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“No. But I could tell, ya know? I’m the youngest here.” A shudder rolled through him.
“Fuck.” I hopped to my feet, pacing. The club didn’t have a foothold inside the county correctional center. In the sheriff’s office, yes—thanks to Boxer. I needed to ensure Ryder’s safety. If anything happened to him, I would never forgive myself.
“That’s why I’m constantly exercising and trying to build up my muscles. To fight them off.”
I spun around, my heart thundering in my chest. “That’s not going to happen. I will make sure nobody touches you.”
“How are you gonna do that?”
“Don’t worry about it. They’ll leave you alone.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “If they don’t… I’ll end them.”
We stared at each other for a long torturous minute. Nausea nearly had me bending at the waist because I knew I couldn’t promise Ryder he’d be safe in here. He seemed to know that.
Wait, I haven’t asked him why he’s in county.
“Why are you here, man?”
His head dropped lower. For several seconds I watched his depressed form. He rubbed his knuckles over his eyebrows, then shook his head as if gathering his thoughts. “I lost control. Beat the shit out of a dude for messing with a girl on the streets.” Ryder’s jaw twitched. “She was a runaway. I’d seen her in the park a few times before it happened. Suspected she was homeless, like me. I stole food from the market for both of us one day, thinking she might start to trust me. She just took the food and ran.”
“Shit, that’s rough.” I took a minute to absorb all that he was telling me. It ate away at me, knowing such a good kid had been alone in the world. “Where’s your family?”
“Dead.” His eyes found a similar spot on the wall where I had been staring earlier. That familiar pain in my chest that acted up when I missed my own loved ones scalded me deep. From the moment I saw Ryder, I knew he was made of the same shit I was. Loyal. Fierce. Would do the best he could, even if it landed him in county. Fuck, was I right. Losing what you held dear did that to a person.
“I’ve been in the system bouncing from one house to another since I was eleven. After I graduated high school, I had enough. I took a bus to St. Paul and have been roaming around since. I found my way here, wanting out of the city.” He sagged beside me, as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Sometimes trusting someone with a story eased the burden carried.
“And the girl? What happened to her?”
Ryder stood, dangling from the railing on the bunk. “Three days after I gave her the food, I went dumpster diving behind Dairy Queen. Sometimes a worker showed a little pity and gave me a burger. Thought they were good people. Except for that night, one of the assholes tried to get her to blow him as payment for food.” His face turned fire-engine red. “It pissed me off how he kept touching her.”
“Jesus…” I blew out a tense breath. “So you stopped him with your fists.”
“Yeah. And I’m not sorry,” he said with absolute conviction. I felt it deep in the marrow of my bones. Ryder was born to be a biker.
“I wouldn’t be either. So what happened to the girl?”
Ryder swallowed hard, turning to face me. “She took off, I guess. I was out of my mind pounding the prick into the pavement. Didn’t notice when she left. Don’t even know her name.” He sniffed, brushing the back of his hand across his nose. It was evident he’d taken a liking to the girl. “I’m worried about her. If that happened while I was there, what else has happened when she’s alone? And she won’t last without some kind of shelter. Not in the coming months. She was so thin already, Hero. There’s not a lot to eat when you live like that.”
The temperature overnight was getting down into the thirties. Living on the streets was no place for anyone, much less a young girl. It would only get colder as winter invadedMinnesnowta.
“I’m sure she’s found shelter.” I worked to calm him, knowing this kid took the world on his shoulders. I could relate a little too well to that.
“Yeah.” He rolled his eyes and I stifled a chuckle, knowing it wasn’t the time.
Didn’t blame the kid one bit for being skeptical. Hell, even I didn’t believe my words. It took a sec of searching my own head to find a better solution, when it hit me, “What does she look like? If I see her, I’ll try to help her. KLMC has eyes everywhere. We have ways of finding stuff out. Someone might have already seen her.”
Ryder perked up a bit to my relief. “Black hair, big brown eyes. She had on a bulky army green jacket and a red beanie hat. I couldn’t really make out her age. Seventeen. Maybe eighteen. I doubt she’d talk to you.” He laughed, raising his hands. “No offense man, but you’re a scary-ass biker.”
I quirked a brow, issuing him a cocky grin. “But with a heart of gold,mijo.”My sonjust slipped out of my mouth. Funny, it felt natural to call Ryder,mijo.
He waved me off and smiled. “I find that hard to believe.” Ryder stared at me, a contemplative glint in his eyes. “I’d be honored if you sponsored me as a prospect for your club. Nobody after my parents’ death has ever cared shit about me, until you. No one’s ever wanted to do anything for me. So it means a lot.”
Fuck. My goddamn heart just splattered on the concrete floor. Could this kid be any more grateful? I’d be damned if I let anything happen to him while inside this shithole. I wasn’t that much older than him, maybe ten years between us. The dude could’ve been my little brother. Now, he was gonna be.
My club was the perfect home for him.
As curious as I was to know what happened to Ryder’s parents, now wasn’t the time. Not after talking about the homeless girl. Even my almost dead heart couldn’t take it. Somehow, I wanted to find her, but I had a feeling it might be next to impossible.
First things first… make things right with Tara.
