Point of Return

by Stacey Lynn

  Ryker looked at her and was at her side in a second. “How you doin’, baby girl? I heard you got yourself into some trouble again.”

  He smiled sadly at her and Liv’s head dropped against his shoulder. His arms went around her and she returned his hug easily. I wanted to rip his arms off.

  Shit. I was jealous of my own brother.

  “We need to get out of here,” I clipped out, annoyed.

  Ryker pulled back from Liv but kept one arm around her. He smiled at her like she was the sister he never had and then glared at me. “We aren’t done with our talk.”

  I nodded. “Thanks for coming.”

  He stepped back and took everyone in, noticing Finn first. “Ryker Knight,” he said in greeting and held out his hand. Finn shook it.

  “Finn, mate. Nice to meet ya’.”

  Ryker frowned. “English?”

  “Australian,” he said, and I swear I heard Jules sigh. I watched Liv smile at Jules and give her a quick wink. Both women had hot pink cheeks. What in the hell was it with women liking his damn accent so much?

  He let go of Finn and did a quick double-blink when he saw Jules. “Shit, J? You’re still here?”

  “Hey, Ryke,” she said and gave him a quick hug. For a split second, I was able to look at all of us in the room and it felt good. Like home, and like bullshit hadn’t ripped around our friendships and families.

  It only lasted a second.

  “We need to get out of here,” Liv said. “I hate being in hospitals.”

  Ryker smiled at her indulgently, and then he nodded. “Let’s go then, woman.”

  He picked up the bag I had dropped on the floor when he stormed into the room. He gave me another look that said our bullshit wasn’t done, and I owed him big time. I took it without responding and helped Liv into the wheelchair.

  We left the room, our small posse stiff with uncomfortable silence until we got outside, and I loaded Liv into my truck.

  “Jules will ride with me to your place,” Ryker said and had his hand on her lower back. It was only then it finally hit me Jules was back in town.

  Fuck me. Jaden was going to go more insane than Ryker did. The club did not need this shit right now. Men distracted about women who didn’t even belong to them.

  The irony of the thought hit me in the chest. I punched the hood of my truck loudly and cursed as I walked around. Everyone stared at me.

  “Let’s just get the fuck out of here.”

  “I know you’re in shock about Faith, and I know you want to kick my ass again,” I said to Ryker once I handed both him and Finn a beer then took a step back. Ryker took a large swallow from his bottle and stared at the fireplace straight ahead of him, before he turned back to face me. “I’m glad you’re here, though. I really need you.”

  Ryker’s lips twitched. Finn sat back in the chair, taking in the room as Ryker and I stood facing each other.

  Both of us had one hand wrapped around the neck of our beer, the other hand fisted on our hip. Our backs straight as steel and our eyes fixed on the other.

  I watched my brother. He hadn’t been back in our house since the same night Liv was shot. He hadn’t so much as looked at the floor or anywhere besides the fireplace since he walked in.

  I felt like shit instantly. Was he thinking of the same things Liv had when she first walked into the room just weeks ago? How much of that night still haunted him?

  “Should have told me about Faith,” he mumbled, and ran a hand roughly through his short black hair. We had never looked anything alike. I got my mom’s light hair and green eyes. I was thicker, more muscular than Ryker who had always been taller and leaner. He still was, even though I could tell he had bulked up since he left. His black hair was trimmed short like he’d just left the military and his goatee was trimmed shorter than mine. He was a spitting imagine of our dad when we were kids.

  “You never asked,” I repeated, just like I’d said in the hospital.

  “A warning? You couldn’t have given me a fucking warning before I stepped foot into Penny’s looking for a room? Nothing… shit Daemon, in all the times we’ve talked, you should have told me.”

  He wasn’t looking at me. It sounded like he was mumbling more to himself than anyone so I let him ramble.

  He clamped his mouth shut and stomped off to the kitchen. The next thing I heard was the sound of his beer bottle shattering in the stainless steel sink followed by the opening and slamming of the fridge door.

