HARD Series Box Set: Bad boys with powers

by Chloe Fischer

  She clung to his muscled shoulders as he grabbed at the metal railings using them for leverage. Their eyes were locked in passion, his force growing as her cries grew louder.

  Harder he pushed, wanting to feel every inch of her, becoming one with her sweating, bucking form.

  When he felt her muscles spasming against his cock in another orgasm, he could not stop himself from climaxing, his load spurting into her with a frenzy, a low groan of his own escaping his lips.

  They stared into each other’s eyes, the moment was electric. The connection was undeniable, but almost scary. Who felt this way after just meeting someone? It was crazy, insane. Despite their deep connection, Ryder felt out of control, like the universe was lining game pieces up but he didn’t know what the game was. But in spite of this, he knew he would never feel this connection for anyone else – for some reason, him and Paige were meant to be together. The question was, why?

  As they lay spent, each one trying to find the right words to speak, Ryder knew that he was never going to let her go.

  “We have to get out of here,” Ryder told her quietly.

  She propped herself up and stared at him, her breathing still uneven.

  “Where were you?” she asked but there was something in her eyes which told him she had an idea.

  “We can talk about that later. Right now, we need to leave. We are both in a lot of trouble if we stay.”

  She parted her lips and shook her head.

  “I can’t leave here,” she told him. “My life is here. Everything I have worked for is here.”

  Ryder studied her face, his mind whirling.

  “We can rebuild. I know how to start over, Paige but we have to leave.”

  She lowered her hazel eyes and Ryder could see they had filled with tears.

  “I can’t,” she whispered. “My life…it’s complicated, Ryder. And yours is a thousand times worse than mine. We can’t make this work, here or anywhere else.”

  The words were like a thousand knives to his chest. He grabbed her, pulling her close.

  “No,” he told her gruffly. “I have been searching for you my whole life. I just didn’t know it. We will find a way but we can’t do it from here. Let’s at least get out of the hospital.”

  She raised her head.

  “You still need antibiotics, Ryder. We can’t just remove you from the – “

  “Paige, you must listen to me. We have to go and go now!”

  His well-honed sixth sense told him their moment for fleeing was growing to an abrupt close. She seemed to read the distress on his face.

  “Okay,” she agreed reluctantly. “But we’re not leaving the city.”

  “We just need to get out of the hospital,” he assured her, rising to retrieve his clothes. She followed suit and Ryder gathered his few belongings from the room, stuffing them into a tote bag.

  “How long will it be before Egerstein wakes up?”

  “He’ll be out for a while,” Paige replied. “But I don’t know when his relief is coming.”

  “All the more reason to hurry,” Ryder urged and she slipped her shoes on. He could see that the direness of the situation was settling in suddenly and fear lit her eyes.

  “Oh my God,” she mumbled. “What did I do?”

  “Nothing,” he told her, grabbing her hand. “It’s okay. We’ll figure this out. I just need to get us somewhere to think.”

  The turned for the door and Ryder grabbed Egerstein’s gun, slipping the nine-millimeter Beretta into his waistband.

  “What do you need that for?” Paige gasped but he didn’t answer, pulling her toward the stairs.

  He threw open the door and froze.

  A man loomed on the landing, his face registering surprise.

  Instantly, Ryder pulled the gun and aimed it at him.

  “Who are you?” he demanded. “What are you doing up here?”

  Beside him, Paige gasped.

  “Ryder.” The man’s face seemed to pale in shock. “It’s you. It’s really you.”

  “Who the hell are you?” Ryder growled, preparing to fire. “I’m not going to ask you again.”

  “Ryder,” Paige whispered. “I think that’s your father, Drake Conway.”

  Chapter Ten

  Father and son stood dumbfounded, peering at each other for the first time in almost thirty years.

  “Ryder, is it really you?” Drake gasped, his face dazed with emotion. Behind them. Egerstein made a noise.

