Chapter 23

Ryder

Axel pulled up beside me and pulled off his helmet before speaking. "He's going to know we're here."

I turned my bike off and motioned for the other guys in the MC to do the same. "He already knows where here, Axel. He's been goading me to do this for years."

"That's true, boss." Sabian moved up beside me, the bastard never wearing a helmet. "What's the plan?"

"We're just going in both barrels blaring. Try hard not to get your ass shot. Got it?" I turned and looked at everyone as they crowded as closely around me as they could.

"Let's do this shit." Hyde started his hog again and swerved around all of us.

"Well damn." I pulled my helmet back on and took off after him. The bastard was crazy as all get out no matter what we did. Scary enough, time wasn't going to change that, or it didn't seem like it was.

I half-expected shots to be fired at us from the windows, but the house sat quietly as we drove up. I motioned for two of the guys to move around to the back and one on each side just in case anyone made a run for it.

After parking my bike, I walked up to the front door with my gun drawn. Axel stood just to the left of me.

"Let me kill him, Jon. You got Jason you need to raise and a family that depends on you. I ain't got anyone. Let me do this for you. For all of us."

"Not a chance." I stopped in front of the door and glanced over at him. "Besides, there's a pretty girl back at the shop that's just waiting patiently for you to stop being a pussy and ask her out."

"Ellie?" He almost sounded surprised.

I snorted. "I hate you sometimes."

"Ditto."

We turned and kicked the door down before pulling back. Nothing. I knelt and leaned around the opening to see if anyone was waiting for us. No one.

"Weird. Where are these mother fuckers?"

"Not in here." Hyde walked through the lobby of the mansion toward us.

I rolled my eyes and got up. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Taking one for the team. Hello?" He waved his gun around.

"Put that up." Axel nodded toward the gun. "Check all the rooms and see where these mother fuckers are."

"They knew we were coming." I walked in and tucked my gun in the back of my pants. "How though."

"Fucking Tanner King has eyes everywhere, man. You know as well as I do that his little sister probably told him. She plays whatever part he gives her. We all know that." Sabian walked in through the side door near the study. "She told him."

"And he ran?" Jax asked. "No way. That's not King's style at all."

"Jax is right." I turned in a full circle before catching the scent of gas. "Get the fuck outta here. The place has a gas leak."

Everyone ran for the front of the house and bounded down the stairs. We barely made it to the yard before the house exploded, which sent us flying. Fire lit up the night behind us, and the sound of groans filled the air.

I lifted up in time to see a bike cut across the field with two people on it. One had to be Cade and the other? A woman with long hair. I couldn't make out her figure as my ears rang and my face burned.

"There." I lifted my hand to point to them before I dropped back down on my side. I blinked a few times and growled as someone pulled me by my arms back away from the house.

"He alright?" Flex dropped down beside me.

"Yeah. Give him some fucking room." Axel growled.

"I'm good." I rolled onto my stomach and tried to get up. The world spun a little, but I reached out and grabbed Axel's arm. "Fuck. Did the-"

"Yeah. The goddamn house exploded." Jax walked up. "Unbelievable. You know how much money that fucking house was probably worth?"

"King doesn't care." Sabian reached out and patted the side of my face. "Ryder. You alright, boss?"

"Yeah. Someone lit that fucker on us." I pointed again. "I know I saw Cade drive off, but there was a woman with him."

"Candace?" Axel asked.

"I don't know. I don't think so." My head throbbed painfully as worry danced deep inside of me. Had Dani been on the back of that bike? Was that her promise to Tanner? She'd told me straight up that she was to deliver me to him. What better way to do it than piss me off with the idea that Tan was fucking with my girl. That he had somehow hurt her or kidnapped her?

Was Jason in on it too? He'd been the one to plant the seed.

"Hey. Stay with us, buddy." Axel was in my face. "You alright."

"Yeah. Get the hell outta my personal space." I pushed at his chest and walked away from them as the fire burned bright behind me. I had to get myself together. I was getting paranoid. We'd come to take Tanner out, and the bastard had almost single handedly taken all of us out - together.

He couldn't have pulled that off alone.

Not without the help of someone close to me.

Or several someones.

*

It took a while to get back to the lodge, but when we did, Candace was still there. The bartender confirmed that she'd been there the whole time, and hadn't used her phone once. She was pretty pissed when I insinuated that she was in with Tanner.

"Axel. Take her to your place, man." I pointed at her and narrowed my eyes. "I find out that you were involved in this shit and you're gonna wish you never showed up here for help."

