Sadie
THREE WEEKS LATER, I arrived home looking forward to the long weekend. I’d survived my first week at my new school, but I was tired and already needed a break. I’d seen Ryder the sum total of six hours over the past few days, my work schedule was taking all my energy, and the issues with Scottie taking all of his... not to mention the ongoing investigation for the six girls who had gone missing from the Frog. Ryder upped the club’s security and had everyone on high alert, pulling overtime himself in an effort to keep anyone else from disappearing, and it was working. But his diligence meant our time together was limited, so I missed him horribly.
Unlocking my door, I stepped inside and switched on the light. An older man wearing motorcycle boots, jeans, and a leather vest sat on my sofa, his arm leaning against his knee, holding a gun pointed right at me. I opened my mouth to scream, but a rough hand clamped over my mouth before I could get much sound out, and I was dragged to the chair next to my sofa.
“So you’re the bitch who has my son turning over a new leaf,” he said. “Never seen him go to church willingly before.”
Hatch Carsen.
I didn’t know who the other man was, but Hatch and Ryder looked scarily alike, and it made my skin crawl. My heart raced and I felt sick to my stomach. Were they here to kill me? Beat me? Rape me? The options of what might happen were way out of the realm of what my mind could handle.
“If Brick releases you, do you promise not to scream?”
I nodded, desperately wanting the filthy hand removed from my face. Ryder’s father nodded to his crony, who stepped back and crossed his arms, blocking my only exit. I wiped my mouth and swallowed. “I thought you were in jail?”
“Witness recanted, which means they can’t prove I did anything. Wasted a year of my life, but that’s a story for another time.”
I didn’t know whether or not Ryder knew his father had been released, but now I was even more frightened. How did one get out of jail after being in for only a year? “How did you get into my apartment and what do you want?”
“B and E’s a specialty of mine, and as far as what I want? Well, that’s easy. I want to know where my girls are.”
“What girls?” I asked, trying to figure out what B and E meant.
Hatch sat back, reclining as though he belonged on my sofa... in my living room. “The girls my son stole from me.”
I frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“See, darlin’, I think you know exactly what I’m talking about, and it pisses me off that you’re playin’ dumb.” He nodded to Brick. “Lucky for you, Brick here likes dumb bitches and bonus, you’re pretty, so I’d imagine he’s gonna have some fun with you.”
I shot off my chair and made a run for my bedroom... I didn’t get far. An arm clamped painfully around my waist and I was dragged against Brick’s strong body. I screamed and kicked and did everything I could to break his hold, but he just held me tighter.
“Bring her here,” Hatch ordered.
Brick threw me on the sofa and my head connected (hard) with the wall, dizzying me. I gasped at the pain. I tried to move again, but Brick slid his hand to my throat and squeezed, holding me to the pillows. I scratched at his arm, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Loosen, brother. I don’t want her dead... yet.”
Brick did as he was ordered and I dragged in as many breaths as I could.
“Ryder currently has in his possession thirteen pieces of property that belong to me. You tell him that if they are not returned, there will be consequences that I’m pretty sure neither of you are willing to deal with.”
“They are human beings!” I snapped. “They’re not property.”
He chuckled, glancing at Brick. “The girl’s got spunk. I like that.”
Brick grinned, his teeth rotting and yellow. He was terrifying.
“I also like that you’ve decided to come clean.” Hatch leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “Somethin’ you may not know, darlin’, is that my apple don’t fall far from the tree, so to speak. He’s been in the life long enough to know who the players are and how the game is played, and right now, he’s playing a dangerous one.”
I had no idea what he meant by Ryder being in the life. I probably didn’t want to know.
“You are disgusting,” I hissed.
“I think she’d fetch a high price, Brick,” Hatch continued. “However, not enough to cover what I’ve already lost, so we’ll save her for another time.”
Brick licked my face, his slimy tongue making its way down my cheek as his fetid breath choked me and I tried not to scream again. I was afraid he might kill me if I did.
“The deal is, Sadie, I know where you work. I already have someone watching you, and I know you wouldn’t want anything to happen to any of your students.”
“What?” I squeaked.
“Isn’t there a pretty little blonde girl there, Hayley? I’ve heard all about her. She’s a foster kid who’s a handful, from what I understand.”
I forced back tears. Hayley Kennedy was actually one of my favorite students. Yes, she was a foster kid, yes she had guts and could come across as bossy sometimes, but she was also über smart and kind to her friends even when they weren’t so kind to her. The first to help one of them if they were stuck on an assignment and the first to help me if I ever needed something. I adored her.
