Ryker

Chapter Thirty-Two

He will pay for touching her. I’m not sure how long they were alone for, but gauging by the marks on her neck, it was far too long. He shouldn’t have been able to put his hands on her in the first place.

I keep glancing at her throughout the drive to see how she is fairing with everything that happened. She leans her head on the headrest, and her eyes drift closed. When we turn, her head falls onto my shoulder, and I scoot to the middle seat so she can rest her head more comfortably. My phone buzzes in my pocket with a text from Marcus.

Found Lincoln unconscious in the bathroom. Everything is planted. I’ll text you when it’s done.

I don’t bother with a response. Lincoln had one job tonight. Keep her out of harm’s way, and he failed.

So did I. I shouldn’t have trusted anyone other than myself with her safety. I could tell she was on edge the entire night. I tried to comfort her, but nothing was working. It wasn’t until we got the wine that she relaxed and enjoyed the conversations with the other men.

She releases a sleepy sigh as we drive back to the house. Our house. Bianca called it her home. It may have been a slip of the tongue, but she said it regardless. She might not know it yet, but she is exactly where she needs to be, with me. I won’t let her run. Not again .

Her hair shifts, giving me a view of the bruises beginning to form on her neck. I stiffen and take a deep breath. They’re worse than I thought. As soon as the car stops in front of our house, I fling the door open.

I grab her wrist and pull her out of the car. After shutting the door behind her, I take a step into her, blocking her path. I pin her against the back door of the car, and she lets out a startled gasp as I place my hands on either side of her head. I’m caging her. She can’t hide from me.

“What are you…” She trails off as I trace my hands along the bruises forming on her neck. Her skin is cold to the touch, the winter air sending goosebumps along her skin. She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath.

“He hurt you,” I growl, my tone feral.

She shakes her head, “I’m fine.”

“He hurt you,” I repeat, inhaling deeply, taking in her coconut scent as I slowly run my thumb up the scar I left weeks ago.

When I lock eyes with her, they hold me captive. I see the same internal battle dancing behind those baby-blue eyes. I grip her chin, slowly moving her head to the side so I can get a better look at the handprint forming around her neck.

A low growl escapes from my chest as she lets out a moan, throwing her head back, and grinds against my thick, hard shaft.

“I will burn him,” I keep my voice low and menacing as I grind into her.

“Is that a promise?” She whispers breathlessly.

I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before gripping her chin and forcing her to look at me. “Nobody gets away with marking what belongs to me. He touched you, hurt you, marked you. I will burn him alive while we fuck to the sound of his screams.”

I slip my fingers under her dress, feeling her needy pussy already soaked for me. The contrast between her tight, wet pussy, and the cold winter air, does something feral to me.

I grab the sleeve of her dress and slowly pull it down, exposing her shoulder while I lightly begin to tease her core. Running my fingertips along her exposed skin, my eyes rake over her, looking for any other signs of her being injured. Seeing no other visible bruises forming, I relax a little.

She rolls her head back, giving me access to her neck as I run my lips against her skin. Shivers rack her body as I inch my way towards her collarbone and the hollow of her neck. When she lets out a needy whimper, I cave, forgetting about every reason why this would be a bad idea.

I groan as I slide my finger into her soaked pussy. Inhaling a sharp breath, I curl my finger inside of her, stroking the spot that makes her squirm.

“Ryker,” She whines, rocking her hips against my hand to try and get more friction.

I chuckled in her ear, “Come on, Angel. Tell me what you need.

Ask for it.”

She closes her eyes for a moment, resolve finally taking over. “Please, Ryker, fuck me.” I slide my fingers out as slowly as I can before I thrust two more inside of her. “Oh god,” she pants, gripping my arm for support, and with her free hand, she begins undoing my belt buckle .

My pants and briefs fall to the ground, and I quickly kick them to the side. With my thumb, I use my free hand to rub circles around her clit as I bite her neck right above where Manzo bruised her.

“Mmmm…” I drawl out, keeping the pace.

She wraps her hand around my cock and begins to stroke me. Bianca’s hand tightens around me as she begins to ride towards her own peak. With the extra motivation, I pick up my pace, causing her legs to shake.

