by Helene Gadot
She was going to be so pissed.
34-Ridley
A smile still curved her lips as Ridley followed Maddox out the side door to their garage. Somehow in all the time she'd spent here, she hadn't explored the garage.
Which was a huge mistake.
Her jaw dropped as she took in the four gleaming, beautiful, perfect pieces of machinery standing side by side. "Should I be offended you haven't offered to keep my bike in here?"
Maddox chuckled. "Of course not. We've just been busy, and the weather has been perfect, so no real need. Besides, you didn't ask."
"I didn't realize the rest of them had bikes too." And way nicer ones than hers. Damn their paychecks. Cormac's Bentley was ridiculous enough.
"We like to keep some secrets for you. And honestly, we expected you to ferret out this one."
"I am rarely alone in this house, so I've had no opportunities to snoop." They were constantly on her heels. It was maddening.
"We have been on your heels a bit." Maddox echoed her thoughts, making her smile.
"A bit?" Ridley shook her head. "All right. Show me the damage."
He pushed the bike over to her, pointing at the bend in the shaft where there shouldn't have been one.
"Okay, this isn't too bad. Nothing I can't fix in an hour. What kind of tools do you have?"
Maddox slid a battered red box from under one of the shelves and brought it to her. "Hopefully, I have what you need."
"Did you drive up a tree? I've got to remove this part and bang it back straight." She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes on his muscles. "Actually, you are going to bang it back straight. It'll be done in half the time."
"I didn't drive up a tree. I swerved, so I didn't hit a dog and ended up in a huge pothole. It got all jacked up when I drove out."
"That'll do it." She pulled out a couple tools and started in on it, zoning out to the work.
"Ridley." Maddox's voice interrupted her.
She didn't look up. "Yeah?"
"I wanted to tell you something." He sounded hesitant.
She'd been afraid of this. "Look, if it's about last night in the closet..."
"It's not."
She expelled a breath of relief. "Okay. Then what's up?"
"I wanted to tell you about my brother."
Her hands stilled, but she kept her head down, not wanting to interrupt whatever he was trying to unburden. "I didn't know you had a brother."
"I don't anymore. He died."
Her eyes squeezed closed as pain splintered through her heart. "I'm sorry, Maddox. What happened?"
"He was murdered by an unknown knave. We never found out who."
Horror filled her. "That's fucking awful." She finally chanced a glance at him.
He stared at a screwdriver he twirled in his hand. "I'm telling you this mainly because I've spent most of my time in the Legion using those resources to track whoever did it down. The others have helped. It's why we're in Hawaii. The last lead brought us here, but we ran into a dead end. Again."
She studied the pain and frustration on his face. "And you haven't found anything since?"
"No. We liked it here, so we decided to stay for now. Actually, we liked it so much we decided to make it a permanent home base. We won't move again to follow up on leads anymore, we'll just take trips."
Which meant she was never getting rid of them. Not really.
"Makes sense."
He met her eyes. "And I was hoping you'd consider helping."
Surprise filled her. "Help how?"
"Honestly, right now I have no real clue."
"Of course I'll help." She knew exactly what it meant to need closure. Ridley turned her attention back to the bike for a moment. "Is that why you joined the Legion?"
"Yeah. I wanted access to their databases, and I needed help."
"Which you found and built the perfect team." A slight grin tugged at her lips.
"I found people I could trust, people who felt the same as me about the Legion, people who struggled with a lot of the same issues."
"Smart."
"You did the same in a way."
Ridley let out a short laugh. "I guess I did." She just hadn't been trying to.
She handed him the part and showed him where to aim with the hammer. Silence fell between him as Maddox banged the bent part until it was straight. It only took him a few strikes. His strength was ridiculous.
He handed it back to her with a smirk at her dumbfounded expression.
"Oh, shut up. You know you're hot and huge."
"I know you certainly thought so last month. And last night." His eyes flicked to her lips.
"Yes, well, we aren't talking about that." She turned her back to him.
"Right. And why is that?" He stepped in close, his scent mixing with the smells of the grease and engines.
She couldn't think straight. "Because."
"Because you want all of us and don't want to choose or make things awkward?"
She almost dropped the part. "What?"
"Am I wrong? I've seen the way you look at all of us when you think we aren't paying attention."
"I'm admiring all the hotness I'm surrounded by. So what?" She tried to shrug him and his invasive questions off.
"It's not a judgment, Ridley."
She knelt down to finish fixing his bike. "Then what point are you trying to make?"
"That maybe you don't have to choose."
What did he mean? She wasn't going to choose. "I have no plans to." She tightened the last bolt and sat back on her heels.
"Good."
Her brow creased. "I don't think we're having the same conversation."
"We're not. But it doesn't matter right now. Wanna go for a ride? I want to see how she handles now that you've fixed her again."
"Sure. I haven't had a nice long ride in a while." She needed one to clear her head.
"Good. It'll get us out of helping for the party too."
35-Ridley
Maddox and Ridley were the last to arrive to the party. They'd ridden all over the island, their bikes dancing and teasing each other as they rode. Ridley hadn't felt so relaxed and calm in ages. Even Cormac's snide remarks couldn't ruin her good mood.
