Ridin' Dirty: An Outlaw Author Anthology (OAMC Book 1) (23 page)

Ruby
Tattoo artist

Have you ever had one of those fucking days, that when you look back on it, you think to yourself
what the fuck was I thinking?
Well, today is that day for me.

I’m sitting in a hospital bed that I probably can’t afford to be in, as some dickwad called an ambulance when they found me passed out, and covered in blood at the back of work. Gingerly I touch my cheek as a nurse walks into my room, which is being generous, as it’s only a bed with curtains all the way around it.

“Nothing is broken honey, but we’d still like to do that rape kit, if you let us,” she says in a soothing voice.

“I told you already, I wasn’t raped, they just beat me up,
assholes
.” I mutter the last word under my breath.

A look of concern washes over her features, but to me it looks condescending. Nurse Patty gives me a tight smile and nods as if to say,
yeah sure
.

“Look, I just want to go home. I wasn’t raped, I’ve been raped. Trust me when I—“

“They raped you?” growls an angry Rebel, as he throws open the curtain.

“No! I. Was. Not!” I yell.

“You just
said
you were raped.”

“Yes, I did, but not this time.” I put my hands over my face and sigh. I need this fucking nightmare to end. I feel the bed dip and then rough hands cover my own.

They are pulled down, and I see Rebel’s look of concern. “You weren’t raped this time?” he whispers. I nod. “This time they just beat you up?” I nod again and his features twist into a mask of rage, without realizing, I push myself back into the pillows trying to get away from him.

“You’re upsetting her.” Nurse Patty says.

He ignores her and puts his forehead to mine. “What do you want to do?”

“I want to go home,” I whisper.

He stands, grabs the plastic bag with my clothes, pulls the sheets down, and places an arm under my legs and the other around my back.

Nurse Patty stands in his way. “She needs to fill out a police report.”

“She can do it tomorrow. Now, move.” His tone is cold and his eyes are full of rage. Whatever Nurse Patty sees, she moves out of his way.

He carries me through the hospital and to his bike that is parked on the sidewalk. My thoughts are chaotic and all I can think is,
he could have had his bike impounded
or
gotten a ticket and he really shouldn’t have parked there
. Slowly he lowers me to my feet.

“Are you able to hold onto me?” He sounds concerned, nothing like the man who just told Nurse Patty to get out of the way.

“I think so.”

“No, Ruby, can’t have you falling off, it’s a yes or no question. We can get a taxi if you can’t ride,” Rebel replies.

“Yes.”

“Good, now, honey, I need your address.”

The words spill out of my mouth as I tell him where I live. He takes off his jacket and helps me put it on.

“I want you to hold on as tight as you can, okay?” Rebel climbs onto his bike and holds out his hand.

I put my hand in his, then, with his help, climb on, grateful that he has given me his jacket. It’s miles too big for me, and it will give me a small amount of modesty as we ride through the streets of Vegas. I hold onto his waist, and he swivels to look at me.

“Tighter, Ruby, I won’t break, but you will if you come off.”

I nod and lean into him holding on as tight as I can, when he seems satisfied with my grip, he takes off into the night. It’s surreal, being on a bike as the world flies by. Maybe it’s just the day I’ve had, and the fact I am showing my butt off to the world as we speed to my home, or maybe it’s the lack of shoes while my hair is swirling all over the place, but it occurs to me, that I feel safe. Not sure why, but when I woke up, Rebel was the first person I thought of, not that I have any family or real friends here in Vegas, I’ve only been here a few months. My normal M.O. is to work until I have enough saved then move on to somewhere else. I never stay in one place for long. I don’t need the memories, or old acquaintances catching up with me.

The bike slows, and I realize we’re almost to my trailer. Rebel pulls up, and turns the engine off.

“You can let go now.”

Slowly, I release my hold on him, and climb off the bike. He hands me my plastic bag of clothes and does the same.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to stay. Thank you for picking me up.” Something flickers across his face. As he sighs, he rubs a hand over his baldhead.

“Ruby, you’re going to let me come inside so I can check that no one is waiting for you. Then I’m going to make you something to eat, while you get ready for bed. Okay? So, go open the door.”

I’m not normally this compliant; my normal response would have been
fuck off,
but with Rebel, I nod and fumble through the plastic bag looking for my keys. As I try to get the key in the lock, I shake so much that his hand closes over mine, and he does it for me.

“Wait here,” he orders as he goes through the door.

