Ryder Read online

  Her mother might be the actual target of her father, but that didn’t mean Taylor was safe. Her father was a dangerous man, and for all I knew, he could have her killed for the mere sake of it since that would be the best way to get back at her mother.

  He was vindictive and mean, and the MC he ruled was known for their ruthlessness. I had no doubt in my mind if he had the chance to remove his daughter, he would. And, I didn’t mean in the way of safety, either.

  Bud lived his life with his own agenda in mind. He didn’t care who he hurt or what he did. As long as he got what he wanted at the end of the day, then he was happy. Hell, there were times when I was sure he did things just to prove to the rest of the world that he was the one in charge. He called the shots, and no one was going to stand in his way.

  “I need you to come with me,” I said.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Taylor shot back. “And, you can’t make me.”

  “It would be the smart thing to do,” I told her. “You could be in grave danger.”

  She hesitated. Her mouth opened as though she was going to say something, but then she closed it again and began pacing back and forth in the room. I knew she was agitated, and I wanted to make it better for her. I wanted nothing more than to take her in my arms and hold her close. I wanted to promise her it would be okay – I would take care of her.

  They would be all the same promises that I had given her before. The promises that I had been trying to keep as much as I could. I had spent the past ten years watching over her, and even if she didn’t like it or appreciate it, that didn’t change the fact I would continue to do so.

  It was my job, and more than that, it was my life. I had fallen for this woman a long time ago, and nothing was going to change that. She was the one I wanted more than any other woman on the planet. And, she would be mine. I wasn’t going to let anyone come near her, but that would be so much easier if she would cooperate.

  “It’s your fault I’m in any sort of danger to begin with,” Taylor tried a new approach, but I wasn’t having it.

  “I didn’t do anything to you, but protect you!” I snapped. “You’re the one-” I started, but as though she were waiting for the chance to argue with me further, she came right back at me.

  “If you had just told me what was going on with my mother in the first place, I wouldn’t be in this position now!” she snapped.

  “I told you then why I couldn’t do that, and I’ll tell you again now why I can’t!” I told her condescendingly. “It’s not safe for you to know where she is, and I’m not going to risk putting her or you in danger because you want to know what’s going on in the situation. You’re going to have to trust me with this, and that’s just the way things are.”

  “I don’t trust you!” Taylor challenged. “You promised me you were going to take care of me, but look what’s happening now! Do you think this is taking care of someone? Really?”

  “I think I’m doing exactly what needs to be done, actually,” I told her. “And you need to come with me. The rest of the MC wants to touch base with you after it’s been so long, and I think you really should calm down and listen to what they have to say.”

  Taylor hesitated once more. It was clear to me she wasn’t quite sure how to respond to any of this. She didn’t want to go with me. That was beyond clear by her attitude, as well as her actions. But, I didn’t care about that. In fact, the only thing I cared about was her being safe, and if I had to pull a few strings to get her to listen to me, then I would do it.

  She had to pull her head out of her ass and set aside what she so adamantly assumed was right. And, if I had to be the one to tell her to do it, then so be it. I had put up with so much out of her already, I wasn’t afraid to do more.

  Taylor folded her arms against her sides and held them there with her elbows, looking at me with a defiant gaze. But, behind those eyes I could see the pain she felt. She was afraid, and I didn’t blame her.

  But, if she would just let her guard down for a little bit, I could help her. I would help her. More than anything, that’s what I wanted. I would keep her safe, just like I promised all those years ago.

  She just had to put her guard down and trust me.

  Chapter 13

  Taylor

  I couldn’t believe what was happening. The last thing I wanted to do was go with Ryder, that was for damn sure. I couldn’t make it any more clear to him I wanted him to just go away and leave me alone, and he couldn’t make it any clearer that wasn’t going to happen.

  But, I was still taken aback when he said he wanted the rest of the MC to see me. Or, rather, that the rest of the MC wanted to see me, in fact. It had been so long since I’d seen any of them outside of the bar, and when they came through, I was always distant on purpose.

  I didn’t want anything to do with any of them, and I wasn’t going to change my stance on that no matter what. I knew how they were, and I didn’t care what they had to say to me. I didn’t trust them.

  “So,” Ryder broke into my thoughts. “Are you coming or what?”

  “What do you mean, am I coming?” I asked, trying not to laugh. “Do you really think I’m going to get involved with you again?”

  “Yes,” he said. “Yes, I do. Your life could depend on this, Taylor. And your mother’s life, for that matter. I have a lot of reasons why I want to take you with me, but this is solely for your own good this time. I can’t just step aside and let you be your own worst enemy!”

  I tried not to show what sort of effect his words had on me, but it was hard not to. After all, he did have a point. I knew how my father could be, and if he were really coming after me – if he had found my mother, even – I really could be in grave danger.

  She could be in even greater danger. He wanted her dead. I knew that for a fact.

