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Chapter 12: Nikki
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Dear Diamond Chapter 13: Ryker
There wasn't much traffic out, not that anyone would have stopped to help a woman being attacked by a Union 21 member. Even if someone had, other members were like cockroaches that scrambled when the lights came on. They came out of the woodwork to protect each other. The gang all had the ability to go unseen, even in broad daylight. Add a cloak of darkness and they were untouchable. Cops turned a blind eye on these streets-largely in part due to the fact most of them were on the gang's payroll. I, however, did not-not in this case. The crack of Sam's palm meeting Nikki's cheek reverberated in my ears. He had slapped Nikki with such force that had he not been holding onto her arm, she would have taken a nasty fall. Yet he still hadn't let her go, and she dangled precariously in his grasp. I was within striking distance. My hand shot out with laser-like precision, and my fingers wrapped securely around his throat. My palm pressed firmly against his windpipe, and with little effort, I
Dear Diamond Chapter 14: Ryker
"Ryker..." Her voice nearly shattered me. It wasn't the hostile, hate-filled tone she'd thrown my way before Sam showed. Her vibrato had been replaced with uncertainty and laced with fear. "I'll be okay." Three words gave away more than an admission would have.Taking my eyes off Sam wasn't an option. Gang members didn't play by the rules. They had no problem sideswiping a person to get what they needed. And while just about everyone else under the Union umbrella knew better than to cross my path, somewhere along the way, Sam had gotten the impression he could best me. A shift in my focus, a single second where my attention was lost, and he'd have me on the ground and Nikki in the car. That couldn't happen.A smug expression crossed Sam's lips, as though he believed he'd won. The motherfucker hadn't won shit other than my disdain and irritation. If he pushed it much further, he'd be the proud owner of a handful of his own teeth. "Yeah, Ryker. She'll be just fine." He waved his hand
Dear Diamond Chapter 15: Ryker
She was wrong. I was well aware of the implications of my decision; hence the reason vacating the premises was currently my top priority. "Nikki, we don't have the luxury of sitting around debating the merits of my actions. I need you to stand up." I stepped close enough to offer her my hand.The grey hadn't left her empty eyes. The fight I'd been privy to on the stage was nowhere to be found. There was nothing more than a shell cowered against the brick. I didn't want to have to pick her up and haul her ass onto the back of my bike, but I'd do what was necessary. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks, further marring her makeup. By the time we got wherever we were going, anyone who saw us would believe I'd been the one who had beaten the shit out of her. My impatience grew by the second, yet she didn't budge. "Nikki, seriously. Get up." I was well aware of just how overbearing my voice could be; coupled with my appearance, she was likely more scared of me than she had been
Dear Diamond Chapter 16: Nikki
I had no idea what had come over me. It appeared I'd left my brain on the stage as I'd exited my last performance. Hell-bent on escaping the tattooed god who now sat in front of me, I'd managed to land myself in his debt as well as Union 21's. As if crossing Sam, and therefore Jesse, hadn't been foolish enough, I'd ended up on the back of a menacing Harley that growled like its owner. And both did things to my panties I'd never admit out loud. My knowledge of motorcycles was even more limited than that of stripping and gang banging, yet here I was straddling a beast that vibrated between my thighs and threatened to end my life with one wrong move. While I should have been crippled by fear, all I could think about was how the monotony of the hum and the wind against my face had me flush against a wall of muscle, dreaming of all the ways Ryker could make me forget my past, abandon my present, and drown in my future. I didn't have a clue where we were heading or how long it would ta
Dear Diamond Chapter 17: Nikki
The moon allowed me to see each inked finger as it worked the strap below my jaw. It took effort to stare straight down my nose, but something intrigued me in the lines and colors that shaded his knuckles. My sight trailed to his hands and then his wrists, up his forearms to his biceps. The ink didn't stop where his shirt sleeve began. Every intricate nuance of artwork that covered his skin had been done with painstaking precision. Ryker was someone's masterpiece, and damn, I wanted to see the entire canvas.He lifted the helmet from my head and hung it on the handlebars the way it had been at the club. This wasn't a great part of town, and I wondered how he kept someone from stealing it. He didn't give me the opportunity to ask before he grabbed my hand, wound his fingers through mine, and started walking toward the building in front of us.I couldn't help but grin as he unlocked three deadbolts, yet he'd just left an expensive helmet sitting outside. Acknowledging the need for th
Dear Diamond Chapter 18: Nikki
"I know my apartment isn't much, but it's the only place I know I can keep you safe. Until I work shit out with Jesse, I don't want you leaving." In Ryker's mind, that decision had been made-not so much in my own."At all?"He slid his phone across the counter. "Not even to smell the flowers.""This place has flowers?" I shouldn't be a smartass. Not now."The lady next door has a couple pots by her front door." He placed his hands behind him on the countertop, and every muscle from his shoulders to his abdomen flexed. "I know it's not fancy, but the place is clean, and the bed is comfortable."Bed. That was singular. Taking in the space, I hoped I'd missed some of the apartment and that there was a hidden door that led to another room...with another bed. There wasn't even a couch. And as cozy as this chair was, I doubted sleeping on it would provide any actual rest. Ryker must have sensed my discomfort. "I'm not going to try to get in your pants.""Even if you wanted to,
Dear Diamond Chapter 19: Nikki
I didn't try to hide my disgust for the situation. There wasn't a thing about me that Ryker couldn't find out through Chase Silvano if he wanted to know. I'd rather him get the truth through me than lies concocted by U21. "Yeah. Ma stole drugs from him." I stopped and then backed up to clarify. "She fell victim to the promises of the Union. We've struggled most of my life. I did what I could to help, but I thought getting an education would be the solution. Ma worked two jobs for as long as I can remember. Then some thug convinced her that she could give up the long hours and crap pay.""Slinging dope in Glendale?" My story wasn't unique where I came from. It was also exactly why I wanted out. The only way to break the cycle was to stop it. I couldn't stop it if I stayed there. I pursed my lips and nodded, not that he could see me in the darkness. "She didn't do drugs. Never touched them. But temptation's a bitch. I don't have the full story because I haven't asked for it, but Ma
Dear Diamond Chapter 20: Ryker
There was no telling just how long I'd lain in bed, staring at the ceiling, before I finally drifted off last night. Now, as the sunlight filtered through the blinds I hadn't bothered to close, I woke with far less urgency than I probably should have. My fingers trailed warm, bare skin and a rare smile tugged at the corners of my lips. I barely knew the girl in my arms with her face buried in my neck, but Jesus, nothing I could remember had ever felt this good. Nikki's shirt-or rather my shirt that Nikki wore-had ridden up, exposing perfect, smooth skin. Sometime during the night, she'd taken up residence over half my body and now clung to me like a monkey on a tree. Thankfully, her thigh was just south of my erection, and I wouldn't have to explain why I'd woken up with a hard-on or her sprawled across my chest. Even with makeup smudged around her eyes and a puffy, bruised cheek, she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. It didn't take a genius to see-hell, even a blind man c
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