by Soraya Lane
“To hell it isn’t,” Chase said, stalking toward Parker before Ryder could do anything about it.
Damn. Ryder had been ready for his brothers to beat the shit out of him when he told them, but he hadn’t anticipated them doing the same to Parker first. Which meant he either had to tell them damn fast before it came to that, or just ride out the shit storm and hope for the best.
Fuck. He knew what he had to do.
“Nate, stop,” Ryder said, closing his hand over Nate’s shoulder just as Chase swung a punch at Parker.
“You fucking asshole,” Chase yelled as his fist connected with Parker’s cheek.
Fuck! Parker stumbled backward, but before he was down his two goons came in swinging. Ryder ran forward and shoved Nate out of the way, one of the heavy’s fists grazing the side of his face as he ducked too slow before he managed to slam his bunched fist into the guy’s stomach.
“Don’t tell me your brothers forgave you already,” Parker called out, his laugh grating as he sat back and watched the show.
Parker’s two men were down. Nate and Chase were panting beside Ryder, blood smeared across both their shirts.
“Leave it, Parker. Just fucking leave it,” Ryder muttered.
“Leave it? What, don’t tell me they don’t know the truth about our little bet?” Parker lit up a cigarette, his cheek red. “And I’m still waiting for the keys and the deed. Haven’t seen them arrive yet and I’m just dying to let myself in.”
“What the fuck’s he talking about, Ryder?” Nate asked.
“Let’s go,” Ryder said, his voice low. He glanced back toward the bar and saw Chloe. She was shaking her head, her mouth fixed in a grim line. She didn’t have to say anything for him to know what she was trying to tell him—she wanted him out of there, to get the hell away from Parker and deal with his brothers on his own.
“Ryder?” Chase asked.
“Look…” he started.
“He hasn’t told you that he bet his third of the ranch and lost it?” Parker asked, his smile sickening. “And here I was thinking you boys were tight.”
Nate turned slowly and glared at Ryder, his gaze unforgiving. He didn’t utter a word, just stalked past him toward the door. Chase’s stare was just as deadly, only he didn’t walk out. He gestured with his head instead, waiting for Ryder to go first.
“Guess I’ll be seeing a lot of you boys soon, huh?”
Ryder left the bar with Parker’s high-pitched laugh ringing in his ears, drowning out the country music and loud voices. This was it. It was time to confess to his brothers and it wasn’t gonna be pretty. He glanced at Chloe over his shoulder, forgot everything else when he saw the heartbroken expression on her face. And then he was walking through the door and toward Nate in the parking lot.
“I’m gonna ask you again, Ryder, and I want a straight answer. What the fuck was Parker talking about?” Nate’s voice had the same commanding, deep edge as their grandfather’s, only Ryder knew that unlike their granddad, Nate was capable of talking with his fists if he didn’t get the answer he wanted.
Chase moved around to stand beside Nate, his arms folded across his chest. Both Ryder’s brothers were staring at him, unblinking, waiting for an explanation.
“It was the night after the rodeo,” Ryder said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I’d been gambling all night, playing poker, and I screwed up.”
“When you say screwed up, what exactly do you mean?” Chase asked.
Ryder glanced at Nate, saw the grim set of his mouth. “Parker upped the stakes, I had all aces, and I bet my third of the ranch.” He blew out a breath. “I thought I was gonna burgle his ranch out from under him. Instead I lost mine.”
“You lied to me,” Chase ground out. “You fucking lied to me when I told you what I’d heard.”
Ryder hung his head. “Yeah, I did. I wanted to get it sorted before you guys had to find out.”
Nate stalked the few feet between them until his big frame was almost touching Ryder’s. Nate had a slight height advantage as he locked eyes on his, his anger almost tangible.
“You thought you had the right to gamble our land away?” His voice was a low, menacing rasp.
Ryder met his brother’s stare. “I’ve done a lot of stupid shit in my life, Nate, but I’ll never forgive myself for this.”
