Chapter Fourteen
Raider
I fight the urge to scoop Anastasia up, put her on my bike, and leave—hiding her away from the world so she can never be taken from me again.
Instead, I square my shoulders, stepping up next to my VP and SAA to face the man I’m still unsure of being an ally or an enemy.
As we make our way to him, I have to give the man credit for not shying away from the wall of pissed-off assholes coming at him.
What I find instead is him, scanning each one of us, cataloging, and filing away what he sees.
We get within about ten feet of him, and he stands from his leaning position.
“I was getting a little concerned you forgot where you were supposed to be, Fallon,” the stranger calls out as we get closer.
“My memory may be shit, but it ain’t that bad, asshole,” Anvil laughs, stepping away from me and pulling the man into a man hug.
“I leave you in the hands of others for two years and already you’ve gotten smaller,” the stranger ribs pulling away.
“Aww, do you not have anyone else you can guilt into being murdered in the gym every fucking day?” Anvil shakes his head.
The man just shakes his head before turning back to me, stepping forward with his hand out. “Pete Mathison, everyone calls me Dragon. It’s a pleasure to finally meet the men Fallon has talked so highly of over the years.”
Stepping forward, I shake his hand. “Raider. Can’t say that I’ve heard anything about you.”
“Not surprised, our times spent together aren’t moments you want to remember,” Dragon says, shaking his head.
“They weren’t all bad,” Anvil pats him on the back.
“As great as you gentlemen catching up is, mind telling us what you’re doing with Anastasia?” Remedy cuts in, vibrating with anger.
“Let’s just say I’ve found my way into the heart of some very fucked-up people running an even more fucked-up business. Which is where I found your woman,” he says, leaning back onto the rear of the SUV.
“That we’ve gathered. What isn’t adding up is how you knew to let us know about her and how you got her the fuck out,” Terro states, unease rolling off him.
“Lucky for her and you all, Fallon here has a very distinct tattoo on his forearm that matched the emblem on the t-shirt she had on when they had me transfer her at the garage. Add to the fact that your hacker boy was digging into Alfaro Cartel and Shea Austin, which triggered a warning for my team. Your man does a good job covering his tracks, and to be honest if it wasn’t for Anastasia showing up when she did, I don’t know that we would’ve connected the dots.
Mix it all together, and here we are,” Dragon states like it’s no big deal.
“That’s an awful lot of luck,” Token snaps. “And I don’t believe in luck like that.”
The nonchalant attitude goes away in a flash, replaced by the cold mercenary he is. “None of this was luck. It happened exactly how it needed to happen. So let me say this the nicest way I can say it. Stay the fuck out of our way.”
The good ol’ boy act drops from Anvil. “No disrespect to you and yours, but this is a lot closer to the club, and we will deal with the ones that need to be dealt with how we see fit. We either work together or stay out of each other’s way.”
There is a long pause, and everyone is tense and waiting. Dragon searches everyone's faces for a long time before dropping his arms and standing to his full height.
“I’ll talk with my team and be in touch. Until then, do your best not to blow my entire operation out of the fucking water, yeah?” His tone is meant to sound friendly, but the undercurrent is there.
“I don’t make it a habit of fucking shit up,” I nod, sticking my hand out.
“You may not, but that brother of yours sure fucked things up all the time.” He takes my hand, giving it a firm shake before turning to Anvil.
They shake hands before he pulls him into another one-armed man hug. “Sergeant at Arms looks good on you, brother.”
Anvil steps back, giving only a slight tilt of his head before stepping back into his spot at my shoulder. We watch as Dragon goes to climb into the SUV when he stops, turning back to look right at Remedy.
“She had IV antibiotics and fluids for the infection in her leg. We’re assuming she had a fever-induced seizure and some head trauma.
The leg has been bandaged but can’t be stitched as it needs time to drain some.
I assume you can handle what needs to be done, Remedy?
” Dragon smirks at the second of shock on Remedy’s face.
He recovers quickly. “Shouldn’t be an issue.”
The man gives one last head nod before climbing into his SUV and starting it up. He makes a wide circle around us and the bikes, making his way to the long driveway and exit. We stand there not saying a word, everyone still wrapping their minds around what just actually fucking happened.
“Well Anvil, it seems you have some interesting fucking friends,” Blitz finally taunts.
