Page 4 of Raven (Sinners Revenge MC- Rapid City, SD #6)

Raven

Early September

F or the last month, I’d been wracking my brain, trying to figure out how I could get Sydney to open up. I noticed when she was around the guys at the shop, she laughed, smiled, and joked around with them while they worked. One glance at me, the smile disappeared and her demeanor changed.

It was like me knowing her secret, or the little she told me, was shameful to her. And the last thing I wanted to do was cause her any more problems than she already had, so I tried my best to stay busy and allow her the freedom to be herself with the guys.

It was Monday morning, and Joel was getting dropped off at the shop when I pulled up in my old truck. My bike needed new tires, but personal work had to wait until the bike on my rack was finished.

“Morning,” Joel groused at me as he followed me into the shop.

“What has you here so early?” I asked, and he shook his head before taking a swallow of his coffee.

“Gail’s going to Minneapolis with her mother for a few days, and she insisted on dropping me off on her way out of town,” he explained, then asked, “Can you give me a ride back to my house after work?”

“Sure,” I responded as I disarmed the alarm and began to turn on lights.

I half expected Sydney to walk in any second, and with each tick of the clock, I began to get more worried. She was always here earlier than any of the guys. Hell, there were a few times she was waiting in her truck when I pulled up.

“She’ll be here in a few minutes, I’m sure,” Joel remarked, and I snapped my head toward him, giving him a confused look. He smiled and said, “Sydney. I’m sure she’ll be here soon.”

I shrugged. “Whatever.”

Moving toward the little break room near the lobby, I heard him chuckle as the sound of his footsteps following me echoed across the silent shop. He was one of my best friends, and he knew me better than anyone, but he was an ass.

I lifted the lid to the coffee maker and grabbed the used filter, tossing it into the trash can before I placed a new one in the basket and began scooping coffee into it.

I could feel Joel’s eyes on me, and I knew he had more to say, so as I filled the carafe with fresh water, I simply said, “Let’s hear it. ”

“Why don’t you make a move on her?” he asked. “I know you’re interested.”

Glancing over my shoulder, I didn’t want to discuss this with him but knew he was only getting started. “She’s an employee, and when things go bad, it would be uncomfortable. Or worse.”

“Who says it will go bad?” he asked from his position in the doorway. “Who says she isn’t the one you’ve been looking for?”

I turned and leaned against the counter as I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to explain.

“Have you seen the way she reacts when I’m around?

With you guys, she’s happy and friendly, but the second she sees me, she turns cold.

” I shook my head and pushed off the counter. “I don’t want that kind of drama.”

As I went to walk past him, he asked, “What has she told you about her situation?”

My feet froze, and I looked at him. “Nothing. Why? What do you know?”

He stepped out of the break room, and I followed as he glanced around the shop. After seeing no one was there, he turned and lowered his voice. “I don’t know much, but she’s hiding from someone.”

“Has she said that to you?” I asked, my voice growing deep and the worry building in my chest.

He shook his head and tried to explain. “It’s a hunch, but I know I’m right. Why else would she live in that tiny little trailer in that crappy trailer park?”

“You knew about that? Why didn’t you tell me?” I inquired.

“I saw her one night when I was picking up some weed for Gail’s brother. She was sitting outside that little place, starring up at the sky, looking lost.”

“Does she know you know where she lives?” He shook his head. “I made the mistake of following her home one night, and she basically told me she lives there because all her money is going to pay a debt back home. She practically bit my head off when I offered to help her get a better place.”

Joel whistled and reasoned, “That’s why she deflates around you.” It was my turn to look confused. “She’s looked at you across the shop as much as you’ve looked at her. I think she’s embarrassed.”

I lifted my head toward the ceiling and closed my eyes. How would I feel if someone saw something I didn’t want anyone to know?

I didn’t have time to answer him before the shop door opened.

We both turned to see who was there, and I began to get worried when I saw it was Rich and Jake and not Sydney.

I looked at Joel, and he looked as worried as I felt about her not being here yet.

When I looked at the clock, I saw it was almost six-forty-five.

She had never been later than six-fifteen.

“I’ll be back. Call me if she shows up,” I stated and turned to walk out of the shop, not greeting anyone as I marched to my truck.

Traffic in Rapid wasn’t bad this early in the morning, and with little trouble, I was pulling up to the trailer park where she lived by seven o’clock.

