Bully Revenge (Taking Revenge on Her Bully Book 2)

by Lia Ellison

  But I couldn’t let myself do any of that.

  Not if he’d played me again.

  “Was it all a lie?” I asked, unable to contain myself any longer.

  “No,” he simply said. “I’m really sorry for how things have turned out, and I wish it had all happened differently, but there wasn’t time for me to explain what I had in mind.”

  “Really?” I crossed my arms, glaring at him. “You had plenty of time to tell me. Or do you really expect me to believe you had enough time to come up with an elaborate plan to get rid of your rival but you didn’t have time to explain things to me?”

  “It wasn’t like that.” He sighed. “I only found out about what was on that phone a few hours earlier, and I didn’t know if someone sent you or if you were doing it all on your own. Do you think it was easy for me to find out you were spying on me? Do you think I didn’t assume you were playing me?”

  “Right. I was kinda doing that, but I would’ve never pressed that button if I hadn’t believed my life was in danger. If you’d told me something, I wouldn’t have done it.”

  “I guess we both didn’t trust each other.” He eyed me carefully.

  “Well, how could we? You made my life a living hell in high school, and then you came here and I thought I finally had a chance to make you pay. But then I got to know you, and I... I don’t know. I can’t just pretend that what you did to me never happened, but I can’t ignore how I feel about you either. And then you told me that you’d fallen for me even back when you were tormenting me, and the whole thing happened... You didn’t even tell me you had a plan! I was worried about you. I fucking thought you were dead, and that it was all my fault!”

  “I know. I’m sorry about that. It shouldn’t have gone that way, and I should’ve told you, but there was no time to explain it properly. I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen, and I wasn’t sure if my plan was going to work the way I planned it.”

  “Thins always go exactly like you plan them.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “You’d be surprised, but they don’t. Not always, anyway. If they did, I’d be kissing you right now.” His gaze lowered to my lips, and I was having trouble focusing, but I wasn’t going to let him distract me now.

  “Okay, so let’s get one thing straight. You’ve always liked me, but your business got in the way.” I couldn’t talk about gangs in the middle of a bar because someone might overhear us, so I had to carefully choose my word. “Why did I take you so many years to find me? Didn’t you become the boss very quickly after high school?”

  “Honestly, I didn’t think I should be anywhere near you,” he said, his eyes on mine, and I had no reason to believe that he was lying to me. “But I couldn’t stop thinking about you, so I had my men search for you. I only wanted to know if you were happy. Then I found out you owned that club, and I thought that maybe you were more like me than I wanted to believe. I figured I’d try to talk to you.”

  The corners of his lips quirked up. “And then things went in a different direction from my plan, but I didn’t mind because I was with you. Until I realized what you were doing and that you were trying to make me pay for everything I did. At first, I was furious. With myself. With you. I thought it was all a lie, but then I saw you, and I knew that it wasn’t. You were never really good at hiding your real feelings from me. I intended to talk to you, but you ran before I got the chance.”

  “You took your damn time, and you had a gun with you.”

  “Yeah, because there was a potential threat. My rivals had attacked one of my stash houses only a few hours earlier.” He sighed. “And yes, you may say I put my business above you once again, but I wanted to make sure you were safe and I didn’t want anything to interrupt us.”

  “And what now?”

  “There’s something I need to do. In our hometown,” he said. “I don’t know how you feel about my business or about anything I do. I don’t even know if you can forgive me for not telling you about my plan, but I need you to know one thing. I’ve never stopped loving you, despite everything. I don’t care that you tried to put me in jail. I deserved that for what I did to you. I told you that. But too many people depend on me now, and i can’t just abandon them. I can try to make it up to you for what I did if you let me, but I need to know that you’re a hundred percent sure that’s what you want. If we want to be together, then we need to trust each other. I messed up, but I can try to make it better.”

  I bit down on my lip.

  “There’s nothing I want more than to be with you, but I need you to be able to trust me, and I want you to feel safe with me. If you think I would ever do anything to hurt you, then we shouldn’t be together. The last thing I want is for you to be afraid of me.”

  His eyes were transfixed to mine. “I love you, Lexi. I would never hurt you. Not again. I’m not the boy who wasn’t strong enough to fight back anymore. I can protect you. But I need you to be sure about us and about me. You don’t need to say anything now. Just think about it. If you need to find me, I’m going to be back home. Just go to Randy’s and ask him for me. He’ll take you right to me. I’d give you a phone number, but because of what I do, it’ll probably change, and I want you to be able to reach out to me.”

  I stared at him, wondering what I should do.

  He was right.

  If we were together, we needed to trust each other, or there was no point in being together at all. I didn’t want to be afraid of him either ever again.

  But could I trust him?

  Could I really give us a chance?

  Or was it better for me to say goodbye to him forever and save myself the heartache?

  Only, if I did that, I was sure my heart would break anyway.

  Chapter 7

  IT WAS HIGHLY POSSIBLE that I was making the biggest mistake of my life, but I didn’t want to have regrets for the rest of my life either.

