by Lexie Davis
“I came to bust Ryker’s balls.”
“Yeah?” Vampire snorted. “Are you making progress?”
“Getting there.”
Ryker left his friends to chat while he walked to the back. He needed to get in a workout before he gained ten pounds of fat from eating out all the time. Hell, he needed to learn how to cook, but he didn’t trust himself not to burn a pot of water. He spent a good thirty minutes lifting weights. Each flex of the barbell had his muscles straining and burning. Sweat dripped down his face until it fell into his eyes. He sat the weights down and swiped at the droplets.
“Your phone keeps buzzing.” Beth walked toward him and handed him the gadget.
He took it from her and saw Ella’s name on the caller ID. He answered it. “Yeah, babe?”
“Please tell me that you can talk right now.”
“Of course I can talk. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She blew out a harsh breath. “I’m on my break and I really needed to hear you voice.”
Beth tossed him a towel and Ryker caught it with one hand before dabbing it on the back of his neck.
“I just finished a workout. I’m all yours.”
“It’s been a really bad day.” She sighed. “I got thrown up against the desk by a mentally unstable man. I had another run through the ER naked with orderlies chasing him. It’s mental health day at the hospital.”
“Are you okay?” Ryker asked, keeping his eyes on Beth. She licked her lips and took a step toward him.
When he’d visited Rizzo’s club prior to dating Ella, Beth had been there, willing to entertain him for the weekend. It’d been pretty fucking good, but he didn’t see her the same now. Things were different.
Beth stood in front of him and brushed her hands along his sweaty chest. Ryker let out a slow breath before pulling his phone from his ear and pushing the mute button.
“I’ve missed you.” Beth slid her hand along his wet skin. “I know you’ve missed me too.”
Her hand dipped lower. Her soft fingers brushed against his abs before dipping even lower to the waistband of his shorts. Ryker grabbed her hand and pushed it away. So many people were hell-bent on proving to him that he couldn’t be a one-woman man. He shook his head slowly. Beth was every man’s fantasy, but he’d been there and done that. He had the woman he wanted and he didn’t need another.
“She doesn’t have to know.” Beth glanced at the phone in his hand. “We are attracted to each other, Ryker. Maybe one more time will get it out of our systems.”
He let her hand go and rubbed his forehead. “Attraction only goes so far, Beth. I have a life with Ella. A life I like. You may warm my bed, but she warms my soul. She’s the only woman in this world that has that kind of power. I am a guy and you are gorgeous, but there’s nothing between us. There never will be regardless of the past.”
Ryker took a step back and put the phone to his ear.
“Are you listening to me?” Ella asked.
He pushed the mute button and stood. “I’ve got bad reception in here, babe. Let me move to a different room.”
He moved past Beth and headed out to the main meeting area where they conducted club business. The room was peaceful and private. Nobody but voting members were allowed inside, and even then, only the hierarchy of the club could be in there alone. He went inside and closed the doors behind him.
“What were you saying, baby?”
“I said that I was okay. I have a bruise or two, but I’m fine.” She huffed a breath. “I also went on about one of my patients, but I don’t have enough time to repeat it.”
He rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry, babe. The workout room is in the middle of the club and my cell service isn’t that great. You can tell me about it when you get home.” Ryker sat on the edge of the table. “I’m glad you’re okay. Will you be home in a few hours?”
“I’m actually leaving early.”
“Yeah? When?”
“Now.” She sniffled. “Well, in an hour.”
“You want me to meet you there?”
“You don’t have to.” She paused a moment. “You sound like you’re busy.”
Ryker stared at his boots. “I’m never too busy for you.”
She laughed. “You saying stuff like that will start to make me swoon. I need to go. My break is up. Don’t get into too much trouble tonight.”
Ryker smiled. “I love you.”
He hung up and stared at his phone. There was the nagging thought in his head that ironically sounded like his father’s voice telling him that he wasn’t cut out for a life with Ella. Beth knew club life and she understood all the things Ella never would. It was a dark and dangerous road to even go there with his thoughts, but he couldn’t help it. The world had been against Ryker and Ella from the beginning. Other factors in their life only made it more complicated.
Chapter Three
Ella twisted the key in the lock to her apartment and opened the door. The inside was dark so she flipped the lights on before entering. She dropped her stuff in the foyer and walked to the kitchen. Since she’d skipped lunch earlier due to one of her patients running nude through the department, she needed something to eat. Nothing really appealed to her, but she grabbed a bag of chips and made a sandwich from the lunchmeat she had in the fridge. After selecting a soda, she settled on the sofa and flipped on the TV.
The news reported a woman had been found dead in the east side of town. Shot brutally with the gun left behind. Pictures of a shiny weapon flashed across the screen, and Ella frowned. So much violence filled the world. A lingering thought of Ryker and the club floated into her mind. She didn’t know much about the club, and wanted to keep it that way, but she really hoped he wasn’t still doing illegal stuff with his father out of the picture. He was a good man, and whatever business he had with the club didn’t need to contribute to the bodies making their way to her ER. Choosing to watch something happier, she found a comedy show she liked.