"Jon. Seriously?" She locked her jaw.

"Yeah. I'm dead serious right now." I nodded at Axel, who gave me a look of understanding. He had my back, even if it meant taking my pregnant ex-girlfriend to his place until things could calm down. "I'm going home to sleep for a few hours. I'll touch base later. Thanks for tonight."

"Anything for you, boss. Sorry, it got fucked up." Sabian's voice followed me out of the lodge as he and the other guys tried to figure things out.

Frustration and fury burned deep in my stomach as I reached my bike and got on it. If Candace hadn't left the lodge, then who the fuck was on the back of Cade's bike? There were only a few choices, and really only one that made sense.

Danielle.

"No," I mumbled and started the bike, deciding to forgo the helmet. Death was coming for me sooner rather than later. I might as well enjoy living on the edge until it showed up.

The ride home helped to calm me down a little, but not nearly as much as I needed it to. The sound of someone in my dining room when I walked in had me on edge.

"Don't pull out that gun." Tanner walked out from the kitchen with his gun in his hand. Cade sat at my kitchen table with his gun pointed right at me.

"I can't believe we mattered enough tonight for you to blow up your daddy's old mansion." I put my gun on the table and walked to the kitchen, moving around them like they were guests in my house. I grabbed a beer and popped the top, drinking half of it before walking back out and sitting down at the kitchen table. "Your mom would be heartbroken if she knew that house was trashed. She sold a lot of pussy for that place."

"Fuck you, Jon." Tanner hit me in the back of the head - hard.

I took another sip of my beer and leaned back, letting out a sigh. "What can I do for you boys tonight?"

"You know why I'm here." He moved around me and pulled a chair right up to mine before dropping into it.

I reached out and gripped his head, smacking mine into it and busting his nose.

"Boss?" Cade stood and moved closer, his gun pointed right at my face.

"You fucker. I shouldn't have fallen for that." Tanner gripped his nose and smiled as blood dripped down his white shirt. "How many times have you broken my goddamn nose?"

"Too many to count." I finished my beer and let out a growl before shifting my attention to Tanner's boy. "So tell me something, you big fucker."

"What?" Cade barked out as he reached over to get a towel off the kitchen table. He tossed it at Tanner.

"Who was on the back of your bike tonight? Out at Tanner's momma's house?"

"Dani." Cade tilted his head to the side and smiled. "Who did you think it was? Your baby momma?"

"What do you want from me, Tan?" I leaned back in my chair as if I was more than relaxed having them both in my house. It wasn't a surprise. Tanner King was predictable at best. He didn't want to fight. He wanted loyalty. He wanted to feel like I belonged to him like I was still in his camp.

"I need that file. Dani has it in her desk drawer, brother. Ask for it."

"I'm not your brother, mother fucker. You were dead to me a long time ago. You know this."

Tanner chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "Axel never made it home with Candace."

"What are you talking about?" I tried to keep my voice steady even though my nerves were on edge.

"One of my guys put a bullet in her head about a mile from the lodge." He shrugged. "And you're welcome."

"What?" I moved to grab him, but Cade pushed me back.

I stumbled over my chair and fell on my ass, hitting my already-sore head on the wall behind me. "You killed your own fucking sister?"

"Yeah. For you." He shrugged and stood up. "That wasn't your baby, man. She was a whore like mom was."

He was a sick motherfucker when we were younger, but he'd gone off the deep end now.

I reached for my phone, searching for it. "Fuck."

"Candace slipped it out of your pocket at the lodge for me." He pulled the rag from his face and moved closer to me. "Women can't be trusted, Jon. You know this. All of them are sick bitches, and they deserve what they get. Candace didn't care about you, neither does this cop."

"Get out or shoot me, bitch. I'm too tired for this shit." I turned to get up, and he kicked the hell out of my ribs. Blood dripped from my mouth as I groaned and still forced myself to stand. "Get out."

"Get the file."

"Or?"

"Don't ask, man. I have no soul. I'll take anyone and everyone out." He patted my back.

I swatted his hand away. "Whose baby was it, Tanner?"

"Jason's." He laughed and walked to the door. "Get the file, and the cop can go free. Otherwise, we'll dope her ass up and send her off to the next orgy as a free-for-all. Just like I did her sister, Tani. Super horny slut. I wonder if Dani is any better."

A scream of rage erupted from me as I forced myself toward him. "I fucking hate you."

"I know." He backed up and motioned for Cade to join him. "I hate you too."