“Damn fucking right you won’t.”
The punch connected with the side of his face before Ryder even saw it coming. One second Nate was staring at him, the next his fist was flying through the air. The blow sent Ryder reeling, stumbling backward with the force of it, head pounding as he covered his face in case Nate came at him again.
“What the hell are we going to tell Granddad?” Ryder heard Chase say. He tried to focus on his brothers. From where he was staggering it looked like there were six of them standing there.
“He knows,” Ryder muttered, spitting to see if he was bleeding.
“What did you say?” Nate asked, coming closer again.
Ryder straightened and held up his hands, not wanting to get into a fight. He was prepared this time, wasn’t going to let Nate too close, or miss one of his fists again, but he wasn’t going to say anything.
“He knows. When you saw me in there with him this morning, I was telling him everything.”
“Fuck, Ryder! He’s got cancer. Have you missed the part about us trying not to cause him any stress?”
“This is low, even for you,” Chase muttered.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” Ryder hissed. “Yeah, I’ve screwed up big-time, but don’t you make out like I’ve always been some kind of royal fuckup.”
Chase looked as imposing as Nate now, standing way too close and glaring at Ryder like he was ready to draw blood. But Ryder had had enough.
“Do you have any idea what it must have been like for Granddad worrying about you all those years? When you went off to have fun and we never heard from you?” Nate asked.
“You heard from me plenty,” Ryder said. “And I’ll have you know that Granddad was damn proud of me.”
“Don’t—”
“No,” Ryder said, interrupting Nate. “You’re the golden boy primed to take over the family business. Chase, you’ve wanted to run the ranch all your life. Where did that leave me?”
“Don’t play the poor-me card,” Chase said, unfolding his arms. “We’ve all been lucky and we know it.”
“I’m not saying I haven’t been lucky. But you guys knew your place in the world and I didn’t. So for all the shit you give me about what I do, it’s my choice. I’ve fucked up big-time here, but I’m gonna make it right. Just you wait.”
“That what you told Granddad?” Nate asked, his fists still bunched.
“I told him everything. And I also told him that I wasn’t telling you two.”
Ryder could see why other people found them intimidating when they were out in a crowd. Having Nate and Chase gang up on him in a parking lot wasn’t exactly something he was enjoying.
“How are you going to get it back?” Chase asked, glancing at Nate as he spoke. “There’s no way Parker’s just gonna let you buy it back. He hates us as much as we hate him.”
Ryder wished Chloe was with him right now, because he wasn’t convinced his brothers were going to like the idea of him using her to get it back. They were rightfully angry with him, and the whole winning-it-back concept probably wasn’t what they’d been expecting.
“You know how I went to Vegas with Chloe?”
They both just grunted and stared at him like a pair of heavies.
“It just so happens that Chloe’s a damn fine poker player.”
“Don’t tell me you’re using that sweet girl just to win the ranch back?” Nate asked.
“That sweet girl is going to win the deed to my third of the ranch back in exchange for some money for her tuition fees,” Ryder confessed, not seeing any point in lying now. “The game’s going down soon, maybe tonight, and it’ll be like this never happened.”
“Like what?” Ryder asked. “Beating the shit out of him? Paying a fortune to try to buy it back? Believe me, I’ve thought of everything and this is the only way.”
“So let me get this straight,” Chase said, eyebrows pulled together like he was seriously confused. “You lost the ranch being a dickhead in a poker game, and you’ve managed to meet a woman who’s capable of winning it back? You might have been shit out of luck when you lost it, but damn, talk about lucky finding her. You trust her?”
“I’ve got no reason not to. I can’t sink any lower and she’s got nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain.”
Nate still looked like he wanted to kill him, but Ryder could see that Chase had softened. Maybe his brother liked that he was going to have his ass saved by a girl.
“You want us there when it goes down?” Nate asked.
