Ryder's Last Run (Dueling Dragons MC Series) (20 page)

Peggy

We arrived at the club with Zeke and Tank. Faith was so quiet on the last leg of the trip and she looks so tired and wore out. I think everything is just catching up to her emotionally, and now she’s about to reunite with Ryder after a long absence from him. I think it’s just all hit her at once.

The loss of her daddy; Ryder’s disappearance and leaving her brothers behind again. Aleast she and I have patched everything up and we are like sisters again.

I understand how hurt she was over catching me with Beau. I knew for a long time that she was too good for him. I figured I could get him away from her so that her life could be better than it was. She was so blind to his lies and him cheating on her over the years. He would lie to her, go out with other girls, and screw them in her car. I caught him one night at a park.

I saw Faith’s car and thought I’d surprise her. Well I was the one surprised when I found Beau with another girl. He begged me not to tell her. That is when he started coming onto me and flirting. I took advantage of it and decided to rid him from Faiths life. I knew it was a risk but I felt it was worth the risk to let her be free of him.

My life changed for the better when my son made his way into this world. Beau being the prick that he really is, walked away from his son and me. His loss not mine. Tucker and I are better for it and I have my bestie back and that is all that matters.

I find Zeke in his room after one of the biker guys pointed me in the right direction. He’s unpacking his things and looks exhausted. I know that I gave him and Tank a hard time all the way here. I don’t know what got into me, but he seems to bring out the brat in me.

“Can I come in?” I look at him from across the room.

“Yeah, come on in. This is where you and lil man will be in here.” He lifts his arms and turns in a half circle as if he is showing off his room.

“Zeke, Tucker and I will not sleep in here with you. I am not that sort of woman. I barely know you and for God sake, my son will be with me.” I accuse him of wanting to sleep with me. Big mistake.

He laughs it off, “Mama, just chill already woman. I am giving you and lil Man here my room. I will room with Fat Boy or Tank. Shit woman, yes I wanna get to know you better, but I wouldn’t dare compromise your virtue.” He smiles.

I take a good look around the room and it seems clean and well organized. That’s a positive.

He
seems proud of his surroundings. He points out the closet to unpack our belongings and then informs me of a locked gun safe in the back of it. I have to admit, guns make me nervous. I don’t have much experience with them and my parents never kept one in the house.

He looks at me with a questioning look and then drops a bomb on me as he shrugs his shoulders. “Sorry babe, but guns are a necessity of life in my world.” This is something that I certainly do not want to think about. His life isn’t always on the up and up and I am afraid of my attraction to him.

A few hours later I wonder around the clubhouse while Tucker naps but I can’t find Faith so I assume she’s still hiding out with Ryder and I don’t want to disturb them. I don’t want to pry but I am dying to know about that woman that was with Ryder when we arrived today.

I seem to have put some of the story together on Bambi and Ryder and it’s not good. Her resurfacing after the death of the President of the club has some members whispering about her.

I walk back to Zeke’s room to take a shower. After my shower, I walk out into the bedroom to him in there setting Tuckers Pack-n-Play and he’s brought in our stuff from Faith’s car. How sweet. It’s stuff like this that makes this man dangerous to my heart. I put Tucker down in his Pack-n-Play for bed, I look down at him and smile.

He grabs onto his blanket and closes his eyes quickly. I turn to Zeke who has been standing there watching me look over my sleeping son. He clears his throat and seems embarrassed to be caught watching us. I play it off and begin to help him clean his room.

“So tell me, what do you make of Bambi dropping the news on Ryder about having his love child and never letting him know about it?” I am a little confused as to why he’s asking me this.

“Well, I think the child is the one that suffers in the long run over the mother’s sin. Ryder had no idea this child existed, so I can’t blame him for this mess. However, it’s devastating news to Faith. It’s not like she won’t care for the child, but she’s so young and for her to have to be thrust into the role of a step-parent so soon in their relationship might take a toll on her emotionally.” He seems to like my answer.

