by Lia Ellison
“Everything all right?” he asked as we entered a spacious room full of people.
I must’ve tensed, and for some reason, he’d noticed. Who would’ve thought? “Yeah.”
“Ryker, there you are, my friend!” A man with graying brown hair stepped in front of us. “Who’s the beautiful lady with you?”
“I’m Lexi,” I said.
The guy introduced himself as a hotel owner, and as soon as they started discussing business—legit, boring stuff, of course—I tuned them out, looking around the room. Ryker was really successful at keeping his legit-businessman charade because I was pretty sure the people here wouldn’t just let anyone come to this party.
From bits and pieces that I overheard, I concluded that Ryker’s construction company was involved in a few big, lucrative projects. I wondered if he’d gotten them because the Scarlet Cobras had blackmailed someone.
Maybe something else was hiding behind those projects too. It might or might not be related to the Cobras’ criminal activities, but I doubted I could figure that out here.
“Lexi?” Ryker said, and I turned my head toward him. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Actually, I’ll get us something to drink.” I flashed him a smile and hurried away before he could protest. If I wanted to play this as safe as possible, I couldn’t let Ryker slip something into my drink, could I?
When I reached the bar, I glanced back at Ryker. He was talking with some guy I hadn’t seen before, and judging by the look on Ryker’s face, their conversation wasn’t pleasant.
Why the hell did I have to miss the most interesting part? Or had the guy been waiting for Ryker to be alone?
Just as I was grabbing our drinks, Ryker and the guy started toward the hallway that led to the restrooms and possibly to some offices or more rooms. Once I made sure no one was paying too much attention to me, I hurried after them.
“We shouldn’t be discussing this here,” Ryker said, and I pressed myself against the wall. He and the guy were just around the corner. I lowered one of the glasses to the floor so I could pull my phone out of the hidden pocket on my dress.
“When are we going to discuss it then, huh? You never answer any of my calls.”
“I’m a busy man,” Ryker said calmly. “The shipment will go as planned.”
Shipment? A shipment of what? I pressed the recording button on my phone. Hopefully, I wasn’t standing too far away, but I couldn’t risk going any closer or they might catch me.
“I can’t do it! I won’t! It’s too risky. You dragged me into this for...”
“Listen to me very carefully,” Ryker said, his voice getting that dangerous note that I’d been so used to hearing at school. “You’ll do everything exactly like I told you to. If you don’t, you’ll suffer the consequences, and crossing me isn’t something you want to do. I’m sure you remember what happened to the last guy who tried that. Do you understand?”
A thud made me jump. Ryker must’ve hit something, and then he lowered his voice and I couldn’t hear what he was saying no matter how much I strained my ears.
“Yeah, okay. Okay!” the guy said frantically. Ryker’s threat must’ve worked.
“Go now,” Ryker said. “I don’t want to see your face around here.”
I hurried to pocket my phone, but my fingers were shaking so badly I dropped it. As I swore under my breath, the man who Ryker had been talking to stormed past me, not even looking my way.
My phone, though, had landed right into the glass I’d left on the floor. Shit! The drink had spilled all over the carpet, and I grabbed my phone, cutting my finger on the broken glass. Before I could do anything else, I sensed Ryker looking at me.
“Lexi?” he asked, surprise lacing his voice.
“Well, there you are!” I tucked my phone into my pocket as I offered him the glass that was still in my hand. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“I’m sorry. Something came up.” He took the glass, and then his gaze fell on my finger. “You’re bleeding,” he said, worry creasing his brow.
No, it couldn’t be. He was faking it. Ryker never worried about anyone other than himself.
“Oh, it’s nothing. My glass was chipped.” I gave him a small smile. As long as he didn’t think I’d been spying on him, everything was just fine.
“Wait.” He put down his glass on one of the nearby cabinets, then pulled out a handkerchief.
My eyebrows shot up as he got hold of my hand and gently wrapped the handkerchief around my finger. My skin tingled as his fingers brushed my hand, his eyes focused on mine.
What the actually fuck? What the hell was he doing? Pretending that he was a gentleman? Ryker Cavano? I almost snorted.
“This is unacceptable,” he said. “I’m going to find the responsible...”
I gaped at him. “No, you don’t need to do that. I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose.”
“They should be more careful.”
“But why waste your time on them? Maybe you could tell me something about yourself instead. How did you become so successful at your age? Do you have rich parents or do you have an awesome rags-to-riches story that you’d like to share with me?”
“It’s a boring story, I’m afraid. I saw the opportunity and I took it. That’s all. I guess I got lucky too.”
“Oh, I’m sure it can’t be just that.” I eyed him carefully, but his face was giving me nothing.
“How about we rejoin the party?”
“Sure.” He wasn’t going to tell me anything, was he? Great.
Chapter 9
AFTER THE PARTY, RYKER and I had exchanged our phone numbers. He’d said he’d prefer to give me a call if he needed me again rather than have to track me down.
