Brazen (Motorcycle Club Romance): Ryder and Sawyer 2 (Fallen Idols Motorcycle Club Book 6)

Brazen

Fallen Idols MC 6

Ryder and Sawyer Book 2

Savannah Rylan

Brazen

Published By Savannah Rylan Books

Copyright © 2015 Savannah Rylan

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places or events are entirely the work of the author. Any resemblance to actual persons, events, or places is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in piracy of copyrighted materials.

Cover art by Cover Up Designs

ONE

Ryder

I pressed my back against the back wall, gun drawn, safety off, as Axel made his way around front. Screams echoed from the house, but I didn’t make my move. Not yet. If we were going to get Paige and the others out alive, we had to time this just right.

And, fuck. Cruz could be in there. His bike wasn’t out front, but, from the information we gathered, it seemed he was on his way to relieve Blaze. If anything happened to him…

I pushed the thoughts from my mind. Worrying and doing best-case scenario shit was for fucking pussies. There was no best-case scenario because there was only one scenario. Axel and I wouldn’t fail to get everyone out alive.

The backdoor creaked open, and I straightened, readying my finger on the trigger. A pale set of female legs stepped out onto the porch. A tattooed hand covered her mouth, and her eyes were crazed with fear, tears spilling down her cheeks. I could see the start of a nasty bruise forming over her already swollen eye, and my jaw clenched. Fucking bastard would pay.

Her eyes locked with mine, and widened. I held my finger to my lips. By the reddish blonde hair, I assumed it was Paige, and was grateful to see her alive, even if she was pretty banged up. I was also
so
fucking glad Axel was on the other side of the house. If he had seen that they laid a finger on her, he’d go ballistic on the prick. No question.

The asshole pushed her forward, so I snapped the silencer on my gun, and crept out from the shadows, pointing the barrel of my gun at his head. Before he could react I pulled the trigger,  his body lifeless before he even hit the linoleum. Blood splattered across her face and the guy collapsed. Paige sucked in a breath to scream, but I wrapped my hand around her mouth and yanked her into the darkness.

I tapped my finger to my lips again and motioned for her to stay hidden in the bushes. Her hands and legs shook and I squeezed her shoulder. “You’re going to be alright,” I whispered.

“What the conyo was that, e
s
é
?” someone yelled from the inside. “Go check.”

“Stay here,” I whispered, and she nodded emphatically, eyes still wide as she curled into a tiny ball. I stood, keeping my body bent slightly, as I took the back porch steps two at a time, stepping into the doorframe of the house.

A short guy with a bandana stood in the small kitchen, his back to me, as he listened to the commotion in the other room. This time I clearly saw the skull on his cut. Fuckin’ Almas. If we weren’t already on the brink of war, my next move would send us into a full on battle with each other.

Bandana guy’s set a foot into the kitchen, hitting the dead guy, and his teeth grinded as he reached into the waistband of his pants. By the time he got it out, it was too late. I put a fucking bullet right between his eyes.

I heard Paige’s muffled screams as she clamped her hand over her mouth. Fuck! She’d followed me anyway. A gunshot, and then the sound of shattering glass, echoed through the house. I held Larry’s car keys out to Paige.

“There’s a black Chevy Malibu parked down the street. Get in it, lock the doors, and hide under the seat. You got me?”

Her eyes darted to the keys, but she didn’t make a move to take them. “But… my friend. She’s inside.”

“Axel will get her.”

“Axel’s here?” Her eyes went wide, peering further into the house.

“Yes, now go.”

She nodded, and hesitantly took the keys, but before she took off, she turned to me. “Promise me, he’ll be okay.” Her voice was desperate, and her eyes bore into mine as if they were searching for any ounce of hope that the people she cared most about in this world would walk out that door alive.

I didn’t make promises I couldn’t keep, but I was sure about this one. “I promise.”

With fear in her stance, she ran away from the house, and I slipped in the back door. I followed the source of the noise as my eyes scanned every inch. If I didn’t want to catch a bullet between my own eyes, I needed to constantly be aware of my surroundings. Down the hall, I saw a body. Fuck, Blaze.

Double checking that no one else was around, I knelt beside him. Oh,
thank God
he was breathing. That was not something I’d want to have to tell Trista. He was knocked out cold, though.

“Psst.”

My gun hand swung around, and Cruz held his hands up. “It’s just me,” he said, and pointed to a living room.

“How many?” I asked.

“Just one.”

I nodded. “Okay. We go on three.” I held my fingers up, and we counted down.

On three we barged in, but neither Axel nor any Las Almas were anywhere in sight.

A girl, bloodied and beaten to a fucking pulp, was slumped over in a corner. “Where the fuck is Axel?” I screamed.

She blinked up, unable to focus, as blood streaked down her dark eyes.  

“Where is he?” I demanded.

More tears streamed down her face as she curled herself into a tight ball. Guilt stabbed at my heartstrings for screaming at this chick, but I didn’t know who the hell she was. Axel was my brother, and I made a promise. I went to bend down to her level, but her eyes rolled in the back of her head, and she was out fucking cold. I just hoped she wasn’t dead.

“Cruz!”

“I’m here.”

“Stay with her. And see if she’s breathing.”

I ran out of the house, and scanned the yard, looking for my brother. Around the house, I found him, swiping at his lip. “Son of a bitch got away. Ran like the motherfuckin’ coward he is.”

“Fuck ‘em. Two of his guys are dead on the front porch. Paige is safe. She’s in the car. Go to her. I got this under control.”

He didn’t even wait for me to finish my sentence before taking off. He was in deep for this girl.

