“Anyway,” Everleigh continued, “I just wanted to say one more time that I’m sorry I’ve been a mess and whatever happens with this whole Scott thing,” she paused, “I just want to say that I love each and every single one of you. You are the best friends I could have ever asked for and I will do whatever I have to do to keep you all safe just like you’ve done for me.”
Danni was dabbing tears from her eyes and Jessie sniffed. Everyone looked at Everleigh with nothing but love on their faces and without speaking, we all raised our drinks. “For you…and for Trish,” Jude said, looking up and giving a nod.
“To Trish,” Everleigh said, choking back tears and we all took a drink of our beers. “Okay, enough with the heavy for a moment. We have one last seriously important topic to discuss and we can’t continue anything until we get it settled.”
Jude cocked his eyebrow and said, “And what would that be, Miss Everleigh?”
She smiled and said, “Sadie’s twenty-first birthday of course. We have to plan a party!”
Sadie smiled and said, “Aww, Ev, that’s really sweet, but I think given the situation we can just do something once this all blows over. As long as I have you guys with me that day that’s all I need.”
Danni shook her head and said, “No way, girl. I’m with Ev here. Your twenty-first birthday is a huge deal and I don’t want you to miss out on anything.”
Beau said, “You girls are sweet to want to do this, but-”
“But nothing, Beau. We all need to have some fun and if we have to call in the National Guard to protect us while we are out then that’s what we will do. I’m not taking no for an answer on this,” Everleigh said.
Sadie smiled and said, “You heard the lady, big brother. Looks like we’re going out on my birthday.”
Danni smiled and said, “Okay, so where are we going?”
“Well, I’ve wanted to check out Shadow since I got to the city. They always have a kick ass band playing there and we’d get to dance our asses off,” Sadie said.
“Then that’s where we will go. You guys coming with us?” Everleigh asked.
“Uh, we’re not exactly going to let you all go anywhere alone right now, gorgeous,” I said, placing my hand on the small of her back and rubbing it.
She took her seat again and took another bite of her food, looking a little more alive. “Good, because I think you boys need to get out too. Love you,” she said, leaning in and kissing me.
“Love you too, Evie,” I said, losing myself in her eyes for a moment before we continued our lunch with the family.
Chapter 2
Everleigh
“This food was so good,” Sadie said, leaning back and patting her stomach and sighing. She reached for her wallet and said, “How much did my food cost?”
I held up my hand and said, “Don’t even think about it, girl. Lunch is on me today.”
“What? Um, you did see me eat, right? Between me and Jude we were probably half your bill right there,” Sadie said, patting Jude on the arm.
Jude nodded and said, “She’s right, sis. Think this through.”
I shook my head and nudged Ryder’s arm. “Trust me, I’ve got this. I invited all of you out so lunch is on me. Or Ryder, I don’t know. Depends on how you look at it.”
He sighed and smiled. “You are just dying to get rid of that tip I left you back in Muncie, aren’t you?”
“Every last penny, rock star,” I said, pulling the money out of my back pocket. Leaving every single bit remaining of the one thousand dollar tip he left me, I smiled and sighed from somewhere deep. “Are we all ready to go?”
Everyone nodded and thanked me for lunch. As we all stood and got our coats on, Rico came back into the banquet room. “You all leaving?”
I nodded and smiled at him. I leaned in and kissed his scruffy cheek. “Thanks for everything, Rico,” I said, and we all walked out of the restaurant. I looked back at him one last time and smiled as he picked up the money, which was about eight hundred dollars more than our total bill. Rico looked up at me and our eyes met as he smiled a bright smile at me. “You’re welcome,” I mouthed to him as we left La Cantina.
The next four days passed in a blur. There was still no sign of Scott anywhere and he hadn’t contacted me again since the day he sent me the picture of Trish’s dead body to the penthouse. Ryder and the guys finished their album and we were planning on leaving New York and going back to Muncie within the next week. Ryder had also insisted on still taking me to the gun range every day to practice my shooting. I know he wanted me to be able to protect myself but I hated every part of holding that gun in my hands. If I had to end up using it that would make me no better than Scott.
