Rycks, page 2
I took her inside my room and shut the door before she could change her mind. I had nothing in mind other than finding out what she had to say, but seeing her look around the place and eyeing the bed, her breathing speeding up, made me decide to keep my options open.
“Uh, this really wasn’t what I had in mind,” she said, looking everywhere but at me.
“What’s that?”
“This,” she said, finally daring to take a peek at me. The grin on my face must have flustered her because her face turned red and she dropped her gaze. She took a breath, then, surprisingly, met my gaze full on. “Though, now that I think about it, it might be fun.” She said the words softly, almost as if to herself. I had to wonder if she was remembering those blistering two days we shared.
“Tell me what you came here for and we can get to the fun stuff.” I gestured to the table, deliberately not taking her to the small couch. Or the bed. I didn’t mix business with pleasure. Shouldn’t even fuck her after the business was done, but she intrigued me on a whole new level. I wanted to see what she had.
She sat, rubbing her hands over the wood of the tabletop as if to smooth the nonexistent tablecloth. “There’s someone inside Salvation’s Bane feeding information to Kiss of Death.”
That brought me up short. Any arousal I had vanished in the time it took her to utter that one sentence. We knew there was a rat inside Bane. It was why I was still here. But, as far as we knew, no one else knew. So how did she?
Chapter Two
Lyric
Thank God, the man was finally taking me seriously. If he hadn’t, I was pretty sure I’d forget the whole reason I was here and just let him take me to bed again. Watching him getting that blow job had hurt. Fucking bad. But I hadn’t expected he’d lived like a monk, pining over me while I lived my life.
“Explain,” he snapped, his easy-going demeanor changing to one of an intense threat quickly enough to give me whiplash. Suddenly, everything I’d heard about Rycks, everything he’d said six years ago, made sense. This was definitely not a man to toy with. Not if I wanted to stay alive. And he’d been right. I could believe he was more dangerous than Rat Man.
“Kiss of Death wants Salvation’s Bane out of Palm Springs. Their president has an agenda he’s working, and Bane is in the way.”
“I’m aware of that. Explain how you know we have a traitor in our midst.”
“Because I heard Rat Man and Butcher talking at the Dark before it burned.”
“Was that before or after Butcher met an untimely end?”
I shivered at the blatant reminder that he’d been killed in one of the strip clubs owned by Salvation’s Bane -- the MC whose compound I was currently trapped in. “Look. I’m trying to help because I’ve seen the good Salvation’s Bane does in the community. They’re good men and women. Kiss of Death would swallow up everyone in the poorer sections of Palm Springs. They’re a bunch of thugs.” It was only partially true, but I had no choice but to keep things from Rycks.
“Who’s our rat?” His gaze was hard, focused wholly and entirely on me.
“I don’t know. But I know he has a close tie to the club. A relative or best friend. And it’s someone you trust, because Rat Man indicated he was getting movements on Thorn and Havoc. I think he plans on taking out one or both of them.”
There was a long silence. Rycks looked at me with a hard gaze. This was the man I’d heard so much about. The man who was merciless to his enemies. If he considered me one, I didn’t stand a chance.
“Your full name, Lyric. Something I should have gotten from you six years ago.”
I nodded. “Lyric Jefferson.” I’d expected this. He’d get some information, but not everything.
He nodded but said nothing else. Just stared at me. I’d never been this uncomfortable in my life! He was the most unusual biker I’d ever met. Most men in MCs were covered in ink and had full beards, maybe shaggy hair to go with it. This guy had some stubble, but even that was neatly groomed. His haircut looked expensive. In fact, he looked like he could be at home in either a motorcycle jacket or a business suit. Leanly muscled, he had enough bulk to fill out his T-shirt to perfection, the vein running up his biceps leaving an impression on the sleeve after his skin disappeared under the cloth. The only thing that made it even possible to consider that he was anything other than part of the rich, social elite of Palm Springs was the jagged scar running down one arm and the one bisecting his eyebrow and running the length of his cheek down to his neck. They were raised, but white. Like it had happened long ago, and he hadn’t bothered to have any cosmetic surgery on them. He hadn’t had them before. What had he done in the intervening years?
