Ram
I’d done my best to not stare at Talia too much. The sight of her in my shirt did things to me. I could have easily gone to my bike and pulled one from my saddlebags. Nope. Instead, I’d given her the one I’d been wearing. Even worse, I’d liked knowing my scent was all over her now.
What are you, a randy dog?
Thankfully, I’d managed not to get hard so far. If the women thought for one second I might want to fuck one of them, I imagine chaos would ensue. They needed someone to take care of them right now. Which meant I needed to focus on giving them what they needed and stop thinking about Talia wearing my shirt. Sadly, she’d have to change clothes.
Not even a 24-hour store would let the women inside in their present condition. After taking note of their sizes for both clothes and shoes, I went inside and purchased panties, knit dresses, and flip-flops for each of them. It wasn’t perfect, but it would at least allow them to go into the store. I’d also bought some first-aid supplies for any with cuts, like Talia. They’d hastily changed clothes in the van and patched themselves up. While they went into the women’s bathroom, I stood guard outside. I could hear the water running and the sound of splashing as they cleaned the dirt from their faces, and anywhere else they could reach without a shower.
I wasn’t sure what my brothers would have waiting for them. To guarantee they had a comfortable night, I told them each to pick out something to sleep in as well as anything else they needed. A few cast longing looks at the magazine and book aisle.
“Why don’t you each pick out one or two things to read? It’s too dark to look at them in the car tonight, but you would have them for later.”
I felt bad knowing they didn’t have anything at all, aside from the few things I’d just purchased for them. A book or magazine might not seem like much, but at least it was something they owned that was theirs. There would be many more things they would need. For now, I just needed to get them through the night.
“Are you sure it’s okay to pick something?” asked the youngest. She danced from foot to foot and twisted her fingers together in front of her. As much as I wanted to hug her and assure her everything would be fine, I worried I might scare her.
“Pick anything you want. I can’t buy out the store for you, but I can do this much.”
The younger girl hurried down the book aisle. Talia inched closer until she stood next to me. It didn’t escape my notice she hadn’t selected anything.
“What’s her name?” I asked, nodding toward the teen.
“Riley.”
I nodded, filing the information away. These women had been used and treated like objects. Using their names would make them feel more human. I’d learned that much while trying to save others over the years.
“There’s something I should tell you,” Talia said. “When you got rid of Vega and the others, I heard the women talking. There’s an offshore account containing all the funds Vega received from his prostitution business. I’m not sure how you’d find it or even access it, but I thought you should know it was there.”
“And exactly how do they know about it?” Was one of them a mole? It was possible not all these women and girls were victims. What if one or more had been planted by Vega on the off chance someone tried to stop him?
“Heather mentioned it. The woman who drove the van. One of the times Vega gifted her to some men for a few hours, she heard them discussing it. On the ride here, she rambled about various things. Conversations she’d heard, her feelings and fears, and even worry over what would happen to her now. I probably learned more about her during the short ride than I’ve ever known about anyone else I’ve met.”
It was something to consider. I might not know how to locate such an account, but it didn’t mean Outlaw wouldn’t. Badger had once told me the hacker’s hands had been crushed. Even if he couldn’t use a computer, perhaps he had other ways to look into things.
My thoughts strayed to Grizzly. There was something Badger hadn’t told me. I knew it with a certainty. A gut-deep feeling that wouldn’t go away. Since Grizzly had stepped down a while ago and already handed the club over to Badger, I didn’t think it would have anything to do with that. No, something was going on with his girls.
I still had a few contacts outside of the Devil’s Fury. It might be time to give them a call. No one liked walking blind into any situation, especially not me, even less so with others depending on me. I owed it to these women and girls to find out what was going on before we arrived at the compound.
I placed my hand on Talia’s shoulder. “Can you keep an eye out for a few minutes? I need to step out front and make a call.”
She shrugged. “Can’t you just do it here? I think they’d feel safer if they could see you.”
