Simple Ride (Hellions Ride Book 6) (16 page)

I missed my life, and I’ve always
known my place in it. Being the Vice President’s daughter hasn’t
given me any idealizations that I’m anything more than exactly
that. I never get special privileges because, the bottom line, I’m
not, nor will I ever be, a patched member. I’ve earned the respect
I received from the brothers by learning what they have taken the
time to teach me. I thrived on that and couldn’t wait to get it
back.

I was ready to escape this hell-hole
and finally go back to my family. Back to a life that was taken
away from me for two years, back to right some wrongs. I couldn’t
fucking wait.

Walking down the long corridor, the
sunlight cascaded through the small rectangular window. I began
blinking my eyes, getting ready for the adjustment when the door
opened. I’ve never liked surprises—they get you killed, quickly. I
hoped my outside instincts kicked back in after all this time. It’s
the one thing I’ve been afraid of losing. I’ve learned to keep
myself sharp inside to stay alive, but being free was a different
kind of survival.

“
Here.” The cold tone of
the guard, something I’ll never miss, ordered me forward. Some of
these assholes were utterly worthless individuals who preyed on
women daily. Luckily, I’ve only had two encounters with said
assholes. When I broke the first one’s nose, he decided I wasn’t
worth the hassle. It got me locked in solitary for a few days and a
few bruises, but I actually liked it there. I was left alone. I
thought about doing it again, maybe get an extended stay, but my
mind always reverted to survival, and getting the hell out of here
the easiest way possible.

The other, I’ve tried to block out of
my head. As soon as my feet step outside this door, I would forget
what he did, and not a single soul would ever know.

I watched as the guard’s hand extended
from his body, holding a clear plastic bag. Reaching for it, not
much was inside. The clothes I was wearing when I got in this
hell-hole were ripped when I didn’t move as quickly as the officer
said, so only a few items remained. Inside the bag was the cross
necklace I wore that night, my ID, and a few dollars in cash. The
cash actually surprised me; I was sure that would have disappeared
by now with all the crooked-ass people inside.

“
Gavelson!” I didn’t want
to turn toward the voice, not with the exit so close. But I knew
they still owned me until I stepped out that door. Until then, I
needed to mind myself.

“
Yes, sir,” I said, slowly
turning around to see the warden coming closer. His stocky build
with his oversized stomach hanging over his uniform pants was
nothing to get wet about, but he proved a good ally while I was
inside. Warden Dunn was on Pops’s payroll and set me up with my
nice surroundings. He even passed certain things along from Pops
during my stay. So I respected him as much as a person could while
locked up. Did I trust him? No. The moment you trusted someone in
here, you ended up dead.

Looking directly into my
eyes, I saw a splash of concern come across his as he tilted his
head slowly to the side. His voice reminded me of a whiny teenager,
even though he was nowhere near his teenage years. His voice
sounded raspy as if he was going through
the change
all over again. “You
don’t come back here, girl.”

“
I’ll do my best,” I
answered, immediately knowing there were never any guarantees in
this life, and your word was your only bond. If you didn’t have
that, you had nothing. I wasn’t about to make him a promise; I
didn’t know for sure I could keep. I would definitely do my
damnedest never to step foot in here again, though.

“
Take care, Princess,” the
warden whispered while patting my shoulder gently. My blood boiled
when I turned to walk back towards the door. I’ve spent my entire
life trying to prove to everyone that I was no damn princess, but
that name kept following me around like shit stuck to my shoe. Many
women in my world would love that title. To me, though, it
represented weakness. I couldn’t afford to be associated with
weakness.

When the guard opened the door, the
bright light blinded me. I blinked quickly to get my bearings.
Shielding my eyes with my hand, I looked around until I spotted the
familiar, red ’56 Chevy with the white flames painted on the front
hood. More importantly, I spotted the woman standing next to it,
Casey.

“
Well don’t you have a
shit-eating grin on your face.” Casey’s smile was one of the most
beautiful I’d ever seen on a woman. With her golden locks and
flawless figure, she could get anyone she wanted, whenever she
wanted, but damn if she used it to her advantage. Casey and I have
been friends since we were kids, growing up at the club, right
alongside each other. Her dad, Bam, was a patched member, who died
a few years ago.

We’ve experienced everything together.
She was my ultimate partner in crime and damn did I miss her.
Grabbing her face between my hands, I stared into her emerald eyes
before kissing her full on the lips. They tasted like cherries,
reminding me of the little things that I’ve missed. Then I moved
and kissed her once on each cheek.

“
Well, hello to you too,
girl.” She laughed at my gesture and wrapped her arms tightly
around me squeezing the ever-loving shit out of me.

Stepping back, “I just missed ya,
babe. Get me the hell out of here.” Throwing open the car door; I
hopped into the beautiful piece of machinery. The sleek car was the
ultimate ride, a classic. In our world, it was called a cage, since
anything that isn’t a motorcycle was considered just
that.

Casey’s father helped her fix it up at
the shop, spending hours and hours perfecting it. He taught her
everything that she’d ever have to know about fixing cars and
bikes. When her father died, this car was the only connection to
him she had. She treasured it more than anything on this planet and
took care of it like she was loving her child.

Casey worked at the shop, Banner
Automotive, attached to the Club. She may be beautiful and girly,
but give her a wrench and an engine, and she was all over it. Not
to mention, I’ve been told the guys really like the tight-ass jeans
she wears. Men are so damn predictable.

