Chapter 16
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Van
The atmosphere became tense after I opened my mouth and inserted my foot. The last thing I should’ve done was tell them about Marilee. It could be detrimental to her health if word gets out about her and what her goal is with moving to Canton.
Sitting in the bleachers of the arena, I lean into Riptide and beg, “Please don’t tell anyone about Marilee.”
“Don’t worry, Van. As long as she’s not there to take down my club, she’s safe from us,” he promises.
I know with who he is and what club he presides over, I should take those words with a grain of salt, but Riptide, as well as his brothers, are men of their word and if he’s vowing to not go after her, I believe him.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I should’ve never told y’all about her,” I mumble.
“It’s because you trust me and know that I’m not going to do anything nefarious with that information,” he conveys. “Which I won’t. But I am worried about you knowing this information, Van. It puts you in a compromising position.”
“I’m not going to tell anyone, Riptide. I don’t even know her and wouldn’t be able to recognize her on the street. Nobody will ever be able to connect us together,” I assure him. “She doesn’t come into the office and hasn’t even showed up to any of the holiday parties.”
“That makes me feel a little better,” he mumbles. “I want you to be careful about who you befriend in Canton. Promise me you will be cautious.”
“Are things really that bad?” she inquires, her tone mystified.
“Unfortunately, they’re worse than what you’re conjuring in your mind, Van. The officials are corrupt and work for the local gang there. The Onyx Dragons are the ones responsible for Zoey and Elodie’s kidnapping.”
“Will we be safe there, Riptide?”
“I’m going to make sure you are, Van. Even if I have to camp out on your doorstep to ensure it,” he avows.
“This time last week, the move to Canton was exciting. Other than going to college in the city, I’d never left my hometown,” I utter. “I was looking forward to a fresh start and do-over.” Moving now leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
“You could always move in with me,” he broaches. “I have a house on the compound. It’s a five bedroom so there’s plenty of room for you and little man.”
“I thought you lived at the clubhouse,” I say, stalling.
“I have a room there,” he admits. “I stay there more often than not because it gets lonely in such a big place with nobody to talk to.”
“It’s too soon, isn’t it?” Gage moved in with me weeks after we met and look how that turned out for me. I’m not sure if I’m ready to take this sort of leap.
“If you hadn’t noticed, I move at a rapid pace.
I told you before that I’m the type of man that when he wants something, he goes after it.
This is more than a fling, Van. I’ve already told you my intentions.
We can either start living our lives together now or draw things out and be miserable apart. Either way, it’s happening.”
“Can I have more than five minutes to think about it, Riptide?”
“You know you can, I’m not going to pressure you into something you don’t want or aren’t ready for, Van. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to tempt you along the way.”
“Just you breathing does that, Riptide,” I acknowledge. “I don’t want to push things between us too fast is all. Plus, I have to think about Gagey and how this will affect him. Especially if things don’t work out between us in the long run.”
“You can’t think like that, woman. When I’m in, I’m in… no take backs and no reconsidering,” he deadpans.
“We don’t even know if we’re compatible,” I prattle, trying to rush my complaint.
“You mean in the bedroom? Because fuck knows we’re compatible in every other way there is,” he states.
“Yes,” I hiss, turning my head to make sure nobody is listening in on our debate. It’s a little too embarrassing.
“Yo, Rip, Rio needs you,” I hear a male voice say from behind me. I don’t turn around in my seat to see who it is, that’s inconsequential right now.
“We’ll pick up this conversation later, okay?” he asks.
“Later would be good,” I mutter. He squeezes my shoulder, plants a kiss on the crown of my head and follows whoever it was calling him.
I stay stationary, my eyes glued to the spot he just vacated as I replay our discussion in my mind.
A part of me wants to give into my hesitancy and say yes, but it’s that other part, the more logical one that has me stalling.
There’s some sort of parade happening in the ring, but I’m still sorting out my thoughts and am not paying attention to it.
When I lift my eyes and they meet Riptide’s, I wasn't prepared for the man to steal my breath as our eyes connect across the arena. My soul is singing, my heart weeping, and my body becomes a livewire. It’s as if I’m seeing him in a new light.
