Chapter 25
I guess I expected Ryker to be in bed when I woke up. Instead, the evening sun is glowing orange outside the thick windows, and June is snuggled against my back.
When I stretch, muscles protest from all the running and hiking we did in the forest. But other places are pleasantly sore from Ryker’s rough love.
Yawning, I sit up and June perks up immediately. Bright eyes trained on me, waiting for a cue.
If I have to wake up without Ryker, at least June is here.
“Have you eaten?” I ask her, smoothing my hand over her head.
When she just looks at me, I ask, “Food?”
That earns a fast wag.
I slide out of the bed, find the clothes I had on earlier and dress as June patiently waits by the door.
“I’m coming, girl. Give me a second.”
Splashing my face with cold water gives me a little jolt. I’m pleased to find a new toothbrush and travel toothpaste in the stocked bathroom cabinet.
Even a hairbrush.
Satisfied I don’t look like I just crawled out of bed, I head for the door.
The first thing I notice when I step into the hallway is the quiet of a well-built house. In this case a fortress. It’s not silent, but there’s a hush over the house.
By no means does it feel like I’m alone.
This house is manned by guards patrolling the exterior and Ryker’s teammates are planning to take down the crime ring that almost killed us.
There’s an energy here. Somehow I feel I’m like part of it.
Not like the outsider I’ve felt like for my whole life.
I pad barefoot into the kitchen where I find a large container marked with June’s name and two bowls. Already prepped for her meal with water and crunchy food.
It takes me a second, but I realize she’s waiting for the green light to eat.
“Okay, go ahead.” I motion to the bowl. She just wags that long, graceful black tail, her pink tongue slipping out of her mouth.
“You can eat.”
I try snapping my fingers.
Woof. Wag, doggy smile.
Oh my, she’s adorable.
“Do you come with an owner’s manual?” I ask her.
“Actually she does.”
I startle and clutch my chest, mouth going dry in a flash.
A beast of a man stands in the doorway with one hand in his pocket. The other leaned against the door jamb. He’s wearing an Agile Security T-shirt that doesn’t hide a single muscle.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. That was inconsiderate. I’m Scout, by the way.”
“It’s okay,” I croak, “I’m just jumpy.”
“Understandable.”
He’s got that quiet, still gaze that a lot of the men who work with Ryker seem to have. It takes getting used to.
“Do you know June?” I ask because she’s eagerly watching him, ears perked, friendly expression.
“My friend trained her. June flew here with me on a helo earlier today.”
He makes a soft clicking sound with his tongue. She goes to him, putting her head in his hand, sighing with pleasure.
I watch them for a second, calmed by his gentle way with her.
“How do I tell her to eat?”
“Not the way you’re trying. It’s not like telling a dog to fetch.”
He nudges the bowl lightly with his boot, then gives a low, firm command. “Break.”
June immediately turns and dives into her meal.
Scout watches her for a second, then adds, “June’s a working dog. She’s trained to wait for a release command. Means she won’t touch food or do anything that’s not part of the job unless she’s told she’s free to do so.”
“Noted. She’s impressive.”
June enthusiastically eats as we watch, and the fact that I haven’t seen Ryker yet plays across the back of my mind.
“You work with Ryker?” I ask, curious about his role here.
He’s studying me, when I look at him, and I feel a tinge of discomfort. He’s looking at the bruise on my face.
“Yes. We’ve worked together for a while,” he replies, glancing down to my bandaged wrists. His voice is tighter when he continues. “Ryker’s a good guy.”
Scout unfolds from the doorframe and moves to the fridge. “Had a meeting with him earlier. He said you were sleeping.”
Oh lord. I hope these men didn’t hear what we did before we were sleeping.
“I… um. Yep. Took a nap. Whew. I needed that.”
Awkward. Stop babbling.
Scout’s attention snaps to something beyond my shoulder. The change in his posture is immediate.
“Well, fuck,” he mutters as he glares toward the back yard.
“What—?” I turn toward the window.
My heart falls. Out past the main yard, near the back of the property and the detached garage, Ryker and another man are inches apart.
