Hellbent Hero by Naomi Porter

15

Hero

I DRUMMED MY thumbs on the table in the visitor’s room. Storm came earlier than I expected for his Monday visit. Not sticking to the plan put me on edge. I prayed nothing went wrong on his end when they returned Dutra’s mom and sister to their home.

The news of Rudy Dutra hanging himself burned through the place like wildfire. Inmates and DOs were shocked he’d managed to end his life in a sitting position. While his cellmate slept on the top bunk, Rudy had tied his sheet to the rail, secured it around his neck, and lowered his ass toward the concrete floor. He didn’t have a lot of room between him and the floor but it was enough to do the job. He could have easily stood up and saved himself.

Rudy proved his family meant something to him, shocker of all shockers. He hadn’t given a shit about raping women but cared about his mom and sister enough to kill himself. I never would’ve guessed.

The door opened.

“Thanks,” Storm muttered. How friendly of him. Unusual. He took his seat with a barely noticeable curl to his lip. “Boxer and Ire won Saturday night. It was a fuckin’ good fight.”

“Rub it in my face, why dontcha?” Asshole. “I’ll probably miss the main event on Black Friday.”

Storm considered me a long second. His platinum eyes shimmered, something I only saw when he was with Angel. “You’ll be there.” The confidence in his voice had me straightening in my chair.

“How do you know? Did Theo get me a deal?” My mind was blown. If I could be out by Christmas, I’d be the happiest man alive.

“Nope.”

“Then how?”

Why was he dragging this out? I could strangle him for screwing with me.

Storm laughed, clutching his stomach like fucking Santa Claus. Maybe this was a dream. Storm rarely smiled, much less chuckled all jolly and shit. Yeah, this was definitely the weirdest dream I’d ever had.

“It’s unbelievable, really. I’m still stunned.” He steeled his joy and turned serious again.

Okay, so maybe not a dream. What the fuck was going on?

“So tell me goddammit!” My heart raced, desperate to hear.

“At the event Saturday night, Grizz called. He’s been working his ass off trying to get you out. Well, he’d been on Tiktok.” Storm rolled his eyes. My prez hated social media. I did too. “Someone saw Sonny putting the weed in your saddlebag. A teenager recorded and posted it with some tagline about corrupt pigs.”

I gaped, jaw hitting the floor. “You’re kidding?”

“Nope. Theo is on it. If all goes as expected, you’ll be out before lunchtime.”

“Fuck yeah!” I grabbed my head between my hands. “My first stop is—”

“Hold up. Let me stop you there.”

“Excuse me?”

Storm hiked a dark brow in warning. “I need you at the club before you do anything else.”

“Storm—”

“No. It’s not a request. Morrison is driving Raul nuts. Get shit squared away with him, then you can have some time to yourself.” The crease in Storm’s forehead deepened. It made me uneasy. It couldn’t be about Morrison, the needy fucker.

Christ, was it Roja?

“What’s wrong? Is it my woman?”

“I don’t know. How much do you know about her?”

My stomach tightened at the concern in his voice. “Not a lot. Why?”

He pursed his lips together, the wrinkle above his eyebrows deepened. He only had this expression when troubled by something. “When you were with Tara, the day before the run… Did you notice anything unusual on her body.”

“What?” I growled. “Her body? What the fuck, Prez?”

“Scars or marks, like burns?”

I leaned back in my chair, confused as hell. “Stop beating around the fucking bush and tell me what you know.”

Scars? Marks? Fucking burns? Hell no, I didn’t notice anything. I didn’t remember anything from our first night. The next day, I was so in awe of my good fortune, I only wanted to be balls deep inside her addictive pussy. Thinking back, I recalled some spots on her stomach and down her back, but I was so caught up in the moment and happy as fuck, I’d disregarded them. My mission was to kiss every inch of her, not investigate her body.

Why would Storm suggest burns? The hairs on my arms raised as an image of my Roja being burned. Fuck, it made me sick.

Storm sighed, settling into his chair with his arms crossed over his broad chest. “After our visit last Monday, Copper called me. Tara flipped out on him and threw him out of her house.”

I slammed my fist on the table. “Hold the fuck up. Why was the prospect inside her place?”

“She’d gotten a new kitten after seeing you. He’d been playing with it.”

I shook my head. “I’m not okay with this.”

“You have no choice. You were here and Tara needed a friend. You gonna let me continue, hothead?”

I waved him on. Fucking prospect. I’d beat his ass when I saw him.

“So I went to see her. Smelled cigarette smoke.”

“I didn’t know she smoked.”

“I don’t think she does. We had words. She wanted Copper off guard duty.”

“Did you listen?” I might lose my shit even more if Storm didn’t have eyes on her.

A wry smile appeared on my prez’s face. “Fuck no. I put Hollywood on her.”

“Good.”

“Before church, the night of Dutra’s unfortunate death, I was on the phone with Toby. Grizzly had a video from one of the cameras at Tara’s for me to view.”

I sat forward in my chair, aching as my heart pounded against my chest.

