Losing Traction: Westbeach #1

  When the song ends, he smiles at me again. I can’t believe he wrote that, it wasn’t only beautiful, but it was sensual as well, talk about a couple of our nights together slammed into a song. The next song they play is a cover of Framing Hanley “Lollipop” Ryker begins the guitar, dragging his tongue over his lip with a small smirk. Ryder removes his top, tucking it behind his shirt as he sings out the first line with a mischievous smirk on his face before all the instruments come in together joining Ryder. His veins surface out of his neck, sweat begins slipping down his tanned, muscled body and his abdominals tense with every word. Holy sweet mother of fucking God. When he screams out “Get on your knees” the entire crowd erupts into a roar of screams with bra’s flying out onto the stage. If I wasn’t so incredibly turned on right now, I would be jealous.

  “Shit,” Nettie whispers from beside me as it ends. “I feel like I have just been fucked, very hard.” I laugh, nodding my head in agreement. That was the hottest performance I have ever witnessed. I’m still smiling from being fucked senseless by Ryder’s voice when the ground begins to shake under my feet. The lights shut out, smoke alarms pierce my ears and the sprinklers set off above my head as water begins to spray out everywhere.

  “Earthquake!” A girl screeches from beside me.

  “It’s okay, it’s just a—” I’m cut off by the sudden panic of all the fans. Why the hell is everyone panicking, it’s just a small fucking earthquake for fuck’s sake. A man barges through me, hitting my left arm, bringing my attention to the fact that Nettie is no longer there.

  “Nettie!” I yell with no vision of where she is. The crowd continues their panic, people pushing and shoving through the massive crowd, desperate to get out. I roll my eyes—like this big ass building can cave in on us? People can be so dramatic.

  “Rufus!” I yell, trying to find him. “RUFUS!” I demand again, the annoyance in my tone evident. Before being pushed into a sea of people where I can’t see a God damn thing.

  Shit.

  Walking forward, trying to push through where everyone is screaming. Taking my phone out of my pocket and attempting not to drop it, I dial Ryder and he picks up on the second ring.

  “Phoebe! Where are you?” His tone is desperate.

  Someone pushes into me causing the grip I had on my phone to loosen which results in me dropping it to the floor.

  “Oh my God.” I drop my knees to the ground, attempting to retrieve it, only to be shoved over by a panicking fan. Her foot presses down onto my back like a weight of bricks, pushing all the air out my windpipes. Reaching for my phone, I grip onto it and snag it in my hands bringing it to my face.

  “Ryder? Ryder?”

  No answer. Shit! Bringing it back down to my view, I see the spider web of cracks all over the front screen. Of course, it’s fucking smashed. Now I wish I had listened to Carter and his moaning about me putting a cover on it. The bright orange light flashing to the right side where a fire exit has been opened catches my attention. The light from the street lamps glowing like a saving grace from all these crazy people. I shove my way through everyone, dodging and side stepping until I’m outside. Stepping outside the door, I let out a sigh of relief as the crisp air floats over me, goose bumps sprawling out over my skin in relief.

  “Fucking crazy ass fans,” I mumble as I begin walking around the back of the theater, the opposite way the fans are all running because I know that’s where the car is parked. When I see our limo, I run to it immediately, but Rellik isn’t in the driver’s seat. I bang on the roof in annoyance, turning my head back to the theater when a rag of chloroform goes over my mouth and everything turns black.

  Moving my head, and twisting it from the side, I notice that there’s a rag that’s wrapped up and taped into my mouth, with my eyes blindfolded and my hands tied together. I twist my head from left to right again, hoping to see something, anything, but all I hear is a chuckle.

  “Quit while you’re ahead, Phoebe.” I don’t recognize that voice, not at all.

  Why does he know my damn name?

  This has to be club shit. I mumble out words because I can’t speak and he laughs again, ripping the rag down from my mouth. Once my mouth is free, I ask, “What do you want?”

  “What do I want? Hmm…where should I start—”

  “How about we begin by, who do you ride with?”