The best part of the past few days was other than going to the gun range, I had completely immersed myself in plans for Sadie’s birthday party. We’d planned on going out to a nice dinner before hitting Shadow. I planned for us all to have a great night and to dance our cares away for a few hours. I couldn’t wait to give Sadie the gift I’d gotten for her. I bought her a sexy dress and heels to wear out on her birthday. We’d been out shopping and she’d eyed a black sequin dress that cut low in the back, but she didn’t get it because she was more of a jeans and tee shirt kind of girl. I thought she’d look beautiful in it so I found some stiletto heels that would match it and bought her the whole outfit.
It was now Sadie’s birthday and Ryder’s gift to her was to send not just her, but Danni, Jessie, and myself to the salon for a day of pampering. We all had manicures, pedicures, full makeup, and our hair done whatever way we wanted. It would have been more relaxing if we didn’t have our own protection detail following us all day, but as long as we were safe that was all I cared about.
We had just finished up at the salon and we were back at the penthouse, getting dressed and admiring our new looks. Danni had added some chestnut colored lowlights to her honey blonde hair and wore it down in soft loose curls. Jessie just had her long layers trimmed but had the stylist give her long bangs and just had a clear color put on her natural soft brown hair to make it shiny. Sadie touched up her pink and purple highlights in her snowy blonde hair and had her hair curled as well, wanting a different style for the night than her usual straight style.
I had kept my hair the same but had the dead ends cut off and I had the stylist retouch my little pop of color I usually did. This time I added pink to my hair and smiled when I saw it. The contrast of pink with my natural black hair was so cute and I hope that Ryder loved it.
Sadie loved her dress and she looked so sexy in her new outfit, as did Danni and Jessie. I wanted to have fun tonight and Ryder and I hadn’t slept together since we had our little romp in the bathroom at The Rock Steady the week before, so I wanted to look sexy for him tonight. I wore a tight purple sequined top, a tight black mini skirt, and I topped the look off with a pair of thigh high leather boots. I stepped out of the bathroom to the spare room Danni had been staying in and held my arms out. “What do you all think?”
Their mouths dropped open and Sadie said, “I think that Ryder’s cock is going to bust the zipper in his jeans when he sees you, girl.”
We all giggled and I said, “Let’s hope. We haven’t slept together in over a week and I am hoping-”
“To get some rock star dick tonight?” Sadie laughed.
I giggled and said, “Something like that.” I looked at the clock on the wall and it read nine thirty. “Okay, the guys should be back. Are we ready to head out?”
“Ready! Let’s tear this town up, ladies!” Sadie yelled and we all cheered. She walked out of the room and we followed into the living room.
Just as I thought, Ryder and the guys were waiting for us. “It’s about time!” Jude joked. “God, women take too long to get ready.”
“Fuck you, big guy,” Sadie said and flipped him off. “It’s my birthday so I can take as long as I want to.”
Standing, he said, “That’s right, you can. Happy birthday,” he said, hugging her. “Yo
u look hot. I’m going to have to keep my eye on you so no one fucks with you.”
Sadie rolled her eyes and feigned annoyance but I could see her smile because he said she looked hot. We all knew Sadie had been crushing on Jude…everyone but Jude. It was actually kind of cute. “Whatever. Let’s go get torn up!”
I smiled and walked to Ryder, who surprisingly hadn’t said a word, as he rose off the couch. “Evie…” he said, looking at me hungrily.
“How do I look?” I said, my eyes traveling up and down his gorgeous body before locking with his.
“You look like I want to drag you into our room and not let you out of the penthouse tonight,” he said sexily. “Fuck, you look sexy as hell, Evie.”
“Well, I promised Sadie a fun birthday but I am totally down for you doing whatever you want to me when we get back tonight,” I said, pressing against him.
I could feel his erection against me and he groaned. “All right fine,” he said. “Before we go, I need you to do me a favor.”
“What’s that, rock star?” I asked, my blood on fire from the promise of smoking hot sex once we got home.
He reached into his coat and pulled out the G26 and handed it to me. “Carry this with you tonight.”
