Wounded (Dogs of War MC Book One) (5 page)

“Yeah so were Cain and Able.”

“You’re sure?”

“Well I wasn’t at the time but then when I’d gotten away from them I’m lying there waiting to start healing and nothing happened.”

“How is that even possible?”

“I don’t know man, they must have drugged me somehow before we left. The only thing I can think of is Bitch’s Tit, and we haven’t had any of that growing in this state in the last fifty years.”

“Trainz and BillCo man, fuck. Those fuckers.” Donny-O started to get up but Ryder pulled him back.

“Nah man, remember we can’t say anything or act on this until we know what’s going on for sure.”

“Oh we’re going to find out what the fuck happened and I’m going to put my fist in BillCo’s ass until he tells me exactly what is what.”

“No, we’ve got to play it cool. Keep it on the DL. Nobody is going to believe this shit till we get proof.”

“Alright brother, just tell me what you want me to do.”

“I’ma think about that and get back to you.”

“Whatever it is, I got your back.”

The fact was, Ryder had no idea what to do. He would have never have thought, or believe someone if they’d told him, that there was some kind of internal issue in the MC that warranted leaving a brother to die and the jaws of a rival club. Much less that he was the target of such a plot, Ryder got along with everyone in their chapter, any argument had been settle with a quick scuffle, maybe a busted lip but nothing serious, and no hard feelings. And even then it was over little issues of no importance whatsoever. He hadn’t stolen anything, lied about anything, double crossed anyone, there was literally no reason he could think of that would cause someone in the club to want to kill him.

Ryder and Donny-O touched fists and turned to go out the door, but Squint, one of the new prospects, was standing there blocking their exit.

“Just coming to get you,” he shifted his weight, “Big Dog wants to talk to you.”

Had that been a coincidence or was he being spied on now too?

“Alright, we’ll be right behind you,” when Squint turned his back Donny-O shot a significant look to him. So he wasn’t the only one who found it strange that people were lurking outside his door.

The main area of the clubhouse was clearing out, Moose’s old lady was cleaning and bitching about how nasty all of them were. She was a bit of a nagger… and a screamer… and she was uglier then sin, but she had a good heart and she had been born in and married inside the club. It meant that she was family and family was important, “Ay Maria, looks like you could use some help,” he called out to her.

“Yeah, you gonna drag ass over here and mop this floor for me…RED?”

He shrugged, “You know I would sugartits but Big Dog wants to see me. Or I’d mop the ever loving fuck out of this floor for you.”

“Pshhhit,” she dismissed him, but she grinned as he walked away.

He made his way to the Sanctuary, the office where they had their official meetings, and where Big Dog did most Club business. He’d always loved the dark mahogany of the door and trim in the room, the same wood the huge table that graced the middle of the room was made of, it made the place feel special, official. He remembered the first time he’d been allowed in when he was thirteen. It was significant for him because little kids weren’t allowed in the Sanctuary and that was the point he felt like nobody saw him as a kid anymore, despite his painful lack of pubic hair or girlfriend.

“Old Ryder, returned from the dead,” Big Dog came around the table, patting him on the back enthusiastically. “I’m glad to see you man, I didn’t think I would.”

Did that mean he was in on it? “Yeah, it was a close call but I made it.”

“So I heard the story from everybody else but I want to hear it from you.”

“Well I got…
separated
from the trio I was working with and four Hellhounds decided it was time for me to see the Reaper Moon up close and personal. I couldn’t fight them all but I managed to get away and lose them in the woods. Who knows, maybe they just gave up, I’m sure I was leaving my scent and a trail of blood that would have been easy to follow. Anyway, I found a spot to curl up in and waited to heal, but I never did. It was a while before I realized I wasn’t healing at all, I mean AT ALL, so I started trying to get back to the rally point but I guess I was just too weak.”

“So you fell down in the middle of the road? Smart, man.”

“Well I wasn’t really planning of where I fell, I just fell.”

“And that’s where the vet found you?”

“Yup.”

“You lucky son of a bitch.”

“Pretty much, I probably would have bled out and been hit by a semi if she hadn’t found me.”

“And you couldn’t get away sooner? We searched every inch of the forest for you and your damn mom lost her goddamned shit.”

Ryder
could
have left sooner. Sidney kept her bedroom window open most of the time with nothing more than a screen between him and getting out. He didn’t want to look too closely at the reasons behind his extended stay at Sidney’s house. “Nah man, I didn’t have the energy to shift and I was weak as hell.”

Bid Dog nodded, “Alright, but what happened with the lady? Why didn’t  you just sneak out of there when you could change? You didn’t have to reveal yourself to her.”

That had been his plan. Shift while she was at work, call the guys, and leave before she ever got home. But that hadn’t sat right with him, he’d wanted her to know that it was a person she’d saved and not just some big tame wolf, wanted her to know him.

He shrugged, it was too complicated to explain to himself, much less trying to explain it to Big Dog.

“Well did you at least get her to agree to keep the shit quiet?”

“She got pretty wasted before I left, she’s probably going to be passed out for the next twelve hours. I’ll go visit her this weekend and have a conversation about it.”