  He was infuriated after she left, and he vowed to hunt her down and put her back in her place. He wasn’t going to stop until he had finished the job – and that ended with my mother in the ground. Or, so I assumed. I was sure if he ever got his hands on her again he would make sure no one ever found what remained, and the thought of that alone was enough to give me chills.

  “Come on. You might hate me and everything the MC stands for, but the least you could do is talk to Jett after everything he’s done,” Ryder said.

  Once more, I nearly laughed in disgust. I wanted to tell him to take Jett a message, but I didn’t want to get into that with him. I just wanted him to go away and leave me alone. I wanted this whole situation to go away, in fact, but I knew the only way that was going to happen was if I were to give Ryder what he wanted.

  I would go with him to the MC, and I would hear what they had to say, but I sure as Hell wasn’t going to go along with any of their plans. The last thing I needed was to get involved with them again after everything.

  I had seen too many people who were part of MCs, and I knew the kind of men – and the kind of women – who got involved. The last thing I wanted to do was to be tied to them in any way. They could try to act as though they were good people, but I knew the truth.

  These were the kind of men who were trying to kill my mother, after all, I thought. Sure, these might say that they were on my side, but what did that really mean? What did I mean to them?

  My father had a lot of money, and from what I could see, these men were largely fueled by money. But, I knew more than anything, I wanted to get rid of Ryder, and I had a feeling if I were to do that, I was going to have to be smart about it.

  I wasn’t a kid anymore, and I’d grown used to doing things my way. That was the end of that. There wasn’t any way I would debate it with any of them, even Jett.

  He might be their leader, but guess what? I was the president’s daughter. I knew how to say no, and I wasn’t going to let myself get stuck in the idea they were intimidating or were able to help me. These were the same kind of men who had ruined my life in the first place. I wasn’t going to go back to that for any reason.

 
; I didn’t care what they tried to say to scare me. I didn’t care what they tried to do to convince me I would be safe. The facts were the facts, and the fact of the matter was that I had made up my mind already, and I wasn’t changing it for anyone.

  I knew what I wanted, and that was the end of that.

  I just had to stick to my guns and get out of there.

  “I thought you said we were going to the clubhouse?” I asked as we pulled up in front of an apartment.

  “We use this for a substitute when we can’t talk about things at the bar,” Ryder said over his shoulder. He had finally managed to convince me to go and at least talk to his president, but I thought we would be going to Echo Mori, not to some house.

  “Big turnout?” I asked. There were bikes in the driveway and along the street, but Ryder merely shrugged as he led me into the driveway.

  “There’s enough people here to discuss what we’re going to do next,” he replied.

  “I’m not going to do anything,” I told him. “I told you I would talk to Jett, but that’s all I’m doing. If you’re not going to tell me where my mother is, then there’s nothing to discuss, and that’s all I have to say about that.”

  “You say that now, but I think once you hear what he has to say, you’re going to change your mind,” Ryder said over his shoulder.

  “Not likely,” I told him.

  Ryder merely shrugged. I was glad he wasn’t going to argue with me further. There wasn’t anything he could say or do that would convince me this was a good idea. The only reason I had agreed to it in the first place was to get him off my back.

  Hopefully this time, for good. I didn’t want to see him anymore, and if there was anything I could do that would keep him from coming back into the bar when I was working, that would be great.

  If there was any chance I would get over him, then I was going to have to stop seeing him, even if he only did come into the bar to see me.

  I followed Ryder through the front door and into a living room. A large table had been put in place, and several of the MC members were gathered around it. I recognized some of them, but others were entirely new faces to me. I didn’t care to get to know any of them, and refused to smile as I sat down.

  “It’s been a while,” Jett said with a nod toward me as I walked into the room. “How’ve you been?”

  “Better,” I said with a shrug. “The sooner I get out of this Hell hole, the better.”

  “Well, I’m afraid you’re not going to get out of anything if you keep acting like you have been,” he said.

  “What do you mean?” I asked with a laugh. “Is there reason for me to be looking over my shoulder? I’ve been out of the MC business for quite some time. Hell, I wasn’t ever part of it to begin with, as I recall.”

  “Sadly, you were born into it,” he said with a shrug. “And because of that, you’re going to have to deal with some of the repercussions that came with who your parents are.”

  “I don’t think you know what you’re talking about,” I told him.

  “I know, you’ve made that clear. So, I’m just going to have to tell you to trust me,” Jett shrugged, clearly not at all bothered by the way I was challenging him.

  “I’m not going to trust you!” I snapped.

  “It would be easier on everyone if you would,” he replied. “Including your mother. She’s the one who wanted us to watch over you in the first place. If you could just let us do our job, we wouldn’t have to worry about nearly so much.”

  “If my mother really cared about me, then why didn’t she reach out to me?” I was surprised with the force the words came out of my mouth. I knew I was upset, but I didn’t realize I was that upset. But, as I spoke, I looked from one face to the next.

  I tried not to show how nervous I was. I really wanted to prove a point to everyone at the table, including Ryder. They had to know I didn’t need them to take care of me, and I wasn’t about to ask any of them for help. Hell, I had asked Ryder himself more than once to tell me where my mother was, and the answer was always the same.