“If that bitch Bambi, messes with my friend and hurts her, I will not be responsible for my actions against the skank.” I mean that. I will take her out if she tries anything on Faith.

We grow silent, it feels so comfortable having him around even though we aren’t really talking. I keep watching him and stealing glances of him. I see something sticking out from under his bed that I grab a napkin I see on the side table and bend down to pick it up.

Oh my goodness, it’s a broken sex toy. What in the hell is he doing with a sex toy under his bed, and why is it broken? Oh I have to give him a hard time about this one!

“What pray tell is this thing?” He jerks his head up from the closet. He looks a little embarrassed for a second or two. I stand there with a disgusted look on my face.

He smiles up at me, “Well honey, it’s a B.O.B. Ain’t you ever used one?” I drop the thing to the ground and now I am a little disgusted, and intrigued at the same time. I continue with my little miss innocent act, “What in the hell is a B.O.B.?” I ask.

I can’t come out and tell him that I have one of my own. That would be so embarrassing. A girl gets lonely sometimes and needs to take care of herself when the need arises. I just don’t like the way he’s laughing at me.

He continues to laugh and manages to ask me, “Babe, B.O.B. is short for battery operated boyfriend. You haven’t ever heard of it?”

Standing there shock has over taken my body with his question that I refrain from yelling out ‘Of course I have you ignorant asshole.’

He winks at me, “Well sugar, that one is broken. I could certainly head over to the adult store and purchase you one, and give you a demonstration of the enjoyment of a B.O.B.” Oh the nerve of him!
Yes, I want you to do that! I’d give my right eye to have you tease me with one just to feel your hands all over me.

I snap out of my mini fantasy, raise my hand, and let one loose on his cheek. Asshole! I grab up Tucker and walk out. That felt good. I am so needy right now and I could use that damn B.O.B.

After my encounter with Zeke earlier,
I’ve taken Tucker for a walk and returned and laid him down for nap, I grab a book and head out the main clubroom to read. I don’t want to speak to anyone right now. I just want to disappear with my romance novel about a rock band, written by my favorite author Jade C. Jamison. I always manage to get lost in her books and I feel so calmed down after I read her books. She takes me away to a world of romance, and hot guys.

Zeke is sitting over with a couple of bikers. One of them looks just like a younger version of Ryder. The skinny biker is handsome in a rugged sort of way and he’s tall too. I see him wink at me so I throw out my best sneer at him. Zeke tense up when he notices the guy looking at me; he bends over and says something to him.

All of a sudden I see rage come over Zeke’s face and he jumps up and grabs the other guy by the collar, I see the guy looking over at me. Zeke releases the guy and grabs his beer and then the guy says something else and Zeke is back up in his face.

Damn, I wish I could hear what they are saying back and forth to one another. I know it’s about me. The guy turns and says something to one of the younger guys and walks out.

I hear a bike start up and leave. I sit back and try to read but that scene between them is eating away at me. I wonder if Zeke was trying to protect me from that guy. I guess I will need to find out.

I open my book and try to escape into the world of rock stars and romance and forget my own world of bikers and looming trouble.

Faith

As I walk
into Ziggy's room, it hits me for the first time; Ryder wants me to live this life with him. He didn't even give me a heads up or a 'hey babe, I'm the new Prez.' It was 'I'm the new Prez and as my ol’ lady, you stand behind me.' You know the whole, I am man, hear me roar. Bullshit. I am not going to stand behind him.

"So, what the hell was all that drama about?" Peggy asks as she walks across the room;
it’s rather large for the size of this building. The room is really clean for a guy’s room. But Ziggy is always so clean and put together so I wouldn't expect any different.

Peggy walks over and puts Tucker down for a nap. "Sit
. Zeke said that while we are here, this is our space. So tell me, what the hell happened?"