“If you weren’t such a jackass, then you might have some too,” Anvil mocks, slapping him on the back as he makes his way to the slaughterhouse where we delivered a package earlier in the evening.
He makes it about three steps when a throwing knife plants itself in the gravel just in front of Anvil’s foot. He looks up at the roof of the slaughterhouse, shaking his head.
“Do not say it, fuckhead. We all know he did not miss and taunting him will end with you having stitches or missing an eye,” Mercy growls as he steps out of the tree line behind him.
Anvil looks back at him, smirking. “Do I look like a man who wants to test his fate tonight?”
“You assholes seem to like testing your luck,” Mercy drawls, walking past us. “I’ve done my job in teaching him to share his toys. Now it’s up to you fuckers to teach when he should and shouldn’t.”
Mercy doesn’t even get the last word out of his mouth when a throwing star wheezes by his head, nicking his ear.
Mercy growls, throwing up a bird before marching to the door.
I just shake my head because what the fuck else is there to do with them?
The guys split into two groups, those going into the slaughterhouse to deal with the traitor and those helping to get Anastasia back to the clubhouse.
The sound of boots on gravel catches Anastasia’s attention, and the little smile she gives me causes my cock to go rock hard.
The thought of seeing that soft look on her face after several orgasms is a dream I’ve never been able to outrun.
I step up to her, my thighs bracketing her legs where she’s seated on my bike.
Anastasia tilts her head back, looking up at me as I run my hand into the hair at the nape of her neck, wrapping it around my fist. My cock jumps at her sharp intake of breath before she sighs and relaxes into my hold.
“Let’s get you back to the clubhouse so you can rest,” I whisper to her.
“I really like that idea.” She sighs.
“Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?” I ask the question that tastes like acid on my tongue.
“Nope. You’ll be my first,” she ends on a whisper.
“Your first … hmm,” I lean forward, placing a feather-light kiss on her lips. “I see myself providing many firsts for you, Tasia.”
She smirks at me. “We’ll see about that. Now are you taking me to my boy or are we going to hang out in the dark all night?”
“Our boy,” I snap harsher than I intended.
Her eyes go sad, and she pulls away from me. “Can you just take me back? I’m tired, my leg hurts, and I’m just ready for some meds and bed.”
Knowing her the way I do, I know pushing will not get me anything but further shut out. I let her go, turning back to my brothers standing close by. “Let’s load up. Twitch, I want you to stay with the others. Let them know I’ll be back and to make sure he can still answer questions when I do.”
“You got it, Prez.” He nods, turning to jog towards the slaughterhouse.
“You’re an asshole, Raider. The psycho twins might beat his ass for putting a halt to their fun,” Terro calls from his bike.
“The way he handled them earlier, I think he’ll be okay, and if not, I guess we’ll just have to recruit some new men,” I toss back to him.
Terro just shakes his head, sliding on his helmet and starting his bike.
I spend a few minutes giving Anastasia some instructions about riding before sliding on in front of her and starting my own.
She leaves too much space between us. I reach back, hooking her behind her knees, making certain that I’m gentle as I don’t know where the injury on her leg is, and pull her forward, so she is pressed flat to my back.
She grumbles but doesn’t move back, instead just wrapping her arms around my waist, laying her head between my shoulder blades.
When I’m sure she is settled and sturdy, I shift my bike into gear, pulling out of line and turning it towards the clubhouse.
We pull onto the road, and I open the throttle, taking the first deep, centering breath since she stepped into that SUV four days ago.
I lay my hand on hers, squeezing gently, just needing to feel her skin beneath mine.
The ride takes longer than it normally would, but I’m not ready to share her yet.
When I can’t drag the ride out any longer, I pull up to the gate at the clubhouse, thankful that Hermes had us all put gate openers on our bikes.
Pulling into the parking lot, I get my bike parked in its spot and kill the engine, stepping off holding my hand out for Anastasia to climb off.
With very little to no grace, she stumbles off the bike, hissing in pain as she puts weight on her injured leg.
Scooping her up, I carry her bridal style into the clubhouse, sitting on the couch with her in my lap. To my complete surprise, she doesn’t fight me or argue about my holding her. Remedy shows up in a flash with his medic bag in tow, squatting down beside us.
He looks first at her and then at me. “I need to wake her so she can tell me which leg it is or I’m going to have to cut her pants legs.”