"Rough ride?" Cormac teased.
"No. It was perfect. Maddox really knows how to use that beauty between his legs."
Cormac wagged his eyebrows. "You should see how I handle mine."
"I prefer to do the handling."
"I bet you do."
At this point, Ridley wasn't even sure what they were talking about. Malia dragging her off saved Ridley from having to come up with a retort.
The backyard was completely transformed. Tiki torches flickered and cast a glow across the grass. A fire pit burned in the middle of the patio with chairs surrounding it. A bar with at least twenty bottles of liquor sat at the corner of the deck. Cormac slid in behind it and started mixing things. Music pumped from the speakers in the ceiling of the deck. And Beckett stood at a smoking grill, flipping burgers and dogs, a table beside him covered with buns and condiments.
Malia pulled her over to Katy and Ridley wrapped her in a hug. "It's good to see you. It's been way too long. Sorry I've been keeping Lia so busy."
Katy hugged her back and laughed. "It's okay. Work has been crazy for me too, but tonight's fun. Malia told me how these guys have basically adopted you into their family."
Malia nudged Ridley with her hip. "Yeah, but there's nothing familial in what they want from her."
Ridley hip-checked her in retaliation. "Oh, shut up, bitch."
"She finally has a harem ready and willing and she's ignoring it."
"On that note, I'm gonna get a drink. Clearly, I'm going to need it." Their laughter trailed after Ridley as she fled to Cormac and his bar.
"Do I want to ask?"
Ridley scowled. "Not if you want to keep your balls where they currently are."
"I heard the word harem." Cormac jiggled a martini shaker.
"Just Lia being an ass." Ridley frowned. "Speaking of, where's Reese's sister?"
"She couldn't come. She's out of town on business. Reese is pouting because she yelled at him for not telling her immediately that he met you."
"Aww. I better go cheer him up since it's my fault he called her." She felt bad for pushing him.
"She's just pissed he's getting to know you and she isn't." Cormac poured whatever he was mixing into a line of glasses.
"When does she get back?"
"Another week or more." He handed her one of the glasses.
She took the drink like it might explode in her face. "What the fuck is this?"
"It's a drink. That's not obvious?" He was already mixing up another batch.
"It's pink."
"Yes."
"The other night, you didn't give me one of these. You gave me my favorite."
Cormac released a heavy sigh. "Just try it. It's a pomegranate martini. It's delicious. If you hate it, I'll find some damn scotch."
"Fine. If it'll stop your whining."
"It will. As long as you're honest."
Ridley sipped the drink, trying desperately not to let her expression give away how delicious she found it. It was light and fresh and burned in the best way.
Damn.
"I'm going to go find Reese." She avoided his eyes.
He laughed. "You love it, don't you?"
"It's all right."
"Liar."
"A little." She winked over her shoulder as she sauntered off.
Ridley found Reese in the kitchen, slicing up tomatoes. "Beckett let you in here?"
"I'm only allowed to cut things. He still won't let me cook." Reese grinned.
"Cormac said you were pouting."
Reese chuckled. "Of course he did."
"Your sister is mad at you?" Ridley asked.
"Yeah, but that's pretty usual for her. She's always mad at me for something. She's an angry person." He arranged the slices of tomato on a platter.
"Sounds like a kindred spirit." Ridley wanted to get to know her.
"Partly why I was slightly hesitant to invite her in the first place."
Ridley frowned. "It's not like we'd burn the place down."
Reese looked up. "Maybe not, but it wouldn't surprise me."
"Too bad. Malia is on her best behavior with Katy here."
"New relationship?" he asked. "Hasn't let her true colors show?"
Ridley hopped up onto the counter. "Sort of. She isn't pretending to be something she isn't, she just isn't as crazy when Katy is around." Not in a bad way, Katy was just a good influence on her. Ridley was a terrible one. She wound Malia up while Katy calmed her down.
Ridley had never met anyone who could calm her, and she didn't want to.
Reese trapped her against the counter, his hands flat on either side of her hips. "How was the ride with Maddox?"
"It was wonderful." Her voice came out too breathy.
"We should all go on one soon."
"I'm up for it anytime." Ridley loved riding through the city and out into the mountains with Malia and the ride with Maddox had improved her mood and released her stress, but she had always wanted to go on a massive ride with dozens or even hundreds of riders.
Being surrounded by the song of winds and engines, being a part of something so large and yet in sync in a dance along twisting roads, was everything she'd ever wanted.
Beckett stomped inside, pulling Ridley and Reese away from each other. "Come on, Reese. You begged me to give you a job. I needed those veggies five minutes ago."
"I was busy flirting with Ridley."
"You're always busy flirting with Ridley. Or Cormac." Beckett grabbed the platter of tomatoes.
"You blame me?"
Ridley sipped her drink and watched the show.
"No. But you're hogging her. We agreed to share." Beckett swayed a little, almost dropping the platter.
Reese laughed. "How many pink drinks of Cormac's have you had?"
"Four? I don't think they have much alcohol in them. They taste like juice."
"They're martinis, dude. They're mostly vodka."
