Real Riders Never Die Read online

  Real Riders Never Die

  A Novel By:

  A’Zayler

  Text LEOSULLIVAN to 22828 to join our mailing list!

  To submit a manuscript for our review, email us at [email protected]

  © 2015

  Published by Leo Sullivan Presents

  www.leolsullivan.com

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited.

  Author’s Notes

  This is a re-release of the series Real Riders Never Die now under the publishing company of Leo Sullivan Productions

  Dedication

  December 2014…Then

  I would like to dedicate this book to my beautiful friend Ananius Luckey. We’ve been friends for almost eleven years now and she’s been loyal since day one. We may not talk every day, or every week but your place in my heart remains the same. From the moment I met you you’ve been yourself. You’ve never changed or been anything less than genuine. You’re a very strong and amazing person. I love you, and remember God gives his toughest battles, to his strongest soldiers!

  October 2015…Now

  It’s crazy how not even a year ago I dedicated this exact same book to you. Oh how things have changed since then. When I wrote that dedication last year I had no idea of what was to come. All I knew was that you were one of my best friends and I loved you. I knew I wanted you to survive. I knew I wanted you to fight until you kicked Cancer’s ass. I knew I wanted you to get well so we could continue having our long conversations about nothing, fighting about everything, and watch the cooking channel talking about food we were never going to make for real. I just want you back here so I can hear your voice again. I miss you so much. A lot of times when you cross my mind I can laugh, and others all I can do is cry. It seems like I’m crying more days than laughing but it’s for a good reason. You’re free now friend, from all the pain, all the suffering, and all the trials you had to endure during your last days here. Thinking back on the day when you first told me you were sick, I wasn’t even worried because you were so strong. I knew if anybody could handle that, you could and you did. You did an outstanding job! You fought hard sis and I’m so proud of you. The week before you died when we were in your hospital room I knew it was coming and I thought I could handle it but when your day actually came I wasn’t so sure anymore. Some days I’m still not. Like now, I’m typing this and I can hardly catch my breath. I know if you were here you would be making fun of me for crying and although that should make me laugh it doesn’t. It only makes me wish you were here even more. Your spiritual healing finally came and you deserved it. You were my sister and I’ll love and miss you forever. Rest peacefully baby and I’ll see you again someday.

  Oh and I bet you look so pretty with your wings I miss your smile like crazy Anna!!

  Chapter 1

  Winter 2014

  “Even though I’m in the streets, you know exactly what I do, when I chase this paper you ain’t gotta wait for me to bring back home to you, cuz I ride or die girl we gon be good, and if you ride or die, we gon make it out this hood” blasted through her speakers as she walked back into her closet. Taryn-Lee sang along to the song as tears ran down her face. How could she have gotten to this point? Where had she gone wrong? She had been alone basically her entire life, and the one time she found true love it’s taken away. She had given all the love she could, been loyal from day one, and where did it get her? Nowhere! Only place it had gotten her was in her apartment with a broken heart, and a closet full of his clothes to pack. She knew exactly how Ace Hood felt; they were supposed to always be good. She was his ride or die.

  Taryn was so out of her mind that she tripped over a shoe in the middle of her floor. As she fell into her closet, she hit her head on the doorknob. While lying flat on the floor, she lifted her head a few inches and came face-to-face with the black safe beneath her shoeboxes. At that moment, she figured there was no way her life could get any worse. Either hitting her head on the door magnified her pain, or the amount of self-pity she was feeling had consumed her. She reached for the case and opened it. The small pink Cobra .22 felt heavy in her hand. As she leaned back against the wall, she stared at the gun for a long moment; she had nothing else to lose, and nothing to look forward to. The only person she had was in a big church with a suit on, waiting to be eulogized. Shaking back her tears, she raised the gun to her mouth and stuck it inside. Lord please forgive me she prayed in her mind before pulling the trigger…

  Nine months earlier…

  “Taryn, hurry up!” Todd yelled from outside of the bathroom door. Todd was one of her five foster siblings.

