Chapter Twenty-four
Kade
I grip the steering wheel, my mind racing as Emma sits silently beside me. I glance at her, trying to read her thoughts in her features. She’s looking out the window, her mind clearly elsewhere. No doubt trying to solve this crazy, life-ruining riddle.
“Who would do something like this?” She sounds almost angry as she brings both fists down on her knees with enough force that I flinch.
“Someone who wants us to split,” I say, my brain running down avenues and chasing ideas. We’re not even driving; we’re just sitting in my car, still parked outside the hotel.
Stella wouldn”t expect me to run back if she played dirty. I know that for a fact. She’s not stupid, and that would be a very stupid move. Besides, we already know it wasn’t her - she thought I was saying she’d sent the envelope to me, and she was quick to defend me about the hug. Why would she do that if she wanted us to split?
Emma turns, her gaze locking onto mine, searching for an answer I”m not sure I have. “What do you think?” she asks.
And things begin to fit in place as I step back and think about who has something to gain from this whole situation. “Think about it,” I say, letting go of the wheel and turning to face her. “If you believed I”d cheated, where would you go?”
Her expression shifts to confusion. “My sister?”
I shake my head. “No, your best friend.”
Her lips part and she sucks in a deep, stunned breath. “Well, that certainly makes more sense than...” She gestures to the hotel, and I nod in agreement. “But we’re not friends anymore.”
“And he handled that rejection so well,” I say, remembering him showing up on her doorstep.
I glance at her, watching the pieces fall into place for her as a mixture of relief and brewing anger fill her features.“Damn him,” she whispers, furious tears sparkling in her eyes.
“Hey,” I reach over, placing my hand on hers, feeling that ever-present static charge that jumps between us with every touch. “It’ll be okay. We’re going to be okay.”
“He might not be by the time I’m done with him,” she says under her breath, and I hold back a smile at her feistiness. “We’re going to his house,” she says, rattling off the address as I turn over the engine and back out of the parking spot.
The drive is made in silence, and I sense her seething as the seconds tick by. “This is just like him,” she whispers. “Trying to manipulate his way back into my life. So he can be the freaking hero. What a loser.” Her rage only seems to be growing and I almost feel bad for Ryan. Almost.
“You don’t deserve to be treated that way,” I say, trying not to fan the flames of her anger.
“He made me doubt you.” She glances at me. “How are you not furious? Her hands ball into fists. “How can you not want to just wrap your hands around his throat and-” She gives a violent back and forth shake of her hands, and I wonder if she should take some time to cool off before we visit Ryan.
“Look, I don’t want to have to bail you out today-”
“I’ll behave myself.” Her bitter tone worries me, but I trust her.
Ten minutes disappear as the hum of the engine becomes the only noise between us. Gravel crunches under the tires as we pull up to Ryan”s house. He”s there, all grease and muscle, a vision of an all-American man as he works under the hood of an old truck.
But it’s all bullshit, and we know it.
Before I can put the car in park, Emma’s already gone, the door closing behind her. Her stride is long, furious as she crosses the driveway toward him.
I get out, ready to watch things unfold and step in if I need to. Emma wants this to be her fight; I can sense that. But I’m here if she needs me, just like I said I would be.
Ryan watches her approach, his expression amused as he wipes away the black grease on his hands with an oil-stained rag. He stands tall, as if to intimidate her with size, but she’s not afraid of him. Hell, I’d be more afraid of her right now, but I’m not an idiot.
“Hey, Em—”
But Emma doesn’t even let him finish as she shoves the envelope against his chest. “Next time, do your own dirty work,” she says, fury rolling like thunder in her words. “Explain this, now.”
I move closer, wanting to be there if anything were to change. Neither of them so much as look at me, then he seems to decide he has a death wish. “Just settle down and we’ll get this whole thing sorted out,” he says, playing dumb, but we all know better.
I mean, he is dumb, but he knows exactly what she means.
“Don’t tell me to calm down,” she says, and I wonder how she was ever friends with this jerk. He must have been really good at hiding who he really was.
“Emma, what”s this about?” He sounds every bit the loving, concerned friend.
“Cut the crap, Ryan.”
He glances at me. “Sheesh, someone is a little emotional.” Then he focuses on her again. “I swear, I don”t know what you”re talking about,” he says.
“Ryan,” Emma”s voice is all steel and warnings. Her fury is obvious in her eyes, and her fists clench at her sides as she glares at him. “I know what you did.” She’s not yelling - she’s deadly calm and dangerous.
“Emma,” he says, a condescending edge to his voice. “I think you might be overreacting.”
“Huh,” she says, then shakes her head. “No, that doesn”t check out. We all know you don’t think.”
He chuckles. “Put the claws away, kitten. This is a safe space.” He draws a circle around us with one fingertip and arches an infuriating eyebrow at her.