“She’d be the perfect addition to our harem, I’m thinking,” Hatch said, and my blood ran cold. “No one would miss her.”
“I’d miss her!” I snapped. “Don’t you dare touch her!”
Hatch rose to his feet and walked to my door, turning when he reached it. “Tell Ryder I’m done with games. The girls are delivered to me in forty-eight hours... he’ll know where... or he’ll experience somethin’ worse than hell.” He sneered. “And so will you.”
He and Brick walked out the door, closed it behind them, and I rushed to lock it, somehow feeling as though that would protect me.
* * *
Ryder
Ryder’s phone rang and he smiled. “Hey, baby. Ready for the long weekend?”
“Ryder,” he heard Sadie rasp.
He went rigid. “Sadie, what’s wrong?” All he heard was sobbing. “Are you at home? Baby, where are you?”
“I’m at home,” she hiccupped out.
“What’s going on?”
“Can you come?”
“I’m on my way, honey. Don’t move.”
“I won’t. But can you hurry?”
“What happened?”
“I need you,” she said. “I won’t move, just hurry.”
“Okay, baby, I’m on my way.” He called Reese as he climbed into the BMW.
“Hey,” Reese said.
“Something’s wrong with Sadie. Get Ollie and Axel, get to her place, and we’ll go from there.”
“You got it.” Reese hung up and Ryder sped toward Sadie’s, practically daring a cop to pull him over.
Arriving at her apartment, he parked next to the fire lane and made a mad dash up her stairs. The door was locked, so he banged. “Sadie?”
“Ryder?”
“Yeah, honey it’s me. Open the door.”
“I...”
“Sadie, baby, open the door.”
The door inched open and frightened eyes looked out at him, then Sadie pulled the door open fully and stepped back.
Ryder shoved down his panic as he walked inside, closed and locked the door. She paced the floor but moved away when he tried to get close to her. He forced a smile and reached out his hand. He wouldn’t touch her until she was ready. Something happened to freak her out; he just couldn’t imagine what.
She glanced at him and then his hand, before meeting his eyes again. She frowned, studying him like she was trying to work something out. “You look like him.”
His heart stopped. “Who, baby?”
“Your dad.”
“Baby, Hatch is in prison.”
“No. He’s not. He got out. The witness recanted.”
Shit!
She raised a hand to her head and closed her eyes with a grimace. “It hurts.”
“Your head?”
She nodded.
“He hurt you?” He tried to keep his rage in check, but he wasn’t sure he’d succeeded.
Sadie wrinkled her nose in disgust as she rubbed her palm against her cheek. “I scrubbed and scrubbed, but it still feels so gross.”
Ryder had no idea exactly what happened and he wasn’t sure Sadie did either. Her sentences were scattered. “Okay, baby. It’s okay.”
“Ryder?”
“Yeah, honey.”
“What’s ‘the life’?”
“I’m sorry?”
“The life. He said you’ve been in ‘the life’ long enough to know how the game is played.”
Shit!
“I’m not in the life anymore, Sadie. I got out of it. It’s one of the reasons my father hates me.”
“But what is the life?” she asked again.
“Club life.”
“You used to be in the motorcycle club?”
“Sort of. Not really. I left before I had to make a choice to be a recruit,” he explained. “It’s a really long story and I need to make sure you’re okay. Can I hold you?”
She gave him a very slight nod and he didn’t hesitate to pull her into his arms, stroking her back as she burst into tears. “He wants the girls, Ryder.”
“Hatch?”
She nodded, closing her eyes. “Brick... he...”
“Brick was with him?” He leaned back to look for injuries. Brick was a mean son of a bitch and one of his favorite pastimes was beating women. Ryder noticed some redness around Sadie’s neck, but she’d been grasping it, so he wasn’t sure if the marks were made by her. “What did he do, Sadie? Did he hurt you?”
“He slammed me against the wall and squeezed my throat...” She whimpered when she touched the skin again. “He...” She shuddered. “He licked me.”
“Let’s get some ice on your throat,” Ryder said, guiding her to the kitchen.
“He knows where I work, Ryder,” she said as she took the ice from him and laid it over her throat. “He threatened to hurt Hayley if you didn’t return the girls. He said he has someone watching me.”
“Hayley is one of your students?”
She nodded. “The foster one I told you about.”
“I remember.”
