Blayd: A Bad Boy Biker Romance (The Reckless Riders MC Book 1) Page 8

  I couldn’t help it, I sniggered at this.

  He allowed a slight smile to show on his lips then it disappeared.

  I still had a lot to apologize for. I was the one that got them into this mess in the first place, that caused this war to brew between the Dawn Vultures and the Reckless Riders, but I was grateful that he was still offering his protection. I wasn’t sure where this was going to leave us, but I was just glad I had him on my side. “Will you be leaving tonight?” I asked.

  “And leave you to be a sitting duck here by yourself? No, I think I’ll stay,” he said, sarcastically, pretending to get comfortable on my ugly couch.

  “So, are you even going to tell me how you got in here?”

  “Maybe once I trust you again, I’ll teach you a thing or two,” he said, folding his arms behind his head, his face still stoic.

  I chuckled. Even after all of the emotions we both went through in the last few hours, he was still himself. That was one of the things I truly admired about him, because he never seemed to fail me. I had to admit, he would be the first man to ever do that. Not fail me. “Suit yourself.” I shrugged while inside I felt good. A little nervous as I was sure I wasn’t in the clear yet, but Blayd’s presence just made me feel so much better than I had when I first came in here.

  I went to bed that night feeling a bit more at ease having Blayd right outside. It felt good to be honest with him, to come clean about all of the things I’d wanted to tell him ever since the rider vowed to protect me. We were still trying to figure out what we were going to do about the Dawn Vultures, and I wasn’t sure if it was just a hunch, or coming down from the adrenaline rush that I’d been on for the last few days, but I felt like there was something Blayd wasn’t telling me.

  When I made my way to bed tonight, I noticed that things had been shifted around on my end table, like someone had used my landline. I wasn’t even aware that it had been working at all, because I always went straight for my cell phone, but I wondered if Blayd shared a call with someone while he was snooping around my apartment. Maybe it had been another member of the Reckless Riders, though.

  Knowing the way Blayd seemed to be. He would tell Scotch the truth.

  I clutched the pillow tightly, trying to lull myself to sleep knowing that I was still in immediate danger. Though, it felt good to fall asleep knowing there was someone else looking out for me. I managed to get some of the best sleep I’d had since moving into the city, and I woke up to Blayd’s snoring coming from my living room.

  We’d both been through enough over the last forty-eight hours, and I decided to do something nice for him for a change. After all, I wasn’t even sure what the day ahead had in store for us.

  I heard Blayd’s cell phone buzz on the coffee table in front of him, causing him to stir in his sleep, but not enough to wake up.

  I glanced down at it, seeing Scotch’s name pop up on the screen, but I did my best to ignore it for the time being. It was something we were going to have to deal with in time, because now I had to focus on getting things in order. I didn’t want to be afraid anymore, I didn’t want to feel like I had to constantly be looking over my shoulder every single time I stepped foot outside my apartment.

  I made us both a quick breakfast, tossing eggs into a frying pan and a few pieces of toast into the toaster that barely worked, but it would do for now.

  I tried not to wake him, but my efforts were unsuccessful, I looked over at the couch.

  Blayd sat up while his eyes adjusted to the stream of sunlight coming in from the living room window. “You’re up early,” he said.

  “No, you just woke up late. You got a call from Scotch and I assume he’s looking to find out what you learned about me,” I said, preparing two plates while I brought one over to him.

  “You didn’t have to do that, Angelina,” he said, like he had a hard time accepting the fact that someone could possibly do something nice for him.

  “You have to eat, and you did spend the entire night turning my apartment upside down, which must’ve taken you a very long time, but I’m glad that we’ve come to some sort of agreement,” I said.

  He nodded, digging into his food. “Yes, we have. I’ve decided that you’re going to come with me to the Lazy Pint, and we’re going to come clean to Scotch about what you’ve been hiding. I don’t want him to kick you out, and I won’t go back on the promise I made to you, but this club is based on truth. I won’t let a lie ruin things for us. There are going to be consequences, but it’s better that Scotch finds out now, than later on when things start to go downhill the moment the Dawn Vultures start to ramp things up.”

  I could feel my heart sink into my stomach, because I wasn’t sure how Scotch was going to take the fact that I’d come into town to kill him. I didn’t know how he would process that I just changed my mind because I decided he was a good person, but Blayd had been right. We were both so new to the club, that if we weren’t honest with the people that embraced us with open arms, we were going to back ourselves into a corner, and I wasn’t going to allow that to happen. “You’re right, Blayd,” I said, glancing down at the floor, worried that things were going to turn out badly and I would have to skip out of the city, hoping that no one followed me.

  “Whatever Scotch decides, you have my protection. But Scotch gave both of us a place inside this club. So, we owe it to him to stand up and take our licks for our actions.”

  I nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  “We will finish up breakfast and then head out as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the more of a chance the Dawn Vultures are going to have to get the upper hand. The last thing we want is to enter into a blind war where we’re not sure what they’re going to do. I’ve seen them in action and they’re nothing but lowly pieces of shit. I’ve heard enough about them to know that we need them gone, and if they’re trying to get to you in order to use you as their smoking gun, we’re just going to have to do the same thing. You’ve got skills, Angelina. There’s no denying that. We’ll just have to put them to good use.”

