by Susan Stoker
“I know he’ll do everything he can,” she said quietly, not taking her gaze from the man at her side.
“I’ll be in touch,” Rex said, then the line went silent.
Ryder reached out and grabbed his phone, clicked it off, and stuck it back in his pocket.
“Now . . . how can we help you?” Gray asked Ryder. “What do you need from us?”
“Information,” he said immediately. “I’ve got Felicity covered. My brothers and her friend Cole are watching over her when I can’t. So far he’s only done little annoying shit. But I have a feeling he’s going to be pissed after talking with Daddy and will also likely get impatient that he’s not seeing the reaction from Felicity that he wants.”
“And what’s that?” Ro asked.
“Fear.”
Ball turned to Felicity. “You aren’t scared?”
“I’m terrified,” she returned immediately. “But I’m more pissed. I like Castle Rock. Love my friends, my godsons, my business. And I’m sick of running. So I’m gonna fight. If that bastard thinks I’m going to run again, he’s wrong.”
“You know, I’m cooler than Ace,” Meat said suggestively. “You could come over to my place and—”
Black shut up the other man with a smack to the back of his head. “Shut the fuck up, Meat.”
Felicity giggled.
Ryder sat back and watched his woman relax around his friends. He liked it. A lot.
His friends were all large men. Muscular. Fully capable of killing another human with their bare hands. But they were treating Felicity as if she was a little sister. For the most part, keeping their language clean, putting her at ease. He would miss them when he moved up to Castle Rock, but he knew without a doubt he and Felicity would be making many trips down to the Springs to hang out at The Pit and to catch up. He might be quitting the mercenary job, but if any of these men needed him, he’d be there for them in a heartbeat.
“You ready to go home?” Ryder asked Felicity during a lull in the conversation.
“You don’t want to play a game of pool?” she asked. “Hunter challenged you, you know.”
“I have better things to be doing up in Castle Rock than hanging out with my friends and beating their asses at pool.” Ryder watched as her pupils dilated at his words. He ignored the good-natured ribbing that floated around him. It was as if he and Felicity were the only two people in the world at the moment. He held his hand out to her, his palm up, eyebrows raised in challenge.
“Sorry, guys,” she told his friends without looking away from him. She put her hand in his. “I’m going to take Ryder home and tuck him into bed.”
His friends hooted and hollered with laughter, and even Ryder had to smile.
He glanced at his friends as he stood, hauling Felicity up next to him, then bending and tucking his shoulder into her belly. He threw her over his shoulder and chuckled as she gasped in surprise, then burst out laughing.
“You know how to get ahold of us,” Gray told him. “Let us know how we can help.”
“Will do,” Ryder reassured him. Then he turned and headed for the exit.
He was still smiling as Felicity called out a goodbye to Dave as he strode without pausing toward the front door of the bar.
“Come back anytime,” Dave called out.
Ryder didn’t stop until he was at his 370Z. He flexed his shoulder and brought Felicity down until she was standing in front of him with her back to the passenger-side door. She had a huge smile on her face, which was flushed from hanging upside down over him. As much as he wanted to throw her in the car and hustle her up to her apartment, he needed to make sure she wasn’t upset over anything that she’d just heard first.
“You okay?”
The smile stayed on her face as she said, “Yeah, Ryder. I’m good.”
“Even knowing what me and my friends do?”
Her smile slowly died, and a look of seriousness spread across her face. He’d never seen her look so serious before. “Ryder, I already knew the kind of man you were before I stepped foot in that pool hall. But in case I didn’t, your friends and that Rex guy made it more than clear—you’re a hero. I don’t know how many people you’ve saved, but I know every one of them would throw themselves at your feet in thanks if they could.”
“I’m no hero, love. I’ve killed a lot of people.”
She waved her hand in the air as if his words were a pesky fly. “Assholes who deserved to die.”
“It truly doesn’t bother you?”
