Page 13 of Wild Card (Royal Bastards MC: Cody, Wyoming #1)

ELEVEN

Ash

A fter stopping off at a few more places to make collections, we arrive back at the club, and I gotta admit, I’m impressed by what I’ve seen. I had no idea the Cody charter was investing in pussy, and from the looks of those envelopes, it’s paying off.

“Had fun?” Moby asks as we head for the bar. Hack hands over the pile of envelopes from his pocket to Byron, who doesn’t bother counting them and tucks them in his cut pocket.

“I’ll bet that one with the cute little belly ring asked after me, huh?” Moby rubs his hands together, while Cass pops the tops off two beers and hands them to me and Hack.

“There were a lot of 'em with belly rings,” I point out, wondering if Byron’s got over what happened earlier yet. Maybe now he’s had some time to think about things, he’s understanding my logic.

The side glance he gives me a few seconds later tells me that he ain’t.

The place ain’t as busy as it was earlier, and since I got no reason to stick around, I decide to get back to the bar. I wanna know how Ruby’s friend took the news about her brother, and be there for Ruby if it didn’t go well.

“Well, it’s been fun, but I got somewhere I need to be.” I finish my beer and start making my way to the door.

“Wait!” Byron’s voice bellows after me. “Where do ya think you're going?”

“To the bar, you told Earl I’d help out... remember?”

“I want you to stay clear of that Saunders girl; you’ve caused enough damage. I got a call from Derek Porter; his boy’s gonna be okay. But you messed up. Stop thinkin’ with ya dick.”

“Him and the girl are over. What she does now ain’t got shit to do with him,” I tell him, recalling the way Ruby gripped me tight as she rode the back of my bike. I never thought I’d see the day that I’d want a female on my saddle.

“Brett ain’t gonna let her go that easy. This is the Porter family. They always get what they want.” Hack laughs to himself, while Byron raises his shoulder and knocks back his whiskey.

“Then do somethin’ about it. Make a fuckin’ stand. The club should be who’s runnin’ this town.”

“You got a real loose fuckin’ tongue, Wild Card,” Prez warns. “Especially considering you know fuck all.” He stands up and comes toward me.

“You were sent here to do a job, now instead of chasin’ skirt, get out there and do it.” He gestures his head to the door, and I show no fear or fucks as I turn my back and leave.

I’ve never been one to do as I’m told, so I head straight back to the bar. It’s lookin’ busy, but Ruby’s coping, and when she sees me, she immediately gets a guilty look on her face.

“I much prefer it when you're blushin’,” I tell her, heading straight over so I can put my hands on her. It’s hard to believe that I’ve only known the girl for a few days. I can’t seem to get enough of her, and I actually think I missed her while I’ve been gone.

“Ash.” She looks at me as if I’m committing a sin and forces my arm away when I wrap it around her waist. I watch the way her eyes glance around the room to remind me that we’re not alone, and all I can do is smile.

There ain’t a single look this girl has that I don’t like.

Embarrassment just became my new favorite.

“Are you okay?” I check. She seems different to how she was when I left her, so I’m figuring things didn’t go well with Esmé.

“I’m fine, and I’m glad you're back. I need you to watch the bar until Earl’s home.” She starts untying her apron, then places it on the counter.

“You got somewhere you need to be?” I ask, laughing at how hasty she’s being, and when that guilty look spreads all the way to her eyes, I get the feeling I ain’t gonna like her answer.

“Ash, I don’t wanna get into this here… but what happened earlier was wrong,” she whispers so no one else around can hear.

“What part of it, baby?” I whisper right back at her. Doing my best to tease her playful side back out. She can deny it all she wants, but leaving that place with me earlier gave her a rush.

“All of it!” she hisses. “I shouldn’t have left Brett the way I did. I shouldn’t have let you kiss me, and I definitely should not have gotten on the back of your bike. Wendy’s already told half of town that she saw us together.”

I try to hide the grin on my face because she looks irresistible when she’s all flustered.

“Come on, darlin’, I thought riding the bike was your favorite part.” I go to rest my hand on her hip, but she backs away.

“I’m going to see Brett.” She rushes her words out, like she’s been holding them in for far too long, proving that my intuition was correct. I don’t like the fuckin’ answer.

“You're what? ” I have to be sure I heard her right.

“Esmé called. Brett was released from the hospital half an hour ago. I’m heading to the house to see if he's okay and sort out this mess,” she tells me, and I scrub my hand over my face while I try and figure this out.

“I get that you didn’t want him dead, Ruby. I kinda understand that you wanted me to leave his brains intact. But you wanna go to that jerk's house so you can check he’s okay?” I wait for her to make all this make sense.

“Listen, Ash, I appreciate your concern for me. But I can handle my own problems, and I need to fix this one.”

“I already fixed it. That low-life prick ain’t gonna touch you again.” I feel the frown of confusion on my face as I stare back at her.

“I love him,” she tells me, and it ain’t just her words that shock me; the way they sting does, too.

“You love him?” I repeat, laughing at how unbelievable this is.

“Yes,” she assures me. “I’m not asking you to understand. I never asked you for anything. Just please let this go.”