“
Sure thing, you ready to
get that mop tamed?” Casey’s eyes travelled over my ugly, stringy,
brassy brown hair. I knew I looked like shit, which was why it was
the first order of business.

“
Absolutely.”

After three hours in the chair,
chatting it up with Cam while she worked her magic on my hair, I
felt like a new woman. My dark brown hair was back in place with
the bright streaks of red, just like I liked it. Instead of
stringy, it was soft and silky. The natural wave was always a plus.
Keeping it long in jail was a feat I never wanted to repeat. Just
because my Pops had guys on the payroll, didn’t mean that things
were handed to me. I had to earn it, and damn it if I didn’t. Not
that I ever wanted to relive any of that again.

The drive to our place was quick, and
I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of these prison clothes. I
needed to get the stench of that place off of me. Wrapping my hair
up, I jumped in the shower letting the water wash away the two
previous years of hell. After turning into a prune, I exited
getting myself together quickly. I found my favorite pair of jeans
with the thousands of holes in all the right places and my tight,
black Harley t-shirt. After a bit of makeup, I was ready to go see
my family.

Walking into the living room, Casey
was flopped on the couch with the remote in her hand, thumbing
endlessly through the channels. “Where is she?” I asked, wanting my
girl back.

“
Come on.” Casey got up
and headed towards her room, with me following closely behind. She
dug through her closet, pulling out a locked box. Casey walked the
box over to her dresser and placed it softly on the top. She
rummaged through her top drawer, pulling out keys and unlocking the
box.

Sitting inside was my girl. 9mm’s of
power that fit the palm of my hand perfectly. I learned how to
shoot with this gun. My dad gave it to me when I was fourteen, and
I never leave home without her.

Feeling the weight in my hand, I
thumbed the beautiful piece of metal, feeling happy and at peace. I
always felt protected when this was with me. It’s one of the things
that kept me alive for this long. Not only am I fast, but I am a
great shot. Two years was a long time with no practice, though. I
needed to get to the firing range and shoot off some
rounds.

Checking my gun, I made sure the
bullet chamber was fully loaded. I locked the safety, gave it a
soft kiss, and placed it underneath my shirt in a small holster on
my back.

Casey wrapped her arms around me,
hugging me tightly, which I returned. “I’m so glad you’re back,”
she whispered softly in my ear.

“
Me too. Let’s go see the
boys.”

I pulled away staring into her eyes.
She was the one person that I knew would always have my back no
matter what. “Let’s go.” She smiled, pulling my arm through the
door.

Driving through the streets of Sumner,
Georgia, everything seemed exactly the same as before I left. The
same shops and banks lined the center of town with people walking
through the streets without a care in the world. They were free,
just like I was, and how I was going to stay.

Good people lived here. They were
honest people; well, for the most part. When the outsiders came in,
that’s when we had problems.

Unfortunately, I’ve been kept in the
dark about most of what was going on with the club. When Ma came to
visit, she never discussed the brothers, and I never asked. People
were always listening to us, and neither of us could risk it. I
didn’t know the good or the bad of what was going on, and I felt
quite lost. Ma would only say that my family loved me. I knew
that.

What I didn’t know was what I would
walk into once I got to the shop and the club. It was a bit
unnerving, but I couldn’t let that show. I’d never show any
weakness… ever.

Pulling up to the locked gates with
barbed wire lacing the top, the smile that was plastered on my face
was irreversible. I was finally home.

A man I’d never seen before, wearing a
Prospect rag, came to the side of the window. “Hey, Casey. You
working today?”

Smiling widely at him, she reached
over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly. He was pretty hot
for a newbie Prospect. His dark hair hung low covering his ears,
but not quite down to his shoulders. His brown eyes were the color
of chocolate, matching the smoothness of his voice. His nose looked
like it had taken one too many beatings over the years and hadn’t
been set quite right. He had a very hot, dangerous
persona.

Squeezing Casey’s hand back to let her
know I understood his hotness, she finally spoke. “Hey, Tug. I
brought Harlow home.”

Tug looked me up and down, eyeing me.
“Get a good look there, Bud,” I said with my signature smirk that I
knew would make him putty in my hands.

“
Sure thing, Sweetheart.
So you’re the famous Princess, huh?” Rolling my eyes, I turned to
face the windshield already done with the conversation. Spending
your entire life trying to prove something wrong was exhausting,
and I knew everyone here would be calling me that word.

“
Let’s go,” I said,
snapping my fingers in front of me, pointing to the
gate.

“
Your Pops is real excited
to see ya, but they’re in church. They’ll be out soon.” Tug turned
to the gate, throwing the switch to unlock the steel doors. They
began to move, opening wide.

When the gates spread, I took in the
view. To the left was the shop, Banner Automotive. This was one of
the businesses the Ravage MC owned that did really well, not to
mention they all needed some place to work on their bikes. My mom
worked there doing the books and handling all the clients that came
in and out through another entrance, opposite of where all the guys
come in. She’d been doing it since I was a kid. I spent a lot of
time in that office with Ma. My eyes scanned to the members and
Prospect only parking to the right. One parking spot after the
other and I could name the owners of almost every one of them.
That’s how I knew there were five new guys, either patched in or
Prospects.