Ryker (Kings of Korruption MC Book 1) (20 page)

 
“Don’t you call me that!
 
Don’t you
ever
call me that,” she grinds out in anger.
 
I can only nod.
 
Fair enough.
 
I did this.

 
“Charlie, I want you to be safe.”
 
I clench my fist and place it over my heart.
 
“I need to make
sure
of it.
 
In the meantime, I would like it if we could be … I don’t know … friends?”

Sitting up straighter, she cries, “You want to be
friends
?”

 
“I think we could be friends if we tried.”
 
I sound like a fucking pussy right now
.
 

Another snort from her.
 
“Sure, Ryker.
 
Let’s be pals.
 
What do you want to do now,
buddy
?”

I ignore her sarcasm.
 
“I don’t know.
 
I guess we could just talk.
 
Maybe tell each other about our day or somethin’?”
 
I’m nervous.
 
I’ve never been so nervous, but I need Charlie to stop hating me.
 

She sighs, shoulders slumping in defeat.
 
“Ryker, you don’t want to hear about my day.
 
It was a shit day anyways, and I’m so fucking glad it’s over.”

I agree with her.
 
It was a shit day for me too.
 
“Mine too.”
 
She snorts again.
 
This isn’t going well.
 
I need to change the subject; get her talking.
 
“I heard from a buddy in Montreal today.”

Her eyes shoot to mine and she watches me silently, waiting to hear more.
 
“He said your sister is a real piece of work.”
 
I give her a half-hearted smile; she doesn’t return it.
 
“They set her up workin’ as an office manager for their garage.
 
Said she had a lot to learn, but the customers like her better than the old lady they had workin’ there before.”

She smiles then; soft and wistful.
 
“I needed to hear that.
 
Believe it or not, Anna is a good person, and she deserves to be happy.”
 
She picks at some invisible lint on the blanket.
 
“She got herself a little lost along the way, but I know that given the chance, she can turn things around.”

I’ve been wondering about their story since the minute I met Anna.
 
She’s so different from Charlie, it’s hard to believe they share the same parents.
 
“What’s her story anyways?
 
I mean, you turned out great but she …” I search for the right words, not wanting to offend her now that she’s finally talking to me.
 
“She’s kind of a mess.”

Charlie pulls a deep breath in through her nose.
 
“It’s a long story.”

 
“I’ve got all kinds of time, bab –“
 
She looks at me then, anger reappearing on her features, but I press on.
 
“I’ve got time.”

Her eyes narrow, the anger still on her face.
 
“Maybe I don’t want to share it with you.”

Ouch.
 
“Even if I say please?”

She sighs and flops back against the pillows.
 
“Why do you even care?
 
I thought I was a mistake?
 
Just some bitch you fucked.”

My jaw clenches.
 
Does she really believe that shit?
 
I lean forward, grasping her wrist and growl, “Don’t say that.”
 

 
“Why not?
 
You did.”
 
She leans into me, eyebrows raised.
 
“What did you call my sister again?
 
A warm body that will spread her legs for anyone?
 
You, Ryker, are a dick.”

Fuck.
 
I can’t believe she’d been in this bed with me the other day, and didn’t know in her heart that it was different for us.
 
“I never said that shit about you, Charlie.
 
Never about you.”

She watches me for a moment, eyes narrowed.
 
“Anna’s a good person you know.
 
If you only knew ...” She trails off and looks at me before nodding, apparently coming to a decision.
 
“She’s three years older than me, but somehow, it’s always been me taking care of her.
 
About six months after I was born, my dad took off.
 
We never heard from him again.
 
My mom was good to us; maybe too good.
 
Anna got away with murder.”
 
She chuckles softly, caught up in the memory, while I watch her, anxiously waiting for her to tell me more.

 
“My mom worked hard to keep us fed.
 
She worked two full time jobs just to pay the bills.
 
We never had much left for fun stuff, but that was ok with me; it was never ok with Anna.
 
She wanted everything and resented my mom for not giving her all the things her friends had.”
 
Pausing, she shakes her head.
 
I wait silently for her to continue.
 
I don’t know much about her past, but suddenly, I want to know everything about her.

 
“While Anna was out with her friends and going to the mall, I stayed back to help my mom with housework and chores.
 
I did everything I could to make things a little easier for her.
 
She was always so tired.
 
I hated that.
 
When I was about fifteen, Mom got sick.”
 
Her voice shakes.
 
“She began missing days at work and spent a lot of time in bed.
 
It was a couple of months before she told us she had leukemia.”
 
Tears fill her eyes.
 
Watching her stare down at the clenched hands on her lap, I almost tell her to stop, but I don’t.
 
I need to hear her story; I need to know her better.

 
“Mom quit her job when the treatments began, and she started receiving a disability check each month.
 
I got myself a part time job after school, to help with the bills.
 
Anna was always getting into trouble; she was hardly ever home.
 
I covered for her when I could, but I hated lying to my mom almost as much as I hated how upset Anna was making her.
 