“How the fuck can you love someone that did that to you? Ruby, your guy should be the person who protects you, someone who would die before he lets you come to any harm. Not the person who fuckin’ causes it.” I feel myself getting frustrated. “You can’t go back to him.”

“Says who?” she challenges me. “You don’t know me, you're just some guy passing through town who will be gone in a few weeks. I got swept away this afternoon. I forgot who I am.”

“You don’t know who you are, at least that's how it seems. If you did, you’d value yourself more.”

She closes her eyes and tries not to show how much what I’ve said has hurt her.

“Look in the mirror. Take another look at what he did to you, and get real used to how it looks, because he’ll do it again,” I warn her.

“He’ll keep doing it till he’s taken everything outta ya.

” I hate that my words cause her smile to fade, and I want so badly to comfort her.

“You're better than this. You deserve to be happy. Don’t settle for anything less than perfect.” I’m not claiming that I’m that perfect.

Losing her to a man who was worthy wouldn’t be so bad, but to Brett Preston…

“Like I said, you know nothing about me.” Ruby turns around and leaves without looking back, and I lash out and kick the end of the bar with my boot as she slams the door.

It’s nine thirty and Earl still ain’t back; neither is Ruby, so I assume all is well at the Porter house. I’ve spent all night trying to get my head around why she’d be so stupid, and I still got nothing. Nothing but frustration and an urge to find Brett and kick his ass all over again.

I can’t count how many times I’ve had to talk myself outta leaving here and going to Porter’s house. I can’t just sit back and watch the girl make such a big mistake, even if she is right and I don’t fuckin’ know her. Someone has to try and make the girl see sense.

I’m clearing up some glasses when I hear the commotion. Some teenage girl rushes in through the door, screaming for help and looking scared to fuckin’ death. When I see how panicked she is, I abandon what I’m doing and follow her outside.

“I don’t think he’s breathing,” she tells me, looking down at the tall, lanky teenage boy who's passed out on the sidewalk.

“What happened? Did he take somethin’?” I check, tapping the kid’s face to try and get a response outta him.

“Should I call an ambulance?” A voice calls from behind me.

“Did he take somethin’?” I yell at the girl. He ain’t bleeding from anywhere, I can’t see any injuries, but he’s pale as hell.

“I…I…” The girl looks as if she doesn't wanna answer, which pretty much answers my question.

“You want him to live? You gotta tell the truth,” I tell her straight. Looking up at her.

“He took something, it was just a couple of pills. I told him not to.” She bursts into tears, while I quickly set to work.

“What are you doing?” Her face turns horrified as she watches me ram my fingers to the back of his throat and roll him on his side.

“Come on…Come on!” I scream at the limp kid, shaking him a little before attempting to make him hurl again.

He’s not responding, and so this time I force my fingers back a little further.

Eventually, he gags and retches, vomiting all over me and the sidewalk.

“That's right, get it up!” I breathe a sigh of relief, patting his back.

“Jamie?” The girl leans over him, fussing with him and sounding relieved. “Jamie, are you okay?”

“He ain’t outta the woods yet,” I tell her. The kid is barely giving a response; he’s still out of it, so I take my phone and call an ambulance while a few people surrounding us join in on checking he’s okay.

One of the local guys, who's been sitting at the bar all night, comes out with a glass of water for him, and when I notice that the girl is shaking, I take off the hoodie I’m wearing and wrap it around her shoulders.

“I’m sure he’s gonna be okay. Paramedics are on their way,” I assure her.

“But you do need to tell me where he got those pills from.” I can see she’s scared of getting into trouble, but I can’t let that hold me back.

The sooner I fix this fuckin’ drug problem, the sooner I can get outta town and pretend I never met that damn girl I’ve been worried about all night.

“Sweetheart, I ain’t gonna talk to the cops,” I promise her.

“You really can’t make that promise.” She shakes her head and looks back down at her friend.

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. You can trust me,” I assure her.

She has to know something. The kid on the floor starts to shake, probably outta shock, and luckily, a woman rushes from the other side of the street already carrying a blanket.

I nod at her gratefully before I get back to pressing the girl.

“Your boyfriend could have died tonight. There are gonna be plenty more like him if you don’t tell me where he got those pills from. ”

“He’s not my boyfriend, we’re just friends, and I told him not to take that shit, but he didn’t listen.” She snuffles back more tears.

“Who supplied him? I just need a name.” I screw my hands into fists and try not to get agitated.

Her eyes drop down to look at her friend, and when she raises them back up to me, I can see she’s still debating.

“We met him just off the freeway, at a motel. I don’t know his name, but he had a tattoo on his hand of a scorpion. He wasn’t very old, maybe a few years older than us. Our parents are gonna freak.” She starts to cry again.

“Listen, we all make mistakes, you just gotta make sure you learn from 'em.”

“Has someone called Sheriff Underwood?” The woman tending to the boy looks up at the small crowd that’s gathered around us.

“I think we’ll get the kid to hospital before we start worryin’ about involving the law,” I tell her, wanting to get a head start on this.

I don’t care how much Byron trusts the town’s sheriff; it’s always best to be a few steps ahead.

“Sheriff Underwood is Jamie’s dad,” the girl explains, taking her friend’s hand and closing her eyes.