by Jessie Cooke
“Well, thanks for keeping me updated. Is Dax at least beginning to buy that Storm had nothing to do with this?”
“I’d have to guess so, but he’s been in a mood lately and I don’t engage him much unless I have to,” Hunter chuckled.
“Something else going on?” Ryder knew that this robbery pissed Dax off. It wasn’t so much about the missing money as it was the fact that whoever did it was thumbing their noses at the Skulls. Dax wasn’t your typical club president, but in that respect, he was like most of them. He knew that in order to maintain their position at the top of the food chain, respect...and at least a little bit of fear…was required.
“I think so,” Hunter said, “But something I haven’t been privy to. Dax has been in a lot of closed-door meetings with his executives these past few days and there’s kind of a pall over the entire ranch. I ran into Angel yesterday and she wasn’t herself either, and I know this robbery wouldn’t be something she’d spend too much time worrying about...but you know Dax; if we end up with a need to know, he’ll tell us, otherwise he’ll handle it and the rest of us won’t have a clue what happened.”
Ryder did know that. He thanked Hunter again and went back out into the bar. He was almost to the table where he’d left Storm when he saw a skinny dark-haired guy in expensive clothes, that had been standing next to it, suddenly sit down...in Ryder’s seat.
20
He stopped for a second and watched them. The guy was smiling at Storm, and she was smiling back. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the conversation looked friendly and lively. Ryder felt an ugly surge of jealousy rise in his chest and he even tasted something sour in the back of his throat. He tried to calm himself down as he started back toward the table, but their body language seemed so comfortable and friendly that he was even more upset before he reached them. He tried to remind himself that Storm didn’t need any bullshit, and he would have to control the urge he suddenly had to beat the shit out of someone he didn’t even know. But it was still there as he pasted on a fake smile when Storm and the guy both looked up at him. Storm was still smiling and looked like she was going to say something when Ryder did something even he thought was crazy. Instead of waiting for one of them to move over, he perched himself on the two inches of booth next to the skinny guy. It was only for half a second before the guy...that in Ryder’s opinion used way too much aftershave or cologne…quickly scooted away. Ryder adjusted his big body and looked at Storm’s face. She wasn’t smiling any longer.
“Sorry about that,” he said, like nothing else was going on, “Hunter was a little chatty.” Before Storm could reply to that, if she was going to, he turned to the man next to him and held out his right hand. “Well, hello there, name’s Ryder and you are?”
The guy looked across at Storm, slightly nervously, before he took Ryder’s hand. Ryder studied him, wondering about the contrasts among her ex Denny, this guy that he got a strong feeling she had a past with, and himself. The guy was dressed in a white button-down shirt and slacks. He looked like a young businessman who had just pulled off his jacket and tie when he stopped in for a drink on his way home from the office. His hand was soft, like a woman’s—again, in Ryder’s opinion—and his palm was sweaty.
“Gus,” the guy said. “I’m a friend of Stormy’s.” Stormy. Ryder didn’t like that he called her that. She rarely used that name and it made him feel like the guy was way too familiar with her if he called her that.
Ryder looked back at Storm. She was still watching him, almost like she was waiting to see what he was going to do next. He dropped the soft hand and picked up his drink. Before drinking it, he smiled again, this time at Storm, and said, “Oh yeah, where do you and ‘Stormy’ know each other from?” He slammed his drink then and without taking her eyes off his face Storm said:
“Gus was my dad’s accountant. He’s the one that came to me when Mom first started gambling too much, and let me know what was going on.” She put her pretty eyes on Gus then and smiled. “I still really appreciate all your help, Gus, and it’s so nice to see you again.” Her voice sounded…different, like one of the girls at the club when they had seduction on their mind. It was like she’d thrown a cup of gasoline on the jealousy burning within. Was she flirting with this guy right in front of him?
“Great to meet you, Gus,” Ryder lied as he raised his empty glass in the direction of the waitress. When she nodded back he said, “What are you drinking, Gus?” The other man had what looked like a wine glass in his hand so, feeling mean, Ryder said, “Something girly?”