  “I’m coming Todd! I just got in, give me a minute please!” she yelled back as she washed the shampoo from her hair. Because there were so many of them that lived there, the shower was one of the things they fought about the most. She should have taken a shower last night, but she had to wash her hair and by this morning, it would have been a dry tangled mess. Leaning under the water, she rinsed her body and stepped out of the tub. She didn’t even bother to turn the water off, being that Todd was about to get right in behind her. After wrapping her pink towel around her body, she retrieved her clothes from the floor and walked out.

  “It’s about time Princess Taryn.”

  “Oh shut up,” she said, pushing her door closed. Inside her room that she shared with her foster sister Reese, she began getting dressed. Today was her first day at her new school. It was her senior year in high school, and she had just been placed in this new foster home. The Turners were the seventh foster family she’d been with since she was two, and prayerfully the last. Being that she would be eighteen in less than a week, she would officially be grown and no longer a ward of the state. She had been through a lot in her life, and she was ready for it to end. When she was two, her mother and Father, Erin and Terrence Lee Alvarez, were killed in a car accident. She had been placed in foster homes immediately after that because she had no other family. Her parents’ families had disconnected with them long before she was born, so all she knew was them. All of her foster homes thus far had been terrible except the one right before her current one. The Jones’ were some of the best people she had ever known. They treated her like she was their real daughter. She hated that she had to leave in order to make room for the younger kids. Her current home in Columbus, Georgia only housed children that were nearing or already 18.

  “You nervous T?” Reece asked as she sat on her bed watching Taryn get ready for school. Her and Taryn had gotten close over the last couple of months, but that was about to come to an end as well. Reece was already eighteen and was leaving for the Army at the end of the week.

  “Kind of, but not because it’s a new school with new people, but because you’re not going to be there with me.”

  “It’s okay lil sis, I’ll be here when you get home. You’ll be fine. As long as you don’t get in any fights for taking somebody ma.” Taryn laughed as she pinned her hair back

  “Girl that ain’t even what I’m on and you know it.”

  “Yes! I already know.” Reece couldn’t understand for the life of her why Taryn downplayed her beauty. She was one of the prettiest girls she had ever seen. She was so exotic and rare looking. Taryn was 6’0 with a very shapely body, almost like the Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, but a little thicker. She had bright black eyes that were round and slanted in the corner, cute lips, and she had the prettiest dark skin ever. Their foster mother always made fun
of her because she was so dark, but in reality that was her best quality. She wasn’t your ordinary dark skin girl. Her dark was smooth and odd, assumingly from her Ethiopian mother. Her hair was a long, black, thick, and silky mix because her father was black. On most days, she wore it big and wavy. She was absolutely gorgeous; her beauty was intimidating, but you’d never know because she was such a sweetheart. She knew she would draw attention off her looks alone, not to mention it was the middle of the semester, so she chose a casual outfit for today. After she got dressed, she grabbed her backpack and left for school. She left an hour early because she had to walk. Her foster mother hated her, and her foster father loved her. He was the main reason her mother didn’t like her. He always made nasty comments to her or touched her inappropriately. She despised it, but she needed somewhere to live. She tried her best to avoid him. Taryn really hated that she had to walk because it was April in Georgia, which meant it was hot as hell outside; not to mention, she would probably be sweating by the time she made it to school. She tried to make it there as fast as she could without busting a sweat. Aside from walking in the heat, she had to deal with the various cars of men offering her rides, which she continuously declined. She pulled out her phone and called Reece so she wouldn’t look or feel crazy walking alone. This was nothing new. She and Reece had made this a habit because they were always walking. She talked to Reece until she walked into the parking lot of Carver High School. She got a sick feeling in her stomach upon seeing how big the school was. She wasn’t a fan of too many people.

  “Alright sis, I’ll call you when I’m on my way home.”

