Epilogue
“SCARLET TEETH” KAMAARA, KILL EBOLA
M y cheeks warm, and I flex my thighs to dull the throbbing in my clit as I weave through the dancing crowd in the cabin tucked in the woods.
A song I recognize blasts through the speakers, the bass thumping through me like a giant’s heartbeat.
It’s KAMAARA, one of Ryder’s favorite artists and his go-to when we ride together for the fun of it.
I’ll never forget the moment he introduced me to their music. He played the album in the background while he ate me out for an hour in our bedroom. I never thought Ryder could give head for that long. Nor that he could give me multiple orgasms until I begged for mercy.
It’s safe to say, I’ll never doubt his abilities again or listen to anything by KAMAARA without feeling the ghost of Ryder’s tongue on my clit.
It’s been almost two weeks since Ryder killed my father and Justin.
Two weeks of finding a new normal for us, and getting used to living together as a couple instead of as siblings.
In that short time, I can’t count how many times he’s bent me over every piece of furniture and whispered dirty shit in my ear while he used me like a toy.
For now, life is good, but I know there’s more happening behind the scenes. Ryder doesn’t keep any secrets from me, not after my father and ex tricked him so they could assault me.
He told me about the nameless riders who attacked him and his friends.
While I took care of Ryder, his friends wrangled one of the riders back to their safe house so that they could torture him for information, but he’s been tightlipped.
I should feel bad, knowing someone is being tortured a few houses down from where I live, but I don’t.
The guys are still trying to find out who the other three are, and who cut off Hawk’s cousin’s hand.
Ryder mentioned Aiden taking it upon himself to get the information. Until then, it’s a waiting game.
While it’s been nothing but crickets from the Exiled society, I’m still concerned they’ll come after Ryder for killing a King, especially outside of Hellfire Night.
Ryder keeps assuring me that he and his friends removed all traces leading back to them.
He claims they know some people who are helping behind the scenes.
I don’t think I’ll ever stop worrying about him being taken from me, though.
The Halloween party is in full swing, and the booze keeps flowing.
More people show up every hour, each time surprising me.
I didn’t think Ryder and his friends knew this many people.
They’ve always stuck together, closed off from everyone else, so I’m positive these are friends of friends of Aiden’s.
I weave through the crowd with two red Solo cups in my hands.
A girl dressed as a sexy mummy with half her face covered in gauze steps directly into my path, knocking into my arm and splashing the beer from my cup.
The alcohol hits her bare arm. It’s not a lot, but it’s enough to earn a stink-eye from her, as if I’m the one who bumped into her and not the other way around.
I roll my eyes and keep walking.
Whatever. She’s not worth the fight.
I cut through the cabin and slip through the open front door. A crowd lingers nearby, talking and laughing amongst themselves. A couple are sucking each other’s tongues and petting each other like they’re about to rip each other’s clothes off and start fucking right here in front of everybody.
A shiver rolls down my spine as the fall’s evening air cools my overheated skin. I descend the three steps on the porch and wander to where I last left my friends. I stop when I don’t spot a flash of pink, green, or purple hair.
“Madison!”
I turn and squint. My shoulders relax and my smile beams. Dahlia, Olivia, and Nova wave at me, gesturing for me to join them by the bonfire.
I make a beeline toward my friends, passing by a group of guys dressed as jocks with their letterman jackets.
One turns his head toward me, his gaze dipping down my body, and he groans loud enough for me to hear.
“Goddamn,” he mutters. “I’d pay that maid to milk me anytime.”
I cringe and shoot him a nasty look over my shoulder, then keep walking.
His blond friend smacks him in the chest with the back of his hand. “Dude, shut the fuck up.” He checks the area, on high alert, fear clouding his eyes. “Ryder is here somewhere. If he finds out about what you said, he’ll?—”
Whatever else he says fades as I join my friends by the fire. Yeah, the comment was gross, but the fear on his friend’s face made it worth it. Ryder has made a name for himself. Everyone knows not to mess with him. Because of my relationship with him, people also know I’m off-limits.
“What’re you grinning about?” Olivia squints and flattens her lips to appear like she’s annoyed, but I know she’s trying to hold back her own smile. Whatever I find amusing, she’ll get a kick out of it too. It’s part of the reason we’re best friends.
