Ryan: Jagged Edge Series #8 (Alpha-Male Romance Suspense, Military)

by A. L Long

  Starting my car, I peeled out of the drive and headed down the road to the main house. I was driving like a bat out of hell and the dust I left in my path was evident of that. Fuck the 20 MPH speed limit that was posted. I was a man on a mission, and right now that mission was Charlie and my brother.

  Slowing my speed as I got closer to the main house, I lurched forward upon seeing the black Chevy Tahoe pulled off to the side of the road. Both of the front doors were wide open, which told me that the men inside were in a hurry. Looking around, I saw movement in the distance. Quietly, I opened my door and let it remain open as I took a chance and headed in that direction. I couldn’t see who it was, but there was definitely someone in the cluster of trees just past the main house. My gun was in my hand and pointed downward as I kept my body low.

  When I reached the Tahoe, I took a quick look inside to find that the man I had shot had lost quite a bit of blood, based on the stained seat. Checking out the rest of the vehicle, I looked back over to the wooded area to make sure I didn’t lose sight of the shadow hidden between the trees. Searching the backseat, my first assumption was incorrect. There were more than two men in the SUV. A third man was something that I should have been prepared for. It wasn’t like me to miss this. Having another man in the mix just reduced our chances by a third.

  Whoever was hiding behind the tree was in for a rude awakening. He was about to receive the wrath of Hyatt and I was going to get some answers. Slowly approaching the trees, I kept my sights on the shadow. As I got closer, I could see that whoever was behind the tree wasn’t there to keep watch. The man was injured, based on the blood that led to where he took refuge. My adrenaline began to kick in with each step I took. When I reached the tree, the guy wasn’t moving. Pointing my weapon towards him, I tried not to make a sound, but it was almost impossible with the leaves crackling beneath my feet. It was then that I heard, “Just finish me, asshole. I’m already dead.”

  I knew that voice as soon as I heard it. Rushing to my brother, I lowered my gun and knelt beside him. Seeing him leaning against the tree, I knew he was hurt. When he looked to his gut and then to me, I knew he had been shot. “Josh, how bad?” I asked, placing my hand on his shoulder, feeling the rage and anger consume every nerve of my body.

  “I can’t move, bro. You need to find Charlie. She ran in that direction.” Josh raised his arm and pointed his finger straight ahead.

  “I need to call for help, bro,” I choked.

  “There’s no time,” he groaned in agony. “Go to her.” I stood to head in the direction that he had pointed only to be stopped. “I know, Ryan.”

  I had this sick feeling in my gut, but knew I had no time to go into it right now. Looking his way, I simply said. “I will come back for you.”

  Josh’s thumb went up in acknowledgement. It was the strangest thing. Almost like he was telling me it was okay. I hated leaving him, but I had no choice. There was no way I could catch up to Charlie in time if I had him on my side. I also knew that there was no time to get help, as he said. Running as fast as I could through the trees, my focus was on Charlie. I had been through these trees so many times as a kid, but it was for a whole different reason back then. I almost wished that Josh and I made a trail just like we talked about. I had no idea where Charlie was or even what direction she went in. All I could do was pray that I would find her. Alive.

  ~****~

  It was beginning to get dark and I still hadn’t found Charlie. I was really beginning to worry that they might have taken her. Just about ready to lose hope, I stopped in my tracks thinking that I might have heard voices. As I listened for any noise, I waited before moving onward. Just as I thought, two men were talking. The voices were coming to the left of me. I slowly began walking towards them. I pulled my weapon from behind my back and held it in front of me with both hands on the grip. The closer I got, the better I was able to hear the two men talking.

  “If we don’t find her, we have no leverage.”

  “All that the boss said, was to find the money and kill Hyatt. We need to go back to the house and get the money and forget about the girl.”

  As much as I wanted to get these guys once and for all, they knew just as much as I did about where Charlie might have gone. They were only concerned about the money and Josh. Taking my time, I began walking backwards away from the men. The minute I felt like I was far enough away, I picked up my pace and began heading in a different direction.

  I wasn’t sure how long I had been walking or where I even was until I came upon the bathhouse. As I came closer to it, I started to feel a sense of relief that I at least knew where I was. As quickly as it came it was gone in a flash. I still had no idea where Charlie was. With my senses on alert overload, I walked up to the door and turned the handle. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay here very long, especially knowing that if I found my way, Gallo’s men were sure to find this place as well.

  I thought I might have been dreaming when I heard a small gasp as I entered the small house. I could faintly see that someone had been hiding in the far corner of the room. Taking a chance, I whispered, “Charlie, is that you?”

  When her body came into view, it was like calm had settled over me. Rushing to her side, I took her in my arms and muttered, “I was so afraid something bad had happened to you.”

  Her lips met mine in what was a kiss of love if ever there was one. My mouth opened and our tongues began twisting and turning together, getting reacquainted with each other. I could have stayed just like this forever, our lips locked together with her body pressed close to mine, but I knew we didn’t have the time I wanted. We needed to get out of here before our unwanted guests arrived.

