in luck, pretty girl. I just came back from an exchange. Take this.”

I stared at him, my mouth hanging partly open in surprise. “Joey, I can’t ? —”

He pulled me to him and slid the envelope into my back pocket. I swallowed thickly, tears burning at the back of my throat. Even after all of this time, he was still trying to take care of me.

“Trust me, the club will understand. They still worship the ground you walk on.” He reached up and brushed the pad of this thumb over my bottom lip. It trembled beneath his touch as I tried to keep my tears at bay. “Do whatever you need to for yourself, pretty girl.” My tears threatened to spill over. “But don’t ever forget that you have a home with the Sons of Hell.”

“I’m going to miss you,” I whispered, my voice cracking.

He pressed a tender kiss to my forehead. I bit back a sob. “Hold me with you, pretty girl. I know you’ll find River, but until you do, just hold me with you. I am always just a phone call away if you need me,” he promised. He crouched a bit so that his eyes were level with mine. “Let him love you, pretty girl.” A tear slid down my cheek. “When you’re with him, you look so fucking happy, and that’s all I want for you, Adelaide.”

I reached up to trail my fingers over his jaw. “It’s really over between us, isn’t it?” I whispered brokenly.

He nodded, his dark eyes full of sadness. “The relationship part of us—yes. But I am always yours to command, Adelaide. Whenever you call, I’ll be with you. Just hold me while you need me.”

I nodded, more tears sliding down my cheeks. “I love you, pretty girl. I’ll find you again when the time is right,” he promised.

The taxi driver pulled up to the bar where I worked, pulling me from my last memory with Joey. It had been bittersweet, but it had been the good-bye that I needed to officially move on with my life.

I strode over to Lucky’s, the bar that I was currently working at. It wasn’t the best job in the world. My boss was a dick. The men were handsy and disgusting, but it paid my rent and other bills, so I couldn’t complain too much. I was fairly compensated for the shit that I went through, and I was close to purchasing a car due to being able to save a good bit every paycheck. Didn’t hurt that everyone usually tipped really well, too.

When I stepped into the bar, I walked straight behind the counter, going through to the kitchen, where Brett was flipping burgers. “Evening, girly,” he greeted with a warm smile on his face. I waved as I moved over to my locker. “Might want to be on your best behavior tonight,” he called over his shoulder, knowing I could get mouthy with some of the patrons. “The owners are here tonight.”

I had been informed when I had gotten hired that a biker club nearby owned the bar, and they occasionally came in to make sure things were being run properly. What no one here knew was that I’d grown up in a trap house and had seen so many drug deals go wrong growing up, and had seen so many bodies dropped, that not much shit fazed me anymore.

And then, when I turned eighteen, I got eyeballs deep in it with Joey. Sometimes over my head. Bikers didn’t alarm me.

I snorted. “Bikers don’t scare me, Brett,” I reminded him.

He shrugged. “Suit yourself, girly.”

I put my bag and my hoodie in the locker, leaving me in my extremely short jean shorts and my tank top that clung to my curves like a second skin and was cut low to reveal a lot of cleavage. I’d gained quite a bit of weight over the past few months, but it was my doctor’s orders.

I was a little over three months pregnant, and my doctor had me on a strict diet to help me gain weight so I would be healthy enough to nurture my baby because when I’d gotten pregnant, I sure as fuck had not been. I was malnourished and extremely underweight. I’d been following his instructions to a T to make sure I gave my baby a healthy start to life.

I walked out of the back and headed for the bar. The bartender working slid me a list. “Can you make these and take them to the table that ordered them?” he asked.

“Sure thing,” I murmured. I set to work mixing the drinks and setting them on a tray. Making my way across the floor, I headed for the table that had ordered the drinks, not bothering to look up as I called, “Jack and Coke?”

“Right here,” that man I dreamed about every night said, his voice low and gruff.

My eyes snapped up in shock, and I dropped the tray of drinks in surprise, my eyes locking on River’s blue ones. The same ones that haunted my dreams every single night. He tilted his head to the side the slightest bit, his eyes running over me in a way that had warmth pooling in my gut. A shiver danced down my spine, my skin flushing beneath his intense gaze. His eyes darkened to a stormy blue color, his lips tilting up the tiniest bit.

