Real Riders Never Die 2 Read online

  Real Riders Never Die 2

  A Novel By

  A’zayler

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

  © 2016

  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.

  Chapter One

  “Ummm,” Taryn moaned as she balled her face up into a tight scowl. She leaned her head forward and moaned again.

  One of her hands was clasped tightly on the plastic railing of the bed while the other nearly squeezed the life out of Kia’s hand. Kia was her best friend and had been for the last two years although she considered her more of a sister than anything. She was leaning over the left side of Taryn’s bed wiping her forehead with a cool towel. Taryn leaned back against her pillow and twisted her head to the side in discomfort. When the pain subsided some, she released Kia’s hand. Taryn’s breathing was labored as she tried to calm her body from the pain that had just shot through it.

  “It’s okay, Taryn. Just breathe, boo.”

  “I can’t, Kia. I need him. Where is he?”

  Taryn had been asking for Demoto since she’d arrived at the hospital almost three hours ago. Kia and Taryn both had been calling him since she’d started having contractions at the gym earlier. He was away on a job and his personal cell phone was off. Demoto Youngblood was the love of Taryn’s life and the father of her baby. He spent the majority of his workdays out of town due to the fact that he worked for an underground company that was in charge of a variety of illegal operations ranging from money laundering to murder.

  Demoto was their number one assassin, and he was very good at his job. He had been her saving grace on many occasions, her unplanned pregnancy being the most important one. Which is why she didn’t understand why his phone would be off when he knew she was due any day now. She nor Kia understood that, but there was nothing they could do now. Taryn was almost seven centimeters dilated, and baby Ayo was kicking her ass. She was sweating, she’d thrown up twice, and the nurses had just come in and given her oxygen.

  “I can’t do this without him, Kia.”

  Tears slid down the side of Taryn’s face and onto her pillow. She sniffed hard, trying to retrieve the snot that was threatening to drip down her nose.

  Taryn shook her head from side to side as she tried to think of how she was going to have this baby without Demoto there. No way in the world she could handle something this drastic and painful without him by her side. Anything that went wrong, he was there to handle it. What if something went wrong with Ayo during birth? What if something went wrong with her? What was she going to do? She needed him. He had to be there with her.

  “Oooohhh… Kia. Ummmm…”

  Taryn squeezed her eyes shut as tight as she could while gripping the side of the bed.

  The pain ripping through the bottom of her belly was unbearable. It hurt so bad she was afraid to even touch her stomach. It was a pain so intense and sharp she couldn’t even explain it. How women found the strength to scream she didn’t know because that was the furthest thing from her mind. Gritting her teeth and moaning was the most she was able to do. The current contraction lasted a lot longer than the others had.

  Taryn kept her eyes closed until the pain subsided. When she was finally comfortable enough to open her eyes, she saw Kia standing next to her bed while Mr. Buck sat in the corner watching her. His posture was a little slouched, and he was fidgeting and sweating at the same time. His eyebrows scrunched in the middle as he twirled his thumbs. Seeing how worried he was made her smile.

  Taryn used the button on the side of her bed to raise her back. She was tired of lying down. Also, one of her nurses had informed her earlier that sitting up might help her dilate faster.

  “Daddy, I’m okay. I can handle this.”

  Mr. Buck nodded. “I know you can, Tee-Tee. I just hate to see you in so much pain.”

  “It all comes with the territory. If I want to get this little boy here, I have to tough this thing out.” Taryn didn’t know if she was trying to convince Mr. Buck or herself.

  “Well, his Pa-pa has an ass whooping waiting on him as soon as he gets here. Got my baby in all this pain.”

  Taryn smiled as best she could due to the fact that another contraction had just gripped her stomach. She grabbed both sides of her bed and leaned forward. Kia pushed her hair from her face and wiped her forehead again. Taryn turned her head away from Kia. She was no longer in the mood to be touched. Not by Kia, not by anyone. Except Demoto. Oh please! Taryn rocked back and forth in need. Not only did she need the father of her child, but she needed her child to bring his little butt on as well.

