Biker's Ruby Amongst the Tools Book 2: Deven's Angel
Penulis
Raven Wimberley
Jumlah dibaca
129K
Bab
16
Deven grows up in a biker family where love is loud, engines are louder, and loyalty runs deep. On a routine drive, he finds Angel stranded on the roadside with her baby in her arms and her entire life packed into a broken-down car. She is young, exhausted, and out of options after being pushed out by her strict parents and abandoned by her ex. Deven steps in with a steady hand and a steady heart, guiding her into town and into a world she never expects—one filled with warmth, second chances, and a man who sees her strength before she sees it herself. As their lives intertwine, old wounds begin to heal and new hope takes root.
A Biker Mechanic
DEVEN
My brother and I had a rough start in life. Our birth parents were definitely people who shouldn’t have had kids, let alone been together. I tried my best to keep Isaac from having to deal with it, taking the brunt of their abuse.
After a teacher noticed some bruising, the police and child services got involved. Needless to say, we ended up in foster homes. Some weren’t bad, but they still left the pain of not being wanted and loved.
When I turned fifteen and Isaac was thirteen, this young couple came in. We were the only older kids in the orphanage here in this backwoods town. So I stayed back. There was no way some young couple in their early to mid-twenties was going to want to adopt a couple of teenagers.
The woman sat down next to me when I wasn’t paying attention and started asking me questions. Looking over at Isaac, I saw he was talking and playing toss with the big biker guy.
“Listen, lady, I know you don’t want to adopt some older kids, so don’t bother. Just go pick out some little kid and leave me alone.”
“I’m talking to who I want to.”
That was the first interaction. For a few months, they came back repeatedly. Eventually I caved and developed a relationship with them.
When the paperwork came through and we were officially their kids, I thought they were going to change their minds because Mom found out she was pregnant at the same time. Well, needless to say, that didn’t happen.
That was ten years ago. With their help and encouragement, I graduated early and got my bachelor’s degree in business. These days, I work at the shop with Mom and Dad, working on the cars and bikes, but most of my work is done in the office.
Today, I went into town to meet up with Stephan, who worked at his dad’s parts store, and pick up a few things for a car that came in last night.
Driving back down the back roads to avoid midday traffic, I spotted a car on the side of the road. Smoke was coming from the hood. Dad always made it clear: you never left a person in need. So I pulled up behind and walked up to the car.
What I walked up on was not what I was expecting.
There was this beautiful girl with wavy light brown hair, a pair of jeans cut off at the knee, and a blue tank top, holding a baby on her right hip. The little guy wasn’t very big, probably no more than six months old. He looked just like her, only with slightly darker hair.
“Hey, umm…do you need some help?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck. Man, she was pretty.
She let out a shriek.
“Shoot, sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Deven. I was driving by and saw you needed help. I’m a mechanic, if you want me to take a look.”
“No, it’s fine. I was zoned out trying to think of what to do. I’m Angel, and this is Adam. Please, I’d appreciate any help. I don’t have a lot of money, though.” She looked down like she was embarrassed by that statement.
“No charge.” I started looking at her car and noticed that she just needed some water in her radiator. I walked back to my truck and pulled out the gallon of water I carried with me for things like this and walked back.
“You just needed a little water, no big deal. So are you new to town or just passing through?”
“Oh, um…I’m staying here for a bit. At least until I can afford to move on.”
“Where are you staying?” Something seemed off. I didn’t think she was giving me the full story.
“Oh, uh, just some motel in town.” She looked everywhere but in my eyes. She clearly was lying to me.
“Let me follow you into town. That way, if your car starts having an issue, I will be there to help you.” She nodded her head. I closed the hood and put things away as she buckled the baby.
After a little while, I realized she had no idea where the motel was. So I started signaling ahead of time. When we finally got there, I went into the office with her.
The receptionist was the daughter of one of the club members, so I had messaged ahead of time, telling them I wanted to rent a room for a month and that I would pay for it, but to tell the girl I came in with that you paid at the end of the time, not before.
It was a family-owned B&B, so I knew she would get food as well as be somewhere safe.
As I helped her get the baby out, she insisted that I didn’t need to help bring her things in, but I insisted. Once we got inside, Janice immediately went apeshit because of the baby.
Yeah, she was baby crazy. She was only like nineteen or twenty and very sweet, but she had only one life goal, and that was to be a mom.
Within twenty minutes, I was helping Angel and her baby into the room and setting up his playpen and crib.
“There you go. Everything is set up. Here is my card. If you ever need anything, give me a call,” I said, handing her a business card that I’d written my personal cell number on.
“Thank you so much for everything. I really can’t thank you enough.” She was blushing as she put some stray hair behind her ear, the baby on her left hip this time.
I left her. As much as I didn’t want to, I still needed to take the part to the shop. I stopped at the desk and handed over my card to pay for it.
Getting to work, I couldn’t help telling Mom about the beauty on the side of the road. I told Mom all about her and the baby. She just giggled at me, telling me about how she and Dad were like that when they met, how Dad was so sure and she was reluctant to even give him a chance.
***
It had been a couple of days, and Dad needed me at the club. I was going to be taking over for the other Enforcer, Carl. The man was almost sixty and wanted to spend more time with his wife, kids, and brand-new grandchild.
I was sitting out at the bar now, having a beer with my dad, when I heard a scream. We all went racing outside, guns ready. Only I wasn’t prepared for who had screamed.
