by Lexie Davis
“Are you proposing?”
He chuckled. “I can. You’ll have to wait on the ring, though. My doctor won’t let me get out of bed.”
She rolled toward him, finally smiling. He liked her body pressed up against him. He liked that she trusted him to protect her and shelter her. That she sought for him to. She was tough and independent, but he loved the little moments of vulnerability she showed that allowed him to swoop in and be the man she wanted him to be.
“I think marriage can wait. I need to finish my residency first.”
He was fine with that. Leaning over to kiss her, he said, “I love you, Ella.”
She smiled at him. “I love you too.”
Chapter Twelve
“Excuse me, Dr. Hawkins. Can we speak with you?” Two police officers stopped her in the hallway of the clinic. Ella had her hands full of supplies she had planned to stock the supply closet with.
“What about?” she asked, walking away from them.
“Ryker Dennison.”
She stopped and turned toward them. “What do you want to know?”
“He was stabbed nearly a week ago. We knew you were there but we do not have an official statement from you about the incident.”
Ella walked to the closet and set the items on a table nearby. “What do you want to know?”
“Just your version of what happened.”
“It was an accident.”
“Accident?”
“Yeah. Accident.” She glanced between the two officers. “Anything else?”
“Uh, can you elaborate?”
She took a deep breath. “Look, I have work to do and you’re disturbing that. No crime was committed, if that’s what you’re looking for. It was an accident.”
“Who stabbed him?”
“He stabbed himself.”
“Attempted suicide?”
“No, not at all. It was just an accident.” Ella glanced over at her boss. “If that is all…”
“Yeah. Sure.” The two police officers turned and left.
She took a deep breath and unlocked the closet. She knew her boss would ask about the visit. Ryker would also not be too happy about it.
Her phone rang, saving her from a second interrogation. She answered it, holding it between her shoulder and ear, while she stocked the closet.
“Hello?”
“Hey, sweetheart.” It was her father.
“Hey.”
“Can you talk?”
“For a minute.”
“Your mother wanted me to invite you and Ryker over for dinner tonight.”
“Yeah, he told me you stopped by to invite us the other night.”
“So can you make it?”
“Yeah. We’ll be there.”
“Good.”
“Hey, Dad?” She stopped stocking the closet and stared at the supplies. “Why are the police coming to visit me at work about the stabbing? There’s no criminal charges being presented.”
He didn’t say anything immediately, which made her think that something else was going on. “Dad?”
“They’re considering this a murder attempt. His father has left town and suspicion leads them to think that he had something to do with Ryker’s stabbing.”
She shook her head. “They’re grasping at straws.”
“Are they?”
“Dad, come on.” They weren’t going to get the club on attempted murder. She didn’t know what all they did, but she did know that they did plenty of illegal stuff.
“You’re not involved in any of their business, are you?”
“No.” She closed her eyes. “I’ve got to go. Patients to see. Work to do.”
“What time do you get off work?”
“Six.”
“Come over then.”
She hung up from him and went back to stocking the closet. She had an easy day, but she figured the night would be interesting.
When it was time to leave work, she went home to find Ryker holding a meeting with Vampire and Superman. Those two seemed to be his trusted friends, while the two prospects that Razor had told to shoot her stood outside the apartment, waiting for them.
“Ah, look who’s home.” Vampire smiled at her. The man was cute for someone that got his nickname for being bloodthirsty. He was also a nice guy for the most part. None of Ryker’s friends were complete jackasses.
“We’ve got to go.” Ella stared at Ryker. “Get your clothes on.”
He frowned. “Where are we going?”
“I told my dad that we’d have dinner with him and my mom tonight.”
Ryker frowned. “I’m going to pass.”
She scoffed. “Fine. Go back to your little club meeting.”
She grabbed some of her clothes from the laundry basket she had yet to put away and went to change in the bathroom. It didn’t matter if he went or not. Her father was trying to make up for the whole stabbing incident. She changed into a pair of skinny jeans and a tight baby-blue shirt. She matched it with knee-high boots and a light black leather moto jacket. Her hair was a mess, but it would simply have to work. She finger combed the tangles out and added some lip gloss to her lips.
“Maybe for now,” Vampire commented when she walked out of the bathroom.
Ryker stopped talking long enough to give her his attention. She grabbed her keys and purse. “You’re on your own tonight.” She glanced between the men. “I got a visit from the police today. They were fishing around for what caused that hole in your side.”
“What did you tell them?”
“That it was an accident.”
“Anything else?” Ryker asked.
“No. But I’m not going to lie if they ask the right questions. I’m not part of the club. I have no reason to protect Razor.”
“Nobody is protecting Razor.” Ryker stood from the bed. He walked across the room to where she stood. “Don’t tell your dad anything.”
“He already knows.”
Ryker’s eyes widened. “What does he know?”
“I went off on him at the hospital.” She shrugged. “They were there.”
“Ella.” Ryker rubbed his forehead. “Okay. Your father is the least of our problems right now. I’ll see you when you get home.”