  “You don’t give yourself enough credit, Blayd. I saw the way you handled yourself back there when we were out on the job. I’m sure that when we inevitably have to go to battle, you’re going to be the one to make sure we get rid of the Dawn Vultures once and for all.”

  “How can you be so sure?” he asked, furrowing his brow at me.

  “I’ve been at this for a very long time and I know genuine talent when I see it. We’re all going to be able to rest a bit easier when we don’t have to worry about the Dawn Vultures anymore or their dammed president.”

  At the mere mention of the Dawn Vultures’ president, something shifted in Blayd’s expression, then in a second it was gone, and he showed nothing in his face.

  “What is it?” I asked, curious as to where his mind was at.

  “I received a phone call last night from the Dawn Vultures prez myself, and he was really trying to pin me against you. But I literally told him to go fuck himself.

  “What do they call him?”

  “Scorpion.”

  The sound of his name sent a chill down my spine and I closed my eyes for a moment, imagining the ruthless man behind all the threats. He didn’t seem like the kind of man to back down from a fight, but neither was Blayd. I saw the look of determination in his eyes, and he inched closer to me, gazing deep into my eyes, while he placed his hand on my shoulder comforting me. I’d been strong for such a long time that I’d forgotten what it felt like to be vulnerable, but now I was starting to see that this entire situation was eating away at me. I was afraid that I wasn’t going to come out of it as strong as I did before, but I believed that Blayd saw things differently.

  He was a perceptive man, always able to sense my fear whenever it would creep back in, even when I least expected it. He brushed against my shoulder, telling me that we were going to get through this, and as long as we agreed to work together, nothing would stand in our way.

  13
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  Ride With Us or Die Trying

  If Scotch finds out from his enemies first, Angelina is going to have no protection from the Reckless Riders. I know that she needs to stay to protect herself and the longer we spend in each other’s company, the more I can see that I want to be the one to help protect her. I wasn’t sure what changed between us, or why I’d begun to feel differently about her, but I felt responsible for what was going to happen now. I didn’t want Angelina to be left out in the cold.

  The tension was tight as we both rode out to the Lazy Pint in search of Scotch so we could tell him what we needed to, but the only person we saw was Thrasher. I was confused, knowing that it was very rare for the Reckless Riders to miss a night out at the Lazy Pint.

  He looked at me, glancing down at the floor when Angelina and I walked in, which only told me trouble was brewing.

  “Where is everyone?” Angelina glanced around the room to see just how empty it really was.

  We both looked at each other, already sensing something was very wrong.

  “Thrasher, where is everyone?” I asked.

  He looked at me like he didn’t know how to tell me.

  I placed my hand on his shoulder, while he put down the drink that was in his hand, and just by looking into his eyes, I knew it was Scotch.

  “Scotch was attacked last night on his way home from a run. We were together and he was ambushed by some of the Dawn Vultures. He managed to get away, but he’s not in good shape right now, and I don’t know if he’s going to be able to see the rest of this through, Blayd.”

  I couldn’t believe it. Thrasher had managed to escape the Dawn Vultures once before, but he didn’t this time. “How did they know where he was going to be? You were with Angelina, splitting off after they were following you. What happened after that?”

  “Scotch called me after I managed to escape and he wasn’t making much sense, but he told me to meet him down at the pier. There were supposed to be shipments coming in this morning when the entire city was asleep, but someone got to them before he could, and destroyed half of our product. Whoever did it managed to subdue Scotch and he’s still dealing with those injuries now.”

  I was so frustrated that I wanted to smash my fist into the wall. “Did Scotch say anything else?”

  “Yes, he did. The men that attacked him were looking for one person and one person alone. You…” He looked over at Angelina.

  She didn’t even look surprised as she stepped out in front of me, speaking to Thrasher directly, “I need to see Scotch, Thrasher. I need to tell him the rest of the story, and whatever he decides to do after that will be fine with me. I can’t let anyone else get hurt because of me. We’re just going to keep running around in circles unless I do something.”

  I stood by her, reaching for her hand as I squeezed it tightly to let her know I was there for her. I wanted to imagine what life would be like without the worry that they were going to attack at any moment, but if I wanted that to become a reality, I needed to step up just as much as she was.

  “I’ll take you both to his home. He’s resting, but he’s conscious. We can figure out how we’re going to fight back.”

  I gave him a nod.

  He led us back outside, while we all got onto our bikes, driving out to the President’s house.

  Scotch’s cycle sat in the open garage of his house like it had been abandoned.

  Thrasher got off his bike and nodded at one of the brothers.

  I noted that there were 3 more. They were watching the house and street.

  More men were there. One at the back, one on each side. I turned my head to also see one in a car a quarter block away. Then I automatically turned the other way, the way we’d come in to see yet another lookout.

  Angelina seemed hesitant to make her way up to the front door.

  I was too, but we had no choice but to keep going. I made a promise to her and I intended on keeping it.

