Stryker

2 - Feels like home

Coral

It feels strange seeing the old place again, where I grew up. I have some very fond memories of this old house. All the times I played in the garden with my younger sister. The Christmases I spent with my family. Even the big greyhound we had that used to chase us in the yard, making my sister and me squeal happily. Bricks and mortar, that’s all it is, bricks and mortar. Just a house. Memories stay forever in your heart and mind. No one can take that away from you.

I breathe in the spring air through my nose, eyes closed, a smile on my face. But then, those vile memories of what happened to me when I was twelve and living here fill my head, and I’m right back where I started nine years ago.

I shake my head. That monster won’t rule my thoughts. I’ve fought to keep him out this long, and I won’t fail now.

Turning my head, I see him astride his bike, the man who has always been like a second father to me. The man who dealt with everything after what happened. Most wouldn’t understand why he did what he did, but I do. He did it for me, for my family. Most would call him a monster, but I call him my Number Two.

I’m a little surprised that he still lives in the same house. The house directly across from the house that was my parents. The largest home on the street. Three stories, I don’t remember there being three stories. It must have extended.

I make my way across the street. It’s been a while since I saw him, even if he did call now and again to see how I was doing. I’ve missed him more than I realized.

I watch him scrubbing harder at the handles of his bike like a madman. Still, I smile. “You’ll scrub the chrome off those bars if you’re not careful,” I tell him.

“What are you doing here, Coral?” He asks without looking at me. It has been a few years since I last saw him, yet he knew it was me without checking first. I wish he’d look at me.

“I missed you.” It came out before I’d even thought about it. But it’s the truth, I have missed him so very much.

He finally turns to look at me, the big, bad biker man who used to live across the street. The big, bad biker man who once tried to scare me away from his motorcycle, the bike I was sat astride while pretending to ride against the wind.

Shepard is a big man, a huge man. He’s tall, well-built, and has muscles in all the right places. He has big muscles that I suspect he got from a lot of hard work and fighting rather than the gym. He is a handsome man in every way, beautiful inside and out. He might be an outlaw, but he will always be like a father to me.

“I’m sorry to hear about Apollo. I’ll miss him.” Apollo was Shepard’s father, the once-great President of the Snakes Henchmen MC. I liked him very much. He always treated me like one of the family.

“How long you here for?” His sharp tone hits me right in the gut. I understand he’s going through something awful and doesn't mean to snap at me. I know a lot about loss, so I won’t take it to heart.

“Depends. Mom and Dad stayed in Cali with Cindy, but I wanted to come home for a while. I’m staying with an old school friend while I’m here.”

I’m here because I needed to escape from my parents for a while. God knows I love them, but they smother me. I can’t go anywhere or do anything without them calling me a million times to see where I am and when I will be home. I’m a strong woman, and I learned a long time ago how to take care of myself in every way.

They didn’t want me to come here, but I put my foot down and told them to leave me be for a while. I’ll call them every day to let them know I’m okay, but they have to give me a little space. They’re just as bad with Cindy, but I guess good parents always worry.

“So, I heard you married Lynette.”

Lynette was the woman who lived next door to Shepard with her little girl, Willow. Willow was Cindy’s best friend, and Cindy has never forgotten her.

“I always knew you were destined to be together.” I giggle.

I did use to tell him that Lynette was his destiny. He’d laugh and tell me, ‘Is that so? Maybe you’re right. We’ll see.’ Then he’d wink, making me laugh. I’m glad I was right.

I wish he were as happy to see me as I am him.

“Haven’t you missed me at all, Number Two?”

He chuckles and climbs off my bike. “I’ve missed you as much as I’ve missed Nova all these years, Sunflower.”

I smile at the name he just called me, his unique name for me. He used to call me Sunflower because he said I was always smiling, always brightening up a bad day or any room I walked into. Even as a child, that meant the world to me. It meant I had a special place in his heart.

Of course, my parents were wary at first of me playing with the boy across the street, the son of an outlaw, but Shepard isn’t just an outlaw; he fights for what’s right. Fights for the people no one gives a damn about, and righting wrongs the law either can’t or won’t. My father became friends with Shepard, just as many did, and he allowed me to play with his son.

As for Nova, she was taken by her mother years ago, never to be seen or heard from again.

“I’m sorry you haven’t been able to find her. I heard how you’d had no joy.” Denise, the friend I’ve been staying with, told me about everything as soon as I arrived home.

“I’ll find her one day, Sunflower, don’t you worry about that. How’ve you been since...?” He tips his head.

“Since I handed my little girl over to strangers?”