  Breaking our kiss, I held her close to me and said, “We need to go, babe. Gallo’s men aren’t far away and we need to get to the main house.”

  Charlie looked up to me with tear-soaked eyes and said, “Josh got shot. I’m not sure if he is even still alive. We need to find him.”

  “We are going back to get him before we call Peter. He’s alive, just north of the main house,” I reassured her.

  Making a quick move to the door, I opened it carefully, making sure so one was waiting for us on the other side. Seeing that the coast was clear, we both ran as fast as we could toward the road leading to the main house. There was just enough light left to see where we were going, but soon it would be dark and even harder to find our way to Josh. I did a “Hail Mary” when we finally came upon the road that would lead us to where Josh was.

  When we got to where I had left my car, I noticed that the Black Tahoe was still parked just ahead. This told me that the men after us were still somewhere around. It also told me I had no time to waste. Heading in the direction of where I left Josh, I held tightly to Charlie as I pulled her behind me in an effort to get there as quickly as possible. I wasn’t sure how badly Josh was hurt, but I needed to get to him as quickly as possible. Reaching the woods, it was then that I wished I had a flash light. We could barely see anything with the leaves blocking the only light that we had. Remembering the vicinity of where I had left him, I slowly moved in that direction. Then I wished I had my phone for nothing more than to give me some light.

  With Charlie close behind me with her hand in mine, I knew we were getting close. Charlie took in a deep gasp and squeezed my hand to the point I could feel the blood begin to constrict. Looking over to where she was looking, I saw what she did. It was like everything I knew had flashed before me. There, still leaning against the tree, was Josh, only this time there was no movement. Letting go of Charlie’s hand, I ran to his side to find that I was too late. Taking his face in my hand, I could feel my chest tighten. Everything came crashing down. Memories of two brothers ran in slow motion as I screamed, “NO!”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Charlie

  If I could have taken the pain away from Ryan, I would have. He was hurting and no matter how hard he tried to hide it, I could see it as clear as day. There was something that I nee
ded to tell him, but it needed to wait until later, because for now, all that Ryan cared about was finding the men who did this to his brother. Our saving grace in this whole mess was that Josh had told me where he had hidden the money. It was the one place that only he and Ryan knew about, so when I told Ryan, he knew exactly where it was.

  Hidden away underneath the floor boards in the guest house where Josh slept, concealed by one of the twin beds, there it was just like Josh said. Gallo’s men were long gone so there wasn’t any chance that they would be around to stop us from going to the house. Not only that, but Peter and Ash kept an eye outside while Ryan and I went in to get the bag.

  When we met up with Peter outside the house, he took the bag from Ryan and ordered in no uncertain terms, “Go to your brother. I will take this back to the shop where it will be safe.”

  There were no words from Ryan, only a saddened, lost expression on his face. When he handed me the keys to his Charger, I got in behind the wheel and waited for Ryan to take his place beside me. Just as I backed up and was ready to drive forward. Ryan grabbed my arm, making me stop the car. There was something about the way he grabbed me that had me concerned. Looking over to him I asked, “Ryan, what is it?”

  “Those motherfuckers are going to pay for what they did.” His face contorted with a look of hate and disgust as the muscles in his jaw began to flex.

  He was angry and he had every right to be, but the look on his face was that of a man who wanted revenge. I wasn’t sure that this was the way to handle it, but I also knew that this wasn’t the time to argue with a man ripped to pieces. The only person that would be able to talk him out of this was Peter. Even though I knew Ryan would never forgive me, I needed to let Peter know the truth before Ryan ended up sharing a spot next to Josh in the city morgue.

  ~****~

  Several days had passed since Josh’s death, and Ryan was becoming more and more distant. He wouldn’t even accept my offer to help with his brother’s funeral arrangements, but then when I told him that he couldn’t do this alone, after arguing with him for an hour, he finally gave in. So many times, I wanted to tell him about what Josh had told me while we were in the woods, but there was never a good time. I knew that I needed to let Ryan know, and if I did, maybe it would give him a little peace.

  After spending an hour at the city morgue getting more and more pissed off, we were finally on our way home. Ryan was not himself, which was understandable. I tried to comfort him, but all he did was push me away. I was at the end of my rope. He was hurting and I understood that, but the way he was treating me was uncalled for. The mix-up at the morgue, although tragic, could have happened to anyone. His anger needed to stop, otherwise he would be losing the best thing in his life.

  Knowing exactly where he would be, I walked to Josh’s room to find Ryan sitting on his bed holding a small box. Hesitantly, I debated on leaving him alone with his thoughts, or fessing up to what I knew about them. Taking a chance, I took in a breath and slowly sauntered to where he was sitting. Taking a seat beside him on the bed, I looked over to the box he was holding and was about to say something when he spoke. “Even though he wasn’t my brother by blood, he was all the family I had.”