  “Bit of an anger problem the man has,” Finn muttered and I smiled, despite myself.

  I was still bracing myself for another round of fighting coming from Ryker. Truth was it felt damn good having him back in my house, knowing Liv was upstairs being taken care of by Jules. If I could close my eyes, I could almost pretend that shit was fine.

  Unfortunately, Ryker still wasn’t done laying into me. I opened my eyes and looked at him leaning against the doorway. He looked two seconds away from bolting.

  “Fucking whore. My fiancée became a whore. I just…” He slammed his hand into the doorframe, his mouth pulled into a thin line. “Shit Daemon. What the fuck?”

  I said nothing. Nothing I could say would help him deal with the reality of the mess he’d left behind anyway.

  He took his beer to the stairway and I followed. “You still gonna stay and help me out?”

  His head dropped and he stared at the ground. “I said I would. I just…” He shook his head again. “I just need to wrap my head around all this shit for a bit.”

  I watched him slowly head up the stairs, and didn’t head back to the living room until I heard the door to his old room shut with a quiet click.

  Then I went to the living room where Finn watched TV. I leaned back in the chair, my head resting against the back and stared at the ceiling.

  “What does Prez know about Sporelli?” I finally asked Finn. I knew he was sitting there, watching me, waiting for me to say something, or explain everything he had just seen. Finn showed up at the club just over two years ago, right after Scratch died. He knew about what tore our family apart in general, big picture statements. I had no idea what gossip he’d heard over the years about Ryker’s involvement in it. I didn’t even know if Finn knew Ryker and Faith had been engaged.

  “We haven’t heard much. He’s got a meeting with Cain tonight at the ports, though, trying to find out if they called Sporelli in to take over our territory.”

  I wiped my hands across my cheeks, pulling on my beard as they came down. I ignored the pain in my jaw from Ryker, and my cheek from sparring with Jaden.

  “Okay,” I said on a rough exhale. “You gonna be there?”

  Finn narrowed his eyes at me. “Thought you’d want to be there.” His head nodded toward the stairway. “See if they had anything to do with Liv since we know Travis was working for Cain.”

  I thought of standing in front of Cain. How good it would feel to take him out with one quick shot to the gut if that was true. The mere thought of revenge settled my nerves. But there was no way I was leaving. I promised Liv and I intended to keep it.

  “Not tonight,” I said “Have Jaden handle it for me.”

  “Bull ain’t gonna want Jaden there. He’s gonna want you.”

  “Then tell him I’m not leavin’ Liv. Not until I have to.”

  Finn looked at the stairs, quiet for a moment before back to me. “Who’s Jules?”

  Which reminded me I needed to call Jaden and tell him to stay the hell away from my place. “Yeah,” I told Finn, digging out my phone to call my friend. “She used to date Scratch.”

  I flipped open my phone and then swore, dropping the phone onto the table when I read the text message from Jaden.

  Heard Liv left the hospital. Be there in 10. Bull wants to talk to you.

  Sent ten minutes ago.

  Finn was watching me silently. I swear the guy grew up in a home where the rule was don’t speak unless directly spoken to. He said less than any man I knew.

 
I flicked the phone toward him and watched him make a face when he read the text. “That’s not gonna be good.”

  He spoke it right as I began hearing Jaden’s bike engine rumbling down my driveway. I wondered for a minute if I should go warn Jules, but then decided not to. The girls had been up there for the last half hour since we got here and they’d been quiet. I figured they were catching up, and if Liv was talking about everything that had gone down in the last few weeks, it could take hours.

  I had a beer open and ready for Jaden as soon as he hit the front door. I handed it to him and pushed him into the living room.

  “Ryker’s here,” I said as he sat down. I figured we’d get this part done with first. “And he already saw Faith.”

  “Shit,” Jaden said, coughing out his first sip of beer. “How the fuck did that happen?”

  I shrugged. “Said somethin’ about getting a room at Penny’s.”

  Jaden looked me over and grinned. “That how you get the other bruise?”

