Talia
We had arrived at the compound without any trouble. While the bikers seemed large and a bit scary, they had been kind to us. They had fed us soup with crackers and provided a variety of drinks. With our bellies full, the only thing we needed now was a place to shower and sleep. I didn’t know where they planned to put us. It seemed best to let Ram take the lead.
The moment the men welcomed him, the tension seemed to leave Ram’s body. They’d spoken of him being gone for a while. It only left me with lingering questions. We knew nothing about the man who had saved us, nor did we know anything about the place he’d brought us to. I could tell the others felt relieved and even safe. As much as I hoped they were right, part of me still feared this could be a trap.
Ram came over and pulled me to the side. His grip was firm yet not hard enough to hurt me. It reminded me he’d always been gentle with me, even when I’d been openly skeptical about his reasons for helping us. If none of this was an act, then he really was a good man. I hadn’t realized those still existed.
“Without much notice, my club wasn’t able to prepare very well for the six of you. There are two places they are calling apartments, each with two beds. That leaves two of you sleeping on the couch or floor in each unit. Unless the bravest of you wants to share the house they’re giving me.” I opened my mouth to tell him off, thinking this sounded far too much like he expected the sort of payment none of us wanted to give, but he lifted a hand to stop me. “It’s not what you think. I’ve been told there is a three-bedroom house that’s mine if I would like to stay. Since I don’t plan to go anywhere, at least not right now, I’m claiming the house. You’re welcome to use one of the extra bedrooms.”
He’d taken me by surprise again. He seemed to be doing that frequently. Every time I expected the worst, he proved to be a kind and thoughtful person.
“Why me?” I asked.
He smiled. “Did you miss the part where I said the bravest of you could stay with me?”
As much as I didn’t want them to, his words flattered me. I’d been called a lot of things in my life, but only Ram had ever used words like brave or fierce.
“And where is this house located?” I asked.
“I haven’t seen it yet so I’m not certain, but it would be here at the compound inside the fence. Which means you’d be safe from the outside world. Several of my brothers have families now. The six of you will not be the only women, and I’ve heard there are also children. I’ve been gone for so long I haven’t met any of them yet. Except for one. Adalia is Badger’s woman, and she was the adopted daughter of Grizzly. I was told Grizzly passed away, so you won’t be able to meet him.”
“How is it that you know her but none of the others?” I asked.
“That’s a story for Badger or Adalia to tell you. All I can say is that she’s been here since she was close to Riley’s age.”
He was right about one thing. Knowing there were other women and even children here did make me feel a bit better, unless of course they were kept in cages like Vega had done to the others.
As if my thoughts had conjured them, two women entered the building. One walked over to Badger, and I assumed she was Adalia. The other approached the man named Slash. Each woman had a bag in their hands.
“If I had to guess, I’d say they brought a few things the six of you might need. Would you like to meet them?” Ram asked.
I gave a nod, even though I doubted those women would say if they were being hurt or not, with there being three big bikers in the room.
Calm down. Stop assuming the worst about everyone. I straightened my shoulders, stood a little taller, and followed Ram over to the two couples.
“It’s nice to see you again, Adalia,” Ram said. “This is Talia. she’s one of the women I brought with me.”
“You haven’t changed at all,” Adalia said. “You look exactly the same as when you left.”
Badger folded his arms over his chest. “She’s not entirely wrong. How is it that you look the same and I seem to have aged two decades?”
Ram shrugged. “I think the stress of being the club’s president is what aged you.”
Badger smirked. “No doubt.”
The other woman gave us a smile and a slight wave from where she stood next to Slash. “I’m Shella. It’s nice to meet you both.”
“I don’t mean to pull Ram away from this reunion, but I think the others would really like to rest now. Could someone show us where we’ll be staying?” I fidgeted a little as apprehension filled me. Maybe I should have stayed quiet. Would these men be angry I’d interrupted?