I rolled my eyes and said, “Ryder, come on. Don’t ask me to carry that thing tonight!”
“I’m not asking you, I’m telling you, Evie,” he said in a stern tone.
I knew not to fight him on this so I immediately relented. “Where the hell am I supposed to put it? This outfit is skin tight.”
“Tuck it into your boot. They are high enough that you can tuck it in by your ankle and no one will be able to see it,” he said.
I hesitated for a moment before taking it from him. “I swear if I didn’t love you so much I wouldn’t do this,” I whined, unzipping my boot and tucking the gun in at my ankle.
As I zipped it back up he said, “And if I didn’t love you so much I wouldn’t ask you to. Let’s go celebrate Sadie being a legal drinker. God help us all.” I smiled and took his hand as we left the penthouse.
Two hours later, we’d all had dinner at Topaz and we had just gotten to Shadow. The place was crowded tonight. A big well-known band, whose members were friends with Ryder and the boys, were playing there. Also, there were plenty of dark corners that I could pull Ryder into if we just couldn’t make it home.
As the guys took a table in the back of the club, Sadie pulled me and the girls out on the dance floor. We all danced together and for the first time in a while I felt carefree. “Hey Ev,” Sadie whispered into my ear, “you want to make Ryder freak out?”
“Freak out? How?” I asked her.
“Well, you both look horny as hell and have been eye fucking each other all night long. I can tell you want him like, right now, so you want to kick start a visit to the bathroom?” she asked me, smiling mischievously.
I smiled at her. “Why am I scared?”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to make out with you,” she joked. “But why don’t we dance hard on each other? He’s watching you like a hawk and if we are grinding on each other he’ll be limp to rock hard in no time.”
I sighed and smiled. “Well, it’s worth a shot, I guess. Let’s get sexy, little mama,” I said and she laughed. We got close to each other and Sadie flipped her hair back as she grabbed my ass and pulled me close to her.
She laughed and said, “I’ve got to say, Ev, if I were a lesbian I’d be all over you right now because you’ve got a seriously nice ass girl.”
I smiled and said, “Um, thanks, I think.” We moved together and danced like there should have been a pole between us. My eyes flicked over to the table where the guys were sitting and I didn’t see Ryder anywhere. I felt disappointed, knowing that my plan to seduce him had apparently failed. I was about to stop dancing with Sadie when I felt a hand at the small of my back and a deep, sexy voice in my ear say, “Bathroom. Now. Let’s go.” I turned to see Ryder looking at me with lust in his eyes.
I smiled and bit my lip as he took my hand. I heard Sadie call out, “Have fun, you two!” as Ryder pulled me quickly toward the bathrooms. We were almost there when he pulled me down the hallway and pressed me against the brick wall.
“Lift your legs and wrap them around me,” he commanded and I did what he told me to do. I felt him undo his fly and I gasped as I felt his hard cock pressing right at my entrance. “Watching you dancing up against Sadie was fucking hot, Evie. I am so fucking hard I’m trying my best not to come right now.”
I moved my hand down and grabbed his dick and gave it a few strokes. “Fuck me, Ryder,” I whispered into his ear.
He groaned, pulled my panties to the side, and sank his cock into me. I cried out in pleasure and thankfully my cries were drowned out by the sound of the band playing. He drove into me at a fast rate and my body was alive with ecstasy. I was racing toward an orgasm at an alarmingly fast rate already. “Ryder, I’m close. I’m going to come,” I said into his ear.
“Fuck, me too, baby. Let’s finish together,” he growled and he thrust two more times before I was coming hard against his dick. We both moaned loudly as we found our release together. I think this may have been the fastest sex we’d ever had but it was also the hottest. The fact that Ryder was so turned on by me that we didn’t even make it to the bathroom before he had to have me was so exciting. We had sex against the wall in the hallway of a crowded club and my body had never felt so alive.
He pulled out of me and adjusted himself as I fixed my skirt as discreetly as possible. “Ryder, that was unbelievable,” I said, smoothing my shirt.
“Sorry to just press you against the wall like that, but I…just had to have you.”
