Present Day

 

Reagan Lee paced her room at the Ruthless Bastards Clubhouse, they were on lockdown which meant no one left without an escort.  Well, that wasn’t exactly right, none of the women were allowed to leave without an escort.  Shit, Shit, Shit!  She needed to leave, and she needed to leave without anyone knowing where she was going.  She was so close to having all the information she needed, but without those final pieces, she was dead in the water.  Brayden needed this, he needed to know he wasn’t responsible for what happened so long ago, and she had the proof, well, most of it anyway. 

Brayden “Tank” Taylor was her kryptonite, always had been and unfortunately, probably always would be. The problem was he made her weak, defenseless, and small, and she didn’t like feeling any of those things.  There was a moment in time when Reagan thought they could be everything to each other, but that time passed quickly.  Now he punished her constantly for a decision she’d made to set him free.  Of course, he had no clue about that, but hell, did it matter? The damage was already done.

Their story started out as a typical cliché, she was the girl from the wrong side of the tracks, he was the towns favorite son, star quarterback and an all-around good guy.  Brayden had the world in the palm of his hands, colleges were vying for him, even some Pro Teams, and he promised he would take her with him, getting them both out of Defiance once and for all.  At first, she didn’t believe him, but he pursued Reagan until she finally relented.   He promised her the world he held in the palms of his hands, and she greedily accepted.  Then tragedy struck. 

The same night she agreed to meet him after the homecoming game, everything changed.  He changed, his world crashed and burned, and Reagan never heard from him again.  He ignored her or scorned her, it just depended on the day.  After they graduated, he went into the Airforce and Reagan went to college; that was the end of it.  Until six months ago when she walked into the RBMC begging Tuck for help.  Tuck was the President of the Club.  He collected people and Reagan had the honor of being one of those people.  Tuck was the biggest, baddest biker around, but his core was soft.  He wouldn’t like hearing that, but it was the truth. 

Shit. Getting her stuff together, Reagan made her way downstairs; she needed to find a way to leave the Clubhouse, her time was almost up.  She’d promised Tuck she would be gone in six months and that time ended in two days.  The guys were all out, she had heard the rumble of their pipes as each one made his way down the drive toward wherever they were going this morning.  It had been like that pretty much every day since the lockdown began.  The guys would go out, and everyone else stayed in the clubhouse.  Well, today was going to be different because she was getting out. 

Blade was at his usual spot at the bar.  The man looked like Santa Claus it was actually kind of funny because he even had the jolly laugh down.  Reagan had really come to like him.  He watched over the Club as a father would or at least that was Reagan’s thought, God knew her father wasn’t anyone’s example on how a parent should act. 

“Hey Blade where is everyone?”

“Oh, you know, hon, out on runs, doing business.  What are you up to today?”

“Well, we need to do a grocery run, supplies are running low. Tank said I could grab a Prospect and head on out to Browning’s to pick up some stuff.” 

“Tank said it was okay for you to leave?”

“Yep, he’s running low on that jam he likes.  Plus, there’s a bunch of other stuff we need to feed the hungry hordes each and every day.”

Dang, it was harder than Reagan thought it would be, she hated lying, but what choice did she have? She went behind the bar and started wiping it down.  The Clubhouse always needed something cleaned, the men of the RBMC weren’t known to clean up after themselves, and she had taken upon herself to do it for them.  Right now, though, cleaning up was helping her keep her eyes down and away from Blade’s all too knowing ones.  At least that way she didn’t have to look him in the eyes while she lied her ass off

“Well, hon, if you’re sure that Tank okayed the trip, SlimJim is available to take you as long as you can pull him away from Flo.” 

Shit, SlimJim was a double-edged sword as far as Reagan was concerned; on the one hand, she could manipulate him enough to lose his ass, on the other, he creeped her the hell out.  He was always staring at the girls like they were meat, he wasn’t like the other Brothers in the RBMC.  He was mean and hell, she didn’t know exactly, maybe shifty was the word. All she knew was she didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him and since he was at least a foot taller than her and outweighed her by about hundred pounds that toss would make it far at all. 

“You might want to ask Addy if she needs anything before you go though.”

“Will do, Blade, thanks.”

Shit, just add another nail in her lie coffin.  She and Addy had been friends since kindergarten.  Addy knew her as well as anyone that was the main reason Reagan had been putting on a front.  She was living a lie right now, and she knew sooner or later Addy would call her out.  It had already happened once, but Reagan was able to deflect by saying a bunch of shit about her being a Club whore and Addy being an Old Lady.  The truth was she wasn’t anyone’s bitch except Tank’s, and even that was stretching the word. 

Tank claimed her as his personal puppet the day she came to the club and offered herself up.  That was both good and bad; the good, he was the only brother that got to touch her, and he did touch her often as long as someone was watching.  The flip side, outside of that he didn’t even talk to her.  Reagan knew that everyone thought they were always having sex, but that wasn’t the truth.  He would make a big show of pulling her off to the bedrooms upstairs and then leave her. 

