Ryder: #4 (Allen Securities) (2 page)

“I told you that night that I’m not fucking playing games,” he rumbled. He placed his hand on the sink at either side of her and pressed in with his body. “You hide out back here when I come and pretend that you didn’t feel anything that night.” His face came a fraction away from her own.

His eyebrows knitted together with worry.

“Tell me you don’t want me,” he whispered. “Say it, and I’m gone.”

She opened her mouth to do just that, but the words wouldn’t come out. She could see what he expected. For all he said, Ryder was still unsure of himself. She shut her mouth. It didn’t make sense to her that someone who looked like he did would even question himself. Sure, he had the scar that ran down his face, but it didn’t detract from him. If anything, it showed how amazing he really was. The real question was why would a man like him want a chubby woman like her?

They stared at each other for what seemed like ages. She gasped when his hands landed on her ass and pulled her forward. Before he could move forward, the door chimed. Ryder stood and backed away.

“Hey,” Taylor called from the front.

Irene continued to stare at Ryder as he straightened himself and backed up to the table. She finally found her voice as he picked up a couple of the demolished cupcakes.

“I’m back here,” she called.

“I’ve got Vic,” Taylor said from the front. “It’s really strange. Ryder’s bike is out front, but he’s not out…” She trailed off as she stepped into the kitchen. Taylor looked between Ryder and Irene.

“Can you get me a plate?” Ryder said and frowned

Irene looked to his hand. He held the messed-up cupcakes.

“Oh, you don’t want to eat those,” she said and raced forward.

He lifted his arms and looked down at her.

“Who says?”

She stepped back and crossed her arms. “Those are messed up.”

“So?” He took a bite. “Taste fine to me. Besides, what are you going to do with them?”

She shrugged.

“It’s fine,” he said and placed the cupcakes on the plate. She frowned when he seemed to look around her. “Besides, not everything needs to be perfect. Some things are perfect as they are.”

Irene frowned, unsure if he was talking about her. She watched as he took the plate back into the dining room and sighed. There was just something about having somebody like him invade your world.

Taylor raced to the back with Victoria.

“Hi, Vic,” Irene managed with a forced smile.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Taylor grinned. “Spill it.”

Irene sighed. “There’s nothing really to tell. Jess just gave me some shocking news, and Ryder helped clean up my mess.”

“You know?” Victoria said and snagged a cupcake from the table.

Taylor frowned. “Know what?”

Victoria smiled. “My sister’s preggers and getting married.”

“Oh, no,” Irene said as Taylor turned her shocked face to her. “I had no idea, but you’ll have to talk to Vic.” Irene looked to the door. “I’ve got to talk to Ryder.”

“Hey, Irene?”

She turned and gave her cousin a funny look

“Um, you’ve got a chocolate handprint on your ass.”

Try as he might, Ryder just couldn’t get his body to settle. It was the closest she’d let him get to her since the wedding, and everything in him ached to march right back into that kitchen and take what he’d wanted for so long. Instead, he took a big bite of the cupcake. It wasn’t the same, but it did seem to help.

“Um, Ryder?” Irene stood just behind him. His nerves shot through the roof again.

He glanced behind him and was surprised when she came to sit across from him.

“About Jess,” she said.

He frowned. That wasn’t what he was hoping. Why couldn’t she be here just to see him? He sighed.

“Yeah,” he said.

She twisted at the loose tendrils of blond hair along the side of her head. “Well, she’s really worried that you’ll tell your mother and that she’ll be angry.”

Ryder let out a loud bark. “Oh, she’s going to be mad all right.”

He watched her pretty cupid mouth as it formed a frown. “Really?”

“Her son is running off to get married while hiding a pregnancy.” He stared her down. “Yeah, she’s going to be mad. It’s fine. Month from now we’ll be having a wedding.”

“But I don’t think they want that,” she said, confused.

“They don’t know what they want, and they haven’t had the guilt laid on.” He grinned. “She’s the queen of this. Just wait.”

Irene smiled. “You know, I’d actually believe it.”

Ryder stood. “Now that’s settled, I’d better head to work. Been a lot of strange activity going on.”

He studied her and wondered if she’d listen.

When he pulled out his wallet, she waved her hand.

“On the house,” she said. “Actually…” she began and raced to the back. He was surprised when she came out carrying a big sack.

“What’s this?” he asked when she thrust it in his face.

“More cupcakes,” she said, averting her eyes. “But let’s try and avoid any more handprints.”

Ryder grinned. “No promises.”

His heart thumped in his chest, and he nearly groaned. If he didn’t make a move, it was just going to go back to the same tomorrow. Ryder grabbed the hand still holding the cupcakes and brought it to his nose. His thumb rubbed gently along the pulse point.

“Smell great but not as good as you,” he rumbled.

He watched as her breathing picked up, and she pushed out her perky breasts.

“Keep an eye out, and I’ll come at closing,” he said.

She opened her mouth to say something but stopped when he leaned close.

“Just let me take care of you,” he whispered.