She shook her head. “No. If it comes to it, I want you to shoot Joseph between the eyes and make sure he’s dead. I don’t trust that if arrested, he’ll stay in jail. Not with his connections, and apparently his father’s as well. I can’t tell you how many times I wish I had a gun so I could kill him myself.”
Ryder’s eyebrows shot up at her words. “That’s not you, love. You don’t like to kill the mice that make their way into the gym every now and then. I’ve seen the humane traps you’ve set out for them.”
“The mice never did anything to me. They’re just doing what they’re destined to do. But Joseph is a horrible human being. He deserves to die. Seriously, Ryder. All I want is to live my life in peace, and I don’t think he’ll ever let me do it as long as he’s alive. Promise me if you get the chance, you’ll kill him. But only if you won’t get in trouble for it. I’d hate for you to end up in jail for getting rid of that asshole. I don’t think conjugal visits would be as satisfying as what we’re hopefully going to be doing tonight.”
Ryder choked back a laugh. Figured his Felicity could go from talking about him killing someone to them making love in the space of a breath. “If at any time you need to change the outcome of the night, all you have to do is say so,” he felt compelled to say, even though if she did, he’d end up with the worst case of blue balls a man had ever felt.
Felicity stood up on her tiptoes and pulled his head down to hers. She brushed her lips over his once, lightly, and her warm breath feathered over his lips. “Nothing could make me not want you buried deep inside me tonight.”
He was kissing her deeply as the last word was leaving her lips. His tongue swept in and out of her mouth, mimicking what he would be doing with his cock as soon as he got her on her back on her bed.
It was her hand on his rock-hard dick that brought him back to where they were and what they were doing. He reached down and grabbed her wrist, pulling it off his crotch and holding it firmly at the small of her back.
She wiggled against him, rubbing her erect nipples against his T-shirt. “Ryder,” she complained. “I want you.”
“And you’ll get me. But it won’t be in the parking lot of The Pit. Behave,” he told her sternly, knowing the tenderness in his gaze belied his words.
She leaned up and kissed his chin. Then the crease of his jaw. “Take me home,” she said quietly between kisses. “Make love to me.”
Without a word, Ryder reached for the handle of the car door. He pressed her into the seat and jogged around the back of the vehicle to his side. He sat and looked over at the woman who would soon be his in every sense of the word.
Felicity was sitting with her seat belt on, with one leg hitched up on the seat. If she’d been wearing a skirt, he could push up the hem and stroke her . . . He cut off his thoughts.
They had about an hour drive, and he needed to be able to think about more than sinking into her hot, wet body as he did it. Ryder started the engine and smiled over at Felicity. “Talk to me.”
“About what?” she asked, running her fingers up and down the seam of her jeans suggestively.
“About anything other than how many times you’re going to come for me tonight,” he said tightly.
She laughed then. A deep chuckle that held no fear. No worry. It was a sound he wanted to hear for the rest of his life. As she began to talk about baby Nate and Ace and how glad Grace was that they were sleeping through the night, Ryder smiled.
He should be worried about J
oseph and what might be waiting for them when they got back to Castle Rock, but he couldn’t. Tonight he’d make Felicity Jones his in every way. Nothing could ruin his good mood.
Chapter Fourteen
He’d been wrong. Joseph Waters could ruin his good mood. Ryder had pulled around the back of the gym and parked next to Felicity’s PT Cruiser. The white envelope under her windshield wiper shone like a beacon.
He managed to get out of his car and to the envelope before Felicity. He gingerly picked it up using a corner of his shirt so as not to disturb any trace evidence or fingerprints that might be on it, and peeked inside.
His heart stopped beating for a moment, before starting up again twice as fast as before.
The drive up from Colorado Springs had been intimate and pleasurable. Felicity had been relaxed and flirty. They’d talked about nothing deep for the entire trip. No talk of killing anyone. No talk of Joseph Waters or his father. She’d told him more stories about her mom, and he’d reciprocated. It was . . . normal. And he’d liked it.