“No.” Ryder shook his head. “We’ve got the whole thing planned. Chloe wants it to be real low-key, take him by surprise and lose a bit of money before turning the tables on him.”
Nate took a few steps closer again. “So this could happen tonight?”
“Yeah. Now that he’s here, he’ll be wanting a table to play out back.”
“Then we better not mess up that pretty face of yours too bad, huh?”
Ryder froze, knew from the dark expression on Nate’s face that he hadn’t calmed down even a little. His brother flexed his fists and gave him an evil grin. Chase just laughed.
The punch came swift and fast, a sucker punch to the stomach that left Ryder doubled over and groaning, every bit of air knocked from his body.
“Don’t you dare lose tonight, Ryder, you fucking hear me? There’s one thing that’s not happening in Granddad’s lifetime, and that’s even an inch of King land not being owned by our family.”
Ryder stayed doubled over, still trying to catch his breath. It was Chase’s hand on his shoulder as Nate walked away that made him rise, sucking back air that just never seemed to fill his lungs.
“You’ll get it back. You always get what you want because you’re one stubborn motherfucker,” Chase said in a low voice. “Don’t let this be the exception.”
Ryder watched him go, saw both his brothers drive off in Nate’s SUV. That was when he stumbled back a few steps and dropped, catching his breath properly and running his fingers gently across what he was sure would be a massive bruise on the side of his face. Given what he’d done, he’d gotten off pretty lightly. He’d been able to hit them with his exit strategy, which had probably helped them to digest the whole thing.
“Ryder?”
He looked up and back toward the bar, locking eyes with Chloe. She stopped, took one look at him, and ran toward him.
“I’m fine,” he said, hauling himself up as she stopped in front of him, tears in her eyes as she raised her hand, hovering like she was torn between touching him and not wanting to hurt him.
“What did they do to you?”
Ryder laughed. “A couple of punches aren’t going to kill me, sweetheart.” But her concern was nice. The more time they spent together, the harder it was to remember they were faking it—he was starting to get used to Chloe’s touch, to looking into those beautiful brown eyes when she was concerned, or even better, when they were all wild when she was het up over something.
She reached out for him, slung one hand around his waist, and touched the other to his chest. He wanted to draw her close, inhale the sweet smell of her perfume, and tell her how damn much she meant to him. But he didn’t.
“Ouch!” Ryder grimaced as she slid her hand down to his stomach, retracting it the second he reacted.
“What the hell did they do to you?” she repeated, grabbing the hem of his T-shirt and tugging it up. “Damn.”
Ryder looked down and saw the angry red mark that was fast turning ugly. If his stomach looked that bad he hated to think what his face looked like.
“Are we on?” he asked.
Chloe blew out a breath, sending hair that had escaped from her ponytail flying off her face. He reached out and pushed it back, but she shook her head and tugged out the band that was holding her ponytail in place, letting her hair fall loose around her shoulders.
“I’ve swapped shifts with Shelly. Parker’s already gone into the back room to play and I want to get changed before we head in together.”
Ryder’s heart started pounding, the all-too-familiar rush of adrenaline powering through him at the thought of what they were about to do. “You realize this is going to come completely out of left field, right? I mean, they’re not gonna believe what’s about to go down in there.”
Chloe’s smile was slow. She twisted her mouth like she was trying to stop from grinning, but within a few seconds she was having to bite her lip to stop from smiling hard. “I want to pretend like I’m not insanely excited about taking this guy for all he’s got.”
Ryder stepped into her space, circled his arms around her waist, and drew her close, grimacing when she bumped into him a little too hard. “Baby, I love the fact that you’re hyped about doing this. And believe me when I say I’ll make it up to you all night if you pull this off.”
She scowled, leaning back in his arms. “When I pull this off, you mean.”
“Exactly,” he said, leaning down and kissing her. He was sure going to miss that beautiful mouth of hers once this was over.
“So what’s the plan?” he asked. “We still heading in together, or do you want me to go in first.”