  He scoffs. “I’m not one of your bikers, Phoebe. Oh no, this is much deeper than that.”

  My eyebrows cross in confusion. “What do you want, and who the fuck are you?”

  “You’re a tough little tiger, aren’t you?” he seethes out the tiger part.

  “How’d you know about that name?” Stupid question after the song tonight, but he obviously knows more.

  “Oh, I know a lot of things. I know that your brother is in the Sinful Souls MC, I know your dad died when you were fourteen and you found out after a race—love it, by the way, so fucking hot. I also know that after those two weeks you spent with Ryder Oakley, you had him wrapped around your perfect little finger. So tell me, Speedy, just how did you manage to whip my brother into submission? I hear he’s more the dominant.”

  “Brother?” I ask in a shocked tone, my pulse picking up. I’ve dealt with club shit before, I’ve dated the wrong guys from different chapters and had not so friendly hands be put on me—none of them lived to tell the story, but it has happened. This, though, this I don’t know. I don’t know the level of crazy from an outsider. Within the club, it’s usually club business. It’s black and white. This…this is shitting rainbows.

  “The only brother Ryder has, is Ryker.”

  He laughs, ripping off my blindfold, and when my eyes set in I gasp out in shock.

  “Rellik?” He chuckles. I don’t recognize this chuckle, or who he is right now. “Rellik! What the fuck!” I yank on the ties around my hands and his eyes narrow. He grips onto my cheeks, squeezing tightly, glaring right into my eyes. I look closer this time, and I see it now, I see into the depths of those eyes and what may reside in them. There’s pure evil in those depths, and if I look too long, I fear what may just jump out of them and possess me.

  “Listen. I don’t give a flying fuck about you. But again, I don’t want to hurt you…as such. I know the kind of heat you pack and having you here is already making me itchy. However, this needs to be done. So shut the fuck up and let this happen. Then maybe, I’ll let you live. Got it?”

  I nod my head, slumping back against the wall. “Got it. I have to say, I never pegged you. I need to spend some more time around the clubhouse, I’m losing my gift,” I say. “What do you want with me?” I ask, head tilted.

  “I want my revenge,” he replies, leaning into his seat.

  “Revenge? What revenge?”

  He leans forward. “Revenge because I didn’t get the chance my brothers did. I got thrown into a world that not even God himself could save me from.”

  “Foster care?” I ask with a blank stare on my face.

  He chuckled deeply. “I wish.”

  I shake my head. “Nothing makes sense.”

  Throwing his ankle over his knee, he runs his index finger over his chin slowly. I see the slight resemblance now, it’s not an obvious resemblance, or maybe that’s because every time I saw him he wore his driver’s hat and suit. Now that he’s wearing jeans and a hoodie, I can see him properly.

  “My parents, they had me after the twins. I’m three years younger than they are.” He sits forward running his hands over his face. “They owed someone a lot of money, they gambled a lot. There was no way they’d ever be able to repay the ten grand that they borrowed, so they gave me as payment.” His voice is strained and I feel a pang of hurt for him.

  “That’s horrible, I’m so sorry. Ryder and Ryker didn’t have an easy life either. Your parents left them when they were five. Your aunt raised them, as I’m sure she would have you.”

  He laughs, the wall coming back up over his eyes. “I was six months old when they gave me away,
Phoebe. Six months old!” He leans back and looks into my eyes. “I know you’re familiar with Kazmir Lyov, Phoebe. I know all about your life.”

  That name is like Lord Voldemort, everyone knows him, but we do not speak of his name.

  I wrap my arms around my knees protectively as the shivers shimmy down my spine. Kazmir Lyov is the Russian mafia and, as of recently, we just found out he was Ade’s father—Frank. Yeah, to say that we were all shocked is a complete understatement. A lot of drama went down with the club a few months ago, secrets were revealed, lives were taken and dignity was stolen. I’m familiar with some of the operations Kazmir was involved in.

  He watches my expression closely, laughing. “Thought so, and you also know who Bruce Peyton was?”

