CHAPTER 24
PLAYBOY
The moment Ryker came storming out of his office and growled for me to get on my bike and head to Bunz Out, I thought my soul left my fucking body. I was moving before I even realized it. My bike was loud in the quiet of the still dark morning, but I was a man on a mission.
I needed to get to Lara. Because Ryker wouldn’t tell me to get to the bakery if there wasn’t a problem.
Either something happened or she’s in danger. Both possibilities have my heart in my damn throat.
I’m incapable of even thinking about something happening to Vanessa. The idea of it is so out of the realm of possibility.
Nope.
Didn’t happen. Couldn’t have happened.
I was just there.
Knowing I was there and left them is almost too much to deal with. If any of the other brothers are following me, I wouldn’t know. I’m not paying even a little bit of attention to them. Hopefully, they can keep up.
I barely keep my bike upright and get it turned off when I skid to a stop behind Bunz Out. I’m off the back and striding to the door without checking a single thing going on in my surroundings.
My only thought is to get to Lara and make sure she’s okay.
Before I can reach the door, it swings open and Lara is standing there holding a box of kitchen gloves. After closing the distance between us, I grip her shoulders and hold her in place, not that she tries to escape or anything.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?” The questions tumble out of me quickly without giving her a chance to answer any of them.
I don’t look at her face at first; I’m taking in everything I can see on her.
No blood.
No tears in her clothing.
No bruising.
No blood.
“Jettson,” she whispers and my eyes snap to hers. Her voice gets loud as she firmly assures me, “I’m fine. I’m not injured.”
With the box of gloves being held out as an offering to not tamper with potential evidence, I follow her into the kitchen of Bunz Out. I’m more than a little impressed with how Lara seems to be taking this, whatever it is, in stride.
She’s not screaming.
She’s not crying.
But her face is a neutral mask which I hate seeing on her beautiful features.
I much prefer her dancing and singing with Vanesa in the kitchen. That’s when she lights up.
I feel my brothers come up behind me. When I glance over my shoulder I find Ryker, Snake, Sidewinder, and Whiskey standing there with surprise written all over their faces.
Lara shakes the box of kitchen gloves in our direction, and we pull some out and put them on, well we try to, without saying a word.
“I haven’t touched anything without wearing gloves, just in case. I understand my fingerprints will be all over the kitchen, but it seemed like the right thing to do,” her words are vague and her tone gives nothing away.
She said she’s fine, that she’s not hurt, but the way I can’t read her has my throat closing up. What the fuck is going on? I woke up in her bed today to find out Lola stole from us and pulled a runner.
“After Playboy left,” hearing her call me by my road name makes me growl under my breath, “I made some cookie dough upstairs and then decided to go ahead and come down to get started with my day. The moment I stepped into the kitchen, I knew something was wrong. I pulled up the security app, but it had been turned off and reset. The cameras were also tampered with.”
I reach for her, but she takes a small step back. My heart starts to pound in my chest, and I fist my hand at my side. What the fuck is going on?
“I searched the entire kitchen and didn’t find anything out of place, missing, or tampered with.” Lara takes a breath and lets it out slowly, as if the next words are what she fears most. “I found the money when I went into my office.”
Her blue eyes lock with mine. “You should check it out. I haven’t touched anything. When I saw it, I called Ryker.”
Ryker nods and steps forward. He claps a hand on my shoulder and squeezes slightly.
It’s the only thing that stops me from asking why Lara called him instead of me. She should have called me, right? Does she still not trust me?
Ryker pushes me toward the office even though I have no desire to step away from my woman. The moment I step into the doorway, my eyes fall on the bundles of cash in the middle of the desk. My eyes widen as I take it in.
Ryker grunts, “Looks like half of what Lola took.”
My eyebrows pull together as I take in the scene. It doesn’t make any fucking sense. How the fuck did this money get here? Why is it here?
I step back into the kitchen and my eyes find Lara. She’s watching me very closely. What is she looking for? What is she expecting?