At some point, Ella fell asleep. When she woke, she groaned, rubbing the crick in her neck. She had the day off, but rest didn’t come easy for her. She grabbed her phone and went through her messages. Some friends at work had the day off too and invited her to go shopping with them. She rubbed her eyes and clicked on her father’s number, waiting for him to answer the phone.
“Hawkins.”
“Are you in a better mood tonight?”
“Ella.” He huffed a breath, groggy. “Are you okay?”
“Of course I’m okay.”
“Then what the fuck are you doing calling me this late at night?”
Ella pulled her phone from her ear and glanced at the clock. 2:30. Shit. “Sorry. I…I didn’t realize it was so late…early…whatever.”
He groaned. “Well, I’m up now. What did you want?”
Ella rubbed her forehead. “I want my dad back.”
He didn’t say anything and she stood, pacing. She didn’t know what to say to him. He was mad at her, and she couldn’t fix it. He would never believe that Ryker hadn’t intentionally hurt her.
“Ella, you made your bed. Now you have to lie in it.”
He hung up and Ella scoffed, tossing her phone to her side. She couldn’t begin process the cold disregard he had, so she didn’t try. After changing into one of Ryker’s t-shirts, she climbed into bed. She flipped on the TV for background noise and hugged her pillow to her. For once, she thought Ryker was wrong. Nothing was okay, and she was making herself sick over it.
Sunlight woke her next, and she cringed at the brightness filling the room. Ryker didn’t come home which didn’t surprise her. She got up and went to find her phone. He’d sent two text messages: One told her that he was staying at the club. The other was clearly a drunk sex-text. She rolled her eyes. She needed to find a way to relax. With work, her father, and Ryker filling her life, she had little time to actually do something for herself.
But after working so many hours in one week, she wanted to catch up on her sleep instead o
f going out. It wasn’t like her college days anymore. She didn’t have the stamina to party all night and work the next day, nor did she have the ability to need or want to do that. Going to the grocery store was a task, and she usually did that on her way home after work.
She sighed. When had she become an adult?
Ella ate breakfast and took a shower. At the very least, she could go shopping at the mall with her friends from work. A couple hours wouldn’t hurt her. It’d be nice to hang out with women for a change as well. She might even splurge on something she didn’t need. She smiled to herself. She needed to live a little.
Her phone rang, and she answered it.
“Hey.” Ryker’s groggy voice filled her ear.
“Did you just wake up?”
“Yeah.” He groaned.
She licked her lips. “Do you need something? I’m kinda in a hurry.”
“In a hurry for what? Today’s your day off.”
“I’ve got plans with some friends.” She grabbed her purse. “I’m on my way to meet them, actually.”
“You have friends?”
She stopped as if someone had splashed cold water in her face. Did he really think that about her? She wasn’t the partying type. She wasn’t a goof-off. While she didn’t have friends like he had friends, she did socialize when she got a chance. Granted, most of her friends worked with her, but that wasn’t the point. “Yes. I have friends. Why would you even ask me that?”
“Because I’ve never met them. Who are they?”
“Derek, Melody, and Loraine.” She frowned.
“Who are they?”
“Nurses.” Her brow furrowed more. “We’re having lunch and then we’re going shopping. Derek got a new place, and he wanted us to help him decorate it.”
“No.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“I’m coming home. Wait there.”
Before she could respond, he hung up. She dropped her phone in her purse. There was no way he was going to tell her what she could and could not do. He spent the night with women all around him. She wasn’t stupid; some probably came on to him. Maybe they even copped a feel. He had no right to tell her that she couldn’t do a normal thing like eat lunch with people she usually ate lunch with.
Ella locked the door to her apartment and went down the stairs to her car.
The loud motorcycle engine roared behind her and she turned, watching as he pulled in the parking spot next to hers. He looked like he’d been partying all night. His hair and clothes were a rumpled mess. He had blood-shot eyes.
“Are you using again?” she asked.
“What? No.” He dismounted the bike. “Why would you ask me that?”
“You look horrible.” She unlocked her car and sat her stuff inside the driver’s seat. “It’s pretty ballsy to tell me what I can and cannot do to. What exactly is the issue here?”
“There are people being killed that fit your profile. I don’t want you walking around town like you’re not a target.” He smelled of stale alcohol and cigarette smoke.
“I’m not a target.”
“Ella, don’t fight me on this.” He walked around the car and rested his cocked hip against the front fender. “You’re not going out without some protection.”
“Get over yourself. I’m going to do what I want.” Ella turned, and he grabbed her arm.
She looked into his eyes and found a dangerous mix of possessiveness and violence there. In all the events that had transpired between them, she’d never been scared of him. He was dangerous on a good day, but right now, he was a heady mixture of something else. Something darker, and something she’d never seen in him before. She jerked her arm and shoved at his chest to get him to let her go. His gripped tightened around her wrist to the point that it became uncomfortable.