But now he was looking into an envelope at the contents he knew, knew, would upset Felicity. Possibly even make her revert back to the scared, ready-to-bolt headspace she’d been in when he’d first met her.
“What is it?” Her voice didn’t waver, but the lightness that had been in it for the last couple of hours was gone.
“You don’t need to see this,” Ryder told her, closing the envelope and pulling out his phone. He needed to call the cops. Continuing to report Joseph’s crazy wouldn’t make him stop, but when Ryder killed him, it would assist in making sure it was a clear case of self-defense.
Felicity put a hand on his arm. Her hand was warm on his skin, and he raised his head to look her in the eyes.
“Every time I’ve received one of his ‘gifts,’ I’ve been alone. I didn’t have anyone to lean on. I’m not super thrilled to see what he’s done this time, but it’s not like we didn’t expect it. I know you’re upset, but maybe I can figure out what he’s planning by seeing whatever he left. He loves to taunt me.” She shrugged. “It’s what he does.”
Ryder ground his teeth together and tried to come up with a reason she shouldn’t see what was in the envelope. She didn’t give him a chance.
“Please, Ryder. Whatever’s in there isn’t going to change our plans for the night. I’m not letting him get to me anymore. We’ll deal with this shit, then go upstairs and climb in my bed, just like we’ve done every night in the last week. Except this time, I’m going to get to do all the things I’ve dreamed about doing to you since the moment I saw you.”
Without a word, Ryder palmed the back of her head and brought her face to his. He kissed her as if he needed her to breathe. And it felt like he did. He’d never wanted a woman as badly as he wanted Felicity Jones.
He drew back way before he was ready and sighed. He brought her into his side, prepared for any kind of reaction she might have, and held the envelope open so she could see what was inside.
It was a stack of pictures. Only the one on top could be seen, but it was enough. It was a photo, taken with a high-quality zoom lens, of Joel and two other boys walking along a path. The date stamp on the photo was from today.
Felicity inhaled deeply, and her lips pressed together hard enough for Ryder to see them turn white with the pressure. But she simply looked up and said, “Hand me your phone, and I’ll call the police to report it. It’ll be better coming from me. It’s my car the envelope was left on.”
Kissing the side of her temple, Ryder handed over his phone. Inwardly he sighed in relief. Felicity was holding it together. Oh, he had no doubt she’d have a reaction later, but for now, she wasn’t freaking. Wasn’t bolting for her car to ride out of town. It was enough.
Joseph Waters watched from his rented sedan a couple of parking lots over. He trained his binoculars on Megan’s, gleefully anticipating the look of horror and fear on her face when she realized what he’d left her. Having the fucking mercenary there with her was annoying, but it might make things more interesting. If he could fuck with someone close to Megan at the same time he fucked with her, all the better.
Joseph huffed out a laugh when he saw Ryder use the edge of his shirt to pick up the gift. As if he was stupid enough to leave his DNA or fingerprints behind. That was an amateur move. Megan would know the pictures were from him. The grin on his face grew when he saw how pissed off the mercenary was when he looked inside the envelope.
But his grin faded when he watched Megan’s reaction. Or nonreaction, as it were. Clenching his fingers around the binoculars, Joseph could hardly believe it when she didn’t cry. Didn’t look around in fear, wondering if he was watching.
She merely put out her hand and raised the phone Ryder gave her to her ear.
Bitch. Fucking bitch.
You don’t think I’ll do it, do you?
Dropping the binoculars, Joseph gripped the steering wheel with all his strength. His mind raced with all the things he wanted to do to Megan. To show her exactly how it felt when someone fucked with your life . . . just as she’d done to him all those years ago.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Joseph’s mind whirled with the possibilities. He’d play with her for another week or so, then he’d make his move. He just needed to wait for the perfect time to strike.
He knew exactly what he was going to do too.
He had arrangements to make.
