Page 6 of Breaking the Rules (Roaming Devils MC 1)

Chapter Two

With a gun in his hand Ryker kicked in the front door of Young Blood’s hidey hole. Inside reeked of blood and sex and Ryker did his best not to breathe it in. Drugs lay everywhere, everything from pot to pills. One addict was passed out with a needle in her arm. He searched through the place, looking for the cop. With a portion of his brothers causing commotion across town at Young Blood’s main clubhouse, he and a select few were getting Ella’s dad.

Two women were processing cocaine with a guard standing over them. Ryker pointed his gun and pulled the trigger. Blood splattered the pure coke and he swallowed, staring at it. There wasn’t enough dust in the room to get him high, but if he stayed long enough the temptation of it would win. Another guard came toward him from the hallway and he pointed and shot. His intelligence from Skanky Pete said that there were four guys inside the house. That meant two were still lurking nearby.

“The strong blood smell is coming from that door.” Vampire pointed to a door to the right of them.

Ryker went first, reaching the door and turning the knob. Some rickety-assed stairs led to the basement. He hated these missions. They never knew what they would find when they got to the bottom. And whoever was down there had the advantage.

He took the first step and the stench of blood hit him hard in the face. Old blood and new mixed in a sickening cocktail before him. He swallowed hard, hoping that the dipshits hadn’t killed the poor fucker yet.

“You and me.” Ryker pointed downstairs at Vampire. He glanced over at Superman and Jonesy. “You two go around back.”

They split up just in case the stupid fuckers wanted to run. Ryker descended the steps, each one squeaking with his weight, approaching with caution. The darkness prevented him from seeing anything so with Vampire ready to fire, he flipped the lights.

The cop hung from chains. He stood on the tips of his toes, bruised and bloody from his beatings. From the arsenal left behind they’d used baseball bats, metal pipes, knives of all different kinds, and even an electric cattle prod. The guy was barely conscious.

Ryker glanced around the small room and when he decided there were no places to hide, he put his weapon at the small of his back.

“Isn’t this a shocking twist of fate,” Ryker said as he approached the poor bastard. “Wake up. You’ve got a wife and daughter to get home to.”

The man opened his swollen eye. He didn’t say anything as Ryker and Vampire unhooked him from the chains. His body was weak and his legs gave out when his weight was released. Ryker held his upper body while Vampire got his feet. They carried him out of the basement and to the van with ease.

“The other two must have left,” Superman said. “The whore said that they don’t know where they went but they could have gone for supplies in the neighboring town. It fits the bill of the club. Skip out when real danger occurs. Pussies.”

Ryker nodded as they put the cop in the back of the van. “Take him to Razor. Make sure he’s cleaned up before his daughter sees him.”

He didn’t know what Ella would think of it. From what Ryker could tell, the guy had some broken ribs, maybe some broken bones in his face. He’d lost plenty of blood, so he definitely needed hospital attention.

“What are we doing?” Vampire asked.

“We’re going to find the two missing fuckers.” Ryker smiled at him and got on his bike. He started it up while Vampire got on the bike next to him. Vampire’s real name was Parker and they’d patched in the club together. His nickname came from his fascination with blood and wanting to make their enemies bleed. The man was too damn good at torture. He was definitely not someone anyone wanted to fuck with.

They rode to the next town and spotted the two bikers sitting outside at a restaurant, eating. Ryker snorted at the stupidity of it. These guys were supposed to be street thugs that battered and beat a cop. And here they were enjoying a sandwich with one another with no one else around.

Instead of saying anything, Ryker and Vampire pulled out their guns and shot the two peckerheads in the chest before riding off. He was sure that would make the six o’clock news but he didn’t fucking care. The job had been completed and now it was time to settle things with Razor before Ella came to get her father.

They rode back to the clubhouse. Razor ordered the cop be taken to the hospital and grabbed Ryker’s arm before he got off his bike. “The girl is meeting you there. Go get my money and bring it back to me.”

So she ended up paying them too. Ryker didn’t like the thought of that, but he didn’t say anything. He tried to push down the giddy feeling he had at the very idea of seeing Ella. God, he was pathetic.

He rode to the hospital and waited while his brothers unloaded the cop. They were fucking heroes to the doctors since Superman laid it on thick that they rescued him. Ryker sat back and watched as they all but hero-worshiped his crew before taking the cop into the trauma room.

Ella came around the corner of the ER and saw them. She had a bag in her hand and tried her best to keep from drawing attention to herself. Several nurses watched them as she approached.

“I brought you lunch.” She handed the bag to Ryker. “Ham and cheese just like you like with two pickles. They were out of diet soda, so you’re on your own for something to drink.”

Ryker stared at her. How the fuck did she know he liked ham and cheese with two pickles? He blinked at her for a moment. He knew it was the money. There was no reason that Ella would ever get him a sack lunch.

“Thanks.” He swallowed. “Uh, that’s not why I called you down here, though. We found your dad. He’s been beaten up pretty badly but he’s alive. They’re taking care of him in trauma one.”

He watched her. She rushed to the glass doors and the flood of emotion poured over. The nurses didn’t know what to do and quite honestly neither did he. Ryker found himself shoving the bag at Superman, who simply nodded.

He went to her, wrapping his arms around her as she clung to him. He tried not to enjoy the softness of her body against his, but he couldn’t help himself. The coconut scent of her skin mingled with the antiseptic of the hospital. He held her while she cried. He was a mess, but he couldn’t seem to force himself to move away from her.

Vampire came toward him. “I’m going to wait. Superman and Jonesy are going to meet Razor.”

Ryker nodded. A nurse came toward them. “Dr. Hawkins, maybe you should have a seat.”

---