That didn’t mean he didn’t torture her daily; if another brother, puppet, or prospect was present he, would kiss the hell out of her, even use his hands to bring her to orgasm. It was both humiliating and exhilarating, but the entire time he would be whispering in her ear, mocking her decision to become a puppet.  Soon he would know the truth, and a little part of her wanted him to feel bad about the way he had treated her.   

Reagan walked into the Clubhouse, and it was chaos. What the hell had happened?  She hadn’t been gone that long.  Hell, her pseudo trip the grocery store had gone exactly as planned.  She was able to ditch SlimJim and Flo rather quickly when she had them go to another store promising to meet back up with them.  She was pretty sure that they had “other” things on their minds instead of shopping.  Hell, Flo was practically deep throating the guy’s tongue the entire way to the store. 

Once they dropped her off, Reagan went inside and waited for them to pull away.  Calling a cab, she went to the storage facility.  She only had one drawer of information left to copy and download, and she was hoping the discs and drives contained the last bit of evidence to prove to Tank he wasn’t to blame for the accident that had changed both of their lives so many years ago. 

The task of breaking into the unit and then leaving was becoming routine. She was in and out of Mr. Taylors storage room within an hour.  She still needed to take one more trip, but this one would give her what she needed for Tank.  The last trip would give her the rest of the information she needed to take down Taylor, Worthington, and Potter.  Laptop and backup drives in hand she walked out and closed the door, thinking that one more time and she could leave this all behind.  While she was screwing the face plate back on the lock, Reagan was grabbed from behind.  Shit.

“Ah, it looks like little sister has some of the family blood in her after all. What you up to Reagan?” 

“Shit, Bobby.” Reagan almost started to panic, this wasn’t good. Did he know what she was doing?  Why was here?  All those questions ran through her mind.  But then she took a really good look at her brother.  He had lost weight from the last time that she had seen him, his skin was a sickly, yellow color, and he had scabs and scrapes on his skin that weren’t covered by his dirty clothes.  His eyes were bloodshot, and his pupils took up most of his iris, shit, he was tweaking hard. 

Reagan pushed him away and it kind of shocked her that he actually moved.  Bobby was a mean son-of-a-bitch on a good day, but when he was high, he was like the Hulk on steroids.  Reagan had suffered at his hand more than once, and she didn’t want a repeat.  Thinking to herself, been there done that, had the fucking bruises to prove it. 

“What are you doing here Bobby?”  Reagan asked, deciding diversion was best at this point.

Her brother just laughed this maniacal sound was new, and it scared her.  He had always been a few nuggets short of a happy meal, but now he just sounded as insane as he was. 

“Oh, that is rich, Rea. What, I can’t check up on my sister?  We are the only family we have left, so I thought I would keep an eye on you since you stopped coming by the house and all.” 

“Momma kicked me out, threatened to call the Cops if it tried. Why would I go back there?”

Bobby slapped Reagan’s cheek hard. The sting was enough to bring tears to her eyes. 

“See, that’s what I was thinking about, you never let Ma’s threats keep you away from Lexie before, but now that she’s gone, you fucking disappeared too.  It seems to me you might have known all along that the little bitch got away.”

Oh fuck, this wasn’t good. Reagan only needed a couple of more days and then she would be gone, no one the wiser.  But her brother’s questions were too close to the truth.  In the past, she wouldn’t have let her mother’s threats keep her away from Lexie, but since she knew that Lexie was safe, she had stayed away.  God, how could she have been so stupid.  Reagan was just so used to the Lee family not seeing her that she never thought they would notice. 

“What are talking about? Where’s Lexie?”  Reagan yelled, playing stupid. She hoped that she put enough of a frantic craze in her voice and gestures to this off.  When Bobby didn’t say anymore, Reagan pulled on her drama 101 classes from college and started crying.  “Where is Lexie, Bobby? Tell me right fucking now!”  Reagan was going for an Oscar with this act.  Hitting his chest, crying uncontrollably and screaming at the top of her lungs.  She saw it the moment her brother had enough, the fist that connected with her stomach was expected, but still brought her to her knees.  Damn, he hit hard.

“Shut the fuck up, Reagan. I don’t know how you did it, but I know you had something to do with it, and I’m going to find out what.  Once I do, I’m going to make you pay.  Do you know what losing that little bitch cost me?” 

Reagan couldn’t stop now, she needed to get away from Bobby and finish what she started, ensuring that Lexie and Brayden had lives without the taint of the families they were born into.  Reagan didn’t know what she was going to do, but she would figure it out.  As long as the two people she loved most in this world were safe, she could do anything.  Hell, hadn’t she been saying the same thing for the last six months?  Maybe if she said it a couple of more times, she would believe it because being with Tank was killing her slowly.  His words and action were putting nails in her coffin that would never come out. 