"I feel fine. Now bring the rest of that shit outside so we can dress the burgers. You couldn't find a nicer platter to put them on? This looks like shit."
"Stop being such a type A asshole. It's fine. Everyone's probably already too drunk on Cormac's drinks to notice."
Beckett huffed and swayed again as he tried to stomp back outside. Ridley hopped down and took his arm, barely muffling her laughter as Reese grumbled behind them.
Outside, Maddox drew her away from Beckett and spun her beneath the stars. She laughed and swayed with him, somehow holding her second pink drink.
She knocked it back and let it trail from her fingers by the stem, closing her eyes and tilting her head back as Maddox led her in the slow dance. His words about his dead brother echoed around in her mind, clogging her throat. Ridley was glad he told her, but she kept searching for the manipulation behind it. Did he tell her because he wanted her sympathy and thought it would make her more likely to help them? Was it an apology for them discovering her secrets?
Or did he tell her because he wanted her to know? Because he trusted her?
"Stop thinking so hard. Relax. Have fun." He leaned down to whisper the words in her ear.
She shivered. "I am having fun."
"I can see your brain moving faster than even you can push a bike. It's a party. Have fun. All our problems will still be here in the morning. You don't have to figure them out right now."
Malia and Katy danced over and Malia shoved another drink into Ridley's hands. "This will help you shut off your brain. Sorry, I was eavesdropping."
"Don't you mean you didn't mean to eavesdrop?"
"No."
Maddox laughed as Malia danced her girlfriend away, Ridley shaking her head with a grin. It was such a beautiful night of starlight and flames and ocean breeze and laughter.
She never wanted it to end.
36-Ridley
Ridley leaned on the rail of the back deck, staring past the torches and out to the sea. She wasn't sure she'd be able to stand without the rail holding her up and keeping her steady, her mind still cloudy and whirling with a slight buzz. Way too many of Cormac's drinks. The evil bastard.
Malia and Katy were gone, taken home by a cab or Uber. The guys were inside cleaning up, their laughter and curses drifting out the open French doors. Her face hurt from the amount of laughing she'd done.
Reese had decided they should play sardines and then ghost in the graveyard. Drunken sardines and ghost in the graveyard. Surprisingly, no one had broken a limb.
Not surprisingly, Cormac had won both games because he cheated and used his powers. Ridley had been too afraid to chance it with the amount of alcohol she consumed.
But it had been the most fun she'd ever had. Ever.
Could this be her life? A life of taking down bad guys with a team of hot guys, a home, a family, fun and laughter and games? Could she actually have it? Or would she make the leap and end up with it all in ashes around her?
Footsteps sounded behind her and Reese joined her at the railing. "I think I'm still going to be drunk in the morning."
"Me too. I'm glad Gregory's wife is apparently a bruncher. I'll be able to sleep in a little."
He leaned his hip against the rail. "Tonight was fun."
"It was." She smiled a little sadly.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Just thinking."
"About what?"
"You shitheads."
Reese laughed. "Your pet name for us isn't the best."
She shrugged. It had become a habit by now. "Too bad. I think it's perfect."
"What exactly were you thinking?"
"Whether or not I can afford to take the leap." She almost slapped a hand over her mouth. Alcohol always loosened her lips. She really needed to stop drinking around them.
He straightened and peered deep into her.
"What leap? Joining our team? Or something else? Something more?"
"Both. All of it." She'd already said too much. Why couldn't she stop?
"What's stopping you?"
"Logic."
"Logic? Or fear?"
She sighed. "I don't know. Maybe both."
"What does logic tell you?"
"That I've only known you four for a very short time. That this isn't a movie or one of my books." She glared at him. "Yes, I know you found my book."
Reese winked, and he grinned wickedly. "I read a little bit of it. I'm going to need to borrow it when you're done."
Her face flushed. "Probably a bad move. It'll give you ideas."
"Exactly."
"Jackass." She elbowed him.
"So what does any of that have to do with logic?"
She stared out at the ocean glowing with moonlight. "Well, logic tells me trusting you four so quickly is foolish. It also tells me trying any sort of relationship with all of you is even more stupid if we're expecting it to work with five different personalities, with four of you and one of me. There will be jealousy and sides taken in arguments and difficulties in sharing time. And I'm not a great communicator, especially about feelings unless I'm drunk and I can't be drunk all the time."
Reese turned her to face him fully. "Stop, sweetheart. You are getting way ahead of yourself and stressing yourself out with premature worries."
"They aren't premature. They'll come up if we do this." She had completely bypassed just working with them and had started imagining an actual relationship with them. She blamed their constant teasing remarks. She couldn't get the thought out of her head.
"Nothing has been decided for any of us yet. We have discussed it between ourselves and it's something we're interested in, but we're in no rush. And we are incredibly close. We share everything already, each other, this house, chores, jobs, everything. Believe me, it wouldn't be too difficult for us share you as well. We love each other and want only happiness for each other. And for you. If that isn't us, we still want you to be a part of the team. We won't run off anyone or ruin any relationships for you."
"But you barely know me either." They were all crazy. And she was the craziest of them all.
"We know enough."