Before I can ask any one of the millions of questions swirling around in my head, Diesel comes barreling through the door like his ass is on fire. He’s sweating and his eyes are wide as he waves an envelope around.
“Lola left a note.” He shakes the envelope more vigorously before handing it over to Ryker.
Our Prez looks at it and then hands it directly over to me. My road name is written on the front. I look up at Ryker who gives me a nod without saying a word.
I already know that whatever it says is going to piss me off and be full of lies. That is who Lola is. Now that the mask has been ripped off, her tricks only disgust me.
Playboy,
By the time you read this, I’ll already be gone. I’m sorry that I couldn’t say goodbye to your face, but I doubt you’d be willing to talk to me anyway. That’s okay, I understand why you don’t want anything to do with me.
This time, the plan worked too well. My heart paid the price.
I know it won’t matter anymore, but I really did fall in love with you. You’re sweet and kind, even if you don’t show it to everyone. You listen and you see the worth in people, no matter what their standing is. Those are qualities that matter. I hope you don’t lose them after this.
You deserve to know the truth.
I did steal from the club, I won’t try and pretend I didn’t. Money was always the goal and now it’s time to start over somewhere else.
The last thing I want to do is leave you, but this was always the plan. Lara wouldn’t let me back out and threatened me if I didn’t follow through.
I’m sorry I deceived you. It’s my biggest regret.
Everything that happened was part of the plan. I moved to Dogwood Ridge first and established myself with the club. Lara came to town with Vanessa right on time and I started whispering in your ear about her. I didn’t know you’d feel the need to protect and defend me, even if none of it was real.
I think that’s when I fell in love with you—the first time you defended me. Not like it matters now.
The sister drama, the stories about how I ruined Lara’s life over and over again, the ‘truth’ behind Vanessa, and Lara’s hatred for you were all scripted.
Vanessa believes I abandoned her because it’s the story we told her.
Lara has always been the better person to take care of her, that part is true, so we crafted a story we could use when it helped the con.
When we sought out Dogwood Ridge with a plan, I knew my role was to be the basket case, the whore, the person overlooked. What I never expected was to meet you. I wanted to call the whole thing off. I begged Lara, but she refused.
I tried to get her to back off, but when she found out that I would sometimes overhear things I wasn’t supposed to, and how valuable those secrets could be, she told me to never bring up backing out again. This was supposed to end months ago; we should have been long gone by now.
But Lara wanted more. More secrets. More leverage. More insurance. She said it would protect us in the future, but I just wanted to get out.
I’ve never wanted to get out before.
This time, it was only because of you.
I’m sorry.
Lara has the other half of the club’s money. She’ll deny it. She’ll tell you just how horrible I am and how I’ve always done this kind of thing. Maybe now, with the truth, you’ll be able to see through her performance.
I hope, one day, you no longer hate me for my role in this. Maybe we can meet again in another life because I know you’ll never forgive me in this one.
Goodbye.
I leave a piece of my heart behind with you,
Lola
I stare at the letter for a second after I finish reading before my face twists up in disgust. My eyes snap to Lara as I slap the letter against Ryker’s chest without looking at him. I’m only looking at her.
Her mask is firmly in place, and I want to rip it off.
Ryker reads the letter out loud, but I don’t look away from my woman’s blue eyes. The kitchen of Bunz Out is silent for a second once he’s done reading.
“Everything Lola wrote is bullshit,” my tone leaves no room for any other conclusion. I shake my head firmly, knowing to the depth of me that Lara would never do that.
“How do you know?” Lara’s eyes turn glassy and the question comes out rough, like it costs her something.
“No matter what, you would never use Vanessa like she’s implying.” I point toward the letter. “This is just Lola pulling her bullshit.”
One tear breaks over her lash line. Then another. And another.
By the time I close the distance between us, Lara has buried her face in her hands and is sobbing. I pull her against my chest and wrap my arms around her so tightly that I should probably loosen my grip. I don’t.
I press a kiss to the top of her head and choke out, “Did you doubt me?”
She peers up at me but doesn’t pull away.
“I’m sorry,” her words are thick with emotion.