Megan would rue the day she dared interfere with his relationship with . . . what’s-her-name . . . back in college.
Starting up the engine, Joseph sedately pulled out of the parking lot so as not to draw any attention to himself. He was much more calm now that his plan was coming to fruition.
“One more week, Megan. And you’ll belong to me. Mind, body, and soul. And I guarantee you won’t enjoy it. Not one second.”
His evil chuckle reverberated around the interior of the car as he drove away from downtown Castle Rock.
Two hours later, Ryder and Felicity were finally locked up safe and sound in her apartment. The cops had arrived quickly, and Ryder had a feeling the fact he was related to the Andersons had something to do with their speedy arrival. But he didn’t care. He had no problem using whatever connections possible if it meant getting results.
Thankfully, the detectives had listened to Felicity explain who she suspected had left the envelope with the pictures and why, and had taken the threat seriously. They’d encouraged her to file a protective order against Joseph. She hadn’t balked when the detectives said they wanted to take the envelope and pictures with them.
He watched as Felicity dropped her keys into the basket on the little table on the kitchen counter and headed straight for a cabinet. She took down a glass and went to the water dispenser. She filled it and immediately chugged down half of the water. She took a deep breath, then finished the rest. Then she refilled her glass before turning to him.
“You want some water?”
Ryder felt his lips quirk, but managed to suppress the grin that wanted to come out. He’d been extremely worried about her lack of a response to the pictures Joseph had sent, in fact still was, but seeing her maintain her nightly ritual calmed him somewhat. He shook his head. “I’m good.”
Felicity shrugged and turned to open another cabinet to the shelves that held her food. “You hungry? I could whip something up before we head to bed.”
Ryder stalked toward her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back into him. She immediately melted into his embrace. Ryder used his free hand to pull the glass from her hand and safely set it on the counter before turning her to face him.
“I don’t want anything to eat. I want to know what you’re thinking.”
Felicity sighed and clasped her hands together at the small of his back. She gave him some of her body weight and looked up at him. “I’m okay.”
Ryder shook his head. “No, love. I want to know how you are. Seeing all those pictures of Grace, her kids, Joel and his friends,
and my brothers couldn’t have been easy.”
Her lips quirked upward in a small smile. “It wasn’t. I’m pissed and scared out of my mind. I couldn’t deal with it if he hurts someone else because of me. But I’m trying not to freak. You’re here. Your brothers are aware of the danger, and I have no doubt Logan will sit on Grace and his boys until Joseph is found. It sucks, but frankly, I’m not surprised. He’s done shit like this to me before. Followed me around, put pictures of me in envelopes and left them for me to find. He likes freaking me out, and trust me, in the past, I was totally freaked.”
“But you’re not now?”
She didn’t answer right away, thinking about his question. Finally, she said, “I’m upset, yes. I don’t like the fact he followed Alexis and Blake and took pictures of them and Joel and his friends. I am definitely not happy he got close enough to Grace and her babies to take those pictures either. But you called everyone and told them what happened so they’ll be hyper alert. I have to believe that they’ll guard their loved ones with their lives.”
Her eyes dropped, and she stared at the top button of his shirt as she continued. “My mom didn’t have anyone to watch over her. Maybe if she had a man who loved her as much as Logan loves Grace, or Blake loves Alexis, or even Nathan loves Bailey, she wouldn’t have died.”
Ryder’s heart was breaking for the woman in his arms. He moved a hand under her chin and encouraged her to look up at him once more. When he had her eyes, he palmed the side of her head gently. “Men like Joseph are cowards. They get off on scaring those they think are weaker than them. When they find out their targets aren’t in fact scared, they usually back off.”
“Joseph isn’t going to back off,” Felicity said immediately.
“I know. That’s why me and my brothers aren’t going to let down our guard. Not only that, but now the police are involved. And my friends down in the Springs. I’m going to be at your side until he makes a mistake, love.”
“I know.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Can we be done talking about Joseph now?”