“The club is always lookin’ for prospects,” Ryder said, extending an offer he never imagined he would. “That was the path you were on until that brother of yours fucked it all up for you.”
Looking up at him, Ryder saw hope on Ace’s dirty face. It squeezed at his heart. By the grace of God, he could have been sitting where he was right now. “Look, man, I’m sorry about your brother. I kept warning him, but he wouldn’t listen. I came home from a run and found her pretty beaten up. She was hiding out in the attic so my folks wouldn’t see the bruises on her face. Had to force it outta her.”
Ace grimaced. “Shit makes me sick inside.”
Ryder continued. “I hunted him down and he didn’t even deny it. Said she liked it rough and bragged about it being her first time.”
“Fuckin’ idiot. Fourteen-year-old virgins don’t like it rough.”
“No, brother, they don’t,” Ryder agreed. “She had a black eye, two cracked ribs, and a dislocated shoulder. I just meant to kick his ass all over the bar, but he pulled a knife.”
“I don’t want to hear any more. It might have gone bad if I had been the one confronting him. He was always so hardheaded and fuckin’ aggressive.”
“What’s done is done. The police came and did their thing. Said it was self-defense. You better believe that if they thought they could make a case at all against me, they’d have tried.”
Nodding, Ace took another drink of his coffee.
“Look, man, when was the last time you ate real food,” Ryder asked, looking the man over. He was a mess.
“I don’t even know. Does prison food count?”
“Shit.” Moving to the slow cooker, Ryder dipped him out a slab of beef and slid it across the table.
Ace’s face lit up. “Thanks, man. Sorry about the bullet holes.”
Ryder brushed it off. He wasn’t looking for a new friend, but he could see now that Ace was a decent guy. The least he could do was feed the poor bastard. “I been shot before. It ain’t nothing new. Are we square?”
“Yeah,” Ace said around a mouthful of beef, “more than square.”
“You know the brothers are gonna take you to the dungeon for a while,” Ryder informed him. “When the time comes, I’ll speak up for you.”
Ace didn’t look up from his food. “It’s not like I ain’t never been locked up before.”
“Well, as soon as my pretty little bitch gets outta the shower, you better get your ass in there ‘cause I doubt they’ll give you another chance.”
Ace nodded. “Thank her for the food, will ya?”
“Sure.”
No sooner had Ace finished eating than Tiffany came back into the kitchen with wet hair. “Glad to see you two acting like grown-ups.”
“Mind if Ace grabs a shower?”
She nodded. “I laid him out some clean clothing. Hope it fits properly. He’s a little bigger than you are.”
Leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head, Ryder commented casually. “I’m bigger where it counts, babe. Don’t you worry about that.”
Ace staggered to his feet and headed to the back part of the cabin. Tiffany threw him a questioning look, but he just shrugged. Ace wasn’t going anywhere, ‘cause he had nowhere to go. He’d stay and face the brothers for a chance to prospect, he was sure. The outside world didn’t have much to offer him after ten years in the slammer.
Watching her gracefully moving around the kitchen, Ryder knew Tiffany would be his one day. “Thanks, babe.”
She didn’t look up when she said, “What part of my fantastic contribution to this clusterfuck are you so grateful for, Ryder?”
Laughing, he replied sincerely. “Reminding me that things never get so bad that you can’t find your way back.”
She paused, lifting her head to meet his eyes. “So, you two really worked things out?”
“I was so angry. I probably would have ended up killing him if you hadn’t been here. You’re right about us being a lot alike. You got me to see reason when it was the furthest thing from my mind. It’s a lesson I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.”