Chapter 5
Chapter Five
STELLA
The deep dive I’d planned on doing of Alpha Omega turned out to be shallower than a puddle thanks to my lack of tech savviness as well as extremely limited information online.
The company had a website, but it was bare bones.
There were no testimonials, no “about us” section, and no service list or prices.
All I could find were perfunctory descriptions of the men who worked there, consisting of which branch of the military they were in, their years of service, and their ranks.
That was literally it. There weren’t even pictures beside their names, which I found incredibly disappointing since I really wanted to see that Weston Scott guy again.
There was something seriously wrong with me.
I’d just been threatened by a hairy giant, my entire family was in danger, and I was caught boosting a man’s wallet for the first time ever.
Things were soap-opera-level dire, and instead of thinking about all of that, I was obsessively searching the internet for a complete stranger just because he had a gorgeous face and rockin’ body. My priorities were seriously jacked.
I was in the middle of scrolling through all the Weston Scotts on social media when I was interrupted by the rattling of my doorknob. I wasn’t going to be caught by surprise a second time. This time, I was going to have the upper hand.
Snatching up the baseball bat that was propped beside my bed, I shot up, running across the mattress on bare feet in a rush to get to the door just as it opened and banged against the chain lock.
“Get the hell out of here, or I swear to God, I’m gonna bash your skull in.”
“Stella?”
All the air whooshed out of my lungs as my arms holding the bat above my head fell in relief. “Serenity?”
My sister’s beautiful face peeked through the three-inch opening, her cheeks smushed together. “Why’s your door chained? And why are you threatening me with your old T-ball bat?”
“Get your face out of the door so I can let you in,” I ordered, my heart still pounding against my breast like a snare drum.
Serenity moved back, and I quickly slammed the door shut and yanked the chain lock off.
“Come on, get in here,” I muttered, grabbing my sister by the arm and jerking her inside as I did a quick scan of my front stoop.
With the coast clear, I shut and locked the door again before leaning back against it and heaving out a breath.
“What’s going on?” Serenity asked, staring at me like I’d grown a horn out of the center of my forehead. “You’re kind of freaking me out.”
I heaved out a sigh, resting the bat by the door as I raked a hand through my still-damp hair, and started for the kitchen.
“It’s been a long night,” I answered offhandedly as I opened the fridge and pulled out a beer.
I tried to save them for special occasions since I didn’t really have the money to keep myself stocked, but after tonight, I desperately needed one.
I lifted it to my sister and cocked my head. “Want one?”
“No thanks.” She waved me off and moved to my bed, the only piece of furniture that fit inside the tiny space, and sat on the edge. “So what happened? Is this about that weird feeling you had at the bar?”
If only I were that lucky. I drank down a quarter of the can before joining my sister on my bed, grabbing the mountain of pillows I slept with and tucking them behind me so I could lean comfortably against the wall. “No. This is about the visitor waiting for me when I got home.”
Her top lip curled up in distaste. “Ew. It wasn’t your pervy landlord, was it? That guy is like a ten on the creep-o-meter.”
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the wall. “Nope. It wasn’t him this time. I almost would have preferred that.”
Serenity sucked in a gasp. “Please tell me it wasn’t Jason. I swear to God, Spence is going to kill that loser one day. And I’ll be right there to help him dispose of the body.”
I let out a snort and gulped back more beer.
In the past, just the thought of my ex would have sent me into a tailspin.
For a year after our breakup, no one in my family dared to mention his name, even if it had been to issue threats of bodily harm, for fear it would set off the waterworks and leave me a snotty, splotchy-faced, emotional mess for days at a time.
Looking back, it was hard to believe I’d ever thought he was my soul mate, but I had.
I’d poured every single bit of myself into that relationship, trying my hardest to be the best girlfriend who had ever existed.
I’d convinced myself I loved him more than life itself, that he was The One, capital letters and everything.
I thought we were going to get married, have tons of babies, and live happily ever after.
