by Lia Ellison
“Okay.” But as I followed him down the hallway, I spotted a gun tucked at the back of his pants.
He’d never had a gun with him before. Not like this. Not when we were in the house. Sure, he might’ve forgotten, but it looked like he’d changed his clothes. My pulse was like beating like a trapped bird inside my chest.
Where was he taking me? Was he going to confront me about the files? Did he know that I’d gone for the phone? What if he took that as proof that I really wanted to destroy him and that that had been my plan all along?
Okay, he wouldn’t be wrong about that, but that was before I’d started to see there were different sides to him.
Oh Lexi. You never learn, do you?
Ryker led me into one of the rooms, and when he closed the door behind me, I swallowed past the lump in my throat. But then I spotted a rectangle covered with a white sheet in the middle of the room.
Ryker lifted the sheet and revealed a really nice painting of a sandy beach and palm trees.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“Yeah. It’s really nice.”
“I was thinking we could go on a trip somewhere. Maybe for a week or two. This beach actually exists. I wanted to buy a house that’s just behind these trees.” He pointed at the painting.
“Yeah, sure. Why not?” I said it a little bit too fast, and Ryker was watching me with suspicion, or maybe it was something else.
I’d lost my ability to tell what he was feeling, or maybe he was just hiding his true feelings because he knew everything. Hell, I hadn’t even told him about the Hidden Pleasures. But that was the least of my worries right now.
“I’ll make the arrangements then.” His lips pulled up into a smile. His phone rang, making me jump. He glanced down at it with a frown. “I need to answer this.”
“Okay.” I twirled a strand of my hair around my finger.
Once he was out of the room, I let out a shuddery breath. Every instinct was telling me to get out of here as soon as possible. Maybe whoever had just called Ryker was about to tell him everything and I couldn’t pretend everything was okay.
I didn’t want to tell him the truth either, not in his damn house where I was surrounded by his men. Cracking the door open, I peeked out into the hallway. He wasn’t there, so I slipped outside.
Getting past the guards might not be easy, but I had to try. They were watching for people who wanted to get in, not out, which gave me an idea. One of the rooms was looking right onto the garden, and if I got out through the window, I might be able to make it to the trees and the main road.
I had no idea how long it would take Ryker to figure out that I was gone, but I hoped I’d have enough time. Taking a deep breath, I hurried down the hallway.
I’d been so stupid to think this would work and that I could ignore who we really were. Still, I didn’t regret any of what we’d done.
I’d treasure those moments forever, no matter what happened next.
Chapter 37
I PUSHED THE WINDOW open and took a peek through it. The guards were on the other side of the house, so I climbed through and jumped down onto the grass. Hopefully, no one would think that I was an intruder and shoot me, but it was too dark to see anything anyway.
Maybe I should’ve found the car keys and taken one of Ryker’s cars, but I didn’t want to risk running into him again. Keeping my head down, I raced across the yard, and hid behind one of the thick tree trunks. When I glanced at the guards, they were talking to each other, so I used the opportunity to slip farther into the trees.
I broke into a run, not looking back. Maybe Ryker would get worried once he found me gone. After all, I’d been kidnapped once already. But there had been something about him that told me that he knew the truth.
He wouldn’t be worried about me. He’d want to track me down and kill me. His life was always going to revolve around the Scarlet Cobras. It was just a fact that I had to accept.
Tears pushed at the corners of my eyes, but I couldn’t let them fall. My lungs burned as I forced my legs to go faster and faster. Ryker’s safe house wasn’t too far away from more populated areas, so I was hoping that I’d be able to disappear once I reached the busy streets.
As soon as I spotted a group of people, I slowed down, trying to catch my breath. But as I made my way across the street, a familiar car caught my eye.
“Lexi!” Ryker shouted through the window.
Fuck! I broke into a run again, elbowing people out of my way, but I knew I was going to be too slow. How the hell was I going to lose him? My phone was heavy in my pocket. Could I call someone to come for me? Should I call the cops? Would it be too late?
People looked at me as if I were crazy, and most were getting out of my way. I had to be looking like I was out of my mind, my face red from all the running, my hair disheveled, my eyes wide.
I slipped into one of the alleys. Maybe it would be too dark there for Ryker to find me. Since I couldn’t see his car, I crouched behind a dumpster.
He wasn’t going to find me.
He wasn’t.
But then I spotted a shadow at the end of the alley.
Ryker. It was him.
Clambering to my feet, I raced away from him as fast as my feet would carry me.
“Hey, wait!” he yelled after me, but I’d seen the gun tucked in his holster. Where were his men? Were they trying to catch me too? What if he was leading me straight to them? I couldn’t think about that.
The only problem was that I had no idea where I was going. This wasn’t part of the city that I was overly familiar with. I took a left turn, but as I raced down a dark alley, I realized it was a dead end.
Oh shit.
The world spun around me, and I could no longer think. For a moment, I was transported back into the past.
I was Avery again.
I’d been standing on the edge of a wall exactly like the one that was now in front of me. Only one step forward, and I would’ve fallen to my death. That night, I’d been determined to take it.
I’d just gotten out of juvie and my life was falling apart. My parents didn’t want me back, and I didn’t see a future for myself at all. All I wanted was to end it all.
End the pain.
End the memories.
End the rage that I was feeling.
But in the end, I didn’t jump. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I burst into tears instead, cursing the day Ryker had set his eyes on me.
I could’ve killed myself because of him and now he was going to end my life. That familiar rage that I’d been keeping inside me for years resurfaced with all the strength in the world.
Ryker was coming toward me. I knew it. I could feel it.
