Chapter 3—Kooper
Six months later
“Look, just take the damn sandwiches.” Ruby tries to push the tray into my hands, but I don’t take it.
I don’t even take a step back, just keep my hands at my side.
Should have known that taking gate duty was going to suck today.
I woke up to a hole in my sock. Nothing good ever comes when you get holes in your footwear.
It’s an omen for a bad day if I ever heard of one.
Some say it’s nuts to think like that. Those are the same people who say, “Just put one foot in front of the other and see where the world carries you.” To that, I question them on what goes out in the world first. If it’s a sock with a hole and your big toe is exposed to the elements, well, that shit is liable to get frozen or cut off.
That doesn’t make for a good day. Might be an extreme, but so is thinking that your feet just carry you places without a thought in your mind as to where you’re headed.
“Don’t want them.”
“They ain’t for you, asshole.”
Kind of seems like they are with the way she’s pushing them on me.
“Then why ask me to take them?” I smirk at her and watch the red rise from under her shirt.
She growls low, and I don’t even hide how big my smile is at her annoyance. “They’re for the club, not you.”
I look down at my vest and then back at her. She might not like it, but I am club. But if she wants to be petty and exclude me, then I can be more blunt about it so she gets the point.
“Still no. Club ain’t interested.”
“Never known any male to turn down free food.” She pops her hip as if she caught me in a lie or some shit.
“Those finger sandwiches?”
She eyes the plate in her hand that’s covered with tinfoil.
“Maybe. Why?” Her eyes narrow at me.
I shrug as I cross my arms. “Bikers don’t do finger sandwiches. Besides, you’re coming from Mama Bear’s bachelorette party. Pretty sure they’re shaped like dicks—another thing bikers don’t eat.”
Her glare might work on some of the brothers, but I’m immune.
Been doing babysitting duty for months now.
We might not get along, but the job has been fairly easy so far.
She’s kept to the rules. Doesn’t even try to push them.
Either she has no life or is just better at hiding shit from me than I care to look into.
Whatever. I’m doing my job. She’s breathing. It’s a win in my book.
“Whatever.” She turns and huffs away.
“Nice chatting with you as always, Ruby,” I call out to her as she goes back to her car and puts the tray in the back seat.
She doesn’t even look up, just flips me off as she tosses out her words. “Eat shit, Koop.”
Chuckling, I turn back to my phone as I watch her drive off out of the corner of my eye, followed by Izzy.
Princess is in the back seat, and I lift my head enough to give her a nod as she waves.
Ruby might be the club’s princess, but Bulldog’s kid owns the name.
And the attitude. Thank Christ she and Ruby aren’t the same age.
Those two would be more than a handful if they ever got together.
They would take over the world, and not a single brother could stop them.
I feel bad for any poor fucker who gets stuck with one or the other.
A while later, my phone rings, and I see it’s Law calling.
“Yo,” I answer. “What’s up?”
“You with Ruby?”
“Nah, she left here about twenty minutes ago.” I’m used to this question.
Get it a lot, actually. Usually ends with me driving to wherever she is, which is why I’m making my way to my bike as I talk.
Her dad might have put me on babysitting duty, but that doesn’t mean I’m watching her location all the time.
I have it set to notify me if her phone falls or if she’s in a place for over thirty minutes.
From what I’ve seen in the past, a fallen phone could mean just that, or that it was tossed from a person’s hand or was still in their hand when they fell.
Getting that notification has saved the lives of three people I was protecting in the service.
I was able to either get them medical attention after being pushed out a third-story window or chase after the kidnappers who thought dropping the phone would be all they needed.
The length of time a phone is idle has also saved lives.
However, with Ruby, it just notifies me about how boring her life is. Girl’s more stagnant than hair gel.
“She’s on I-80. Heading to campus. She says someone’s trying to run Izzy off the road.”
“On it.” I end the call as I start up my bike. Don’t need more than that to get me started.
As I pull out of the gate, I turn the app on that lets me track Ruby, then put the phone in my holder at the front of my bike and gun it.
I hear other bikes in the distance, so I know I’m not the only one who got the call.
