Chapter 42
June
I watch Ryker expectantly, feeling the weight of my anger and impatience as I wait for his answer. After everything I’ve told him, he has to understand my need for revenge, so why is he stopping me now?
“Give us a minute,” Ryker says, his voice firm, before he turns to the Reid brothers.
Jack, Carter, and Tyler are all still standing, but several of their men are slumped on the ground, wounded but alive. Around us, the Cortesi thugs are lined up against the house wall, bruised and bloody, their wrists bound tight. Matteo’s battered face is illuminated by the moonlight, his eyes swollen, and a fresh streak of blood is trickling from his brow. Every single one of them looks like they’ve taken a beating or been shot at.
“No one died,” Jack mutters to Ryker, his voice almost incredulous.
A flicker of surprise crosses Ryker’s face, and I’m sure he’s thinking what I am: it’s a miracle no one died tonight, given the gunfire and sheer rage in the air. Matteo’s eyes land on me, and despite his wounds, he throws me an unwanted smirk.
“We’re not murderers,” he insists, his tone smug as he meets my glare.
“Neither are we,” Jack retorts, staring at him as if he wished otherwise.
I scoff, unable to stop the fury bubbling up in me when I turn to Matteo.
“But you were awfully proud to be responsible for my father’s death just a few minutes ago, you fucking piece of—”
I lurch forward, ready to wipe that smirk off his face, but Ryker reaches for me and pulls me back, his grip firm but gentle, when he places himself between me and that asshole.
“He’ll pay, June. I promise you, we’ll make them all pay.”
Jack and Carter nod in agreement, their faces dark with intent.
“We’ll delete them—their entire operation, everything they’ve built,” Carter seethes. “By the time we’re done, they’ll all end up in jail.”
“How?” I snap, feeling the impatience boiling over. “What are you going to do?”
The youngest of the Reid brothers, Tyler, eyes the building thoughtfully, scanning the boarded windows and rusted equipment around us.
“First, we need to know where the headquarters of their operations could be—this might just be one of their safe houses.” His gaze narrows as he considers Matteo and his crew, who are now looking less smug and more worried.
Carter steps forward, catching on to his brother’s thoughts. “Maybe one of these assholes feels like giving us directions.”
“It’s here,” I say, my voice strong. “I’m pretty sure this shithole is their headquarter, or at least a rather important place. They’ve got a bunch of offices inside, and I saw safes—probably stuffed with documents and money.” I point back at the house, its shadow looming over us in the moonlight, silent and empty now. “I can show you everything I saw. I spent enough time in there to know that they’re hiding a lot of important stuff in there.”
I notice the shocked expression on the faces of the Cortesi and instantly know that I’m right. The Reid brothers exchange quick, skeptical glances, clearly surprised by what I told them, but Ryker doesn’t hesitate. His arm slips confidently around my shoulders, and a warmth spreads through me as he gives me a proud nod.
“That sounds like a plan,” he says, his arm pulling me close. “Good job.”
I catch Tyler’s raised eyebrow as he looks from me to Ryker, and a shy smile tugs at my lips. Carter lets out a low chuckle.
“Looks like we’ve been doing a bit of matchmaking on the side,” Tyler jokes, exchanging knowing looks with his brothers.
A laugh slips out, and I feel the tension melt away, just for a moment as we all join in a round of laughter that feels so odd and misplaced, given our surroundings.
“I need to take care of this,” Carter says, pointing to his shoulder, where a dark spot has been growing on the fabric of his jacket. “I’m pretty sure it’s just a graze wound, but it’s bleeding pretty badly.”
“We’ve got some dressing material in the trucks,” Tyler points out. “Let’s get you fixed up, and then we’ll check out the house.”
His eyes flit to Jack and Ryker and me, and Jack nods. “I’m coming with you. We should also see to Billy and Joel over there.”
He points to two of the men who are slumping on the ground, and I realize that he’s right. It doesn’t look like they’re fatally wounded, but both of them are pretty pale and clearly in need of medical attention.
“What about your hand?” Ryker asks me. “We should take care that it as well.”
I grimace in pain as I lift my left hand. It’s swollen now, and the skin is changing color, but the pain is bearable, as long as I don’t move it too much.
“I don’t know, maybe,” I say through gritted teeth. “But can we have a word first?”
A line appears between his brows before he nods.
“You guys go ahead,” he tells the Reid brothers. “We’ll catch up.”
“Alright,” Jack agrees, and the Reid brothers and most of their men walk away, giving us a few moments to ourselves.
When I glance up at Ryker, his smile is warm and easy, a sight that sends a pleasant thrill through me.
“Do you forgive me?” I ask softly, barely above a whisper. “For lying, I mean. About who I am. And for…”
“Wanting to kill me?” he finishes my sentence.
