Chapter 1
Chapter One
The room was void of light except a sliver coming from under the door.
Red light emanated from the hallway, giving an eerie feel to the small crack.
The sound of his phone ringing had Player cracking one eye open.
Shoving from beneath the two club girls that he’d been fucking, he managed to grab the phone before the caller hung up. “Yeah?”
Squinting his eyes, he glanced back at the bed. Underneath the two girls lay Joker. He’d come in on the tail end of the party and had joined in. There needed to be boundaries to how involved the brother should be in his life, Player thought.
“Stephen?”
The sound of a frightened feminine voice saying his given name had Player sitting up. “Who the fuck is this?”
“Kennedy.”
“Kennedy?”
“Your sister.”
Fuck him. He hadn’t seen or heard from her since she was five. “I know who you are. What has you calling me?” Player swung his legs around, planting his feet on the cold floor. The icy temperature helped sober him up.
“I’m in trouble. I need help.” Her voice cracked, but Kennedy didn’t care.
She had fought to be stronger than a snivelling girl.
She was far from that hardened girl who grew up on the streets.
She was refined and educated now—well, as refined as someone like her could manage.
Still, shit like this wasn’t supposed to happen to her.
She had a great job with good benefits. Not anymore, she corrected herself. She didn’t have that job anymore. Not since witnessing her boss and his two lacky’s kill a man three weeks ago. The cash she had ran out two days ago, and she was hungry and scared, which led her to call her brother.
“How did you get this number?”
“A friend.”
“What friend?”
“Stephen, I’m in real trouble.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m in a town called Hill City in South Dakota.”
“What the hell are you doing in South Dakota? Last I knew, you lived outside of Provo, Utah.”
“I’ve been running for my life is what I’m doing in South Dakota. Can you help me or not?” she snapped. Covering her mouth with a shaky hand, Kennedy was shocked at her outright rudeness.
“Yeah, I can help you.” Getting up, he pulled his jeans on and stepped from his room. Walking down the corridor, he went in search of someone who could put him in touch with Cree. The brother was at a reservation in South Dakota.
“Where are you in Hill City?”
“I’m at a diner called Ann’s.”
“Is there a hotel you can stay at?”
“I don’t have any more cash, and I’m afraid to use my credit cards.” Kennedy moved away from the counter where she could tell Stephen what had happened.
Holy shit, his sister sounded like she was in deep trouble. “Is this your phone number?” He needed to make a call so he could get her the help she needed.
“No, it’s the woman who owns the diner.”
“Can I speak with her?” Player listened to muffled words. When the sound of a woman’s voice came across the line, he started asking a whole lot of questions. “Who is this?”
“This is Alice. I own Ann’s. Your sister is scared, hurt, and needs someone to come get her.”
“Is there anywhere you can stash her until help arrives?”
“At the moment, all I have is the storeroom until checkout at one p.m. this afternoon, when one of the cabins becomes available.”
“I don’t care if it’s a closet, just put her somewhere out of sight.”
“I can do that.”
“I’ll make it worth your while. There’ll be a man . . . a biker. His name is Cree, and he’s with the Royal Bastards. He’s the only one that will be coming for her.”
“My ol’ man’s a lifer. I know the drill.”
“Good deal. Can you put my sister on the phone again?’
“Hello?”
“Kennedy, I’m sending a man named Cree. When he gets there, ask him his real name. If he says anything other than Joseph Running Wolf, you run. Understand me? You fucking run.”
“Joseph Running Wolf. Cree. I got it.” Kennedy swallowed some of her fear. “Thank you, Stephen. I know this isn’t what you ever wanted.”
“What do you mean?”
“Me contacting you.”
“Kennedy, this isn’t the time to talk about that, but I’ve always wanted you to contact me. Now, listen to Alice.”
“Okay.”
“Cree will be there soon.” Player hung up, praying he could catch Cree while he was still in South Dakota.
When he turned around, he faced Teller, who was coming up the hallway looking just as dishevelled as he was. When he went to speak, Player cut him off. “Whatever you need will have to wait. I have to call Cree.”
Teller stared at Player, realizing the man was frantically searching his phone for the nomad’s number. “Player, stop and tell me what’s happening.”
Joker appeared in the hallway wearing only jeans and took up residence against the wall as Player looked at Teller, annoyed that the man was even speaking to him. “My little sister’s in trouble. She’s a few hours away from Cree. I need her picked up and protected.”
Teller pulled out his cell phone and handed it to Player. Cree wouldn’t answer for anyone except for him while with his family. “Cree will answer if it’s me calling.”
Taking the phone, Player saw Teller had already pulled up the brother’s number. Hitting the button, he waited for Cree to answer.
When the man answered, Player was relieved. “Teller.” He heard the annoyance in Cree’s voice.
“Cree, this is Player. I’m sorry to intrude on your time, but my sisters in trouble, and you’re the closest to her.” Player didn’t have time for pleasantries—the situation was too dire.
“Where is she?”
“Hill City.”
“It’s a few hours from me. Where can I find her?”
“Find a place called Ann’s Diner, ask for Alice. Tell her your real name when she asks you for it.”
“Really?”
“I couldn’t think of anything else fast enough.”
