Chapter 24
24
RYKER
D ominion Hall was alive with motion, humming with the kind of lethal energy that only came when men like us were preparing for war.
Every brother who wasn’t actively securing an operation was here. Every spare operator, every analyst, every contact we could trust to be in the room. The air was thick with tension, men speaking in hushed tones, throwing out theories, trying to make sense of what we were up against.
There were whispers.
A mole. A rival company. A government conspiracy.
None of them sat right with me.
Because this felt personal.
And I should know. I’m the king of making things personal.
A rival company wouldn’t go this far. Not unless we’d cut into their business, taken something from them, and Dominion had gone out of its way to avoid conflicts on American soil. If we were going up against another private military firm, we’d know it by now .
A government conspiracy? Maybe. We’d done things that put us on the wrong lists, but Will wasn’t the one who’d make them nervous. If they were coming for Dominion, they’d come for me.
That left something else. Something worse.
I wasn’t sure what yet, but my gut told me this wasn’t about money.
The details of the ransom demand came in just as Charlie and Noah stepped into the room, their faces tight with unreadable expressions.
“We got a time and place,” Charlie said, dropping his phone onto the table and sliding it toward me.
I picked it up, scanning the message.
Folly Beach Pier. Tomorrow. Ten minutes after sunset.
I set the phone down slowly. It was a bad location—too many angles, too many places for shooters, too easy to get boxed in. They’d chosen a spot that forced us into a barrel, where they’d have control.
They weren’t amateurs.
I was still thinking through the logistics when I felt it.
A presence at the door.
I looked up just as Isabel stepped into the room.
Her hair was damp from the shower, pulled over one shoulder, her skin scrubbed pink from the hot water. She had changed into one of the t-shirts I’d given her, the hem barely brushing the top of her thighs, her feet bare against the hardwood floor.
But that wasn’t what caught my attention.
It was the look on her face.
Something tight. Determined.
I didn’t like it .
I knew what was coming before she even opened her mouth.
“I want to help,” she said, voice steady.
“No.” I didn’t even hesitate. “That’s impossible.”
She crossed her arms. “It’s not impossible.”
I pushed away from the table, turning to face her fully. “Isabel, I don’t care what it costs. I’ll pay whatever I have to in order to get him back.”
Her jaw tightened. “That’s not the point.”
“Then what is the point?”
“I need to be there,” she said simply.
I exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down my face. “Not a chance.”
She didn’t flinch. Didn’t break eye contact. “You can put me a safe distance away.”
“No.”
“Put me far enough away that I’m not in danger, but close enough that I can see when you bring him back.”
I was about to put my fist through the wall.
I wanted to tell her to fuck off with that idea. To lock her in the goddamn panic room and not let her out until this was over. But the worst part?
The worst part was that a tiny, reckless part of me liked the idea.
Liked the thought of her being there.
It was beyond stupid. So fucking stupid.
But I wanted her near me. I wanted her to be one of the first people to see Will when we got him back. I wanted her to know.
I knew how fucking irrational it was, but I didn’t care.
“Fine,” I said finally, voice rough. “I’ll find a place for you. Far from the action. ”
Her shoulders relaxed, just slightly.
I forced myself to look away, back at the table, back at the details of the meet.
Because this wasn’t about her. It couldn’t be.
I had a brother to save.
I turned back to the table, scanning the faces of the men who’d been with me in war, men who’d bled beside me and followed me into hell more times than I could count. They were already thinking ahead, already moving into the mindset that made us the best at what we did.
“Get the planning going,” I ordered. “We have less than twenty-four hours to get ahead of them.”
No one hesitated.
Charlie and Noah started breaking down the map, Elias was already working digital recon, and the rest of the team began discussing points of insertion and extraction. We all knew the drill. We’d done this before—hostage retrieval, enemy engagements, high-stakes, no-room-for-error kind of missions.
But this time was different.
Because this wasn’t just a job. It was Will.
I clenched my jaw, forcing my focus back where it needed to be. My team had this covered. They knew what to do.
I turned to Isabel. “Come with me.”
She didn’t ask questions. Just followed.
I led her back through the halls, past the secured rooms, past the locked doors where my men were preparing for war. The house was buzzing, alive with energy, but I didn’t stop moving until we were in my bedroom.
I shut the door behind us, turning the lock .
She hesitated, her fingers twitching at her sides. “Are you locking me in?”
“No.” I stepped forward, closing the space between us. “If you’re coming tomorrow, we don’t have much time.”
Her lips parted slightly, her breath hitching just a little. She knew exactly what I meant.
I reached for my belt, unfastened it with a sharp tug, then unzipped my pants and shoved them down. My cock was already hard, already aching, already needing her the way I always fucking did.
I stepped closer.
She didn’t hesitate.
She dropped to her knees without a word, her fingers wrapping around the base of my cock, her lips parting as she took me into her mouth.
My head fell back, a groan ripping from my throat as the heat of her mouth surrounded me.
“Fuck, Isabel,” I gritted out, my fingers digging into her scalp as she took me deeper, her tongue swirling over the sensitive underside. She moaned softly, the vibration sending a shudder down my spine, and when she looked up at me—lips wrapped around my cock, eyes dark, wide, fucking hungry—I almost lost it right then.
I tightened my grip, guiding her, setting the pace, watching as she obeyed every movement, took me deeper, hollowed her cheeks and sucked like she wanted to ruin me. My breath turned ragged, my thighs tensing as she worked me over, her tongue pressing, teasing, making my world fucking explode.
I clenched my jaw, my body tightening, that pressure coiling in my gut, sharp and overwhelming. I was about to come, but not like this. Not yet .
I pulled out of her mouth, a string of saliva connecting her lips to the tip of my cock. She let out a soft whimper, her pupils blown, her cheeks flushed.
I grabbed her chin, tilting her face up. “Back on the bed,” I ordered, my voice thick with lust. “Now.”
She obeyed immediately, crawling back onto the mattress, her legs spreading slightly, her breathing shallow. I climbed over her, yanking her shorts down, dragging her panties with them. She was already soaked, her thighs slick, her body trembling in anticipation.
I didn’t waste time.
I buried my face between her legs, my tongue sliding through her wetness, groaning at the way she tasted—sweet, hot, fucking perfect.
She gasped, arching against my mouth, her hands flying to my hair, gripping, pulling, but I didn’t stop. I devoured her, my tongue circling her clit before dipping lower, fucking into her, tasting her, drinking her in like I was dying of thirst.
“Ryker—fuck?—”
I growled against her, dragging her hips closer, pressing her thighs apart so I could take more, taste more, flicking my tongue over her clit before sucking it into my mouth, making her shatter beneath me.
She came with a sharp cry, her body writhing, shaking, her thighs clamping around my head. I didn’t stop. Not until she was moaning, pleading, her body too sensitive to handle any more.
I finally pulled back, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand as I climbed over her.
She was wrecked.
Chest heaving. Lips parted. Legs trembling.
I smirked, brushing a thumb over her bottom lip, my cock still hard, still aching for her .
“This wouldn’t be a bad way to start every op,” I muttered.
Her breath hitched, her eyes flicking to my mouth.
I kissed her.
Then I put myself inside her again, and lost myself to the intoxication.