Ryder

by Ali Parker

  "There." I lifted my hand to point to them before I dropped back down on my side. I blinked a few times and growled as someone pulled me by my arms back away from the house.

  "He alright?" Flex dropped down beside me.

  "Yeah. Give him some fucking room." Axel growled.

  "I'm good." I rolled onto my stomach and tried to get up. The world spun a little, but I reached out and grabbed Axel's arm. "Fuck. Did the-"

  "Yeah. The goddamn house exploded." Jax walked up. "Unbelievable. You know how much money that fucking house was probably worth?"

  "King doesn't care." Sabian reached out and patted the side of my face. "Ryder. You alright, boss?"

  "Yeah. Someone lit that fucker on us." I pointed again. "I know I saw Cade drive off, but there was a woman with him."

  "Candace?" Axel asked.

  "I don't know. I don't think so." My head throbbed painfully as worry danced deep inside of me. Had Dani been on the back of that bike? Was that her promise to Tanner? She'd told me straight up that she was to deliver me to him. What better way to do it than piss me off with the idea that Tan was fucking with my girl. That he had somehow hurt her or kidnapped her?

  Was Jason in on it too? He'd been the one to plant the seed.

  "Hey. Stay with us, buddy." Axel was in my face. "You alright."

  "Yeah. Get the hell outta my personal space." I pushed at his chest and walked away from them as the fire burned bright behind me. I had to get myself together. I was getting paranoid. We'd come to take Tanner out, and the bastard had almost single handedly taken all of us out - together.

  He couldn't have pulled that off alone.

  Not without the help of someone close to me.

  Or several someones.

  *

  It took a while to get back to the lodge, but when we did, Candace was still there. The bartender confirmed that she'd been there the whole time, and hadn't used her phone once. She was pretty pissed when I insinuated that she was in with Tanner.

  "Axel. Take her to your place, man." I pointed at her and narrowed my eyes. "I find out that you were involved in this shit and you're gonna wish you never showed up here for help."

  "Jon. Seriously?" She locked her jaw.

  "Yeah. I'm dead serious right now." I nodded at Axel, who gave me a look of understanding. He had my back, even if it meant taking my pregnant ex-girlfriend to his place until things could calm down. "I'm going home to sleep for a few hours. I'll touch base later. Thanks for tonight."

  "Anything for you, boss. Sorry, it got fucked up." Sabian's voice followed me out of the lodge as he and the other guys tried to figure things out.

  Frustration and fury burned deep in my stomach as I reached my bike and got on it. If Candace hadn't left the lodge, then who the fuck was on the back of Cade's bike? There were only a few choices, and really only one that made sense.

  Danielle.

  "No," I mumbled and started the bike, deciding to forgo the helmet. Death was coming for me sooner rather than later. I might as well enjoy living on the edge until it showed up.

  The ride home helped to calm me down a little, but not nearly as much as I needed it to. The sound of someone in my dining room when I walked in had me on edge.

  "Don't pull out that gun." Tanner walked out from the kitchen with his gun in his hand. Cade sat at my kitchen table with his gun pointed right at me.

  "I can't believe we mattered enough tonight for you to blow up your daddy's old mansion." I put my gun on the table and walked to the kitchen, moving around them like they were guests in my house. I grabbed a beer and popped the top, drinking half of it before walking back out and sitting down at the kitchen table. "Your mom would be heartbroken if she knew that house was trashed. She sold a lot of pussy for that place."

  "Fuck you, Jon." Tanner hit me in the back of the head - hard.

  I took another sip of my beer and leaned back, letting out a sigh. "What can I do for you boys tonight?"

  "You know why I'm here." He moved around me and pulled a chair right up to mine before dropping into it.

  I reached out and gripped his head, smacking mine into it and busting his nose.

  "Boss?" Cade stood and moved closer, his gun pointed right at my face.

  "You fucker. I shouldn't have fallen for that." Tanner gripped his nose and smiled as blood dripped down his white shirt. "How many times have you broken my goddamn nose?"