Badger flashed me a quick smile, setting me at ease. “Sure thing. Sorry if we got a little caught up. Would you feel more comfortable if Adalia and Shella led the way?”
“I’d like to go with them as well,” Ram said. “Unless Talia thinks that would be a bad idea.”
As if I could tell the man no. For one, Riley seemed to really like him, and trusted him. And second, he was the only person we somewhat knew in this place. We might all still be strangers, but at least we’d experienced Ram’s protectiveness.
“I think they would like that, especially Riley.”
“Who is Riley?” Shella asked as she scanned the other women.
I pointed her out, which only drew Riley’s attention. The moment she saw me standing with Ram, she got up and hurried over. The bright smile she gave him made my stomach knot. Please don’t betray her. Prove her trust in you is not misplaced.
“Riley, this is Shella and Adalia. They’re going to show us where all of you will be staying.” Ram placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze before letting go.
She looked like a kitten eager to lean into his touch. I didn’t know how old Ram was, but I guessed he was in his late twenties to early thirties. Not quite old enough to be her father, but too old to be her boyfriend in my opinion. I didn’t know if she saw him as a replacement for her dad, or if she’d fallen in love at first sight. I didn’t think either option would bode well.
“We’ll take you to the apartments,” Adalia said. “Once you’ve had time to rest, make a list of anything all of you need. Even food preferences. Each apartment has a fully equipped kitchen. We’ve placed a pad of paper and pen on the counter in both kitchens. There’s also a list of phone numbers on the fridge. We want to make your stay here as pleasant as possible.”
“We appreciate your help,” I said.
I motioned for the others to follow us. I took the lead of my small group, walking right behind Shella and Adalia. Ram brought up the rear. For some reason, it left me feeling reassured. I knew I had trust issues, but it felt like maybe I was beginning to open to him a little more. If he proved to be a liar, I’d deal with the fallout later.
The apartments were close by. It looked like they had more than two, but I assumed the ones they showed us were the only vacant units. Riley stuck beside Ram the entire time, and I noticed she grabbed his hand at some point. He let her, acting as if he hadn’t even noticed. It seemed he was Riley’s security blanket for the moment. I didn’t know how that would work moving forward, but it didn’t hurt anything for now.
Heather and a teen girl called Anna decided to take the first apartment. Marci looked from me to Riley as we toured the second apartment. I knew what she wanted to ask. Only two beds and four of us left.
“Where are you staying, Talia?” Riley asked.
I glanced at Ram. He waited patiently, letting me decide if I wanted to accept his offer. Being here with the women would be nice, but at the same time, if this really was a trap, then we’d all be cornered like rats. Staying somewhere else in the compound wasn’t an entirely awful idea. Ram was a stranger to us, but he was at least a little familiar after what we’d been through tonight. If he’d wanted to hurt us, he’d have left us behind, right?
“I’m going to stay at Ram’s house,” I said. “In the guest room.”
“There’s a storage building at the compound. We don’t store regular mattresses there, but we do have guests to the club often enough we’ve bought a handful of air mattresses. If anyone would prefer one of those instead of a couch or the floor, we can grab some,” Shella said.
Riley pressed closer to Ram and looked like she might cry at any moment. “Can’t I go with the two of you?”
Ram arched an eyebrow and gave me a look that clearly said, It’s up to you. Great. I didn’t feel right inviting people to stay in his house. Didn’t matter if he hadn’t had it until this very moment. It was still his.
“There’s only two bedrooms set up in the house right now,” Adalia said. “We didn’t think anyone would be staying with Ram and had to furnish the place quickly. There weren’t a lot of options at the store so late at night. It’s just those mattresses that come in a box, so we put a mattress cover on them to help mask the scent. They smelled really bad when we opened them. The Prospects let them air out as long as they could, but Shella and I finished setting up your house when we heard you were here.”
“Oh!” Shella smiled. “Since we couldn’t get a couch so last minute, we did get a futon at the store for you to have a spot to sit in the living room. It folds out into a bed.”