Yes, I have a daughter, she’s eight years old now.

Sounds crazy for a twenty-one-year-old to say that she has an eight-year-old child, right?

But my baby wasn’t conceived in a nice way, and I wasn’t all smiles and happy-go-lucky for a long time after. I was a silly twelve-year-old who stood and spoke to a much older man when I shouldn't have. You can probably guess what happened next.

I wasn’t allowed to keep my baby. Shepard took her from me when she was just a few days old on the orders of my parents. I loved my baby, and even though she came from the worst experience of my life, I wanted to keep her so badly. My parents did not. My mother couldn’t even bear to look at her.

The day Shepard came to California, where my parents had moved me after what happened, I was so excited to see him. I showed him my baby and told him how happy I was to have her. Then he sat me down as I held my little girl close to me, and he told me how I couldn’t keep her.

You know what?

I already knew why he was there. I knew who had called him, but they’d already told me what would be happening. My mother and father had made no secret of the fact they couldn’t love her, didn't want her around them, around Cindy, around me. However, I thought if I showed them how much I loved my baby and how well I could care for her, they’d let me keep her.

Shepard explained how it would be best for my baby and me if I gave her to an older couple who could give her the world. I knew he was right.

I was thirteen; how could I have given her what she needed?

Even then, I knew I couldn’t. I knew I had to give her away so she could have everything a baby needed.

So, I sat with her in my arms as I wrote her a long letter explaining everything, why I couldn’t keep her, how much I loved her, how hard it was for me right then, and how I hoped, one day, we could meet again. I wanted her to know that I would always love her and that I’d never forget her.

Shepard told me it would be better not to put my name on the letter right then. That one day, my baby would come looking for me because her new parents would have his name. They’d tell her who he was, my baby would find him, and he’d point her in the right direction.

I cried, of course, when I handed her over to him. I sobbed, actually. I kissed her little cheek, breathed her in, and told her I would always love her.

I wasn’t allowed to know where Shepard was taking her nor who her new parents would be. I was simply told to get on with my life and make it a good one. Shepard and BlackJack, another member of the Snakes Henchmen, a kind of uncle to me, both kissed my head before they left.

What Shepard told me about making my life good stuck in my mind, and I have strived ever since to do just that.

“I’ve been doing okay.” I shrug while tucking my hands into my jeans pockets. “I miss her every day, but I know she’s better off with them.

“I did well in school. I passed every exam I ever took, graduated at the top of my class, and got into a good college. It seems I have a knack for numbers. I graduated early with my master’s degree.”

“I’m proud of you, Sunflower. You didn’t let it break you.”

“Nothing could break me, Shepard. I’m strong.”

“That you are. Now get the hell over here and hug me.”

I laugh and run at him. He catches me and hugs me tightly with a kiss on my head. God, I’ve missed him.

“Daddy, who is this?”

He lets go of me and lifts a little kid into his arms. He’s a handsome little devil.

“Who’s this handsome young man?” I ask.

“I’m VJ.” He tells me. “I just had my sixth birthday.” Six? God, he's tall for six. “And this is my daddy.” Oh, wow. Denise didn’t tell me Shepard had another son. “What’s your name?”

“My name is Coral. It’s so very nice to meet you, VJ.” He giggles at me, and it’s so cute. “I had no idea you had another son.”

“I’ve got two. Max is inside somewhere.”

Two?

Wow!

He and Lynette have been busy. I used to imagine what their babies would look like because I always believed they’d have at least one when they finally realized they were meant to be together.

“VJ and Max. He looks just like you.” He does, right from his dark hair color to his blue eyes.

“That’s what my mamma says. Jett and Maxy look like Daddy too, huh, Daddy?”

“That’s right,”

“She’s sex.y, Daddy,”

Oh, my God! I’m laughing. This kid is a lady’s man already!

“Oh, my God! He’s such a charmer. He is so Jett’s brother!”

“Someone mention my name?”

I spin on the spot, eyes wide, smiling excitedly. Jett is coming towards me. He’s fuckin.g huge! He’s bigger than his father. My best friend from across the street.

I run at him, and he catches me around the waist and spins me around. “It’s so good to see you!”

“And you, short stuff.” He winks and sets me on my feet. Can’t believe he’s still calling me that! “How the hell have you been?”

His eyes slide up and down my body shamelessly. “Tate Jackson, are you seriously checking me out right now?”

“No one calls me that anymore. It’s Jett, and...”

“Coral? Is that you?”

Again, I spin on the spot. Another giant of a man stands behind me. I recognize him instantly. “Haiden!”