"Oh god, Pegs. I don't know. I don't know where it all went wrong
. I don't even know if I am the one that did anything wrong." I start to sob. I am pretty damn proud of myself I have kept it together this long. "He has a son, seven years old. With that nasty fucking bitch!" Wrinkling my nose, I start thinking about her again. Peggy laughs a little bit and I look up at her. "What? Don't look at me like that!" I sniffle at her.

She reaches over and strokes the side of my head like I
’m her child. "Knock it off!" I knock her hand away from my head.

"Faith, you need to realize that he has a past. A pretty bad past from what I can tell." She shakes her head and looks over to check on Tucker who
’s started to fuss a little bit. "I know this is going to be strange coming from me, but are you sure that he really kept all this from you? That bitch that came out of that office caused holy hell in the common room. You should have seen it." She starts to snicker.

"Oh
, yeah? Well, let me tell you what happened in that fucking office. It wasn't only her that is a new feature in Ryder's life; his anger and aggression are something else." I shake my head at her.

"So, tell me." She leans back against the headboard of the bed so I l
ie across the foot of the bed and start to tell her about Ryder and the office. The office I hope I never have to step foot in again.

****

"I took my ring off and threw it at him and walked out of the room."

Over the last hour I have filled Pegs in on what happened with Ryder and
Bambi. Pegs said that she went all crazy on the jukebox and was carried outside by Tank. What the hell was Ryder thinking? If he really loved me like he said he does than he wouldn't be asking me to stand behind him.

"You know that man loves you
. From what I have been hearing from the guys around here..." I look up at her and lift my eyebrow. "Yes, I have been eavesdropping. So sue me."

I laugh.
"My point is, I’ve heard he went through a lot when he was gone. Like there was some bad shit that happened." Pegs starts to talk so fast that it’s kind of hard to keep up. "I guess they had him locked away in the middle of the desert and they forced him to fight. He had to fight his way out of where he was."

Shaking my head, I look over at Tucker and then back to Pegs. "What do you mean he was forced to fight? Why didn't he tell me any of this?" I start to feel my stomach roll a little bit and realize that I am about to lose my lunch. I hop up off the bed and run for the little bathroom off Ziggy's room.

"You okay, sweetie?"

Pegs sits down next to me on the floor and starts to rub circles on my back.

"He has gone through so much. No wonder he hates me." I start to cry and I’m face down in the toliet. Good thing Ziggy is such a clean guy.

"He doesn't hate you
, I promise. You just have to remember how men are." She keeps rubbing circles on my back.

I sit back and put my back against the wall. "What am I going to do
, Pegs? I love him. I truly love him. I can't see my life without him in it now. I know it sounds strange but it feels like I am meant to be with him. We are meant to be together. But I don't know if I can accept his life fully." I run my hands through my hair and then rest my head against the wall.

"Well, first things first. You’re going to talk to him
. You both need to talk about what happened with you guys. You need to talk about what happened with you both when you were apart. Have you been told what happened?"

"Do you think I would be so upset if I knew what was going on
? I think that's what gets me the most; we were trying to talk. I mean, he talked a little bit but all he really said was that he is fine now. Things are going to be better and different. He would do better than they did."

I feel my stomach start to flip around again and
I jump up to my knees and start to dry heave. I have nothing left in my stomach to throw up.

"Let me go get you something to drink
, Faith. You are going to start gagging and feel worse if you keep heaving like that."

Peggy stands up and leav
es the bathroom. I feel my phone vibrate in my back pocket. I pull it out and look at the screen. It’s a text from Ryder. So he can text but not talk? Oh, who cares Faith! He is your past, you need to move on! My brain is screaming at me to get the hell out of there but my heart sees this text message as he is trying. 

I'm srry. I love u.

I continue to stare at the screen
until Peggy walks back into the bathroom. "Here you go." She hands me a water and notices the phone in my hand. "Oh, were you talking to someone?"

I push the button on the top of phone to unlock the screen and show her the message.