I turned back, and went to check on Cruz and the girl. I’d probably have to call Bones. She was going to need some medical attention for sure.

Cruz stood as I entered. “She’s pretty bad off. Gonna call Bones?” I nodded, and he continued, ”What about the bodies?”

“Least of my worries. Someone needs to call Trista, and tell her Blaze is unconscious.” 

TWO

Ryder

I called Raven’s Nest, and got Rev and Ace to come down to get rid of the bodies. Rev was a sick fuck who took pleasure in shit like that. I wouldn’t be surprised if he kept teeth or fingers as mementos.

Once Blaze finally came to, and only once he was totally coherent, I called Trista. Fifteen minutes later, the front door flew open, and she stormed in.

“What the fuck happened?” she demanded, as she scanned the room, looking for Blaze. Their eyes met briefly, and I could see the silent conversation they were having. Everyone knew they were fucking, but with the relief in her eyes, I knew it was becoming more. Why they continued to keep it quiet was beyond me.

“This girl is pretty fucked up. I think we might need to bring her to an actual hospital,” Cruz said, as hovered over the chick that had passed out.

Trista turned, eyes blazing with rage. “It’s best if you just shut the fuck up,” Trista said, and I grabbed her arm.

“Down, girl,” I murmured. “Is she breathing, Cruz?”

“Yeah, but barely.”

“Then we’ll deal with it soon.”

Trista twisted out of my grip, and shoved a finger into my chest. “Why should we deal with it? It’s not my fucking problem. I don’t even know who the hell she is. But, what is my problem is that two of our guys are carrying bodies into trunks right now, and Blaze…” She took a deep breath, and clenched her fists at her side. “Blaze could’ve been killed, and those two bodies being cleaned up could’ve easily been you and Axel’s.”

It was normal for Trista to be worked up, but the panic in her voice, and the downright fear in her eyes, was anything but. “We’re okay,” I assured her.

The stiffness in her stance softened as she turned to Axel who was cradling Paige on the sofa. “Is she okay?”

Paige shook her head, but Axel spoke. “I want Bones to check her out. Head to toe. Pretty sure she might have a concussion, and her arm is either severely sprained or broken. If there weren’t two bodies being dragged from this house right now, I’d be calling 911.”

“Did someone call Bones?”

“He’s coming, but was in the middle of a surgery, so it might be a bit,” I offered.

Axel stood from the couch and approached Trista and I. “What I don’t get is, why you were calling Blaze away when I specifically asked him to watch this house.”

“What are you talking about?” Trista scrunched her face in confusion. “I didn’t.”

“He called Cruz to come relieve him,” I explained.

Trista turned from us, and went to Blaze. I followed, unwilling to give them a moment to discuss anything. Something wasn’t right, and I wasn’t about to be left in the dark. There was too much shit going on and too many suspicions. This one ended tonight.

“Did you or did you not call Cruz to relieve you?” I demanded.

“I…I don’t remember,” Blaze said, rubbing his head.

“Think fucking hard, and I’m sure you’ll remember,” I pressed.

“Hey!” Trista yelled, giving me a nice shove to my chest. “Lay off of him. How about I knock you out fucking cold, and then start playing twenty questions, huh?”

I held my hands up and backed down. There were too many goddamned emotions flying around for us to get anywhere. Though I had a gut feeling I was questioning the wrong guy. “Fine. We’ll talk tomorrow. But we
will
talk. Cruz, let’s go.”

“But I was…”

I grabbed his shoulder, and pushed him toward the door, cutting him off. “You’re coming with me.” I turned back to Axel. “I’ll take Larry’s car back. You better take Paige to your place after Bones gets here.”

“No,” Paige protested. “I’m not letting them scare me out of my own home. I already moved once because of them. I’m not letting it happen again.”

“It’s not up for debate,” Axel said, and Paige sat up, narrowing her eyes. “You’re either coming with me, or I’m moving in, so make up your mind now.”

I left before a decision was made. “How’d you get here?” I asked Cruz, as we made our way to the driveway.

“My bike,” he answered, and pointed to his old man’s Harley parked way up the street. It was squeezed in between two big SUV’s, which is why I missed it the first time.

“You finally got it running.”

He smiled proudly. “Of course. Did you have any doubts?”

I shook my head. “You are one cocky bastard, but enough with the bullshit. I need you to tell me right now that you had nothing to do with tonight.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“What am I talking about? I’m talking about the fact that you supposedly got a call from Blaze to come relieve him, yet no one else knows anything about it.”

“Are you accusing me of something? Because, if you are, just get it out.”

“I don’t accuse. I search for the truth. I gave you the vest.” I pulled at the leather draped across his back. “Because I thought you had what it takes to be a Fallen Idol.”

His eyes were focused and determined. “And I do.”

“Okay. Just know, if I find out you’re lying to me, about any of this, not even your sister will be able to stop me from treating you like a traitor. You hear me?”

Cruz swallowed hard, and his lip twitched. It was a nervous habit he’d had since he was a kid.

“Last chance. If you have something you need to confess, you need to tell me now because anything beyond tonight I won’t forgive.”

His lips parted, a million words looked like they were piling up on his tongue, but he cleared his throat, and they were lost. “No, man. We’re all good here.”

There was nothing for me to do, but take his word for it. “Good. Go home, get some sleep.”

He nodded, pulled his helmet on, kicked his leg over his machine, and took off down the street. 

I dropped Larry’s car off to him, and, before I headed home, I sent Sawyer a text.

I need you tonight. Naked and wet.