  If Ryker had wanted me dead, he would’ve already killed me. Besides, I didn’t think he was lying to me when he’d told me he loved me.

  Yeah, I was still a bit unsure about a lot of things when it came to him, but I knew I had feelings for him, and I was willing to explore them.

  Maybe we could forget the past for once, and just see where things took us. Sure, he was a leader of a gang, and I had no idea how I felt about that.

  But maybe I’d get used to it, or maybe there was a way for us to make things work.

  Still, I had to try.

  As Randy was driving me through my hometown, I had to push away the memories. I’d been trying to run away from this place for years, and now I was back here.

  Because of Ryker.

  A smile tugged on my lips at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. Maybe he and I could form new memories.

  Better ones.

  I could’ve waited for him to finish the business he’d had here, but I wasn’t that patient. I wanted to see him and I wanted to kiss him. And this time, nothing was going to stop me.

  Not even me.

  But as the car moved closer to an all-too-familiar area, my insides tightened with anxiety. When we stopped in front my high school, I shot Randy a questioning look.

  “We’re here, ma’am,” he said. “I’ll take you inside.”

  I gaped at him. It was night, and the whole building was in darkness, but I could see a few guards patrolling around the school.

  But why?

  What the hell was going on?

  “Here?” I asked, just to make sure that I’d heard right. Maybe there was a hidden compound somewhere nearby.

  Surely, Ryker’s gang wouldn’t be operating from the freakin’ school.

  “Yes. Come with me.” He got out of the car, and I had no choice but to the same.

  Dizziness overcame when I glanced at the school, but I took a deep breath.

  It was just a damn building. I wasn’t going to let it bring all the bad memories back into my mind.

  “Wait, he’s inside?” I couldn’t help but ask
as we stepped toward the entrance.

  “Yes. The school closed a few years back and moved to a different location. This building has been abandoned ever since. The Cobras are here only temporary.”

  I gaped at him because I hadn’t known any of that.

  Shit.

  As we went closer, armed men showed up, but Randy waved them off.

  A shudder ran down my spine as he pushed the door that was covered with planks open. My heart skipped a beat when we made our way down the hallway that was almost exactly the same as I remembered it.

  Ryker came out of one of the rooms, and when his gaze fell on me, his eyes widened. “What the fuck, Randy? I told you, you should’ve called me first!”

  “You said to bring her to you,” Randy said calmly.

  “I did, but not here. For fuck’s sake.”

  “It’s okay,” I said to Randy with a small smile, and then I made my way to Ryker.

  He nodded at Randy before his gaze focused on me. His eyes were filled with a mix of dread and hope.

  “Why are you here?” he whispered as if he couldn’t believe that I was real.

  “I want to give us a chance,” I said. “We need to see where this leads us. I don’t want to live in the past anymore.” I glanced around me. “This is a bit disturbing, but still.”

  “I’m sorry. If I’d known you’d come so soon, I would’ve told Randy to take you somewhere else.”

  “It’s fine. I’ll survive.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and then I pulled him in for a kiss.

  When our lips crashed together, everything was right in the world. His hungry mouth moved against mine, his tongue pushing past my lips.

  I kissed him back, hard, as my fingers slipped into his hair, tugging hard.

  “I want new memories,” I said, breathless, when we pulled apart.

  “Okay,” he said, his forehead resting against mine.

  I shoved him hard, and his back hit the locker behind him. He’d had me trapped here years ago, but now I was in control. I caught his wrists, pinning them at each side of his head, and then I captured his lips with mine.

  Fire spread through me, and I didn’t think I could take it any longer. My fingers found the hem of his shirt, and then I was tugging it over his head, exposing his strong, lean chest.

  I trailed my fingers down his stomach and let out a hiss, his erection already poking against his pants. I fumbled with the button of his pants and then I tugged them down.

  If anyone decided to come here and saw us, I didn’t even care. All I needed and wanted was Ryker.

  He tugged me with him toward one of the rooms, and we burst through the door. He pulled my shirt over my head, pressing his lips to my shoulder.

  I let out a moan as he trailed a path of hot kisses up my neck as his fingers hooked into the waistband of my pants and underwear.

  When he yanked down my panties, a shiver of delight shot through me, and I kicked off my shoes. He was down on his knees in front of me, and I spread my legs wide for him.

  I buried my fingers into his hair, gripping tightly, and pushing his head toward my core. His tongue danced across my opening, and then it slipped inside.

  A loud moan found its way out of my throat as his tongue moved in and out of me, and then it flicked over my clit, increasing my pleasure.

  I held onto him as he shoved his tongue inside me over and over again until I could think about were the sensations rushing through me.

  When my release spilled through me, my fingers curled in his hair, and let out a small yelp, which aroused me even more. I pushed him down and he ended up on his back on the floor.

  A wicked grin spread across my lips as I tugged his pants and underwear all the way down, and then I straddled him, my fingers closing around his thick length. He grunted as I trailed my thumb over his sensitive tip, and then I guided him into my wetness.