“Just cut them. She needs to rest, and if she likes them that much, I can get her some new ones,” I whisper, dropping my forehead onto the top of her head just taking in the fact she is here with me.
“You got it,” he nods, grabbing his shears from his bag and starting on her right pant leg.
He makes to about a quarter of the way up her calf, cussing up a storm as he continues.
Lifting my head, I look at her leg, and all I see is red.
Her leg is bright red and angry, and my vision is coated in red too.
My body vibrates with the need to destroy someone or something.
Remedy looks up at me with wide eyes before getting to work, being as gentle as he can be, but she still tenses in her sleep.
I hold her tighter to me, whispering softly about old memories, attempting to ease not only her but myself as well.
“That should be good for tonight,” Remedy stands, grabbing his bag. “We’ll check again in the morning, and I’ll see if I can get us something to make sure she doesn’t get sick again.”
“What about her hand?” I whisper, trying not to wake her as I gently twist her palm for him to see.
He shifts, picking it up, looking at it closely, “It’s closed up, which is good. I’ll put some stuff on it, but I think it’s already pretty good to go.”
Looking up at one of my oldest friends, I see concern etched across his face. “Thank you, brother.”
“Anything for you. You know that,” he nods before turning to leave the room.
I sit there on the couch and hold Anastasia close, gazing around the club that has been my entire world since I was nineteen, angry, and ready to take on the world.
It’s still home, and as always with Anastasia in my lap, I finally feel centered.
My world is right on its axis and spinning like it should.
A beer appears in my line of vision, and I look over to see Ainsley holding it with a soft smile on her lips.
“That’s a good look on you, Raider,” she says softly when I take the beer from her.
“What exactly is it you’re talking about?” I wonder, taking a long drink.
“Ever since the day I showed up here, I could tell that behind the calm you showed the world, there was always a storm brewing.” She swallows hard, eyes dropping to her hands.
“After everything with Relic, that storm no longer hid. It was all I could see. But now …” she hesitates, a small breath escaping her lips.
“Now there is a real calm. Don’t get me wrong, the storm is there.
Always able to be violently devastating if need be. It just doesn’t define you anymore.”
I’m taken aback by her words. No one has so rightly put the chaos in my brain into such simple words.
“Thank you, Ainsley,” I say quietly.
Her head snaps up, a look of shock on her face.
“Umm, you're welcome,” she tilts her head just like Mercy does when he is trying to decide if you're being an asshole or not.
Smiling, I assure her, “Thank you for saying that. I can’t explain why, but I needed to hear you say that.”
“She’s not wrong,” Anastasia mumbles into the side of my neck.
Looking down at her, I scowl. “I thought you were asleep, woman.”
She shifts on my lap, so she has room to stretch before answering me. “I was. I need to use the bathroom and see Rusher.”
“Oh, I hope you don’t mind, but he is staying at his friend’s house tonight,” Ainsley says quickly.
Anastasia stiffens, but I cut her off before she can say anything. “Ainsley, this is Anastasia, Rusher’s Ma. Anastasia, this is Ainsley, Mercy’s Ol’ Lady. She and Charlie have been helping me look after Rusher. She checked with me before saying he could go, and I said yes.”
Anastasia relaxes slightly then turns her full face to Ainsley. “Thank you so much for helping Raider with Rusher. It really means a lot.”
Ainsley smiles widely. “Oh, it was nothing. He truly is a great kid and a ton of help around here with all the guys being so busy.”
Anastasia smiles back at her before looking back at me. “Can you help me to my room? I really have to use the restroom.”
“You got it.” I pat her leg for her to stand.
She does slowly, and when she’s fully up, I stand behind her before sweeping her off her feet. Anastasia gasps, wrapping her arms around my neck.
“I can walk, you know,” she deadpans, rolling her eyes.
“You can. This way though it’ll be quicker.” I grin down at her before kissing her on the forehead.
“Aww, it’s going to be so much fun having another couple around.” Ainsley claps standing. “It was so good to meet you, Anastasia. I hope we can catch up later.”
Anastasia looks back and forth between us. “We’re not a couple.”
Ainsley gives her a knowing smile as she pats her on the arm. “Just go with it. I’m not saying don’t make him work for it, but in the end just let it happen.”