Chapter Eleven #3
I squinted against the sun. The animals were active. Goats bleated from their pens, and two horses grazed in the paddock down the path from the barn.
I jogged up the porch steps. The door was open. I knocked on the screen and peered into the house. “Hello?”
When there wasn’t any answer, I spun around and headed across the property.
Voices sounded from the stable McKelle’s mom used to treat horses.
“Yes, mark it there. Easy girl,” McKelle’s mom crooned. I wasn’t comfortable thinking of her as Linda. But calling her Mrs. Dixon made me feel like a kid. So I generally never addressed her mom or dad by any name. Avoidance worked best for me.
I came around the corner. Linda had her arm buried to the shoulder in a horse’s hind end. McKelle stood in front of a computer monitor. The horse whinnied and tossed her head.
“Hey.” I stood in the open doorway.
McKelle glanced over her shoulder. “Hi. I didn’t know you were coming out.”
I slid my hand into my front pocket. “Can you take a ride with me?”
Her gaze shifted from me to her mom. “I can’t. Once we get done with Buttercup, I need to pick up Cece from school. I can meet up with you and Ryatt at the MC later tonight.”
“It’s important.” And it wouldn’t wait until tonight. Not only did I have to work, but I was going to worry about her. “Can I hang around until you can take a break?”
McKelle stared intently at me. She’d know it had to be serious if I was willing to sit with her mom.
“If you’re hungry, there’re cinnamon rolls from this morning in the kitchen.” Her mom patted the horse.
“I’m good. Thanks.” I stepped into the open workspace and sat on an old church bench pew along the west wall.
Linda shifted, sliding her arm around inside the horse. “The embryonic vesicle is intact.” She nodded toward the screen. “One embryo. Looks like Buttercup is finally going to be a momma.”
McKelle moved the computer mouse and marked the measurements.
I’d seen some graphic shit, but watching her mom probe the inside of the horse was a lot.
I pulled out my phone to see if Tank had replied to my text.
And then I leaned against the wall. While listening to McKelle and her mom talk, I thought about Ryatt.
I’d spent a few nights in jail, but I’d never been arrested on any serious charges.
I couldn’t imagine the fucked-up thoughts going through Ryatt’s head.
Like me, he’d grown up with no one giving a shit.
If I were in his position, I know my head would fuck with me, wondering if anyone would care.
He couldn’t understand that once McKelle fell, she was ride or die.
He wouldn’t know McKelle would mentally be in that cell with him, and I was wherever she was.
“Cruz, if you want to grab Cece from school, McKelle and I can finish up with Buttercup.” Linda stripped off her latex glove.
“I’m on my bike,” I said. No way would she want Cece on the back of my Harley. McKelle’s dad would lose his mind.
“I know.” She smiled. “Cece will love it.”
I stood. “I’ll go get her. Is she ready?” Holy shit. “I’ll be careful.”
Linda grinned. “I know. I trust you, Cruz.”
Since when?
“Her helmet is in the garage,” McKelle said. “It looks like a ladybug. She won’t be out for a half hour, but it’ll take you twenty minutes to get to the school.”
“I’ll take off now.”
After I found Cece’s helmet in the garage, I locked it to my bike, then headed over to the elementary school. McKelle lived outside of town, so going anywhere was never quick.
By the time I rolled up to the school, cars lined the curb on both sides. I slid my bike into a small gap between two SUV’s and dropped the sidestand. Then I checked my phone while I waited for her.
Tank: Willy is on his way to the jail. He’ll come by the MC tonight.
Cruz: Time?
Because I had to work, especially now that I would need money for the attorney. I was going to cover his bike payments, too. Ryatt hadn’t done anything to deserve time. I had.
I was still waiting for his reply when the bell sounded. Less than a minute later, kids began to pour out of the school. I put my phone away. Hopefully, Cece would spot me because there were a lot of fucking kids, all wearing the same clothes, running down the grassy hill toward the cars.
And then I heard her. A sharp piercing squeal followed by my name stretched into ten syllables. “Crrrruuuuuzzz.”
I spun around. She ran down the sidewalk, her backpack bouncing, and her arm waving at me.
I smiled, climbed off my bike, and stepped onto the sidewalk as she rushed toward me.
“Did you come to scare Bobby Joe?”
“I came to pick you up, but no reason I can’t do both. Where is he?” I glanced around the kids staring at me and my Harley. “Think if I show him the Heller patch and give him the look, he’ll cry?” I demonstrated the look narrowing my gaze and pulling my lip into a snarl.
She laughed, and I unhooked her helmet from my bike.
