by K. C. Lynn
Chapter 11
Ryder
As soon as I walk into Emily’s building my phone goes off. I pull it out and see it’s Nick. “Jameson.”
“Can you talk?”
I stop in the lobby. “Yeah, but make it quick. I just got to Emily’s.”
He grunts. “I feel like I got the shaft here, Jameson. While you get to take out a beautiful girl, I get to deal with the old hag at the group home.”
“It doesn’t matter because Emily would have been off limits to you anyway.”
There’s a long moment of silence while he lets that statement sink in. “Ah, so she is the reason why you chose to cover Michaels. I see now.”
No, he doesn’t. There are a lot of reasons why I chose Michaels; Emily is only one of them. “What do you need, Stone? I got shit to do.”
“More like a beautiful woman to do,” he grumbles. “Anyway, I wanted to fill you in on my meeting with Janice Pike, the old bitch who runs the group home. I met with her today to see if it’s a good place for my fourteen-year-old sister who is a meth addict.”
I roll my eyes, knowing he has no siblings. “And what did you think of her?”
“She seems like a heartless bitch, which I expected considering she’s handing these girls off for money. The place was more fucked up than I thought though, and anyone who steps foot in there would know it.”
“How do you mean?”
“You drive up to this beautiful plantation that makes you think of sunshine and rainbows, but as soon as you step inside… it’s fucking weird, man. The entire place was silent and let’s face it¸ there are over twenty-four teenage girls living there, there should be nothing fucking quiet about it.” I grunt in agreement. “The entire time I was there I saw only two of them, and their heads were down while they were walking, as if they were scared to look anywhere else other than the floor. When I was leaving I saw a girl at the side of the house, sitting on the grass reading a book. I walked over to ask her what she thought of the place, but as soon as she saw me she jumped up and tried to run off.”
“Tried?” I ask, wondering what the hell that means.
“Yeah, I grabbed her arm before she could make her escape, which made me feel like shit because I scared the hell out of her. I told her the story about my sister and that I just wanted to know what she thought of the place. She stumbled over every word she tried to speak, and her entire body was trembling. I’m telling you, Jameson, I’ve never seen fear like that before.”
“As if the cops didn’t see that when they were asking their questions about Cassie.”
“My thoughts exactly, but that’s not all. Before she could even get out whatever bullshit she was trying to spew, she glanced up at something behind me, and when I turned around I saw the old lady watching us from the top window of the house.”
“I assume that shut her up.”
“Well, it did, but before she shut up I got the first real response from her since talking with her.”
“What did she say?”
“Four words: don’t bring her here. It was mumbled since her head was down and she was walking away, but I know what I heard.”
I think about what he just said, my mind running with options. “We need to get those girls alone. If she caved that quickly with you then I’m sure you could get more from her if the old bitch wasn’t around watching.”
“I don’t know how I’m going to do that. Pike watches them like a hawk. Cassie was the only one still going to public school, and that’s only because she was the newest one there. I’m going to see the school counselor tomorrow, so we will see what stems from that.”
“What is your cover with her?”
“No cover. The Chief thinks she can know we are looking into it.” He’s probably right. She seems to be the only one who is concerned about Cassie. If anyone is going to help us get information, it’s her. “Now tell me what your plan of action is, besides banging some high school crush you have.”
I tense at his joke, not finding it funny. “Watch it, Stone. It isn’t like that.”
He grunts. “Chill the fuck out, I was only kidding. I do want to know what your plan is though. I know Chief wants you at that party in a few weeks, but after what I saw today I am not sure we have that much time.”
I blow out a heavy breath. “I know. I’ll see what I can do. I have a few ideas, but don’t have time to explain right now. Call me tomorrow after you meet with the counselor and we will go from there.”
“Will do. Have fun on your date with your non high school crush,” he adds with a chuckle then quickly hangs up before I can respond.