“OH GOD!” She moans, leaning back against the car as she convulses around my fingers.

I help ride her down, allowing her a few seconds to catch her breath before I slowly pull my fingers out and lick them clean. She holds my gaze, fire burning from within as I suck off every drop of my woman’s come.

She glances down at my cock still in her hand. I grip the back of one of her thighs, helping her position my cock at her center. She slowly inserts my shaft, her tight pussy still clenching from her orgasm, nearly making me have one of my own.

Not wanting to stall this out any longer, I push into her until I’m buried at the hilt. I give her a few seconds to adjust to my size before I begin to thrust hard and fast.

She whimpers and grips the side of my face, staring deep into my soul. “Ryker,” She pants my name, and the possessive feeling I’ve been trying to ignore digs its nails deeper into me.

Every time this woman says my name, it seems to unravel me in ways I don’t understand. No woman has ever had this effect on me. I’m the one who has to drag them out of my house after I fuck them. But, I’ve already fucked Bianca. I assumed it would get her out of my system, but I was wrong. It made me crave her even more, made me need her tight pussy over and over again.

She meets my thrusts with the same intensity. All of our mixed emotions are blurred even further with every thrust.

“What are you doing to me?” I growl, slamming her down on my cock even harder.

She whimpers and digs her nails into my back. I relish the pain with a loud moan. I slip my hand between us, finding her already sensitive clit.

I help her reach her peak, and when her walls begin to contract around my cock, I lose my internal battle and come instantly.

As I pull out, I watch the mixture of our come begin to slip out of her. I use my two fingers and slide the come back inside as I frantically kiss her. Trying to find the reason why and how she managed to have me wrapped around her demonic little finger.

◆◆◆

The sun rises, hitting me through the opened curtains. I look over to Bianca, whose head is resting on my shoulder. I pull her into me, and she lets out a groan. I smile and bury my head in her hair as she raises her leg and places it on my stomach. We didn’t sleep much last night. We spent most of the night fucking and talking, and it was one of the most relaxing nights I’ve had in a long time.

We talked about nothing and everything. From the time I took my first life, to her’s. She talked a little about what it was like to be held captive by Manzo and that broke my heart more than anything else. I look down at my sleeping Angel, content on making sure she never has to go through anything like that ever again, not until my dying breath.

I’m snapped back awake when I hear my phone ringing in the pocket of my pants that were discarded on the floor. I go to sit up, but Bianca pouts.

“Can’t the real world wait for a few more hours? I haven’t slept this good in years.” She whines, wrapping her arms around my torso tighter.

“I wish,” I kiss the top of her head and pull my arm out from under her. “I need to make sure we succeeded last night.”

She sits up as I stand and grab my pants. When I pull out the phone, I see a missed call from Lincoln and a text from Marcus. ‘Check the news.’

I open the drawer on the bedside table and pull out the TV remote. Turning it to the first news channel, I sit on the edge of the bed, and Bianca rests her head on my back as we watch.

brEAKING NEWS. Bella’s opened last night in full swing. Packed and with killer ratings, the restaurant was set to do well. Owner Loran Manzo was ecstatic when we interviewed him yesterday morning.

Bianca straightens when Manzo comes on the screen. “I was so happy to have a project I was excited about.”

“Why the name Bella’s?” The interviewer asks, and Manzo smirks .

“Well, Bella means beautiful in Italian, and it was the nickname I called my beautiful fiancé.”

“Fiancé? I think all the women out here are a bit disappointed to hear you are taken. Who is the lucky girl?”

Manzo smiles and looks into the camera. “Her name is Bianca Marcello. She and I have had a special relationship for the past ten years. We’ve been going through a bit of a rough patch lately and I wanted to create something to show her that I’m serious about winning her back.” He turns his attention back to the interviewer, “This restaurant will show her how much I miss her. The menu showcases some of her favorite foods and of course, I named it after her.”

“She would be a fool to not come back after something so romantic…” The interviewer pauses for a moment, holding her finger to her earpiece, “I was just told that Bianca was reported dead almost ten years ago, are you telling us that she is alive and well?”

Manzo laughs. “She is. Her father was involved with some bad people; they managed to kill his wife, and it was up to me to make sure she was protected.”