Stupidly I wait, staring at the ground, listening to the sound of him walking through my home. I like trailer parks mainly for the anonymity of them, and most people stick to themselves.

“Okay, let’s get you inside.” He holds out his hand to me and I go through the doorway.

“Thank you, Rebel.”

In an authoritative voice, Rebel says, “Go shower, I’ll cook.”

I nod and go toward the back of my trailer where the tiny bathroom is. It’s the only thing about trailers I don’t like. Sometimes if I’ve made enough money, I book into a good motel, just for a night, so I can soak in their tubs, or better yet, spa baths.

I place Rebel’s jacket on my bed, drop the plastic bag on the floor, and reach around and undo the cord that’s holding my gown together at the back. I let it fall to the floor, then I turn on the light in the bathroom, and see my reflection in the mirror.

My left cheek-bone is swollen, my bottom lip is split and is going a lovely shade of purple. I’m going to look awful tomorrow. I turn the water on and step into the shower. The cold water feels good as it washes over my body. As if on auto-pilot I wash myself, wincing when I get to my lower back. One of the men who attacked me, kicked me so hard that I’m going to be sore for a while.

Reluctantly I turn off the water and step out onto my fluffy pink bathmat. The material feels nice on my feet and I begin to dry myself off.

I gasp as I wipe over my back and I hear Rebel say, “Do you need any help?”

I’m exhausted, sore and naked. The last thing I need is some horny biker helping me dry off, but my back is so tender that I can’t bend to do my legs.
How do I ask him to help me without losing all of my dignity and flashing him at the same time?

“Ruby, it’s okay, I won’t hurt you.”

“I know you won’t. I wouldn’t have called you if I thought that, but I hardly know you.”

Slowly the door to the bathroom opens, and I wrap the towel around me. My hair is dripping and water is pooling around my feet.

“You look better. I think both of your eyes will be black in the morning – which isn’t that far away now.” He steps toward me, and guides me into my bedroom with our hands entwined. “Do you have another towel?”

“Yes, in the bathroom, behind the door.”

He turns and goes back in, emerging moments later with a pink fluffy one – it matches my mat.

“Sit down, Ruby.”

I do as I’m told, clutching the towel to my naked body. Rebel kneels in front of me and wipes down both legs, then he stands, lifts up my hair and places the towel around my shoulders. He moves behind me on the bed, and gently scrunches my hair up in the towel, trying to get some of the water out of it.

“Ruby, I need you to tell me what happened. When you rang you said they did this because of me, who were they?” Rebel’s tone is soothing as he tries to get me to talk.

“The Dark Warriors. They thought I was your old lady, or at the very least, a regular fuck. They wanted to know what the Savage Angels are doing with the Abruzzi family – whoever the fuck they are. At first they didn’t believe me, but when he kicked me and I screamed that I knew nothing, I think that won them over.” I try not to laugh, but I can feel my grip on sanity beginning to slip as my laughter bubbles up out of me. I can’t stop and I know I must look, and sound like, a crazy person. Rebel’s arms go around me, and he holds me tight as my laughter turns into sobs. The big, loud kind, with that awful noise I make when I try to suck in air. He’s stroking my hair, trying to sooth me.

I have no idea how long we stayed like that, but when my tears stopped, he got off the bed, pulled down the covers, picked me up and laid me down, removing my wet towels as he did. I watched his eyes as he did this, they never left my face, even when I was naked and exposed in front of him. Rebel pulls the covers up to my chin and leaves me in my room alone. I can hear him in the trailer and the smell of food makes my stomach growl, and even though I’m exhausted, I’m hungry.

He comes back into my tiny room, he’s not wearing shoes and he’s carrying two plates.

I try to sit up and when I wince, he orders, “Don’t move. Just stay there for a minute, let me help you.” He places the plates at the end, on the other side of the bed, and then comes toward me. “Okay, give me your hands.”

I slide my arms out from under the covers, and place my small hands in his bigger ones; gently he pulls me up and sets pillows behind me. When he’s satisfied that I’m comfortable, he goes back to the plates and hands me one. He’s cooked bacon and scrambled eggs with toast.

“Do you mind if I sit next to you?”

I shake my head. “Thank you, Rebel, for taking care of me, and cooking.”

“Well, I was starving, so it’s two birds, one stone.” He grins and winks as he goes around to the other side of the bed. I smile back at him as he gets himself organized. “Eat,” he orders.