“Where’s McKelle?” she asked.
“Helping your mom with Buttercup.” I handed her the helmet. “No flipping anyone off. Not the first time I have you on my bike.” I made sure her clip was tight, then I climbed on the bike, and she climbed on behind me.
Once settled against me, she tapped my shoulder. “Just the first time, right?”
“Hold on,” I said and laughed.
I backed out from between the two cars. Cece held on with one arm and waved at her friends with the other. She squealed and laughed. In my side mirror, I watched her throw rock-on hand horns and pinch her face into a menacing scowl.
Badass little sister.
The loud pipes rumbled as I rode down the street. I could feel her vibrating with excitement. She laughed as I rolled the throttle, and her arms loosened.
“Hold on, Cece.”
“Okay,” she hollered through her helmet’s face shield, and her thin arms tightened around me.
Once off the highway, the noise of the wind lessoned. I smiled because even though her voice was muffled by the roar of the bike and her helmet, she was singing. If I had to guess, she’d be doing T Swift proud.
I pulled into the driveway and groaned. McKelle’s dad had the Nitro Racing trailer pulled alongside the garage. A couple of other guys rolled bikes out of the back and into the garage.
Lane crossed his arms over his chest as I pulled up beside the trailer, killed the engine, and dropped the sidestand.
Cece held my arm as she slid off the seat. In two seconds, she had the clip undone and her helmet pulled off.
“When I’m old enough, I want a Harley,” she demanded with a wide grin on her face. “I want a loud Street Bob like Cruz.”
“Go find your mom. I need to talk to Cruz.”
Well, fuck. This didn’t look good. Before I could explain that Linda had asked me to go, Cece strode past her dad and headed into the Nitro trailer. “Don’t have to,” she said. “Here she comes.”
“Cece,” Linda scolded. “Change your clothes first.”
She stomped off toward the house.
“Thank you for going to get Cece for me. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t shown up.” She turned to her husband. “Right after Cruz left to get Cece, I found a cyst in Buttercup. I needed McKelle here.”
Lane grumbled. “Next time, just text me. I’ll pick her up on the way home.”
“It was no trouble,” I said. “Is McKelle still with the horse?”
“No. She’s trying to reach Ryatt.”
I took off toward the barn, obviously creating confusion because Lane and Linda followed me. Coming around the corner, I nearly collided with McKelle.
“What’s going on?” she said in a rush. “Why does Levi have Ryatt’s phone?”
“What did she say?”
“She said to talk to you. I know something is wrong. You’re here, and he doesn’t have his phone.” Tears slipped from her eyes. “Is he hurt?” A tremble laced her voice. “Did the Kings find him?”
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to my chest. “Walk with me.”
“No, just talk to me.”
Not with her parents five feet away, waiting to pass judgment on Ryatt.
I laced our fingers. “Excuse us,” I said to them and pulled her along with me. I wasn’t going to get her on my bike to take a ride somewhere private, but I could keep the conversation from being overheard.
“He was arrested.”
“No.” She sagged with the words.
I told her what I knew. “The attorney will be at the MC tonight.”
“Can he get him out?”
“Fuck if I know. I thought the attorney was supposed to keep him from getting locked up again.”
“Can we see him?” Tears swam in her eyes.
Lane approached. “What’s going on?”
“They arrested Ryatt. It’s so messed up.”
Fuck me. She told her parents everything. Almost everything. She left out anything to do with the trap house and the dead Kings.
“Why didn’t you come to me?” her mom asked.
“I couldn’t. He was trying to stay out of trouble, but the Kings are after him. He won’t be safe if he gets sent back to prison.”
Her dad rubbed his jawline. “He’s not safe in county either. He needs a lawyer.”
“He has one,” I said. “The MC has an attorney on retainer, but I’m still going to need to come up with the money. I’ll cover his bike payment until he gets out.” At least she hadn’t told them about Ryatt’s bike being stolen. They’d report it, and this shit would get even more complicated.
“How much do you need for the attorney?” her dad asked.
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. A couple grand, but I’ll work it out.”
Her dad grumbled. “I can imagine how you would get the money. You’ll end up in jail with him.”
“Lane—”
He waved off his wife. “I’m not arguing with him, but I’ll cover the cost of the attorney. Ryatt can work off the debt around here and at the track.”
“Thank you.” McKelle threw her arms around her dad.
“The kid needs a break.”
“I can help,” McKelle said.
“No. Nah.” Both her dad and I spoke at the same time.
Her dad put a few inches of space between them. “You’re not paying your boyfriend’s legal fees. You’re not paying his bills. You’re not supporting either one of them.” He glared at me.