  “Nah don’t call me. Find you one of them fine men up there and make him drive you home.” Reece laughed as she hung up the phone. Taryn was happy once she finally walked into the school. She was so happy she had worn her two French braids today. Neither her hair nor her clothes were sweated out. Because she had so much hair, her braids were both thick and long. After getting her schedule from her counselor, she stopped by the bathroom before heading to class. She had to check and be sure she still looked as cute as she did when she left the house. While walking to her class, she fixed her big gold hoops and applied some more lip gloss. She could already tell dressing up was a big deal here. Taryn had always loved to shop and dress cute but being that her money was limited, she shopped on a budget. Her foster parents made her get a job to buy everything she needed, from clothes to food. It didn’t bother her though; she had been making her own way her whole life. The moment she got into her classroom, all eyes were on her. Both males and females were watching her. She didn’t know if it was because she was new, tall, or pretty. Maybe it was all three. Either way, she didn’t care; she got this everywhere she went.

  “Class, this is Taryn-Lee; introduce yourselves and make her feel comfortable.” Taryn rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe her teacher had just put her on the spot like this was still elementary school or something. On top of that, she had said her name wrong.

  “It’s Taryn, like Aaron with a T,” she said, correcting her.

  “Oh I’m sorry sweetheart, you can sit right back there in that desk next to Kia; Kia raise your hand,” her teacher said. Noticing the girl raise her hand, she made her way to her seat with all eyes still on her. Although she loved school, she hated it at the same time. She loved to learn, but she was definitely not a people person. The rest of the day went by in a blur; after her third block, she was ready to go home. After she walked into her last class of the day, which was PE, she got her class uniform and went to change. Even though she didn’t mind PE, she hated that she had to change, especially since the shorts they gave her magnified her curves. The little jersey shorts made her butt appear larger than it was and she hated it. She wasn’t like normal girls with big butts; she couldn’t stand when people made a big deal out of it. Once she got back to the gym, the boys’ basketball team had gotten in there and were shooting around the gym.

  “Aw hell,” she mumbled to herself, noticing she had to past them to get to where her class was sitting. She had almost made it by the group when one of them said something.

  “Aye Pocahontas!” he yelled. Stopping in her tracks because she knew he was talking to her, she turned around.

  “What?” she asked, looking at him like he was crazy.

  “You new?”

  “Nah I’m not new, I’m old, what kind of question is that?” she asked, obviously annoyed by the dumb question.

  “Damn you got an attitude problem little girl” he said, making his friends laugh.

  “No I don’t, that was just a dumb question. You know you have never seen me before today.”

  “You right because you would definitely be impossible to miss,” another boy with a thick accent said. Looking at the boy, she thought she would faint. He was fine as hell to say the least. He was tall and brown-skinned with the cutest little freckles on his face. He had long blonde dreads and green eyes. The thing she liked the most was that he looked to be about 6’7; because she was tall, she didn’t pay men under six feet any attention. His shoulders were wide, and he stood on a pair of the sexiest bow legs she’d ever seen. His presence was commanding; it was like he oozed confidence. He was medium-build and muscular in a pair of basketball shorts and a Carver Basketball t-shirt. She wasn’t sure if he made that statement because he thought she was pretty, or because she was almost as tall as he was. Not knowing what to say, she just smiled at him and turned to walk away.

  “Hold up girl, what’s your name?” the loud boy asked her again. She could tell he didn’t mean any harm; he just talked a lot, so she dropped her attitude.

  “It’s Taryn-Lee.”

  “That’s your whole name or just your first name?” he asked.

  “It’s just my first name, it’s hyphenated. What’s your name since you’re all in my business?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “It’s Courtney”

  “Oh okay, well nice meeting you Courtney but I got to go,” she smiled and walked away.

  By the end of the day, she was past ready to get home. This feeling was short lived because her foster dad Terry was home. Breathing hard, she walked into the house and into her room. After locking the door, she began her homework. Halfway through, she heard a faint knock at the door; she knew who it was automatically because they were the only two home.

  “I’m busy!” she yelled, not moving to open the door.

  “Taryn-Lee, open up this damn door,” he said. She already knew he was about to start some mess today. He only acted mad when he was doing shit he wasn’t supposed to be doing. Opening the door, she stood back so he could enter.

  “You don’t pay no fucking bills in here, don’t be locking no damn doors,” he said, blatantly staring at her breasts in her fitted shirt.

  “Sorry Terry.”

  “What did I tell you about calling me that shit?” he asked, getting in her face.

