Page 67 of Breaking the Rules (Roaming Devils MC 1)

“I don’t really think I’m all that soft.” He rubbed the flat part of the knife along Rooster’s jaw. The man quivered, sweat dotting his forehead. “I could slice your throat right now and nobody would even notice.”

Rooster’s Adam’s apple bobbled. “You’re not going to do that.”

“You sure?” He tilted the knife so the very edge pricked his skin. “Don’t ever underestimate me. Just because I have a woman I love does not mean that I’m in any way, shape, or form soft. I grew up in this club. I’m just as deadly as my father, though not quite as impulsive. Don’t ever make the mistake of saying I’m soft again.”

He let the man up and put his knife back in its sleeve. “Let’s go. We need to get there before dark.”

Superman pulled his sunglasses on. “I hope he doesn’t try to skip. He’s pretty damn antsy.”

“He’ll be there.” Ryker pulled on his sunglasses. His father couldn’t hide forever from the club he supposedly loved.

The ride to New Orleans was mostly uneventful. The club was on the east portion of the city and they rode straight there. Ryker had called ahead before he left Atlanta to make sure the president of the chapter knew to expect them. He had a conversation about what went down in the club and how Razor had invited trouble with the cops to their door by kidnapping and threatening to kill Ella. The president sided with him fairly easily and promised to keep Razor entertained until they got there.

Ryker rolled to a stop outside the clubhouse, with his crew following suit beside him. The van was the last to pull in, and he’d already dismounted his bike by the time they got out of the vehicle.

The club was simple on the outside so it didn’t draw too much attention to what was on the inside. The big burly man standing by the door took one look at them and saluted Ryker before holding the door open for him and granting him entrance to the club.

A woman Ryker knew came toward him, smiling as she recognized him from across the room. A while back, Rizzo, the president of the New Orleans chapter, gave Ryker her company for the length of his visit. He couldn’t help smiling at the memory.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in.” She leaned up to kiss his cheek. “It’s good to see you, Ryker. You look sexier than ever.”

Her blonde hair and blue eyes were enough to draw attention to her from any man around the room, but the tight little t-shirt that covered her large, natural breasts was what got her the most attention. That and the little black skirt she wore. He smiled at her while she ran her fingers along his arm. They’d had some fun times together.

“Yeah, uh,” he glanced behind him, “guys, this is Beth. Beth, this is my crew.”

She gave them a sultry smile and one of the prospects blushed. Ryker laughed. The club was dimly lit and gave the impression that no one was around. Ryker knew better than that. The front room was usually for show and tell if the police came knocking. Deeper into the club was where the heart of the party was.

“Is Rizzo around?”

“Sure.” She smoothed her hand along his chest.

Beth held his gaze for what felt like minutes before Vampire coughed, “Ella.”

Ella. Ryker lifted Beth’s hand and kissed it. There was nothing between them and whatever had happened in the past wouldn’t happen again. But he couldn’t exactly erase his sexual history just because he was in a relationship with Ella. Things had happened. Plenty was good. Beth was great.

Ryker dropped her hand and glanced over at Vampire. “Subtle.”

Vampire shrugged.

Beth glanced between them before saying, “Follow me, boys.”

She led them deeper into the club. Ryker wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his father. An dispute between club members resulted in the two handling it themselves. One man didn’t run from the other like the pussy his father was. He was still fairly sure that Razor thought he was dead.

When they got to the main party room, Ryker spotted his father immediately, sitting next to Rizzo. He was smoking weed and laughing at something one of the women said to him. Ryker stalked toward him, getting close enough that when his father looked up, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“Surprised to see me?” Ryker asked before he swung his fist at Razor’s face. Vampire and Superman got Sonny, and the two prospects got the other chapter member that had come with them. Razor spit blood to the side, staring up at his son.

“So the doctor saved your life.”

“Did you think she wouldn’t?” Ryker gripped Razor’s cut and dragged him up from the seat. “No murder charge for you, so you can come back to Atlanta where you belong.”

There were a few rules that the MC followed. The president was the highest ranking member and, generally speaking, he had the ultimate authority. While Ryker was now VP, his beef with his father was something that created club tension. They were divided, and Rizzo’s club knew it. The leadership had faltered and only one would be left standing.

The majority of the club wanted Ryker. He got along with most of the guys and he tried to push them in a different direction than coke and extortion. He wanted something a little more legal. Something that made a little more money to fill their pockets.

Now seemed to be that time.

They hauled them out of the club, tied their hands, and put black sacks over their heads. The guys knew to meet him back in Georgia, where they planned to take care of business the right way, so they had a long journey ahead of them.

“Thanks for keeping things peaceful.” Ryker slapped Rizzo’s hand and patted his back.

“Yeah, anytime, brother. It’s about time you got the leadership of the club anyway.”

He nodded. His father was a leader by force. It served him well for a while, but the other charters were tired of putting up with his shit. He walked into other people’s turf thinking that he owned the damn place. The lack of respect didn’t go unnoticed.

“Take care.” Ryker shook the hand of the VP. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do.”

Ryker got on his bike and started it up. While the other guys wanted to stop for a smoke break, he’d quit the habit along with the coke when he’d finally gotten sober. Ella had never complained, but he knew she didn’t like it. Hell, he didn’t like it. Not really. He rode on ahead, leading the van down the road, with the guys following in behind. It’d just turned nighttime and he had at least seven hours of road to travel.

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