I’d loved him so much, or at least thought I had, that I’d completely changed myself for him.
I’d even gone so far as to insist my family hid their . . . talents whenever he was around.
We’d been broken up for a year before I realized it wasn’t him I was in love with, but the promise of a nice, quiet, normal life with a nice, normal guy.
I’d put all my eggs in the Jason Valentine basket, thinking he was my ticket out of the lifestyle I’d grown up in.
I didn’t know what the hell I wanted to do, but I did know I didn’t want to make my living stealing from other people.
Hindsight was an exceptional bitch. She took her sweet time revealing the truth, letting me suffer a broken heart for months before hitting me with that little epiphany.
And because I had to have been one of the unluckiest people ever, right around the time I figured out I was better off without Jason, he’d come to the realization he made a huge mistake by dumping me, and decided he wanted me back.
For six months I’d been trying to shake the guy, but he was harder to get rid of than head lice in a kindergarten classroom.
The longer he followed after me like a lovesick puppy trying to “win” me back by annoying me into submission, the harder it was to believe I’d ever loved this man.
Forcing my eyes open, I looked at my sister’s pretty face. “You guys never liked him.”
Serenity let out a snort. “Of course we didn’t. The guy was a tool.”
“I know, I know.” I let out a weary sigh. “Because he’d never understand the life. You were right. You always said once he found out what we were about, he’d take off running, and that’s exactly what he did.” At least for a little while. Now I couldn’t get him off my ass.
“I’m not talking about the fact that he was a straight-laced, pinch-faced, judge-y douche-nozzle.
We all could have looked past that if he made you happy.
And I mean real happiness, Stell, not the kind that’s knotted up with strings and conditions.
We hated him because you were someone else when you were with him.
You weren’t yourself, and he let it happen.
Hell, he got off on having you wait on him hand and foot. ”
That got my hackles up. “I didn’t wait on him hand and foot,” I objected defensively.
She gave me a flat, knowing look, as if silently asking who are you kidding here? “You did, Stell Bell, you know you did. And hey, I get it.” She lifted her hands in surrender. “He was your way out.”
My eyes bugged out, my jaw dropping in shock. “What?”
“Oh come on. Like you don’t already know secrets are impossible in this family. We’re tight, babe. We know everything about everyone. Everyone knows you’ve never liked this lifestyle and have been looking for a way out since you were old enough to form a thought.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “But—why didn’t anyone say anything?”
Her shoulder came up in a shrug. “What was there to say?”
“You weren’t . . . mad at me or anything?”
Serenity’s brows dipped into a dramatic V. “About what?”
“I don’t know. That maybe I betrayed you or something?”
For years I’d feared that my family would be heartbroken if they ever discovered I wanted out of the game.
Grifting was the Ryan legacy. It was all any of us had known for generations, a trade passed down from parent to child for as long as anyone could remember.
As far as I knew, I was the only Ryan in years who hated the talent and skills I’d inherited.
I was the only one I knew who wanted out.
“You’re kidding, right?”
I turned my attention to Serenity and frowned. “Uh, no. Not really.”
“Stell Bell, why in the world would we think you wanting a normal life is a betrayal?”
“Well, because this is what we do. It’s all we know.”
“You think I want to spend the rest of my life teasing and playing greasy old men, making them think they have a chance with me before I swindle them?” She blew out a raspberry.
“Hell no. I have plans, things I want to do. This is just a means to an end, babe. Same for Spencer. He’s got a wife and a little girl.
You really think he’s going to pass this shit down to Sasha?
He won’t come right out and say it, but he’s slowly working his way out. ”
My jaw was practically hanging in my lap. “I had no idea.”
“Because you never asked,” she said simply, and suddenly I felt guilty for not being a better sister.
It was true we were tight knit, closer than most of the families I’d seen, but I’d been so obsessed with the thought of leaving the con, that I’d closed parts of myself off from the rest of them, and in the process, closed them out.
“Sis, I’m really sorry—”