“Lyric Jefferson, from Ismay, Montana. Long way from home, aren’t you?”
I gasped. “How… how did you know that?” Sure, I expected him to get some information, but that was fucking fast.
He tapped his ear. “Call it outside intelligence.”
“The room is bugged.”
“No one in this building gets in without a thorough screening. We’ve been working out your identity since you walked in.” Oh, God. They couldn’t go digging too deep. Some records were confidential. Others weren’t. And I was certain that things hadn’t been hidden as well as they should have. It was an insurance failsafe for Rat Man to keep me in line. So I’d discourage anyone from looking at my past. If I didn’t do my job and Rycks or anyone at Bane or Black Reign dug too deep, Rat Man’s people would know they’d been looking. Then my life would be altered forever. And I’d lose my mind and, likely, my will to live.
“Why did you not know my name then?” Had he done this on purpose? Got me interested in his ulterior motives, which were designed to interrogate me covertly? Did it really matter?
“You seem to be good at hiding. The only photo ID we found was a driver’s permit from when you were fourteen.”
“Fourteen and a half,” I muttered. I wasn’t expecting to have to relive this. I guess I never thought anyone would consider me a threat.
“Right,” he said after a pause. “Fourteen and a half. You never completed your driving requirements for a Montana license. You didn’t open a checking or savings account, so there is no money trail. Your family seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.”
“Easy to do in Ismay.”
“In a cluster county that small, I imagine it would be. Census in 2010 was only nineteen. About half of the residents were families. The other half lived alone. I find it difficult to believe one of those families leaves or goes missing and no one notices. Yet your family did.”
“It’s a personal story,” I said, trying to hold it together. “Look. I came here to help. If you don’t want my help, I’ll leave.”
“I’m sorry, Lyric. But I can’t let you leave until I know your full story and why you’re here.”
I glared at him. “You gonna tell me how you got those scars? Everything about you screams rich. Except those scars. And they weren’t there six years ago. Looks like you’ve lived a rough life.”
That must have been the exact wrong thing to say. Rycks stood up so abruptly he knocked his chair over. Naturally, I stood, too, backing toward the door.
“I suggest you keep your nose where it belongs. Way the fuck out of my business, Lyric.”
“You started it,” I snapped. “I was just being nice. Looking out for our community more than your stupid clubs. Why are you so pissed at me anyway? You said you weren’t taking me with you. I had no desire to stay there and lose more of myself when you didn’t give two shits!”
I was still trying to get to the door, but he saw the move and stalked toward me. With a cry, I turned and lunged the few steps that separated me from freedom, but the bastard caught me, pulling me up against him hard with one steel-like arm around my waist.
“You don’t get to leave until I’m satisfied I know all you know, girl.”
“My name,” I bit out, trying not to let my fear show, “is Lyric. Not girl.”
He swung me around and carried me to a chair in the corner of the room. It was soft and comfortable, but as far away from the door as I could possibly get. There was a stool that obviously went with the chair. Rycks sat on it in front of me. He shoved my legs apart so he could move his body to sit between them. It was an intimate position, one that was likely designed to make me feel vulnerable. It worked.
“Now. I want your story, Lyric.” His voice was soft. He looked like he was more in control than he was after his initial outburst. I’d definitely struck a nerve. One thing I’d learned in my life was that, when being interrogated, the end result wasn’t always about the information, though that was a huge part of it. Interrogation was all about being in control. You gain enough of it, you get the information you want. Rycks was using intimidation to get control of me. Well, I’d been intimidated enough in my life to be able to stand my ground. Rycks might be a dangerous man, but there was nothing he could do to me that hadn’t been done in the past. Except for killing me. In a way, I dreaded that the least.