  I nod my head. “Of course, I do. Ade took care of that,” I spit out my reply. Bruce Peyton was the operation manager of the underground fighting ring, which was run by Kazmir Lyov until Ade killed him.

  He shakes his head. “He was about twenty-three years too late for me, princess.”

  “You? You were sent to them?”

  He nods his head, bringing his legs up and resting his arms on his knees. “They trained me from a child. The women they kept there as slaves from their husband’s debt, or their own debt, they raised me. I was loading weapons at age five, and I took my first life when I was seven. They wanted to throw me in a ring, but they thought I was much better at killing with a weapon. Do you know how it felt to see my brothers having the luxuries of life while I was out there barely being able to eat let alone walk free on the street?”

  I swallow down past my nerves. “That’s not fair, Rellik. They worked hard to get to where they are now. It’s not their fault.” I shake my head at him.

  He shrugs. “Maybe so, but I still need some sort of revenge.”

  “Why me?” I ask as he stands from his spot.

  “Because Ryder’s in love with you.”

  I scoff. “Yeah, I wouldn’t go that far.”

  We haven’t exchanged the L-word yet. I don’t know why, but we haven’t.

  “Women can be so fucking thick,” he whispers, shaking his head. “What the fuck are you wanting? Him to get on his knees and worship the holy ground you walk on? Fuck you women are deluded. Your parents read you too many fairy tales.”

  I laugh a sinister laugh. “No, trust me, I didn’t read fairy tales.”

  He looks at me, cocking his head. “Can I ask you something?”

  Raising my eyebrows. “Now you want to ask my permission for something? After you’ve kidnapped me? Sure, go ahead.” The sarcasm in my voice apparent.

  His eye twitches and a smirk crawls onto his lips. “Touché.”

  “Shoot! Ask away.”

  “Would you rather a knight in shining armor? Or a knight in armor that’s worn and ruined showing his battle scars?”

  “Battle scars,” I answer without second-guessing. “A knight in shining armor shows a man who’s never had to test his strength,” I whisper out my response.

  He nods his head, a small smile sprawling out across his lips.

  “Why did you ask me that?”

  “Because, I need to know that not everyone gives a fuck about a perfect masterpiece.”

  “Your brothers are not perfect, Rellik. Far from it.”

  He gets up from his seat, pulling me up from my spot. “They’ll know you’re gone now.”

  “Yeah. They will,” I mumble under my breath.

  He stops what he’s doing, pulling me into him again. “Look, I’ve been following my brothers for a long fucking time now. He’s never once had sex with the same girl more than twice. He’s never once let a woman stay over at his house. He’s never once let a woman sleep in his bed, and he sure as fuck has never written a song about this White Tiger chick. If that doesn’t show you how much he cares about you, then I should just kill you now and save the human race from one less stupid person walking this earth.”

  His words hit me like a ton of bricks. Realization sets in, and a tear almost surfaces in my eyes. I know his words are true, but the term ‘love’ should not be said lightly.

  I pause in my footsteps. “Who named you Rellik?” I ask intrigued.

  He smiles, placing his hands into his pockets. “A wise man. Rellik is killer spelled backward.”

  Shaking my head, I mumble, “You’d fit right in with my family.”

  I look up under my lashes to see him smirking. “Your family is a little fucking messed up.”

  I punch his arm. “Hey! That’s not very nice.”

  He shakes his head. “Someone kidnaps you, and you playfully punch them in the arm?”

  I shrug. “You won’t hurt me. I know this much.”

  “Don’t push it. And only because of your family. I’m not my brothers, Phoebe. I didn’t come wired with the normal emotions humans come with, they just don’t exist inside of me. I’m blank.” Sadness sweeps through me for him.

  He pulls out his phone, dialing a number, and glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. “Are the handcuffs too tight?”

  I shake my head. “They’re fine.”

  He turns his back on me, walking out of the room and proceeding with his call.