The camera turns back to the woman with a somber face.

“With everything going according to plan, Bianca made an appearance with none other than Ryker Domincio. CEO of Domincio Inc. Witnesses said the tension was high during the confrontation between Ms. Marcello and Mr. Manzo. A few people managed to snap a couple of pictures from inside of the restaurant.” A picture of me and Bianca kissing flashes on the screen, “Sadly, last night after closing, there was an explosion in the kitchen, turning more than half of the restaurant into rubble. Thankfully, nobody was injured as the restaurant had been closed for hours. Firefighters that arrived on the scene claimed that there was a massive gas leak that was missed during inspection.”

“You blew up the restaurant?” Bianca asks, and when I turn to look at her, I can see the amusement on her face.

I smile and kiss her, “He touched my girl.” She laughs, and I pull her on top of me, “Nobody touches what’s mine.”

“I’m yours now?” She raises an eyebrow.

“Mine,” I growl, wrapping my thick fingers around her throat lightly, making sure not to hurt her even further.

She smirks, “What if I don’t want to be yours?”

I chuckle, “You don’t have a choice, Angel, the moment I saw you in Stardust, I knew you were going to ruin me.”

She lets a soft smile tug at the corners of her mouth, but only for a second. Her face turns serious, and she grips my wrist, pulling my hand away from her neck. She shakes her head as she climbs off me and scrambles to cover herself.

“Angel.”

“Don’t...” She grabs the sheet from the bed, wrapping it around herself. I can see the panic in her gaze. “You need to stop calling me that.”

I slowly stand to my full height, towering over her. “Tell me what's going through your head.”

“Ryker, just stop, okay,” she grabs her dress off the floor and starts for the door. I walk past her, placing my hand against the door, stopping her from leaving. She groans in frustration, “Last night was a mistake. This,” She gestures between the two of us with her free hand, “Can’t happen, and you know it.”

I cock an eyebrow, “And why not? ”

She scoffs, “Why not? WHY not?” She throws her hand up in the air, “Manzo made it perfectly fucking clear that he was going to find a way to get me back. He has no problem hurting the people I care about. What makes you think you are any different?”

“We’ve been through this, Bianca.” I run my hands up her arms and lift her chin so she’s looking at me, “I understand your fear but believe it when I say that I’m not going anywhere.”

“I can’t get close to you, Ryker. I’m sorry, I just can’t.”

This time, it’s my turn to smile, “You already have. The fact you want to pull away from me right now tells me that you feel something for me,” she closes her eyes, leaning into my touch. “Trust me, when I tell you I won’t let anything happen, and I will be there no matter what.”

“I’m scared of losing everything. Jeremy, Nolan, Lincoln, Hawkins, you, and even Vivian. It’s starting to feel like a family. I don’t want to lose that. Not again. The first time, it nearly broke me.” A single tear falls down her cheek. She squeezes her eyes shut.

“You’re safe. Nobody is going to get to you.” I lean down, kissing the streak left behind, then rest my forehead against hers. “We aren’t going anywhere.”

Everything that has happened in the past few years is finally catching up to her. Once the floodgates opened at her mother’s grave, she can finally began to heal. Now that she’s safe in my arms, I won’t let anything happen to her. If Manzo wants her, he will have to kill me first.

◆◆ ◆

It’s almost noon by the time Bianca and I finally make it downstairs. Bianca is wearing the white button-up that I wore last night. She sits on the counter as I make us something to eat. I pour a cup of coffee, and she slurps half of it down. I chuckle a bit to myself as I stir the meat.

“Ryker.” She sighs.

“Yes,” I say, turning to face her. She has her hair up in a bun, and I have to physically restrain myself at the sight of her neck. I step in between her legs and tilt her head to the side so I can get a better look. The bruise has started to form in the shape of a handprint. I lean down and kiss her neck softly, and she lets out a small sigh when my lips touch her skin. She scoots closer to the edge of the counter to press her body into mine.

I can’t help but groan. She has a body built for sin, so irresistible.

She was sent here to test me, and I’m sure as fuck going to hell.

