Chapter 3

RYDER

I had just gotten off the phone with Lison. Ethan was causing trouble at my club again, and I did not wait for him to finish. I grabbed my jacket from the table, leaving everything I had been working on scattered across my desk, and within minutes, I was outside. I swung onto my new baby and kicked it to life.

I was both happy and sad. After three years, I was finally moving on. My old bike, the one I had refused to change for years because it was the first and only bike Rose had gone with me to purchase, I had finally let it go yesterday. It felt good, but not that good.

I kicked the bike to life again, and something about it felt off. I convinced myself I was just used to my old bike, and within minutes, I was already speeding down the tiled road, my tires screaming against the surface. I was about to make a turn when a woman carrying a little child suddenly appeared and ran into my path.

"What the hell?"

A growl escaped my throat. I had not seen her early enough, and if not for my years of training and experience, they would have been lying on the floor, or worse, heading straight to the morgue. I raised my eyes in anger and frustration. In all my years of riding a bike, I had never been involved in an accident.

You shouldn't have changed your old bike.

The thought crossed my mind for a second, and I pushed it away and looked at the woman, trying to recognize her. I was familiar with almost everyone around here. It was a small town, and everyone knew everyone. But then, it felt as though my soul left my body for a split second.

Am I hallucinating?

I shut my eyes and opened them again. She was still there, flesh and blood. Her eyes rolled back, and I guessed she was just as shocked as I was. Then she called my name in that tiny, familiar voice, and all I could remember was that night. The way she had moaned my name so sweetly. That voice had lived rent-free in my head for three years. I could not even look at other women who flocked around me, wanting a taste of what was between my legs. If it was not Rose, I did not even spare them a second.

"Rose?"

I said it still in shock. Rose was two years younger than me. She was twenty-three when she left, but I could not help wondering what had happened to her. She looked stressed, older than her age, and her once-glowing skin now looked ashy. It was as though she had been maltreated or was going through something terrible. All I wanted at that moment was to pull her into my chest, but the past...

My thoughts trailed off.

Instead, I helped her up and picked up the little girl she had been holding. I did not let Rose get on my bike. My men would help her. They would get her treated, and that would be it. I inhaled deeply. That was all.

The little girl grabbed onto me, and I held her tightly as I sped away. Rose met us at the hospital, and I did not waste time. I casually told her the little girl had only suffered a scratch and told her to get herself treated because her blood was literally everywhere. Maybe that was out of line. It was not my business, but I convinced myself it was because my bike had hit her. That was all.

I left the reception and started walking toward my bike, but my head was spinning. The next minute, I found myself back inside the hospital, watching her through the opening in the door.

"My daughter. She is my daughter."

She smiled weakly at the nurse attending to her, and I lost it. Here I was, still carrying her in my mind after three years, while she had apparently forgotten about me. She was married. I knew every mark on her body, and I could not remember her finger ever having such a thick, round circle around it. A wedding ring had been there. She was married, and she already had a daughter. The thought made my blood boil, and I left instantly. She was the one who had left me, anyway. No explanation. No warning.

I did not go to the club immediately. I went back home instead. I took my old bike because I could not afford another accident in one day. I dusted it off and drove away, and thoughts tried to fill my mind, but I did not entertain any of them. I arrived at the club safely, and a tiny voice in my head reminded me never to change my bike again.

The clubhouse door was wide open when they saw me.

"Boss." Lison appeared. "I thought you wouldn't be coming."

"Why wouldn't I?"

I shot him a glare, and he immediately backed off when he saw my eyes. I knew how red and deadly they became when I was annoyed, and I knew that was exactly what he had noticed. I walked fully into the dark clubhouse, with only the red glowing bulbs giving us enough light to see. I was about to ask where the motherfucking Ethan was when he appeared from the VIP room, his right hand resting on his hip while his other hand held onto the door. His men stood behind him.

I swung at him and punched him straight in the face. He cursed. He was no match for me. He knew that, but he kept getting on my nerves, probably because I had been quiet for too long. No one came close. Not even his men. They knew their bodies would not just stop responding to air. They could disappear completely if they dared interfere.

Ethan was my older brother. He had left Dad and me behind after he made some money. Now Dad was dead, and I was the one running things around here. Suddenly, he had returned to bother me. Well, today was his bad day. I was already pissed.

"I don't want to see you come close to my club or anything I have. You are not the boss here. Dad is no longer here. He was the only piece of string attaching us together."

He got the message. He stormed out with his men, and I left soon after. There was no way I could concentrate here. Lison was mostly in charge anyway, except when it came to difficult customers or rivals.

Yet somehow, I found myself driving back to the hospital. I did not know why so many stupid thoughts about Rose would not leave me alone. I headed to the little girl's ward first. She was still sleeping, and the machines beeped steadily beside her. I was about to step out when a tiny voice cut through the air.

"Dada, I thought you left already."