"See? I told you that he loves you. He doesn't seem to want to give up on you, so why are you giving up on him?" She doesn't sit down next to me on the floor this time, but she sits on the counter and starts to sip her water.

"It's hard to explain. You didn't see his eyes when he had me pinned to that desk. There was something dark and hollow there." I shake my head and take a sip of my water. "I have never seen anything like I did in that room with Ryder, but at the same time
..." I sigh and look up at her. "At the same time, I knew he wouldn't hurt me. It was a very intense situation." I shake my head and my phone buzzes again.

U can have my room. :x

"It's Ryder again. He said that I can have his room." I look out the small window in the shower. "Damn, I didn't realize how late it was getting." I start to get up from the floor and Peggy is right next to me, helping me up. "I'm okay, Pegs. I am just so stressed with everything that has been going on. It is just so much to take in."

"So, are you going to
text him back? I mean, it might not be a bad idea. After all, he is the president of this motorcycle club; I am sure he has tons of people that would search for you if you left." She stops at the pack n' play and picks up Tucker who is looking just as tired as I feel.

"Yeah, I will." I sigh and start to head out of the room. "I am gonna go take a shower and then message him. Love you and see you in the morning."

"Okay, try and eat some crackers or something for your stomach. And I love you too, Faith. I am here for you whenever you need me." She says as she starts to feed Tucker. I smile at them and close the door behind me.

****

Ryder's room has got to be the biggest room here. It has a California King size bed with black and purple sheet set on it. Opposite of that is a dresser and a safe that is about half as tall as I am. The other side of the room has a desk and two chairs with a couch and chair opposite of it. So it is basically a bedroom with an office and the bathroom is just as amazing.

Now that my shower and hygi
ene things are taken care of, I guess it’s time for me to text Ryder back. Sitting on the huge bed that I feel about the size of an ant in, I pick up my phone and unlock the screen and type a reply.

Thank you. I will make other arrangements tomorrow. Goodnight, Ryder.

I am sure that is going to go over really well.

He replies.

C ya when I get there

Well, I know that he won
’t be seeing me. I just need to admit to myself that I still love him and I want to be with him. But a part of me wants to run and the other part of me wants to stay. Picking up my cell phone, I pull up the number for the only person that I know besides Ryder or Peggy Sue that would tell me the truth.

"Hello?" I hear Layla's groggy voice on the other end of the line. Shit
, it's late there.

"Hi
," I say in a small voice.

"Faith, baby. What's the matter? Ryder called me earlier." She has always been so observant when it comes to things with me.

“Oh, he did?"

"Yeah, called me and said that he got to see you and that he is now
going to be patched as the new Prez of Dueling Dragons. He said that you guys were really excited and happy to be back together." She sighs. I can hear it through the phone even. She doesn't believe it. "But..." Oh shit, here it comes. "I know my brother. He’s a fucking liar. He doesn't want me to worry. So what's going on, honey?" Over the next ten minutes, I tell her everything that happened.

"If I was there
, I would beat the shit out of my brother. He has no right to do that to you! I know that he would never hurt you, so I think your thoughts are right about there being something wrong. Do I need to come down there and kick his ass?" she asks with a little hint of laughter to her voice.

"No, you don't have to do that
. But seriously, what should I do?"

"Well, the first thing you
’re going to do is get your ass to sleep. Then, in the morning, you are going to find your old man and fuck the shit out of him." She laughs even harder than before. "After you do that, you guys are going to talk and figure your shit out." She yawns on the other end, which makes me yawn. "If that doesn't work, then you call me and I come kick his ass." She laughs again. "And on that note, good night, honey. I miss you guys. Let me know what's going on with Ryder taking over as Prez; this way we can plan things. I love you guys."

I crawl underneath the covers o
f this ridiculously huge bed and I’m hit with Ryder's smell. I bury my face in the pillow and start to cry a little bit. That's it. Tomorrow, I am going to talk to my man and get some answers.