“I agree with Axel and Junior. Ryan is our best resource right now. Hell, I don’t want to use her and bring her into our shit, but you have to admit her cover held up. She still isn’t on anyone’s radar that we know of.”
Brick had enough.
“Really? What about Tiny’s radar? He saw her, and she told him exactly who she was. We don’t know where his loyalties lie.”
“True, but going with what we know, Tiny was with an agent who checked out. He was also with Talon, another agent, and he didn’t kill him. We all know he could have easily. That gives me a little hope the man we knew is still in there.”
“And my cover is still working. Damn, boys, your security sucks. Anybody can just walk into this house without raising a single alarm. Maybe we should work on that.”
Ryan was standing in the doorway, leaning up against the wall, looking better than ever or hell, maybe the same, but he had missed her.
Instead of saying that, he blurted out, “What are you doing here!”
Ryan smiled at him. “I’m here to finish the job I started, offer you guys an olive branch, and save your asses again.” Walking forward, she dropped a thick envelope he hadn’t even noticed she was carrying on the table. “The video might have been a lure, but it was full of information. With what’s in that envelope, you have enough evidence to keep the cartel and Perez busy for a long while. We’re talking about murder, rape, and torture. Those were just the ones I could corroborate and give you enough information to give the appropriate people. A few breadcrumbs to follow a very enlightened path on where we want them to end up. FBI, CIA, ICE, DOD, CPS, and a few other alphabet agencies would be jonesing for this information.” Ryan held up her finger. “I’ve made it so that the man might be brought in for questioning, keeping his lawyers busy, but not arrested unless they are willing to do a hell of a lot more work. My take is they’re going to want the easy pickings. Isn’t that what you wanted, Caine?”
Caine pulled the envelope to him and ripped it open, leafing through the papers. Brick really wanted to see what was in those papers, but right now, his focus was solely on Ryan.
“You have another problem, though. The video hack was all Talon. The one on the clubhouse is an unknown entity. I have no idea if they’re working with Perez or for him. I vaguely recognize the signature, but I haven’t been able to narrow it down. I thought maybe Perez had put out another contract, but again, no luck. It’s something you guys really need to be concerned about because this person is good. They managed to fool both Talon and me. That shit is scary and shouldn’t have happened.”
Caine stopped and looked up from the papers just long enough to ask, “What do you suggest?”
“I’m already working on it, but it’s hard to track a ghost.” Ryan smiled, making some of the guys laugh as she put her finger to her lips. “Although I did already manage to do that once, so why not again?”
Brick could already tell the guys were going to cave and let her in, but for some reason, he still needed her to realize this wasn’t fun and games. It was war. They had already lost one person. An injured Ryan could very well be next.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. What about your mom? If you’re not going to think about your own safety, maybe you should think about hers.”
Ryan’s smile got a whole hell of a lot less genuine.
“My mom is taken care of, visiting with relatives. As a matter of fact, you might know him. You guys, after all, run in the same circles. Ajax Phillips, President of the Savage Horsemen, ringing any bells? I take care of what’s mine, Brick, and contrary to popular belief, I do think things through, occasionally, although I have been known to make a couple of mistakes. I wonder, can you figure out what mistake I’m thinking about right now?”
“Buurnnn!” Junior mumbled not so subtly.
Yeah, Brick felt it, but it also proved something else. If Ryan was still willing to fight, he still had a chance.
“Since I’m in a giving mood, I happen to be the proud new owner of a completely renovated forty-thousand-square-foot warehouse about four miles down the road. If you guys play your cards right and don’t piss me off any more than you already have by trying to protect my naïve, unequipped to handle your world ass...”
“Ryan, you have to understand—” Brick started to say, but she didn’t let him finish.
“I understand you guys will go to any lengths to protect the people you love and care about. That has never come into question in my mind. What I don’t understand is how you can throw away, discard, and shame one of the best resources you could ever have.”