A first meeting. An instantaneous bond. Suddenly, all of my inhibitions fly out the window and I know what my answer will be.
Yes. Always yes when it comes to him and our future. He’s right, I don’t need to worry about the spark we’ll have in the bedroom, with him, there’s never any question about our attraction to one another.
It’s explosive.
Diabolically charged.
Deciding to play with him a little, I lift up my left hand and point to my ring finger, sending him a challenging look. Then I jokingly mouth, “Put a ring on it.”
He has one of those smirks on his face that makes my knees weak. Then he mouths his own warning, “Challenge accepted.”
I may have just stepped into things a little too deep with that goading remark. You don’t provoke a man like him and come out on the other side intact. Although, I’m woman enough to admit I’m looking forward to whatever he comes up with, skinned knees and all.
Icer comes in long enough to let me see my boy before hustling his way back out and taking the kids to see the ponies.
I have a feeling he doesn’t care too much about Gage’s last ride.
Gage’s betrayal runs deep inside of him and he’s not the sort of man who lets things like that go nor does he forgive easily.
It’s a sad situation and I wish I had the right words to ease his heartache. However, I’m still struggling to get through it myself, and if I can’t soothe the pain of his duplicity for me, there’s no way I can for him.
Not long after Icer’s departure, Riptide plops down beside me. “The emcee is about to kick things off. You ready for this?”
“I’m not sure anyone is ever ready for something like this,” I refute.
“But I’m as prepared as one can be.” Something in the background catches my attention.
A man looming there, looking at me as if I’m his next meal.
It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up and goosebumps erupt along my skin.
“What is it?” Riptide asks, twisting his torso.
By the time he takes a look, the man is gone, dissipating like a bloom of smoke. It’s eerie and has me shuddering.
“Did you see something? I don’t like the way your eyes just glassed over, Van. Talk to me, baby.”
“It’s nothing,” I lie.
What am I supposed to say in response that won’t have me sounding like a lunatic needing a strait jacket? A sketchy looking man gave me a case of the heebie-jeebies. It’d make me sound paranoid and demented, as if I’m causing trouble because my overactive imagination got the better of me.
I’m not usually one searching for problems nor do I think they’re following me, as a matter of fact, I avoid them at all costs, but I can’t get rid of the gut feeling that one just found me anyway.
And that has my fight or flight instincts gearing up into overdrive.
“It’s not nothing, Van, if it has you twitchy.”
I wave him off and explain, “It’s just a figment of my imagination, Riptide. I promise, it’s nothing to be concerned about.”
“If it’s nothing then it won’t hurt to tell me what has you spooked, now will it, Van?” He bends down to where we’re eye level, imploring me to talk. “Your gut is never wrong. Remember that, it could save your life.”
I nod my head letting him know I heard what he said. But I’m still worried about coming across as skittish. “There was a man over there. It’s not that he was here watching, it’s the way he was looking at me that creeped me out, Riptide.”
“What did this man look like, Van?” he asks, coming across as more interested in his appearance than I thought he’d be.
Chewing on my bottom lip, I think back and try to recall every detail I can.
“He had dark hair, kinda scraggly like he hasn’t had a cut in a while.
A full beard, again, it looked gnarly, unkempt.
A little taller than you but not as statuesque as Icer.
But I think it was Zoey he was looking for because his eyes stayed on her more than they did on me. ”
Riptide stands from his stadium seat and begins twirling around through the aisle, one that there’s hardly room to walk through let alone twist in. When he doesn’t find anything, he lifts his phone and begins rapidly firing off text messages.
“Who was it?” I ask.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out,” he assures me.
Before I get a chance to quiz him further, the crackling of a microphone coming to life seizes the opportunity.
“Ladies and gentlemen, if you’ll give your attention to the big screen,” the emcee starts, “you’ll see a slideshow of one of our own, Gage Michaelson, who tragically lost his life earlier this year.
As a three-time champion on the circuit in bull riding for the Triple R, they’re going to give him the sendoff he deserves. ”