“Everyone seems pretty chill around here.” Ryder’s glare was locked on the top of his beer can.
“This place is a catchall for lost souls and broken spirits. We make it work the best we can. We’re all kind of a dysfunctional wreck of a family, but it has its moments.”
I was about to keep spilling my guts about the love I had for my organization and the rest of the people I thought of as family, but then Raine came into the shop with lunch for her dad.
“Hey, Holt. Is Dad in the back?” She smiled at Ryder, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
Shit.
They made goo-goo eyes at each other while I answered, “Yeah, I think Abel’s on a call in the office.”
“Thanks. I’m Raine.” She never took her eyes off of Ryder.
“Ryder.” He clambered to his feet, shaking her hand like a fumbling goober.
“It’s nice to meet you. See you later for my bartending lessons, Holt.” She smiled sweetly in pure Raine fashion.
“I’ll be there, little lady.” I looked from one to the other scared of the connection that were undoubtedly making.
Her hips waggled away, Ryder’s mouth salivating more and more with every swish.
“I want in,” he stated.
That was too easy.Leave it to his libido to get the better of him and make him want to stick around. What did he think? That I was born yesterday? Still, I let it go. He was barking up the wrong damn tree—Abel kept his daughter on the tightest of leashes. Over his dead body would she end up with someone like us, and Ryder was proving to be a ringer.
“No, you don’t.” Rave’s words all those years ago replayed on a loop in my head.I would never want that for any child of mine. It’s too fucked up and far too dangerous.I had held onto those words tightly and in that moment I realized how true they were.
“Well, I already ride a bike—isn’t that the whole point of the motorcycle club thing, anyway?” Ryder’s idea of our organization was so far off base to was almost comical. I could feel the idealism inspired by the media and movies emanating from deep down.
“That’s so far from the point. Yes, we’re motorcycle enthusiasts, but that is just the smallest tip of the iceberg.” I wanted to tell him about the death and heartbreak that came with wearing our skull and bones on his back but I knew that I would be failing Abel and ruining our diabolical plan.
“What else do I have going for me?” Ryder’s smoldering eyes locked with mine. “I need something, and this seems as good a place as any to stick around for a while.”
“If you want in, there’s only one way they are going to let that happen. We don’t trust outsiders. It was a stretch for me to even get your bike in here today.” There was no going back. Ryder was going to do our bidding, and he had no fucking clue what he was asking for.
“What’s that?” he asked naïvely.
“You have to prove yourself, and it ain’t going to be easy.”
“What do I have to do?”
Chapter 5
“You sure about this, kid?” Abel asked in the back office from behind his desk in the bar.
Ryder was standing in the corner, resolute in his determination to show us how much he wanted to be part of our fucked-up family. “Yeah. If this is how I’m going to prove to you guys that I have what it takes to make it here then I’m game. I’ve never backed down from a challenge before—ain’t gonna start now.”
“You’re going to have to get in good with those fuckers and make them think you’re one of them. It’s not going to be a walk in the park to say the least. They will test you. They will try to break you down. I hope you’re good in a fight and are a half-decent shot because they are going to lay into you hard.” Abel was right. I didn’t even think about how much Ryder was going to have to deal with to prove himself to the Sinners.
Ryder rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve never shot a gun before.”
Abel laughed. “Fuck, if he didn’t look like your doppelgänger, I would swear he wasn’t your kid just from that statement alone.”
“Well, there ain’t any time to waste.” I took my Beretta Nano out of its ankle holster from the inside of my boot. “We’re going to start with the basics.”
“Is that a damn toy?” Ryder asked, and Abel about died from laughter.
“Kid, you’re going to have to learn how to handle something like that before you can upgrade to something you think is manly.” Abel always put in his two cents, and it was one of my favorite things about him. He was a dick so I didn’t have to be.