I practically inhale the food I’m so hungry. I sneak a look at him only to find him watching me with a smile on his face.

“What?” I ask as I take a bite of my toast.

“For a little woman, you can eat. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone eat so fast with a split lip.”

My mind registers what he’s said, and as if on cue, my lip begins to hurt, then my jaw. Slowly I put down the toast, I don’t feel hungry anymore.

“Shit, sorry, Ruby, didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t, it’s starting to hurt. Guess I ate too fast.”

“Are you done? Do you need a drink?” Rebel asks.

“Yes, water please.”

As he gets up I look at his plate, compared to what I ate, he’s hardly touched his.

“Rebel, eat yours first.”

He looks down at me and says, “I will, in a minute.”

He leaves the room carrying our plates, and returns moments later with two glasses of water.

The events of the last few hours invade my mind. I don’t
know
this man, yes I like him, and was hoping to get to know him better, but
now
? When I’m nervous or stressed, words pour out of my mouth, I’m not even aware I’m doing it.

“I was leaving by the backdoor, the boss told me not to park out there at night, only during the day, ‘cause it’s not very well lit, and it’s deserted, but I’ve done it heaps of times. As I got to my car, I felt a hand go over my mouth, and he lifted me up, and threw me at his friend. I thought they were going to rape me. I was paralysed with fear, and the second guy laughed, pushed me backward into his friend, and backhanded me across the face. He kept hitting and asking me questions, eventually I fell to the ground, and he started kicking me. If the boss hadn’t come out to get rid of the garbage, I think I’d still be there. I was so scared, Rebel. What have you done to piss off the Dark Warriors? And why would they think I was with you? Fuck me, I only met you today!”

I can’t look him in the face, instead, I look at his fingers and see that they are balled into fists. I shrink away from him, he says, “You got anything stronger than water?”

“In the cupboard, under the sink.” I look up to see his face.

He nods and stalks out of the room.

Rebel

This is my fault. Fucking Dark Warriors must have been following me. When Ruby rang me tonight, I thought it was going to be a booty call. She was hysterical, it was hard to understand what hospital she was in, and now she’s asking me why? How do I tell her this has nothing to do with her, and she’s lucky they didn’t rape her? The words she spoke in the hospital still haunt me.
Not this time.
Meaning someone forced themselves on her in the past. No woman should have to go through that.

Under her sink is a very good bottle of whisky. I pour myself a glass and throw it back, letting it burn all the way down to my gullet, as if this can somehow make up for what happened to her. I pour another and do the same.

Slowly I walk back to her room, her trailer is clean, but shitty. She’s tried to make it nice with mats, and curtains, and girly shit, but they somehow make it more depressing. As I enter her bedroom, bottle of whisky in one hand, glass in the other, I take her in. Her whole face is bruised, and when I helped her sit up, I could see the damage they did to her when she was kicked, her dragon tattoo has red, purple and black bruises taking shape. She glances at me for a moment, then looks at her hands.

“Ruby, look at me.” Immediately she does as she’s told. “I’m sorry this happened to you. As far as I know, we didn’t have a beef with the Dark Warriors, but maybe they got wind of a deal we’re trying to nail down. They were probably following me and saw us kissing outside the shop. Believe me when I tell you, I never meant for this to happen.”

She nods, and a single tear escapes her eyes and runs down her cheek.
Fuck me.
It nearly kills me to see that. Without thinking I move to her, and gently wipe it from her face, she doesn’t flinch, but her eyes are wide and she looks frightened.

“Is there someone I can ring? Someone who can stay with you?” She shakes her head and I sigh. I pour myself another drink, and sip it trying to decide what the hell I’m supposed to do.

“Rebel?” I look her in the eyes. “I’m really tired –“

“Cool, I’ll go –“

“No!” she yells as more tears run down her face.

Gently I stroke her hair. “Okay, honey, tell me what you want.”

The tension in her body slowly fades away, and I’m surprised at how much I feel the need to protect her. The only other woman I’ve felt like this for is, Kat Saunders, but she’s married to the President of my Chapter.

“Could you stay? Just until I’ve had some sleep? I don’t think I could sleep without you keeping watch over me.” Her words are pleading, almost begging.

“Whatever you need, honey. Where do want me?” I smile.

“Could you watch TV in here, and sit beside me, is that okay?”

“TV won’t annoy you?”

“No, I fall asleep to it.” She admits.