  “Did she have him yet?” Demoto asked as the door flew open.

  When he saw Taryn he rushed straight to her and wrapped both of his arms around her shoulders. She leaned into his touch but didn’t let the bed go because her contraction still lingered. Demoto rubbed his hand through her hair and kissed the side of her head. Taryn was thankful that he hadn’t tried to talk to her right then because she was almost positive that even the smallest sound was going to make the pain worse.

  When Taryn finally stopped rocking and moaning Demoto stepped back so he could see her face. He leaned down and tried his best to gather all of her hair in both of his hands.

  “Aye, Kia, let me get something to wrap this in a ponytail.”

  Kia searched around in her purse and pockets and came up empty.

  “I don’t have nothing, but I can braid it down real quick.” Kia walked to Taryn and tried to braid her hair into one big braid as quick as she could before another contraction hit. Because she’d done this so many times before, her fingers moved with precision. Ever since Taryn had been pregnant she hadn’t wanted to do her hair so Kia had to do it. She had all of Taryn’s hair in one long French braid just before Taryn doubled over in pain again.

  “You’re doing so good, baby, just thug it out for me.” Demoto kissed the side of her face.

  “It hurts so bad. I don’t know if I can do this, Moto.”

  Now that her hair was out of the way, he could see her face a lot clearer. Her eyes were watering, and she looked tired. Demoto kissed her lips repeatedly, giving her at least six or seven kisses before he pulled back. Just as he stood back upright the door opened and in walked the nurse.

  “I need to check you again, Miss Alvarez.” She looked around at Demoto and Mr. Buck.

  Before anybody said anything, Mr. Buck got up and excused himself from the room. Once he was gone, Demoto backed out of the way and moved to the opposite side of the bed that Kia was on. Taryn opened her legs to allow the nurse room enough to check her. Demoto watched everything. He made sure the lady had put the gloves on and that she was checking Taryn properly. Not that he knew what it was that she was doing or how she was supposed to do it, but this was his girl and his child, his family. He was making sure everything went the way it was supposed to.

  He didn’t have time for any mistakes that might further complicate this already sensitive situation. When her hand came from beneath the sheet, she smiled and removed both gloves before tossing them in the trash can near the door.

  “You’re ten centimeters, Miss. Alvarez. It’s time to push.”

  Taryn’s head turned toward Demoto as she reached for him. He grabbed the bottom of her face and
kissed her lips before leaning his forehead against hers.

  “You can do this.” He kissed her nose. “You will do this. Straighten your ass up and have my baby.”

  Taryn, Demoto, Kia, and the nurse smiled at his words. Taryn looked a little more relaxed once Demoto stood back up. He was there, she was ready. After they had everything prepared, and she was in the stir ups, the show began. Taryn ended up pushing for almost thirty minutes before Ayo decided to come. When the doctor pulled him completely out, Kia and Demoto both rushed to where he was. Demoto looked back up to the head of the bed at Taryn and smiled the biggest smile she’d ever seen.

  “Aye, Kia, go over there with him so I can stay with Tee.”

  Kia kissed Taryn’s hand before running over to the little bed they had prepared for Ayo.

  “You did so good, baby. I’m so proud of you.”

  “Who does he look like?” Taryn was looking down past the bottom of her bed, trying to see her son.

  When she couldn’t get a good look at him she just lay back and closed her eyes. She was so exhausted. She could see now why they called having a baby labor. Pushing a baby out was real live work. It took them a few minutes to get everything together before she and Ayo were both cleaned up and ready for visitors. He was swaddled in a light blue blanket with a white hat on his head. With the help of Demoto, the nurses sat Taryn upright in the bed so that she could hold him.

  “Where is Pa-pa little man at?” Mr. Buck said as he walked through the door with Jacko behind him.

