Ride Me Into Ruin: Iron Reapers MC

Not Welcome

LEXIE

I sat on the edge of the bed in fresh jeans and a plain black top, staring down at the wooden floorboards. My fingers twisted together tightly in my lap while my thoughts kept circling the same thing over and over again. Raven.

Her fake apology replayed in my head like a bad song I couldn’t turn off, the sweet voice saying, “I’m so sorry.”

But her eyes had stayed cold, and the small smile on her lips had told me everything. It wasn’t an accident. I let out a slow breath and dragged both hands through my hair, pulling at the roots lightly.

“Great,” I muttered to myself. “Just what I needed. Another person in this town who wants me gone.”

The room was quiet except for the distant sound of music and voices coming from downstairs. The bar was alive again already, laughter drifted up through the floor along with the sound of glasses clinking together. Life kept moving, even when yours felt stuck.

I leaned back against the wall behind the bed and closed my eyes for a second. My chest still burned a little from the hot coffee, not enough to really hurt anymore, but enough to remind me of what happened every time I moved.

A soft knock came at the door after a while.nI opened my eyes slowly. “Come in.”

The door cracked open carefully, and Mia peeked inside. Her expression looked nervous and guilty at the same time.

“Hey,” she said quietly.

“Hey.”

She stepped inside holding a small towel wrapped around a bag of ice. “I brought you this in case your chest still hurts.”

I sat up straighter and took it from her, the cold pressed against my warm skin immediately, making me breathe out softly.

“Thanks.”

Mia closed the door behind her and stayed standing there for a moment like she wasn’t sure if she should leave or stay.

“And…” she added slowly, “I’m really sorry about Raven.”

I gave a small shrug and pressed the ice more firmly against my chest. “It’s fine, I’ve had worse things spilled on me in my life.”

The words came out lighter than I felt.bMia walked over and sat carefully in the chair near the window. She twisted her fingers together in her lap while looking down for a second before meeting my eyes again.

“I saw her elbow move,” she admitted quietly. “It didn’t look completely accidental.”

I let out a short laugh with no real humor in it. “Yeah. I figured.”

“She’s protective,” Mia continued quickly. “Of the club. Of Chaos. She’s been around a long time, and she doesn’t really like new people taking up space.”

I leaned my head back against the wall behind me and stared at the ceiling.

“Message received,” I said dryly. “I’m the new stray in the yard and she wants me out.”

Mia sighed softly. “She’s not usually this bad.”

“But?”

“But…” Mia hesitated. “You’re different.”

I looked at her again. “Different how?”

She bit the inside of her cheek before answering. “Chaos doesn’t bring people upstairs. Ever. Especially not women. So people are talking.”

I looked down at the melting ice bag in my hands. “I’m not trying to cause problems,” I said quietly. “I just needed somewhere to breathe for a little while. If this is making things harder for him, I can leave. I’ve done it before.”

The second the words left my mouth, Mia’s face softened. “Don’t say that.”

I shrugged weakly. “It’s true.”

“No,” she said firmly this time. “Chaos doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to do. Nobody forces him into anything. If he’s letting you stay here, it’s because he wants you here.”

My chest tightened a little at her words. I didn’t know what to say to that, because part of me wanted to believe it, and another part of me knew better than to get comfortable anywhere.

So I stayed quiet. Mia watched me for another moment before standing up slowly. “Well,” she said gently, brushing her hands down her jeans, “if you need anything, I’m downstairs.”

“Thanks, Mia.”

She gave me a small smile before leaving the room quietly behind her, the silence returned again after the door closed. I sat there for a long time, staring at nothing.

Then eventually hunger pushed me out of the room, the bar downstairs was crowded again by the time I walked down the stairs later that evening. Music played loudly from the speakers while people laughed and shouted over one another. The smell of beer, fried food, smoke, and leather filled the air heavily.

A few heads turned when I stepped into the room. I ignored them. Raven sat at the bar with a couple club members beside her. She was laughing loudly at something one of the men said, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder.

Then she saw me and her smile changed immediately. It sharpened. “Sara!” she called sweetly across the room. “How’s the shirt?”

The room suddenly felt quieter to me even though the noise never stopped.nI walked toward the bar slowly, keeping my face calm. “It’s fine,” I said with a polite smile. “Clothes can be replaced. No hard feelings.”

Raven tilted her head slightly while studying me carefully. “You’re very understanding,” she said. “Most girls would’ve made a big scene.”

I shrugged one shoulder lightly. “I’ve learned that making scenes usually makes things worse. I’d rather just move on.”

For a second her eyes narrowed a little, almost like she was trying to figure me out, then the sweet smile returned. “Smart girl.”

I gave her a small nod and stepped away before the conversation could continue.

Mia caught my eye from behind the counter and quickly made me a plate of food without asking questions. I mouthed a quiet thank you before taking it to a small table in the corner of the room.

Away from everyone. I kept my head down while eating slowly, but I could still feel eyes on me, most of the club members only glanced over out of curiosity before returning to their conversations, but one stare stayed.

Chaos.

He stood near the pool tables talking to Brick, one hand resting loosely on the back of a chair, his face stayed calm and unreadable like always, but every few minutes his gaze flicked back toward me, our eyes met once from across the room.

His expression didn’t change, but something about the look made warmth spread through my chest anyway, then Brick said something to him, and Chaos looked away again.

He never came over, he just watched, and somehow that almost felt worse. After a while the crowd slowly started thinning out. People left in loud groups, chairs scraped against the floor, and the music lowered slightly.

I finished eating and carried my plate back toward the counter. “You don’t have to help,” Mia said when she noticed me grabbing a towel to wipe tables.

“I know,” I replied. “But sitting upstairs thinking too much sounds worse.”

She gave me a small understanding smile, so we cleaned together quietly. I wiped down sticky tables while Mia stacked glasses behind the bar. The floor smelled faintly like spilled beer and cleaning spray now.

My mind kept replaying Raven’s voice, the words sounded polite on the surface, but underneath them sat something colder, a warning.

Mia glanced at me while drying a glass. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah,” I answered quickly.

But I scrubbed the table harder than necessary and she noticed. “You don’t have to pretend with me,” she said softly.

I stopped moving for a second and stared down at the cloth in my hand. “I’m just tired,” I muttered. “Long day.”

Mia didn’t push further, but the look she gave me said she didn’t fully believe me. By the time we finished cleaning, my shoulders ached and exhaustion settled deep into my bones.

I headed upstairs quietly afterward, the hallway was dim and silent compared to the loud bar below. My boots moved slowly across the wooden floor until I reached my room.

The second I stepped inside, I closed the door and leaned against it heavily. Finally alone.

I let out a long breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding, the room felt small but safe somehow.

I changed into soft comfortable clothes and climbed onto the bed, pulling my knees tightly against my chest. The lamp beside the bed cast a warm golden glow across the room while shadows filled the corners.

My mind refused to settle. Raven’s little accident hadn’t really been about coffee. It had been a message.

A clear one. You don’t belong here. I understood why she felt that way, I was an outsider, nobody here really knew me.

I carried secrets everywhere I went, and secrets always brought trouble eventually. People like Chaos and his club lived by trust, loyalty, and history.

I had none of those things with them, just lies, fake names, and problems following behind me. Part of me thought maybe Raven was right to want me gone before things became messy, maybe leaving would be smarter and easier.

But another part of me, the stubborn, exhausted part that was tired of always running, refused to pack up and disappear again, for once, I didn’t want fear making choices for me. I wanted to stay, even if staying scared me more than leaving ever had.