“Not a chance.” Chloe stood on tiptoes to press another kiss to his lips before backing away. “After what went down with your brothers before, you need me in there right from the start as a distraction.” Ryder followed her as she walked slowly back to the bar. “Tell them I want to play a little that you’re good for any bets I make and you’re pissed with your brothers, and then let me take it from there, just like our original plan.”
Ryder reached out and touched Chloe’s arm, his fingers pressing just hard enough to indicate that he wanted her to stop. “Thank you,” he said. “I know we’ve both been having fun, but I won’t ever forget what you’ve done for me, Chloe.”
She laughed, shrugging off his hold and trying to act like it was no big deal. “You would have figured out a way to get it back with or without my help.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But I would have lost a lot in the process. And I wouldn’t have met you.”
She stared at him, unblinking. “Just promise that you won’t forget me when this is over.” Chloe’s voice was low, her words barely a murmur.
“Forget you?” Ryder chuckled and reached out to stroke her face, cupping his palm against her cheek and smiling when she leaned into his touch. “I meet a crazy sexy woman at a rodeo and she ends up being an ace poker player and saving my ass. Not to mention she’s amazing in bed. Do you really think I could forget any of that?” He could have kept going, but he still didn’t want to admit quite how much she meant to him, how much he craved her.
Her expression was hard to read—Chloe’s smile was fading as she pulled away again.
“I’ll meet you at the bar in ten,” she told him.
Ryder stood and stared after her, checked out her butt like he always did, admired her long hair that was so fun to wrap around his fist when they were in bed. But for the first time in his life, he knew that if she walked out of his life right now, she wouldn’t be easy to replace. Before it had always been about having fun. Now he was starting to realize that there was only one person he wanted to keep having fun with, and that scared the shit out of him. His time with Chloe was coming to an end—the minute she had what she wanted she’d be gone.
So why the hell was his brain going into overdrive trying to think up ways to convince her to stay?
Chapter 17
Chloe wriggled her black dress down lower and checked out her cleavage in the mirror. Thank god she’d alre
ady had the dress packed in her car. She might be doing the gambling tonight instead of just being bait to distract the men, but she still wanted to try to put them off their game if she could. Her push-up bra was doing its job, and she squirted a little perfume between her breasts—that was for Ryder’s benefit when he was up close and personal with her later on. Chloe ran her fingers through her hair one last time and applied some more lip gloss before stuffing her things back in her bag.
Her heart was racing, mind and body wired over what she was about to do. She’d tried so hard to leave this life behind, told herself she’d never play again no matter what the stakes, and yet just the thought of what she was about to do was enough to ignite her pulse. All she wanted was a life far removed from gambling, a clean lifestyle where she worked hard and was respected for what she did. Not to mention a husband one day and a family. And yet here she was playing poker again. Chloe laughed. Not all roads led to Oz though, and to get to where she needed to be, she had to use the one skill she knew wouldn’t let her down.
She took one last look at herself in the mirror and headed for the door, entering the bar and making her way toward Ryder. She spotted him straightaway, his big frame perched on a barstool. He was holding a beer bottle to the side of his face.
“How you feeling?” she asked, talking directly into his ear and loving the smile she received in response. He dropped the beer to the counter and turned.
“Holy hell.” Ryder let out a low wolf whistle and took her hand, turning her so she did a twirl on the spot. “Damn, you look good.”
It was the dress she pulled out when she wanted to impress, so she loved that Ryder had noticed. He was so tall she was able to wear five-inch heels and not even come close to meeting his height, and when he stood she looped her arm through his and leaned in close.
“Parker’s not going to know what hit him tonight.”
Ryder retrieved his arm and took hold of her hand instead, nodding to the guy standing outside the room they were about to walk into. It wasn’t like they needed an invite to go in, but someone had obviously made it clear they didn’t want just anyone wandering on in, not with the kind of money they bet in there on any given night.