“Ryder.” When Storm said his name, her tone was almost like a warning, and that pissed him off even more. She was allowed to openly flirt with this guy, but he wasn’t supposed to be pissed off?
The skinny guy chuckled and said, “Not much of a drinker, I’m afraid. I just met a friend here after work, but I should really be going.” His voice had a little quiver to it and shamelessly Ryder enjoyed it.
“Oh no, don’t go, Gus,” Storm said, actually reaching out and covering his hand with hers. Ryder’s eyes went directly to theirs and the other guy was smart enough to pull his back immediately. Storm went on anyway, “Ryder and I are just taking a break from the hospital. He brought me here to see Mom.” Storm must have filled Gus in on her mother’s condition before Ryder got back to the table...Or maybe she filled him in before that. She was on the phone in the room earlier when he came out of the bathroom. She said she was talking to her work...Maybe she called Gus. He realized, even as he let his thoughts run rampant, that he was being stupid. She hadn’t known where they were going, and she hadn’t used her phone since they left the hotel. But even knowing all that, he still couldn’t stop himself from digger a deeper hole.
“Oh yeah, Gus, please don’t go,” he said, sarcastically. “Storm seems really happy to see you. Maybe she’d like for me to go and let the two of you catch up?” He punctuated the last with a question mark as he looked back at Storm. She once again smiled as she affixed her pretty eyes on his face, but there was fire in them as she said:
“That might be nice. I wouldn’t mind spending some time with Gus at all. Maybe I can just catch you back at the hotel later?”
Ryder had no idea what to do next. Was she just trying to piss him off, or did she really want to be alone with this Gus guy? Should he stand up and take the smaller man with him and then beat him to a pulp once he dragged him outside? Once again, he realized what a stupid-ass thought that was. The guy hadn’t done anything wrong. Storm was obviously using him to annoy Ryder. That didn’t seem like her, or what he had discovered about her so far anyway, so the question was why? Finally, he decided he would call her bluff and he said:
“Sure, no problem. I might be late, though…you know, New York never sleeps.”
“Have fun,” she said, unconcerned. She was still focusing on his face, still smiling, but damned if those eyes didn’t look like she wanted to scratch his out. Both of them seemed to have forgotten Gus was even there until the small businessman cleared his throat loudly and said:
“I’m sorry, Storm, but I really have to be going. I just wanted to say hi...” Poor Gus’s quiver had gotten noticeably worse. Ryder almost felt sorry for him…almost.
“Aw, okay, Gus,” Storm said. “Give me a call someday when you have some time.”
Again, he cleared his throat as he gave her a nervous “Okay, sure.” He looked up at Ryder then and said, “You mind letting me out?” Ryder smiled down at him and stood up. The waitress set Ryder’s drink down as Gus gave Storm a little wave and took off quickly toward the front door. When they were both gone Ryder sat back and said:
“Did you still want me to leave? I mean, maybe you could find someone else to pick up on when I’m gone.”
“Pick up on? Are you fucking insane? Why were you acting like such an idiot?”
“Excuse me?” Another surge of anger. He wasn’t used to being talked to like that by anyone, but if he had time to analyze those feelings, he wo
uld probably realize the anger wasn’t about the way Storm was talking to him, but instead because he knew she was right.
“You heard me. Why are you acting like a jealous fool? I haven’t seen Gus for months and I asked him to sit down and keep me company until you came back. And then you show up acting like a bulldog in heat. I was surprised you didn’t whip it out and piss all over me to mark your territory.”
Ryder almost laughed at that image, but he didn’t. Instead he said, “So you flirted with him just to punish me for how you thought I was acting?”
“Yes,” she said, surprising him with her honesty. “And I didn’t ‘think’ you were acting that way, you were. It was embarrassing, and you scared poor Gus half to death.”
“Well, then maybe he needs to grow a pair.”
