Page 7

CHAPTER

SIX

Brick

The look on her face has me biting back my laughter. She looks equal parts horrified and intrigued. I opt to ease her worries and say, “I promise I did my best not to look at you, Sprite. But you were covered in blood, dirt, and grime. We needed to make sure we hadn’t missed any potentially perilous injuries. Plus, the last thing you needed was for any infections to set in.” She looks slightly mollified, but she still appears concerned that I saw her at her absolute worst.

“You still haven’t explained how I was healed,” she reminds me. I love seeing glimpses of her sass. I can tell from what she has shared that she was most likely punished whenever she spoke out or protested, so she learned to keep quiet. The fact she feels comfortable enough with me to do it adds to the feelings I’m studiously trying to ignore.

“One of the men in the club has the ability to heal people. I don’t fully understand how it works or if what he does fully heals or not. I just know that he held you while we drove back and did his hocus-pocus thing. I see you’ve got some faint bruises and such, but I was told he fixed whatever he was able to do.”

She looks down at her arm which was definitely broken, and I see her wiggling her fingers while moving her wrist back and forth. “How amazing yet strange,” she whispers to herself.

“Many of the club brothers from other chapters have unique qualities,” I reply. “I’m just glad he was able to help you.”

“I’m thankful y’all saved me, Brick,” she quietly states. “I know my life has been what some would call tragic, but maybe now I’ll be able to choose how I’ll live my life.”

“We’re going to help you do that, Rayleigh.” I repeat almost verbatim what I said earlier because I don’t believe she fully understands what it means to be under the protection of the Royal Bastards.

“What do you mean?” she asks. The look on her face of complete innocence and naivete has my cock twitching. Fucking bastard! Now is not the time for me to go down that road, if ever, to be honest. I still have no clue if she was ever violated in any way. Although I wouldn’t give that first fuck if she was because I’ve got my own past.

“Well, I’m about to call Church with my brothers to give them the information you told me about Enoch. The only reason I’m opening up and telling you this much is due to the fact that it involves you, Sprite. The majority of the time, club business is just that, club business, and the less you know, the better since you won’t be able to provide information you were never privy to. We’ll figure out a job you can do for the club, as well as living arrangements for you. You’re under our protection, now, Rayleigh, which means we’ll watch over you while you settle into your new life.”

I watch her curl into herself a little then realize it’s her defense mechanism when she gets overwhelmed. “Step by step, sweetheart. You’ll stay here where it’s safe until we deal with that piece of shit. Then, we’re going after your parents.” I realize I don’t have their names so ask, “Who are they? Do they live in Roanoke?”

“Laura and Dave Matthews. Um, we lived in Radford off of Interstate 81,” she informs me. I file the information away to give to Hawg so he can do his thing.

“Okay, you rest now. I’ll be back as soon as possible. You’re welcome to move around in the common area, just be aware we have club girls walking around who might give you some shit.”

Her eyes widen almost comically before she replies, “I think I’ll just stay in here if that’s okay with you.”

Even though I used my soap and shampoo on her when I bathed her, she has a unique scent all her own which is captivating. The thought of her permeating my space has me nodding in agreement. “That’s fine, Rayleigh. Can you make a list of things you need so I can get stuff ordered for you? I can either do it online or send one of the brothers out for it.”

“Okay, but I don’t really need anything, Brick.”

“Sprite, I know women like certain feminine scents of body wash and shampoo.”

“Whatever’s cheapest is fine, Brick,” she states. “Trust me, anything you get for me will be an improvement of what’s been supplied to me in the past.”

“Then I’ll take on the task of ordering for you,” I retort. “Do you know your clothing and shoe sizes? Jot those down as well.”

“I-I-I don’t know those,” she admits, her face flushing in mortification. “My parents usually bought me things from the community thrift store. If it was too big, I had to hem it so it would fit. So, I have no clue at all.”

I bite back the words that are on the tip of my tongue. She was treated worse than a stray animal. Hell, strays are probably in better shape than she is right now. “I’ll figure it out, sweetheart, okay?” I work hard to keep the edge out of my tone since she’s so despondent right now.

Instead of speaking, she merely nods. Standing up, I run my hand through her hair before cupping her cheek. Leaning down, I place a chaste kiss on her forehead then take the tray of food she’s obviously finished and move it over to my dresser, then pull out some more clothes for her in case she does decide to take a bath. “I’ll be back as soon as possible then we’ll figure out what you want to eat.”

“Okay.” Her pitch is now barely above a whisper, and I can see the tears threatening to spill over. I realize that privacy is what she likely needs most right now so she can get some of what she’s feeling out. As much as I don’t like being around crying women, right now, I’d gladly do whatever it takes to comfort her.

After leaving her in my room, I hesitantly head to the common room then straight to the bar where I spot Banshee. Sitting beside him, I clear my throat and state, “We need to call Church. Send out a mass text to let everyone know it happens as soon as they can all get here, Brother.”