  The nurse had just given Ayo to Demoto as they came through the door. Kia was sitting on the corner of the bed and Demoto had just sat down on the corner next to Taryn. Mr. Buck and Jacko came around to the bed with Jacko stopping to give Kia a kiss. He stood next to her and watched his best friend interact lovingly with his son.

  “He’s so brown already,” Taryn cooed.

  “That’s the same thing I was just thinking. That’s you that got my baby this dark already.” Demoto smiled at Taryn as he rubbed the side of Ayo’s face.

  He squirmed upon hearing his father’s voice. Taryn looked on in happiness. She wasn’t the least bit surprised that Ayo was already familiar with Demoto’s voice. He’d spent hours talking to her stomach on numerous occasions. They would lay in bed at night and Demoto would hold her from behind and speak French to Ayo. It was the most beautiful thing in the world to her.

  “Take his hat off, Tee, so Daddy and Jack can see his hair,” Kia told her.

  “You know what, I ain’t even think about that.” Taryn reached for Ayo’s head and pulled the little hat off. She hadn’t seen his hair either, well at least not since they’d cleaned him. It was loaded down with blood and slimy stuff when he’d first come out.

  “Awwwww,” Taryn and Kia swooned when his little head was exposed.

  The dark blonde hair was sticking straight up in at least four different directions. It was straight and silky as it laid down around his face. Taryn leaned closer so she could see his face and even his little eyebrows were blonde.

  “I should have known nephew was gon’ have a lot of hair.” Jacko smiled. “Between y’all two niggas his lil ass ain’t have no other choice.”

  Everybody laughed. Jacko was right. Taryn and Demoto both had a lot of hair, and they’d blessed little Ayo with it as well.

  “He is beautiful, Tee-Tee. He looks a little different, but he’s beautiful, baby girl.” Mr. Buck kissed the side of Taryn’s forehead.

  Taryn looked at Demoto as he held Ayo up in the air above his head. He wiggled him a little and Ayo yawned but didn’t open his eyes.

  “What you doing, bae?”

  “I’m trying to get him to open his eyes so I can see what color they are.”

  Another thing that hadn’t crossed Taryn’s mind.

  “Ouvrez vos yeux pour papa.” (Open your eyes for Daddy). Demoto pulled him down to his face and kissed Ayo’s eyes before pushing him back up in the air.

  This time, Ayo cracked his eyes open just for a second before closing them back.

  “Ah shit, Tee, they green like mine.” Demoto beamed. His face was so bright from his smile; he looked like he was glowing.

  Everyone in the room basked in the ambiance of Ayo’s birth. Taryn and Demoto made jokes about Kia and Jacko being next. Jacko was all for it, but Kia made sure to let him know that she needed a minute. They all stayed for a few more hours before going home, leaving Demoto and Taryn alone. Taryn was lying back on the bed with her hands resting behind her head. Her eyes traveled around the room as she watched Demoto walk back and forth with Ayo.

  Ayo was lying slightly over Demoto’s shoulder with both of his arms beneath his head. His blonde hair was a lot more visible now with the lighting in the room. His eyes were fully open, and he was looking around. Taryn had just finished feeding him so he looked to be on the verge of sleep. Taryn was so happy that Ayo was finally there, and from the looks of it, so was Demoto. He hadn’t put Ayo down yet. She’d had to practically pry him from his hands earlier so she could nurse him.

  Demoto rubbed Ayo’s small back lightly as he spoke to him in French. He knew he didn’t understand him yet, but he would eventually. Just like he’d understand Taryn eventually. He was new. He didn’t know English or French but he would soon. Demoto told Ayo all about him and Taryn. He told him about Mr. Buck, Kia, Jacko, Adisa, and Janay, he even went as far as telling him about his Cameroonian and Ethiopian heritage.

  “You gon’ talk to him in French all the time?” Taryn scooted back some in the bed so she could throw her legs over the side.

