Knuckles (Dragon Riders MC #4) - Savannah Rylan Page 0,23
before calling me again. Over and over, with more obnoxious ringers than ever before.
But as I pulled into the rest stop to park, I noticed something. My phone vibrated against my hip, but I heard Link’s voice. I ripped my phone off my hip and looked at the incoming phone call. It was Link, but the ringtone was also Link’s voice. Repeating the same shit over and over again.
“Fucking custom ringtone,” I hissed.
Link’s voice kept sounding as the phone rang. “Pick up or I’ll take your cut. Pick up or I’ll take your cut. Pick up, or I’ll take your—”
I answered the phone. “What the ever-living fuck do you want?”
Link sighed. “I was wondering if that would get your attention.”
“What? Why do you want to waste my time doing this game when Simone’s still out there?”
“You have to come home so we can work as a team, Knuckles. You’re not doing yourself, or her, any favors right now.”
I snickered. “Like you’d fucking know in the first place.”
“You forget some of the things I’ve gone through with Joanna. Don’t downplay what we’ve gone through because you’re currently going through something. And remember what we did every single time?”
“Don’t sell me on that ‘team’ bullshit. If you really wanted to help? You’d help from where you are. It wouldn’t require me to come the fuck home when Simone’s hours away from there just to figure out or next move. Uh uh, no fucking way.”
“Look, Knuckles. We have to talk. You’re going to have to come home so we can come up with a plan and talk to you.”
I shook my head. “No can do, bossman.”
“Then, you’ll have to turn in your cut when you finally get back.”
I shrugged. “Fine by me. Simone’s much more important than some emblem on a leather jacket. And by the way? That shit don’t make us brothers, Link. You of all people should know that. How we stick together makes us a team.”
“You think about that before breaking Sly’s nose?”
I swallowed hard as my eyes scanned the rest stop.
“You think about that before taking Ash to his knees?” Link asked.
I drew in a sharp breath of air. “Look, all they were doing—”
“Was looking out for you like brothers do, Knuckles. Now, I know you’ve had a hard time opening up and relating to a lot of us. You enjoy keeping yourself buried and cornered in the bar you manage clear on the other side of town away from us. So, while you might not give a shit about us, we still give a shit about—”
“Of course, I give a shit about you guys. But I love Simone!”
My chest panted as the line fell silent.
“I love her, Link. And not just because we grew up together. Not just because she always looked up to me. I love her because she’s the only person in my life that makes me not hate getting up every morning. Sometimes, on our trips? Sending her a postcard from a different state brought me more joy than any bike trip I could’ve taken with you guys. And it’s not because I don’t like you guys. I love you guys, too. But I love her differently. And her love takes precedence right now because she’s missing, and likely dead. And I deserve to bury her body, Link. She deserves to rest in peace after what that man’s probably done to her.”
I didn’t realize I was shrieking into the phone until I felt people staring at me from all different directions.
I wiped at the tears beneath my eyes as I cleared my throat. But Link started talking before I found my voice again.
“For your sanity and for your own safety, you have to come home.”
I shook my head. “No can do.”
“You can’t bury her body if you’re dead, Knuckles.”
“Then, at least I get to rest in peace with her, somewhere.”
Link sighed. “Knuckles, just listen to me.”
“I’m listening, Link. What you want me to do is obey you. And that’s not happening. Sorry. If you call me anymore with something that isn’t consistent with help, I’m ditching my cell phone. And my helmet.”
“Knuckles, don’t do that.”
“Then, let’s at least play nice. You get to track me, and I don’t have to deal with your bullshit until you guys are ready to help.”
He scoffed. “I’m not sending anyone to help until you can guarantee me you won’t break any more of their bones, Knuckles.”
I grinned. “No promises, bossman.”
Then, I hung up the phone, tucked it away in