I shake my head. “No, I never wanted to kill you. I just wanted to bring you down, you and your operation.”
“Which is why you went snooping into my office as soon as you got the chance,” he says, and my heart aches at the pain in his voice. “But I get why you did it now. June, I’m so sorry about what happened to your father. I had no idea.”
I know that he’s telling the truth, not just because I can see the sincerity in his dark gaze. He looks pained, as if he was suffering with me.
“But please believe me when I tell you I didn’t even know him. I had nothing to do with what happened to him. You know that, right?” he adds, almost pleading.
“Yes, I know that now,” I admit. “I just…”
My voice breaks and I lift my healthy hand to reach for his, squeezing it as if I was holding on for support. And maybe I am.
“Ryker, I need you to know that… this between us, that’s not… I wasn’t trying to…”
I’m stuttering, because I know I’m not speaking the full truth. I wanted to get closer to him to use his trust to my advantage, but was that really all there was? I know it wasn’t. I was attracted to him the moment we met. I just refused to allow myself to feel this way about him. I was lying to myself just as much as I was lying to him.
He looks at me, an agonizing uncertainty in his expression.
“You weren’t trying to…what?” he asks, hope kindling in his dark brown eyes.
“This is real,” I finally say, pointing back and forth between him and myself. “This is real, Ryker. At least for me. I wasn’t pretending.”
There’s a moment of silence and when I look up to meet his dark gaze, I’m not sure what I’m seeing at first. Doubt? Rejection? Affection?
“I thought you were,” he finally says. “I suspected you were trying to seduce me so I would let my guard down and…”
“And what?” I ask.
“Well, to do exactly what you were trying to do—”
“But I wasn’t!” I cut him off as a wave of fear washes over me. Fear of losing him. “I wasn’t Ryker, I swear! I’ll admit, yes, there was a part of me that saw this advantage, and honestly, I kept telling myself that’s why I was doing it, but just because I was so conflicted. I was supposed to hate you and instead I…”
My voice trails off again. I love him. I realize that now. I’ve fallen in love with the man I was so keen on destroying. But I can’t find it within myself to say it out loud. Not in this moment.
He pulls me into his arms, and I heave a sigh of relief when his lips curve into a smile.
“It’s okay, June, I get it,” he says, taking me by surprise. “I would have done the same if I’d been in your position. I would have hated me, too.”
“I don’t hate you,” I insist. “Well, I tried to hate you. I really did. But I just couldn’t.”
“Sounds like I might be just as irresistible as you are,” he says, before he silences my chuckle with a kiss.
We’ve kissed before, but we never shared a kiss like this one. It’s not desperate and fiery, not fueled by the worry that drew us together when I ran into him as I was fleeing out of the Cortesi’s hold. There was no time to express our longing for each other then, but now our lips meet in a soft and slow way, our tongues finding each other with deliberate restraint. I breathe in his scent, lost in the moment—until I can hear a dirty chuckle in the background.
We drift apart, both glaring at the disgusting Cortesi men who’ve been watching us the entire time. Matteo shakes his head in disgust, mumbling something I can’t understand.
Ryker clears his throat before he reaches into his jacket pocket to retrieve something from it. I can’t see what it is, because he hides it in his curled up hand, but when he opens his palm before my eyes, I let out a gasp.
“My bracelet!” I exclaim. “I thought I’d lost it forever!”
“It must’ve gotten stuck on my jeans during the ambush,” he says, as he lets it drop into my open palm. “The clasp is broken, otherwise I would put it back where it belongs.”
I smile at him. “You already did. Thank you.”
“It’s your father, isn’t it?” he asks. “The picture inside. I’m sorry, I was curious, so I looked.”
I struggle to open the little trinket with one hand, so Ryker helps me and reveals the photo inside, my favorite picture of my dad and I. His warm smile greets me, and for the first time in years, I feel like things will be okay.”
“Yes, it’s him,” I say. “I’m sorry I lied about that, too.”
“How about your mother?” he wants to know. “Is she…”
“She died when I was born, so I never got to know her,” I tell him. “It was always just me and my dad. That’s why we were so close. He raised me by himself and he was the most amazing father anyone could hope for.”
I close the trinket with two fingers, as tears are pearling in my eyes. Ryker wraps his arm around me, careful not to touch my broken hand.
“I’m so sorry,” he says. “For everything.”
I huff. “It’s not your fault.”
“I still hate that these things happened to you,” he insists. “And I think we have a lot of catching up to do after all of this is over.”
I nod. “Yes, we do.”
“I can’t wait to get to know the real you, June,” he adds. “Now, let’s take care of your hand, before we make sure that these motherfuckers never get to hurt anyone ever again.”