Riley stared at me with big eyes and I knew that’s where she wanted to sleep. I gave her a nod, and Ram flashed me a smile. It seemed I’d made both of them happy, even though I didn’t understand why he wanted the young teen there. I’d ask about it later. Now wasn’t the right time. And if I felt a teensy bit jealous, well, I’d keep that to myself. It was ridiculous. It’s not like Riley wanted him to be her boyfriend or something. Ram made her feel safe, and that’s all there was to it.
Why did I care anyway? I felt so conflicted. I wanted to keep him at a distance, and yet, I also wondered what it would feel like to lean on him a little. Something told me he gave good hugs, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had one of those.
“Then it looks like Marci and Renata will share the second apartment,” I said. “Is there a phone at Ram’s house? Can we add the number to the list?”
“There’s not,” Adalia said.
“They can call my cell phone.” Ram went into the kitchen and wrote his number on the sheet stuck to the fridge. “Tomorrow, the four of you can see where the rest of us will be staying, and you can come over whenever you want.”
“How long will we be here?” Heather asked.
“As long as you want to be,” Adalia said. “If you decide to make this town your home, then you can use the apartments while you find jobs and save enough money to get a fresh start. But please don’t feel like we’re forcing you to stay here. You can leave whenever you want to.”
“We need to get our things from the van,” I said. “I’m sure they’d all like to shower and get some sleep. I know I would.”
Adalia gave Shella a gentle shove out the door. “We’ll leave you alone for now. Ram, to get to your house, just follow the road around the bend. It’s a white clapboard with black shutters. When you see the large oak tree on the left, the house is just past it.”
Ram walked them out, and I led the others back to the van. Once Ram and I saw they were secure in their apartments, he eyed his bike, then started walking down the road. It looked like he’d have to leave it behind since he couldn’t very well fit three people on it.
“Wait,” someone called out. I saw it was the man called Demon. He scared me, in all honesty. Something about him felt incredibly menacing. He tossed a set of keys to Ram. “Take a club truck. You may need it later anyway. We just put the bare basics into your house. I’m sure Badger will want to call Church soon, so everyone can welcome you back properly.”
“Thanks,” Ram said.
We all got into the truck and drove to Ram’s new house. It was easy to find and looked rather charming. I thought it would be really cute with some shrubs or flowers out front. I doubted a biker cared much about those sorts of things. I saw a barn not too far off, and wondered if they had livestock here. Just what sort of bikers were these?
We explored the house with Ram, set up the futon with blankets and sheets for Riley, then she and I took turns showering in the hall bathroom. By the time I’d dried off and dressed in my pajamas, I noticed Riley was sound asleep. Noise in the kitchen drew my attention, and I found Ram sitting at the table with a cup of coffee.
“Won’t that just keep you up?” I asked.
“Not really. Makes me focus, but the caffeine doesn’t keep me from sleeping.”
I pulled out a chair and sat. It was a really small, square table with four chairs, but at least they’d made sure he had something. It looked nice, even if Ram did seem too big for it.
“May I ask you something?” He gave a nod. “Why did you agree to let Riley stay here?”
He leaned back and took another swallow of his coffee, seeming to contemplate the question for a moment. “Remember when I said Adalia came here when she was around Riley’s age? She reminds me a bit of her from back then. Wounded. Not wanted. Guess I just wanted her to feel safe, and like she had a place where she belonged. If being here with me gives that to her, then fine.”
I should have known he’d give an answer like that. So far, everything he’d done had been for us. Well, maybe not killing Vega and his men. I hadn’t asked his reasoning for it yet, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Some things were better left shrouded in mystery.
“I’m going to bed,” I said, standing and stretching a little. “Thanks for everything, Ram. I mean it.”
“You’re welcome.” He drank more of his coffee and watched as I left the room.
No matter how long I stayed here with him, I wasn’t sure I’d ever figure him out. And maybe that was all right.