by Susan Stoker
She looked up when Cole stepped up to her. He took her chin in his fingers and forced her head up to his. He wasn’t hurting her, but he wasn’t letting her go either. “Look me in the eyes and say it so I believe you.”
Felicity swallowed and opened her mouth, but the man at her other side got there before she could.
“Take your hands off her.” His voice was low and deadly.
Cole’s hand immediately dropped, and Felicity turned her head to look at Ryder. He was pissed. And she had no idea why. She took a small step away from him, not wanting to be anywhere near him if a fight broke out, but he wouldn’t let her. His arm shot out, hooked her around the waist with an unbreakable grip, and hauled her back so she was right next to him.
Felicity opened her mouth to protest his high-handedness, but the second she was next to him again, he dropped his hand. It was as if he wanted her next to him so he could protect her, not because he was an asshole. It made no sense, but that was the vibe she got. As irritated as she’d been at his presumptiveness the second he dropped his hand from around her, she felt almost bereft of his touch.
“I wasn’t hurting her,” Cole bit out.
“Don’t care. No one makes her do anything she doesn’t want to do,” Ryder retorted.
Felicity eyes went from one man to the other as they volleyed back and forth.
“Felicity doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to,” Cole said after a second.
“Damn straight.”
“Look, you might be related to the Andersons, but this doesn’t involve you,” Cole told him.
“The fuck it doesn’t,” Ryder shot back.
Cole’s eyes narrowed, and the two men glared at each other.
“Um . . . he’s correct . . . Ryder? Is that right?” She was finally putting the pieces together about the man standing next to her like a pissed-off guard dog. Ryder Sinclair. No wonder he looked familiar. Half brother to the Anderson triplets. The half brother they hadn’t known existed. He’d showed up the night before, and Grace had called to let her know all about it.
Grace had wanted to talk more last night, but Felicity had seen the envelope in the mail she’d picked up from the post office, from him, and had told her friend she couldn’t talk anymore. The words on the note were burned on her brain.
Hey, sweetheart. Did you think you could get away from me? I told you I was an expert at Hide and Go Seek, but you just never learn. I’ll be seeing you soon.
Honestly, she’d expected him to find her way before now. She’d been in Castle Rock for five years now. But the note had still been a shock, and her first instinct was to run. As far away as she could get. But Cole wasn’t cooperating. All her money was tied up in the gym. She wouldn’t get very far with the two thousand bucks she had in her account at the moment. That wouldn’t even cover the cost of a new identity. Nope, she needed the fifty thousand she’d contributed to the gym.
Before moving to Castle Rock, she’d been extremely frugal, saving every penny. She’d met Cole one day when they’d literally bounced off each other while running in the park. Felicity had gone around a bend in the path and couldn’t stop herself before plowing right into him. They’d both laughed, and from that first day, they’d had been close.
They had an instant connection, not a romantic one, but one more like brother and sister. And since she’d never had a brother or sister, it felt good. Really good. Good enough for her to decide to take a risk and settle in Castle Rock. Put down roots—little ones, but roots nevertheless.
One night, not too long after they met, they were sitting in his apartment, drunk as skunks, and Cole told her about his dreams of owning his own gym. He described it so vividly, Felicity could easily picture it. Slowly over the next few months, Felicity had gotten swept up in Cole’s excitement.
Felicity had thought about the money she’d saved up. She’d been on the move for so long, she’d forgotten how nice it was to have friends. To have dreams. Plus, she was tired of running. So she’d offered Cole her life savings so he could achieve his dream. It had felt good. She loved working side by side with him. Loved making the gym a safe community place where everyone, no matter how in shape or out of shape they were, could come and work out. But now she desperately needed that money back.
“Yeah, I’m Ryder,” the man next to her said, answering her earlier question.
Felicity shook her head and told herself to concentrate on the conversation. She needed to set him straight. Show him the Felicity the world expected to see. “Right, Ryder. I appreciate you wanting to make sure I’m good, but I don’t need you or anyone else fighting my battles for me. In case you haven’t noticed, I can take care of myself.”
Instead of backing off at her caustic tone, he actually took a step closer. His gaze was piercing, and she felt as if he could read her mind. See how scared and freaked out she was inside.
“Be that as it may, you don’t have to anymore. And as I told Cole, no one touches you without your permission.”
“He’s my friend,” Felicity said. “He’s allowed.”
Ryder shook his head.
She’d opened her mouth to reply with an extremely juvenile comeback when Cole spoke up.
“He’s right. I’m sorry, Felicity. But I know you. When you won’t look at me when you’re talking to me, you’re lying. Look me in the eyes and tell me that if I give you the fifty thousand, you won’t disappear.”
Felicity turned to her friend and looked up at him. He was standing near her, his tattooed arms crossed over his chest. He was frowning down at her, but his eyebrows were raised as if daring her.
She opened her mouth to lie, but the words got stuck in her throat. She couldn’t do it. Couldn’t lie to him.
The words that came out of her mouth were soft . . . and tortured. “It’s time for me to go.”
“You can’t go!” Grace exclaimed.