  “Yeah,” I said, rubbing my cheek. “He wasn’t too happy about it. He’s upstairs now, cooling down.”

  “You know what’s going on?” Jaden asked Finn who smirked.

  “Sort of figured it out when he ran into the hospital room, and his way of sayin’ hello to his little brother was with a left hook.”

  They laughed and clinked the tops of the bottles together. Nothing like bonding over the beating of your V.P., I guessed.

  “I want you at the port tonight with Prez during his meeting with Cain,” I said, turning to Jaden and instantly wiped the laughter off his face.

  “Not gonna want me there. He’s gonna want you on his back.”

  “Then you and Finn take my spot. I’m not leavin’; and if he has a problem with it, let him know he can find me here with Liv.”

  And Jules. Which reminded me, again.

  “I gotta tell you somethin’ else, Jaden.” He looked at me and his bottle of beer froze right at his lip.

  Except we both turned to the soft steps we heard coming down my wood stairs. Shit.

  “Hey Daemon!” Jules called out, her voice echoed in the room as if she was shouting across Grand Canyon.

  Jaden’s eyes instantly narrowed.

  “Liv needs some water—” Her voice dropped and her feet froze as soon as she hit the room.

  Jaden’s face went red with rage. I stood immediately and put my hands up. He wouldn’t hit her, but he was about to unleash on her in a new way.

  “Faith called Jules when Liv got hurt,” I told him.

  He didn’t look at me, but I watched his breathing grow heavy.

  “She’s here for Liv, Jaden.” My hand went to his shoulder, but he shook it off and took two steps around me.

  “Hi, Jaden.” Jules’ voice was quiet but strong. I admired it knowing she just walked into a room with someone who hated her more than he hated anything in the world. I didn’t think there was a word big enough to describe how deep Jaden’s hatred for Julie McConnor went. Even if it was misguided.

  “You’re fucking me,” he growled and flashed his raging eyes at me. “You fucking let her… let that bitch in this house?”

  “She’s here for Liv,” I repeated, knowing it wouldn’t do a damn bit of good.

  “I just came down for water.”

  “Don’t.” Jaden’s voice rose and I put my hands back on his shoulders, pushing him backward and away from the doorway to the kitchen so Jules could get by. “Don’t you ever fucking speak to me again, you cheating bitch.”

  I heard Jules’ gasp, and then I nodded at Finn. He got up immediately and went to the kitchen.

  “Sit down,” I growled at Jaden. “Sit the hell down and calm down, or get the fuck out of my house.”

  “You’re taking that bitch’s side? After everything she did?”

  “What she did,” I snapped, and pushed him back into the chair so he was forced to sit down. I towered over my best friend. It was the first time I could remember that we didn’t agree with something. “Was hop on a plane when Liv needed her. She got her ass here because Faith told her to. Liv wants her here, so she’s staying. You got a problem with it? Get your ass out, go to the club, and take my fuckin’ place with Prez tonight.”

  I stood over him, both of out chests heaving deep with anger. I had my own shit to deal with. Last thing I wanted was to play fucking referee between Jules and Jaden.

  Now wasn’t the time.

  He nodded once and then pushed me backward as he pulled himself out of the chair. I stumbled into the coffee table behind me before righting myself.

  The door slammed and seconds later I heard his bike start up.

  “I guess now wasn’t the best time for me to tell him he has a niece.”

  My head snapped to Jules, standing in the doorway to the kitchen, and I saw Finn standing behind her. His eyebrows arched and wrinkle lines appeared on his forehead. I was pretty sure his expression matched my own before I was able to close my eyes and blow out a shaky breath through parted lips.

  I looked back to Jules. She bit her bottom lip and shifted uncomfortably on her feet as she watched me. Her wary blue eyes watched me.

  One word fell from my lips.

  “Shit.”

  “Here’s some water,” Jules said quietly. Her hand shook slightly when she set it down next to my pain meds on the nightstand.

  “You okay?” I asked, laying on my side in Daemon’s bed. Not the one he grew up where I’d been sleeping. But the one he slept in. It smelled like him. I was covered in his scent and my guilt. “I heard the screaming down there.”