“Ryker.” She laughs with a tinge of a whine as she pushes against my chest. I step more into her and start to suck on her neck. Making sure I’m going to leave a mark. “Stop,” She laughs a bit harder and I can’t help but smirk, making me lose my suction. “As much as I would love to keep fucking you all day, there is something I need to talk to you about.” I groan and roll my head before nodding. I kiss her forehead and go back to the meat that has started burning, “Last night. Manzo…” She trails off, and I stiffen, knowing I’m not going to like what I’m about to be told. “I provoked him.”

She looks down at her hands, not able to look into my eyes. “He threatened Vivian and said he had ways to get to her.”

I clench my jaw as a curse escapes through my clenched teeth. I grab a few tortillas and throw them on the pan so we can make breakfast burritos. “Call her,” I growl and slide my phone across the counter to her.

She dials Vivian’s number while I put together the burritos. “Hey,” Bianca says when Vivian answers the phone. She puts it

on speaker so I can listen in, “What are you doing today?”

“Just ballet practice. Actually, I was planning on coming over anyway. I need to talk to Ryker.”

“He’s here if you want to talk to him.”

She reaches out to hand me the phone, but I just shake my head as Vivian sighs on the other end. “Will you tell him Dad is in town? He texted me, and I ignored it like Ryker told me to and he showed up at practice.”

“Get here now,” I say, and Vivian grows silent. “I can’t. Dad wanted to meet for lunch.”

“You are not to meet up with him unless I’m with you, and I can’t do this today.”

“I know…” Vivian trails off. “He won’t stop bugging me if I don’t go.”

“Where are you going?” Bianca asks.

“Some small Diner he runs stuff through. He said he needed to check on business while he was there. ”

“It’s public,” Bianca says, grabbing my attention. “Let me go.”

“Absolutely not,” I growl, and Bianca hops off the counter and comes up from behind me, wrapping her arms around me and leaning her head into my back.

“Vivian needs protection, and everyone is busy dealing with Manzo. You know I’m a hell of a fighter.” I turn to face her, and she smiles at me.

“After what you told me he did to you…” I start, but she interrupts me.

“Yes, he beat me. But so did Hawkins, and we are civil. It’s lunch. I think I can handle a couple of hours of meaningless conversation.”

“He will have more men with him.”

She nods. “True, but I’m all you have. Either you let her go alone, or you let me go with her.”

I groan as I run my hands over my face. “Fine. I’ll try to come by when I get done with Hawkins.”

“Perfect. I have to go. Bianca, I’ll pick you up when I’m done.” Vivian says quickly before hanging up.

Bianca sets the phone down before grabbing a plate. “So, what are you doing that’s so important?”

“Turns out the other mole is a lead.”

She stops mid-chew to look at me. “You’re going to torture all of them?”

“No. I don’t need to.”

“Then… what? ”

“Lincoln told me he tested each man with information when all this started. Since he didn’t find anything, it’s my turn.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to tell them I’m moving you out of the house and into a safe house. I’ll send a guard to each one to keep watch. If there is an attack on one of them, I’ll know who told.”

She nods, “What about Vivian? What are you going to do about her?”

I sigh and lean back in my chair. “I don’t know.”

Bianca pulls her legs into a crisscross position on the chair. “You might want to actually do that.”

“Do what?”

“Put her in a safe house, just until all of this is over. Or until he gets me. She won’t be safe until either of those things happen.”

“He’s not getting you.” I turn her chair so she’s facing me. “I just meant…”

“I know what you meant.” I narrow my eyes. She just sighs and shakes her head. “That’s not a bad idea. We have a few.”

“It has to be one that he would never be able to trace back to you. He has eyes on everything. If he has one of your Leads working for him, you know he has other lower-level men helping. Plus, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has eyes on all the safe houses already.”

“They aren’t under my name,” I argue as Lincoln enters the room with Jeremy and Hawkins.

“I know. They are all under your father's name. If I could find it when I wasn’t even looking, I know Manzo already has. Plus...” she starts before trailing off, “I just suggest you put her somewhere nobody knows about.”

“No, say what you were going to say.”

She bites her lower lip and watches as Lincoln, Hawkins, and Jeremy form a line and begin piling their plates with food. After a couple minutes, she takes my phone and begins typing.

