Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
ELENA
The desert highway stretches endlessly ahead of us. Golden sand. Blue sky. Freedom. I sit behind Ryder on his Harley with my arms wrapped tightly around his waist while warm wind whips through my hair. The road hums beneath us, steady and endless, and for the first time in my life…
I’m not running. I’m choosing. That realization settles deep in my chest as we ride away from the city.
Away from courtrooms. Away from Grant. Away from the version of me that survived by making herself smaller.
Ryder’s hand briefly covers mine where they rest against his stomach.
One squeeze. Mine. Heat blooms softly through me.
The club threw us a goodbye party before we left the clubhouse this morning. Loud music. Whiskey. Beast pretending not to care while secretly slipping extra ammo into Ryder’s saddlebags “just in case.”
Knuckles cried dramatically for attention. Ivy hugged me so tightly I nearly lost the ability to breathe. Family. Real family. The kind I never thought I’d have.
Ryder slows the bike as we reach a scenic overlook carved into the desert cliffs.
He parks near the edge and kills the engine.
Silence rushes in around us. I climb off slowly while staring out across endless red rock and sunlit valleys.
Beautiful. Wild. Free. Ryder steps beside me, sunglasses hooked into the collar of his shirt.
“You hungry?”
I laugh softly. “Is food your solution to every emotional situation?”
“Mostly.”
I smile and lean lightly against his side. The contact feels natural now. Easy. Like my body already knows where home is. Ryder wraps an arm around my waist automatically. Still protective and careful. Always careful.
“You okay?” he asks quietly.
The question no longer annoys me. Because he genuinely wants the answer. I look out over the desert again and think about the woman who stood trembling in a torn wedding dress beside a Tennessee road. I barely recognize her anymore.
“I think I’m happy,” I whisper.
Ryder goes still beside me. Then slowly, his forehead rests against my temple.
“Good.”
Emotion tightens unexpectedly in my throat. I tilt my head slightly to look at him.
“You know what’s strange?”
“What?”
“I thought freedom would feel lonely.”
His arm tightens slightly around my waist. “Instead?”
I smile softly. “It feels like this.”
Something raw flashes across Ryder’s face. Love. Open and unguarded for once. The sight steals my breath. He kisses me slowly beneath the desert sun, rough hands sliding into my hair while the wind moves around us warm and endless. Eventually, Ryder leans back enough to look at me properly.
“So,” he says. “You still wanna ride around the country with an emotionally constipated biker?”
I laugh hard enough to snort. Ryder actually smiles. A rare, beautiful and devastating.
“Yes,” I say softly. “I really do.”
His gaze drags slowly over my face. Then lower. Toward the wedding ring still gleaming on my finger.
“My wife,” he murmurs quietly.
The possessiveness in the words sends heat spiraling through me every single time. I rise onto my toes and kiss him again. And when we climb back onto the Harley moments later, wrapping myself around the man I love feels less like escape… And more like finally coming home.