Brick knew she wasn’t talking about just her skills. She was talking to him directly about his fuck up, and he felt like a major ass. Maybe he had jumped too quickly to thinking they had a chance. Ryan was pissed.
“Anyway, back to business.” Ryan shook her head and looked anywhere but at him. “I may let you move in and make it your new clubhouse, but the top floor is all mine and off-limits. I’m not playing your game anymore or by your rules. My mission wasn’t accomplished, my brother isn’t home where he needs to be, and I’m going to make damn sure that happens with or without your help. I will make some concessions and allow you to share the wealth, but as a partner, not a liability or someone you need to coddle.”
Ryan wasn’t looking at him, but those words were meant specifically for him. The problem was he didn’t know if he could do it.
Caine stood and put the papers back into the envelope.
“We have to take it to a vote, but I, for one, would at least like to see what you have and what you’re planning. Guys, let’s give these two a minute.”
As the guys left the room, each said variations of ‘don’t fuck it up again’ and stopped to hug Ryan. When it was just the two of them in the room alone, in a standoff of silence, Brick still couldn’t think of the right words to say, but Ryan apparently didn’t have the same problem.
“You fucked up.”
“Yeah, I think you did the same, but we’ll both get over it.”
“I never asked you to put a ring on my finger, a patch on my back, or for you to even call me your girlfriend Brick, but I still did you dirty. I let what other people thought cloud my mind, and I lost track of what I really needed.”
Brick took those words as his cue and walked closer. Ryan was looking down at the floor and not him, and he didn’t like it. The firecracker who walked through the door seconds ago seemed unsure and hesitant. It was all his fault, and he knew it, but he needed to know what if they still had a chance he could fix the rest later. Putting his finger under her chin, he lifted her head so they were looking into each other’s eyes.
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“You just you.”
“Damn straight, baby.”
He kissed her long and deep, their tongues twisting around each other, but it wasn’t the same as before. She was holding back, allowing it for the second but not fully letting herself go and giving him everything like she had before, and he hated it.
Ryan pulled back. “You hurt me. I don’t know where we go from here or even if we can.”
Brick kissed her forehead. “You hit me out of left field, Ryan. I still don’t know what to do with you or where this thing is going, but I know these last few days have been hell without you, and I don’t want to do it again.”
Ryan looked up at him, still within the circle of his arms.
“So, where do we go from here, what do we do?”
“The club is going to war. Instead of waiting for Perez, we’re going to take the fight to him. I want to keep you as far away from it as possible to keep you safe, but I also want you close to me, where I can keep an eye on you and have you in my bed every night.”
“You can’t have it both ways.”
“I know, so I’m giving you the choice. I will still protect you, always, but I’m not going to force you to stay away from me, either. Tiny has already seen you, knows you were at least at the club. Until
this thing is over, I’d rather have four men I know would have your back and mine, then you out here alone, badass as you are.”
Ryan laughed. “Nice save.”
“I know I’m getting pretty good at this, aren’t I?” Brick smiled, rubbing his knuckles on his chest, blowing on them.
“Ahh, we’ll see. Now, kiss me and make it all better.”
“That babe, I can do.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ryan needed to have her head examined. Her brilliant idea of letting the guys move into her warehouse and make the bottom floor into their clubhouse—big fucking mistake. These guys had no idea what personal space or boundaries entailed. Her space had turned into a community space for whenever any of them felt the urge to come and hang out, generally around mealtimes or if they were hiding from some woman at two or three in the morning. Or whenever she and Brick got a second on their own. It was all so damn frustrating, and she was about ready to look up some facts and blow the damn building up herself.
Even Ryan had to admit the warehouse was killer, though. Built in the mid-1900s, the three-story building had been perfect with exposed brick walls, polished concrete floors. The upper levels or living quarters had huge windows, and Ryan had gone the extra, decking them all out, each officer with an apartment, loft-style. At one time, it was a bomb shelter, so her plans might have to wait, but if the guys kept it up, it wouldn’t be long. The lower level was a fully functioning bar with a kitchen and several smaller rooms for storage, or if one of the non-officer club members needed a place to stay. The basement, now that was another thing altogether. The guys were renovating it on their own for their specific needs.