He hadn’t changed, not really. But the one thing that had changed was that he was wearing a cut clearly labeling him the president of the Fathers of Mayhem.

River was the owner of the bar.

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“I’m—I’m so sorry,” I choked out, my heart pounding wildly in my chest.

I couldn’t believe River was right here in front of me. Had been right under my nose for months .

“Adelaide!” my boss roared, storming over to me. I snapped my wide eyes from River’s to look at him, swallowing thickly. Henry was a fucking asshole, and I tried to steer clear of him as much as possible. He was always making passes at me, and since I always shot him down, he’d been getting more aggressive. I could handle him. Just didn’t fucking want to. I needed this job.

“I’m sorry, River. She’s normally not this dumb and clumsy,” Henry apologized to River.

Anger flashed in River’s eyes, but he smothered it. “It’s fine,” River grumbled. He nodded toward the open seat next to him. “Take a seat, darlin’. Henry, get someone to clean up that mess and bring me another drink, as well as a watermelon vodka for Adelaide,” River ordered without removing his eyes from my face.

Henry nodded, sending me a hateful glare that River either didn’t notice or didn’t bother to pay attention to before he rushed off to go get one of the other girls to remake the drink orders.

“I didn’t know you were in town, darlin’,” River drawled, bringing my attention back over to him as I cautiously took a seat beside him.

“I didn’t know you were the president of another club,” I shot back, feeling a tad bit defensive because trust me, if I’d known he was here, I would have sought him out.

Now, I was in my shit too deep.

“Watch your tone, girly,” a guy a couple of years older than me spoke from the other side of the table, drawing my eyes to him.

He had black hair that hung to his shoulders and eyes so dark, they were nearly as dark as his hair. His cut labeled him as the vice president. He wasn’t that bad looking, but danger rolled off of him in waves, making me edgy and wary of him.

But if I did anything, I loved playing with danger.

“Was anyone talking to you?” I snarled at him.

“Leave her be, Sam,” River commanded before Sam could open his mouth to retort something that’d no doubt piss me off. His VP swung his angry eyes to his president. “Adelaide is an old… friend of mine.” I snorted, making River grin at me.

Friend, my ass. You went balls deep in my pussy over and over and cuddled with me afterward on the garage floor.

River ran his eyes over me for a moment, like he was trying to commit the new me to memory. Reaching forward, he began to play with a lock of my brown hair. My pulse jumped. “You gained some weight, darlin’,” he noted. He let those mesmerizing, blue eyes lock on mine, sucking me into their beautiful depths. “Looks good on you.”

You don’t want to know why , I admitted silently.

Fucking hell, how was I supposed to tell him that he was going to be a fucking dad? And I knew it was his. I had called Tristan when I’d found out, and we’d had a DNA test done. It wasn’t Tristan’s, though he offered to support me and the baby anyway. Needless to say, I turned him down flat and sent him back on his way to the Sons of Death.

“You couldn’t find a better job than serving drunk, sleazy assholes?” River asked me as Natalia began cleaning up my mess on the floor.

I shrugged at him, my nerves feeling frayed as he continued to play with my hair. “It pays well, and I’m good at making drinks,” I reminded him as Amber came over with our drinks.

Amber set my drink in front of me, and I swallowed thickly, knowing I couldn’t have alcohol anymore. Not for another six months, at least. Longer if I decided to breastfeed. Hadn’t thought that far into the future yet.

“Not going to drink your drink, darlin’?” River asked me, his blue eyes intent on the side of my face as I stared at the vodka in front of me.

I couldn’t look at him. He would see right through me. I shook my head at him, still staring at that fucking drink. “Not much of a drinker anymore,” I lied, pushing the glass away from me.

He gripped my chin and turned my head to face him. My bottom lip trembled under his scrutinizing gaze. “You’re nervous,” he murmured, running his rough thumb over my cheek, soothing me whether he realized it or not. “Why?”

Panic clawed at my throat. “I—I need to get back to work,” I stammered. I jumped up from the seat, needing away from him before he uncovered my secret. I wasn’t ready to tell him.

I wasn’t ready to tell River that he was going to be a father.