“Without getting into all the details, it appeared she had a burn mark on her stomach. Another on her inner thigh, in the shape of an H.”

“How in the hell could you see that?”

Burns on her body? Storm had to be mistaken.

My wife and son were burned to death. I wanted to throw up at the thought of my Roja hurting herself this way. It was sick. Fucking wrong.

All my fault.

“On the video, she was on the phone with Madeline. The kitten was on her stomach and scratched her. She’d gone to the kitchen, removed her clothes, and tended to her wounds.”

Wounds? Fuck, this didn’t sound good.

“Did you ask Madeline about it?” I should be enraged over the fact that my prez and Grizz saw my woman without clothes, but shit, burns on her body? The very thought did me in. Them seeing her in a bra and panties was an infraction I could overlook. Once.

“No. Figured it wasn’t my place. I’m sure Angel knows all of Tara’s secrets. I just thought I’d mention it since she’s your girl.”

“Thanks.” I scratched the back of my head as an uneasiness swept over me. “Don’t mention anything to Madeline.”

“Wasn’t going to. Whatever’s going on with Tara, I have a feeling it isn’t good.”

My eyes flashed to Storm’s. He wasn’t one to overreact. It was what made him a damn fine president and leader.

“I need to see her.”

“You will, brother. Just take care of Morrison first. His in-laws are having issues with an unstable cousin in the Pacific Northwest. I don’t want to get caught up in the middle of a family feud. Raul has had enough.”

I nodded, biting my tongue, unhappy with Storm’s demands. Not one fucking bit after what he’d told me about Tara. I needed to see her, inspect her body and then paddle her ass for hurting herself.

I didn’t want to deal with Stephen Morrison’s or his in-laws, the Remotti family—the Mafia family. I didn’t recall him ever mentioning his wife’s cousin. Marrying Rosa Remotti connected Morrison’s crime family to the Italian Mafia. The union benefitted both financially. The Remottis’ were able to move their prime dealings, heroin, into central Canada, the Morrisons’ territory.

The arms business had exploded for us, because of Stephen and Rosa’s marriage. Storm wanted out of everything illegal, so the club would be legit for future generations. The timing just wasn’t right. The club needed the money to get Tina’s daughter out from under her ex’s thumb. We had two members watching Tina’s girl full-time in Montana without the college student’s knowledge. Once we had her under our protection in Minnesota, we’d work on getting out of the gun business.

“Fine,” I muttered. “I’ll deal with Morrison. After that, I need at least a couple of days with Tara.” She was too important to me. I had to make things right with her. Mend broken fences.

“You got it.”

After Storm left, they returned me to my cell. Ryder was on his bunk, a grim, almost sick expression on his face.

“Hey, kid. What’s the matter?”

He raised his head. “You’re getting out, aren’t you?”

Well, shit. Was the kid psychic? Naw, news spread fast in this joint. It was also written all over my face.

“Why do you say that?”

The corners of his mouth curved down. “Gut feeling.”

I sat beside him, put my elbows on my knees, and clasped my hands together. “They cleared me of the weed possession. I should be out within an hour.”

“Thought so.”

“You’ll be okay in here.” I focused my attention on a crack in the concrete floor to avoid the disappointment in Ryder’s eyes.

He pffted. “Yeah. Sure.”

I elbowed him. “Hey, you calling me a liar? Not cool.” My tone was light, knowing the boy was in a bad way.

He didn’t respond, dropping his head. My fucking chest burned, feeling some kind of connection with Ryder. It was odd and natural all at once.

To ease his apparent worry, I told him, “When you get out, I have a place for you at the club. I’ll sponsor you to be a prospect if that’s something you’re interested in.”

His head flew up, green eyes shining with unshed tears. The sight of it stabbed me in the heart. “Really?”

“Yes. You’re just the kind of man we need.”

He rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hands. “I hate it here.” His voice cracked. The sound of it put me on alert.

“What happened?” My neck muscles tensed. Fuck, I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear what the kid had to say.

“Before you came, they picked on me. I was afraid someone, another inmate or DO, might try to use me as their bitch.”

Rage flashed in me, that same instinct I had to protect my Roja finding a place in my heart thinking about someone forcing themselves on my buddy here. No, he was more than a buddy. He was about to be a brother.

“Has anyone touched you?” I growled, clenching my hands into fists.

“No. But I could tell, ya know? I’m the youngest here.” A shudder rolled through him.

“Fuck.” I hopped to my feet, pacing. The club didn’t have a foothold inside the county correctional center. In the sheriff’s office, yes—thanks to Boxer. I needed to ensure Ryder’s safety. If anything happened to him, I would never forgive myself.

“That’s why I’m constantly exercising and trying to build up my muscles. To fight them off.”

I spun around, my heart thundering in my chest. “That’s not going to happen. I will make sure nobody touches you.”

“How are you gonna do that?”

“Don’t worry about it. They’ll leave you alone.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “If they don’t… I’ll end them.”