Ryan had one small space down there with backup computers, servers, and anything else she would need behind steel-reinforced concrete walls and a door that could give the best bank vault a run for its money. Maybe that was the solution she needed. It wouldn’t be that hard to say, ‘Hey babe, can you carry this box for me,’ then lock his ass in the room until the deed was done, and Ryan was happy and boneless.
They had both been working eighteen hours days since moving into the warehouse, and their lives had been consumed with Miguel Perez, Tiny, and everything else. Ryan knew it was necessary. Each file she decrypted showed another layer of the man’s depravity. He had to be stopped, no question about it.
Tiny, on the other hand, turned into a phantom. A couple days ago, Ryan had gotten a call from the new owner of the grocery store in her hometown. The man let her know her horse was back, and the nice man who had bought it paid extra to have it placed there with a higher price tag. He also let her know the man had left a note that had to be hand-delivered to Ryan. She and Brick had dropped everything to go to the store. Roo and Junior had followed at a distance, just in case it was a trap, but nothing significant had happened. When she opened the note, it simply said, ‘I’m still coming back. It’s just going to take a little while longer.’ It was signed with a T, but even if it hadn’t been, Ryan would have recognized her brother’s chicken scratch anywhere. The note had brought up all kinds of emotions for Ryan.
For Brick’s part, he thought it was a trap, so did the rest of the guys, but Ryan wasn’t so sure. Since it had been over a week with no retaliation or threats, she was going to go with it being her brother’s way of letting her know that someday he would come back to them. She was going to keep that thought until the day happened. As for the mystery hacker, that was another problem. She knew it wasn’t Talon, but whoever they were had tried multiple times to get into Ryan’s new system. It was a constant fight to keep them out. What Ryan found odd was the hacker seemed to be concentrating on the guys personally—one of Junior’s social media pages, Roo’s email.
Ryan had flagged all their names, and alerts popped up repeatedly—vital statistics looking for Caine Masters and Caine Masterson, even the DMV and Census Bureau records for all of them. She noticed the hits started coming in earnest when she started looking for Junior’s Tinsley, but enough was enough already.
She and Brick deserved a little time to themselves to just enjoy each other without interruptions, meetings, or the sadistic monster interfering or consuming their every thought. She had to give Brick credit. The man was doing his best to make up for hurting her, unfortunately, not in the way she would have wanted. The two of them had been working on their shit, and as far as Ryan was concerned, she was ready to move their non-labeled relationship to the next level. Brick, on the other hand, seemed to want to take things slow, so they could get to know each other or some bullshit. At first, she thought it was sweet and endearing that he was trying to prove he was in this with her for however long it lasted. But now, she wanted to scream, enough was enough. They knew each other. She knew he thought mushrooms on pizza were disgusting. He knew seafood grossed her out. His favorite color was grey, if that was even a possibility or a color. He preferred old rock but was pretty open musically. There were other things like the fact he couldn’t take his socks off and put them in a hamper. They had to lie on the floor. His big-ass biker boots, yeah, she tripped over those puppies on a daily basis. He also liked to work on his motorcycle in the family room area of her apartment, even bringing his baby up in the freight elevator when it was storming out or too windy. He had to mock every television show they watched. Even how every time he said cup of coffee bugged her, but honestly, he was worth the mild frustration all those things brought about because there were other things too. Like every time he called her, he said, ‘Hey sexy lady,’ or the sweet kisses before he went anywhere and the way he would go out of his way to get her favorite coffee creamer or bring her junk food when she was working and couldn’t leave her desk. Ryan wanted more. She didn’t want him to leave every night instead of staying with her. She didn’t want him to stop at the sweet kisses.
“Uh oh! She has that look on her face again.” Ryan looked up. Junior, Roo, and Brick were sitting on her couch, and she realized she was done waiting for the perfect opportunity or for Brick to make the next move.