“When I called Ryker, someone found the note when I was on the phone with him. I didn’t know what it said exactly, but I knew it would try to frame me in some way and destroy the life I’ve been building here. That combined with the money?”
She closes her eyes and takes a deep, shuddering breath. More tears stream down her face as she shakes her head slowly.
“This was a test,” I don’t pose it as a question because I already know. My brothers shift around us, clearly uncomfortable; I can’t say I blame them.
Her blue eyes search my face, and I know she sees my hurt. She doubted me. She didn’t think I’d believe her. Can she see the pain written on my face?
“I had to know,” there’s a plea in her voice for me to understand.
“I should probably apologize for it, but I can’t because I had to know.
” Her tone turns insistent, “I’d always question it.
I needed to see you choose me, to see you believe me, even if I didn’t know what kind of trap was being laid. ”
My eyes slide closed. Not because I don’t understand her reasoning. I do. That’s probably what hurts the most.
I can’t even blame her for wanting to find out what I would do in this situation. If I had condemned Lara, she would never have looked at me the same way again.
But I didn’t doubt her, not for a second. Not now. I don’t think I could ever doubt her again.
I love her.
Oh fuck. I love her.
I’ve been in love with her for a long time, I just hadn’t admitted it to myself yet. Not really. Not fully.
Because I was waiting for her to come to her senses and decide it was smarter for her to push me away.
When I open my eyes, worry is written all over Lara’s face.
I cup her cheeks in my large hands and wipe away her tears with my thumbs.
“I know you, Cupcake,” the words are husky.
“I’m sorry I didn’t see it before, I’m sorry I was blinded by her for so fucking long, but I see you now. I know you now.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers the words and I can see the regret in her eyes.
I press my lips to hers, softly and briefly.
“I know,” I murmur. “Trust takes time and we’ve been building something so beautiful.
I don’t blame you for questioning me or being wary.
I showed you I was a man who couldn’t be trusted, not with the truth and certainly not with your heart or Vanessa’s heart.
Those memories can’t be erased in an instant and I never expected them to be. ”
My forehead presses against hers, and our breathing finds the same rhythm.
“I love you, Lara,” the words are gentle, like a breeze you close your eyes and revel in.
“I don’t expect you to say it now, or ever really, but I want you to know how I feel.
I’ll wait as long as you need to trust me, to let me carry a little of your burden, and for you to let me have pieces of your heart. ”
I’m about to kiss her again, but Ryker clears his throat.
“Well, this is touching,” his voice is filled with amusement, “but we have work to do.” I keep my eyes fixed on Lara, but he must have turned to Whiskey because he says, “You do your tech shit and find out everything you can. Lara is not a suspect, she never was.”
My woman relaxes in my arms, but she doesn’t look away from me either. I watch her struggle. She’s not sure what to listen to—her head or her heart.
“You say it when you’re ready,” I say it low enough for only her to hear.
Her eyes close for a second before they open again. “Okay,” she says just as low and nods.
Snake slaps my back so hard that I almost stumble. “Looks like you finally got your woman,” he teases me. “Well, almost.”
I shoot him a glare promising payback, but he just raises his hands like he didn’t do a damn thing.
“You can’t kill me, I have a baby on the way,” he says it like it’s enough to protect him.
Since I adore Graycie, I guess it will. For now.
That doesn’t mean I can’t find another way to exact revenge.
Diesel pipes up from where he’s leaning against a wall, “Is it always this exciting so early in the morning? Man, I must miss a lot.”
Lara giggles and something settles in my chest. Clearly, we still have a massive problem named Lola, but it’s not something I have to solve right now. My brothers, my club, we’ll figure it out.
And they’ll all have my back in protecting my girls. It’s what we do and why our family is so strong.
Soon enough I’ll be able to claim my Cupcake at the table, and she’ll wear my property cut on her back. She’ll know she’s mine and wear my name with pride.
I choose her and I always will. Today, she saw the action behind it.
As she melts into me, I feel her walls crumble even more. Even as exhaustion washes over me, I find myself smiling. She’s in my arms, right where she belongs.