We fought about it; all the time.”

A tear escapes, sliding down her cheek.
 
Her tears gut me.
 
I’ve seen her cry so many tears since I met her.
 
I want nothing more than to hold her and make it so she never needs to cry again.
 
“Two years into Mom’s treatment, we found that it wasn’t working anymore.
 
There was nothing more they could do.
 
Chemo had killed her liver and her heart was failing.
 
I took some time off school so I could stay home to take care of her.
 
We didn’t have the money to pay for private nursing, and there was no way I was letting my mom die alone in a hospital.
 
I pulled my bed into her room and spent every second I could with her.”

Life is so fucking unfair.
 
Charlie had been through so much at such a young age.

“Mom died when I was seventeen.
 
Anna may have been gone a lot growing up, but when Mom passed, she was there for me.
 
She held my hand and helped me get through it.
 
I was a wreck.
 
After a couple weeks, I got a job working after school until midnight, five nights a week and another working weekends.
 
I finished high school and went to college right after, to get my nursing degree.
 
Anna went back to partying all the time and doing whatever she wanted.
 
I never had a clue where she got her money, but I refused to give her any whenever she asked.”

Another tear falls.
 
“One night, she came home wasted and brought a bunch of friends with her.
 
I got home from work and found they’d eaten every bit of food in the house.
 
I didn’t get paid for another week.
 
I don’t think I’ve ever been so angry.”
 
She swallows thickly.
 
“Anna and I got into a huge fight and I kicked her out of the house.
 
It was a couple of weeks later that she came back and we talked.
 
She promised to straighten up and pull her own weight, and she did, for the most part.
 
She got herself a job as a waitress in a bar, started helping me with bills.
 
She never stopped living wild, but at least I had some help.”

She shrugs then, looking up at me.
 
“My sister and I haven’t always had it easy.
 
I love her; she’s the only person I have left.”

I swallow down the bowling ball that seems to be lodged in my throat.
 
She’s just as alone as I am.
 
All her life, she’s been taking care of everyone else but had nobody to take care of her.
 
I wish more than anything that I could be the one to do that.
 
Doesn’t matter though – I may wish it, but I can’t do it.
 
I had made a decision and there’s no going back.
 
As much as it hurts, she needs better than me.
 

 
“Pretty heavy stuff.
 
You’re an amazing woman, Charlie.
 
After everything you’ve been through, you’ve still managed to make something of yourself and take care of your sister at the same time.”
 
I tilt my lips up in a small smile.
 
“You don’t need to worry about Anna.
 
My buddies will make sure she earns enough to pay back the Devils, and that she’s safe while she does it.”
 

She nods, looking reassured.
 
“What about you?
 
Do you have any brothers or sisters?
 
Besides the ones that ride motorcycles?”
 
She smirks at me and I realize then that we might just be ok.
 
Maybe we can be friends after all.

 
“Nah.
 
It’s just me.”

 
“What about Jase?
 
You guys seem close.”
 
At her mention of my best friend, I remember back to the clubhouse that very night, when the two of them were standing close, his arm around her shoulder.
 
I had watched them together until I’d seen her place her hand on his face.
 
Fucking Jase.
 
Jealousy washes over me.

 
“Not much of a story there.
 
We’ve been buddies for as long as I can remember.
 
Jase is a lot of fun, but I warn you now, stay away from him.
 
He’s been known to break more than a few hearts.”
 

She looks surprised at first and then her eyes go blank.
 
I’ve lost her.
 
“Yeah.
 
Wouldn’t want my heart to get broken, would we?”
 
She closes her eyes and a single tear rolls down her cheek.
 
“I need to go to sleep now.”

Fuck.
 
I sigh, running my hands through my hair and stand.
 
“Night, Charlotte.”

She twists and turns out the lamp, blanketing the room in darkness before whispering, “Night.”

Chapter Sixteen

Charlotte

I’m not surprised to find that Ryker’s long gone when I wake up the next morning.
 
My chest aches and my stomach is still roiling so I don’t even bother trying to eat anything.
 
My eyes are tight and puffy from crying myself to sleep, yet again.
 
It feels like all I do is cry anymore.

I spend the day puttering around the house, doing laundry and sweeping floors.
 
I take breakfast out to Tease and he gives me a small smile as he takes it.
 
A smile!

When I’m ready to go, I step out of the house and am alarmed to see that Tease is gone and Reaper is standing there, arms folded across his chest, glaring at me.

 
“Um … hey.”
 
I haven’t spent much time around Reaper, and he still scares the shit out of me.
 
I can tell he doesn’t like me which doesn’t help my fear one bit.
 
Offering him a small smile, I move towards his bike.
 
He just snorts and shakes his head, clearly not happy with his chauffeur duties.

When we arrive at the nursing home, I hand Reaper his helmet and mutter a quick thanks before turning to hurry into the building.
 
I don’t even make it a full step before his hand clamps down on my upper arm with a firm grip.