Felicity’s shoulders slumped. Leaving would tear her heart from her chest, but she wouldn’t put Grace, or her sons, in danger, not when her friend had just started living free for the first time in her life.
The walls began to close in on her. Closer and closer. It got harder to breathe, and she began to pant. Air. She needed air.
As if he could read her mind, Ryder put his arm back around her waist and pulled her into his side. He led her over to a small couch in the corner of the office and sat with her. He put his hand on her nape and forced her to lean over and put her head between her knees.
“Breathe, love. Breathe.”
Felicity could hear the others expressing their concern, but only peripherally. She concentrated on the feel of Ryder’s large calloused hand on the sensitive skin of her neck. She reached out with one hand and grabbed hold of his jeans at the calf as she tried to suck oxygen into her starved lungs.
She heard the shuffling of feet and Cole warn, as if he were a thousand miles away, “Don’t hurt her.”
Then Ryder’s emphatic response: “Never.”
Then a door shut, and Felicity couldn’t hear anything but her labored breathing.
“Relax.” Ryder’s hand moved from her neck to her back as he caressed her. “In and out. Slow down your breaths. You can do it . . . there you go . . . good. I’ve got you . . .”
It was ridiculous, but his words helped. A lot. She felt her lungs expanding with precious oxygen, and as the man she’d just met for the first time today continued to murmur nonsense in her ear, she got control over herself.
Sitting up, Felicity ran a hand through her short hair. She hated her hair, but cutting it off was what she needed to do in order to hide . . . at least she thought it had been. But she supposed now that she’d been found, she’d have to pick a different color and grow it back out. She’d gotten used to her black hair, but it didn’t matter anymore. Black, red, purple . . . apparently she could be found no matter the color.
“You okay now?”
Felicity nodded her head automatically. No. She wasn’t better. She’d never be
better. “Yes, I’m better,” she lied.
Ryder chuckled from beside her. “Your mouth is saying one thing, but your eyes are saying something else.”
She turned to face the man next to her for the first time since her panic attack had started. “You got them all to leave . . . can you please get Cole to give me my money?”
“No.” His answer was immediate, and final.
Felicity’s eyes closed in despair. Why she’d thought this man would help her, she had no idea. But the crushing disappointment spread through her chest.
“Look at me,” he ordered.
Felicity shook her head.
“Please. Look at me,” he repeated. “As I told Cole, I’m not going to force you, but I’d like to look at your beautiful blue eyes when I say what I need to say.”
Goose bumps broke out on Felicity’s arms at his words. Taking a deep breath, she brought her eyes up to his and braced for whatever it was he felt he needed to say.
“Thank you, love. I’m going to help you. I want to know who has frightened you so badly that I can see the fear shining out from your eyes. I see right through the image you project to the world. To others you’re a take-no-shit chick—from the tattoos on your arms to the sassy attitude you throw. But I see a woman who is scared to death, one who needs someone to hold her and tell her everything will be all right. I’m going to fight those demons for you, love. Not only fight them, but obliterate them.
“That’s why I’m not going to tell Cole to give you the money you need to run. Running won’t solve your problems. But I will. I’m going to make it so you’re free. Free to be whoever you want, not who you think you need to be.”
Felicity could only stare at him. His words were conceited, but spoken with a conviction that she desperately wanted to cling to. For some reason, she believed him. If she let him, he could probably take down the monster after her, once and for all.
But that was a big if.
Chapter Three
Ryder sat at a table in the coffee shop across from Rock Hard Gym and sipped his coffee. Black. No frou-frou shit for him. His eyes were glued to the door across the street as he listened to Logan.
He’d been staying in a local hotel for the last week, but that was going to end soon. It wasn’t a matter of money, but because of the itch on the back of his neck. Felicity was in trouble. He could feel it down to the marrow of his bones. But he couldn’t help her if she didn’t talk to him.
Ever since he’d told her he would take care of her problems, she’d been avoiding him. Wouldn’t meet his eyes and fled his presence as soon as she could. But he wasn’t deterred. No, the best things in life came to those who waited.
And he would wait her out. For as long as it took.
Felicity Jones was his. He didn’t question it. It just was.
He’d seen a lot of bad things in his life. Had done things that would make people call him a monster. But Felicity was his reward. His reward for all the shit in his life.
The second he’d looked in her eyes, he’d seen through all her lies.
The bravado.
The toughness.
She was hurting. Badly. And he was dying to know why. Dying to fix it. To make the hurt he could see clearly in her eyes go away.
But it was more than obvious she didn’t want to expose any of her vulnerabilities. He wanted to demand answers to the million and one questions he had, but knew it would make her more wary of him than she already was.
“You never did say what it was that you do down in the Springs,” Logan said not quite nonchalantly.
Ryder tore his eyes away from the doors of the gym and met his brother’s. “I’m a private investigator.”
“No shit?”
“No shit.”
Logan didn’t say anything for a moment, then asked, “That all?”
Ryder wanted to smile, but refrained. His brother wasn’t dumb. Not in the least. “Nope.”
“Didn’t think so. I won’t ask, because it’s obvious that you won’t answer.”