“Asshole!” I mutter as I make my way down the hall. Actually, he isn’t that bad. Out of all the guys at the office I probably relate to Stone the most. He’s quiet and sticks to himself most of the time. I’ve never seen him with the same girl past one night. Which is something we definitely have in common. Anytime one of the guys asks about his past he avoids the question, which I can understand. I don’t like to think about my past, let alone talk about it.
I shake myself from my thoughts as I reach Emily’s apartment. Just as I raise my hand to knock, the door swings open and I come face to face with a little Mexican lady I remember so well. Her eyes widen in surprise before they narrow sharply. She quickly glances behind her before moving into the hallway and pulling the door halfway closed. She steps into my personal space and pokes me in the chest hard enough that I am surprised her finger doesn’t break off. “What on earth do you think you’re doing back here?”
I stare down at her calmly. “I’m here on business.”
“You need to leave Emily alone.”
I shake my head. “Not going to happen.”
Her expression turns furious. “You don’t listen! Emily has enough going on right now to deal with. You should not be here making it harder on her.”
I glare back at her, my own temper starting to spike. “What the hell are you talking about? I’m not here to make anything harder on her.”
“Nothing has changed, Ryder. Her father is the same man from when you left six years ago. You need to leave before he finds out you’re back.”
“The hell I will! I’m not seventeen anymore, and neither is Emily. No one will be fucking dictating our lives, and no one will keep me from her. Not ever again!”
The same fear that I saw in her eyes all those years ago reappears as she stares up at me. “You will not win against him. You have no idea what he is capable of.”
But she does. I realize now she knows. She has to; this has to be what she meant all those years ago. “What if I told you I do know? That I know exactly what he’s capable of?”
Her gaze turns suspicious and her fear becomes more apparent. “Who are you?” she asks shakily. I stare back at her silently. I can’t tell her. Not yet. Not until I know where Emily stands. She cuts a hand through the air. “Never mind! I do not want to know. But I will tell you this. Whatever you are up to, you leave Emily out of it. I will not let her get hurt and I…”
“I am not going to let anyone hurt her. I will fucking kill anyone who tries!”
“Rosa? Ryder? What’s going on?”
My gaze snaps to the door to see Emily watching us in concern, and all my anger evaporates, leaving me to gape at the beautiful sight before me. Holy shit! My eyes roam down her perfect body, taking in her soft pink, strapless dress that hugs her in all the right places and shows off her every delicate curve. Yet the soft cotton still flows loosely from her body, and stops just at the top of her slender thighs. My dick spikes to full intensity as I remember what it felt like to be between those sweet thighs. I drag my gaze up to hers, and smirk when I see her cheeks flushed pink at my blatant eye-fuck. Walking over, I pull her against me then lean down and kiss the top of her head. “Hey, Em, you look incredible, like always.”
Her face turns redder at the compliment. “Oh, uh, thank you, so do you,” she stammers out shyly, which makes me want to chuckle. “Is everything
okay?” she asks, looking between Rosa and me.
“Everything is fine.”
“It didn’t sound fine. It sounded like you guys were arguing.”
I look over at Rosa, warning her to back me up. She pastes a fake smile on her face and shakes her head. “No, we weren’t arguing, sweetheart. Ryder is right, everything is fine.” She walks over and pulls Emily from me, enveloping her in a hug. “You have a good night, and call me tomorrow.”
“Okay, I will. I love you, Rosa. Thank you for coming to see me. It brightened my day.”
Her words remind me of how upset she was after her appointment. Something I intend to push about later, I’ve been worried about it ever since.
“I love you too, my sweet girl. It will all work out. You’ll see.” Her response spikes my concern another notch.
Emily nods then leans down to say bye to her dog. Rosa glares and points her finger at me in warning. Yeah, well, I’m not finished with you yet either, lady. I have a feeling she is where my focus needs to be until I can get into the Michaels’ house. She probably has a ton of information. I’m just not sure I’ll be able to get it out of her. Not with how scared she seems of the asshole.
