“All right,” Hart lied. Ryder wondered what was going on with his friend, but he could tell by his tone that something was up.
“Want to talk about it?” Ryder offered.
“I got it under control,” Hart said. Ryder was beginning to worry because, from Hart’s tone, he didn’t have whatever was going on with him under control at all. “Just some old shit with the Dragons. Nothing I can’t handle.” The Dragons were Savage Hell’s rival MC and they were made up of some pretty bad guys. But, last Ryder heard, their new Prez was one of the good guys.
“I thought that Outkast was on your payroll,” Ryder said.
“He was, well—he used to be when I was on the force. He’s still undercover and my problem isn’t with him. It’s with his superiors in the Anarchy Kings. Outkast only holds so much power when it comes to the Dragons, even as Prez. He has to answer to their charter organization and that leaves him very little leeway when it comes to what he can and can’t do.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Ryder asked.
“It means that the powers that be in the Anarchy Kings want my head on a platter for what I did to the Dragons. They take care of their own and the Dragons are a part of the Anarchy Kings,” Hart explained. “They’ve been coming for me for some time now and I’ve been able to lay low and stay out of reach but I’m worried about my sister,” he admitted.
“Tatum,” Ryder said. “Why are you worried about her?”
“I’m afraid that if they can’t get to me, they’ll come after her. Did she tell you about her old roommate, Hugh?” Hart asked. She had told Ryder about that asshole and how he wanted sexual favors to help pay her rent after she lost her job.
“Yeah,” Ryder growled. “She told me about that asshole.”
Hart smiled. “After she moved out, he ended up in the hospital, beaten half to death. When I heard what happened, I went down to snoop around and ask some questions. I talked to a buddy of mine from the force and he said that when they took Hugh’s statement, he swore that the three guys who beat him had dragon tattoos on their forearms.”
“Shit,” Ryder spat. “They went after her old roommate to find out where she was.”
“That’s what I’m betting,” Hart said. “It’s also the reason I haven’t pushed my sister to move out of your place. I figured it will take them some time for them to find Tatum at your place. That will give me time to figure out just what’s going on.”
“You need any help with that?” Ryder asked.
“Not really,” Hart said. “What I could use help with is keeping Tatum safe. If she knew what was going on, she’d balk at either of us protecting her. You’ll have to be sneaky but I’d appreciate you keeping an eye on her.”
“Of course,” Ryder agreed.
“Where is she now?” Hart asked.
“She started a new job over on Bridge Street at a little boutique,” Ryder said.
“Shit is she safe?” his friend asked. “I mean, has she mentioned about anything suspicious going on at her new job?” Ryder couldn’t remember her mentioning anything out of the ordinary. Of course, she spent most of her time avoiding him these past two weeks.
“Not really,” Ryder said. “She just started there a couple of days ago. I can leave here and stop by there—you know, check things out. See how much security they have in place, all that stuff.”
“Thanks, man,” Hart said. “If I stop by there, she’ll know we talked and will get suspicious. Would you mind keeping me informed?”
“Not at all, Hart,” Ryder agreed. Savage came out of the kitchen with a tray full of food, putting plates down in front of both him and Hart.
“What’s this?” Hart asked.
“Consider it the food version of make-up sex,” Savage joked. “I figure burgers and beer will work instead.”
“Instead of sex?” Ryder asked.
Savage shrugged and Hart laughed. “You aren’t doing something right if you’d consider burgers and beer to equal make-up sex, Savage,” Hart teased. Ryder laughed and slapped Hart’s back.
“It’s damn good to be back here guys,” Ryder admitted. “I missed the shit out of you both.”
Tatum
She loved her new job even if she had only been there for three days now. It was right up her alley and she loved her boss. He was awesome to work for and even seemed to understand her having to get home a little early to help Ryder. She assured her new boss, Jack, that it was only temporary, especially since she’d only be living with him for a few more weeks until she could find a new place to rent. She hated that she was going to have to move out of Ryder’s place. She had found herself settling in nicely there and it was the first place she felt completely comfortable at in a damn long time—since leaving her mother’s house, really.
The little bell over the door sounded and she looked up, flashing her best smile at the potential client who walked into the little boutique. When she saw Ryder hobble in, her smile automatically faded.
“How the heck did you get here?” she breathed. No one else was in the store, but she still felt the need to watch her language while on the clock. Cursing at him for being a moron could wait until later—when they were at home.
“Drove,” he said as if it wasn’t a big deal that he was driving with a broken leg.
“But your leg is broken,” she insisted.
“I remember, Honey,” he teased, looking down at his cast. “But I don’t use that leg to drive. My truck is automatic so, I don’t need to use my broken leg. Before you go all crazy on me, the doctor said I could drive as long as I wasn’t on pain meds and I’ve been off those for about a week now.”
Tatum sighed and pretended to be busy with something behind the counter. She was just talking herself down from arguing with him. If his doctor said it was all right for him to drive, who was she to tell him otherwise? “Why are you here?” she said more to herself than to Ryder.
He chuckled, “To see what time you get your lunch break,” he said. “I figured I could take you to lunch—you know like a real date.” He had asked her for a real date a couple of weeks ago and she agreed to go out with him but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like a bad idea. She didn’t want to start something she might not be able to finish. She wanted Ryder, that wasn’t the problem. Tatum just worried that he’d get tired of her because she wasn’t like the other women he liked to “hook-up” with. After he told her the story of how he broke his other leg, getting run over by his commander’s daughter after they had sex in the back seat of her car, she chickened out of their date. She worried that he’d do the same thing to her once they went out. Tatum knew that she wouldn’t be able to resist him and she’d willingly fall into bed with him. Once he had her, would he turn her out like he had his commander’s daughter? Would she admit that she wanted more with him only to have him tell her that he wanted her for sex? She couldn’t take his rejection and she was pretty sure that if she ran him over with her car again, people might start to believe it wasn’t an accident. No, it was better this way. She’d keep her distance and her heart intact and Ryder could continue to play the field at Savage Hell.