“Are they fighting?”
“Looks that way.”
The other man is a match to Ryker in size. Broad shoulders, thick arms. His face locked in a sneer. They’re saying something which won’t penetrate the thick security windows, but I don’t have to be a genius to know they’re yelling.
I’ve barely had time to register the full impact of the scene when things explode. The other man shoves first.
Ryker doesn’t stumble or step back. He barely moves. That’s when I realize this isn’t going to get talked out.
Neither of them will back down.
When Ryker tilts his head slightly, expression going blank, ice cascades down my spine.
I watched him kill a man with his bare hands and another with a rifle. Without him even flinching. I know he can go there in a heartbeat.
“Oh no,” I whisper, choking on my rushed breath. “We have to stop them. Someone could get hurt. Bad.”
When I run out of the kitchen, June’s hot on my heels.
Scout’s firm voice echoes down the hallway. “Jade. Do NOT go outside.”
It’s too late. I’m already pulling open the front door, causing an alarm to beep on the massive control panel right by the entrance.
I take the stairs at a jog. June has glued herself to my side, matching my pace perfectly.
Scout’s cursing as he catches up. He has his pistol drawn. Holding it low, but ready. “You need to return to the house.”
“Hopefully this won’t take long.”
He grabs my upper arm to halt me, not hard. No pain, but firm enough to draw me up short.
“It’s not safe out here.”
“But there are guards everywhere and they’re all looking at me from their posts,” I counter.
There are at least ten eyes on me, plus Scout. Plus June, who is now on high alert.
“Please.” I look down at his hand. “Let go.”
He drops his hand and steps closer. “I need you to return to the house. Ryker has to know you’re safe so he can work.”
I huff. “Is that what they’re doing?”
“Yes.”
I glare at him, my heart still galloping. I can’t see the fight from where I’m standing, but I’m certain they aren’t hugging it out right now.
“Please, let me go see if I can…”
“This isn’t your battle.”
I swallow roughly, a shaking sensation in the pit of my stomach that I’ve never felt before.
“But I care about him.”
Scout shifts on his feet. He glances around. Tips his chin at one of the guards.
When he looks at me again he shakes his head. “Ryker’s probably going to punch me in the face for this.”
He glances at the corner of the house. “Maybe he needs to see you to remember something important. But you are not to move more than two feet away from my side. Copy?”
I’m relieved, but confused. What does Scout mean, Ryker needs to remember something important?
Nerves crawl up and down my body.
“Let’s go,” he clips.
“Thank you.”
I head toward the back of the house, and every step I feel Scout off my right shoulder and June’s fur brushing my other leg.
When we round the corner of the house, my heart stutters. It’s been minutes and they’re still at it.
Scout whistles, an ear-splitting sound that makes me jump and causes June to whine.
Ryker freezes. He and the other man’s heads both whip our direction. Like a switch flipped, their sneers turn to concern.
“Wait here.” It’s Scout’s command. But I don’t need it. I couldn’t unglue my feet from this grass if I had to.
I can’t understand Ryker’s expression as he strides toward me. Scout seems to vanish. June gets right against my leg as he closes the last few feet.
I’m still shaking inside when he steps in front of me, close enough that I have to tip my head back.
“Are you okay?” The same concern on his face is in his tone.
I’m sure he can see mine too.
There’s a fresh, oozing gash on his cheekbone.
“I’m the one who should ask that of you.”
Jesus. They really did come to blows.
I know men are volatile. Stress and testosterone and god knows what else… male ego, makes them powder-kegs.
But this feels wrong. Like a fracture of some sort happened that caused an already lit fuse to go off.
“What was that about?” I ask gently.
He looks into my eyes for a few seconds, then gazes over my head toward the trees, his lungs still working hard, and for a long moment he doesn’t say a single thing.
In the short time I’ve known him I’ve seen him lots of ways. Never like this.
Inches from me, but not touching me, Ryker’s hands are curled tight, the muscles in his neck standing out.
“We need to go somewhere we can talk privately,” he says when he finally looks down at me, breaking the tense silence.