“Fine. It’s not necessarily something they need to hear. I’ll move far enough away for my conversation to remain private yet close enough I can keep an eye on them.” She immediately tensed. “Easy. It’s nothing to do with any of you. I’ve been away from the club for quite a while, and I just want to check on a few things before we show up at the gates. A lot can change over the years.”
She gave a quick nod and walked over to the women while I took several steps farther back. There was only one person I could think to call. An assassin I’d run into multiple times. I’d known him when we were younger, then we’d gone our separate ways, only to bump into each other years later. I’d never introduced him to my club, but he knew about them. He went by the name of Lock because once he’d locked onto his target there was no escaping him. But I had known him by a different name. Max Luton.
I pulled his name up in my contacts, and he answered almost immediately.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Max said. “Just when I thought you must be dead. I’m going to assume this isn’t a social call. What do you need, Ram?”
“Not even a hello? Well, fuck you too.” Max chuckled on the other end of the line. “But you’re right. I do need something. Information. I get the feeling I’m about to walk into a hornet’s nest.”
“You’ll have to be a little more specific,” Max said.
“I’m going home, back to the Devil’s Fury. I know damn well you know every secret of every club on the eastern side of the US, and possibly the western side as well. Don’t even try to deny it. Is there something I should know about Grizzly’s death?”
Max sighed. “Yeah, there’s some shit that went down when Grizzly passed. Not just with your club but it trickled over to the Dixie Reapers and the Savage Raptors. From what I’ve heard it started even before then. One of his daughters screwed up. Except it wasn’t just her. The entire club was at fault, or most of it. Instead of learning how to get along, they made her feel unwelcome. In case you’re wondering, she’s now with Lynx at the Savage Raptors.”
I let that digest for a moment. It was difficult for me to wrap my head around what could have possibly happened. Something told me it was a long story, one I didn’t necessarily have time to hear right now.
“I’m taking a small group of women and teenage girls to the Devil’s Fury. They need help, and I didn’t know where else to go with them. Are they going to be safe there?”
Max let out a low whistle. Why did I get the feeling he thought I shouldn’t take them there? Just what the hell had my club been up to while I’ve been gone? I’d relied on the random calls from Badger to keep me up to date. Now I wondered if that had been a mistake. Clearly he’d left quite a few things out.
“Are you saying I shouldn’t take them there?” I asked.
“They should be fine, unless they try to hook up with one of your brothers. That’s what started everything. Meredith wanted someone who didn’t return her affection. Doolittle. When he found the woman he wanted, she managed to turn the club against them. I don’t know the rest of the details except Grizzly sent her on a trip, one she never went back from.”
I wasn’t entirely certain how all of that figured into Grizzly’s death or what was going on with the club now. As long as these women would be safe, nothing else mattered. If my brothers wanted to be a bunch of drama queens, I would treat them accordingly. It didn’t matter if I’d been gone for more than ten years. Technically, I was still part of the club. Since Badger had known how to find me all along, I knew that even if my brothers were furious with me, it would eventually blow over. Unless they’d been emotionally reduced to eighth graders in my absence, which honestly seemed like it might be possible. Were they a bunch of hardened bikers or gossip-hungry teenage girls?
“Thanks for the info, Max. And thanks for your help several months back. I know you could have bumped me out of the way since the job was already yours, but I appreciate you letting me stick around. I think we worked well together.”
“Anytime. If you need my help, you know how to find me. And Ram… don’t let the club push you around or try to shove you out. There’s plenty of dirt on most of them. It’s yours if you want it.”
Damn. Made me wonder what he had on me. Then again, I probably didn’t want to know. “Thanks, Max. I have to go, but I’ll be in touch.”
I ended the call and went back to the women and girls. Each had at least one book or magazine in their hands. Riley had three and seemed conflicted over which two she wanted. Easy enough fix.
“Get all three,” I told her. “It’s fine.”