Big Dog nodded. “Alright, alright. Good to have you back man.” He stood up and held out his hand for Red to grasp, “But you’ve got to tell me about the bath, were there bubbles?”

Back in his room Red undressed and fell into his bed, it had been a wild bunch of days and he had a lot to sort out. But despite all the turmoil surrounding what happened during the fight, his mind just kept returning to Sidney. If he had stayed with her he’d be cuddled up with her in her bed right now, away from all the madness of the club, away from anyone who wanted to kill him. He closed his eyes and replayed what he’d seen every morning for the past few days, Sidney stepping out of the shower, water droplets gliding down those damn luscious curves, rubbing the towel all over the places he wanted to run his hands over. The scene changed in his mind and he wasn’t in wolf form, he was there with her as a man, he grabbed her by the waist and spun her around to face the wall, her hands braced against the counter, running his hands up her torso he cupped her breast and massaged the stiff peaks, she gasped. Her mouth forming a perfect O, his gaze locked with hers in the mirror as he bent her over and entered her from behind.

Red sighed and let his hand slip beneath the waistband of his boxers. It’d be a while before he got that particular fantasy out of his system.

“Where is he? Is he gone again, you get him out here right now!”

“He’s tired, Glory, he needs some rest, just let him rest for God’s sake.”

He rolled over and looked at the clock, three in the morning and his mother was waking up the place screaming for him. He eased out of bed and tugged on a pair of old ratty jogging pants that he wore perpetually around the Club.

“Hey Ma,” he rubbed his eyes, trying to make the light seem less intrusive.

She brushed Moose out of the way, “You said you were coming over. I waited up all night, told your dad you were coming and you never showed up. Your poor father is probably worried sick.”

His father couldn’t remember how to get to the bathroom, he doubted that his absence was too great of a distress. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep but I guess I was more wore out than I thought.”

“Well,” she put her arms around him, all sins forgiven, “I just needed to see you. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.” She hated the Club and hated that he was in it. His father had been in it and his grandfather before that. There wasn’t much of an option, unless he wanted to go Loner, which he didn’t.

“I’m fine, let’s go get some coffee.”

“Yeah, and I’ll make you a egg sandwich. If there are any eggs in this shithole.”

He rolled his eyes and followed her to the kitchen. “How’s Dad doing? Any improvement with the new meds?”

“None that I can tell. Most of the time he thinks it’s 1975 and we’re about to go on a charity ride to Charleston. Keeps asking me if I’ve packed the guns,” she shook her head.

“Yeah?” The dementia must be advancing, making him remember things wrong, his dad had never carried a gun before. Who needs guns when you can shift into a killing machine that heals almost instantly?

She shrugged it off, “Eh, it could be worse. A few weeks ago he thought we were newlyweds again and kept trying to poke me. I’m half as dry as Arizona and twice as dusty, I tried to let him but it was like trying to shove a lumpy wad of dough into a sandpaper tube.”

Red winced at the mental image, “That’s nice Ma.”

“You asked. So I was told you were rescued by some girl? A veterinarian?”

“Yeah, she took me in and fixed me up.”

“Lucky for you she was there.”

“Yeah, real lucky, cause I wasn’t healing up for shit.”

“You figured out why that is?”

“Not a clue.”

She looked at him over her shoulder and pulled a piece of paper out of the back pocket of her skinny jeans. “Well that’s odd ain’t it?” She slid the folded paper across the table to him and went back to the oven.

It was a print out from Wikipedia on an herb called
sanguinaria,
or bloodroot. Of course there was no mention of its effects on werewolves.

“You know this one year me and your dad went to Burning Man, and someone gave him what he thought was peyote, but turns out it was this weird herbal mixture that made him sluggish. He also couldn’t shift for a week.” She put the plated sandwich in front of him. “You been taking any of them herbal speed pills you can get at the 7 Eleven? You gotta watch them things, sometimes they react weird with us.”

That was a lie, his dad smoked like a freight train but would never have done any drugs and he also hated anyone who might be considered a hippie. Going to Burning Man and taking peyote would have been as out of character as a preacher’s wife giving him a blowjob while praising Gaia. It could happen, but it was highly unlikely.

He nodded to let her know he understood, his mom was one annoying bitch but she was smarter than Satan, “You going to make you one of these?”

“Nah, it’s too late to eat, I’m watching my girlish figure. Besides I gotta get some rest, I have an appointment to get my hair done in the morning. If I go in with bags under my eyes the other ladies will want to know what I've been up to.”

“You could have waited until in the morning to come see me.”

“You’ll be at the shop right? Yeah, no.” She hated going into the shop, even though she’d helped his dad open it in the early 80s. “I’ve seen enough pussy to last a lifetime, and if I forget what one looks like I’ll pull out my compact.”

“Alright then.”

She picked up her oversized purse and put a hand on his shoulder before she smacked a loud his on the top of his head, “You should send that vet lady flowers or chocolates or something with a nice thank you card. Men like you don’t get rescued very often, you should appreciate it when it happens.”