CHAPTER SIX - UNDER THE RIDERS CODE
1107 Words
Dani had been avoiding the clubhouse for months, but tonight was unavoidable. She couldn’t keep pretending like everything was fine when it clearly wasn’t. Rico—her brother—had called her in for a meeting. His voice had been rough, commanding, as usual, but there was a strange undercurrent to his tone that made Dani uneasy.
She wasn’t here for Jax. She was here for her brother, the president of the motorcycle club. Her brother, the man she hadn’t seen in weeks, the one who lived a life that terrified and fascinated her. The man who’d always been there for her, but also the man who had never asked her opinion before making decisions that affected them both.
The smell of gasoline and old leather was thick in the air as Dani made her way up the steps to the clubhouse. Her boots clicked loudly against the concrete, a sound she’d long since associated with this place. She’d spent years watching the club’s operations from a distance, always knowing this life was dangerous, but never fully understanding just how deep it ran until now.
When she reached the door, it opened before she had a chance to knock. Rico was standing there, arms folded, his expression unreadable.
“About damn time,” he muttered, stepping aside to let her in. “We’ve got things to discuss.”
Dani didn’t respond. She just walked past him, her gaze sweeping the familiar room as she stepped inside. It had been years since she’d been in the clubhouse, but the place hadn’t changed much. The pool table in the back, the half-filled bottles of beer on the tables, the hum of conversation—nothing was different. Except that tonight, the air felt thicker. The weight of everything that had been left unsaid was pressing down on her.
Rico shut the door behind her and led her to a booth at the back of the room, the low murmur of the club members continuing as if nothing had happened. A few of the guys gave Dani a passing glance, but no one made a move. This was Rico’s space, and no one crossed him. Dani had learned that long ago.
She sat down without a word, folding her arms across her chest, waiting for her brother to speak.
Rico slid into the booth across from her, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied her. His face was hard, his jaw set in that way it always was when he was about to deliver bad news.
“I need you here, Dani,” Rico said, his voice low but firm. “You know things have gotten tense around here. We’re stretched thin, and I need someone I trust in the shop, handling things while I focus on the bigger picture.”
Dani’s stomach twisted. She hated being dragged into this life. The MC, the violence, the constant undercurrent of danger—it wasn’t a world she wanted to live in. But she knew better than to argue with Rico. He didn’t ask for permission. He didn’t ask for approval. He just gave orders, and you followed them or you left.
“I don’t belong here, Rico,” Dani said, her voice clipped. “You know that. I don’t want any part of this.”
Rico’s eyes softened, but only slightly. He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a more intimate tone, one that only she could hear. “I don’t care what you want, Dani. This isn’t about you. This is about keeping the club together. And you’re a part of that whether you like it or not.”
Dani’s heart pounded in her chest. “I’m not going to just sit back and watch you tear everything apart. You can’t keep me tied to this.”
Rico’s gaze hardened again. “I’m not asking you to sit back, but you’ll need to stop fighting me every damn step of the way. I need you. And whether you like it or not, I’m pulling you back in.”
Dani’s chest tightened as the weight of his words hit her. The truth of it all settled in her stomach like a stone. She couldn’t escape this world. No matter how hard she tried, it would always pull her back in. It wasn’t just her brother—this was her family, and whether she wanted it or not, the club was part of her.
“I didn’t sign up for this,” she muttered, looking away, her eyes landing on Jax.
He was sitting at the bar, his back to her, but there was no mistaking the way his presence still made her heart skip. He had been the reason she’d left this world in the first place, the reason she’d fought so hard to build a life outside of the club. Jax had been her weakness, and even now, with everything that had happened between them, he still held that power over her.
But she wasn’t here for Jax. She wasn’t here for anything except her brother.
Rico followed her gaze, a knowing look crossing his face. “Don’t worry about him. He’s nothing but trouble.”
Dani’s hands curled into fists. “I don’t need you to tell me what to do with my life, Rico.”
Rico’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re not a kid anymore, Dani. You don’t get to walk away from this. Not now. Not with everything going on.”
Dani opened her mouth to argue, but before she could get a word out, the door to the back room opened, and Jax stood up, his eyes locking with hers immediately.
“Rico,” Jax called, his voice low, commanding, but with a strange edge to it. “We need to talk.”
Rico didn’t move at first, only glanced at Jax for a beat before responding. “Later. This is family business.”
Jax didn’t look at Dani again as he nodded and turned to leave the room.
But the tension that followed him lingered.
Dani’s heart pounded as she turned her attention back to her brother. “You brought him back here, didn’t you?”
Rico didn’t answer right away, his expression carefully neutral. “It’s not your concern. He’s part of the club. That’s all that matters.”
Her fists clenched tighter, but she didn’t speak. She didn’t need to. She knew her brother well enough by now to understand what that meant.
She was stuck here. Not by choice, but by blood.
And Jax? He was always going to be a part of the equation. Whether she liked it or not.
- Writer