“Let me go. Don’t you dare grab me again.”
His chest puffed out as he clenched his teeth. “You’re not going out.”
“You do not make those decisions for me.”
He pulled her away from her car and stepped in front of her. For the first time in their relationship, fear crept up her spine. He really wanted to fight with her? He was holding her back like she was someone he commanded to do his will.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Ella waited, and he didn’t budge. She tried to move past him, and he blocked her. “Get out of my fucking way.”
“You’re not going out.” Ryker leaned against the door with his arms folded.
All her mother’s warnings came back in a rush. Abusive. Controlling. For the first time since they’d started dating, he looked like the biker that he was. Like a younger version of his father.
Feeling defeated, Ella stepped back. “Is this what our life is like now? You telling me what I can and cannot do?”
“You’re not going out,” he repeated.
“You don’t have any fucking right to tell me what I can and cannot do. I’m not some little slave to you. You stay out partying, drinking, and fucking anything you want. You come home whenever the hell you feel like it and leave on a whim when there’s club business. Fuck you, Ryker.”
“I don’t fuck anything I want, Ella.”
“Maybe not, but those women are there if you ever change your mind.”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “That argument is getting old. Just because I stay out or I’m at the club doesn’t mean I’m shoving my dick where it doesn’t belong.”
She snorted. “And you expect me to believe that?”
The storm swirling in his eyes grew darker. “I expect you to trust me, yes.”
She didn’t know if she did. She wanted to believe he was an asshole and slept around on her any time he thought about it. It went with the lifestyle. He could cheat on her. How would she really know any different? It wasn’t like she went to the club with him. She never wanted to grace the doors of that place again after all the crap she’d had to deal with in the past.
Did she believe that he kept his dick in his pants? Deep inside, she did. It didn’t comfort her though. He took too many liberties with the club life and just expected her to accept it without question. To some extent, she knew this going in. What she hated were the rules she didn’t understand. He deliberately kept her in the dark on a lot of things, and at some point she had to determine ignorance was not bliss.
It was hell.
“Not anymore.” Ella glanced away. “This behavior doesn’t make you worthy of my trust. You stay out all hours of the night. You party with those skanks. You’ve slept with half of them, if not all at some point. And you just expect me to be okay with you doing whatever the hell it is that you do—because I really don’t know—and yet I’m not allowed to go out with my non-criminal friends.”
Her anger fumed the longer she faced him. He didn’t want her to have male friends. That was not okay with her. If she was expected to trust him, then why couldn’t he trust her without throwing some paranoia in the mix about her being in danger? She lived in the fucking city. Danger was all around if you looked hard enough for it. She couldn’t be scared to live her life or forced to live it according to his standards.
“We are past me blindly trusting you in our relationship. You want me to trust you, then you need to be a little more open with what the hell it is that you do. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know, but I’m not tolerating the double standard.”
He reached for her, and she jerked away.
“Don’t touch me.”
He dropped his arm to his side.
“I don’t want you to come near me again.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Yes,” she snarled. “I do.”
He tilted his head. “When you’re done fuming, we’ll see.”
“I don’t want to be anywhere near you.”
“Too bad.”
She debated how she could get past him and into her car. When she didn’t come up with a plan, she charged him and tried to tackle him. Ryker
was bigger and it was a stupid idea, but she didn’t care. He locked is arms around her, holding her tight enough that she couldn’t move.
“Why are you doing this? I’m not some club whore that you can order around.”
“No, you’re not.” He squeezed her a little tighter. “You’re still not going out.”
“Why? Because you know that there are men out there that would actually treat me decent? Men my father would actually like. Those men wouldn’t stand in front of the fucking door and prevent me from going out with my friends. Yeah. The competition is fierce out there. I don’t know why I even fucking bother with you.”
“There is no competition,” he whispered in her ear. “But sweetheart, if there was, I’d win every time.”
He lifted her over his shoulder, with her kicking the whole time he carried her up the stairs to their apartment. Everything she did didn’t faze him. Once they were inside, he let her slide down his body before pulling her to him and cupping her ass. She shoved against him, turning her head as his mouth found a tender spot on her neck.
“Get off me.” Her voice was low and shaky. She didn’t quite meet his gaze. “This is not happening.”
“No?” He nibbled along her neck.
“I’m not going to tell you again, Ryker. Get off me.”
He pulled back. Instead of letting her go, he switched their positions so that she was pushed up against the door.
“You want truth? Your father asked me to help him find the scum going around killing women in town. Women fit your fucking profile. I spent all fucking night trying to use every goddamn connection I have to figure out who the hell is behind this bullshit. I got some leads, but until I know for sure, you’re not leaving my sight. I don’t give one flying fuck if you’re pissed off at me. A pissed-off Ella is better than a dead Ella, so deal with it, sweetheart.”
She swallowed hard. He crowded into her personal space. His warm breath fanned her lips as her temper simmered.
“You can’t prevent me from living my life because you’re scared.”
“Do you hear yourself? I want to wring your neck sometimes.”