Storm audibly scoffed at him before standing up and reaching into her pocket. She threw a few bills down on the table and then just turned and started walking toward the door. Ryder sighed, unsure still if he was angry with her or himself. He stood up too, pulled out his wallet, and left two twenties on the table before picking up Storm’s crumpled bills and following her. His legs were much longer than hers, so by the time she hit the door, he was already behind her. She let it snap back when she pushed through it and it hit Ryder in the chest before he had a chance to stop it. She was about five steps from the bar, on the sidewalk, when he reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. She stopped then and said, “Let go of me.” Ryder dropped his hand but when she started walking again, he followed her.
“You’re going the wrong way.”
“Screw you, you don’t know where I’m going. Leave me alone. I need some space.”
“I don’t know why you’re so pissed off. Wouldn’t it have made you mad if you left the table and I asked some chick to sit down with me as soon as you were gone?”
“I told you what happened with Gus. You’re acting like a jealous teenager and I don’t like it.”
“Fine, I’m sorry...okay?” He heard himself say it and he didn’t sound sorry. Storm heard it too and when she stopped walking and turned to face him, he saw the storm in her eyes again. She poked him in the chest with her skinny little finger and gritted her teeth together as she said:
“You listen to me, you big, stupid oaf. I am not your old lady, and even if I were, it would not be okay for you to be rude to my friends simply because he’s a man, and accuse me of…I’m not even sure what it was you were trying to accuse me of, but it was not okay. I thought you were a good guy and then you do this. You embarrassed me and made me look like some kind of kept woman that isn’t allowed to speak to any man other than you.”
Every one of her words hit him like a slap in the face...because he knew she was right. He’d been acting like she was his when he didn’t have a right to. What they were at this point, were friends, with a lot of benefits...but in his head he had imagined them being so much more, someday. This time with genuine remorse and embarrassment of his own he said, “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
She looked surprised by the apology, but he saw her posture relax as she said, “Thank you. Can we go back to the room now? I’m tired.”
Ryder nodded, and they turned back in the direction that would take them toward the garage. He tried to grab her hand, but she pulled it away, and then he tried to put his arm around her and she did the same. Frustrated...with himself…he gave up and just walked alongside her. He hoped that once they got back to the room, she’d be ready to really forgive him. Just watching her, even angry, walk down the street in her snug jeans made him imagine all the things he wanted to do to her once they were back in the room. His cock was about halfway hard when they got to the hotel. He was imagining hot make-up sex even in the quiet elevator ride up to the room. He was picturing grabbing her by the hips and sitting her up on top of that black lacquer desk in the corner of the room. It was about waist high, to him at least. He was thinking about spreading her legs, tasting her sweet pussy, and then fucking her until she came...and then they’d move to the bed...
Ryder realized, sadly, as he fell asleep on the sticky, uncomfortable vinyl sofa a couple of hours later, that maybe he had hoped for too much.
21
While Storm sat next to her mother’s bed in the ICU the next day, her thoughts went back to the night before and how Ryder had treated Gus. She wasn’t one of those women who were impressed or flattered by jealousy. It took two people to tango, and if Ryder thought that’s what she was doing with Gus right in front of him, then he obviously didn’t trust or respect her. He at least seemed genuinely sorry by the time they got back to the hotel, but when he acted like he thought they were going to have make-up sex, it pissed her off all over again. She was surprised that when she told him to sleep on the couch he actually did. He was way too big for it and in the middle of the night she’d woken up and almost awakened him. He was hanging halfway off it and she felt bad for how uncomfortable he must be. But then she reminded herself of his behavior and told herself that if she let him get away with it she would be giving him the okay to continue disrespecting her. Denny was a piece of crap, but a part of her was happy that he’d put her through what he had. It made her realize that she needed to stand up for herself, and that she deserved respect if nothing else. So, she’d gone back to sleep and when she woke up again, Ryder had been in the shower.
Their conversation was slightly awkward as they both got ready to head for the hospital. He told her what Hunter had said on the phone the night before. She was upset about Carolyn and Tyler getting away even though she knew it would at least have to convince the Skulls that she and her mother were innocent.