“She tell you who tried to kill her?” he asks, hitting the bar top to let Rooster know he’s ready for another beer. Seeing me, Rooster comes back with two, pops the tops off then slides them in front of us. Once Banshee takes a long gulp, he pulls out his phone then sends out a text to the rest of the brothers advising them to get to the clubhouse “ASAP” for Church.

“Yeah, she did. Not sure what the fucker’s last name is, but knowing where we found her, he’s gotta be pretty fucking close by. Asshole like that isn’t going to put in the effort or take a lot of time to dispose of a body like he did. Likely, he got her into his car then drove around until he found what he figured was an isolated enough area before tossing her out into the nearest ditch. I’m gonna have Hawg see what he can find on that bastard as well as her fucking parents because she gave me that info as well. You know what she said when I asked her what kind of soaps and shit she wanted me to get her? She told me to just get the cheapest stuff because it would probably be an improvement over what she’s had. Ban, no one deserves to be treated like they’re a piece of shit.”

I realize I’m getting heated when I hear his chuckle. Fucker. We may dabble on the outskirts of what’s legal and what’s not, but despite that, the club has always watched out for women and children. Hell, even our damn club whores have their own cabin on our property, and they’re paid for the various tasks they do around the place.

“Sounds like you’re getting invested, my friend.”

“Fuck, Ban, I wasn’t looking for a woman right now. We’ve got a lot of shit to do now that we’re part of a much bigger family, for fuck’s sake.”

“Who better to ensure she stays safe than you, Brick? You’ve got all of us at your back plus I know some of the brothers from our other chapters want to be in on killing the bastards who put her in that position. She’s safer with one of us as an ol’ lady than she is out on her own, Brother, especially after what happened to her.”

I growl at his words causing him to chuckle. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he jests. “She’s yours, you just haven’t come to that realization for yourself yet.”

“Fuck,” I murmur. “Ban, even if I’m interested, she deserves the chance to live a little, don’t you think? She’s obviously sheltered as hell, and according to her, she was pulled from school at a young age. She needs to figure out who she is now that she’s free from that hell before I try to tie her to me like that.”

“Then talk to her, Brick. She may not have finished school, but from the sound of it, she’s got some street smarts. Let her know your ultimate plans, and that you’re going to let her find herself first,” he replies, smirking at me. “Give her choices instead of making them for her. She’s had enough of that, don’t ya think?”

The asshole knows good and well I might tell her that, but I’ll have someone watching over her, so she’s still protected. “How the fuck did I get here?” I mutter before downing the rest of my beer, contemplating his last bit of advice.

Before Ban can answer, the door opens, and I see the rest of our brothers come through. “We got Church now, right, Pres?” Rooster calls out before Scythe cuffs him on the back of the head.

“You idiot, the VP just sent a text telling all of us to get our asses back to the clubhouse for Church,” he states, causing Rooster’s face to turn blood red, which has the rest of the brothers laughing.

He’s an easygoing brother, doesn’t make waves, completed his probationary time with our club with no issues. An all-around standup kind of man, actually, but fuck, he’s easy to embarrass and because of his red hair, it visibly shows on his face. “Yeah, Rooster, we’re about to head there now,” I reply, sliding my empty bottle toward the back of the bar.

While I wait for everyone to take their designated seats, I mull over the things Rayleigh told me. While I need to fill the brothers in as to who hurt her so we can eliminate the problem, I don’t want to completely violate her privacy or trust. It couldn’t have been easy for her to open up to me and give me all of those intimate details. Once I see Rooster close the doors, I grab the gavel, slam it down on the table and state, “Shut the fuck up, we got shit to discuss!”

Several of the brothers pull out their smokes and light up while they wait for me to start talking. While I can take them or leave them, the stress of everything has me reaching inside my cut only to come up empty. Kracken slides his pack over as well as a lighter without uttering a word. Once I’ve lit my smoke, taken a deep drag and allowed the nicotine to course through my system, I look at each of my men. “Brothers, today’s the first official meeting as Royal Bastards. The main topic for discussion is the unknown woman who’s been here since the night of our patch over party.”

Brew nods then asks, “Any news on her, Pres? She awake yet? I felt horrible that a lot of the other chapters who wanted to help us go after the pissant who hurt her had to leave.”

“She’s awake,” I inform them, causing a chorus of murmurs to flow through the room. “Got a name, actually three names I’m needing you to research, Hawg.”

“Give ‘em to me, Pres,” he responds, all business now as he drags his laptop closer then opens it up in preparation to start searching for information.