  “We have to get out of here,” Ryder said insistently. He pulled on Paige and they ran down the stairs, leaving Drake to stare after them.

  Ryder paused on the landing.

  “Are you coming?” Ryder snapped. He didn’t know what to feel, but he knew they didn’t have time for the “hey, how’s your life been?” now.

  Drake seemed to snap out of whatever trance had overcome him and he hurried after the couple. In minutes, they were outside and Drake gestured for them to follow.

  “My car is that way.”

  “Are you alone?” Ryder asked and the older man nodded. Reluctantly, they followed him toward the hospital parking where Drake located the black BMW rental.

  “Get in,” he ordered. Ryder paused, knowing it was crazy to just jump in a car with someone. He didn’t even know who this guy was – he could be anyone, really. But Ryder had survived all this time by listening to his sixth sense, and right now it was telling him to get in the car. He directed Paige into the back seat, while he sat in front where he would be better able to take control if the situation warranted it.

  Silence fell over the car as they sped from the lot, everyone consumed with their own thoughts.

  They flew down Huron Street and Ryder’s heart caught in his throat as he saw the emergency vehicles surrounding Paige’s condo.

  “That’s my building,” she murmured, looking out the window.

  “Keep your head down,” Ryder growled. He turned his attention to his father.

  “Where are we going?”

  “My hotel.”

  They headed south on State Street and pulled into the parking lot of the Dana.

  Drake parked at the front, tossing the keys to the valet driver and the three did not speak again until they entered Drake’s hotel suite.

  The older man turned to fix drinks as Ryder looked nervously about. He was not sure how much he trusted about the situation but he was running low on options.

  “What happened at my apartment?” Paige whispered. Ryder turned to her, his eyes wide.

  “Noel took his own life. He jumped from the balcony.”

  Paige’s eyes grew small, her mouth parting.

  “Because I was there when he did it.”

  “So you know,” Drake sighed, handing them each a crystal sifter. His eyes lingered on Paige for a long moment.

  “You look remarkably like my late wife,” he sighed unhappily as if consumed by memories.

  The statement sent a flurry of emotions through Ryder.

  Is that why I felt like I knew Paige already? She reminds me of my mother?

  He forced himself to focus on the matter at hand.

  “Know what?” Ryder demanded. “I don’t know anything!”

  His voice was angrier than he had intended, but a wave of unfamiliar emotions seemed to overtake him as he stared at the man claiming to be his father.

  “I know you abandoned me when I was boy and never came back for me when you were supposed to.”

  Drake’s mouth became a fine line and Paige sank onto the couch, her face pale.

  “It’s not that simple, son,” he replied quietly.

  “I am not your son!” Ryder snapped. “I am no one’s son. The people you dumped me on didn’t want me and obviously you didn’t either.”

  “That’s not true, Ryder! There has not been a day that’s gone by that I haven’t thought about you or your brothers. Tried to find all of you,” Drake said in an anguished voice.

  Ryder shook his head in disbelief.
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  “Those memories, they’re true. All of them.”

  “We shouldn’t be discussing this,” Drake muttered and Ryder felt a spark of fury.

  “What are you doing here, Mr. Conway? Why are you here?”

  “I found him for you,” Paige said softly. “You wanted to know who you are.”

  Ryder stared at her in shock.

  “You told him where to find me?”

  “I called some numbers and emailed some addresses but no one responded. I guess someone was reading them after all.”

  “I made a mistake,” Ryder told his father. “I don’t want to know anymore. Come on, Paige. We have to go.”

  “You can’t leave,” Drake said flatly. “You have to come back to Virginia with me.”

  Ryder began to laugh.

  “You can’t be serious,” he snapped. “No. I am not going anywhere with you.”

  “Ryder, I understand you’re upset but when I tell you what we’re fighting, you’ll change your mind.”

  “Try me,” the younger Conway retorted. Again, Drake looked at Paige who stared at the floor uncomfortably.