  Demoto watched her try to scoot to the side of the bed. “I plan to. That way he’ll know both languages.”

  It was clear that she was about to try to stand up, so he hurried to lay Ayo down. “Hold on, Tee, let me help you.” Demoto made sure the baby was secure in his bassinet before running over to Taryn’s side. He grabbed her around her waist and lifted her up. Taryn wrapped her arm around his neck to steady herself.

  “I got it, Moto.”

  “No you don’t. That nurse said you need to take it easy.”

  “All I’m trying to do is go to the bathroom.”

  Demoto looked at her and squeezed her closer to his body. “And all I’m trying to do is help your ass.”

  This was a lost cause, so Taryn just relaxed and allowed Demoto to help her into the bathroom. She was tired, and she wanted to bathe. Her stomach, which was still so big, and now soft because Ayo was no longer in there had her a little self-conscious. On top of all that, she was bleeding like crazy. That was definitely not something Demoto needed to see.

  “Moto, get out. I can bathe myself.”

  He looked her up and down like she had lost her mind. “Taryn, stop playing and come on. That nurse said I needed to watch you.”

  “No she did not. She said help me if I need help.”

  “That’s the same damn thing. Now come on and take this shit off.” Demoto pulled at the hospital gown and Taryn tried to hold on to it.

  “No, Moto. Get out please.” She looked down, afraid to make eye contact. Watching his sock covered feet, she waited for him to leave.

  “Why you want me to leave, Tee?”

  “I don’t want you to see me right now, looking like this.”

  Demoto stepped closer to her and lifted her head with his hand. His dreads fell down and hit her in the face as she looked up at him. Her eyes darted to the side quickly because she couldn’t make eye contact comfortably. He leaned down a little more, so that they were making eye contact again.

  “Look at me.”

  It took her a minute, but she finally did.

  “You just had my baby... I don’t care about nothing that you think is wrong with you. There’s nothing about you that will turn me off.” He kissed her forehead. “I promise. Now let me help you take a shower so I can go check on my boy.”

  Taryn laughed before slowly releasing her hold on the gown. Demoto removed the gown from her body and dropped it o
n the floor. He watched as Taryn tried to cover her belly with her arms. He watched her until she started trying to turn to the side. That was enough. He didn’t want her to ever feel bad, and he sure didn’t like being the one to make her feel this way. He pulled her to him and kissed down the side of her neck.

  “I’m in here patting you up when I got a newborn in there.” He kissed her hair. “Your grown ass.”

  Taryn smiled but still hadn’t looked at him.

  “You gon’ take a shower in these?” Demoto grabbed the side of the net panties that she was wearing.

  The nurse had left them with her along with a few packs of pads. Once again, Taryn felt ashamed. This was a lot harder than she’d thought. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Demoto would get out. Being uncomfortable was an understatement for the way she felt right then. She was about to step out of his grasp until she felt him pulling down the panties. She grabbed his hands and stopped his movement.

  “No!” she yelped. “Please, just get out for a minute so I can take these off. Then you can come back.”

  His green eyes bore into her brown ones. He held a straight face. “I’ll turn around, but I’m not leaving.”

  Figuring that was as good as she was going to get, Taryn nodded. When he turned around she hurried up and pulled the panties down and threw them in the trash next to the toilet. She hopped in the shower as quick as she could. No soon had she pulled the curtain back and stepped beneath the water, Demoto pulled it right back over so he could see inside.

  “You good?”

  “Yes, Demoto.”

  “Okay, well call me before you get out.” He left the bathroom without waiting for an answer.

  Taryn showered as quick and thorough as she could and got out. She dressed in her pajama pants and a wife beater, even putting on the girdle that she’d bought. Taryn was deathly afraid of having a fat stomach after birth, so she’d bought a girdle. Janay, Demoto’s sister-in-law, had told her that it was a good way to make her stomach go down faster, so she was all for it.