  I take this chance to look around and observe my surroundings. A room, two stories. The high ceilings and smell of the air tells me that I’m on a farm. The room is partly empty and looks like no one has lived in it for a very long time. The floors are wood, and sheets cover the little amount furniture the place contains. Its smells of must and horse shit. Nice. I’m so out of my element here. I know my brother would flip the world upside down if he knew what was happening, but he has so much going on and I really don’t want to involve the MC.

  Rellik walks back into the room, hanging up his phone and gripping onto my arm. “They know you’re gone. And what do you know, my brother has gone hulk smash on your guy’s entire hotel room.” He laughs into the air.

  “How do you know that?” I ask. “Where do you get your information?”

  He shakes his head, with a protective barrier sliding up over his gray eyes. “Irrelevant. Once they’re here, I’ll let you go. Word is, I’ve pissed off two brothers by taking you. Who would have thought, you had an impact on Ryker as well.” He rolls his eyes. The grip on my arm tightens, and he nudges me toward a door. We begin walking down a long hallway that’s equally musty, but still has artwork on the walls down the hallway and family portraits that must be worth a lot of money.

  “Whose house is this?” I ask as we hit the top of the stairwell.

  “I don’t know. It’s been vacant for a while.”

  “So you knew that they were going on tour before anyone else?”

  He nods his head and winks at me. “Of course.”

  Something feels off.

  How can he know so much?

  Unless he has inside information, and in that case—we have a snitch. I cringe and begin scanning over everyone in my head. The word snitch is a dirty word. I learned at a young age ‘talk shit, get hit’ and I stand by that to this day.

  Once we reach the bottom of the stairwell, he pulls me into the kitchen and ties me up again on one of the kitchen chairs. His phone rings from his pocket and he answers it.

  “Ah, hello brother,” he smirks over the phone.

  “She’s fine.” He hands me the phone. “Here baby, tell Ryder you’re fine.”

  Baby? I scrunch up my face at his pet name and snatch the phone out of his grasp making him laugh. I’m a little confused about him, he seems genuine when he says he doesn’t want to hurt me, but I know that if he had to he would.

  “Ryder?”

  “Fuck, I’m so sorry Phoebe. Has he touched you? We’re coming to get you.”

  “No. He hasn’t.” I’m not sure in which way he meant touch.

  “Put him back on the phone.”

  “Ryder?”

  “Yeah, baby.”

  “He’s had it rough.”

  Silence fills the air. “Put
him on,” he replies in a flat tone.

  They begin talking and once Rellik hangs up the phone, he crosses his arms across his chest.

  “He’s coming.”

  I nod my head. “Why didn’t you just talk to them, Rellik?”

  He shakes his head. “I don’t do talk. I barely do human.”

  “Well, you should have tried this time.”

  “I wanted revenge, Phoebe. I didn’t want to talk. I have been consumed with hate and bitterness for so long. Do you think I want to hate the only family I may have left? I don’t. But now I feel like I owe it to myself. I have been watching them closely, and there have been times when I have wanted to just drop it, but then I remembered all the times I went hungry, all the times I took a life!”

  Swallowing down the bile rising in my throat I shake my head. “That’s still not their fault, Rellik.”

  “I fucking know that, Phoebe. But I still need it, the need consumes me.”

  I decide to drop it, there is no getting through to him, but I see that he has a chance. He may think that he has no humanity, but I see it. I can see it shine through when I mention his brothers. I think he covers it with hate, he covers his love with hate and that’s where his problem lies. He doesn’t think he deserves to have them in his life, and maybe he doesn’t, that’s not for anyone to judge, that’s between them I guess.

  Time passes. I begin stirring in my seat because my ass is feeling numb.

  “Rellik? I need to walk. My ass hurts.”

  He’s sitting on the floor opposite me with his head resting against the wall. “All right then.” He stands from his spot coming over to me and untying the rope from around my wrists.

  “Does it hurt?” he asks, glancing down to my wrists.

  I shake my head. “No, it’s fine. Why are you being nice to me?”

  He laughs, wrapping the rope back around my wrists. “I have a lot of enemies. But your family? I do not want them added to that list.”

  I swallow. “So if I was just any girl that Ryder liked? You would have?”