She gave me a beaming smile, and even Talia seemed to thaw toward me a little. That one was as prickly as a porcupine, but damn if I didn’t find her intriguing as hell. I wanted to know where she’d come from, what sort of life she’d led, and every single thing about her. And yeah, I could admit I wanted to know if her skin felt soft and what sounds she made when a man was balls-deep inside her. Probably better if I kept that last part to myself.
I should have gotten them some crackers or something while we were here, but they would probably prefer a hot meal. Not to mention, they might choke on the crackers if they tried eating them while the van was in motion. As hungry as they were, I wasn’t sure they’d be able to eat slowly.
After I paid for their purchases, and they’d gotten back into the van, I pulled Talia aside. They seemed to listen to her, so I’d treat her like their leader for now. It was my hope, they’d slowly become more confident over the next few days, weeks, or even months. Until then, I’d speak to them through Talia unless they asked me to do otherwise.
“I don’t plan to stop again until we reach the compound, unless one of you needs me to. Remind Heather to flash the lights if I need to pull over. I’m sure you’re all hungry.”
“I couldn’t eat right now, but some of them haven’t had food in a while.”
I nodded, expecting as much. “If they eat fast food, which is all we’ll have available, it will probably make them sick. It’s better to wait until we reach the compound and eat there. I’ll send Badger a text to have some hot food ready when we arrive, something that will be easy to digest.”
“Thank you,” she said.
I waited until she was in the van before getting on my bike. We had a few hours of travel ahead of us, and I wanted to start as soon as possible. Vega and his gang were unlikely to be reported missing. Eventually, a policeman would discover their bodies, and questions would arise. Fortunately, the gun I used hadn’t been involved in any other illegal activities, so even if my bullets were traced back to it, there would be no connection to me. I was going to scratch up the inside of the barrel, wipe off any fingerprints, and get rid of it. Getting a new one wouldn’t exactly be difficult.
Before pulling out onto the road, I paused long enough to text Badger as I’d said I would. Once we hit the highway again, I’d get us to the Devil’s Fury as fast as I could. Even if I didn’t know what sort of reception I’d receive, none of this was about me.
We ended up stopping twice more for bathroom breaks, and when we pulled up to the gates at the compound, the sky was starting to lighten. The Prospect standing guard, came out, hand on the gun at his hip as if he was just waiting for us to cause trouble. I remembered those days. Somewhat.
“Tell Badger Ram is here with the women,” I said.
His eyebrows rose and he stared for a minute. “Where’s your cut?”
“In my saddlebags. These women are tired, hungry, hurting, and most of all they’re scared. They know I’m a biker but seeing me in the club colors probably wouldn’t have soothed them any. Just open the fucking gate.”
His gaze narrowed, but he did as I said. It seemed Badger had spread the word I was returning, or at least told this little shit to let us inside when we got here. Off to a great start.
I parked outside the clubhouse, then waited for the women and girls to get out of the van. I didn’t hear any noise from the clubhouse, which meant if there’d been a party, it was over with. Just the same, I opened the doors to peek inside before letting the women in. Once I saw Badger and two other brothers, and no one else, I stepped inside.
“Why the fuck have you been gone all this time?” Slash asked.
“Nice to see you too, VP. Had some shit to sort out.”
He snorted. “You done?”
“Maybe. Guess that depends on how welcome I am around here.”
“Look, we all know you went Nomad after something happened. If Badger knows the reason, he’s never said. None of us will push you for answers, just know you’re always welcome here,” Demon said.
“Thanks.” I eyed the club president. We’d spoken multiple times since I’d been gone, but this was my first time seeing him in person since the day I rode out of here. He’d aged quite a bit. So had I for that matter. I’d been a kid back then. Not so much anymore.
I introduced them to Talia, helped push two tables together and got the women situated with plates and drinks, then I went behind the bar to grab a cold beer. I didn’t know how this was going to play out, but it looked like I’d be sticking around for a while. If they really meant it, and I was welcome here, then maybe it was time to put down some roots.