I felt his eyes on me as I rushed back behind the bar, but I did my damnest to avoid his table for the rest of the night.

I released a sigh full of exhaustion as I pushed my key into the lock on my apartment door, letting myself in. I dropped my keys on the kitchen counter and toed off my shoes before I strode into my living room, jumping in fright when I saw River sitting on my plain, brown, leather couch, the lamp on beside it, casting his rugged features in an eerie shadow. My hand slammed over my heart, which was beating so hard, I feared it was trying to climb up my fucking throat.

“You nearly gave me a heart attack,” I snapped at him, swallowing nausea. “What are you doing here?” Anger. I needed to be angry. “Wait, on second thought, how did you know where I live and how the fuck did you get in my apartment?” I heatedly asked.

River shrugged and stood up from my couch. “I have access to all of my employee records.” I swallowed nervously. This man was always one step ahead. “And since you were avoiding me all night, I decided this would be the best way to talk to you. You’ve never done well with the element of surprise, darlin’.” Damn him for knowing me so well. “And your lock is extremely easy to pick, which needs to be changed.” I frowned at him. I never had to worry about someone breaking in until he did. “As for why I’m here… well darlin’, I wasn’t finished talking to you.” He pulled my ultrasound pictures out of his pocket and tossed them onto the coffee table. I pressed my hand to my belly, tears burning at the backs of my eyes, a lump building in my throat. “Especially not now. We need to talk about this.”

“River…” I started, my voice trembling as tears welled in my eyes and spilled over onto my cheeks. I stared up at the man in front of me, terrified of his reaction. I hadn’t wanted him to find out this way.

“Hey, hey,” he soothed. He strode around the coffee table and wrapped his muscular arms around me, his hand resting on the back of my head, smoothing over my hair as he held me to him. “There’s no reason to get upset. I’m not going to yell at you. I just want to talk. That’s all.”

“How are you not pissed at me right now?” I tilted my head back to look up at him.

He shook his head at me, a frown on his handsome features. “Have you ever really known me to lose my cool with you, darlin’, even when you do dumb shit?” I shook my head, my cheeks flushing. “I’m not Tristan, and I’m not Joey. You need to remember that.”

“I know,” I whispered as I finally wrapped my arms around him and leaned my forehead on his chest, soaking in everything that was River—his warmth, his strength… fuck, his safety.

“I missed you, darlin’.” I slid my hands under his cut, and his body shuddered against mine. “Shocked the fuck out of me to see you serving drinks in my bar.”

I laughed softly. “Imagine my shock when I realized you were the owner,” I retorted, feeling much calmer now.

He shrugged. “When I came back home, my dad gave me the president cut. He was ready to step down. Said he always knew I’d make my way back home.”

“You were a biker baby?” I asked, looking up at him.

He nodded. “Through and through. Born and raised to be one.”

I yawned as I rested my head back on his chest. Suddenly, he hooked his arm under my knees, making me shriek in shock and tightly wrap my arms around his neck when he began striding down the hall to my bedroom. “River, what are you doing?!” I exclaimed.

He laughed softly, his chest vibrating against me as he did so. “Taking you to bed so you can get some sleep.”

I sighed softly, resting my head on his shoulder. “Will you stay?” I asked him quietly.

“For as long as you’ll let me,” he promised. He laid me on the bed, and then, he pushed my shirt up, pressing a tender kiss to my belly. I sobbed at the tender moment, unable to help myself. My pregnancy was making me so fucking emotional.

River moved over me, his lips molding to mine. I moaned softly, my hands coming up to cup his face. He pulled back a bit to look down at me. “I never wanted kids, Adelaide, but as long as you’ll let me be here, I’ll be one of the best fucking dads to ever live on this earth,” he promised.

A trembling smile tilted my lips. “I would hope so, considering this baby is yours,” I said quietly.

He leaned down to kiss me again, not shocked to hear the news. More than likely, he’d already figured it out. I cupped his cheek and pressed my hand over the steady beat of his heart. Another small smile pulled at my lips. Joey’s words rang in the back of my head.

Let him love you, pretty girl.

“Stay with me,” I begged River.

He turned his head and pressed a tender kiss to my palm. “I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me,” he swore.