Chapter Seven #2
“Cut,” he says firmly. “There are only a few times you will find one of us without one. In this instance, when we are driving or riding in a cage, we do not wear them.” He turns back to the man. “Prospect, put your fucking cut on.”
“Shit,” the man mutters, opening the back door and pulling one out that looks new and sliding it onto his shoulders.
“Now that we have that settled. This man here is what we call a prospect. He is working to become a full member of the club. His name it Twitch,” Remedy informs us.
One of the other men steps forward, settling a hard look on the man. “You will take Ms. Anastasia and her son Rusher to the clubhouse. We’ll be providing escort. They are special guests of Prez and should be respected as such.”
Twitch nods his head, not saying a word before turning back to the SUV and opening both passenger doors for us. I jump when the rumble of motorcycles starts out of the blue. Rusher squeezes my hand before leading me to the SUV. I slide onto the seat, shivering as the heat of the vent hits me.
“It’s going to be okay, Ma. Just you wait and see. Everything is going to be different and okay,” he whispers, giving me a quick side hug before climbing into the back and closing the door.
I lay my head back with a silent prayer. “Lord Auntie Lynn, please don’t fail me now.”
That’s the last thought I have as my eyelids slide closed, pulling me into darkness and finally giving me a break from the hell that is my life currently.
It could have taken us five hours to get to this club house for all I know, but it felt like only ten minutes before I’m being woken up by the sound of a door being closed.
Blinking my eyes open, I’m instantly on alert when I don’t hear or see Rusher.
I throw the SUV door open and stumble out into an open parking lot in front of a large converted barn.
There is a long line of motorcycles on the right side of the door.
Looking behind me, I find a large gate with what looks to be a twenty-foot-tall brick fence as far as the eye can see.
I hear music and laughter coming from the left side of the barn.
“Rusher, where are you?” I whisper low under my breath as I start to slowly make my way toward the sound of the people.
“If I didn’t know any better, I would assume you’re an elder by the way you’re moving,” Watson drawls from somewhere in the dark, scaring the ever-living shit out of me.
“Shit, why the hell are you sitting in the dark like a psycho?” I gasp, my heart rate picking up.
“I was coming to get you from the car.” His tone is bored.
“Where is Rusher?” I ask him because right now that is the only thing I care about.
“Rusher is your son?” he tilts his head to the side, studying me.
I bite back the truth because I am not in any way ready for that conversation. “He is.”
His eyes narrow at me with a sneer like I’ve never seen. “Seems that Shea wasn’t the only whore in the family.”
His words do exactly what he wanted them to.
They slice my soul as if I’d been struck with a cat-o’-nine-tails.
Though I refuse to allow him to see that pain or any other, he doesn’t deserve it.
I walk over to him so I can see his face, taking in the man he has become.
Where there used to be laughter and curiosity in his eyes, now they hold anger and pure and honest devastation.
Neither of us says anything as time drags on, the silence growing thick and heavy.
I swallow my pride at the moment because this man stands between me and Rusher. “Can you take me to my son?”
“I could absolutely take you to him,” he says, leaning back onto the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “But I don’t fucking think I will.”
“Watson, don’t be a fucking asshat. I’m tired, stressed out, and so emotionally drained that I don’t foresee myself processing anything new for weeks.” I’m nearly yelling at the man.
“Raider,” is his only answer to me.
“What?” I grind out.
“That is my name,” he states flatly.
Done. I’m absolutely fucking done. I storm over to him. “I don’t give a damn if you go by the pope of all assholes. Take me to my fucking son!” I scream as close to his face as I can get.
I don’t even get my tirade fully completed before he strikes.
His hand snaps out, grabbing my waist, yanking me against him as he spins us, pinning me to the wall.
What shocks me more is the way he cups the back of my head, keeping it from bouncing off the wall I’m now pinned to.
Raider’s eyes lock on mine, alight with a fire I can’t understand as he searches mine, as the hand on my hip slides just under my slip of a shirt.
It’s then that I finally realize I’m wearing only short silk shorts and a thin matching tank top, nothing else.
My body shivers at the feel of his hand on my bare skin.
“Even covered in soot, you’re still as beautiful as ever,” he whispers, his breath brushing over my ear as he runs his nose along the shell.
I fight the way my body wants to react to him.
His smell wraps around me, the same yet different now, holding a hint of leather and exhaust; hot and smoky, everything about it dangerous and real.
My body heats with a long-forgotten yearning for something that once was, could have been, but now never will be.
The hand on my waist shifts higher, and his thumb makes small circles on my ribcage.
Allowing my eyes to slide closed, I tilt my head back more firmly into his hand.
Raider moves softly, sliding his lips along the column of my throat.
“Fuck me, you cannot possibly know how many nights I’ve dreamed of having you pinned beneath me. Dreaming of what it would feel like to have my cock sliding deep into your dripping pussy.” His words cause my pussy to clench with a need I didn’t know was possible.
He pulls back, watching as I blink my eyes open.
When we finally make eye contact, his eyes have a hardness that causes my heart to stutter in my chest. The hand in my hair grips my hair so I can’t move at the same time he slides the hand on my waist out from under my shirt to then run it up my chest and around my throat applying pressure.
“Too fucking bad you’re nothing but a whore, just like your goddamn mother and sister,” his voice is so hard and sharp. “You will stay here until I find out why your house was burned down and who did it, but you will stay out of my fucking way and away from my brothers.”
I don’t have a second to process his words before he releases me and steps away. Raider turns walking away as I lean back onto the wall, still trying to catch my breath. My heart shatters in a way I couldn’t even imagine was possible at this point in my life.
“Pecker Head, get your ass out here,” Raider hollers into the barn where he is standing with the door open.
A young man comes sauntering up to him. “S’up?”
The darkness I’ve noticed dancing around him flares. “Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?”
The young man takes a step back before he can catch himself. “Sorry, what can I do for you?” he grinds out in a way that you know he isn’t pleased about this situation.
“Show our new guest over there to her room and her son. They do not have free rein of the clubhouse. They’re in their connecting rooms until an officer gets them.”
He looks over at me, his eyes tracing my body.
I step further into the shadows to fight the feeling of needing to run from him.
Raider steps between us, arms crossed over his chest as he glares at him.
The younger man starts to sneer at him, only catching himself when someone pushes past him outside.
“Didn’t you fucking see me standing here?” the young man calls at the back of the large scary man I saw earlier at Auntie Lynn’s place.
He stops, turning to look at the two men standing in the doorway. “I saw, and I needed to leave. So, I fucking left.”
“Asking me to move is too hard for your big dumb ass?” the young man snarls, stepping around Raider to square up with the larger man.
I slide down the wall, pulling my knees to my chest. I’ve seen too many fights break out over stupid shit as a child that all I want to do right now is hide from the world.
I don’t hear anything for a long moment, and then someone is screaming in pain.
Looking up from where I laid my forehead on my knees, I find the big man hasn’t moved, but the young man is clutching his shoulder as red seeps through it.
“I’m going to fight,” is all the big man says before turning and walking to his motorcycle.
Raider just nods before turning back to the man who is bleeding. “And you wonder why you’re still a fucking prospect.”
“Fuck you, asshole.” The man grinds through clenched teeth.
Sighing, Raider pats the man on the back before stepping around him and into the building. I don’t move or even try to speak as the young man stands there glaring out into the night.
“I fucking hate these guys. That batch better come through on her word,” he grumbles as he turns, walking in the opposite direction of where I am sitting.
I watch, unable to find the words to ask where I need to go. It would be weeks before I realized that what I heard that night was important not only to me but to everyone around me.