Emily and Rosa say one more goodbye before Rosa walks back into the apartment.
“Does she live with you?” I ask, curious since she wasn’t here the other day.
“No, she’s just hanging with Summer for a bit. She stopped working for my parents shortly after I moved out. I think she only stayed as long as she did because she didn’t want to leave me. But she still helps them out when they need her, mainly for dinner parties. Although I don’t know why she does it, they have never treated her very well.”
I file that last part away, knowing it will be something I need to question later. I have to say I’m thankful she stayed all those years. She clearly cares a lot about Emily, so I’m glad to know she had someone watching out for her. It’s something I always worried about after I left. I grab her hand as we walk out of the building so I can lead her over to where I’m parked. The gesture makes her falter but I don’t let go, or pay notice to it.
“So are you going to tell me what you two were arguing about?”
“We weren’t arguing, we were talking.”
She looks up at me doubtfully. “About what?”
I shrug. “Not much. Mainly she just said how happy she was I was taking you out, and told me how much more attractive I’ve gotten with age.”
She throws her head back and laughs at the blatant lie. The sound and sight of it does funny shit to my chest and brings a smile of my own. “Yeah right. I’ll bet that’s what she said,” she giggles, shaking her head. “You, Ryder Jameson, need to get over yourself.”
Reaching my vehicle, she pulls on the handle and opens the door. Catching her off guard, I move in behind her and crowd her into the open space. She releases a startled gasp when I wrap one arm around her waist and the other possessively across her chest, bringing her body back snug against mine. Her sweet scent consumes the air around us and infiltrates my senses. I lean down, bringing my lips to her ear. “Now, Emily, you aren’t trying to tell me you disagree, are you?”
“What if I am?” Her breathless challenge has my dick aching to fuck the sass out of her.
“Then I say you are a liar, because I see the way you eye-fuck me, baby. The way those pretty, blue eyes of yours beg me to do all sorts of dirty things to you.” I know I’m being an asshole, calling her out, but it’s the truth. The way she looked at me yesterday when she turned the corner – it took every ounce of restraint I possessed not to haul her ass into her apartment and fuck the shit out of her.
She scoffs but it’s shaky. “In your dreams, Jameson.”
I chuckle. “Oh, Em, you have no idea what I do to you in my dreams, but I promise you, everything I do, you fucking love it.”
I hear her quick intake of breath and feel her heart pound against my forearm, almost to the same force as mine. Before I’m able to stop myself, I lightly lick her earlobe then graze the tender flesh with my teeth. She releases the sexiest moan, and thrusts her tight ass back into my aching cock.
Oh fuck! Growling, I grip her hips firmly in warning. “Baby, I’m going to step back now, because if I don’t I’m going to end up lifting up this sexy dress of yours and fucking you right here, bent over the seat for everyone to see.” Since my control is hanging by a thread, I don’t wait for her to respond. I press a quick kiss to her soft cheek then give her a boost up into her seat.
She looks down at me, her face flushed with arousal and her eyes heavy-lidded with desire, yet I also see hesitancy in her gaze. She’s scared, which I already knew. I knew that’s why she kept declining me. Whether I want to or not, the past is something we are going to have to talk about, but not tonight.
As we drive to the restaurant I try to make small talk, but there is so much sexual tension in the vehicle it’s stifling. It’s going to be a long fucking night.
“Do you still have your bike?” she asks softly.
“Actually, I just bought a new one from Hector.” I think about my meeting with my old boss. I have kept in touch with him over the years, but I hadn’t seen him since the day I left, that was up until a few days ago. It was good to catch up with him and be back at the garage. Business seems to be doing well and I couldn’t resist buying his latest project. I’ll be riding it back to Florida instead of flying. He agreed to be part of my cover, but I didn’t miss his apprehension. I know he’s worried because of Michaels. He thinks the asshole is too powerful to bring down, but he’s wrong and I’m going to prove it.