“LEAVE! I’ve had it! Go home, make your own food, do your own laundry, watch your own damn television. I don’t care what you do… just LEAVE!!” The three of them stood, looked at her funny, and started walking toward the door. Ryan got up in a hurry and grabbed Brick’s arm. Hell, she’d jump on his back if she had to.
“Oh, no, you don’t. You are staying right here, mister!”
Brick smiled at her, lifting an eyebrow.
“Oh, yeah, you are.”
Ryan heard Roo say, “I don’t know if I can watch this.”
“Well, I’ll tell you what,” she said, not even looking at Roo and Junior. “You have about five seconds to get the hell out of my apartment, or you’re going to get a show you will never forget.
“I’m down,” Junior said.
Brick was looking at her, not saying anything or hell, doing anything, so Ryan lifted the hem of her shirt, slowly, his eyes tracking every movement. When she got to just under her breasts, he yelled, “Get the fuck out! NOW!”
Ryan lifted her shirt the rest of the way off, then reached behind her back and unsnapped her bra, letting it fall to the ground. Brick’s gaze was transfixed on her chest, then his eyes traveled to where her hand rested on the snap of her jeans. Quickly popping the snap and unzipping her pants, when he licked his lips, she knew he saw her bare flesh in the opening.
“You sure about this?”
“Oh, I’m more than sure.” Ryan hooked her thumbs into the waistband at her hips, shimmying just enough for gravity to take over, so the denim would fall to the floor, and she could step out of it, leaving herself completely naked.
“Damn, baby.”
Brick was still looking at her, the bulge in his jeans even more evident with her little show. She took his distraction and used it to her advantage, pushing him back, so he was sitting on the couch, and straddled his lap.
“I’ve waited long enough. The last two weeks have been heaven and hell. You said you wanted me in
your bed, but you leave every night. I don’t want you to leave anymore.” Ryan leaned forward, their lips a millimeter apart.
“All you had to do was ask, Ryan.”
The kiss that followed almost did her in and sent her where she wanted to go, but this time, she wanted more than an orgasm. Ryan wanted to feel all of her man. His hot, wet mouth clamped over hers, invading her senses as he alternated between soft strokes of his tongue and biting nips with his teeth before moving those lips down to her neck. His large warm hands cupped her breasts, lifting them as his glorious mouth played the same havoc with her nipples. One of his hands skimmed down her sides, causing goosebumps to erupt all over her body. Her legs tightened around his hips as without warning or prompting, he plunged two fingers inside her sopping wet pussy. Ryan screamed out his name, and her eyesight dimmed as she moved against his hand.
“Damn, you are so fucking hot, Ryan, and your pussy is so wet for me. I can’t wait to feel it around my dick, squeezing it like you’re squeezing the hell out of my fingers.” Ryan moaned. She was so close, her hips moving faster, chasing after her orgasm. “That’s it, baby, fuck yourself on my fingers, let me watch you go over the edge.”
“Oh God, please.”
“What, what do you need, Ryan?”
“Please, please make me cum Brick, I’m so close,” Ryan begged. She didn’t care. She needed to cum like she needed her next breath. Brick twisted his hand slightly, adding another finger, and the slight pinch of pain was almost enough. His thumb thrummed against her clit at the same time one of his fingers inside brushed that ultra-sensitive spot inside of her. Ryan saw stars and must have blacked out for a while.
Brick lifted her from the couch and walked into the bedroom, and she felt the cool satin sheets on her back. Brick’s lips whispered across her skin like butterfly kisses as she was floating in weightless bliss. He laid her down, then his hot body was lying next to her, his hands roaming her body. When he urged her to lift her arms, she did without protest. What she didn’t expect was the cold metal on her wrists or the snap and clang as he fastened the handcuffs to the headboard. Ryan’s eyes instantly opened, and she pulled on the restraints.
Brick: Blacktop Renegades (BRMC Book 2) Page 15