Renegade (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) (5 page)

“What’s
the surprise?” Kris asked.

I
looked at Beau, who was still strumming his guitar and not paying a bit of
attention to me, and said, “Danni.”

In
an instant his head shot up. “W-what did you say?”

I
fought back a smile. “I’m flying Danni in today. She was planning on coming
this weekend anyway but I know Everleigh has been lonely so I called Danni and
we decided to surprise her.”

Beau
shifted in his seat and I saw a mixture of happiness and nervousness in his
eyes. “Well, that’s good. For Everleigh, I mean,” he said. He stood and took
his usual place at my side with an air about him I hadn’t felt for three weeks.
“So, are we doing this song or what?”

I
exchanged hopeful looks with Kris and Jude. Hopefully seeing Danni would bring
Beau out of his funk and he’d stop lying to himself about how he felt about
her.

“Yes,
let’s do this thing. Lyle, we’re ready when you are,” I called out to a chubby
man sitting next to Everleigh at the mixing board.

He
pressed the button for the microphone and said, “Ready out here. Let’s do
this.”

Thankfully
I had already recorded my guitar solos for the track so all I had to do was
sing. I blew a nervous breath as I looked at my beautiful Everleigh. She was
watching us with interest and when our eyes locked, my heart jumped. I smiled
and mouthed “
I love you gorgeous
” before the guys started to play behind
me.

As
soon as I started to sing I could feel Everleigh’s eyes on me. I didn’t want to
crack so I just closed my eyes and let the words pour out of me.

I’ve been haunted by those eyes

Since they ripped through my soul

And tore down all the walls I’d
built

Around my heart and now I need
more

I’ve been haunted by that smile

And the brightness that it brings

How I long to taste those lips

And for you this song I sing

Since I came to know you

You became mine

You’ve been in my dreams every
night

Your face stopping all time

Since I looked into your soul

I know now who I’m meant to be

I need to make you see

That you are haunting me…

As
soon as the song was over I opened my eyes and found Everleigh’s. They were
full of tears…tears I’d gotten to know well over the past few days. They were
happy tears…she was touched.

I
felt a hard clap on my back and Jude said, “I think you nailed that shit, bro.”

“Thanks
man.” Standing up, I took off my headphones and placed them on the stool I had
been sitting on. I didn’t waste another second as I walked out of the recording
booth to Everleigh. I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the chair and into
my arms. Without saying a word I leaned in and kissed her lips, which tasted
sweet from her lip gloss and salty from her tears.

“Ryder,”
she whispered when she caught her breath, “that song…”

“Did
you like it, Evie?” I asked, kissing the tip of her nose.

“It
was beautiful,” she said, sniffing. “Did you really feel that way when we first
met?”

“Of
course I did. You took my breath away that night, baby. I swear my life changed
the second you rolled your eyes at me,” I said, and she huffed out a laugh.

“Mine
did too, Ryder. I loved that song. It was amazing, really.” She leaned up and
kissed me.

The
door to the recording booth opened and I heard Jude’s voice say, “What about
me? Where’s my kiss?”

Everleigh
giggled and smiled. Stepping away from me she wrapped her arms around Jude’s
torso and hugged him. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and said, “You
were good too, big guy.”

“Thanks,
sis.” He kissed the top of her head and let her go.

Kris
and Beau joined us and Everleigh said, “Seriously, you guys, that song was so
incredible. You are all so talented. I can’t believe this is the first time
I’ve heard you all play since the concert in Cincinnati.”

“Hey,
that’s right,” I said. “So, is it safe to assume you are a Bad Blooded Rebel
fan now?”

She
smiled at me and answered, “For the rest of my life, rock star.”

Two
hours later we’d hammered out two more songs and we all decided at that moment
to break for lunch. It was perfect timing because when I checked my cell phone
I had a text message from Danni letting me know that her cab had just pulled up
and she was on her way inside the studio. She also told me that she was
bringing a surprise of her own for Kris. It just so happened that she’d run
into Jessie at the airport once she got off the plane and they were coming
together.

“So,
where do we want to go for lunch? We can try that deli on the corner we had
last week,” Jude suggested.

“Or
we could have Chinese,” Kris said.

“What
about you, Everleigh? What are you in the mood for?” Beau asked, seemingly more
chipper now than he’d been since we came here.

Everleigh
smiled at him and said, “Um, I don’t know. Whatever you guys want is fine by
me. I’m not picky.”

I
wrapped my arm around her waist and made sure her back was turned away from the
door so she really would be surprised. “Come on, baby, there has to be
something you are in the mood for.”

I
looked up and at that moment the door opened as Danni came walking in with a
bright smile on her pretty face. “Well, personally, I think Italian sounds
good,” she said.

Everleigh’s
eyes went wide and she gasped. Smiling at me, she spun around to see her friend
standing at the door. “Danni?” she squealed. “Oh my god, girl, what are you
doing here?” She broke away from my embrace and ran to hug Danni.

“Ryder
flew me in early to surprise you, Ev! Isn’t that awesome?” Danni answered
excitedly. I noticed that she seemed to be struggling not to sneak a glance at
Beau, who was standing in the corner of the room looking anxious.

“That
is so awesome! I’m so glad you are here, I’ve missed you so much,” Everleigh
said. After she broke apart from Danni she came quickly back to me and threw
her arms around my neck. “I can’t believe you did this! It’s amazing, Ryder,
thank you,” she said, smiling so brightly that I thought the lights in the room
would dim.

“Well,
I know you’ve been lonely here and you’ve missed her so I just thought I’d fly
her here early. Are you surprised?”

“Very
surprised. Thank you, Ryder.” She pulled my head to hers and kissed me, quickly
sliding her tongue past my lips and touching it to mine.