“Hatch said he’d put her in his harem.”
She shivered and Ryder pulled her to him. “I won’t let that happen, honey. Neither of you will be hurt.”
The familiar sound of pipes elicited a feeling of relief for him, but frazzled Sadie.
“They’re back,” she squeaked, grabbing for Ryder.
He peered out the kitchen window and pulled her close. “No, baby, it’s the crew.”
“Hatch’s crew?”
“No, Sadie. Mine. Reese and a few of my guys.”
She sagged against him.
“Honey, Hatch won’t touch you. You’ll never see him again.”
“You can’t guarantee that.”
He cupped her cheek. “You don’t think?”
“Stop it!” Sadie shoved him away. “Your bravado’s grating on me right now.”
Ryder crossed his arms. “Sadie, this isn’t bravado, it’s a promise. He won’t bother you again.”
“We should call the police.”
“And say what?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe that your father broke into my home and threatened me?” she snapped.
“You don’t understand how this works, baby. The police can’t help you.”
Before she could respond, a pounding at Sadie’s door had her rushing to stand behind him again. He hated this for her. His father would pay dearly for doing it to her.
* * *
Sadie
I couldn’t stop shaking. I’d never been so frightened in my life and it frustrated me. I should have called 9-1-1 before calling Ryder. I don’t know why I didn’t... I just felt I should call him first. I regretted my choice immediately, particularly when he stopped me from calling once he arrived. And now to find out he’d been in the same club Brick was in, it made me ill.
Someone pounded on my door and I lost my mind, grasping Ryder’s shirt and burrowing against his back.
“Baby, I’ve got you.” He took my hand, facing me. “It’s just Reese. No one will hurt you.”
It took me a little while to fully hear and trust what he was saying, but he didn’t move until I squared my shoulders and gave him a quick nod.
“I’m gonna answer the door now,” he whispered.
I nodded again and he kissed my forehead before stepping away from me. I heard him talking to Reese at the front door. At least, I assumed it was Reese; I didn’t want to leave the safety of the kitchen. I had a knife block directly to my left.
I’m not sure how long I stood next to the counter, out of view of the door, but Ryder came back in just as the sun set and darkness filled the room. “Baby?”
“Hmm?”
“I need you to pack a bag. You’re coming home with me.”
I shook my head.
He moved to stand in front of me, lifting my chin. “You’re coming home with me. You’re not goin’ to argue.”
“Yeah, I am going to argue.”
“You can bow out of teaching for a little while—”
“I have to go back on Tuesday, Ryder.”
“Or you can take a few days off.”
I threw my hands in the air. “It’s a job, not a hobby, Ryder! I have to be there on Tuesday.”
“Baby, if you’re at my place with Scottie and one of my crew constantly there, I’ll know you’re safe.” He stroked my cheek. “You’ll know you’re safe.”
“I can’t move in with you,” I argued.
“Sadie,” he admonished. “You’re not moving in, baby. You’re coming to stay until I sort out this shit with the sperm donor.”
I scowled up at him. “Please keep talking to me like I’m an idiot, Ryder, it helps.”
He dragged his hands down his face. “Will you pack a bag, please?”
“Yes, but I’m going to stay with my aunt.”
“No.”
I didn’t respond as I headed back to my bedroom, pulling my phone out as I went.
“Well, hello Sadie,” my aunt said.
I heard Ryder’s heavy footsteps as he followed me.
“Hi, Auntie. Would there be an issue with me staying with you for a few days?”
“Of course not,” she said. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, but something happened. I’ll fill you in when I get there,” I promised.
“Okay, honey. I’ll see you soon.”
I hung up and grabbed a bag from my closet.
Ryder stood in the doorway. “You’re not staying at the abbey, Sadie.”
“You don’t really have any say over it,” I replied, pulling open a dresser drawer and gathering up some of the clothing I might need over the next few days. As I threw things into my luggage, Ryder gently grabbed my arm. His touch scorched me and I hissed as I pulled away from him. “Don’t touch me.”
“Sadie—”
“No! Your father broke into my home and threatened not only me, but one of my students!” I bit back tears.
“I know, baby, which is why I want you at my place.”
I shook my head. “I think you and I need a break.”
“Sadie.”
“Just go, Ryder. Please. I can’t deal with this right now.”
“I’m not goin’ anywhere, Sadie.” He continued to stand next to my bed while I packed, his body stiffened, his arms crossed, watching me.
