“You greedy girl.” He kissed her lips, letting her have a taste of her arousal, then backed off, licking his chops. “I do want you to follow the play, so pay attention. The end is near.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“They changed the ending!” Terri sat up as the night sky above the theatre lit with fireworks. On stage, the Capulet clan stood on one side behind their row of motorcycles and the Montague family stood on the other side. Everyone gunned their engines as the Juliet character turned around and tossed her bouquet backwards, arching it across the audience.
Several biker chicks jumped, elbowing each other, and went down in a tumble across the theatre seats.
“Looks like a rugby scrum down there,” Ryker said, laughing.
Terri strained her eyes and found her parents still seated near the front of the mezzanine where the wheelchairs were parked. They were both clapping and cheering as the actors and actresses took their bows.
“You know anyone down there?” Ryker asked. His big hands made loud clapping noises and he hooted his support.
“No, nobody.” Terri sank back on the loveseat. Her entire body was still tingling in the aftermath of Ryker’s skillful stimulations, and she was sure her hair was a mess and her face was flushed with the evidence of her multiple orgasms—not to mention she felt as boneless as a jellyfish and as brainless. She had no idea how the story had changed from a tragedy to a wedding.
“You see no one you know?” Ryker’s brows drew together in a V-shape. “Then you won’t mind if we stay for the meet and greet. I bought tickets for the after party.”
Terri feigned a loud yawn. “I can’t possibly stay; besides what would I talk about? I missed the entire second half of the play? What happened? I thought Juliet was supposed to die on her wedding day, and then Romeo would take the poison.”
“You mean you weren’t paying attention?” Ryker rubbed his jaw, shaking his head. “What are we going to do with you?”
“Seeing as someone had his head in between my legs, I don’t see how you would have paid attention either.”
“Last I heard, Romeo and Juliet had gone to Vegas with the bartender for a quick wedding.” He ran his fingers through her hair, patting it down. “How about we ride to Reno and get married first thing tomorrow morning?”
Terri’s jaw slackened, and her heart fluttered from the pit of her stomach. She’d always dreamed of a biker wedding, like the kind they had on stage. She’d walk beside her father’s wheelchair in between rows of Harleys and they’d stand on a cliff overlooking the bright blue Pacific Ocean.
“You’re speechless,” Ryker said, taking her hands and rubbing them. “I shouldn’t have pushed. You probably think I’m crazy, but because of the family feud, I’ve had you in my mind a lot longer than you’ve been thinking about me. After watching the play, I realized you’d be safer if we were married. You’d be family, and if you’re my old lady, everyone in the Metal Wolves would be obligated to protect you.”
“Only if you go back to the club.” She wet her lips and swallowed. Her throat was dry and lumpy at the same time. “Is this what you want?”
“I’d go back for you.” His face was solemn and his amber eyes glowed with heat. “It’s the only way. I know your father’s out of the life, but even he would have to uphold our code of honor—not to kill family.”
“Is that the only reason you want to get married?” Panic swirled around her head like buzzing bees. Maybe Ryker was completely driven by guilt. Maybe the only reason he sought her out was to keep her safe—to end the feud. Perhaps he had been stalking her and knew she and her friends would meet at Cooper’s Hangout. After all, it was a weekly planning meeting for Jolie’s wedding.
“No, of course not.” His deep voice burred thickly, vibrating the chords of her heart. “But after seeing the play tonight, I realized it was a way out.”
“Is that what happened on stage? I wasn’t aware …”
“It doesn’t matter what happened on stage.” Ryker tipped Terri’s chin and caressed her cheek. “All that matters is what happens with us. I know it’s soon, but it’s the only way I know how to protect you.”
“I thought you were telling your father about my death.”
“That too, so when they meet you, they won’t suspect who you really are.”
“But my parents. They won’t stay quiet. They might strike first once they find out you’re a former Metal Wolf. There are too many things out of control.”
