Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
RYDER
Elena touching me in front of Grant almost got the man killed.
Not because she stopped me. Because she trusted me.
And fuck, that’s worse. I stand outside the clubhouse hours later smoking a cigarette I don’t even want while replaying that moment over and over.
Her hand on my arm, the feel of her body close behind mine. The silent choice she made. Mine.
The thought keeps hitting hard and wrong. Nomads don’t belong to people. And people sure as hell don’t belong to us. The clubhouse door opens behind me.
“Elena’s asking for you,” Ivy says.
That immediate pull in my chest pisses me off. Still, I crush the cigarette and go inside. Elena sits alone at one of the back tables wrapped in my flannel, knees tucked to her chest. The sight nearly kills me.
“You okay?”
“No.”
Honest answer. I sit across from her.
“He looked at me like…” She swallows hard. “Like I’d betrayed him.”
“You escaped him.”
“To Grant, that’s betrayal.”
Rage burns hot and sharp inside me. Elena watches me carefully.
“You get angry for me a lot.”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Because somewhere between the roadside and the clubhouse, she became important. Too important. Instead I say “Because nobody protected you before.” Emotion flashes across her face. Then she whispers “You do.” Christ. I look away briefly. Dangerous girl.
“You should sleep,” I mutter.
“So should you.”
“Not happening.”
A small silence settles between us. Not awkward. Warm. Then Elena says the one thing I’m not prepared for.
“I feel safer when you’re near.”
My entire body stills. “You shouldn’t say things like that to men like me.”
Her brows pull together. “What does that mean?”
“It means I know exactly what I’m capable of.”
“And what are you capable of?”
Violence, obsession and ruining peaceful things. I meet her eyes.
“Bad things.”
Elena studies me for a long moment, then quietly “You’ve only ever been gentle with me.”
The words land harder than any punch I’ve ever taken. I stand abruptly because staying seated feels impossible suddenly.
“Elena—”
A phone rings downstairs. Knuckles shouts “Ryder! Need you now!” Saved by the damn phone. I head downstairs fast, needing distance. Knuckles is already typing furiously when I enter the office.
“Problem,” he says.
“When isn’t there?”
He spins the monitor toward me. Legal paperwork. Court filings. My stomach drops instantly.
“Grant filed emergency action claiming Elena was abducted.” Bishop swears beside me.
“What’s that mean?” I ask. Knuckles exhales sharply.
“It means if he convinces a judge she’s under duress, cops could drag her back until hearings clear.”
Ice settles in my chest. No fucking way. Bishop folds his arms.
“Solution?”
Knuckles hesitates. I already know I’m gonna hate it.
“Fastest legal protection is marriage.” The room goes quiet.
“No,” I say immediately.
Bishop’s gaze flicks toward me. “You heard the rest before?”
“Yeah. Still no.”
Knuckles raises a brow. “You in love with her already or something?”
I glare hard enough to shut him up. Because that question hits too close. Marriage means permanence. Roots. Responsibility beyond protection. And Elena deserves more than a broken nomad who sleeps with one eye open and violence in his bloodstream.
“No,” I repeat. “We find another way.”
But deep down, I already know there isn’t one fast enough. And judging by the quiet look Bishop gives me… He knows it too