Chapter 12
GAUGE
Ifollowed Jax down the narrow hallway toward his office, my shoulders tight with tension and unease. The look he'd given me was replaying in my mind, unreadable but loaded enough that my instincts were already screaming warnings.
When we stepped inside, I wasn’t surprised to see Kane and Edge already waiting, their expressions carefully neutral in a way that immediately put me on guard.
Jax closed the door behind us and moved around his desk, sinking onto the chair and reaching for his keyboard with practiced efficiency.
He glanced up at me, hesitation flickering in his gaze before he spoke. “Got a ping tonight. On Riley’s name.”
A cold weight dropped into the pit of my stomach as I held Jax’s gaze.
He kept tabs on every person connected to the Redline Kings, from brothers to prospects, employees, and even regular contractors.
If anyone’s name showed up in police records, news reports, or any databases we monitored, Jax always knew about it before anyone else did.
We relied on him to stay ahead of trouble, so we could handle shit before it ever had a chance to become a real problem.
“What kind of ping?” Every muscle in my body had gone rigid with apprehension. “What came up?”
Kane stepped forward, his gaze unflinching as he met my gaze. “An arrest warrant. Issued tonight.”
The silence that followed his words felt deafening. I stared back at Kane, processing the information rapidly, my mind racing through every moment I’d spent with Riley over the past several weeks. It didn't make sense—nothing about her lined up with the idea of someone who deserved a warrant.
She was secretive, guarded, and clearly scared of something, but I knew her well enough by now to know exactly what kind of person she was underneath all those layers of caution.
Riley wasn’t a criminal, and every instinct I possessed was screaming that whatever was going on, she was innocent.
I trusted my gut without hesitation. And I trusted her, even if I still didn’t know exactly what had sent her running.
Edge watched me closely, clearly sensing the tension that had settled heavily over me. “Look, Gauge. I like Riley. She’s good people. And talented as fuck. But this is a warrant. We need to know what we’re dealing with.”
Kane nodded. “We’re not saying she did anything wrong. But we need answers. We can’t have something blowing up on us later because we didn’t handle it now.”
“I know,” I agreed, my voice tight as I struggled to hold on to my temper. “But I’m telling you right now—whatever this is, Riley isn’t guilty. Something else is going on here. She’s scared, but not from guilt. I’d bet my life on it.”
“You’d bet the club on it?” Kane murmured, his tone unreadable, but definitely not accusatory.
I nodded. “I’ll talk to her, get the truth, and we’ll deal with it.”
Edge flipped his knife shut and shoved it in his pocket as he leaned his hip back against Jax’s desk, his fingers curling around the edge on either side of him.
“Gauge, nobody here doubts your judgment—especially when it comes to your woman. But this isn’t something we can just sit on.
You need to get this sorted out fast, brother. ”
Kane gave a short nod of agreement. “I’ll give you until morning to handle it. But tomorrow, I want answers and a plan. She’s yours, and we protect our own. But we need to know exactly what we’re protecting her from.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I assured them again, leaving no room for doubt.
The only thing I could think about was getting back out there to Riley. I needed to see her face, look into her eyes, and for her to finally trust me enough to share the truth.
I stalked out of Jax’s office without another word, leaving the three of them standing in heavy silence behind me. The lounge was crowded when I returned, brothers and old ladies mingling easily, laughing and talking as if nothing had changed except them moving inside.
But Riley stood slightly apart, watching me with wary curiosity as I approached her. My expression must have given something away, because her posture shifted minutely, the casual ease of earlier replaced by cautious tension.
“Everything okay?” Her eyes narrowed as she studied my face, clearly trying to read my expression.
“We need to go,” I told her simply, reaching out and gripping her hand firmly in mine, my thumb brushing possessively over her knuckles as I turned her toward the exit.
She hesitated briefly, uncertainty flickering across her face. “Is something wrong, Ryot?”
“Not here.” I shook my head, my voice low enough for only her to hear. “We’ll talk when we’re alone.”
She didn’t argue, though anxiety tightened her grip on my hand. Riley trusted me enough to follow without pushing further, even if the questions were clearly burning behind her eyes. I guided her outside toward my Harley, my body tense with tightly restrained impatience.
We put on our helmets, and she climbed on behind me without hesitation, her arms sliding around my waist as I started the engine.
The warmth of her pressed against my back steadied my racing pulse, and I pushed away thoughts of what we were about to face for the few precious moments it took to get us home.
When we reached the house, I killed the engine and helped Riley off the bike, leading her silently inside, my hand never leaving hers. Once we crossed the threshold, I shut the door behind us and guided her toward the living room, settling her carefully onto the couch.
Her dark eyes were wide and wary, tracking my every movement as I stood over her, tension radiating from my body. I didn’t want to scare her, but I also couldn’t afford to let her pull back now. I knelt in front of her, keeping myself at her eye level, close enough to hold her attention completely.
There was no easy way around this. I had to confront it directly, and Riley had to trust me enough to finally let me in. Whatever had sent her running was about to come out, and I was determined to face it with her, no matter the cost.
My fingers brushed softly over her knuckles, reassuring her, even though my voice came out firm.
“Jax monitors all of our people with alerts set up to let him know if our names show up in any kind of social media, police records, court filings, news reports, whatever. Then we know before anything becomes a problem.” I watched her expression closely as I continued.
“Jax got a ping tonight. An arrest warrant was issued with your name on it.”