A ping on my phone shows Flint’s getting the word out to everyone he hadn’t already called.
Not sure if I was the first call the boss made or the last, but I know I was the only one he was calling to look after his girl and not anyone else’s.
I get the notification of a phone drop and watch as her location doesn’t change at all. Wouldn’t make sense if she were still driving. Could mean a million things, but I ain’t one to speculate till I see what’s really going on. I plan and prep for all scenarios but never guess the outcome.
As I get close to her location, I see an SUV pull away from the side of the road and race down the highway. I don’t chase. Not my job. But I get a description and note that the license plate is missing. Not sure what Flint’s going to do with the details I give him, but it’s better than nothing.
I slow and look at the right side, where another car is already parked with doors ajar.
I look over the bank and see Izzy and Princess getting out of the car with two other women I don’t recognize as I hear sirens not far out.
I don’t get off my bike to check them out.
All I know is they aren’t who I’m looking for.
I glance back and see nothing behind me, then look left.
A bit of dust in the air, but nothing I can see from the angle I’m at.
But the road has deep embankments on each side, and what some might see as just dust in the air, I see as a clue.
Turning my wheel, I cross to the other side of the street and ride the edge back the way I came till I see Ruby’s car nose-end deep to the ground. No sign of life at all, as all the doors are closed, and I can only see airbags through the windows.
I’ve trained in many terrains, prepped for missions in the Army, in the Diplomatic Security Service, and with the Hounds’ mercenary gig we’re starting up. I’m prepared for anything. And yet I still trip over my damn feet to get to Ruby’s side as quickly as possible.
I hold my breath as I rip the driver’s door open, finding her slumped over the wheel.
“Oh, please don’t do this to me.” I barely touch her, just enough to check her pulse, and my head drops in relief.
She’s alive.
Standing, I roll till I’m leaning all my weight on the side of her car and pull out a cigarette.
I need one after this shit. My heart is still beating faster than I would like.
I should be used to this by now. For every life I’ve saved, it’s always felt like I’ve lost that many as well.
I thought I was over this gut-wrenching fear. Thought I’d moved past this.
But seeing Ruby not moving? I rub my chest to ease the ache as I puff on my cigarette.
I’ve only got a few moments to pull my shit together before another brother sees me.
Everyone knows I watch her. It isn’t a secret.
Don’t want it to be. It’s easier if everyone knows what my job is.
That way, no one is pissed when I pick her over another.
Like I just did with Princess. Bulldog might skin me alive for not going to his daughter’s aid if it wasn’t already known that I’m on Law’s payroll to protect his own kin.
Not that I get paid any extra; I just don’t have to deal with other shit jobs over this one.
I pull out my phone and text the boss, letting him know his girl is alive. That’s all he’ll care about. We won’t know if she got more than a bump on the head till the paramedics come over. All the job requires is that she’s breathing, not what condition she’s in.
Might be easier if she were in a coma.
I laugh at my thought. Even if Ruby were bedridden, she’d still be a menace to society. Her dad would just have me chained to her hospital bed. At least with her out, I can breathe fresh air and ride my bike.
“Sir, do you need assistance?”
Looking up, I see an EMT on the roadside and shake my head.
“I don’t, but those in the car do.” No clue if Abigail is alive or not.
I saw her in the passenger seat when Ruby was trying to have me take the penis sandwiches.
I know she’s still close to her, despite that her brother died before joining the club.
If we did honorary memberships, she’d have one.
But unless a woman wants to be a vamp or an old lady, the club has no room for them.
Ruby, like all the kids, is somewhere in the mix. They get the protection but still aren’t in the know on most shit. We keep them safe, more than we do with vamps who hang at the club, but still try to keep them out of most of our shit, unlike old ladies.
Old ladies know the rules. They keep their mouths shut.
We don’t outright tell them what’s going on, but I’ve never met an old lady who wasn’t worth her weight in gold.
Each one is a badass in her own right. Club doesn’t have many right now, but those who are earned the title and the respect that goes along with it.
So if they hear something, we know they’re good with it.