Within minutes my nerves were completely done in and I just needed... something. I didn’t know what it was, but it wasn’t him. “I really need you to go.”
“Not happenin’.”
I let out a frustrated groan. “You’re just like him!”
“What the hell?” he snapped.
“I asked you to leave, Ryder, and you’re standing in my bedroom refusing to.”
With a scowl that didn’t quite hide the hurt in his eyes, he turned and left my room, slammed my front door which shook my apartment. I thought I’d feel relief. I didn’t. I felt even more lost... and a little mean... but I couldn’t focus on that. I needed to get to the only place on earth I knew I’d be safe. I grabbed my bag, then my purse, and pulled open my front door.
Reese pushed away from the wall. “Hey, Sadie.”
I noticed the parking lot was devoid of motorcycles; however Ryder’s BMW sat in the red zone. I could only assume Ryder took Reese’s bike and left the car. “Go home, Reese.”
“Takin’ you to your aunt’s.”
“I’m fine catching the bus.”
He shook his head. “Don’t do that, Sadie.”
“Reese, seriously. I don’t need a chauffeur.”
“Don’t need my brother’s woman dead ‘cause she decided to make a bad call, either,” he responded.
“Pretty sure I’m not his woman anymore, Reese, so you’re off the hook.”
He dropped his head back and muttered his usual series of curses before studying me again. “Sadie, don’t pull this shit, okay?” He tugged the bag from my shoulder and I locked my front door.
I wouldn’t admit it, but Reese driving me to the abbey helped assuage the panic somewhat. In that moment, though, I wanted Ryder. I wanted to curl up in his arms and just cry, but I’d completely pushed him away, so I had to figure out what to do next. The only thing I knew for sure was that I couldn’t return to my apartment. I had no idea how to get out of the lease, but the thought of going back there made me sick.
* * *
Ryder
As ill-advised as it may have been, particularly without Reese at his back, Ryder didn’t head home as originally planned. He’d left Reese with his car and Sadie, then led his crew straight to the compound. It was time for a long overdue meeting with dear old Dad.
They pulled in, parked, and Ollie frowned as he dropped his helmet on the seat. “Looks shut down.”
Bennie, Axel, and Blake hung back with the other guys, giving Ryder and Ollie space.
Ryder nodded. “Which means only one thing...”
They’d be meetin’ with another club, their bikes somewhere out of sight so no one would know they’re there.
“I don’t think this is a good idea, Ride.”
Ollie was the son of the club vice-president, and the latest one to distance himself from the illegal dealings of the club.
“He threatened Sadie, Ollie.”
Ollie sighed. “Yeah, got it, brother. Just not sure it’s a good idea to barge in when they’ve got a soiree goin’ with another club. We’re outnumbered, and I get that it’s our parents in there, but not one of them have our back, especially now.”
Ryder seethed with rage. Ollie was right, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to wrap his hands around his father’s neck and squeeze.
“I wanna know how the hell he got out without me bein’ notified.”
“I’ve got a call into our guy at the prison to find that out, Ride,” Ollie said.
“Whatever you want, Ride,” Blake said. “We got your back.”
Before Ryder could respond, the storm door at the side of the building opened and Hatch and Brick walked out. Unfortunately for Ryder, there were more than a few men watching from inside.
“Well, lookie here, Brick. The prodigal son returns.”
Ryder saw red, but before he could unleash his rage, Ollie laid a hand on his shoulder. “Steady, Ride.”
“I see you got my message,” Hatch said, crossing his arms and stopping a few feet from Ryder... Brick beside him.
“What do you want, Hatch?”
Hatch sneered. “I want my property.”
“Sounds like a personal problem,” Ryder retorted.
“It’ll be your problem, you don’t return ’em. I’ll let you keep Scarlett. She’s more trouble than she’s worth. But the others? You got forty-eight hours, son.”
“Not your son,” Ryder hissed.
Hatch chuckled. “Forty-eight hours, Ride.”
Ryder moved his hand, but Ollie squeezed his shoulder again. “Not worth it, brother. We’re outgunned.”
Hatch and Brick walked back into the building and Ryder pulled out his cell phone.
“Hey,” Reese answered.
“You got Sadie?”
“Yeah, brother.”
“You at the abbey yet?”
“Nope,” Reese said.
“Meet you there,” Ryder said.
“Okay.”
Ryder hung up, swung onto Reese’s bike, and led his crew away from his old home away from home. They split off at the entrance of the freeway and Ryder headed toward Sadie.