“Tank.” Jett laughs from behind me.

Tank. It suits him. Tank was my other best friend. The three of us had some fun when we were kids. Haiden – Tank – was my first kiss. We were twelve, and it was gross. Felt like I was kissing my brother. So, I kissed Jett, and I had the same problem. My brothers they were since that day, and they took care of me. After what happened to me, my parents moved me away, and I had to leave them behind; it broke my heart.

“Get the hell over here!” I laugh, and he grabs me and hugs me, and I feel like I'm home. Home with my brothers. “This calls for a celebration!”

“Bar?” Jett asks.

I roll my eyes.

“Bar.” Tank parrots back. “Get on the back of my bike, girly!”

Bikers. They’re big bad bikers, just like their fathers. I always knew it was coming. I’m proud of them.

* * *

Snakes Henchmen MC Tennessee Charter clubhouse is a place I haven’t set foot in since I was twelve. I never thought I’d be here again. It’s changed some in the last few years. It seems bigger, brighter. The building always reminded me of a ski lodge, all wood and open fire, a huge bar, a big pool table, and lots of friendly faces.

Sounds crazy, right?

I mean, these are bikers for Christ’s sake.

They might have morals, but I never said they weren’t criminals in almost every other sense of the word.

BlackJack spots me first. He’s sitting by the unlit fire with his wife, Taylor. “Well, look who’s here!”

“Uncle Jack!” I run into his arms, and it feels like I’m twelve years old all over again. God, I love him so much. Both he and Shepard have always meant the world to me.

That might sound crazy because I was just a little girl when I met them. These big, bad bikers. Dangerous men who a little girl should have been afraid of, but I never was. They loved me and cared for me as my father did.

BlackJack holds me tightly for a moment before setting me back on my feet. “Look how beautiful you are.”

“Old flatterer.” I slap his chest with a laugh before turning to Taylor and hugging her.

I remember many of the guys here, Cueball, Red, Ace, Hammer, and Roman, although I remember Roman as a prospect with the club back then. God, he's filled out. He’s also freaking gorgeous! Like, fit as. Muscles everywhere, biceps the size of melons, and those to die for green eyes against his tanned skin? He’s hot and then some.

“Hey there, pretty girl.” He winks at me, and I blush, literally like some damn teenager with a crush.

“Hey, handsome.”

He hugs me, and yeah, he’s crushing me with his massive muscles!

“Back off, Roman.” Here we go, Big Brother’s getting all protective.

I chuckle at Jett. He literally dragged Roman away from me.

“Chill out, Jett, I’ve known the girl since she was a kid.”

“Like that would stop you.”

“It would actually! I ain’t gonna do anything after what she’s been through.”

In layman’s terms, he wouldn’t touch me with someone else’s after what happened when I was twelve. Doesn’t make a girl feel very good.

This is the reason I could never tell any man what happened to me. Not one I’d date anyway. Not everyone here knows what happened to me, or at least, I don’t think they do. I hope not. Except for Shepard and BlackJack, the only other members that were around when it happened were Roman and Titus, Tank’s father, whom I heard was killed a few years ago. As far as I know, they’re the only ones who know. However, I can tell Jett and Tank do, too. Great.

“Drink?”

“Beer, please.”

Jett goes off to get my beer. I kind of feel like the new girl in school, everyone staring and whispering, and now I feel self-conscious.

My eyes catch the figure sitting at the far table. He’s sitting alone, even though I can tell the two club whore.s near the bar with dreamy eyes looking at him would give anything to be his for the night.

Even though he’s sitting down, I can tell he’s tall from his frame. He’s built, not as big as Roman, but most men aren’t. He’s got light brown hair that dances between blonde and brown and has stubble on his chin. I can’t tell the color of his eyes from here, but I get a weird feeling just looking at him.

“Who’s that?” I tip my head toward the guy at the table, nursing a half glass of beer.

Tank answers me, “That’s Stryker. Stay away from him; he’s dangerous.”

“He’s a biker, be a pretty shi.t one if he wasn’t dangerous. Aren’t you all?”

“Touché.”

“Is he always alone?”

“He’s a quiet guy. He does what he wants, who he wants, and when he wants. Isn’t much for socializing unless it’s called for.” He says nothing more and hands me the beer Jett brought over.

I take a sip from the cold bottle, my eyes still on Stryker.

Stryker.

I wonder how he got that road name and what his real name could be?

Why do I even care?

As if he knew I was watching him, his head turns in my direction, no emotion on his face, and he’s so handsome I think I just creamed my panties. Yeah, he’s that beautifully hot. God help me.