  Looking to the side so his mouth wouldn’t accidentally touch hers, she said, “Sorry daddy.” She knew he wanted her to call him this in more of a perverted way than a daddy daughter way- but whatever.

  “That’s better. You gaining some weight ain’t you?” he asked, palming her butt. Not even bothering to answer, she stood silent, hoping he would hurry up and leave. Pressing her against the wall, she could feel his tiny hard on against her thigh. She was a lot taller than Terry, so his advances were somewhat in vein.

  “Taryn you feel this big dick?” he asked. She tried not to, but she couldn’t help it and burst into a laugh so hard her eyes watered. Terry’s penis was anything but big. Knowing why she was laughing, he got mad and slapped her face so hard her head snapped to one side.

  “Laugh at me again you big bitch, and you’ll be fucking homeless,” he snarled. Taryn held the side of her face as she willed herself not to cry. Terry was too weak for her tears. He grabbed her butt again and started grinding on her thigh. Seconds later, her bedroom door pushed open and in walked her foster mother Tam
my.

  “What the fuck are you doing, Terry?” she yelled, like she didn’t know what was going on. She had caught the looks Terry gave Taryn all the time, but acted as if she didn’t. She was tired of it now. Just like Taryn figured they would, he lied, and Tammy believed him. Taryn tried explaining her side because she had nowhere else to go, but Tammy wasn’t trying to hear it. After arguing with them for another ten minutes, Tammy got fed up and put her out. Taryn refused to beg anybody for anything, so she nodded her head and got ready to pack. She grabbed her two orange duffel bags from under her bed and started in her closet first. Midway through packing her stuff, Tammy and Terry had left the room. Only then did she let a tear escape, but she cleaned it as quick as it fell. After packing all of her belongings in both bags, she sat down and wrote Reece a note explaining what happened. Close to an hour later, she had her bags and backpack and stood on the front porch to wait for her cab. She stashed her clothes at her job in their storage room and got back in the cab. They’d had been riding around aimlessly for the last two hours. She knew the cabby felt sorry for her by the way he kept looking at her in the rear view mirror.

  “Have you decided where you want me to take you yet ma’am?” She shook her head no, and looked out the window.

  “There’s a women’s shelter ten minutes from here if you would like me to take you there,” he offered. She knew she had nowhere to go, but she wasn’t sure she wanted anybody to know yet. She told him no and asked to be dropped off at lake bottom park down the street. He did as he was told, but slid her a card with the women’s shelter address and number on it before pulling off. She sat on the swing with her head down, crying for a few minutes before her phone rang; it was Reece. She talked to Reece until it got dark. She lied about being at the women’s shelter so she wouldn’t worry. Moving to the bench under the streetlight, Taryn racked her brain trying to figure out what she was going to do. She had put an extra pair of clothes in her backpack for school tomorrow, but that was as far as she had gotten. She tried to stay off her phone so it would have some juice for the night being that she had nowhere to charge it, but she was getting scared. Fighting the urge to call Reece, she closed it and looked up at the stars. She was in deep thought when she heard two voices behind her at the basketball court. She turned to look and see who it was, and saw a short dark-skinned girl with the tall cutie from her school. She could tell they couldn’t see her from where she was sitting, but she could see them. The way they were hugging and playing, she knew the girl had to be his girlfriend. Even though she was inwardly hoping he was single, she had to admit they were cute. Getting up from where she was sitting on the bench, she walked around the slide and sat on the bench that wasn’t under the street light. She would hate for them to see her sitting there all by herself for no reason. She watched as he shot the ball a few times, while the girl stood next to the goal talking to him. By the time they left, it had been another hour and a half, and it was almost ten o clock at night. Lazily putting her feet up on the bench, she wrapped her arms around her legs and laid her head on her knees. She could imagine everybody in their houses getting ready for school and work the next day. Here she was seventeen and homeless, with no family except Reece, who was leaving her soon too. She began crying again thinking about how different her life might be if her parents were alive. All she wanted was to be normal, have a normal family with a mom and dad that loved her, and her siblings. Sadly, that would never be the case; she had no siblings, and she had no real parents.