“I’ll gladly tell you what I came here to tell you. But you don’t get my story. You haven’t earned it.”
I thought that might set him off again. Strangely, it seemed to calm him. “I concede your point. And don’t think we’re not coming back around to us later. We will.” He gave me a small smile. It wasn’t as charming as his smiles had been before. More like he was tired. Strangely enough, that slight vulnerability made me want to soothe him. Had I not just given myself a lecture in power dynamics, I might have tried. “Will you tell me what you know?”
I took a breath. “Kiss of Death is in deep with the city’s administration. Mayor. DA. But mostly, people who’ve been in their positions for a while. It’s all good to be in with the mayor, but if he gets voted out of office, you’re back to square one. Somehow, Kiss of Death has managed to find a group of people who stay in their jobs even when there is an administration change. Those people are able to influence the elections just enough to keep a certain people in their elected positions. Like the district attorney. Though it’s possible the DA can be voted out, they manage to keep people in office without too much trouble. I don’t know the particulars, but I’m sure it has more to do with who posts the results or something. Something no one would notice. But whoever is at the top of this is keeping people they can manipulate in power. Kiss of Death is part of it. Again, I don’t know what they do exactly, but I know the reason they want Salvation’s Bane out of the way is because they know you guys can’t be bought off or bullied into staying quiet. They also know you’d never do their bidding like Kiss of Death.”
“This is a lot more information than just what’s going on inside Kiss of Death. You’re on the inside. Working for the city.”
I swallowed, looking away. “Was. Well, technically am, but only because quitting would be a red flag for them. If I leave my job, they’ll suspect I’m up to something. Whether I am or not.”
He narrowed his eyes. “If they knew you were here, wouldn’t you be in the same situation?”
“Yeah,” I said, not wanting to divulge the rest. Oh, well. I’d known this would likely happen. Though I’d hoped to keep my secrets, I knew Rycks and Thorn were too intelligent to just let my involvement in this slide. “I’m supposed to be a plant. To bring information back. Even I don’t know who your rat is, but my job was to seduce my way into the club. It’s how I got inside in the first place. Wrangler thinks I’m with him tonight. He brought me here to impress me. After I slipped off, though, I doubt he’ll bring me back. I was supposed to get into the bed of one of the patched members. Not as a club girl, but as a regular sexual partner. That way I could glean information and bring it back to Kiss of Death.”
Again, that hard mask fell over Rycks’s face. “You fuck him?”
“Not yet,” I confessed. “Trying not to. I’m sure several people saw me leave with you. You weren’t exactly subtle about dragging me out. He won’t want your leftovers.”
“Sure, he would,” Rycks said without hesitation. “I’m a novelty to the women here. Unless you guys are exclusive partners -- and from what I’ve gathered about Wrangler, that’s not his style -- he won’t care. I outrank him in a big way.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “The question is, do you want to stick with him or set yourself up with me?”
OK. That was unexpected. “What do you mean?”
“If you leave here, you’d have to go back to Kiss of Death. Right?”
“Yes. I go to work, then I’m back at their compound. They always want information about what’s going on in city administration, then they lock me up until it’s time to go back to work.”
“They hurt you?” He slid the question in so unexpectedly, it startled me.
“Why would you ask that?”
“Not your business. Now, answer the question.”
“If I do what they tell me to, no.”
“What will they do if you go back to the club tonight?”
“They’ll want to know who I slept with and what information I got.” I shrugged.
“How will they know you’re telling the truth?”
Of course, he’d ask that. Rycks was cunning as they came. This was something I absolutely could not divulge to him. I was certain no one had been in Rycks’s room to plant a bug, but I had no idea how many other rooms they’d reached.
“You know, Black Reign is getting a reputation.”
He gave a small chuckle. “Yes. Though how is something we wonder about.”
I noticed he didn’t say they didn’t know. Was this a test? “Kiss of Death spreads a lot of stuff, but I have no idea where they get their information.”