Ryder grunted as he took another sip of his coffee. His eyes went back to the window.
“Nathan’s been doing some poking around. Says you were only in the Army for a couple of years before you got out.”
Ryder nodded. “Went in straight out of high school. Wanted to make some money to send back to my mom, to make her life easier. Was in for two years before another opportunity came up.”
“Interesting,” Logan said, trying a bit too hard to sound disinterested. “The usual hitch is four years.”
Ryder didn’t respond, but held his brother’s eyes for a beat before turning to look out the window at the door to Rock Hard Gym once more.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Felicity, or you, for that matter, but don’t you hurt her. She’s the toughest chick I know. And if it wasn’t for her, me and my Grace wouldn’t be where we are. I wouldn’t have my sons,” Logan said after a minute.
Ryder turned his gaze back to Logan’s. “You think Felicity’s tough?”
Logan’s head cocked and his brows shot up. “You don’t?”
“She’s scared out of her fucking skull, and she’s this close to bolting.” He held his thumb and index finger up, almost touching.
“She might be scared, but that doesn’t mean she’s not tough. When Grace was taken from me, Felicity stood by my side and did what she could to help her out. If she had two minutes alone with Margaret Mason, Grace’s mother, I’m afraid of what she would’ve done to her. She’s got a backbone of steel.”
Ryder shook his head. “It’s all a facade. You have to see it. I’ve been here a week, and it’s as clear as day to me. All you have to do is look into her eyes, and you can tell she’s broken inside.”
Logan shook his head. “Not to me. Talk to me. Tell me what I’ve missed.”
Ryder put down the coffee and sighed. “I haven’t looked into her background. But I don’t need to have her background to know she’s a woman on the run. With her coloring, it’s obvious that her jet-black hair came out of a bottle, which makes me wonder if she’s trying to disguise her appearance. Her eyes never stop moving; she’s constantly scanning her surroundings, as if looking for danger. She lives above the gym she co-owns, so I’m assuming she doesn’t pay rent and didn’t have to fill out an application. I overheard Grace complaining, good-naturedly, that Felicity doesn’t have any bills—paid cash for her car, doesn’t have a credit card. Her cell phone is one of those pay-as-you-go jobbies. And last, but certainly not least, she’s a silent partner in that gym. Cole said she didn’t sign one paper. And now she wants fifty Gs in cash.”
The napkin Logan had been using was now clenched in his fist. “So what can we do?”
“You want honesty?”
“Always.”
“Let me handle it.”
Logan was shaking his head even before Ryder had finished speaking. “She doesn’t even know you, man. She’s not going to trust you.”
“It’s why she will trust me,” Ryder retorted. “Think about it. Grace is her best friend. She’s godmother to your kids. She loves you and your brothers like family. She wants to run to protect all of you. She’s not going to tell you shit. To keep you out of whatever it is that’s haunting her. Me? I’m an outsider. She’ll tell me.”
“You’re awfully sure of yourself,” Logan observed.
“It’s because I’m right. I’m not going to hurt her,” Ryder told his brother, bringing the conversation back full circle. “The last thing I want to do is hurt one hair on her head.”
“I wasn’t talking physically,” Logan said. “I’m not as unobservant as you think. In all the time I’ve been back in town, she hasn’t dated. Cole said he’s never seen her with a man since he’s known her. Five years is a really long time to go without being with someone.”
Ryder didn’t argue. It was a long time. He knew firsthand. He hadn’t been with anyone since he’d gotten out of the Army and started his new life. Being with someo
ne meant giving his enemies a way to get to him. He hadn’t ever wanted to open that door, but it had been blown wide open with his trip up to Castle Rock. He knew introducing himself to his brothers meant changes in his life, but he’d been ready for them. He was almost thirty. He wanted what his brothers had. A wife. Kids. Family. He’d been alone for so much of his life, and now he had not only three brothers, but three sisters-in-law and nephews as well.
And Felicity.
His enemies had a pretty huge fucking bargaining chip now, and he wouldn’t give them a chance to use it. No fucking way. He needed to talk to his handler soon, officially tell him of his plans to be done with Mountain Mercenaries, although the man probably already guessed. But not until Felicity was safe.
“I’m not going to hurt her,” Ryder repeated firmly. “Not physically. Not mentally.” He looked his brother in the eyes. “She’s mine, Logan. I knew it the first time I laid eyes on her. I’d kill for her. No one puts their hands on her without her permission ever again. No one.”
“You’ve killed before.” It wasn’t a question.
Ryder didn’t respond but met Logan’s eyes with an unblinking stare.
After a long pause, Logan said, “I want to know whatever you find out.”
“I got this,” Ryder told him.
“I have no doubt, but I owe Felicity more than I could ever repay. She was Grace’s friend when she had no one. She got her out of her parents’ house and away from them. If what you say is true, I need to help.”
“It’s true.”
“Then let me help. Let all of us help. We might not be as good as you are, but we’re no slouches. Let Alexis and Nathan see what they can ferret out online. Let me and Blake help keep watch over her when you can’t. Cole can only stay by her side so long. Don’t shut us out. She’s like family.”