“I’ve got this taken care of,” Ryker said. “But I can see it’s too soon to get married, so I’ll think of something else.”
She knew it. He wasn’t as interested in her, only in keeping her safe. Her spirits deflated, and her skin felt too tight, too tense. As gallant as he was to want to protect her, she couldn’t be a project—a burden to him. When she married, it would be to a man who wanted her over everything else, one who couldn’t live without her, one who loved her with his entire heart.
Even though she was turning thirty in less than a week, she still held out hope for true love, and she wasn’t going to settle for a quickie wedding in Reno.
“You’re starting a new job tomorrow. Do you want to stay with me so you get a good night’s rest?”
“You sure we’re going to rest tonight?” He took her hand and pulled her to a standing position. “Looks like the crowd’s clearing out. Let’s go home.”
Terri took a furtive glance at the wheelchair section below. It was empty and only a few stragglers stayed behind.
“Okay, after you.” She followed him to the parking lot and got onto the back of his motorcycle.
There were plenty of bikers zooming away from the show, so Terri felt safe, blending in as they crossed the path of a stream of cars and turned out into the street.
Ryker was doing everything he could, including the fake news of her death, to keep her safe. But what was she doing for him? What would her parents do if they found out he was dating her?
And what had he meant that he had her parents taken care of? The rumbling noise of the bike was too loud for her to ask, and truthfully, she didn’t want to know the answer.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The next two days passed swiftly. Ryker went to his job from nine to six, and Terri fretted at the flower shop about her date with Dr. Fiske. Her mother had bought her a new dress, and she was busy making her own “gift”, a teddy bear bouquet with balloons and orange spray painted carnations. Yes, her mother had ordered roses, but no way was Terri going to spring for roses for her dreaded date with the man with the decidedly not golden fingers. Yuck.
Ryker was spending every night with her, parking his bike several blocks away and sneaking into her apartment under the cover of darkness. However, he insisted she keep her date with Dr. Fiske so that she was out of the way when he and his family celebrated his father’s release from jail.
The bells chimed and she looked up to find her mother with a garment bag. “I picked up the dress for you. Dr. Fiske is going to be wowed by you.”
“Thanks, Mom, I do appreciate it.” Terri yawned as she tied a ribbon to the teddy bear. Obviously, she and Ryker had burned up the sheets every night, and she was behind on her sleep. “I’m almost finished with the gift from Dr. Fiske to me. Would you like to take it with you to the country club?”
“What’s this? Carnations? I thought I ordered orange roses.” Her mother plucked a spray painted carnation and bent it in half.
“If Dr. Fiske would pay for it,” Terri grumbled. “It’s bad enough that I have to make my own bouquet, but that I have to pay for it, too? I’m not you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her mother snapped another carnation and tossed it on the floor.
“It means I don’t buy my own gifts for a man to give to me like you do with Dad.”
“Your father is handicapped, in case you’ve forgotten.” Her mother bared her teeth and snarled. “All thanks to those Wolves you’ve been hanging around.”
&n
bsp; A bolt of cold fear shot through Terri’s gut. “What Wolves? I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
“Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on. I haven’t said anything because I figured you’d come to your senses. Dr. Fiske is a good man, the best I came up with so far.”
Terri heaved a sigh and tried to straighten the broken flower stem. “If he’s so great, why can’t he ask me out himself and order his own flowers? Did you also pay for the symphony tickets?”
Two bright spots of red on her mother’s face gave her away. “Not exactly. Your dad and I have something to do tonight, and we have season tickets we couldn’t use.”
Terri slammed the counter with her fist. “I knew it. You practically begged his mother to order him to take me on a date, as if I had nothing else to do.”
“You usually don’t.” Her mother’s eyes narrowed. “At least anything worthwhile. Beggars can’t be choosers.”
“Excuse me? Did you call me a beggar?” Terri shoved the unfinished bouquet at her mother. “I happen to have another date tonight and I’m not going out with Dr. Fiske. He can see the symphony by himself.”