We stared at each other for a long torturous minute. Nausea nearly had me bending at the waist because I knew I couldn’t promise Ryder he’d be safe in here. He seemed to know that.

Wait, I haven’t asked him why he’s in county.

“Why are you here, man?”

His head dropped lower. For several seconds I watched his depressed form. He rubbed his knuckles over his eyebrows, then shook his head as if gathering his thoughts. “I lost control. Beat the shit out of a dude for messing with a girl on the streets.” Ryder’s jaw twitched. “She was a runaway. I’d seen her in the park a few times before it happened. Suspected she was homeless, like me. I stole food from the market for both of us one day, thinking she might start to trust me. She just took the food and ran.”

“Shit, that’s rough.” I took a minute to absorb all that he was telling me. It ate away at me, knowing such a good kid had been alone in the world. “Where’s your family?”

“Dead.” His eyes found a similar spot on the wall where I had been staring earlier. That familiar pain in my chest that acted up when I missed my own loved ones scalded me deep. From the moment I saw Ryder, I knew he was made of the same shit I was. Loyal. Fierce. Would do the best he could, even if it landed him in county. Fuck, was I right. Losing what you held dear did that to a person.

“I’ve been in the system bouncing from one house to another since I was eleven. After I graduated high school, I had enough. I took a bus to St. Paul and have been roaming around since. I found my way here, wanting out of the city.” He sagged beside me, as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Sometimes trusting someone with a story eased the burden carried.

“And the girl? What happened to her?”

Ryder stood, dangling from the railing on the bunk. “Three days after I gave her the food, I went dumpster diving behind Dairy Queen. Sometimes a worker showed a little pity and gave me a burger. Thought they were good people. Except for that night, one of the assholes tried to get her to blow him as payment for food.” His face turned fire-engine red. “It pissed me off how he kept touching her.”

“Jesus…” I blew out a tense breath. “So you stopped him with your fists.”

“Yeah. And I’m not sorry,” he said with absolute conviction. I felt it deep in the marrow of my bones. Ryder was born to be a biker.

“I wouldn’t be either. So what happened to the girl?”

Ryder swallowed hard, turning to face me. “She took off, I guess. I was out of my mind pounding the prick into the pavement. Didn’t notice when she left. Don’t even know her name.” He sniffed, brushing the back of his hand across his nose. It was evident he’d taken a liking to the girl. “I’m worried about her. If that happened while I was there, what else has happened when she’s alone? And she won’t last without some kind of shelter. Not in the coming months. She was so thin already, Hero. There’s not a lot to eat when you live like that.”

The temperature overnight was getting down into the thirties. Living on the streets was no place for anyone, much less a young girl. It would only get colder as winter invaded Minnesnowta.

“I’m sure she’s found shelter.” I worked to calm him, knowing this kid took the world on his shoulders. I could relate a little too well to that.

“Yeah.” He rolled his eyes and I stifled a chuckle, knowing it wasn’t the time.

Didn’t blame the kid one bit for being skeptical. Hell, even I didn’t believe my words. It took a sec of searching my own head to find a better solution, when it hit me, “What does she look like? If I see her, I’ll try to help her. KLMC has eyes everywhere. We have ways of finding stuff out. Someone might have already seen her.”

Ryder perked up a bit to my relief. “Black hair, big brown eyes. She had on a bulky army green jacket and a red beanie hat. I couldn’t really make out her age. Seventeen. Maybe eighteen. I doubt she’d talk to you.” He laughed, raising his hands. “No offense man, but you’re a scary-ass biker.”

I quirked a brow, issuing him a cocky grin. “But with a heart of gold, mijo.” My son just slipped out of my mouth. Funny, it felt natural to call Ryder, mijo.

He waved me off and smiled. “I find that hard to believe.” Ryder stared at me, a contemplative glint in his eyes. “I’d be honored if you sponsored me as a prospect for your club. Nobody after my parents’ death has ever cared shit about me, until you. No one’s ever wanted to do anything for me. So it means a lot.”

Fuck. My goddamn heart just splattered on the concrete floor. Could this kid be any more grateful? I’d be damned if I let anything happen to him while inside this shithole. I wasn’t that much older than him, maybe ten years between us. The dude could’ve been my little brother. Now, he was gonna be.

My club was the perfect home for him.

As curious as I was to know what happened to Ryder’s parents, now wasn’t the time. Not after talking about the homeless girl. Even my almost dead heart couldn’t take it. Somehow, I wanted to find her, but I had a feeling it might be next to impossible.

First things first… make things right with Tara.

I replayed the same scene in my head often. When I got out, it’d look like this. She’d see me and be pissed, but her happiness would outweigh her anger. She’d try to fight her feelings but couldn’t because we were meant to be together. I’d apologize, lightly touch her cheek and she’d melt into my hand. I’d take it as my cue to move in for our long awaited kiss. We’d heat up fast, rip each other’s clothes off and then… And then I’d get between her thighs and own her all over again, body and soul.

Fuck, I couldn’t wait to make love to her and apologize for the lies I’d never speak again.