Chapter 70 Trust Me, Times Two
Trust Me, Times Two
Tessa
Walking along the rain-soaked street, I couldn't decide if I should feel guilty or relieved that I was dragging Ryder along with me – except no dragging had been needed.
He was being a terrific sport, actually, which made me feel even more conflicted. With an awkward laugh, I said, "Some first date, huh?"
He gave me a sideways glance. "If this is a date, I'm doing it wrong."
Not the way I saw it. After breaking down the door, he'd done everything right. He'd left me breathless and then wrapped me up afterward, warm and steady in a way I hadn't expected.
Feeling almost shy, I confessed, "It didn't feel wrong to me."
"Me neither," he said. "But it was no date."
It felt like a brush-off, and my heart sank just a little. Still, I tried for a joke. "So, it was what? A one-night stand?"
At this, he stopped walking.
So did I.
Turning to face me, he said, "You're no one-night anything. What I mean is…" His voice softened. "I didn't even buy you dinner."
Relief and warmth flooded through me. "Oh." But then I remembered. "Actually, you did buy me dinner. We just didn't eat it, that's all."
He shook his head. "Delivery doesn't count. You know what this means, don't you?"
"What?"
He grinned. "I owe you a date."
A date. It sounded almost old-fashioned, but I loved the idea. With a smile, I asked, "What, dinner and a movie?"
"That's for me to know, and for you to find out." He reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze before we started walking, this time hand-in-hand.
We moved in silence until I recalled something that had confused me earlier. "Speaking of finding out, you mentioned something about a bet. What was that about?"
"Sorry, that's top secret."
"Seriously?"
"Sure. I could tell you, but…" He let the implication hang, unsaid.
"But what?" I protested. "You'd have to kill me if I blabbed?"
"Nah. Where's the fun in that?"
I smiled. "So, are you gonna tell me or not?"
"That depends. Can you keep a secret?"
"Definitely."
He paused. "Even from your roommate?"
My steps faltered. "So this has something to do with Maisie?"
"Nah. But if she hears about it, it needs to be from the right person."
I tried to think. "You mean…Griff?"
"Yup."
"But what does he have to do with it?"
"He's the reason I came here in the first place." But then Ryder added, "Well, that and some property."
This was the first I'd heard of it. "What property?"
Sounding amused, he said, "Trust me, you don't wanna know."
Now, I was even more curious. "Sure I do."
This made him chuckle. "You wouldn't say that if you saw it."
I considered what I knew of Ryder Vaughn – not the guy walking beside me, but the hotshot real estate mogul from Chicago. "So it's what? A hotel?"
"A dump is more like it. But yeah, Griff's staying there."
I knew nearly nothing of Griff, but if he and Ryder Vaughn were friends, I doubted he was poor. "But why would he stay in a dump?"
"Because of the bet."
I almost groaned. "You do realize you've just taken me full circle, right?"
"Yup."
"So?" I persisted. "What kind of bet?"
"The short version? Griff was in a funk, and he needed a reset, whether he realized it or not. The guy's stubborn as hell, so I had to give him a nudge."
"What kind of nudge?"
"A bet."
This again? "You mean like a dare?"
"Nah. Like a bet, literally. Poker. If Griff lost, he had to go away for a while, and I got to pick the place."
I was still trying to make sense of it. "But what if he won?"
Ryder only laughed. "It wasn't gonna happen."
"Why not?"
"Because I made sure of it."
Something tugged at my conscience. "Wait…you're not saying you cheated?"
"Me? Nah." But then, he ruined it by adding, "I had someone else do it."
To me, it was a distinction without a difference. "Who?"
"I guess you'd call him a friend."
"So, what's his name?"
"Maddox."
My jaw dropped. "Wait…you don't mean Maddox McGuiness? You two are friends? Seriously?" I gave him a quick sideways glance. "How come I didn't know that?"
"It's not something we advertise."
"But he's…" I didn't finish, because the last thing I wanted was to insult Ryder's friend.
But Ryder caught my meaning anyway, and his voice cooled several degrees. "He's not what people think."
I only prayed he was right. But I didn't say it, because it seemed kind of rude when I had never even met the guy.
And besides, I wouldn't like Ryder insulting my friends.
So instead, I filed the information away for later and made a different point entirely.
"But Griff was still cheated, right? How is that okay? "
Ryder shrugged. "Sometimes, the ends justify the means."
"But what does that mean?"
"It means, I would've done worse to break Griff out of his funk."
I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Sure, part of me warmed at the thought of Ryder looking out for his friend. But the other part? The more ethical part? That part wanted to argue.
As if reading my mind, Ryder said, "Trust me, I didn't do it lightly."
Did I trust him? Probably. So I asked the obvious question. "So, who is Griff, anyway? I mean…other than your friend?"
Ryder hesitated. "Why do you ask?"
"Other than curiosity? I guess I'm a little concerned. I mean, if he and Maisie ever get close…"
"Don't worry. He's a solid guy."
"But who is he?" I pressed. "The way it sounds, he's told Maisie nearly nothing, so I guess I'm wondering…does he have something to hide?"
For some reason, this made Ryder laugh. "You could say that."
I didn't see the humor. "And that's funny?"
"Yeah, but he's no serial killer."
It wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement. "Oh, so he's killed only one person?"
Ryder gave me a funny look. "What?"
"Well…serial implies a bunch of people, so technically, he could've murdered only one, and your statement would've been accurate."
He laughed. "Okay. Zero murders. You happy?"
In spite of everything, I was happy. I'd been sexed silly and pleasantly distracted. But for Maisie's sake, I refused to let it go. "Sure, but I'm still curious. You can't give me some hint?"
"I can," he said. "But only if it stays between us."
"But why? Because of Maisie?"
"Yup. It won't be me who steals his thunder."
"Yeah, well…me neither." I gave a playful hip bump. "So, maybe you should trust me."
So he did, telling me all about Griff and his background after I pinkie-swore that Maisie would hear none of it from me. I meant it, too, and not only because a promise was a promise.
Just like Ryder didn't want to steal Griff's thunder, I had no intention of ruining Maisie's fun of learning about Griff on her own.
But then, not too long afterward, I learned something else about Griff – and not from Ryder.