  Jules ran a shaky hand through her blonde hair, tucking it behind one ear. “I didn’t know Jaden still hated me that much.” Her blue eyes looked blank as she stared out the window. “I have stuff to tell him… things that need to be said… but now I think maybe it was a mistake I came back.”

  Her breath was as shaky as her hand. I wanted to reach out and hold her. I could see pain and fear in her eyes and I had no clue why. I was also in too much pain and too tired to think about what she said and what it all meant.

  I squeezed my eyes closed and held out my hand for her to hold when I felt her weight shift on the bed.

  Her hand came down and tightened the covers around me.

  “What are you going to do about Daemon?” Jules’ voice was soft and I knew she wasn’t trying to upset me. I had told her everything that had happened in the last few weeks and she listened without judgment or comment. At times, I had wondered what she was thinking.

  Now I know she was simply taking it all in, waiting for the right time to start asking the tough questions. They were questions I’d have to face someday, but today wasn’t the day.

  “I don’t know,” I mumbled through a yawn. “When is Travis’s funeral?” I saw her frown through my sleepy eyes before she shook her head.

  “I don’t know. I can find out, though. Are you sure it’s a good idea for you to go?”

  “Have to,” I mumbled again through another yawn. Then I didn’t say anything else, or hear Jules’ response before a heavy sleep pulled me under.

  When I woke up, I felt the darkness of my dream clear and knew I wasn’t alone in the room before I opened my eyes.

  I turned my head slowly, breathing in Daemon’s intoxicating, manly scent as I moved.

  When I opened my eyes, he was sitting in a chair in front of the dresser. His jean-clad legs were spread wide, and the only other thing he had on was a fitted gray t-shirt. His elbows were propped on his knees and his head was facing the ground, held up by his palms.

  “Daemon?” I croaked, my voice still dry.

  His head snapped up and he closed the distance between us. Kneeling down next to the side of the bed, he handed me the water and pain pills that were still there from Jules. “Hey,” he said, running a firm hand down the side of my hair. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like I got shot. Twice.” I shifted in the bed and Daemon helped me so I was sitting in his bed
, propped up by an armful of pillows. “Where’s Jules?”

  “She went home. Drink this,” he said, handing me my water. I waved away the pills since they made my brain feel fuzzy and me sleepier. Once I sipped from the glass Daemon held for me, he set it down on the table next to his bed. Next thing I knew, his forehead rested against mine. I could feel his breath in my hair.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay, Liv.”

  Tears filled my eyes and I squeezed my eyes shut. I was far from okay.

  “We’re going to figure out what happened the other day,” he said. His voice was harsh and full of the need for revenge I had become so used to hearing.

  “You don’t know?”

  His head shook against mine. “Sporelli family, but it doesn’t make sense. Your dad has a meeting with Cain tonight to figure out what happened, or why they’re even here.”

  “Sporelli?” I asked, slowly. I knew the name, but I couldn’t place it.

  Daemon sighed and pulled back from me. Both of his hands held my left one. I let him. I felt guilty for enjoying being so close to him, but I still let him hold me and comfort me.

  There has to be a special place in hell for women like me. Women who get their ex-boyfriends killed; women who dated someone they didn’t love; women who were comforted days after their ex-boyfriend’s death by another man. But being in the bed, as scared as I was, as much as I wanted to blame everything on Daemon and the club—I couldn’t.

  “Mafia family from Chicago.” He shook his head again as if trying to make sense of everything himself. “I don’t get it. Right now, there’s so much we don’t know. That’s why I called Ryker back. I need him here, watching you, when I can’t be with you.”

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, turning my head slightly away from him. “You’re leaving.”

  “Look at me,” he snapped, firmly. I had no choice but to listen. When my eyes were on his, he stared directly at me. “Not unless I absolutely have to. I’m going to stay here, with you, as much as I can. You’re going to get well, and we’re going to get through this.”

  “I don’t know if you can help me with that, Daemon.”