  "Too many to count." I finished my beer and let out a growl before shifting my attention to Tanner's boy. "So tell me something, you big fucker."

  "What?" Cade barked out as he reached over to get a towel off the kitchen table. He tossed it at Tanner.

  "Who was on the back of your bike tonight? Out at Tanner's momma's house?"

  "Dani." Cade tilted his head to the side and smiled. "Who did you think it was? Your baby momma?"

  "What do you want from me, Tan?" I leaned back in my chair as if I was more than relaxed having them both in my house. It wasn't a surprise. Tanner King was predictable at best. He didn't want to fight. He wanted loyalty. He wanted to feel like I belonged to him like I was still in his camp.

  "I need that file. Dani has it in her desk drawer, brother. Ask for it."

  "I'm not your brother, mother fucker. You were dead to me a long time ago. You know this."

  Tanner chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "Axel never made it home with Candace."

  "What are you talking about?" I tried to keep my voice steady even though my nerves were on edge.

  "One of my guys put a bullet in her head about a mile from the lodge." He shrugged. "And you're welcome."

  "What?" I moved to grab him, but Cade pushed me back.

  I stumbled over my chair and fell on my ass, hitting my already-sore head on the wall behind me. "You killed your own fucking sister?"

  "Yeah. For you." He shrugged and stood up. "That wasn't your baby, man. She was a whore like mom was."

  He was a sick motherfucker when we were younger, but he'd gone off the deep end now.

  I reached for my phone, searching for it. "Fuck."

  "Candace slipped it out of your pocket at the lodge for me." He pulled the rag from his face and moved closer to me. "Women can't be trusted, Jon. You know this. All of them are sick bitches, and they deserve what they get. Candace didn't care about you, neither does this cop."

  "Get out or shoot me, bitch. I'm too tired for this shit." I turned to get up, and he kicked the hell out of my ribs. Blood dripped from my mouth as I groaned and still forced myself to stand. "Get out."

  "Get the file."

  "Or?"

  "Don't ask, man. I have no soul. I'll take anyone and everyone out." He patted my back.

  I swatted his hand away. "Whose baby was it, Tanner?"

  "Jason's." He laughed and walked to the door. "Get the file, and the cop can go free. Otherwise, we'll dope her ass up and send her off to the next orgy as a free-for-all. Just like I did her sister, Tani. Super horny slut. I wonder if Dani is any better."

  A scream of rage erupted from me as I forced myself toward him. "I fucking hate you."

  "I know." He backed up and motioned for Cade to join him. "I hate you too."

  Chapter 24

  Dani

  I didn't sleep a wink the night before. I couldn't. Too many worries kept me up. For some reason, it felt like I had so much more to lose than I already had.

  After the sun filled my living room with light, I texted Johnny. I had to see him. It was time to clear things up between us. He was more than happy to meet me at a small coffee shop I loved hear NYU. DeLuca. The coffee was fresh, and the people were nice.

  I needed some normalcy in my life for a few minutes. Maybe being around other people in a crowded place with the man I was falling in love with would do the trick.

  Doubtful, but maybe.

  After getting dressed, I walked down to the parking lot to find Johnny standing beside his black Mustang. "Hey, beautiful."

  "Hi." I walked up to him and sl
id my hands up his chest. "We need to talk. I want all this shit between us cleaned up."

  "Even if Tanner King kills us both for doing it?" He slid his hands over my hips and rested his fingers on the top curve of my ass. "Cause all he wants is to take you from me, Dani."

  "Do I belong to you?" I pressed my chest against his and breathed in deeply. The scent of his cologne lit my body on fire. There wasn't another man in my life or from my past that I remembered being able to do that with.

  "Do you want to?" He brushed my hair back and leaned down to kiss me.

  The softness of his lips against mine lifted my spirit. He wasn't involved in the situation at the precinct or with Tani. He wasn't the bastard that Tanner had tried to make him out to be. He couldn't be.

  And if he was... I was going to take my chances and find out for myself.