As I stared at his number on the screen of my phone, I wondered if I could speed things up between us a little bit.
Taking a deep breath, I dialed his number.
“Lexi?” His voice was full of surprise when he answered, and that was exactly what I wanted.
“Yeah, it’s me. What are you doing tonight? I’m kind of in need of an escort myself, so if you’d like to have some fun, maybe you’d like to come with me. I can pay you, of course.”
He let out a small laugh. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
“No, it’s not a date. Like I said, I need an escort. I want to go out and I don’t want anyone to bother to me. My girlfriends are all busy, and I don’t know any guys who wouldn’t read too much into things and assume I wanted something more. Since you’ve hired escorts before, I’m sure you know how this thing works. So, what do you say?”
There was silence on the other end of the line, and I thought he was going to feel insulted and refuse.
“Yeah, I’m in,” he finally said. “Where and when do you want me to come?”
“Perfect.” A slow smile curved my lips.
This was going to be so much fun. I could already tell.
“DANCE WITH ME,” I SAID, offering Ryker my hand.
Judging by the way he was looking around, he’d never been to this club. The music was upbeat and the atmosphere was just right, so I pulled Ryker to me, pressing myself very close to him.
“Haven’t you been here before?” I yelled into his ear.
My arms were wound around his neck, and damn, why did he have to smell so good? Pine, musk, and something else. It was driving me crazy. But it was Ryker.
I couldn’t lose sight of why I’d really brought him here. It was to get him dizzy with need for me even more. Being his dominatrix might be fun, but I wanted to get really close to him so I could find solid evidence against him.
“No, I can’t say that I have,” he said, and I spun around, rubbing my ass against him as I swayed my hips.
When I turned around to face him, his lips were parted, his gaze glued to me, and the bulge in his pants was growing bigger.
Good.
I snaked my arms around his neck again. “So you’re not from around here, are you?”
“No. Business brought me here.”
“Ah.” A slower song started to play, so I looked deep into his eyes.
Maybe Ryker didn’t have a heart for me to crush, or maybe he did. I wanted to find out. His hands were resting on the small of my back, and he was staring at my lips a little bit too much.
When he tipped his head forward, I moved out of his reach.
If he thought I was going to let him kiss me tonight, he was wrong. A part of me wondered how I was ever going to survive that when the time came. Would I be able to pretend he was someone else?
“Let’s grab a drink,” I said, catching his hand and tugging him with me.
Once we found empty seats at the bar and ordered our drinks, Ryker was still looking at me as if I was the only thing he wanted right now.
My plan was working, and after tonight, he was going to think that I trusted him, since I would’ve never called him out with me like this if I’d thought he was dangerous.
“So, did you move here recently?” I asked, giving him a pleasant smile.
“I guess you could say that.”
“How do you like it here?” I brought my glass to my lips and took a sip.
“Very much,” he said, but his eyes were so focused on me I had no idea if he was answering my question or if he was talking about something else.
“Is your family here too?”
“No.” His face darkened, which was a bit surprising.
Had something happened to his family? His father was a member of the Scarlet Cobras too, unless that had changed in the meantime. He’d been getting into a lot of trouble, mostly bar fights and thefts, so he could’ve as well ended up in jail or dead.
“I’m not on speaking terms with my parents, so I know a thing or two about complicated family relationships.” I took a gulp of my drink.
Maybe I shouldn’t reveal anything that might trigger his memory, but I doubted he’d ever cared about what had been going on between my parents and me.
“It’s not complicated,” he said. “My parents are dead.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” The look in his eyes and the cold tone of his voice made me suspicious. How had his parents died? Was he telling me the truth? I knew it had to have happened after high school, but I didn’t think this was the right moment to ask.
What if he had killed them for some reason? Actually, that wouldn’t be all that surprising. And it was a nice reminder of exactly what I was getting myself into by pursuing my revenge.
He downed his drink and ordered another one.
“I want to dance. Come on.” I placed my hand on his shoulder as I hopped to my feet.
He gulped down his drink and joined me.
As he pulled me into his arms, I found myself staring straight into the dark depths of his eyes. His hands roamed up and down my back, sending tiny shivers through me, and his lips were way too close to mine, but he didn’t try to kiss me again.
You’re not disappointed by that, are you?
Oh hell.
Ryker’s phone vibrated in his pocket, making us both jump. Yep, I was way, way too close to him, wasn’t I? He pulled it out and glanced at the screen. Someone’s number was on it, and I wondered if it was important.
But instead of leaving so he could answer, he turned off his phone. Wow. Was our little outing tonight more important to him than anything else? What if there was an emergency? It didn’t look like it mattered much to him as his hands returned to my back and he pulled me against him again.
Would Ryker really put something else above his job? It was so weird.
I had no idea how long we’d been like that, just dancing, our bodies pressed together and moving in sync. My feet were starting to ache, so I figured it was time to go.
“Can you take me home now?” I asked, pulling away from him.