By the same token, being away from her sister, not seeing her every day to know that she was happy and healthy, was completing Reagan's destruction.  She trusted Tuck, but seeing was believing in her book.  Reagan learned a long time ago that trusting someone only leads to heartache, and promises weren’t worth the breath it took to speak them.

Bobby started pacing, but he stayed close to her like he was afraid she might disappear or something.  Every time he made a pass, a part of his body would brush hers and Reagan would take a step back.  It didn’t take long for her to be plastered against the storage building with nowhere to go. 

“I’ve been watching you, Reagan, at least when you’re not spreading your legs for those fucking bikers.  You don’t come to the house, go to work, or anything else unless it’s to come here.  Made me start wondering what was so special about this place? So, I started looking around to see what you kept coming back for. You know what I found?”

Oh shit, this wasn’t good. If Bobby knew what she was up to, he would either turn her over to those men or want the information she had to blackmail them, and Reagan wanted no part of either.

“Imagine my surprise when I found out that goody two-shoes, Reagan Amanda Lee, was starting up her own family business.”  What the hell was he talking about, Reagan didn’t have the first clue.  Bobby started laughing again and the sound grated on her nerves. 

“Those bikers must not be giving you everything you want, had to take matters into your own hands.  I have to admit for a few seconds I was proud of you breaking into the lockers, stealing shit, it’s almost a perfect plan.  After all, no one would suspect you, being such a nice girl and all, but we know the truth don’t we Reagan?  Blood tells, and you’re a Lee through and through, too bad Ma and Paw aren’t around to see it.  See I didn’t need no fancy college degree to put shit together, used the brains I was born with. Maybe you should try it someday?”  Bobby emphasized his words by thumping his finger against Reagan’s forehead.  “Now I want my cut.”

Damn her brother was so fucking stupid, he thought she was stealing from the storage lockers.  Well, in a way she was, but not in the way he thought, but this worked for her, she could still pull off what she needed to and not have to worry about Bobby until she was done.  Then something what he said registered.

“What do you mean if Ma and Paw were around they would be proud?”

“Oh, didn’t any of those bikers tell you about the fire? I don’t know why I should be surprised, little Reagan is so fragile after all,” Bobby said mocking her.  “Yeah, happened about a month ago, didn’t even have to call the county to pick up the bodies.  Took out Ma, Paw, Brandon, and the authorities think Lex, too; assholes are so stupid.  Didn’t even have to have a funeral, just let the wind take their asses away; it was kind of poetic, you should have been there.”

“What do you mean a fire took them out?” Damn it, Reagan might not have liked her family, but she didn’t want them dead.  Rotting in prison, sure, but dead, no that wasn’t the plan. 

“Cost me some bank to pull that shit off,” Bobby was laughing again, and it was really starting to get on Reagan's nerves.  But she was listening to the words he wasn’t saying.  He set that fire up, she knew it. Damn, Brandon was only twelve, he had still had a chance. Now Reagan was crying for real.  There was no need to fake the pain she was feeling and maybe just maybe, a little of that pain was for the loss of her parents, and although they didn’t deserve it, they were still her parents. 

“Shut the fucking blubbering, you don’t give two shits about our family.  I know it, and they knew it too. If it wasn’t for the little bitch, you would have been shot of us a long time ago.”  That was when the fucking jerk decided to punch Reagan in the face.  Damn, she should have known better than to let her defenses down around him, but the shock of learning her family was all gone caused her to be careless. 

“Now, here is how this is going to work. You’re going to give me seventy percent of your take. Right now, you’re going to give me everything you have on you.  We will set up a time and place to meet next week, and you will give me the rest.”

When Reagan didn’t move or say anything, Bobby started to yank at her laptop bag.  Shit, she needed him to stop, if he destroyed her laptop, she wouldn’t have what she needed.  Reaching into her pocket Reagan pulled the wad of cash out that Blade had given her to go shopping.  It was only a couple of hundred, but it should be enough to satisfy her brother and get him off her back. 

“Here, it’s all I have right now.  Just leave my laptop alone; if you want more, then I’m going to need that. If you break it, then there won’t be anything for either of us.”

The money seemed to take his focus for a second, the look on his face was almost euphoric.  He was probably already thinking about his next hit of drugs.  A little of salvia even dripped out onto his chin; gross.  The one good thing about it was that after he had the money in hand, her brother was ready to leave, Reagan couldn’t be happier.  She would need to hit the bank on the way back to the Clubhouse to pay the RBMC back, but at least now she knew she was going to make it back. The money would be well worth it.

Before he left Bobby told Reagan that they would meet again next week right there.  He made some threats about what would happen if she didn’t show up, and Reagan did her best to look defeated and scared.  The truth was, Reagan knew if all went well, she wouldn’t even be in Defiance next week and her brother could go fuck himself for all she cared.