  "Coffee?" He touched his forehead to mine and smiled. "You want to go have a cup of coffee like a bunch of yuppies while the world is burning down around us?"

  "With you? Yeah. I do." I kissed him and moved back. "Let's figure all of this out and put Tanner King in the ground if we can."

  "I tried that last night." He walked around the car and got in as I got into my side. "He blew up the building around me. I was lucky to get the guys out of there before we all lost our fucking lives."

  "Shit." I buckled and reached over, wanting to touch him. "He ran me off the road last weekend and I sunk to the bottom of the river near your house."

  "Danielle! Fuck, baby." He turned and moved toward me, grabbing me roughly. The worry in his eyes was enough to melt me completely. "Why didn't you tell me that shit?"

  "Because I wanted to try and do my part by myself. I don't need to be saved, Johnny."

  "What if I do?" He kissed me passionately, forcing his tongue deep into my mouth. I gave into him and closed my eyes as the world melted around me. Nothing mattered but the feeling of his fingers in my hair, his warm palm pressed against my cheek, his passion filling up the car. He broke the kiss and smiled. "I might have to drag you back upstairs and give you a good fucking before coffee."

  I laughed and leaned back in my seat. "After we get this figured out, let's rent a room in a nice hotel and not leave for a week."

  "I'm down with that." He licked his lips and put his hands on the steering wheel. "Tell me everything that happened with Tanner, baby. I need to know."

  I took a deep breath and let it spill out. All of it. The sex traffic busts, saving Caroline, her telling Tanner my name, our shared kiss, getting driven off the bridge, kidnapped and the fucker being in my house. There wasn't a moment I left out just in case he knew anything about what I'd been through already.

  "Dani." He pulled up in front of DeLuca and faced me. "I would never cheat on a woman. Not ever. I wasn't with anyone when I fucked Candace."

  "Tell me what happened with you."

  "I will. Let's grab a cup of coffee, and I'll spill." He leaned over and kissed me once more before getting out of the car. I met him at the front of the Mustang, and he took my hand and lifted my fingers to his lips, kissing them as we walked toward the cafe.

  The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled my nose as I walked in and let the place calm my soul.

  "Hey, guys. I'm Jenna. What can I get started for you today?" A pretty girl at the counter smiled at us.

  "Hazelnut latte and whatever this big guy is having." I moved up and pressed my hands to the counter.

  "Big?" Johnny walked up and smiled down at me. "That a hint?"

  "She just called you fat, brother."

  We turned as a good looking blond guy walked up and offered his hand to Johnny.

  "Nate. Good to see again man. Sorry it's so soon." Johnny pulled the guy in for a hug before turning to me. "This is my girl, Dani."

  "Good to meet you, Dani. This is my girl, Jenna. The one I came by the shop for the other day." Nate nodded to the cute girl behind the counter.

  I turned around and extended my hand. "Small world?"

  "I guess." Jenna turned her attention back to Nate. "How do you and Johnny know each other?"

  Nate shrugged. "I don't even remember the first time our paths crossed."

  "Me either, but I feel sorry for you knowing they did." Johnny chuckled and reached for me. "Alright. It's private time with my lady. Get lost, Nate. You're too much of a pretty boy to have you hanging around us."

  Nate rolled his eyes. "See you later, my man."

  "Later." Johnny turned back to Jenna. "Sorry you ended up with that guy."

  She laughed. "I'm not. He's my everything."

  "I like that." I snuggled against Johnny and glanced up at him. "I'll grab a table."

  "I'll get the drinks." He released me and walked over to the end of the bar.

  I made my way to a private table near the window, sitting down and lifting my eyes to study him. His jeans were low on his hips like they always were. His ass looked damn good in them, but they were nothing compared to the thick muscles of his arms and back as they pressed against his shirt. I wanted that week in a hotel with him. I needed to touch every part of him, to taste his skin and hear his moan for me.

  "What are you thinking about?" Johnny sat down and handed me a cup of coffee.

  "Tasting you." I glanced down at my cup and back up at him. Embarrassment raged through me.