“I’ll call you back when I have her.”
“I owe you Cree.”
“It’s family. Nothing owed.”
Hanging up, Player handed Teller back his phone. Running a hand through his hair, he needed a damn drink. “Thanks for the assist.”
“Let’s all get a drink, and you can fill me in on what’s happening with your sister.” Teller headed for the bar.
“Sounds good.” Player looked at Joker and nodded for him to follow Teller through the clubhouse to the bar. Sitting on a stool, Player’s mind wandered back in time, back to when he was a smart-mouthed kid who only wanted his mother to love him.
“Your mother and I are tired of your attitude and your defiance. Leave and do not come back. You aren’t welcome here anymore.”
Player stepped to the side, where he could see his baby sister standing on the steps, crying. Holding his hands out, he waited for her to come to him. As Kennedy ran for him, their stepfather grabbed her by the arm, refusing to let her go to Player. “Let go of my sister, asshole.”
“That attitude is why you’re now on the streets.”
“I said, let go of my sister.”
“What are you going to do?”
Player launched himself at his stepfather.
The jackass was a half-witted wannabe badass who in reality didn’t have anything to brag about except his bowling status.
Taking the man to the ground was easy for a kid like Player.
The only thing that stopped him from beating the hell out of his stepfather was the sound of his mother screaming.
When Player looked up, all he saw was Kennedy lying on the ground with her head bleeding. Scrambling across the lawn, he shoved his mother aside so he could look at Kennedy. Her big eyes seemed impossibly larger as tears flooded them.
“Let me look at you.” Gently brushing her hair aside, he saw the small gash above her temple. Before he could say anything else, his mother began hitting him in the head and back.
“It’s your fault, Stephen,” she screamed at him.
Looking back at the woman he called ‘Mother’, Player wanted to punch her in the face for even breathing.
Everything that was happening was her fault.
If she wouldn’t have been cheating on their father, he’d still be there.
If she could keep her ass out the barrooms, they wouldn’t have had a string of wannabe stepfathers over the past four years.
“It’s his fucking fault,” he screamed back as he pointed at the latest man in his mother’s life.
Once again, Player brushed the hair back from Kennedy’s face.
The blood mixing with her tears had made the wound appear worse than it was.
Leaning in, he placed a kiss on the cut.
He heard the sound of sirens in the distance and knew his stepfather had called the cops.
“Run, Stephen,” Kennedy whispered to him.
Shaking his head at her, he wouldn’t leave her. “Run so you can come back and get me.”
“I love you, sissy.”
“Love you, bubby. Now, run. Run fast,” she said firmly. Shoving off the ground, Player ran from the only home he’d ever known.
“I never went back for her.”
“What was that, Player?” Teller asked as he slid a glass of whisky toward him.
“Nothing.”
“It must be something for you to say it without thought.”
Player picked up the glass and tossed back the whisky.
The warm, strong amber liquid burned all the way to his gut.
“When I was sixteen, my mother’s husband and I got into an altercation.
My sister was five. She was hurt, which they blamed on me.
The cops were called, and my sister knew if I stayed there, something bad would happen, so she told me to run. ”
“Smart kid.”
“Yeah, she was. She told me to run so I could go back and get her.”
“I take it you didn’t go back for her.”
“No. I could barely feed myself on the streets. There was no way I was going to do that to a five-year-old.” Player pointed to his empty glass.
“I did go back once a week and check on her. As long as she was good, I left her be.” Watching Teller refill the glass, Player had no idea what had happened to her since she graduated high school.
“What do you need me to do?” Teller asked him.
“Fuck if I know. I’m sure when Cree gets to Kennedy, I’ll have more info.”
“Remember, we’re your family, and whatever you need, you’ll have.”
“I appreciate that, Teller.” Tossing back the whisky, Player hissed as it burned going down. “I’m gonna grab a shower and get cleaned up.”
“Me too. It’s been a long damn night.”
Player smirked, knowing what Teller meant. Slapping his hand on the bar top, he headed for his room.
Joker watched Player head back to his room.
Sliding his glass back to Teller, he watched him pour a shot of whisky.
When Teller slid it back, Joker took no time before tossing back the warm, amber liquid.
Setting the glass down, he waited for Teller to say something.
An awkward silence lingered between them until Teller poured another round.
“How many club girls did the two of you keep holed up in Player’s room last night?”
Raising an eyebrow at the question, Joker smirked. “Two, I think. Might’ve been three. I actually think Wynn climbed into the mix at one point.”
“Damn, that one’s usually selective.”
“I think she was there more for Tea than us.”
“And I bet neither you nor Player can remember a fucking thing.” Teller laughed then clinked his glass to Joker’s before throwing it back. “I’m headed for a shower. Maybe you should think of taking one too.”
“Heading that way myself.” Joker thought about how much of Player’s past he should tell Teller about.
“Listen, Player holds a lot of guilt over not going back to get his sister. He checked on her all the time. Even hired P.I.s to find her when their fucking mom moved. I’m telling you this .
. .” Joker ran a hand over his tired face.
“I’m telling you this because he’s gonna need us to help him, even if he doesn’t ask for it. ”
“That’s what families do,” Teller told Joker as he walked off.