“What’s this?” I ask as she hands me my phone.

“I can’t let Vivian have the same fate as me.” She points to the phone in my hands, “My mom told me about this place while we were held up in my dad’s cabin. She told me this was where we were going to go. She wanted to run away with me and Howie and hide under the radar with new identities. The house was in her father's name. Her dad had bought it before his death and left it to her. She never told anyone about it. Including my father.”

I nod as I look at the address. “Pennsylvania.”

“It’s nice. I looked at pictures once. I thought about escaping there.”

“Why didn’t you?”

She sighs, “Honestly, I was waiting for my father to die. The second he does, I can go back and talk to Howie. I would technically be in charge. I thought if I could get him behind me, he could protect me, and I would give him the territory. That way, Manzo would have no reason to marry me.”

“Getting Vivian out of New York is smart, but are you sure your father doesn’t know about this place?”

“My mother said my grandfather wanted her to have a place to go in case something like… well, like what happened. ”

The room falls silent as everyone absorbs the truckload of information she dumped on us. I scroll through the pictures of the estate. It’s a little cottage in the woods on the outskirts of Scranton.

“It’s my dream home,” Bianca says, crossing her legs. “It’s beautiful.”

She smiles, “I love the cottage, and the greenery feel it has to it.” She leans her head on my shoulder as we look through pictures, stopping at the photos of the living room. A picture of her mother and her from when she was little hangs above the couch. I hear Bianca sniffle before she stands, places her plate in the sink, and leaves.

Lincoln stops in the doorway, holding the door open for her before he sits down on the stool Bianca just vacated. I grind my teeth as I stand, grabbing my phone and starting for the door.

“Ryker.” Lincoln calls after me.

With a sigh, I turn and face him. “ You fucked up.” I hiss, pointing a menacing finger in his direction.

“I know, trust me, I know.”

“What the hell happened? You shouldn’t have left her side for a second!”

He stands, “You think I don’t know that?!”

“What the hell happened!?” I ask again, this time my voice rising an octave.

“I had to piss, alright. I didn’t think he would try something with all of us there.”

I laugh, no humor within, “Yeah, you didn’t think. That is a rookie mistake. If you were anyone else, you would be demoted and put back into resistance training. ”

Lincoln runs a hand down his face, his disheveled hair, and stubble telling me that he hadn't slept last night. “I would never do anything to intentionally hurt her. Ever.”

“Rescuing Maggie, helping Jeremy, all of it, you’re doing it for Bianca. Aren’t you?” I ask, trying to keep my tone calm.

“When we thought she was dead, I thought I lost everything that mattered. Bianca was the only person who understood me. We were both outsiders in a world we had no understanding of. When we saw her in Stardust, I knew it was her. I thought I was seeing things and making shit up because the pain of losing her was all-consuming. But when I saw her recognize me, I knew she was Bianca.”

“You need to be very careful with what you say next.” I keep my voice low, but it still comes out more as a growl than anything else.

He hesitates for a moment before the look of defeat flashes in his eyes. “Once you showed interest, I thought you would put the pieces together yourself. When you didn’t, I wasn’t sure what to do. I knew turning her over would send her back to Manzo. At the time, I wasn’t sure what Marcello and Manzo’s plan was.”

The kitchen door squeaking catches both of our attention. Bianca stands in the doorway, eyes wide, looking between me and Lincoln. “You knew.” She whispers.

“Bianca-”

“No.” She interrupts, walking towards us. “You knew who I was and didn’t say anything?” She asks again, stopping and looking up at him, her big blue eyes, starting to form tears.

“It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. Everything that happened at the motel, the restaurant. Everything. ”

She shakes her head, a soft smile tugs at her lips. “What happened at the motel would have happened anyways. He would have found me eventually. What you did, keeping that from Ryker.” She shakes her head, sniffing and clearing her throat. “Nobody has ever chosen me over the mob. Ever.”

He grabs her hand, running his thumb along her knuckles. “When I saw it was really you, that you were truly here, alive and standing right in front of me, I would have done anything to make sure you stayed safe.” He looks up to me, a soft smile still playing on his lips, “You and Ryker need each other, and one day soon, I hope we become family.”

“We already are.”