Page 3 of Ringo

Ringo didn’t acknowledge Redwood, only stared at me. The moonlight filtering down wasn’t nearly enough for me to get a good look at the guy. Well, other than his size. Then he switched on a red light he had looped around his forehead. It wasn’t much and I didn’t think he could see me too clearly, but I knew enough to know it was to save his night vision. With the total pitch black in these woods, he probably needed it.

He must have seen something because he jerked back, actually taking two full steps backward. “Well, I’ll be Goddamned. Calista.”

Chapter Two

Ringo

I was so fucking fucked as to not even be fucking believed. I recognized this girl from pictures our sergeant at arms kept in his room at the main clubhouse. As his enforcer, he and I had grown pretty close over the years, and he’d told me some stories. He had a small table dedicated to Calista. Dom had said the girl’s mother had died a few years before, but Tina had sent him pictures of Calista regularly until the woman had passed. He didn’t tell me his and Tina’s story and I’d never asked. This young woman before him now was definitely Calista. What Dom had failed to mention was how truly lovely the girl had become. Probably why he hadn’t put a new picture of her up in a few years. Likely keeping them to himself where horny bastards like myself couldn’t see them and be lusting after his daughter.

And it wasn’t just her looks. Calista had spunk. She was dressed in black leggings and a black tank, but she had combat boots on her feet. She’d also ventured into our territory intentionally, which meant she’d been walking in the woods for hours.

“How do you know my name?” She gave me a wary look.

“Your father has pictures of you in his rooms in the clubhouse. Your mother sent him pictures until she died.”

“What?” Her eyes widened in surprise. “She did?”

“Yeah, baby girl. Come on.” I held out a hand to her and it surprised me when she took it. She must really have been tired, because the last thing she needed was to have her hands restricted in the company of men two or three times her size.

She let out a noise of distress as if suddenly realizing she’d given up a very important advantage. If you could call it that. She had fire and might be scrappy, but everyone here -- other than the women and children -- were seasoned warriors and me holding her dominant hand was a distinct disadvantage. “Ain’t gonna hurt you. You’re family,” I tried to soothe her.

“Yeah? What about Peckerwood over there? He gonna hurt me? You know. Again?”

“It’s Redwood, girlie.” The prospect -- who was still trying to get to his feet -- sounded like anything but a seasoned warrior. She’d definitely gotten in a good lick. If the situation was anything else, I’d have been amused. OK, so I was still amused. This girl had fire. Maybe not as much as Lemon, but she’d get there. Did my heart proud.

“That’s what I said.” She blinked, all innocent and shit. “Peckerwood.”

Yeah. I was fucked. Took every ounce of control I had not to outright guffaw. And my cock wanted this woman. Hard.

Redwood growled, and I tugged Calista’s hand. “Come on, little hellcat. Let’s go see your daddy.”

I led her through the gate. The fence marking our territory boundary wasn’t obvious and I’d watched her from the security station just inside the gate. She hadn’t noticed the chain-link fence topped with razor wire until Redwood approached her. Not surprising, since Redwood had been prepared for her before she got to the gate and moved out to meet her. Also, even with her flashlight it was dead night and the place was camouflaged with trees and foliage. It was the time of night/very early morning when the moon sets and the sun hasn’t started over the horizon. With us being in the woods, it was exceptionally dark. Even with the flashlight she brandished before Redwood had taken it from her, she’d had a hard time cutting through the dark.

The compound was dark. The only lights coming from inside houses were muted by blackout curtains. We didn’t always use them, but Dom tried to keep us all aware that, you know, light carried. There were lots of trees and such to blanket us from prying eyes, but Dom was the SAA. It was his job to keep everyone safe.

We entered the main clubhouse. It was more sedate than usual. Probably because of the recent close call with Bear’s woman, Liv. Olivia had been forced to spy on Grim Road. Or they’d tried to force her. Fortunately, the woman had a good head on her shoulders and refused to do anything until she had the facts. And the fact was, Bear is as solid as they come.

I led her to Dom’s office and knocked on the door. It was open, as usual. He rarely closed his door unless the officers were having a meeting with him. He was working on scouting out a location in town for a clubhouse. We’d never leave our territory here, but Rocket had decided that it would be good to have a place in town for us to crash or party so we could interact with the community. Also, if the authorities thought the new place was our clubhouse, they’d leave this place alone.

“What?” he snapped. “Better be fuckin’… good…” He trailed off as he stared at Calista. Then at me.

Then our joined hands.

I knew it was a bad idea. I knew it was. But I grinned at Dom. “Hey man. Brought home a little stray.”

Instantly Dom was on his feet, his face a mask of fury. “My daughter is not a fuckin’ stray, you son of a bitch.” He reached for Calista, pulling the young woman into his arms and away from my hold on her hand. “Don’t hold her fuckin’ hand either, Ringo. Off fuckin’ limits!”

I grinned. “Only if she says so.” I winked at Calista when she peeked up from Dom’s chest. For a girl who’d never actually met her father, she was surprisingly at ease.

“She ain’t gotta say so ‘cause I’m sayin’ so.” Dom pulled back from Calista, framing her face in his hands as he looked down at her, stroking her cheek tenderly with his thumb “What happened, sweetheart? You hurt?”

She shook her head. “Just tired. And dirty.” She sighed. “And my ass might hurt where Peckerwood shoved me down.”

Dom stilled, stiffening as he gave me a thunderous look. “Peckerwood? Who the fuck’s Peckerwood?”

I shrugged. “Redwood. Not sure what happened to start it, but she finished it.”

Dom looked down at Calista. “He put his hands on you, baby?”

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