Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
ROYCE
I faced the wall as I slept or rather tried to sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes, I’d go back to the grove where Rodney pointed that gun at me.
I’d go back to that moment I started running, stupidly assuming he wouldn’t shoot me.
I’d slip back to that tiny second of time that I worried it was my life he’d claimed instead of some stupid dream I’d had my whole life.
Someone would stop me if I tried to go to work.
I heard what Rodney said about them toying with me.
They were watching my every move, and since he was trying to take me to the Murdoch Devil Rider’s, it meant we still weren’t safe.
In the grand scheme of things, me wanting to run the Hollow seemed so frivolous. It was a dumb dream.
Just like being with Ford once was.
That tender spot at the center of my chest ached. It felt as if the bullet landed there instead of grazing my arm, and the longer I held off talking to Ford, or replying to his texts, the worse it felt. So far, I had withstood five days without him.
Five whole days where he’d come in and out of the house, checking on me, trying to talk to me, but I wouldn’t give him the time of day.
Each night, I heard something hit my door, almost as though a head had fallen back against the wood, but I was too nervous to check if it was him.
If it was, then that meant he’d been sitting outside of my bedroom door every night.
Which, if true, meant my father had changed his tune regarding Ford.
I wish he would be anti-Ford again, because then I wouldn’t have to endure the scent of his spicy cologne that lingered at the base of his neck.
I craved burying my nose there. Every time I walked out of my room I smelled it.
He felt like a ghost, and yet he’d make it a point to lay eyes on me once a day.
As if he couldn’t continue with his day if he didn’t.
On the sixth day, my sister made her way into my room, finding me at the window.
I stared out at the spring weather, missing the fields I used to walk through.
I wanted to go down there, but I also knew that nothing felt the same.
Rodney hadn’t really considered me for that job, it was all tied to the club, like everything in my life was.
That club made up half the blood in my veins. The Hollow made up the other half.
“You’re still moping?” Taryn asked, blowing out a breath that made her bangs fly up.
I kept staring outside at the fields. “What else should I do? Go to work, or maybe I should disappear every other day like you.”
“Ouch. You’re bitchy today.” I felt the ice in my sister’s tone, but I didn’t care. What I said was true. She’d been gone way more than she ever was in the past, and she’d yet to talk to me about it.
Turning toward her, I tried to keep my temper in check. “I think I’m warranted some bitchy days.”
Her face fell, and it made me want to dig into the secrets she was keeping, but I was exhausted and didn’t have the bandwidth to care at the moment.
“You are. I’m sorry.” She finally moved to sit next to me. “I came to gossip.”
I never could turn down any good gossip, but I was still irritated with her. My arms were crossed tightly while I turned back to the window, but that didn’t deter her.
“I was just downstairs and I overheard Dad on the phone.” She hesitated, which pulled my attention to her. Taryn’s brows caved as her hand came up to my shoulder. “Ford’s house burned down.”
I froze, unsure if I was delirious or still sleeping. “What did you just say?”
Taryn’s worried expression deepened. “Ford’s house…I guess it caught on fire last night, and since he was here, no one caught it in time. It’s almost completely gone, Royce.”
Shooting to my feet, I brushed her hold off and began pacing. My heart was already too bruised from his and my father’s lies, but now this…this—he could have been hurt. I tried to swallow past the lump in my throat, but I couldn’t.
“Is he okay?” Oh God. “Is Gus okay?”
Taryn got up and carefully gathered my hands into hers. “It’s okay, calm down.”
It was difficult to breathe. I couldn’t seem to get any air down. I kept picturing his kitchen burning, and poor Gus trapped inside. “Where is Ford now?”
“I don’t know. Dad was talking on the phone with him.”
I brushed past her, realizing too late that I was in my pajamas. Turning back toward my dresser, I yanked out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. “Where did they put my bike key when they brought it back?”
Taryn hesitated, which had me glaring at her over my shoulder.
“It’s on the hook downstairs, but, Royce, maybe you should stay and—”
Once I was dressed, I ignored her and hurried downstairs.
“Royce, I don’t think it’s safe for you to go—” Taryn yelled from behind me as I scaled the stairs. My mom peeked out from the kitchen, catching my eye.
Her mouth opened. “Hi honey, I—” I walked past her, cutting her off. I grabbed my key then slammed the door behind me.
