Ride or Die

ANDI

I felt my face heat up as he cradled me against his hard chest, his muscles straining against his clothes. His unruly jet-black hair framed his face perfectly, his jawline so sharp it looked like it could cut me.

How did Erin describe him in her text messages? Delicious. My blush only deepened. What the heck was I thinking?

“The freerider has been dealt with,” Brutus said, his deep, sensual voice rolling through me like a storm. “You can stop clinging to me now.”

I quickly came back to my senses.

“S-sorry, sir,” I said, scrambling out of his arms. “Thank you for saving me.” I looked around and saw dozens of men around me checking to make sure the area was safe. A handful of them were dragging the unconscious body of the freerider away to the clubhouse cell.

“What are you doing here?” The president asked me. He looked me up and down like he was appraising me, and I felt small and exposed underneath his gaze.

“I’m here to help with the party tomorrow, sir,” I said, willing my voice not to shake. He commanded respect, and everyone addressed him accordingly. He might be a biker, but he was as high up the food chain as it got.

“Party?” he frowned.

“For your birthday, Brutus,” another man said from behind him. I recognized Matt, the Vice President of our club. He was almost as handsome as Brutus was, and I looked at my feet nervously when his eyes met mine.

“Oh, right.” Brutus sighed, sounding more annoyed than excited. “Be more aware of your surroundings,” he told me. “I don’t want any liabilities on my staff. Understand?”

“Y-yes, sir,” I said.

He turned and walked away, the entourage of terrifying-looking riders falling into line behind him. His presence was so commanding that he looked completely natural at the head of such a terrifying group of men.

It took me a moment to catch my breath, and I had to find a place to sit down to recover from my near-death experience. My heart was still pounding in my chest, but it wasn’t because of the freerider attack.

It was because I thought I glimpsed a tattoo on Brutus’s neck that looked like mine. When he was carrying me, my head was right there, but I was also shocked and delirious.

I shook my head to try and clear it away from those thoughts. I was here to do some work, not drool over our president like every other girl in town.

“You, over there!” I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of someone yelling at me.

A lady in her late fifties was walking over to me as fast as she could. Her face was scowling.

“Are you one of the volunteer house chicks for the party?” she asked me.

“Y-yes, ma’am. I’m Andrea Crowe, ma’am. You can call me Andi,” I said.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder and raised my head to see the lady holding her hand over her mouth.

“Andi?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied, not understanding her change in attitude.

She surprised me by giving me a big embrace.

“Oooh, Andi! The last time I saw you, you were just a little girl. Look how big you’ve grown!” She pushed me back, eyeing me from head to toe.

“Have you found a Ride or Die yet?” she inquired.

“Ummm, no, ma’am. I won’t be eighteen until tomorrow. Do…do I know you?” I asked.

“Oh! I’m sorry, my child. I am Old Lady Gibbs. The head of the house chicks for the leader’s house, and the town midwife. I knew your father back when he was the club’s sergeant at arms. I knew your mother as well.”

Her face turned mournful. “I was there the day she…” she trailed off. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save her, dear.”

My mom had died giving birth to me. I felt grateful seeing how torn up Old Lady Gibbs was. I could tell she’d really tried to save her. “Old Lady” was the term for the president’s wife, the head woman of the club. But it was also sometimes given out as a term of respect for oldtimers who had loyally served the club.

I placed a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. “It’s ok, Old Lady Gibbs,” I said with a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Old Lady Gibbs returned my smile and placed her hands on my shoulders. “I’m glad you’re here, Andi. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

I spent the rest of the day helping clean and prepare the mansion for the president’s birthday celebration. Old Lady Gibbs told me that there would be over six hundred guests between our club and neighboring ones, so there was a lot to do.

“How big of a party do you need?” I muttered to myself as I dragged a heavy bucket of dirty water behind me. I struggled to turn a corner when wham!

I bumped into someone, and the dirty water spilled all over the floors I’d just mopped.

“Unbelievable,” a deep, commanding voice rumbled.

I frowned at the tone. As if this was all my fault. I turned to give this guy a piece of my mind, but the words died on my lips when I saw who it was.

President Brutus.

“Please excuse me, sir,” I said meekly, my heart pounding in my chest.

“You again.” He sighed. “Didn’t I tell you to be more aware of your surroundings?” He wiped at his ruined clothes. The dirty water had made his shirt see-through, and I could clearly see his rippling abs through the fabric of his shirt.

I looked away, my face on fire.

Oh, Eternal Rider, he’s so hot.

“Anything to say for yourself?” he demanded.

“N-no, sir,” I stammered. “I have no excuse. I’ll do better, sir.”

He stared at me for a moment longer, and I tried my best to meet his gaze evenly. Eventually, he nodded, satisfied, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

“Well, clean this up,” he ordered, gesturing to the dirty puddle.

I nodded and stepped away from him, but I slipped on the wet floor. I yelped as I went crashing down, but powerful arms wrapped around me, breaking my fall.

Brutus stared down at me, a frown on his face. “How useless can you be, house chick?”