“Don’t ever apologize for wanting me like that, Ryder. That was so…I don’t know, I don’t have a word for what that was,” I said, smiling.
“Well, my dick has affected your vocabulary, so I’d say this was a good thing,” Ryder said.
I giggled and kissed him. “Well, I’m wiped out so I’m going to head back to the table. Come with me?”
“Yeah, in a second. I’ve got to take a piss,” he said and he kissed me one more time. “Meet you back at the table, gorgeous?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Make sure you go straight there, okay?” he said.
I held up my hand and said, “Scout’s honor.” He smiled at me and went into the bathroom as I walked back to the table and took a seat next to Kris and Beau, who were both nursing beers. “Hey guys, where’s Jude?”
“Last I saw he was in the corner of the bar making out with some chic,” Beau said.
I shook my head and sighed as I took a drink of Ryder’s beer and waited for him to come back.
It had been fifteen minutes since I had come back to the table and Ryder wasn’t back yet. I’d been talking to Kris and had just now noticed he was still gone and I was starting to worry. I tried to fight off my impending panic attack and I stood up. “Hey, I’ve got to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back,” I said to the guys and they nodded.
“Hurry back, sweetheart,” Beau said and I nodded at him. I walked toward the bathrooms, butterflies forming in my stomach. Something was wrong…I could feel it. Ryder barely left me alone for two minutes when we were at the penthouse so for him to be MIA for more than fifteen minutes with Scott on the loose wasn’t good.
I had just made it to the bathroom and was just about to push open the door when I felt a shiver creep up my spine. I pushed open the door and looked down to see Ryder in a crumpled heap on the floor with blood on his face. I screamed and ran toward him, falling down at his side. I reached out a shaking hand to touch him, terrified I’d already find him cold. There was so much blood… “R-ryder?” I cried out, panicked. When my fingers grazed his scruffy cheek and I felt his face, fear spread all through me. He was cold.
I opened my mouth to scream but it was quickly covered by a strong hand and I felt cold steel at my throat. “Well, it’s about fucking tim
e you showed up, baby girl,” I heard the most sinister voice say. “I was about to just go out into the club and get you myself.”
I whimpered and let out a loud sob that unfortunately for me no one heard. My eyes scanned the club and I was out of sight of everyone that could save me. Tears immediately filled my eyes as Scott dragged me from the bathroom, leaving Ryder’s lifeless on the bathroom floor. He pulled me into the back corner and said, “Here’s how this is going to go. I am going to take you out the back entrance and when we get outside you aren’t going to scream or make a scene, you got it? If you do I’ll not only kill you but I’ll take out one of your little rocker buddies in there.”
I nodded and he lowered his hand from my mouth. “S-Scott…what did you d-d-do to R-Ryder?” I asked, barely able to form any words. I was shaking with fear and I felt like I would vomit at any moment.
He laughed wickedly and said, “You know, for a rocker that’s talked a lot of shit about taking me out, he was certainly easy enough to take down when his back was turned. I could have had fun paying him back for knocking me out at the club a few weeks ago but I need all my energy for what I have planned for us tonight,” he said, running his hand along the side of my breast, “so I just waited until he was taking a piss and took him out.”
“Oh dear God,” I cried, breathless with grief. “Did you kill him?” I asked, praying to God that the answer was no.
I could feel him smile as he leaned into my ear and whispered, “I’ve killed a nurse and now a rock star. I’ll kill anyone that tries to keep you from me again.” He opened the back entrance, leading me out into the street. He placed the knife at my back and said, “Don’t you fucking make a sound.”
I had to use all of my strength to keep from collapsing to the ground. Despair took over my entire being and I began to silently sob as Scott dragged me down the street toward a waiting taxi cab. As he shoved me into the back seat, I wept and prayed for a miracle that would never come. Scott had killed Ryder…and in that moment, for the first time in my life, I prayed for death. I wouldn’t live in a world where Ryder wasn’t in it. Whatever Scott had planned for me tonight I would welcome it because without Ryder I was already dead.
Redeemed (Bad Blooded Rebel #4) Page 2