I stand up and remove the pillows from behind her, so she can lie back down, then I pick up the whiskey and glass from the floor where I dropped them. I walk around to the other side of the bed and prop myself up on pillows, she hands me the remote, and turns to lay on her side, groaning in pain as she does. My hand goes to her back and I begin tracing the dragon on her, avoiding the bruises. Within minutes, she’s asleep.

The whisky isn’t enough to dull the demons that have resurfaced; my rage will have its vengeance on those who have hurt her. I pull my phone out of my pocket and text Cage and Cooper with Ruby’s address and the words:

Meet me here in three hours. Tell no one.

I unscrew the bottle, and start drinking straight out of it. The television is on, but I wasn’t paying attention to what program is playing, all I think about, is finding the Dark Warriors.

***

I wait for them outside, hoping the Harleys’ don’t wake Ruby. She hasn’t moved, occasionally she lets out a groan, which only fuels my anger. Even though they aren’t revving their engines, a Harley is still loud, and right now, it feels exaggerated.

Cooper pulls up and gets off his ride with a huge grin on his face. “So, Brother, who’s the lucky lady?”

“Yeah, Reb, who you fucking?” asks Cage.

For a moment I don’t say anything, I’m trying to keep my anger in check.

My face must betray what I’m thinking, as Cooper says, “Jesus, Brother, what is it?”

Before I answer, the door to Ruby’s trailer flies open, she has a robe around her. Her hair is wild, and the bruising on her face is more pronounced. She looks like a mess.

“What the
fuck
?” growls Cage.

Both men look from me, to Ruby, and back again, anger distorting their features. Cooper takes a step toward me, and I can tell by the look on his face, he means to do me harm.

“Wait!” yells Ruby, “It wasn’t Rebel. It was the Dark Warriors.” She lifts a hand to her hair and tries to smooth it down.

“Why?” demands Cage.

“They think we’re trying to muscle in on their turf. They thought Ruby and I were a couple, thought she knew something so they –” I pause and make a motion in Ruby’s direction, “ – they did this.” Her face crumples and she retreats back inside the trailer. “Give me a minute, yeah?”

I don’t wait for a response; I turn and follow her inside. Ruby makes her way back to bed and curls into a ball. I gather her up, and place her on my lap.

“Got to go out for a while, Ruby,” I whisper to her temple. “Will you be alright by yourself?”

She clutches the front of my tee and nods. I can tell she doesn’t want me to leave, but I can’t let this go. If they are willing to beat up a defenceless woman, what would they do to a Brother out there alone? This cannot go unpunished.

“Lock the door after we leave, and I’ll ring you when I’m on my way back, okay?” All I get from her is another nod. I need to hear her voice. I need to know she’s getting this. “Ruby, what’s your favorite ice cream?”

“Cookie dough,” she whispers.

“I’ll bring you back some cookie dough ice cream.”

She leans back and stares me in the eyes. “I need marshmallows to go with it.”

“Cookie dough ice cream, and marshmallows?” She nods. “You’re a nut, you know that right?”

“Have you ever had it?” she asks.

“No, I haven’t.”

“And you call me a nut, it’s good.” A small smile escapes her, and without thinking, I lean in and lightly kiss her mouth, trying hard not to hurt her split lip.

“Gotta go, I’ll ring later and I’ll have ice cream and marshmallows for you.”

She nods and I slide her off my lap, and back onto the bed, kiss her lightly on the forehead, and go back to the boys outside.

Cage and Cooper sit on their Harleys, looking pissed off.

“What’s the plan?” growls Cage.

“Find them and fuck them up,” I say.

“Good, let’s ride,” says Cooper.

“Do you know where to?” I ask.

“Yeah, Dark Warriors have a Clubhouse.” Cooper starts his Harley, and Cage does the same.

I climb onto my bike, and we ride out of the trailer park in a single file in search of the Dark Warriors.

***

Cage and Cooper must know every back alley in Vegas. When they finally pull up, it’s at the end of another alley, and the bikes are obscured from the road by large industrial waste bins. I kill my bike and climb off. Cage takes off his colors and drapes it over his bike, then makes his way to the end of the alley where he disappears around the corner. I start to head in the same direction, but Cooper grabs my arm.

“Give him a minute. Cage has a female friend who lives nearby, she might know something. We need to wait and be cool, Brother.”

I nod, but waiting around is not one of my strong suits. After ten minutes, I begin to pace, and at twenty minutes, I’m about to go in search of Cage when he comes back around the corner.

“What the fuck took so long?” I demand.