“We’ll see about that.” Her mother opened her purse and extracted her cell phone. “I told you to stay away from that biker guy, but it seems you’ve been with him every night. Don’t think I don’t have eyes and ears.”
The bottom dropped from Terri’s stomach, and she craned her neck to see what her mother was up to.
A picture of her riding on Ryker’s bike was clearly displayed on the cell phone screen. It was captured as they had exited the Romeo and Juliet show.
“We went to a show, so what?” Terri feigned disinterest. There was no way her parents could have known what had gone on in the boxed seat. Besides, she was twenty-nine, going on thirty. She didn’t have to answer to them.
Her mother hunched over the counter and glared at her. “He’s that boy, Ryker Slade, and he’s dangerous to you. How can you be so stupid to go out with him? He’s setting you up for the slaughter.”
“No, he’s protecting me,” Terri countered, suddenly wishing she were married to Ryker. Then she’d really have something to throw in her mother’s face. “He and I are good friends.”
“He’s using you to get back at us.” Her mother’s jowls shook and the skin under her chin wiggled like turkey wattles. “It’s all part of the revenge the Slades have been plotting for years.”
“I’ve heard all about it from him,” Terri said. “If so, why hasn’t he killed me while he had the chance?”
“Because he wants to degrade you first. Don’t think your father and I don’t know about his nightly visits, sneaking around like an alley cat. But we’re going to get him first.” Her mother rubbed her hands together as a murderous gleam lit her face.
“You’re joking,” Terri said. Her heart twisted inside her chest and she swallowed bile. “Can’t you and Dad end this feud before everyone gets hurt? Hasn’t there been enough death?”
“It’ll end when every Slade is six feet under, starting with Ryker.”
“But Mom, there are more of them than there are us. Ryker has three brothers and his dad just got out of jail today. Our best bet is to remain hidden.”
“Great job hiding when he knows all about you,” her mother hissed. “You’re putting all of us in danger. You know your father’s a cripple and he can’t defend himself.”
“Ryker would never hurt us. In fact, he’s going to hire someone to tell his father I’m already dead.”
Her mother threw her head back and laughed. “That’s because he’s planning on having you dead. He’ll bring you to his father as a peace offering—to finish off what he didn’t do five years ago.”
“And you think this is funny?” Terri cocked her head and blinked at her mother. “If you’re really worried about me, you’d be calling the police, or we’d be taking on new identities, leaving the state, instead of planning this stupid date with Dr. Fiske.”
“Everything’s under control,” her mother said. “You go on your merry little date with the good doctor, and we’ll take care of everything.”
“What do you mean? You’re going to order a hit on Ryker?” Terri grabbed her mother’s arm. “Tell me.”
“We’re not doing anything stupid like that,” Mom said.
“Yes, you would.” Terri stepped from behind the counter. “I have to warn him. Get out of my way.”
Smack. Terri’s face stung from the sharp slap her mother delivered.
“Stop acting like a hysterical chicken,” her mother yelled. “It’s all under your control. You stop seeing Ryker and keep dating Dr. Fiske, and we will have no need to touch the Slades. They’re a bunch of low life trash anyway—not of any concern. The Demons have been horning into their businesses and in many cases, we own the buildings they’re leasing. We’ve extended loans to their stores. We’ve bought their mortgages. We also know of their dirty dealings. We have enough to put them all away for good—all except Ryker who’s record is squeaky clean—until tonight.”
“What’s going down tonight?” Terri’s heart froze.
“Nothing you should be concerned about.” Mom picked up another carnation. “Your job is to get these flowers done and get dressed in time for dinner at the club.”
“No. I have to help Ryker. If you and Dad set a trap for him, I have to warn him.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” her mother clucked her tongue. “Do you think we’d be so stupid to come and tell you if we had something up our sleeves?”
“Not stupid, Mom, but sly. You’re setting him up to take the fall, and I’m not going to stand by and let you.” Terri walked to the front door and switched off the “Open” sign.