“Laura and Dave Matthews, live in Radford. Those are her soon-to-be-dead parents, since they gave her to the asshole who left her for dead in a ditch. That prick’s name is Enoch, but she didn’t give me a last name, so I suspect she doesn’t know it. My thoughts are that he must be somewhere around here simply because he strikes me as one of those fuckers who expends minimal effort whenever he does anything. Dumping her would have been one of those situations, I suspect.”

“Still bugs the fuck out of me the shape she was in when y’all found her,” Rooster growls out, causing the other brothers to pound their fists in agreement on the table while vocally shouting as well. “What kind of low-life piece of shit hurts a little slip of a woman then dumps her out on the side of the road when it’s snowing? Hell, I doubt she could hurt a fly.”

“The dead kind, Brother,” I retort, not missing the smirks some of my brothers are giving me at my words. Yeah, yuck it up, fuckers. I may be in line to be the first member to have an ol’ lady under our new name, but I’m positive I won’t be the last.

“Got an Enoch Chavez, lives a little further up in the mountains, Pres,” Hawg announces. “As far as the other two, they appear to still be living in Radford, off Interstate 81.”

“When are we riding, Pres?” Kracken asks, his face and demeanor fierce.

“I want you, Scythe, and Phantom to do a little recon first so we don’t walk into something bigger than we’re aware of,” I reply. “Do what you can to get a picture of the fucker so I can confirm with her on whether or not we’ve got the right guy. Don’t mind ending his pathetic life but wanna make sure it’s the right asshole. Get that out of the way then we’ll meet again in the morning to plan. As far as her parents, we need to do that as well, but we had several brothers specifically ask to be part of that particular mission, so I’ll have to reach out to them once we know what’s what.”

“We’re on it, Pres,” Phantom advises.

As a cleaner, he ensures that nothing is missed when we need to handle shit. Guess it pays to have someone in the club who studied forensics as he has the knowledge of what not to do. He missed graduating by one or two credits when his mother died and never went back. But he keeps up with all the latest knowledge so we’re never caught unawares. I recall my dad didn’t even blink an eye when Phantom requested specific coveralls and shit to protect the brothers who dealt with the two bastards who took out Bonzai and his ol’ lady, Lorelei, over an old long-forgotten beef that had been nullified by a truce. Two weasels on the Demon Devils’ MC crew saw them out riding one day and decided to take matters into their own hands, violating the truce and starting a war that was definitely bloody. For them, at least.

The club was never suspected of the double murder that rocked our community despite the fact Bonzai was well-known as a club member, and the brothers before me weren’t exactly quiet with the need for vengeance once the party or parties who caused the fatal accident were identified. Yeah, the cops came out to the clubhouse, but it was to let us know that apparently, the individuals who had been found to be responsible for running Bonzai off the road, killing him and his ol’ lady, had been killed in an apparent murder-suicide. Their other known associates, who were complicit as soon as they found out what the bastards did and didn’t turn them over to the club, also met with mysterious, fatal endings. Those are some bodies that’ll never be found, that’s for sure.

That’s another reason for me not to have an ol’ lady as innocent as Rayleigh appears to be. I’ve got blood staining my hands. Maybe not from that particular event in the club’s history, but I’ve done what I needed to in order to protect my brothers, my club, and my family. I’d do it again, too, and likely will. I just don’t know whether she can handle this lifestyle. It’s not for the faint of heart.

I glance over at Ban as I often do during Church to see if he has anything he wants to add. When he nods, I give him a chin lift to let him know he’s on deck.

“Brothers, you know the Ankeny chapter is splitting up with some of their brothers going to Dallas to set up another chapter there in the next few months. Since Rooster has a few things to finalize from his last trip to Dallas, I’m riding with him, and we’ll be staying with the brothers out there. No idea how long it’s going to take, but since they’re some of the brothers who wanted in on helping our Pres’s ol’ lady, we won’t leave until at least one of the situations is resolved here at home.”

“Hey, Pres, does our mystery lady have a name?” Brew asks.

Well, hell, I guess I never shared that with them. “Rayleigh Matthews,” I reply. I watch as he jots something on his tablet he uses for meeting notes, nodding to himself as if he’s finished putting a missing piece of the puzzle together.

“Okay, I need to reach out to the Ankeny and Tonopah Valley brothers since several specifically asked to help put the fuckers to ground when we found out who they were. Brothers, get that intel tonight if at all possible so I can make those calls tomorrow. Brew, when Ban heads out, you’re on deck as my second,” I advise. “Anything else?”

When I see nothing but shaking heads, I slam the gavel down again, yelling, “Church dismissed! Go get what you’ve gotta do done and be back in the morning bright and early.”

“What’s bright and early?” Arrow inquires. He’s our Road Captain and a damn good one at that, even though he’s getting up there in age. I think he’s currently our oldest active member.

I decide to take pity on them, even though I want to barge through the doors, get into Jet then hunt Enoch down right now, and say, “Let’s make it nine, y’all. Don’t be late or you’ll be on shitter duty for the next month.”