The dirt road had ruts and dips in it from lack of maintenance, and as I maneuvered around them down the road, my eyes were locked on her truck and trailer.

There weren’t any lights on in her trailer when I pulled up and put my truck into park. On instinct, I sent Jigsaw a text message.

Me: I may need you, brother.

I entered the address and pressed send, not knowing if I was going to need backup or not. If Joel was right and she was hiding from someone, I worried they might have found her. I turned the truck off, and my phone dinged as I got out and closed the door.

Jigsaw: I’m close by. Just say the word.

Me: Stand by.

Walking between her truck and the trailer, I listened for her moving around inside. Not hearing any sounds, I approached the front door and lifted my fist to knock. Just before my hand made contact, she opened the door and wiped under her nose with a tissue.

Sydney’s eyes were puffy, her nose was running, her usually well-kept hair was pulled back away from her beautiful face, and a fluffy robe covering her curves.

“What are you doing here, Raven?” Sydney asked before breaking out in a coughing fit.

I stepped closer to the door, and she stepped back, allowing me to walk inside. I pulled the door closed behind me as I placed my hand on her forehead. “You’re burning up. I need to get you to the doctor.”

She shook her head and coughed again. “I can’t afford to go to the doctor. It’s just a cold. I’ll be back to work tomorrow.”

Looking around the tiny trailer, I saw a single bed pressed against the back wall, a small sink and fridge along the front wall, and a door which I assumed led to the bathroom. It was clean and well maintained inside, but it couldn’t have been more than a hundred square feet.

And it swayed with every cough she emitted.

“Damn it, Sydney. I’ll pay for you to go to the doctor. You’re sick, and you need antibiotics,” I tried to calmly reason, but she shook her head and pulled the front of her robe closed tighter.

“I’ll be fine.” She took a step closer and said, “Thank you for checking on me. I’m sorry I didn’t call you myself.”

I tilted my head to the side and looked down at her as she brought her hypnotic brown eyes up to mine. Even with a red, snotty nose and bloodshot eyes, she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on. But she was fucking hard-headed.

I gave her a half-smile and explained, “This goes two ways. Either you get dressed and voluntarily let me take you to the doctor, or I’ll toss you over my shoulder and make you.”

She narrowed her eyes and replied, “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Darlin’, I’m a patched member of the Sinners Revenge MC. Don’t test me.” Moving closer, I whispered, “You won’t win.”

All her bravado and stubbornness disappeared as she exhaled and took a step back. “Give me a minute to get dressed and I’ll be right out.”

I turned to give her privacy, looking at the door. “I don’t trust you to not lock me outside. Get dressed. I can’t see anything.”

“Pain in my ass man,” she mumbled as the tiny trailer swayed as she got dressed behind me.

A few times, she began to cough, and I wanted to turn to check on her but wouldn’t look unless she invited me.

I wasn’t a perve, even if I wanted to fuck her eight ways to Sunday.

A moment later, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see she had slipped on a pair of jeans and some kind of shirt under her hoodie.

“I’m ready,” she sassed.

Opening the door, I stepped down and turned to offer her my hand.

She looked at it, then at me, before she decided on something in her head and accepted it.

When she was safely on the ground, she tried to release her grip, but I linked our fingers together and closed the door behind us.

Guiding her to my truck, I opened the door and helped her inside before jogging around to the driver’s side.

I sent a quick text to Jigsaw before I got inside.

Me: Send a prospect to guard the address until I give the word. I’ll explain later.

I didn’t wait for a response before I got behind the wheel and cranked the truck. Glancing over at her, I saw she was looking off into the distance, and when I said her name, she seemed to snap out of whatever haze she was in.

“Sydney, are you ready?”

She nodded, and I put the truck in gear and pulled into the driveway across from hers before I backed out and drove up the road.

A prospect pulled down the road, and she looked at him over her shoulder as he pulled up to her trailer.

Not seeming to have any fight left in her, she sat straight and wiped under her nose with a tissue as I got to the main road.

I didn’t know if this was a good development or a bad one, but I would take it. For close to three months, I’d avoided what I felt for her the moment she walked into the shop. And if I had to win her heart by taking care of her while she was sick, =I would do just that.

I just hoped when she was well that she’d stay around.