  He lifted an eyebrow. "Don't let me stop you, pretty girl."

  "Let's get all this shit over with." I reached across the table and touched his arm. "Real quick. Tanner made me swallow a tracker."

  Fury covered Johnny's handsome face. "He did what? Forced something in your mouth?"

  I nodded. "Your turn. I just want you to know that wherever I am for the next few weeks, he'll be able to find me."

  "No, he won't. I'm going to put a bullet in his head tonight." He leaned back. "He told me that he'd kill you, my brothers, my sisters, and Jason if I didn't get the physical file on him from the police station."

  "Did you have anything to do with someone hacking the system at the police station and wiping out all the electronic files?"

  "Nope, but I will tell you that someone on the force had to do that. It's not something an outside hacker could do." He shook his head as he watched me closely. "Someone high up."

  "My Captain?" I lowered my voice. "He's the one that handed me the fucking file and told me to keep it in my desk. It was too much honestly. As if he knew you would be asking for it."

  "I doubt it was that well communicated, but if he gave you the file, then he's the one. No one hands over a file on a man like Tanner King without knowing what he's doing." He picked up his cup. "We need to get the file and make it look like we're following along just like he told us to."

  I nodded. "Tell me what to do."

  "Go get the file and meet me at the playground where Jason smoked dope. I'll tell Tanner that we have the file and to meet us out there." He paused and sat back, his mood shifting way too fast. "Dani. Where were you last night?"

  "With my dad. I met him at the church, put flowers on Tani's grave and then we had dinner at his house. Why?"

  "There was a woman out at the mansion. Tanner's mansion. I didn't get to make out who she was, but it wasn't Candace."

  "Have you asked her? It very well could have been-"

  "She's dead, baby. Tanner shot her in the head."

  I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands. "His own sister?"

  "His own pregnant sister." Johnny glanced down as sorry filled his voice. "She was pregnant with Jason's baby."

  "She slept with you and your nephew?" The horror kept rolling over me in thicker and thicker waves.

  "Oh yeah. She was a slut and a half, but Tanner was the cause of that. He used her up every chance he got for his business."

  "I thought you were dating her."

  "I was when I was a kid. We ended it and just saw each other off and on." He shrugged. "I have no clue if she ever really cared about me." His dark blue eyes locked on mine as he glanced up. "And I don'
t care anymore. Let's fix this shit and try to see where we can go."

  "I'm moving back into sex crimes. It's my calling in life."

  "Then I'll help."

  "You want to join the police force?"

  "Be realistic, woman. I'm not joining the good guy crew, but if you're going into a hotspot, I'm going in with you." He leaned back and lifted his cup to his lips. "Tanner didn't touch you did he, Danielle?"

  "No. Not at all." I stared my man in the face and held my chin up. "And I hope you know that I never would have ever handed you over to him. No matter what."

  He smiled. "I believe that with all my heart, baby girl. It's gonna get fucking ugly before it gets better. You ready to make this shit happen."

  I nodded. "If it means we get to live free of Tanner King when it's all said and done? Yeah, I'm ready."

  Chapter 25

  Ryder

  I took Dani back to her place and dropped her off, kissing the hell out of her several times before I let her get out of the car. Every cell in my body screamed for me to go upstairs and make love to her before the night fell. Things would never be the same after that night. One way or another, we were going to find freedom. And not just for ourselves, but for all the women that Tanner enslaved in his fucked up sex trafficking business.

  After watching my girl walk up to her apartment, I pulled out and headed to the shop. A sense of calm had settled over me by the time I pulled up to the garage. The sound of several tools running mixed with the smell of gasoline and tires made it feel like home.

  "Hey. Anyone here?" I stopped at the opening to the garage and looked around.

  "Johnny. I tried to call last night, brother." Axel walked out and extended his hand to me. "Candace got hit in the back of the head on the ride home last night. I tried to get to her as fast as I could, but she swerved off the road and into the gorge. It was fucking ugly man."

  "I know. Tanner told me." I took his hand and pulled him in for a quick hug.

  "The baby, dude."