“Relax, Rebel, got this chick I see from time to time. She fucking knows everything that happens in this neighborhood, nosey, but she’s a good source of Intel.”

“Did she say anything?”

“Yeah, couple of prospects were bragging about how they handled the tattoo girl from Inkmare.”

“They used fucking prospects?” I ask incredulously.

“From what little she knew, it appears as if the prospects did that on their own, word is, their Prez isn’t pleased.”

“Names?” asks Cooper.

“Did better than that, got my friend to phone them, and tell them about a party for four.” A grin spreads across his face.

The promise of sex is an easy way to get a man, any man, to do something. I nod at Cage and ask, “Where are we meeting them?”

“It’s an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts, must have been a while since they’ve dipped their wicks if they believed she’d meet them there.” I nod and he continues. “We should head out now, stash the bikes and wait.”

“Let’s ride.” I climb onto my bike and start her up, waiting for Cage and Cooper to do the same.

The ride to the warehouse takes an hour. On the way, my mind is filled with images of Ruby, and her bruised, and battered face and body. None of this makes sense, and I feel my rage building as I replay our conversation at the hospital.

“You just said you were raped.”

“Yes, I did, but not this time.”

Not this time.
Not this time.
How many times does a person have to be hurt before they can’t get up again? Ruby appears strong, but is she strong enough? She’s a tiny little thing, all soft and curvy. Yes, she has an attitude, but that makes me like her more.

I like her
.

Fuck
. I haven’t really liked anyone since Kat Saunders, I kept hoping she’d look over and see me,
really
see me. Never happened. Now she’s married to Dane, and treats me like her little brother.

Before I know it, we’ve pulled into a huge empty building, I park my bike next to Cages’ and kill the engine.

“Brother, you okay?” asks Cage.

I scrub a hand over my face and nod. “How long before they get here?”

“Not long, about forty-five minutes. Let’s set up, hide the bikes, and wait for the fuckers,” growls Cage.

***

When I hear the sound of approaching bikes, I’m ready. I feel like a snake that’s ready to strike, my muscles burn, and I need to feed my venom, my rage, into them.

They ride into the warehouse, grins on their faces with the promise of pussy urging them on. When they get off their bikes, Cage steps out of the shadows, and Cooper shuts the doors behind them. Confusion washes over their features as they look at each other, then us. I have a piece of wood in my hands and stalk toward them, when I am close, I swing and hit one of them with enough force that he falls onto his companion and both bikes topple over.

The guy on the bottom is pinned between the floor and the bike on top of him. I raise the wood above my head, and bring it down on the top guy, once, twice, three times. On the fourth hit, I connect with his head, and a crunching sound is heard as his head bounces off the bike beneath him.

I throw the wood away, and grab the fucker, pulling him free of the bikes. I try to get him to stand, but his knees give out, and he crumples to the floor. My boot connects with his gut, and he makes a satisfying grunt.

“Stop!” yells the prospect still pinned beneath the bikes.

I turn my gaze to him, and whatever he sees, he shakes his head and tries to scramble out from the bikes he’s under. For good measure, I kick his friend again, and then give him my best smile as I make my way toward him.

He’s trapped. He can’t get out, and I smell burning flesh as the bike burns into him. I kneel down in front of him, and he makes a whimpering noise. All I can think of is Ruby, my fist connects with his face, and I hear the sound of bone breaking as his nose explodes into a bloody mess. I am far from done, I keep hitting him, feeling his skin rip and tear as my rings bite into his flesh. As I raise my fist again, someone grabs my arm. I growl and look up into Cage’s eyes.

He immediately lets go. “Enough, Rebel. Unless you want to kill these fuckers.”

I stare at him for a moment, weighing up what he said. My rage does want to see them dead, for Ruby, for what they did. But this would start a war, and I don’t have permission to kill them,
fuck it,
I don’t have permission to beat them senseless, either. My gaze returns to the man that I’ve just beaten, he’s making a gurgling sound as blood pours down his throat. His face is a mess.

Cooper holds out his hand, and helps me to my feet. “Let’s go, Brother.”

I nod and walk mechanically toward my bike, climb on and start it up.

“Ah, Rebel?” I look at Cage, he motions to one of my hands. “You have a tooth sticking out of your knuckles.”

Absently I look at both hands, they’re covered in blood, but on my right hand, wedged between my pointer finger, and middle finger, is a tooth. I pull it out and flex my fingers, nothing hurts.