He leaned in to kiss her. His lips were warm against hers and she cupped his scruffy cheek as her lips parted. Maybe dating a cop’s daughter wasn’t his ideal choice of a partner, but it was what he got. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer as he kissed her.
“Quit,” she giggled. “You’ve got company and I need to go.”
“I’ll kick them out right now and you can stay home with me.”
“Not happening.” She kissed him. “Have fun with your boy scout meeting. I’m going to eat.”
She extracted herself from him and left. Her parents lived on the north side of Atlanta, in a suburb on the outskirts of the city. It was a nice neighborhood that was tucked away from crime. She knew her father’s neighbors liked having him around. He made people feel safe and she liked that about him.
She parked her car in the drive and got out. Her parents’ house was lit up and she actually felt good about visiting them. She missed her daily phone conversations with her father. With Ryker and the stabbing, they hadn’t talked much.
The front door was unlocked and she let herself in. Her mother had fixed enchiladas and her stomach growled at the smell of them.
“Mom?” She set her stuff down and walked to the kitchen, where she found her mother on the phone. She waved at her before going to the dish of food she had on the center island.
“I know. We’ll talk later. Ella just walked in the door.” Her mother nodded before making a motion with her hand that the person wouldn’t stop talking. “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.”
She hung up. “Two hours later and I still don’t know if the high school greenhouse has my flowers.”
Ella smiled. “Let me guess. Margie.”
“Yes, Margie.” Her mother pull
ed her into a hug. “How are you?”
“I’m fine.” She hugged her mother back. “Hungry.”
“Well, there’s plenty.” She glanced around. “Where’s Ryker?”
Ella rolled her eyes. “He didn’t want to come.”
Her mother nodded. “Are you two doing okay?”
“Oh, yeah. We’re great.” She smiled.
Her mother studied her. “He doesn’t hit you, does he?”
“What? No. Mom, where did you get that idea?”
Concern filled her face. “Margie’s daughter dated a biker. He beat her. He knocked her up, too, but she won’t admit that. They’re planning on raising her kid themselves. She’s just nineteen.”
Ella shook her head. “No. Ryker doesn’t beat me. He’s never hit me.”
“Well, they don’t start out that way. It’s all sex and fun in the beginning. Then she said something he didn’t like and the next thing Margie knew Anna’s got a black eye and a bloody lip.”
“Mom, Ryker would never do that. Not to me.”
Ella could tell that her mother didn’t believe her. She could only imagine how it seemed. Ryker was rough around the edges and played that image well. He was a former drug addict. He still dabbled in illegal activities. But he’d never hurt her.
“I hope not. You’d tell your dad if he did, wouldn’t you?”
Her father walked around the corner. “Tell me what?”
Ella pushed away from the island. “Mom thinks Ryker is going to beat me.”
He glanced over at his wife. “Why?”
“Margie’s daughter dated that biker. He knocked her up and beat her.”
He shook his head. “That guy was a Young Blood. We all know how they like to use their fists.”
“But you’d tell him, right?” Her mother was adamant about it.
“Yes, Mom.” She glanced over at her father. “After I killed him and am sitting in a jail cell needing bail money.”
“That’s my girl.” He gave her a high-five and Ella laughed.
After dinner, they settled in the living room. She felt like she was a teenager again. Her father turned some kind of crime show on TV while her mother sat in her chair with a book. It was like old times.
“Why didn’t Ryker want to join us?” her father asked. Her mother got up and left the room to answer the phone.
“Well, he doesn’t really like you, Daddy.”
“The feeling is mutual, but we have a truce.” He glanced over at her. “What happened that night? You blamed me for it. What happened?”
She propped her head up on her hand. “Razor had me kidnapped. He tried to blame me for turning the Roaming Devils in—because of you—and told Ryker to kill me.”
Her father didn’t say anything and she continued.
“Ryker refused. Razor called in prospects. Told them to shoot me. They didn’t. He offered his entire club money to kill me. Sonny was the only one that stepped up and Razor gave him an unloaded gun and he pulled the trigger a few times while pointing it at my head. He gave the club a message about loyalty and doing what you’re told instead of having feelings about it. But when he came at me with a knife and was going to kill me himself, Ryker stepped up and told him that he would do it. Instead, he stabbed himself, taking the blame.”
She licked her lips. “I started screaming for someone to call an ambulance and everyone left. I rode to the hospital with my hand inside Ryker’s abdomen, plugging his artery so he didn’t bleed out.”
Her father ran a hand over his face. “I know you’re not going to listen to me when I say you need to stay away from them. But I’m going to say it anyway. You need to stay away from them.”
Her mother returned with something for them all to drink. Ella thanked her and sipped her lemonade. “They’re not all that bad. Definitely some rotten apples in the barrel but not all of them.”
“We’ll agree to disagree.”
She smiled. “I knew you would say that. I really need to go home. I don’t like being out at night by myself.”