They didn’t talk about the night before, but it was the elephant in the room as they talked about everything else. When she was ready, Ryder drove her to the hospital and now as she sat with her mother, he was waiting for her in the lobby. She still very much appreciated his help and his presence...and she still very much wanted him...but she was not going to lose herself because of it.
“Miss Waters?” The doctor that had spoken to them that first night came in and brought her out of her thoughts.
“Yes?”
“We’re going to wean your mother off the medications that are inducing the coma and start giving her some medication that will eventually bring her out of it. This won’t be a light-switch process in most cases. It could take anywhere from hours to days for her to become fully alert. She will be uncomfortable and confused at first. The breathing tube will stay in until we get her off all the medications and make sure she’s breathing well on her own, so she’ll be uncomfortable and probably frustrated at the inability to talk.”
“Thank you,” Storm told her. “I appreciate you talking me through all of this. Otherwise, she still seems to be doing well?”
“Yes, very well. The drains have almost completely removed all the swelling from her brain cavity and her vital signs have been strong and stable. It all looks good so far, but like I told you before, we won’t know for sure how any of this affected her brain until she is awake and alert and we can further assess her.”
Storm nodded and asked, “Any word from the lab yet about the biopsy?”
“Not yet, but I will check in with them soon.” Storm nodded again and gave her a grateful smile. The nurse came in then and the doctor and Storm watched as she put something into her mother’s IV. Before the doctor left she smiled at Storm and said, “If you have any questions please let one of the nurses know and they’ll give me a call.”
Storm thanked her again and when she was alone with her mother she took her hand and said, “Hey, Mom...I’m not sure how much of all of this you’ve heard or been able to understand, but from what I’ve been told, you have a tumor in your brain. That tumor caused a lot of pressure and the doctor told me that it might be possible that it was inhibiting your ability to make good decisions and maybe even pushing you past that point. Maybe it was what led you to do things like gambling away all the money from Dad’s insuran
ce and your savings. I know it sounds like I’m trying to make excuses here, but you’re my mom and you’ve been such a good one. You were a good wife and everyone who knows you loves you.
“All of that...everything you have done since Dad died...that was all so unlike you. I think this tumor had a lot to do with it and once you’ve recovered from this surgery, we’ll figure out a way for you to start over, okay? We’ll figure out a way to pay off that debt to the loan sharks and we’ll find you a job and you can stay with me until you’re able to afford your own place. I’m sorry if it seemed like I kind of gave up on you before. I really never did...I was just at a loss for how to help you. I love you, Mom. I want you to wake up knowing that, and that everything will be okay.”
Storm’s mother didn’t give any indication that she could hear her, but Storm felt better for having said it. She’d been hard on her mom and she felt bad about that, especially now that she’d learned her mother might have been acting out because she was ill. Still holding her mother’s hand, she settled back into her chair and closed her eyes. She didn’t realize she was still tired until she woke up...maybe hours later…to a strange gurgling sound.
It took Storm a few seconds to realize where she was and when her eyes went to her mother it took another few seconds for her to remember what the doctor had said earlier. Her mom had both of her hands on the tube that was going through her mouth and down into her throat. The tape they’d fastened it to the side of her face with was coming loose as she pulled on it. Storm scrambled to her feet and grabbed her mother’s hands. “Mom, it’s a breathing tube. You need it. You had surgery, but everything is going to be okay...”
Her mother’s eyes were open and wide as saucers. She looked scared to death and Storm didn’t see any recognition in them for her daughter. She was able to loosen her mother’s grip on the tube, however, and as her mother weakly struggled, Storm held onto her hands and called out over her shoulder for a nurse. It was the ICU, and they were all close by. Thankfully the last nurse in the room had left the glass door cracked open slightly and as soon as Storm called out, two nurses came rushing in. Storm was gently nudged back from the bed and while she watched, sad and horrified, her mother was restrained to the bed. If she didn’t have the tube in her throat, Storm imagined she would be screaming. The poor thing looked horrified and like she was in pain.