  Placing my arms around him, I whispered softly, “I know. He told me.”

  Ryan shifted his body so that he was facing me. “What do you mean, he told you?”

  “When we were in the woods together, he confessed to me that he knew you weren’t his real brother,” I began. “He found your mom’s journal. He knew about his real mom. He told me that you were the best thing that ever happened to him and that it didn’t matter because as far as he was concerned, you were brothers.”

  “So, you know everything.” Tears began to take hold as he spoke. “I couldn’t save him, Charlie. He was slowly dying inside and I couldn’t even save him. He was my little brother and I was supposed to protect him.”

  “There is no way you could have known how sick he was. Just like you couldn’t have known that he was going to get shot,” I argued.

  As much as Ryan tried, he couldn’t hold back his emotions. His head came down on my shoulder and all I could think about was taking his pain away. Pulling him into my body, I whispered to him like I would a small child. “Shh… it will be okay, baby. It will be okay.”

  Ryan slowly pulled away from me and looked into my eyes with remorse. I knew he felt guilty for letting go of what we had back in East Bank. Rubbing his thumb along my jaw, he pleaded, “Please don’t ever leave me, Charlie. You are all that I have,” before he placed his mouth over mine.

  There was no way I would ever leave him. From the moment I laid eyes on him so many years ago, I knew that this was going to be the guy I was going to love forever. Maybe this was the reason there was never anyone else. Closing my eyes, I took in his warmth as our kiss deepened. If our closeness was what he needed, then I was all for it. It had been a very emotional couple of days and Ryan needed to know that he was loved.

  Breaking our kiss, I began trailing soft wet kisses down his neck. His head tilted backward, allowing me the access I needed to satisfy my powerless resistance. He was perfect in so many ways as I took the bottom of his shirt in my grasp and lifted it up over his head. It was then that my core was conscious of his virile masculinity. My mouth began to explore his chest, surveying every inch. There was a tingle in the pit of my stomach as I boldly took his hard disc into my mouth. The salt of his body coated my tongue and I became more aware of what my teasing was doing to me. My core was rippling with excitement and in need of his touch.

  In one swift move, my body was lifted from the bed and placed back down on the other side of him. Pushing to my elbows, I watched Ryan’s magnificence appear as he lowered his jeans down his muscular legs. Unable to control my own desire, I quickly removed my top, keeping my gaze on him. His look was hypnotic as his eyes locked with mine. A tingle radiated through my body as he grasped the waistband of my skirt and began lowering it down my legs. I knew that he would find my panties soaked from the surge of wetness left behind from the effect he was having on my body. His lips were on my stomach and his fingers found their way under the lacy band of my panties, gliding them down my aching limbs that I could no longer ignore. When his kisses trailed lower to my core a strange inner excitement entered. My clit throbbed with need as I felt the wetness of his lips sink lower.

  With a flick of his tongue, my breathing became uneven and my body jolted at his touch. As he dipped two fingers inside me, my mind was reeling in the here and now. He owned my body and he knew just how to work it. The caress of his tongue between my folds made me come undone as he increased the movement of his fingers inside me. I knew that my breathing had stopped for just a moment to allow my body to spiral in ecstasy. Before I could regain control, Ryan was inside me, filling my sensitized body with even more pleasure, recapturing the release that I hadn’t fully let go. More demanding than before, my screams of divine sweetness came crashing through, feeling Ryan’s sweetness fill my soul.

  ~****~

  “Nick,” I shouted, as I sat straight up in the bed, looking over to Ryan, who was still sound asleep as I nudged him awake.

  His eyes popped open with a shock. “Charlie, are you okay, baby?” he gasped.

  “Nick. He can help us. He has a lot of high-end people on his clientele list. We could set a trap.” I knew it wasn’t the greatest idea the minute I said it, but it was better than doing nothing.

  “Baby, you need to calm yourself. It is going to take a lot more than setting a trap. Things like this don’t happen the way they do in the movies. It takes a lot of extensive planning. Every detail has to be worked out. We will figure this out. Now go back to sleep.”

  My shoulders slumped forward as I realized that Ryan was right. He had been doing this type of thing a lot longer than I and knew more about what needed to be done. I just wanted these men caught. Not only for Josh’s sake, but for Nick’s too.

  Placing my elbows on my knees an
d my hands on my cheeks, I took in a deep breath while staring at the picture on the wall. It made me wonder how Josh managed to get himself into trouble in the first place. Certainly, there had to have been someone that introduced him to Morris Gallo. He couldn’t have just walked up to him and asked if he sold fake paintings.

  Looking over to Ryan laying back against the pillow with his arm resting under his head, I leaned back on one elbow and asked presumptively, “How do you suppose Josh got involved with Morris Gallo? Someone had to have introduced Josh to him.”

  I could tell that the wheels were beginning to spin in Ryan’s head. It was as though what I said switched a light on. “I think you’ve got something, babe. Get dressed. We’re going to the shop.”