“No worries on that account, Lyric. What we don’t already know, we soon will.” “You’re not distracting me. How will they know you’re not lying to them if you go back to the compound and tell them you’ve got a lover on the inside?”
“For someone so tight-lipped about his own details, you’re sure as hell interested in my private business.” I wanted to get angry, but I was just scared. If he knew the place was bugged, I was in more trouble than I realized. And Bella would be good as dead.
“I’ll figure it out. I assume there are bugs or something?”
“No idea,” I said, hoping like shit I was angry enough he couldn’t see my lie.
“Assuming you leave here, you tell them you slept with me. What happens then?”
“They pump me for information. I’m supposed to get you to talk to me.”
He focused sharply on me. “They know we have a past?”
“You know they do or I wouldn’t be here,” I snapped. Taking a breath, I tried to calm down. “Look. Kiss of Death is after Salvation’s Bane. They haven’t said anything much about Black Reign, but if they take out one club, it will embolden them. They’ll come after El Diablo next.”
“And that will be their death warrant,” Rycks said softly. “You know you won’t stand a chance if you go back tonight. Right?”
“I’ll be fine. If I go back, I might be able to convince them you didn’t want sex with me after I ran last time.”
He actually laughed at me this time. “Are you fucking kidding me? Who in their right fucking mind would think I’d turn you down?” Before I could argue he continued. “You’re naive, innocent-looking, and in obvious trouble. Normally, that would be enough to get you my protection, but you showed yourself to me at the perfect time. You waited until another woman was swallowing me down before you chose to reveal yourself.”
I blinked, taken aback. Did he see me like that? Now I was questioning what he’d meant by appeal. “You’re not making any sense. Everyone knows you’re protective over the two girls you consider your wards. Do you have sex with them, too?”
Rycks looked like I’d slapped him. He actually jerked upright. “You honestly think I’m fucking those girls?”
“Well, from what I hear, they’re not girls anymore. They’re grown women.” I couldn’t back down. Control.
Seeming to shake it off, his face hardened. “I know. But they’re still vulnerable, and I would never take advantage of a woman who needed my protection.”
“But I’m different,” I pressed. This was how I took back control. The chink in his armor was his need to protect those weaker than him. Particularly woman.
“You’re very different,” he said in a hushed tone. “You’re the reason I’m the way I am, Lyric. I fucked up six years ago. I let you down.” He shook his head. “I’m not about to let you down again.”
This sounded bad. For the first time since I saw Rycks, I got the feeling I might be in real trouble. Because I was truly afraid he might regret not taking me with him. If that were the case, could I convince him to let me go now? Everyone knew he was protective to a fault. He’d risk his life for anyone he thought of as his. No matter what capacity. If he wouldn’t let me leave, Bella was good as dead.
“Stay here. With me. I’ll make it known you’re with me, and that you’re not to leave here unless I give permission. If you’re right and we’ve got a rat, it will get back to Kiss of Death. Before you say anything, know that this will mean you’re mine. I’m not letting you go until this is over. After that, if I’ve fucked you out of my system, we’ll see.”
“Wait a minute. If you think I’m sleeping with you again, you’re out of your goddamned mind.”
“You telling me you don’t want to see if we’ve still got chemistry? Maybe we’ll both realize we want nothing to do with the other.”
He didn’t sound like he believed that. “Uh-huh.”
“You don’t have much of a choice, Lyric.”
“Fuck you,” I muttered. If I went back and didn’t give them something, that would be it. They wouldn’t give me a second chance to seduce one of the other guys and pump them for information. They’d simply put me in the rotation of girls they fucked. And that first night would be horrible. Hell, who was I kidding? It would be more than a night. Way fucking more. Worse than all that, they’d kill Bella in front of me. Likely with her begging for me to help her. But was staying with Rycks tonight going to get me anywhere? I had no doubt he could make me enjoy anything he did to me. The question was, would he? Also, would he give me something to take back to Kiss of Death? Something of value. I just didn’t know. I decided to test him.