  We both let out a groan as I took him inside me. When I got used to him, I started to rock my hips. His eyes were on mine as our thrusts became quicker and quicker, and he held onto my hips as I rode him.

  I arched my back as every inch of me sang with joy. I’d missed Ryker so damn much, and now that we were moving together as one, it was as if I’d found my missing piece.

  When I slammed myself down on him, we both cried out, our releases mixing together. My insides trembled from pleasure as he throbbed inside me, and I collapsed on top of him.

  When my eyes found his, I hoped more than ever that we could make this work.

  We belonged together.

  I could just feel it.

  Chapter 8

  I OPENED MY EYES AND still couldn’t believe where I was. How crazy it was to spend a night in my old school?

  It was all surreal.

  But as I pushed myself up from the mattress—the Scarlet Cobras hadn’t had much time to redecorate and make this place more comfortable—I realized that Ryker was sitting in a chair, a frown on his face.

  He was staring intently at his phone. Being with him still felt so damn right, even despite all this.

  Somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to care that we weren’t exactly at a five-star hotel, and yeah, the night we’d spent together here had changed my perception of this school a tiny little bit.

  Well, of the building, at least.

  No matter what I did and what happened, I didn’t think I could ever feel differently about my high school years.

  “Good morning,” Ryker said, a smile spreading across his lips when he looked at me.

  The way his face lit up definitely couldn’t be faked or a lie. He really did care about me. I’d made the right choice, hadn’t I?

  “Breakfast is over there.” He pointed at the plates on one of the old school desks.

  “Is the restroom still where I remember it to be?” I asked after I got dressed.

  “Yep. And don’t worry about my men. They won’t bother you. If they do, they know I’d kill them.”

  “Okay.”

  His eyes were filled with amusement, but there was also something in them that told me that he was serious about his threat too.

  I headed for the door.

  The restroom was a bit dirty, but it was okay. At least it had more soap and toilet paper than it had before when it was full of kids.

  When I returned, I found Ryker again frowning at his phone.

  As I grabbed a piece of toast from one of the plates, I cocked my head at him.

  “What’s going on? Why are you even here? I mean, your gang? What are you doing?”

  “That’s a lot of questions.” He lowered his phone.

  “You can start from the beginning.” I grinned.

  “Okay.” He let out a sigh. “Remember the guy I took out? Denzel?”

  “Yeah.” How could I forget?

  But Denzel had been a criminal, and maybe it was wrong of me to think about him like that, but I didn’t feel bad that Ryker had killed him.

  Did that mean that I was okay with Ryker killing people?

  I didn’t know just yet, but I definitely made a distinction between killing criminals and killing innocent people.

  The only thing I could hope for was that Ryker hadn’t crossed that line.

  “He was the co-leader of a gang that’s fighting me for territory. Now I need to take out the other leader, Easton. He’s a threat to everything I’ve been building, and he’s a threat to my men and to their families.”

  I chewed on the toast, my brow furrowing. “What do you mean their families?”

  “Easton is an asshole. His men attacked the wife of one of my men while she was walking her two kids to school. That’s not something I will allow. But he refuses to face me like a man, and he has a good mentor. Someone very dangerous.”

  I could see by the tightening around his mouth that he really didn’t like the latter guy. “Are they all right? The wife and kids?”

  “Yeah. They only have minor injuries, but it could’ve been worse.”

  Well, that was
a relief, but it made me wonder what kind of life I would have if I stayed with Ryker.

  Would my life always be in danger because he was a gang leader?

  Maybe more than anyone else’s if they thought they could get to him through me?

  I didn’t want to think about it right now.

  “What about the other guy? Who is he? Do you know him?” I asked.

  “Unfortunately. His name is Zavarelli. When you and I were here in school, he was my boss’ second. He was the one who convinced my boss that I should bully you and torment you. He’s a psychopath, and now he’s helping my enemy because he never liked me. He disappeared after I became the leader.”

  “What are you going to do? Can you find him?”

  “I’m trying to find both of them. They need to be taken care of, but they’re very good at hiding. And Zavarelli is a problem because he still might have friends here.”

  I tilted my head at him. “Are you saying he has friends among your men?”

  “Possibly.”

  “Um, isn’t that dangerous? Can’t you just weed them out and do something about them?”

  “It’s not that easy. I can’t just turn against my men without any proof, and so far, none of them have given me a reason to doubt their loyalty. But I don’t know if that will change, so I need to be careful. This is also something I need to do myself, so I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you for a while.”

  “Leave me? Are you going somewhere?”

  “Yeah. I need to hunt down Easton and Zavarelli on my own, and I have a plan. But I can’t take my men with me, and I need to make sure you’re safe. Don’t worry. I’ll protect you, and no one I don’t trust will go anywhere near you.”

  “Wait, you’re talking as if we already agreed that you’re going on your own. Why can’t I just go with you?” If we wanted to give our relationship a real try, then I wanted a taste of everything.

  I wanted a real taste of what life with him would be like.

  We needed to be sure that we could make it work no matter what happened.

  “No. Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous.” He shook his head.