Chapter 17

Ryder

"Hey man. We need some help. A pretty lady has a flat out back and you're the best one with cars." Jax tapped the table in front of me the next afternoon as I sat in the clubhouse and drank my worries away.

"Where the fuck is Axel?" I growled and stared at my friend.

"Dude, come on. He's still at the shop. Get your mean ass up and come on." He moved back and pulled his suit jacket off before laying it across the table. "It's starting to rain out there. I'm going to bring her inside and get her something warm to drink. Go fix the fucking tire."

"Fine," I barked and stood up. The sound of the rain pounding against the roof gave me no hope on getting the flat tire off fast and the new one on. I moved out into the storm as Hyde jogged up the stairs with his arm around a young woman with a toddler on her hip. "It's the blue one."

"Oh, the one with a flat tire?" I mumbled and walked down the stairs as the rain soaked my shirt. I reached down and pulled it off, not needing the extra weight. I felt entirely too heavy as it were. I hadn't seen or heard from Danielle in two days and the shit with Candace was weighing heavy on me. Was she really pregnant with my kid, and what did that mean for me and Dani? Would she be alright with me helping raise the little guy?

"Thanks for your help." One of the bartenders patted me on the back and jogged up to the lodge. I glance back to find everyone inside. It felt fitting considering where I was in my life.

Everyone was gone. Disappeared without a word.

Jason was with Maria and Neiman, or so I hoped. The guys were keeping their distance which was smart, but it hurt nevertheless. Danielle had fallen off the fucking map and wasn't returning my calls no matter what I did.

I grabbed the jack and worked to get the tire off for much longer than it should have taken. Someone patted my shoulder a little while later, and I glanced up to see Axel standing over me.

"Need some help, brother?"

"Yeah." I got up and pulled at the tire before chucking it over my shoulder. "I'll fix the tire and you deal with my dicked up life."

"How about I help with both?" He walked to the trunk and got the spare out. Both of us were soaked to the bone with water dripping down our faces and beards.

"Give me that." I reached out and took the tire before bending over and getting it to fit back on the car. I worked the thing back into place and finished up the job with Axel standing next to me. I finished and he offered me a hand. I took it and got up with his help.

We walked to the lodge in silence. When we reached the stairs, I dropped down on the top one and ran my hands down my face.

He sat down beside me. "What's going on, Ryder? You're not yourself right now."

"Yeah. I guess not." I shrugged and let my eyes move along the road. "Tanner King has my dick in a vise yet again."

"How so, man? Let me help."

"I'd rather you just stay out of it. I don't want you getting wrapped up in his shit again."

"You're my best friend, Jon. I'm not going anywhere." He reached over and patted my back. "Tell me what old Tan-Man is up to now. It can't be worse than killing your brother, Jon."

"No. It's not that bad, at least not yet." I let out a long sigh. It was rare that a sense of hopelessness settled on top of me, but it was one of those times. Every angle I looked at seemed bent. Every option was fucked up and failed. "Candace is pregnant."

"Oh, God." He pulled his hand back and cupped his face. "It cannot be yours. There's no way."

"Dude. I fucked her a week ago."

"Yeah. A week. It's not even been that long. It's not your baby, Jon. Get a paternity test."

"He was slapping her around in the fucking shop yesterday, Axel. I'm not asking for a paternity test. He put a fucking gun to her head as she started to cry and shake. What's wrong with this mother fucker? He wasn't like this when we were kids. It's almost like he sold his fucking soul to the devil, and now the piper has come to collect."

"Tanner has never been right, and you know that." Axel pressed his hands to his knees and lifted his face toward the heavens. "What does he want from you, Jon?"

"I'm not saying. I don't want you involved in this shit."

"Is it something you can do pretty easily?"

"Yeah." I brushed my hand down my face again, trying to wipe some of the rainwater off of me. "I'll just ruin any chances of a relationship with Danielle, but fuck it. We weren't going to become anything anyway. I don't need a woman in my life. I have enough shit to deal with."

"Dude. You met her a week ago."

"What's your fucking point," I barked and turned to face him. "When you know, you know, okay? It's like you and El, but I'm not dicking around. I'm pushing her to give me a chance, I'm making love to her and touching her and tasting her every goddamn chance I get. I don't know why she feels so right." I patted my chest hard. "But she does. I don't want to give up what we have, but if it'll save Tanner from taking out his wrath on me and Candace, then fuck it."

"No. We take him out. There's six of us, Jon. We'll take out his whole fucking MC. It's time to put them down anyway. They're a disease on this city. The things we've let them get away with for the last few years are deplorable. We'll be punished because of letting that shit happen."

"You don't know how powerful he is, Axel. You think you do, but you don't know shit." I stood up and rolled my shoulders. "I gotta get back in Dani's good graces to get this plan moving. The sooner I do what he's asked me to do, the quicker I can move on from this fucked up situation and try to live what's left of my life."

"Dude. You don't have to go at this alone." Axel stood and turned to face me.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out as my heart skipped a beat. I wanted it to be Dani so fucking bad. "It's my sister. I gotta take this. She's got Jason with her."

He nodded and looked like he wanted to say something else, but let it go and walked off.

I waited until the door closed behind me to move under the roof and answered the phone. "It's Johnny."

"It's Maria. We couldn't find Jason, so we went over to your place, Johnny and he's not there either." She was frantic, and her crying was making it hard to understand her.

I wanted to bark into the phone that he was her fucking problem and remind her how much of a pain in the ass the kid had been his whole life, but my timing was off. She was beside herself.

"I'm headed to the house."

"I'm scared to go into the bedroom, Johnny. He's not in there, but there's blood all over the sheets." Her voice broke.

"It's alright. I'll be there and I'll find him. Just go back to your place and lock the doors, okay? That fucking kid is into all kinds of things that would make my childhood look like a day in the park."

"Please be careful."

“Right. I’ll see if I can find him, if I can save him."

"He's not yours to save, Jon. Roberto wasn't either." Her voice was soft, compassionate, which was something I didn’t deserve.

“I’m the oldest brother in the Moretti family, Maria. Everyone is mine to save.”

I dropped the call. Who knew where Jason was, but if I had one guess, I'd have pointed right to Tanner King’s house. The fucker was after me, and what better way to get to me than using my family and friends? He knew how I felt about Jason namely because of the suffering he enjoyed when I broke down at Roberto’s funeral.

Fury boiled in my stomach as I walked back into the lodge to grab my keys and my shirt.

"Hey. You alright?" Hyde moved up beside me, walking fast and keeping stride with me.

"No. Jason's missing again. I'm headed to the house to find him. If he shows up here or you guys hear anything-"

"We'll call right away." Axel tossed me my keys and my shirt. "We got your back, Ryder. It's what we're here for. Stop pushing us away mother fucker. You set the tone for this club. Only you."

I nodded. "Thank you for the reminder. I'll be in touch."

"Good." Axel gave me a single nod before I turned on my heel and jogged back out of the lodge. The rain had let up a little, but not enough to make the ride home safe at all. At least not at the speed I went.