  “I’ll go for a walk – “

  “No,” Ryder said. “You’re not going anywhere alone. Anything this man has to say, he can say with you here or we can go.”

  “Ryder, it isn’t safe for her to know.”

  “Ignorance has not kept me safe either,” Ryder replied. He stared at his father defiantly and Drake knew it was a losing battle.

  “Please sit down,” he told his son. “This is a rather wild tale.”

  Begrudgingly, Ryder perched on the arm of the sofa beside Paige, grasping her hand comfortingly. He gave her a reassuring look but she did not seem at peace.

  Drake took a deep, shuddering breath.

  “What I am about to tell you must never leave this room,” he explained, staring directly at Paige. She shook her head vehemently.

  “If anyone learns what I am about to say, we’re all as good as dead,” Drake continued and Ryder’s mind flipped to the memory of the men in black, firing bullets toward small children.

  “They’ve already tried once,” Ryder heard himself say and Drake whipped his head around to stare at his son.

  “You remember. You remember what happened that night.”

  “Refresh my memory and start at the beginning.”

  Drake gritted his teeth.

  “I am different than others,” the older man said, his sea green eyes lowered. “I have…abilities which others do not.”

  “Like what?” Paige asked, leaning forward with interest. Ryder saw her glance furtively at him but Drake did not elaborate.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said quickly. “What matters is, you boys also have variations of your own. Ryder, do you know what you can do?”

  Ryder nodded shortly, staring at his “father” almost aggressively.

  “I have been hunted for years by a group who wishes to study and use my abilities, harness them as weaponry but I had always managed to stay one step ahead of them. I kept you and your brothers secret from them for as long as I could but I grew careless… I exposed you and they came. It was the worst night of my life,” Drake said quietly, getting a far away look in his eyes, as if he was going back to that bloody evening where he had lost his whole world in the span of a couple of minutes. “I don’t know how I survived. I was shot many times. I think you and your brothers saved my life but I don’t remember much of it.”

  Ryder tried to push the image from his mind but it was forcing itself upon him, a memory he had once repressed, determined to show itself in its cruel, uncensored brutality.

  “When I regained consciousness, my second in command, Vance Berkley was at my side. He had found us, securing you and your brothers somewhere. The chopper was on it’s way, but I ordered him to send you all away. To places I was not allowed to know. I told him when the time was right, when enough time had passed and Oculus had given up their mission, I would find you all. It was my fault that they attacked that night….and I didn’t want you boys to ever go through something like that again. If I didn’t know where you were, then I couldn’t endanger you again.” Drake looked down as his shoulders slumped, the defeat rolling off of him in waves.

  “They never gave up?”

  “Not entirely. They struck in different places, I would hear rumors of their mark all over the world but then they killed Vance…. I knew I had lost my chance to find you. He had done too well hiding you, ensuring that none of your adoptions were legal so there was no paper trail, but he made sure to change your last names. I had no way to find you. I searched. For decades I have searched.” The desolation in Drake’s voice was almost palpable.

  He paused to take a long sip of his scotch while Ryder and Paige listened avidly. “I suspect the reason you were shot in Berlin was a kidnapping orchestrated by Oculus.”

  Ryder exhaled slowly, remembering how he had felt like he was being watched.

  Is that who was in my room in Turkey? How could they have known where to find me?

  He recalled Franz Kaiser’s words and how little sense they had made to him.

  “I have orders not to kill you.” That’s what Franz said.

  “They are never going away, Ryder. Not until they have you, Xavier and the twins. I need you to come home with me. We will find your brothers and defeat Oculus once and for all.”

  Ryder sat back, staring at the man who called himself his father.

  How long have I wanted to be someone’s son? What would these words have meant to me ten, twenty years ago? He thought.

  He knew he couldn’t be angry at Drake Conway. The man had done everything he could to protect his family but Ryder couldn’t help feeling resentment toward him either.