My hand closed around my phone. The only thing on my mind was revenge. I pressed all the right buttons, and as I turned around to face Ryker, I dropped the phone to the ground.
A strange calm came over me, and I didn’t move as he made his way toward me. I expected him to pull out his gun, but he didn’t. Not yet.
He knew that there was nowhere for me to run. And I was tired of running too. Tired of trying to escape my past. It was impossible to do it anyway.
I knew that now.
Ryker came to a stop not too far away from me. Half of his face was bathed in moonlight. He was as handsome as ever, and that thought almost made me laugh. For a few moments, we just stood there, watching each other.
Neither of us said a word. His gaze fell on my phone on the ground. I expected him to swear or yell at me, but he was perfectly still.
Had he done something to the phone? Maybe he’d been waiting for this. Waiting to see what I was going to do. Since he wasn’t concerned, it was very likely that the buttons I’d pressed had done nothing.
His men must’ve blocked the whole thing or rerouted it to some other place. I wanted to laugh, but I couldn’t.
“Just say something,” I spat out, spreading my arms. If he was going to shoot me, he should get it over with.
“Avery,” h
e whispered, and I stared at him with wide eyes, my insides trembling. I’d never heard him say my—no, her—name like that, with so much sadness.
“You know who I am,” I said.
“I’ve always known,” he said, and my jaw went slack.
Chapter 38
“WHAT?” I STEPPED FORWARD as I held his gaze. “What are you talking about?”
“Do you really think I could ever forget you?” He gave me a sad smile.
“Then why the fuck didn’t you say anything?” I all but growled.
“Because I’ve been in love with you since the day I first saw you. I didn’t think I’d ever get a second chance unless I made you believe that I didn’t know who you really were. There was a chance my plan would fail, but you played along.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? You made my life a living hell! I almost jumped to my death because I didn’t think there was any hope for me. A second chance? That would imply that there was something between us from the beginning, but there wasn’t.”
“You don’t know how sorry I am about that.” He averted his gaze for a moment, licking his lips. “But I didn’t have a choice. The Scarlet Cobras wanted to make you pay for what your cousin did. They wanted to do things even worse than death to you, and the worst part was that they knew how much I liked you.”
“Yeah, right. So you had to torment me and do all that to me because that was so much better.” I wanted to scream and shout and kick something.
“It’s not an excuse. I know. I was an idiot. I should’ve handled it in a different way, but I didn’t know what else to do. You’ve always been so strong. Someone else would’ve given up, but not you. I wish more than anything that I could take it all back, but I can’t.” He reached out for me, but I backed away.
“Don’t fucking touch me. I just...” I ran my hand over my face. What could I possibly say to him after all that? “And what did my cousin do to the Cobras that was so unforgivable? Why did they come after me? Why not after someone else?”
“He did a lot of things. He stole from them and snitched, and when it was the time for him to pay for that, he disappeared. His family was out of the Cobras’ reach, and yours... You were more interesting to the boss than your parents were because you were young and... because of me too. He was testing me. He wanted to see if I’d put the gang above anything else, and that included you.”
“How nice of you to protect me from them.” I rolled my eyes. “If you cared about me so much, then why the fuck didn’t you tell me? You could’ve warned me. You could’ve told me something. Your little gang wasn’t breathing down your neck all the time. You were their leader even then. You could’ve sent them away.”
“I told you, I was an idiot. I thought you’d laugh at me. Why would someone like you ever want someone like me? I was destined for a life you should’ve never been a part of. You deserved so much better.”
“And look where we are. So what now?” This was all too much for me, and we didn’t even get to the part about the files. Wait, the files. As if on cue, the police sirens pierced the air, not too far away from us.
My wide eyes met his. “My phone. You disabled it, didn’t you?”
The cops were probably going somewhere else. This was just a coincidence.
He shook his head.
“Why not? If you knew that it was mine and that...”
He just shrugged.
“You have to get out of here. They’re coming for you!” I wanted to push him so he’d start running.
Right now, I had no clue how he was going to get out of the whole thing, but he needed to go. Things between us were too complicated, and I needed him to tell me everything. I need more time to help me figure things out.
“I know.” He didn’t even budge, the corners of his lips tilting up.
“What do you mean you know? Why aren’t you running? They have proof against you, and they’re coming right here!” I was pretty sure it was too late to destroy the phone now.
“I’m aware of that, and it’s okay.” He placed his hands on my shoulders, and I let him.
My eyes stung with unshed tears. “No, you can’t. You need to go.”
“You did the right thing. I deserve it. It’s going to be fine. Just promise me you’ll find happiness.”
“Ryker, no.” A tear slid down my cheek just as the cops showed up. I didn’t even know why I was crying.
“It’s okay.” He briefly brushed his lips against mine, and then lifted his hands up, stepping away from me. The cops grabbed him and he didn’t resist. His eyes met mine as they shoved him to the ground, cuffing his hands behind his back.
“It’s all right. You’re safe now,” one of the officers said, placing her hand on my shoulder.
As they took Ryker away, all I could do was stand there and watch.
My revenge didn’t taste sweet at all.
Actually, there was just emptiness inside me. But maybe that was how it always was. Maybe it was always supposed to end this way.
Or maybe, I could find a way to change our future.
Ryker was right about one thing.
I didn’t give up easily, and I wasn’t going to give up on him either.
###
Follow Lexi and Ryker’s story in Bully Revenge (Taking Revenge on Her Bully, #2). More information:
https://www.liaellison.com/taking-revenge-on-her-bully-series.html
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Books by Lia Ellison
NEVER HIS DUET
VARANO MAFIA SERIES
TAKING REVENGE ON HER BULLY SERIES
books.liaellison.com