“You have to let Ryatt handle this,” I said.
McKelle lifted a brow. “Weren’t you just offering to cover his bike payments?” Then she sank her teeth into her lip, realizing this conversation was going to get complicated. “Okay, so what can I do?”
“Come with me to the MC. I need you there when I talk to the lawyer.”
“I need to finish up a couple things in the barn.”
“Cece can help me with Buttercup,” Linda said to McKelle. Then she approached me, and her mom gave me a hug. My spine stiffened, and an uneasy emotion churned in my gut. I didn’t do the parent thing. “It’s going to be okay,” she quietly said. “You three will get through this.”
What the fuck? Two weeks ago, her dad wanted me out of her life and was plotting for Ryatt to become a future son-in-law. Now, Ryatt was in county lockup, and her mom was giving me family vibes. I didn’t do family.
“We should go,” I said to McKelle.
McKelle headed into the house. Lane tipped his head, indicating he wanted me to follow him into the garage.
He leaned against his workbench. “If I find out Ryatt’s locked up for any reason other than a probation violation, this is done. You’re gone, and so is Ryatt. You fuck me over, I’ll make it so you never see McKelle again.”
I slid my hand into my pocket. “Understood.”
“Good. What time are you meeting the lawyer?” Lane led me toward the house.
“Sometime tonight.”
Lane sucked in a deep inhale and audibly exhaled. “Cruz, I think I’m starting to figure you out. We got different ways of viewing the world. I don’t know you. Maybe if you’d come around more, I wouldn’t worry. Last time we talked, you asked what it was going to take.”
I’d do anything except walk away from McKelle and Ryatt.
“This is what it’s going to take. Being here.
Not avoiding us because you got some warped idea of family.
” He paused at the bottom of the porch. “You’re being honest with me, so I’m going to share something with you.
Linda changed after Cayson died. I suppose I did, too.
” He squinted into the late afternoon sunshine.
“Having Ryatt around is good for McKelle’s mom.
Having you here will be good for her, too. That’s all I’m going to say on it.”
“I’ll work on it,” I said because McKelle was never leaving her family, and this was where Ryatt wanted to be, too.
The kitchen was crowded as her mom whipped together a quick dinner. Before I could escape with McKelle, I sat between Cece and Linda.
It was getting dark by the time I rode through the gates of the MC with McKelle on the back of my bike. As soon as McKelle saw Levi, she tapped my shoulder. I stopped the bike. She jumped off, and I backed into the row of motorcycles.
There were a lot of bikes in the lot for a weeknight. Fire popped and crackled in the oil drum, sending sparks into the night. Several patches loitered out front. Dozer and Tank stood with Steele and Vega.
“Have you heard anything?” I asked Tank.
“Nothing yet.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the parking lot.
“Blade called an emergency board meeting,” Dozer said. “He needs to talk to you.”
A twist of fear coiled in my gut. Ryatt wasn’t a patched member of the MC. He needed protection of the club. He needed Willy. And I needed my brothers to have my back on this.
Dozer came with me, and we entered the club. McKelle sat with Levi, Kiss, and the girls. Dozer and I strode over to the president’s table.
Romeo gave me a one-arm hug. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
Blade leaned back in his chair. He and Rogue exchanged a look. One that had my gut tight. One that had me thinking I wasn’t going to like what they had to say.
“The board had a meeting. Bylaws are explicit. The money we have on retainer with Willy can only be used for club members in defense of offences relating to club business.”
Rogue sipped whiskey. “If your ass was locked up, there wouldn’t be an issue.”
I glared at Rogue. “This is club business.” Did he want to come clean and confess our sins to the board? Because we both knew I should be the one sitting in a six by nine cage. For the shit Rogue had done, he should be locked up with me.
“Look around, Cruz.” Blade stared right back at me. “Read the room. Everyone is here for you.”
“Not just for you. They’re here for Ryatt because of you.” Dozer glanced around the packed chapel. “Even though most of them haven’t gotten to know him yet.”
Romeo lifted a brow. “They know he’s riding with you and McKelle.”
I glanced over my shoulder. The girls rallied around McKelle, but her gaze focused on me. Levi sat on one side of her, and Kiss was on the other.
“I’ll get the money for the attorney,” I said.
“Board took a vote,” Romeo said. “The bylaws don’t distinguish between a fully patched member and a prospect. Congratulations, Mom. We authorized the use of club resources for your new prospect.”
“You can tell Ryatt when he gets out.” Rogue pushed his chair back when Tank and Bullet entered the MC with an older guy in a suit. “Willy is here.”