Rain Falls (9 page)

Shady slammed her hand down on the table and said, “The fuck you will.”

Rain shook her head. “You don’t know Zane, I do. I mean yeah, years ago living with him scared the crap outta me. He was mean, he was a bastard, and he beat me down into a weakling. But, guys, I met you. I get I fucked up. I get that I held something from you, but it wasn’t because I was scared of him. I was scared of losing you all. I could give a rat’s ass about him, fuck, with the training I have gotten, I can kick his scrawny, perfectly slicked black haired ass.”

They all looked surprised. “I thought you were scared of him,” Freedom said softly.

Rain looked at her, and then stared at each of the women she called sisters and said, “Yeah, I was afraid of you all getting hurt. But honestly, I get what Shay had been trying to say, we have a code, we live it, breathe it, fucking taste it.”

Shady smiled and then said, “A bitch who is in it for the long run, will stay with you and have your back no matter what.”

“Well said. But not necessary,” a man’s voice said from behind them and Rain froze, she knew that voice. Fuck.

The women all looked behind her but Rain didn’t have to, she knew that voice, even though it was one she hadn’t heard in more than five years.

“Okay,” Creed said from the front of the room, they had called a meeting first thing this morning after hearing the women were doing the same. “We need to get ahead of this shit before it comes back to bite us all in the ass.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for the Lady Riders to be here?” Kink said slowly and looked at Charro and Knight who were looking like they needed a hangover treatment. The two men were silent but listening intently.

“Normally, I would say yes, but I have a bad feeling about this guy, Zane. Some of the shit we dug up on him doesn’t look good. Plus, Rain is still legally married to the guy, regardless of everything else, things could go real bad if she suddenly has a change of heart,” Creed said and that is when the men exploded.

“What the fuck?” Knight yelled. “Change her mind? Did you even listen to her?”

“And besides the fact, she is ours, we claimed her and we will fight for her,” Charro snapped.

“Yeah, that is what I am talking about,” Creed said quietly. “How will you feel if we sit back and one of the women get hurt?”

“Uh, you have met Shay right?” Slider snorted.

Creed grunted. “Yeah and I met Harmony too, and I know she can take care of herself most times. But this guy, Zane, he is connected, and when I say connected, I mean to every fucking body that deals with anything remotely illegal. He runs the West Coast, and apparently, Angel, Rain’s bitch of a half-sister is fast becoming just as powerful in those circles. She has a way with dealing with shit that even I cringe at.”

“Yeah,” Charro said reluctantly. “But going behind their back like this could cause more of a shitstorm than we want.”

“My commander used to say, ‘Do what needs to be done, and ask for forgiveness later’, can’t think of a better motto right now to use because when push comes to shove I ain't leaving my woman’s ass out there hanging without me,” Poke said and all the men nodded.

Knight knew there was no way they were going to win this particular battle with the club, and he had to admit they were right on some aspects of it. Rain would just have to get over the fact they were going to help and had their backs as well.

“This is what we know,” Raven said from the side of the table and began to explain everything they had discovered. Chills went down all of their backs as they listened to the fucked up shit that was happening in Rain’s ‘blood’ family. What a fucking mess.

“I also made a few calls. We all know who General Tang is and truthfully, I respect the guy, but he can’t do some of the things we can and keep clean,” Creed said and the guys all nodded. “Also, the girls are tough, but we have the experience an operation like this takes. So it goes without saying that we are going to do what we have to do in order to keep them safe.”

The men mumbled in agreement and Charro leaned over to Knight and said, “What do you think?”

“I think, we do both, ‘cause I agree with the guys, but I have seen the girls in action, and they are some mean ass bitches. I have no doubt they will be able to deal with this, but the number of men this dude has is gonna be the issue,” Knight said and Charro nodded.

“Besides, Rain is ours and no matter what that means, we protect her,” Charro said. “If she gets pissed, we deal with it.”

Knight grinned. “Yeah we do.”

“Okay, we are still waiting for a few more pieces of information, but as it stands right now, we are going to be taking a road trip to Cali. Mostly because some of the players we are talking about are not ones we want to fuck with. When I say that, I mean because I would rather stay under their radar. The Feds have been watching Rugel, and we do not need to draw their attention. So this will need to be an in and out. I have called Freebyrd, and Magnum already left to get things ready for us. We also need to make sure the girls don’t know what we are planning until the time comes. That is why Mag went, he and the Cali guys are gonna get the lay of the land, if they can take out Rugel they will, if not, then we are gonna have another plan.” Creed turned to stare at Kink and him. Knight closed his eyes, shit, yeah; they were the best snipers in the group. Fuck a duck, Rain was going to be pissed.

“Could be the only way,” Fork said before Kink could open his mouth and the man leaned back and looked at Knight. Shit, they’d worked together before and he knew they could again. Knight’s only problem was hiding it from Rain. He looked at Charro who nodded.

“Gotta do what you gotta do, man,” Charro muttered and Knight nodded to Creed and Kink. Looked like they’d be going to the range to get their guns lined up.

“Okay, as soon as we get some more Intel we will meet again and decide how to proceed. In the meantime, guys, get Rain’s ass back to the compound, can’t have her running all over town with a target on her back,” Creed said.

“Oh this ought to be fun,” Kink laughed. “I love watching Rain get pissy when people tell her what to do.”

“Yeah, just ‘cause you got the attitude the other night,” Knight laughed.