The color drained out of her face. Her eyes widened, and her entire body went rigid beneath my hands, genuine panic flashing across her features before she could hide it.
“What?” she whispered, shaking her head immediately. “No. No, that can’t—” She broke off and dragged both hands through her hair, looking genuinely blindsided. “They actually issued a warrant?”
The reaction told me more than anything she’d said in the last two weeks. Riley wasn’t reacting like somebody who’d been checking over her shoulder because she knew law enforcement was closing in. She looked shocked. And terrified.
Whatever had put that wary look in her eyes and made her ask about security before comfort, it hadn’t been the police.
Her breathing had gone shallow, her gaze darting around the room as if she was trying to think ten steps ahead and couldn’t find solid ground anywhere. I tightened my grip on her hands before she could spiral any further, forcing her attention back to me.
“Riley, it’s time. I need you to trust me with whatever it is you’ve been running from. I’m done waiting, baby. I need the truth, and I need it now. I can’t help if I don’t know what we’re facing.”
Her eyes widened further, startled by the bluntness of my demand, and her lips parted as she took a shaky breath. She searched my face, anxiety and fear warring openly in her expression. “You—you don’t want to ask me if I did it first?”
“I already know you didn’t do it, baby.” I tightened my grip slightly on her hand, hoping she could feel the conviction behind my words. “What I need are details. Tell me exactly what’s going on so I can protect you. I can’t fix whatever problem you’re dealing with unless I know the truth.”
She blinked rapidly, clearly taken aback by my immediate trust in her innocence. Vulnerability surfaced beneath the careful guard she usually kept firmly in place as she asked, “How do you know I didn’t do it?”
I refused to let her glance away. “Because the woman I fell in love with is honest, kind, independent, and the hardest worker I’ve ever met.
You’re strong as hell—a total fucking badass.
Someone like you doesn’t need to steal. You wouldn’t even consider it.
Besides, with your talent, you’ll never have a reason to resort to something like that anyway. ”
Her eyes grew huge at my words, a stunned expression crossing her features, and I realized exactly what I’d blurted out. Heat rose briefly up my neck as the realization hit me fully that I’d just told Riley I loved her in the middle of demanding the truth from her.
But the words were already out there, and there was no chance of taking them back. Not that I wanted to.
Her reaction threw me off completely, though. Her mouth hung open slightly, and she seemed stuck, still processing exactly what I’d admitted.
“You—you love me?” she choked out.
I exhaled, shaking my head in mild exasperation that she would doubt my words.
“For fuck’s sake, Riley, of course I love you.
” I leaned closer and cupped her jaw in my hand, brushing my thumb gently along her cheekbone.
“You really think I’d practically move you into my house, sleep with you every single night, and fuck you without protection every chance I get if I wasn’t completely gone for you? ”
Something cracked open in her then, her breath catching on a sob as her eyes filled with tears. Without warning, she threw her arms around my neck, burying her face in the crook of my shoulder as she finally released the tension she’d carried alone for so long.
I wrapped my arms around her tightly, holding her close as her body shook with emotion, my heart pounding fiercely at the vulnerability she’d finally allowed me to see.
“I love you too,” she eventually whispered against my neck, her voice trembling. “I didn’t want to tell you because I was so afraid you wouldn’t believe me, that you’d look at me differently if you knew the truth. I’m so tired, Ryot. Of running. Hiding. Tired of trying to handle everything alone.”
I pressed my mouth against her hair, breathing her in as relief and protectiveness rushed through me.
“Good.” I tightened my grip around her slender frame. “That means you’re finally going to tell me everything. We’ll deal with this together.”
Riley drew back slowly, wiping tears from her cheeks and taking a deep breath, visibly trying to steady herself as determination settled into her expression.
She looked at me almost cautiously and tilted her head.
“Wait—what exactly did you mean earlier about me not needing to steal because of how talented I am?”
I chuckled, brushing another tear gently from her cheek with the pad of my thumb.
“Garage you were working at obviously didn’t want you to know just how valuable your skill set really is.
You have no idea how far your career can go once the big players start noticing you.
And trust me, baby, they already have.” I let her see how completely serious I was.
“Mechanics with your ability, instincts, and your specialty in racing aren’t easy to find.
Kane’s already been after me to get you locked down under a long-term contract with Redline Holdings, and he’s willing to pay an obscene amount of money to keep you working on our machines instead of the ones competing against us. ”
She blinked, clearly shocked by my revelation, her lips parting as she processed the information. Her brows knitted together in confusion, as if she couldn’t quite believe what I’d just said. “Why the heck didn’t you tell me this before now?”
I shrugged, my mouth curving slightly at her reaction. “Didn’t want you staying here just for the money Kane’s willing to throw at you. Wanted you to stay with me because it’s what you want.”
Her eyes narrowed briefly, obviously annoyed that I would assume she’d let money influence her decision.
“I wouldn’t—” she broke off, her expression turning calculating. But amusement sparkled beneath it. She was clearly fighting a cheeky smile. “How much money, exactly?”
I narrowed my eyes, leaning closer so our mouths were just inches apart. “You’d rather have a fat paycheck than my mouth between your thighs, making you scream, or my cock buried so deep inside you that you can’t even form words?”
Riley pretended to think it over for a second but lost the battle to hide the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Hmm, maybe I need you to remind me exactly how good those things are before I make up my mind.”
Heat surged through my veins, my cock already painfully hard as my mouth brushed hers in a hungry, possessive kiss. “Trust me, baby. I’m more than happy to remind you.”