  Now, I didn’t expect Jett to give me much more of an answer. From the look of him and many of the other men who were at the table, not much had changed for them through the years. It was as though they had been frozen in time. Only now, the wear and tear of the life they chose to live was starting to show on each of them.

  There were scars on faces and arms. There were cuts and even some fresh bruises. I could only imagine the things they were doing that could have given them the fresh injuries.

  “Your mom cares about you a lot, but I’m sure not going to be the one to sit here and try to convince you of that,” Jett said. “I’m not your therapist.”

  I laughed, but the looks on the faces of those who were at the table told me how unamused everyone else was. Jett continued,

  “Your mother trusted us to take care of the situation, and she trusted us to keep an eye on you after she was taken to safety. The whole reason she didn’t write to you was so there wasn’t a chance you would get caught in the middle of any of the drama that happened between her and your father. Now, you can either cling to that and continue to act like a spoiled brat, or you can move on with your life and grow up.”

  Immediately, fury filled my chest. I knew Jett had to have a hard life, just like practically everyone else who was in the MC, but that didn’t change the fact that I wasn’t going to put up with him telling me what to do. He wasn’t the one who had been told he would be safe with his mother that night.

  He wasn’t taken from his home and everything he knew when he thought things were going to be better. He didn’t have to deal with living in a safe house, but still being offered back to the one person he was most afraid of in life. I had to deal with all those things. And, I had to act as though I were okay through it all.

  At the time, I had Ryder to lean on through it all, but now, I didn’t feel like I had anyone. I didn’t even feel like I could trust Ryder, even if he was right there.

  “Don’t tell me what my mother did and didn’t do,” I snapped. “You don’t know her!”

  “Right now, I’d say I know her a lot better than you do,” he said with a shrug. I could have slapped him, I was so infuriated with the way he was treating me.

  But, before I had the chance to argue further, Ryder stepped forward. “Let’s talk about what the next steps are, shall we?” he asked. “We’re not going to get anywhere sitting around and bickering about the semantics of what was. We need to talk about what’s going to happen next.”

  “Ryder’s right,” Blade said. I remembered him more than any of the other faces at the table, except for Ryder and Jett himself. Blade was second in command, I knew that, though he hardly ever came to Clarence’s. I didn’t mind that. Just like the others, he was rough around the edges and not the sort of person I wanted to have anything to do with.

  I hated that he and Ryder agreed on anything, even though I expected them all to gang up on me as soon as I got into the house.

  “First of all, we’re going to have to talk about protection,” Jett said. “I have a feeling that since your father knows where your mom is, he’s going to drag you back into the mix. You’re the one thing your father can use against your mother. Whether you like it or not.”

  I shook my head. “I haven’t seen either one of them in years, so I really don’t know how you think I’m going to get caught up in the middle now.”

  “You’d be surprised,” Jett said.

  “I’ll protect her. It was my job from the beginning, and I’m not going to stop now,” Ryder said, before I had the chance to reply to Jett. I felt my stomach drop. I hated this entire situation, and I didn’t know how I was going to get out of it. I wanted to walk back out the door and tell them I would take my chances with my father, but there was a part of me that felt they might be right.

  If my father had finally hunted down my mother, I didn’t want to think about how he would take care of things with her. And if she
was still under the protection of the Steel Wings, then there was a chance he would come after me just to make sure she suffered.

  I didn’t like the thought of that, at all. He might not have had a lot of interest in me when I was younger, but the fact of the matter was it wouldn’t take a lot for him to hurt me.

  I could want to leave Fallen Hills with a passion, but for now, I was stuck here, and I didn’t want to get caught up in another round of drama being stuck. I had to play it cool and get out of here. That was my only chance at ever being happy with life.

  “The best thing for you right now is to stay here with us,” Jett said.

  I opened my mouth to reply, but Ryder chimed in once more. “I agree. And, I really think you should consider it.”

  “I don’t care what you have to say about it-” I tried, but Roman, another face I recognized, was agreeing with the other two.

  “You don’t get it, do you!” Jett snapped. “Your father has your mother – whether he’s holding onto her somewhere or just knows where she is, we aren’t sure, but if that’s the case, then it’s only a matter of time before you’re next!”

  I clamped my mouth shut. There were so many things I wanted to say, but it was hard for me to get any of the words out. I wanted to tell them all to go to Hell, but then, I was also frightened. I didn’t want to think about what was going to happen to me if I were left on my own.

  At the same time, I wasn’t sure what would happen if I let them watch me, either.

  But then, things got even worse.

  “We’ll make room for you. But the decision has been made. There’s no way you can just be set back out on the streets. Not with the rumors that are circulating right now. The last thing we need to deal with is a murder of the person we’re supposed to be taking care of.”

  “Agreed,” Jett said with a nod.

  My heart raced in my chest, and I looked from one face to the next, knowing it didn’t matter what I said or did. I had to get out of there. But, from the sounds of things, they weren’t going to let me go.