I snicker and shake my head. “It’s nothing.”
I peer around, searching for Ryder and not finding him. The other guys disappeared as well, and I can only imagine what kind of mayhem they’re up to.
“Mmhmm. Sure.” She peers past me in the direction I came from.
You can look all you want, but you won’t get the answer you’re dying for.
I hand Dahlia the cup I filled with soda since she made a comment earlier about not wanting to drink alcohol because it makes her feel weird. She softly thanks me as she takes the offered drink and sips it.
“Have you heard from your aunt lately?” Nova asks.
My smile returns at the mention of Minnie. “She’s still sending me random pictures of her meals in Italy. Also cats. Lots of cats she finds wandering the streets.”
After Ryder left the house to help his friends get rid of Justin’s and Dad’s bodies, I called Minnie.
It was early in the morning and I didn’t want to bug my friends.
Minnie had always told me I could go to her, no matter the day or time.
I needed someone to talk to, and she’s always been there for me.
It was hard, breaking the news to her about her brother’s passing.
She listened to my whole story, and I didn’t spare any details, not even about how Dad seemed eager to rape me after Justin.
By the end of the story, I was in tears, worried about her reaction.
I mean, he was her brother, and sometimes people stick by their family even though they’re toxic.
She surprised me when she told me she was proud of me.
I broke down, relieved she didn’t blame or hate me.
In the middle of sobbing, I admitted I’m in love with Ryder, thinking this would be the one thing she would push me away for.
Her response reminded me how I need to stop worrying so much about what other people think because these anxious thoughts lie.
The only person I haven’t heard from is Carolyn, and neither has Ryder.
We think she tucked tail and left town to find someone else to marry for their money.
It must scare my stepmother, knowing she’ll go right back to struggling to make ends meet.
I think it’s the perfect outcome for her since she lost touch with where she came from.
Sometimes I wonder if she tried driving a wedge between my stepbrother and me since the beginning.
“Aw, let me see the kitty pictures.” Olivia sidles up to me and holds her hand out for my phone.
I offer her an apologetic smile. “I don’t have my phone on me. Ryder has it.”
She raises her eyebrows. “What? Why?”
“Uhh.” I glance down at my outfit. The dress wasn’t made for function, so it lacks pockets. There’s so little fabric, I’m lucky I haven’t slipped a tit or flashed everyone my crotch or ass.
Nova snickers, and Dahlia looks me over with a tiny smile.
Olivia frowns and rests her hand on her hip. “That’s why God gave you big tits, Mad. You slip your phone between them and it’ll go nowhere.”
I scrunch my nose. “That’s not sanitary. I sweat a lot down there.”
Dahlia nods, agreeing with me about being cursed with breast sweat.
“Wipe it off, then.” Olivia shrugs, then gives me a smug look. “I’m sure Ryder wouldn’t mind helping you clean up. The man can’t keep his hands to himself now that you two are out.”
My cheeks burn with a blush. I’m not embarrassed about everyone knowing about my relationship with Ryder, but I still get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about him. “Okay, calm down, girl. I’ll send you the pics later.”
Olivia pouts but changes the subject. I don’t pay attention as I glance around the crowd, looking for a familiar head of dark-brown hair and piercing blue eyes.
Where the hell did he disappear to? He said he wouldn’t be gone for long, but that was thirty minutes ago.
“I’ll be back,” I mumble to the girls.
I crane my neck as I search the dancing crowd for Ryder. The music thumps and vibrates through my body, my heart matching its rhythm.
A man bumps into me, his hand briefly brushing against my arm in apology. I don’t spare him a look as I weave through the swaying and grinding bodies.
How in the hell did Ryder manage to disappear? The cabin is bigger than two standard-size bedrooms, but it’s not large enough to lose somebody in. He couldn’t have gone far.
I ditch my drink on a table beside the couch where a couple is making out, lost to the world around them as they heavily pet each other.
The current song switches to another KAMAARA single, and my body immediately responds as though I’m in my bedroom with Ryder’s head between my spread legs. The song’s deep bass and the singer’s gravelly voice thump through my chest and straight to my core.
Fingers trail through my hair at the back of my head, drawing me out of the spell the music put me under. I spin with Ryder’s name on the tip of my tongue. My shoulders slump in disappointment when I don’t find him standing there. No one is close enough to have done it.