“You can stay here.” Her mother lifted her drink to her lips. “Your room is upstairs.”
“I can’t stay here.”
“Why not?” Her father glanced up at the clock. “Ryker can take care of himself. He’s a big boy. Call him.”
She laughed. He wouldn’t like that much. She pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket and dialed his number.
“Hey.” She sipped her lemonade. “I’m going to stay with my parents tonight.”
“What? Why?”
“Because it’s late and I don’t want to drive home by myself in the dark.” She stood and walked to the kitchen.
“Nobody is going to hurt you.”
“Maybe not. But I’m staying. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I don’t want you to stay.”
“Too bad. You should have come with me.”
Silence filled the line. Then, “Is that what this is about? You’re mad because I didn’t go to dinner with you?”
“I’m not really mad. I just think it’s childish. You can have dinner with my father. He said you had a truce.” She leaned on the kitchen island. “I hate to break it to you, but if I’m in your life, then he is too. You don’t have to be friends, but you do have to respect that I have a relationship with him, that I love you both.”
He sighed. “Okay. I get it. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“I do love you, jerk face.”
“Yeah? Prove that tomorrow morning.”
She laughed. “Maybe.”
“Sweet dreams, babe.”
They disconnected and Ella went back in the living area. She stayed up a while talking with her parents before her mother went to bed. Her father shut the TV off and the room fell silent.
“You can’t tell the department what I told you. I told Ryker that he had to respect that I have a relationship with you. I’m going to tell you the same. I know he’s not who you pictured me dating, but I do love him. He loves me too. You can’t go after the Roaming Devils. I know you’re in guns and gangs, but you have a huge conflict of interest now.”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “I can’t say that I won’t go after the Roaming Devils. All I can say is that I’m going to do my best to keep you safe.”
“Then the least you can do is know when to be my father and when to be a cop.”
He nodded. “I can do that. What you told me tonight is between you and me. And you can tell Ryker I respect him greatly for protecting you like that.”
She stood. “He’s not a bad guy. I know you don’t believe me, but he’s not.”
“I know things about him and his club that you don’t know about. We’ll agree to disagree.”
His comment shouldn’t have scared her, but it did. She knew Ryker dabbled in some bad stuff, but not knowing what that was made her pause. What did her father know? What was Ryker keeping from her?
“What do you know?” she asked.
Her father propped his chin on his hand. “If I tell you, I’ll become the bad guy. The messenger always gets the blame.”
“No blame. What do you know?”
“I can’t tell you what we’re investigating, but I know he’s killed people. I know he’s done drugs. Sells drugs. I know he makes his money illegally. I also know that he has a temper. He can get pretty violent. He has sex with any woman that will spread her legs. I know you think you’re in love with him, and maybe he tells you what you want to hear, but I know he gets bored easily. He’s not capable of a real relationship because it was taught to him for his entire life that the club comes before everything else, including women.”
Ella thought about what he’d said. Some of it she already knew. Some made her question Ryker’s sincerity. Was she just another notch on his bedpost? She didn’t want to think so. He never pressured her into anything. He made her feel like she was the only woman in the world for him. Despite everything, she didn’t believe he could fake his feelings toward her. He
helped her when she needed it. He’d protected her, taking the blame himself, when his own father wanted her dead. That didn’t seem like someone that would leave her when he grew bored.
“What are you thinking about, sweetheart?”
Ella shook her head. “We just have very different views of him.”
“Doesn’t that scare you?” Her father stared at her. “Ryker can be two different people when he has to be. He can’t even come to my house and have dinner with me.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t doubt that he cares for you in his own twisted way, but I don’t really think what you’ve got is exclusive either. I just don’t want you getting your hopes up for something that isn’t really there.”
She nodded and stood, unsure of what to say. He had some very valid points that she needed to address. Hugging him, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I think I’m going to bed. I’m sorry I blew up at you at the hospital. I was just really stressed out.”
He hugged her back. “I understand. And you’re forgiven. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have done that. I just wanted to get some evidence that put the evil behind bars, where they belong.”
She nodded. Her father would always be the cop. He wouldn’t change easily but maybe he would adapt slightly if Ryker was in his life. If Ryker actually participated from time to time. Maybe she was destined to be caught between them. She wasn’t unrealistic enough to think they’d be friends, but she did want them to be civil. She didn’t want to have to pick and choose.
****
Ryker couldn’t stand being cooped up in the apartment any longer. The more he thought about it, the more he wished he’d gone to dinner with Ella. If for nothing else than to get out and do something. Plus, he would have gotten to sleep with her last night, which was something he missed greatly.
He had to get out today. He needed a fucking haircut more than anything else. And he was going crazy staying cooped up. He was fairly certain he could ride his bike and that was another need he was itching to take care of. It’d been too fucking long since he’d been on two wheels, riding with the wind in his face.
The door opened and he smiled as Ella walked in. He damn near pounced on her, grabbing her from behind and lifting her into his arms. She squealed as he carried her to the bed.