I was two feet from my bike when I heard my father. “Royce, honey…wait!”
Ignoring him, I slid my helmet on and started my bike.
“We don’t know who ordered the hit, we know they want you…honey, please. Ford would lose his mind if he knew you left here without protection.”
I lifted my head and slid my visor up and snapped, “Then protect me. You owe me at least that much.”
His green gaze slid to the ground, but I caught the small nod. I didn’t give him time to get his key, or anything else. I took off down the driveway, knowing he’d catch up.
The fire department was still in front of Ford’s house when I pulled up.
My boots landed against the asphalt as I took in the charred, smoking mess in front of me.
My heart did a full dive into my stomach.
All of Ford’s things were inside, pictures of him with his family, and memories with me.
Our first sleepover, and the first time I traced over his soft skin that held its own set of memories.
It was all gone.
Ford stepped into view, wearing a pair of sunglasses and his leather cut. My dad rolled to a stop behind me, but I didn’t pay him any mind as I slid my kickstand down and dismounted.
A few of the firefighters talked here and there as I walked past, but once I got within Ford’s line of sight, his eyes lifted from the cop he was talking to and landed on me.
His mouth stopped moving, and he started walking toward me.
I stopped just outside of his metal fence, unsure if I wanted to go any closer.
“You’re here.” Ford came to a stop in front of me, his wary gaze searching my face.
I ignored how he prodded at me with those eyes and how I knew he wanted me in his arms. He’d have to settle for me merely standing in front of him.
“Is Gus okay?” I asked, glancing over at the charred remains.
Ford’s eyes never left my face as he nodded. “He was with my parents.”
Relief sagged within me, making my lip wobble. “Was anyone hurt?” What I wanted to ask was if he was okay, but I was too angry with him to reveal that I cared. I knew he wasn’t in danger of the fire, but losing your house was horrific and he had to be upset.
“No. It was fine yesterday, but as soon as I left, someone must have shown up.”
A firefighter passed by us, his blue eyes trailing over my body as he went. Ford caught it and glared back at the man, his jaw tight.
“Where were you last night?” Some part of me needed to hear him confirm that he’d been at my house.
A gleam entered his eye as he smiled. “Same place I’ve been every night.”
“The club?” I lifted a brow.
He shook his head. “Outside of your bedroom door, baby. I can’t be away from you. So, if your door is as far as I can go, then that’s as far as I’ll go.”
“If you’d been here, you might have stopped them,” I said, pulling my arms across my chest. The blue-eyed firefighter was making his way back toward us when Ford slid his hand to my hip and pulled me off to the side.
“Greedy fucker,” he mumbled. “I’d rather lose a thousand homes if it meant I made sure you slept safe at night.”
My mind toyed with his words, trying to convince my heart that he loved me. My heart flipped my brain the bird. “I don’t feel safe, Ford,” I said, low and quiet, as I stepped back. “Where will you go after this?”
Ford watched me as if he were watching a piece of his anatomy wander away. “The president’s apartment at the club.”
I pushed past the annoyance I held over him settling for a small apartment after having an entire house to himself. “Gus will be okay there?”
“Until I find a new place, yeah…it’ll be safer at the club.”
I dipped my chin, knowing that was true.
His finger gently pulled my face up, his worried expression searching mine for something. “I’m placing extra bodies around the Hollow tonight…my house was a piece of shit, but I know you won’t be okay if they burn your favorite place down.”
No, I wouldn’t be okay.
“I need to stop in there, check emails, and figure out what the owner wants to do.”
Ford wet his lips in a childlike manner, almost as if he were nervous to ask what he was about to. “Could I go with you?”
Memories of him slamming into me as he fucked me on Rodney’s desk slid back into my mind. Heat and anger swirled like a dangerous cocktail as I remembered how good it felt to have him behind me, holding me and whispering all of those deliciously dirty thoughts into my ear.
Slamming my eyes closed, I shook my head. “Dad will go with me.”
He gave me a slight nod as I took another step back.
“Just be safe, Royce. The Murdoch crew was working for someone…we’ve pissed off whoever that person is, and they know you are a way of getting to me. Unfortunately, it means you’re not safe.”
Story of my fucking life.
I turned and walked away from him, catching my father’s hard gaze as I returned to my bike.