“Look, Ryan,” I say, spreading my hands apart. “Emma is amazing, but this? Spreading lies, playing dirty tricks? That”s not going to make her choose you.”
His eyes narrow into a silent challenge.
But Emma isn”t backing down—not now, not ever. “Fine, Ryan. I tried talking to you. I’m done.” With that, she storms off across the lawn, up the steps to his porch, and disappears into the house before I can stop her.
“Does she think she’s going to find proof?” he asks, crossing his arms, but I sense worry in his stance.
“She’s a damn smart woman. You better bet she has a plan.” I have no idea what it is, but I’m confident in her.
Seconds tick by and the tension mounts. I’m wondering if I need to follow her in when she reemerges, but not alone.
Ryan”s grandma follows behind, her expression one of shock and disappointment that cuts deeper than any words could as she leans on Emma and walks toward us. I inhale, glad I’m not in his shoes right now.
“Is it true, Ryan?” Her voice isn’t frail, and I can easily imagine her whipping him, even as an adult. He flinches but doesn”t say a word.
There”s a moment of silence where the whole world seems to pause. And then, I notice a subtle drop of his shoulders. That motion might as well be a confession. Emma sees it. His grandmother sees it. I see it.
The old woman turns to Emma. “Get a restraining order against him,” she says.
The words she doesn’t say hang between us, her worry that he’s dangerous. And I agree with her. I’ve known Ryan was trouble from the moment I met him.
Emma nods. “I will.” Her gaze doesn”t leave Ryan.
I feel something inside me shift as a fierce protectiveness rises up in me, a need to keep her safe that goes beyond reason.
“Let”s go,” Emma says, turning to me and taking my hand with hers. Side by side, we walk back to my car, and I open her door for her. She slides into the passenger seat as I walk around, not bothering to glance over at the people watching us again. That chapter of our lives is closed, permanently.
I drop into the driver”s seat. Emma”s next to me - right where she belongs - her chest heaving with quiet fury.
“Remind me never to make you mad,” I say, teasing her in an effort to lighten the mood as I fire up the engine. The corners of her lips twitch upward, but her eyes remain angry. But I have no intention of ever making her angry, sad, or hurt. Ever.
“Take us to the club. It”s time to tell Alex,” Emma says, her determination reflected in her shoulders as my gut tightens. And just like that, my heart sinks like a stone into my stomach. This is it—the moment of truth.
“Of course,” I say, backing out of the driveway and heading for the open road.
The drive is silent, both of us lost in our own thoughts. What will Alex say?
We pull up to the club, the neon sign buzzing as we step out. Inside, the air is thick with anticipation and the scent of alcohol and bleach color the air.
We make our way to Alex’s office, and Emma pushes the door open, letting herself in without warning. “I thought you weren”t coming in today,” Alex says, glancing up in surprise from behind his cluttered desk.
“I”m in love with Kade,” she says, her voice delicate, but edged with steel. She stands there, shoulders squared, bold, unwavering and clear that this is not a confession—it”s a battle cry.
Alex”s eyebrows shoot up, and I can feel the weight of his gaze on me, his eyes unreadable.
But none of that matters because Emma just said she loves me.
And I’ve fallen for her—hard. But I don’t know that I have the strength to say the same thing out loud.
Alex shifts uncomfortably in his chair, the leather creaking under him. “Well, that complicates things,” he says, his words hesitant.
Emma seems to freeze. “Complicates things? How?” She glares at Alex with an intensity that demands nothing but the truth.
I can practically hear Alex”s thoughts racing.
Will he keep the secret he demanded I keep?
He swallows hard, and I brace for impact. “It”s just that...” He stops and takes a deep breath, his expression begging her to understand. “The club is in massive debt.”
I feel like the air has been sucked out of the room as my mind races—debt? The club?
That’s the real reason he asked me to contact a loan shark and play middleman—it wasn’t for an investment opportunity. He was sinking. Drowning. And taking the club down with him.
“I lied to you, too, Kade,” Alex says, his gaze shifting to me. “I’m sorry.”
“You knew about this?” Emma whirls on me, her accusing words sharp, her features filled with hurt.
“Emma, let me—” I say, but she’s already shaking her head, backing away.
”No,” she says, and with that one word, it feels like I’ve lost her for good. She spins on her heel and strides out, leaving nothing but silence and pain in her wake.
Alex meets my gaze. “I”m sorry, I just couldn”t keep it in anymore.”
“You lied to me.” There’s really nothing else to say. I don’t need to remind him that he told me he wanted to invest in the loan shark’s dealings. I don’t need to point out that he told me not to tell Emma because she wouldn’t agree with club funds being invested that way.
And I sure as hell don’t need to tell him that he might have just ruined everything for me and Emma, the woman I love, who loves me.
Or loved.
Now that love might have shifted back to hate...
...right where it started.