“This time it is not me, so yeah, gonna be fun,” Kink laughed loudly and Knight and Charro shook their heads. She would do what they wanted her to do.

“All that money for surgery and you end up a stripper in a biker club?” her father said loudly and all of the women froze.

Rain smiled, turned, and looked at her father. “Oh look, the sperm donor is here. Care to actually sit at the same table as me for a few minutes before I kick your ass to the curb again?”

General Tang shook his head and then pulled out a chair. The Lady Riders looked at him with both curiosity and hostility. No one talked about their sister that way, however Rain didn’t seem to be upset.

“I see you still have the mouth of a sailor. I knew I should have made you join the damn Navy.”

“And I see you are still hiding behind that uniform so you don’t have to deal with the real world.” Rain’s voice was getting thicker by the minute. Abi stood and addressed the General, before he could sit down.

“How do you take your coffee?” His eyes met hers and his features turned unamused.

“Your father must be as proud as I am.” His eyes scanned her up and down, noting the tight black leather vest that zipped up the front in a halter type cut with nothing underneath and the black leather pants that tucked into her boots. “At least waitressing has its purpose,” he added.

“My parents died when I was a kid. I’m pretty damn sure they are looking down and proud as fuck of me, considering I hold the National Champion belt in the women’s MMA division. I’m not a fuckin’ waitress, but I figured it’d be a better idea to get your ass sitting and sipping coffee before this turns ugly. Now go get yourself something and come sit down. Right here, dear ole dad.” She reached over to a free chair against the wall and slung it beside her. It was a direct view to Rain, but Abi also wanted him next to her in case he didn’t come for a family reunion and tried to start shit.

Surprisingly, the General chuckled and went to the counter to order. “Your father is a fuckwad,” Shady said.

“No shit,” Rain responded sarcastically.

“He says one wrong word and I’m on his ass, got it?” Heaven reached in her pocket and pulled out her blade, getting it within easy reach under the table.

Rain smiled. “Thanks, girls.” Her father came walking back and her smile faded. He ignored their scowls and sat down, scooting his chair in to sit with a rigid posture and his chest puffed out like a fucking peacock. The girls were all slumped over or kicked back comfortably.

“I won’t sit by and watch my daughter be murdered. They are some very bad people, which given your poor judgment when it comes to men, I am sure you already know. He’s coming for you and he won’t back down until he has you. You’re going to go home and pack up your things and be ready to fly in an hour.”

“The fuck you say,” Heaven answered for her. She glanced over at Rain and saw the same reaction the rest of the table held. Oh yeah. She was one of them no doubt about it. Gone with the rich bitch, in with the badass.

“Young lady, this doesn’t concern you. It’d be in your best interest to keep your nose out of our business.” His condescending tone pissed off the entire table.

“That’s where you’re wrong. See, Rain is one of us. We are a family, and if one has a problem, we fix it together. We don’t turn our backs on each other just because they may have made a mistake or a bad call of judgment,” Rose said with her arms folded over her chest. His eyes shot to her and he scowled.

“Family? You call this high school rock-band-in-the-garage-club family? None of you know what the real meaning of that word is and I’ll tell you the same thing. Back off out of our conversation.” He was getting irritated, which didn’t faze the girls in the least.

“I wouldn’t expect a man like you to understand what family is. We love one another and support each other. Not to appear good for the public eye or force each other to save face. We take care of our own and don’t cut anyone out because of a bad marriage. If I’d been around Rain back then, she wouldn’t have fallen in that trap. We’d have kept her from ever getting involved with Zane to begin with. So tell me, General, why are you here?” Bree spat.

“Again, little girl, that doesn’t concern you.” He gave Rain a disapproving glance that had her sitting upright in her chair.

“And what you don’t get is that these girls, and the guys, are concerned. They have risked everything and saved the lives of a hundred girls or more now. It doesn’t matter how hot things get with this, they won’t pussy out or back off until the job is done. Now, cut the bullshit, Dad. What do you want?” Rain’s patience was wearing thin. The man took a large swig of his coffee and sighed.

“I’m getting my damn daughter out of this mess and somewhere safe so I can take Zane and his shit down for good. I can’t worry about you and if you’re okay when I go in. I’ve briefed everyone with what’s going on and told them when it comes down to the wire, if I have to take this uniform off to do what I’ve got to do, I will.”

Hearing him confess that softened her features. He was still an asshole, but for once was showing he actually gave a fuck about her, which was rare. “Dad, I am safer here. If you want to help take his operation down, that’d be great. But we work together. Understand?”

The General grunted and shook his head, his cheeks flushing red. “Dammit, Rain. Why can’t you listen to me for once? These guys aren’t ones you want to fuck with!”

“No shit. The more forces we have going in, the better chance we have. The Devil Savages, OPs Warriors, and Lady Riders are going one way or another. If you want to join, great. If not, I really don’t give a shit. Either way, I’m not going anywhere.” She took a bite of her cake and washed it down with her java chip Frappuccino with peppermint. The soft little moan that escaped was involuntary. She couldn’t help it. Starbucks was heaven. When she looked up, she saw her dad’s eyes twinkling and a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

“Still my little girl,” he said quietly. Instead of something snarky said back like he expected, she smiled.

“Always.” That changed the mood dramatically. After that, he sat and discussed details and information he had with them, and vice versa. Once they were done, they headed to the clubhouse to have a sit down and introduce General Tang to all of the guys. It might be an awkward pair up, but now there was no way Zane stood a chance in hell.