  “Ryder,” Paige whispered. “You have to go with him.”

  Drake raised his head and peered imploringly at his oldest son.

  “I can’t do it alone,” he told Ryder. “I have been trying my entire life, but with you, we have a real shot at stopping them.”

  Ryder looked at Paige’s face, her features crushed as her lower lip trembled.

  “No,” Ryder said. “I’m not going with you.”

  Paige inhaled sharply and Drake stared at him, mouth agape.

  “You have to, Ryder. You’re going to be up on sanctions in the Army. God knows what you did back at Dr. Steward’s condo…”

  Ryder glared at him.

  He's done his homework. But obviously not well enough.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Ryder said, rising. He extended his hand to Paige who stood slowly.

  “Ryder,” she breathed but he shook his head.

  “I am not the same boy I was in the dining room that night,” he told his father. “I don’t have unwavering trust in you. I am not the same man who enlisted in the Army after high school who had faith in the system. I am not even the guy who went on my last assignment. Today I am someone different and the only thing I am absolutely certain of is how I feel about this woman. I am not going with you. I am not leaving Paige’s side.”

  “Ryder!” Drake cried. “Please, think about this.”

  Ryder gently pulled on Paige and the two moved toward the door.

  “If you ever find Xavier and the twins, maybe we will talk again. Until then…”

  He opened the door and pulled his lover across the threshold.

  “Ryder,” Paige hissed as they approached the elevators. “If what he’s saying is true, you’re in danger. A lot of danger.”

  Ryder shook his head.

  “Not if we disappear. We’ll go tonight.”

  “Ryder, what did you do to Noel? Are you in trouble?”

  He shook his head and stared at her earnestly.

  “He jumped,” he replied honestly. He did not tell her that he had not jumped by his own volition but that was unimportant. Noel had paid the price for the pain he had caused Paige – and would have continued to cause either her, or someone else.

  Ryder
thought of the naked terror in Noel’s eyes as he had climbed onto the edge of the sixteenth-floor railing, powerless to stop himself from falling.

  “Now you can begin to imagine how Paige felt all those times that you hurt her, you cowardly bastard,” Ryder said almost lazily to him before permitting him to die.

  “My life is here,” Paige whispered. “I am a doctor, an attending…”

  “You will be again,” Ryder promised her. “Just not here.”

  She turned to him, her eyes desperate to believe him, but she could not bring herself to go with him. He would forever be in danger if they ran, always hiding. And sooner or later, everyone let their guard down...Paige wouldn’t be able to live with herself if Ryder died because of her. If he hadn’t taken care of her abusive boyfriend, then he wouldn’t have had to flee from the military. He would be safer than if he was on the run. But at least with his dad, he would have Drake’s power to shield him if this Oculus group found him.

  “What do you say?” he whispered. “Are you in?”

  “No,” she breathed. “I can’t just leave my life behind, not when I have worked so hard to get here. You must understand.”

  Ryder was sure that his expression reflected the devastation he was feeling. He couldn’t reconcile losing Paige, not when their connection was so intense. He knew he would never find it again - with anyone.

  “Go with your father,” she said in a low voice. “He needs you.”

  Ryder gazed at her disbelievingly. “How can you say that?” he demanded, but Paige did not answer. Instead, she boarded the elevator, watching him with heartbroken eyes. But Ryder could see that she did not want to go.

  “Wait!” he cried, sticking his foot in the tracks. “I will go with him. But only if you come too.” Their eyes locked and he thought he read a combination of relief and worry in her eyes. “You’re only leaving me because you’re worried about me,” he insisted as the elevator began to squeal in protest at the obstruction in the doorway.

  “But I’ll never be able to focus on anything if you’re not with me,” He continued. “I won’t be any use to him, and I’ll just end up coming after you.” He stared deeply into her eyes and she saw the intensity of his feelings. She knew he was telling her the truth.