  Entering in through the front door that was left open felt strange, because I’d never been to Scotch’s home before. It was lived in, a comfortable space, but it was devoid of any sentimental touches. It was like he never had the time to truly settle down, but I couldn’t blame him. With the life he’d lived for the last few years, or so I’d heard, all he had time to do was make sure that everyone had what they needed to live a purposeful life. He gave me that very same opportunity the day that he saved me from a fight at the Lazy Pint, my first night into town. I wanted to repay him, to let him know I would do whatever it took to bring Scorpion down along with his precious empire. I heard murmuring coming from the bedroom at the end of the hall, and we both made our way down there, worried about what we were going to see when the door opened up.

  “Who is it?” he asked, his voice cracking with each word that left his lips, but he looked much better than I thought he would. He was sitting upright in bed, peering over a book, when we both entered to check on him.

  “It’s me. Well, it’s us,” I said. I expected him to completely erupt the moment he laid eyes on us, blaming us for everything that happened to him.

  Instead, he motioned for us to come closer. “Blayd. Angelina. I take it you two have worked out your differences,” he said, like he already knew what we were here to tell him.

  He couldn’t know…that was impossible. “What differences would that be?” I asked him.

  “Oh, I don’t know, like where Angelina was going to kill me for the high price on my head,” he said, nonchalantly.

  “You know?” she asked, her eyes widening at the realization that he was already aware of what was going on.

  I waited for him to tell either her or us both that we needed to leave the Reckless Riders for good.

  “I didn’t get a good look at the man that attacked me, but I saw his tattoo when he grabbed me by the throat, slicing into my stomach with his pocketknife. He caught me off-guard, and he didn’t even hesitate to tell me why he was looking for you, and that he wasn’t going to stop until you were in his possession, Angelina. I knew it wasn’t Scorpion, because if there’s one thing that man never did was lift a finger until he absolutely had to, but it was one of his right-hand men. He tried to sway me against you. Told me you were going to be the one to destroy me. But I knew it wasn’t true.”

  “It’s true, Scotch.” She sighed. “I did come into town to kill you to fulfil a contract, but that was before I learned that you weren’t the one that should have a price on his head. Scorpion should.”

  I noticed the guilt in her eyes, she felt bad for all of this.

  “I know that part is true, Angelina. But I’ve always trusted my gut. I didn’t see anything in you that wanted to do me harm. Also, you’ve had plenty of chances to kill me and you didn’t. We’ve all done fucked up things, but it’s what we do to rectify them that counts. You were doing your job, and trust me, I’ve been there many times in my life. I don’t blame you for what happened to me, but I expect you to be the one to help me make sure they go down for this.”

  Angelina nodded. “I will do whatever it takes.”

  “Good. I don’t think I’m going to be back on my feet for a while, and that means I’m going to have to leave that precious bike of mine parked, and hidden. Scorpion wants you, Angelina and he’s going to do whatever it takes to get to you, so he can use you against us. We have to make sure that we have everything in place to fight back. Blayd, I need you to talk to Thrasher and Valkyrie. They are my men, been so for years. They have my instructions and they know where to begin with this.”

  I nodded. “We’ll fight this, and we’ll make sure Scorpion knows that there’s hell to pay.”

  “See… that’s the reason I wanted you to join us. I know you’re scared out of your mind, but I can’t even tell. Be there to do what my men instruct.”

  “We won’t let you down,” Angelina said and reached for my hand, entangling her fingers around mine.

  I gave no indication as to my rage. My gut-wrenching anger. That they had tried to
take our president out by ambushing him. I calmed myself. I needed to keep my head straight for this. It was time for us to band together and make sure Scorpion paid for this. It was time we start firing off our own threats. I was hoping that would be part of Scotch’s plan, because I wanted so badly to tear Scorpion’s head right off his damn shoulders.

  Angelina and I rode out to the pier, the minute the sun went down.

  I needed to see for myself what we were dealing with and what may have been left behind by the men who attacked Scotch. The thought that the Dawn Vultures really believed they could swoop in at the very last second to take everything we had and just walk off, made me see nothing but red. And we were just supposed to deal with it? Fuck them. They went straight for Scotch, believing that they’d left him for dead. I felt grateful that he’d managed to stay awake long enough to call Thrasher, because the club would be shit if we had lost our president. We would uncover Scorpion’s secrets and find a way to use Angelina to our advantage, without putting her in harm’s way long enough for them to get at her.

  “What’s on your mind?” she asked, while we waited for Thrasher and Valkyrie to pull up.

  “I’m thinking about how this is going to go. They sent a message by hurting Scotch, by taking him out.”

  She inched closer to me and ran the palm of her hand along my cheek, caressing it.

  For the first time in my life, I accepted the gesture. I’d always been the one that hated to give into that compassion, leaving it behind every time I bounced from city to city. With Angelina, I realized I was starting to feel connected to her, that we were sharing something I couldn’t define.

  I wondered for a moment what freedom would feel like, going about club business without having to worry that we were going to be cut off by the Dawn Vultures the moment things were going good again. I had to keep my head on straight, do what Scotch tasked me to do, and make sure that no one else got hurt in the process.