Well, I wasn’t going to let him drive me all the way to my apartment, but to the same location where he’d picked me up. I didn’t want him to know where I lived just yet, and I wanted to know if he’d figure it out on his own.
“Yeah, of course,” he said, and for a few seconds, I wondered if maybe Ryker had changed. Maybe a tiny, tiny little bit.
Chapter 10
“WHAT DO YOU NEED?” Nia asked as soon as she opened the door of her apartment for me.
“How did you know that I needed something?” A small smile quirked my lips as I stepped inside.
“You were out with him yesterday, so I guess you’ve got something. But let me tell you. I was terrified until you called. I thought he kidnapped you or drugged you, or something.”
Nia had been my emergency call, or something like that. I’d told her exactly where I’d be going, just in case something happened to me, and she’d been expecting my call to confirm that I’d gotten home safely.
“It was fine. He was... I don’t know. Is it weird if I say that he’s different?” I took a seat in a dark blue sofa.
Nia settled in the sofa across from me and grabbed her laptop that had been on the glass table between us. “He’s just playing you. He needs you to trust him, or maybe he was suspicious because you called him first. Now he might really think you’re a cop.”
“I know. Everything’s possible, but I don’t think he suspects me. If he did, he wouldn’t be anywhere near me. Besides, it’s not like I asked a ton of questions about his business or anything.” I shrugged.
“Okay. Whatever you say. What do you have for me then?”
I pulled a piece of paper out of my pocket. “His plates number. Can you use it to track down his car? Maybe find out where he is? Where the car is usually parked or something?”
She sighed. “I can try. I have some friends who are really good at that kind of thing.”
My brow furrowed. “What friends? Are you sure we can trust them? I told you that I was okay with my life being at risk, but if your friends expose you or if they know Ryker, it may be too dangerous for you to get involved.”
“Don’t worry. I’m just borrowing their stuff. They won’t know what I’m looking for. I’ll just owe them a favor, and that’s something I can handle.”
“Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
“Gotten yourself killed already?” Nia’s lips tilted up.
“Probably.” I grimaced. “But there’s something else I need you to look into for me. Can you figure out what happened to Ryker’s parents? He told me they were dead, and they were both alive when I left my hometown, so I’d like to know how and when they died.”
She squinted at me. “You suspect he did something to them.”
“No. I mean, maybe. I don’t know. It’s just weird because of the way he said it. His father was in the gang too, so maybe he got caught in the crossfire or someone was looking for revenge.”
“Let me see what I can do.” She focused on her laptop. “Weren’t Ryker’s parents also selling or smuggling drugs? Maybe a job went wrong.”
“I’m hoping you’ll find out.” At the mention of drugs, my whole body stiffened.
As Nia worked, I looked around the room, trying to find something else to focus my thoughts on, but the memory dragged me in anyway.
As soon as I’d spotted cops in the school hallway, I knew something was wrong. A part of me hoped that Ryker and his gang had finally gotten caught and that they’d be kicked out of school.
But as I approached, I realized the cops were standing in front of my locker. They all, along with the principal, turned their heads in my direction, and I felt like a deer caught in the headlights.
“There she is!” The principal pointed at me.
I wanted to run, but my feet were rooted to the spot.
Just down the hallway, behind the cops, who were now making their way toward me, Ryker’s friends were grinning at me. What the fuck had they done?
But then I spotted what one of the cops was holding in her hand. A packet of some kind of white powder.
Oh shit.
“That’s not m
ine!” I managed to say before the cops were on me, but it was useless.
As they were dragging me away, my gaze fell on Ryker, who was watching me with a smile on his face, but there was something else in his eyes that I couldn’t identify.
He’d set me up.
“Lexi?” Nia called, and I blinked at her, back in the present.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?” she asked softly.
“Kind of. I remembered the day I was arrested.” When he’d planted the drug in my locker and had random students tell everyone I’d been selling them drugs.
My parents had been outraged, and again, had refused to believe me. I’d ended up in juvie, and they’d told me I’d deserved it.
“Screw that bastard. He’ll pay for everything he’s done one day. Karma will get him. Trust me.”
“And I’d love to help her out. Did you find something?”
“Yeah. His parents died a few years ago.”
I tensed, waiting for her to tell me more. “How?”
“Well, it looks like the cops never collected enough evidence, but they closed the case anyway. It looks like his father killed his mother and then himself, but there were witness reports that there was a third person who might’ve been involved.”
“But, of course, no one cared enough to investigate and the Scarlet Cobras made sure there was nothing suspicious about it.”
Her dark eyes met mine. “Do you think Ryker did it? Or someone else? A rival gang, maybe?”
“I don’t know.” It could’ve been Ryker.
The look in his eyes kind of made me think it had been him, but maybe my hatred for him clouded my judgment.
Every time something bad had happened to me, he had been involved in some way, so of course I expected he’d had to do something with that too, even if he hadn’t been the one to pull the trigger.
“I’m working on tracking his plates right now, but don’t you think he has more than one car?”