I was speechless. He held me tight against his chest, and I could feel the hardness of his muscles through his clothes.

“Th-thank you—” I managed to stammer out before he let go and dropped me to the ground. The dirty water splashed all over me.

“Hey!” I complained.

He smirked at me, and I hated that my heart skipped a beat.

“Now we’re even,” he said, gesturing to his own dirty clothes. He walked away, leaving me gaping after him in disbelief.

What a jerk!

I got up and huffed as I wiped myself down. Old Lady Gibbs found me all soaking wet a few moments later and then she sent me home to get a change of clothes and get a couple hours of rest.

I didn’t tell her about my encounter with President Brutus. It would’ve been more trouble than it was worth.

I had to be back at the president’s house tomorrow night. The party wouldn’t begin until nine o’clock.

I thought about Brutus’s cocky smirk, fuming.

Should I even go back?

When I got home, I was greeted by the unpleasant sight of my stepmother walking around nude.

“Eww!” I said loudly to get her attention. “You know, these rooms were made specifically for our privacy. Not for walking around the house completely naked.”

I turned around, waiting for her to grab some clothes.

“Oh, sorry about that, hon. I wasn’t expecting you back so early. I just came from patrolling the southern area of town,” she answered nonchalantly.

My stepmother was a scout. She patrolled our territory, and even drove into neighboring territories to check for threats from freeriders or other clubs. Because our town was so small, the Blood Riders essentially had control over it. We kept the residents safe and they didn’t report any of our less-than-polite activities to state officials.

“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes at her, then went straight to my room and threw myself on my bed.

I eventually fell asleep, and the next day moved by in a blur.

I found myself heading to the president’s house. I presented myself at the gates, then headed inside.

Once inside, I went to the house chick’s quarters, where I changed into my official uniform.

It consisted of a white button-up shirt with long sleeves, a bandana, high-waisted black leather pants, and black heels.

Once we were dressed, all the house chicks headed to the party room, where the lights were dimmed. We were there to make sure every rider had a bottle of beer in his hands at all times. Bikers didn’t like to be without a drink.

The place soon began to fill with people, all dressed in their most expensive outfits, but of course wearing their club vests on top. I think most of these guys would wear leather to the White House.

Soon our allies showed up, the Winterborn Motorcycle Club from the West.

Their president came in, along with his daughter, Taylor Wilder. She was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.

She had long, gorgeous blonde hair, sun-kissed skin, and bright hazel eyes. Her entire being exuded perfection.

Around the same time, our club’s sergeant at arms entered, Roy Bergman, who was in his late twenties. He was hand-in-hand with his Ride or Die, Zion.

Roy had dark brown hair with a couple of gray strands here and there. He had brown eyes and was one of the shortest men in the club.

But despite his small size, he was not only one of the smartest in the club but one of the strongest.

Later came the Vice President, Matthew Bart. He was tall, with dirty blond hair and green eyes.

All the girls were crazy about him, despite the fact that he was a womanizer. He was the second strongest in the club.

The man of the hour arrived late.

Our president, Brutus Stone. If women went crazy over the VP, he was the real panty-dropper.

I couldn’t help but admire that mop of jet-black hair that always looked as if he’d just got out of bed and eyes so blue they shined like sapphires.

Everyone could see the muscles bulging under his clothes, and I remembered how it had felt to be held against them...

But there was one problem with him…

The man did not know how to smile or to be nice to anyone.

Even though he was drop-dead gorgeous, his sneer, combined with his powerful presidential presence, made people run away from him.

At least, that’s what I thought.

That smirk flashed in my mind again, but I shook the thought away.

You’re here to work, not daydream!

Most of the time, Brutus was seen only with his VP, who happened to be his childhood friend. Or with Taylor, the daughter of another president.

For a moment, our eyes met, and his intense look left me rooted to my spot. It was only for a fraction of a second, but it was enough to cause a stirring within me.

The party was in full swing by the time President Brutus arrived. I had never heard a party so loud. At one point, a fight broke out, but before I even had time to worry, they were laughing and asking me for another round.

“Andi, Old Lady Gibbs needs you in the kitchen for a moment,” one of my coworkers said.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” I answered, taking some empty bottles to the trash.

Once I entered the cooking area, I was attacked with confetti.

“Happy Birthday, Andi!” Everyone shouted. A beautiful cake, sparkling with eighteen candles, was placed before me.

“Oh my God! Guys, you shouldn’t have!” I said, looking at the cake in awe.

“Oh, c’mon! It’s not every day you turn eighteen,” one of the cooks said.

“Yeah, pretty soon you’ll be an official member. Then you’ll be able to—,” Old Lady Gibbs drawled as she looked at everyone. “—find your Ride or Die!!”

I rolled my eyes as they all laughed.

After eating some cake, we all headed back up to the hall to continue with our work.

A coworker nudged me teasingly as we walked.

“You think your Ride or Die is out there?”

I brushed her off, “I just want to get off work.”

She smiled. She saw right through me, she knew I was thinking about my Ride or Die.

~

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