Emily nods then clears her throat. “Where are we going for supper?”
“Crustacia,” I reply, telling her the name of the fancy, upscale restaurant I would never, ever step foot in any other time. The bill will probably be more than my month’s salary, but I know she is used to places like that so I figured it was a safe bet.
“I- I have never been there before.”
“I know. It’s new, they just opened a few weeks ago.” I glance over to see her looking fucking panicked. “Is there a problem?”
She shakes her head and gives me a wobbly smile. “No, of course not. I’ve heard good things about it. I’m sure it will be great.” The girl is the worst liar in the world, but I decide not to push her on it.
When we arrive at the restaurant, Emily’s unease only seems to increase. She excuses herself to the bathroom as soon as we enter and it takes her a while before she comes out. By the time we’re seated and the waiter comes over, she is a nervous mess. What the fuck is up with her?
“Good evening, my name is Halthzaar, and I will be your waiter for the evening. Can I start you off with something to drink?”
When Emily doesn’t answer first, I order some sort of fancy beer I’ve never heard of and hope it’s good. The waiter looks to Emily and I see her visibly swallow. “Um… can I just order whatever house wine you have?”
“Yes, of course. White or red, miss?”
“White, please.”
When he walks away she glances back down at her menu, so I do as well. I look over all the weird fucking names trying to figure out which one is steak. When I glance back up at Em, I see her hands trembling as she stares in a daze at the menu.
“Emily, what is the damn problem?” I ask firmly, my patience starting to wear thin. She finally lifts her eyes to mine and I see them glassy with tears. What the fuck? Leaning over, I cover her shaking hands with my own. “What is it, baby?”
She bites her trembling lip and mumbles something I can’t hear. “What? Speak up, I can’t hear you.”
“I can’t read,” she grinds out a little louder, her voice thick with tears.
I falter in surprise at her response then sit back in my chair stunned, feeling like a complete ass. Her head lowers as if she’s embarrassed, but not before I see her first tear escape, and it makes me feel as if someone just punched me in the fucking throat. I look around the upscale res
taurant, a place I would never come to, and realize I made a mistake.
Before I can say anything, the waiter walks back over and sets our drinks down in front of us, oblivious to Emily’s upset. “Have you both decided what you would like to order? I could go over some of our specials if you would like?”
Emily swipes at her cheek. “Yes, please. I…”
“Actually, no. That’s okay,” I interrupt. “We’ve changed our minds, but thanks anyway.” Standing up, I throw down a few bills to cover more than our drinks then take Emily’s hand and pull her from the table. I lead her out of the restaurant quickly, leaving our waiter in sputtering shock.
“I’m so sorry I embarrassed you,” she whispers just as we reach the vehicle. And it’s those soft, sad words that finally do me in.
Spinning her around, I pin her against the truck. I register her shocked expression just before my mouth lands on hers. She gasps against my lips and is only stunned for a second before she wraps her arms around my neck and finally gives in to what we both want. I pull her in closer to me and lick the seam of her lips, asking for permission, and she eagerly grants me the access I crave. A low growl erupts from my throat when her familiar taste of innocence, one I’ve never forgotten, explodes in my mouth and rushes through my veins. Jesus, I forgot how good this girl tasted. I swallow her sexy whimper as we get lost in each other, remembering the past and exploring the new.
It isn’t until the sound of a horn blares that I quickly remember we are on the sidewalk, out in the open. I pull back slightly, keeping her face framed between my hands, and stare down at her closed eyes and soft expression. When she opens them a moment later, the ice blue orbs hit me like a blow to the chest. She is fucking beautiful.
“First, let’s get one thing straight. There is nothing about you that embarrasses me,” I say firmly. She tries to look away but I hold her face securely. “I’m fucking serious, Emily. You’re perfect!”