When she turned back to her mother, her eyes opened in shock. She backed up, but she wasn’t fast enough to avoid the syringe her mother plunged into her upper arm.
The world spun and her head felt fuzzy. She was barely aware of her knees buckling as she slumped to the floor right beside the broken carnation.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ryker recoiled from the punch his father landed on his gut. For a moment, the noise and mass of people in Club Rachelle receded as Ryker’s vision pinpointed on his old man.
He had definitely aged during his time in jail, and he was missing a tooth, but his biceps still bulged and he still had that nasty gleam in his eye, as if he were sizing up everyone he met.
The punch hurt, but Ryker wasn’t going to let anyone know. He nodded and said, “Good seeing you, too, Pops.”
“It’s about time you man up,” his father said. “I get out of jail and you’re still wearing a milk mustache.”
“Don’t be so hard on him,” Drake said, clapping his father on the back. “Ryker’s been killing people. How many you got?”
“That was in the military, and I don’t keep count.” Ryker turned away from the wall of brothers. “It’s not like I have time to notch my machine gun.”
He avoided all thought of the enemy he had killed. It was part of the job, and when a man was shooting at his direction, he was justified to shoot back.
“Then you won’t have any trouble taking out the Storm Demons.” His father looked around the bar. “Not that they have the guts to show up here.”
“Actually, this bar is neutral,” Ryker said. “You’ll be surprised who hangs around here.”
“You mean you’ve seen a Demon and you let them walk?” Ryker’s father puffed up like a fighting cock.
“Like I said, you’ll be surprised. Maybe not a Demon, but definitely there are guys we shoot pool with who knew of them—or whatever’s left of them.”
“Why? How many are left?” Pops rolled up his sleeves.
“None that I know of. I’ve been tracking that girl you wanted me to stalk, you remember her? Teresa Terkel,” Ryker said in a loud voice, hoping Ken, the guy he’d hired from Bad Boys for Hire, would be paying attention. “But she seemed to have disappeared into thin air.”
“You s
hould have shot her when you had her in your sights.” The old man slammed his fist onto the bar counter. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Hey, I only heard she was dating one of the Storm Demons, but poof, she seemed to have vanished,” Ryker said, sighing. “Teresa Terkel, Storm Goddess. If only I knew what happened to her.”
This time, he backed away from the bar and bumped into Ken, the hired bad boy, who wasn’t doing his job.
“Teresa Terkel, Storm Goddess?” His father’s laughter cackled. “You always did have a thing for her. Too bad her parents hate us so much. Couldn’t stomach watching you paw her precious puppies.”
“It’s moot now. I just wish I knew what happened to her.” Ryker elbowed the blond man sitting on the barstool next to him. What a mistake to hire Ken, the surfer dude, for this job. He should have stuck to his guns and asked for a certified biker Bad Boy. Except that damn romance convention was in town and there were none available.
“Did you say Storm Goddess?” Ken slurred and sloshed his beer mug, spilling beer on his lap. “My Teresa Terkel?”
Ryker jumped as if startled. “You knew her? Whatever happened to her?”
Ken set his beer down and pinched the bridge of his nose. He shook his head slowly. “She’s gone.”
“Hell, we knew that,” Pops cut in. “Where did she go?”
“She’s dead.” Ken coughed and sniffed, rubbing the back of his eyes. “About a year ago, now.”
“Ah, man, I’m so sorry.” Ryker patted Ken’s shoulder. “We shouldn’t have been talking so loud.”
“Nah, it’s okay,” Ken said. “I’ve been grieving for her so much, I need to get over it. My therapist says I should talk about it.”
“Shit yeah,” Ryker’s father said. “So, tell us, where was she living? How about her parents?”
“All dead,” Ken said. “One minute we were going to get married. The next, they’re dead.”
Pops whistled long and loud. “That’s quite a blow.”
Bad Boys for Hire: Ryker (Bad Boys for Hire #1) Page 10