“Ugh,
God you two, get a room,” Jude joked and our lips broke apart. Everleigh backed
away with a smile as Jude turned to Danni. “Hey, Danni, nice to see you again.”

Danni
smiled at him and said, “Nice to see you too, Jude. Beau,” she said politely,
“it’s good to see you as well. You look good.”

Beau
swallowed hard and said hoarsely, “You too, Danni. You look amazing.”

“Thanks,”
she said timidly. They stared at each other for a second, their eyes full of a
mixture of both desire and confliction. After a quiet moment her eyes
reluctantly left Beau’s and she looked at Kris. “Kris, it’s nice to see you
too. How have you been?”

Kris
grinned at her. “I’ve been okay. You know, doing the drummer thing and waiting
for Jess to get here. I can’t believe I’m actually jealous of this fucker over
here, having his girl here with him every day,” he said, smiling at me and giving
me a playful shove.

Danni
and I both glanced at each other and she smiled at me. “Oh, hey, that reminds
me. I left something in the hallway. Hang on,” she said, and opened the door.
She motioned her arm inward and said, “Look who I ran into when I got off the
plane.”

The
door opened wider and Jessie stepped through smiling. Everyone grinned at her
but Kris immediately shoved past me, taking a few wide steps to her. Before she
could get out, “Hey baby,” he pulled her into his arms and planted his lips on
hers in a very steamy kiss.

Smiling,
I chuckled as they were kissing and moaning. “And you said me and Evie needed
to get a room,” I joked to Jude.

Kris
flipped me off as Jessie pulled away from him, smiling. “You surprised, babe?”
she asked him.

“Hell
yes I am. I’ve missed you so much,” Kris said, pulling her into another kiss.
Breaking from her only for a moment, he said, “Um, I think we are going to skip
lunch today. You guys go ahead,” he murmured, pulling her out into the hallway.

Jessie
giggled and called out, “Hi Everleigh! Bye Everleigh!” as Kris dragged her down
the hall.

Laughing,
Everleigh yelled back, “Bye Jessie!”

I
wrapped my arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head. “Okay, well,
how about just the five of us head out to lunch?”

Hugging
me around my torso she said, “That sounds like a plan.” Then she kissed my neck
and whispered into my ear, “I can’t believe you did this for me. Just wait
until I get you home, rock star.”

I
felt my cock twitch at her words…I couldn’t wait to get her back to the
apartment and let her thank me properly.

Everleigh

“So,
Danni, how’s everything been back home? Is the diner still standing?” I asked,
taking a bite of my lasagna.

“Everything
has been great. It’s been busy, but not as busy as it was when these guys first
showed up in town,” she said, taking a sip of her wine. “It’s kind of died down
lately.”

There
was something I was dying to ask her about but I knew Ryder would try and stop
me because he didn’t want me to worry. I figured I was safe in a group of
people so I took a deep breath and just bit the bullet. I squeezed Ryder’s hand
and smiled at him before asking, “And what about Scott?”

Ryder’s
head snapped to mine but I couldn’t look at him. “Evie…”

“Come
on, Ev, we don’t have to talk about him. That asshole is back in Indiana and we
are here away from all that crap,” Danni said.

I
shook my head. “No, I need to know what’s going on. Ryder has Trish watching my
house and after what he did I don’t feel comfortable knowing she’s there
unprotected with him out on bail. Please tell me.”

Ryder
shot Danni a warning look and now I was even more suspicious. “Ryder, she needs
to know what’s going on.”

“Danni,
don’t,” he warned.

Fear
shot down my spine and I turned to Ryder and glared at him. “What happened? Ryder
Matthews, you better tell me what’s going on right now or I’m leaving.”

He
exhaled sharply and ran his hand through his hair. “Damn it, Danni,” he said,
looking frustrated at her. “Fine. About a week after Trish came to the house to
watch it Scott tried to break in. She wasn’t hurt but he threatened her and it
scared her enough to call the police. We have security watching the house now
around the clock.”

I
tossed my fork down on the table and turned to face Ryder. “He tried to break into
my house two weeks ago and you didn’t tell me?” I questioned, my voice loud.

At
that moment Jude scooted his chair from the table and stood up. “Listen, maybe
we should give these two a minute. Danni, Beau, you guys want to come with me?”

“Sure,”
Beau said, standing and immediately moving toward Danni and pulling out her
chair. “We’ll be right outside,” he said, motioning for Danni to follow him.

Once
they were out of sight, Ryder spoke. “Evie, don’t be pissed at me, okay? I
didn’t want to stress you out any more than you have been.”

“And
you thought keeping something like this from me wouldn’t stress me out? Did you
think I wasn’t going to find out?”

“I
knew you would find out eventually but you’ve been more relaxed and you’ve
seemed so happy here that I didn’t want to do anything to mess that up. Nothing
else has happened since the incident and I have people watching Scott too. He’s
not come anywhere near Trish or the house since that happened.”

I
knew Ryder was trying to protect me and make me feel better but if anything I
felt even more terrified. Not only had Scott tried to break into my house, he
obviously had been looking for me and now he knows that I’m gone. I nervously
ran my hands through my hair. “Ryder, did he hurt her?”

“No,
he didn’t. Ever since Scott attacked you at the club,” he paused, sucking a
harsh breath through his gritted teeth, “Trish decided to keep a gun with her
and as soon as he saw it he freaked and took off like a little bitch. My guys
that are tailing him check in with me every day and he’s laying low now so he
won’t get arrested again. I promise you he’s not going to do anything to hurt
her and he can’t get to you. Do you trust me to keep you safe?”