Everything grew quiet between them as they stared at one another.

“Okay,” she whispered. A deep blush crept over her face.

Ryder let go of her hand and stepped back. That was something, and something was all he needed. He gave a short nod and hit the door. If he was going to get back there, he needed to get his work done.

Chapter Two

“I don’t like this one bit,” Reed said, pacing back and forth in front of a large map on the wall adorned with pushpins. Being the owner of the security firm and the head of the team meant he needed eyes everywhere, but this job was a little outside their normal scope. “All this vandalism and petty theft. Finn’s right. This isn’t because the Irish are pulling out of crime. There’s something else going on.”

He pointed to some empty warehouses on the map. “They’ve got to be in here somewhere,” he said.

Ryder shook his head and folded his arms.

“Nothing,” he said. “I took Cage, and we found nothing. There weren’t even new cigarette butts.”

Reed stared hard at him. Ryder’s younger brother wasn’t really a fan of being told he was wrong. At least his wife had done some to cool his hot temper, but it could still flare up from time to time.

“Are you saying there was nothing there, or that it had been wiped?” Reed asked.

Ryder held up his hands. “I can’t say, but it was clean, and there didn’t appear to be any activity there.”

Reed frowned and hit the table. “Damn,” he said. “Where the fuck are these guys?”

Ryder leaned in. Though Reed losing his temper wasn’t exactly rare, he wasn’t one to get antsy when it came to activity like this.

“Think it’s the Russians?” Ryder asked.

They all had their share of issues with the Russians recently, and in some cases, things had nearly ended up deadly.

“No, this doesn’t really seem like them,” he said. “But I don’t trust that they wouldn’t hire outside help.”

Ryder nodded.

“Want me to check with my sources?” he said.

He looked up when his brother didn’t say anything. Reed was wearing that same look he got when he wanted to ask something but didn’t quite know how to do it.

“You know Charlie Jones is the best one to ask on this,” Reed said.

Ryder instinctively stood up and frowned.

“No fucking way,” he said.

Reed held up a hand. “You went with Olivia.”

“Yeah, and he’d already forgotten my face.” Ryder frowned. “I want it to stay that way.”

“You can’t keep avoiding people because it’s easier,” Reed said.

“I don’t see why not,” Ryder said and stood to his full height. Reed might be the owner and leader, but Ryder was still the tallest of them. “Just because you were able to take out your demons doesn’t mean the rest of us have had that chance.”

Anger poured over him, and he pushed past Reed to the door. It was a cheap shot, and Ryder had actually already forgiven his brother for his misplaced trust in a woman leading to Ryder being tortured and scarred.

“Ryder,” Reed shouted.

He stopped at the door, his back still to Reed.

“What am I supposed to do?” Reed asked.

Ryder’s shoulders slumped forward as his own guilt kicked in. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want to carry the weight that anger caused. It wasn’t good for him, and it certainly wasn’t going to get him the girl in the end.

“I’ll go see him,” he said after a moment and glanced over his shoulder. “But I’m not making nice with the fucknut. He steps out of line, I’m going to find a new spot for his nose.”

Reed held up his hands. “Fair enough.”

Ryder sighed as he walked down the hall and down the stairs to the main training facility. Maybe he was finished in this business. He thought his hard edge would keep him in, but lately, all it seemed to do was slow him down. Several of the new men stopped to stare. He hated it. It was bad enough having a scar like that on his face, but knowing that everyone was looking just made it even worse. He glared at the men until they went back to their workout.

Outside, he felt a little better. The fall had brought cooler air, especially at night. He loved this time of year. Maybe that was what inspired him to break out his bike again. Ryder looked over at the shiny bike and shook his head. No, it hadn’t been the weather. Several falls had passed since he really wanted to ride. No, it had to be her. Everything seemed to lead back to her. Something about Irene inspired him to be the man that he was before.

He scrubbed a hand over his face and frowned as he touched the deep scar. The real question was if he could be the man he was before. That man had been more carefree, had taken people at their word and trusted. He wasn’t that man. As much as he tried, there were just some things he couldn’t get over.

“Wait up,” Cage called out to him. More and more, he was getting paired with his easy-going brother.

Ryder turned to look at him. Like always, Cage was the picture of perfection, not a hair out of place.

“You going to see Charlie?” Cage asked.

Ryder groaned. Great. Now they were sending him with a babysitter.

“Yeah,” he said.

“I’ll meet you there,” Cage said. “I don’t like everything that’s going on.”

Ryder frowned. “He sending you to babysit me?”

Cage shook his head. “Nope, just need something to keep my mind on.”

“That vet lady?” Ryder asked.

Cage sighed. “Damn woman,” he said. “Won’t give me the time of day. Keeps acting like I’m just out to get in her pants.”

Ryder raised a brow. “And you aren’t?”

“Well, yeah,” Cage said and grinned. “But she’s different. Not like the others.”

Ryder grabbed his helmet. “Well then, maybe you should quit trying to treat her like the others.”

He revved his bike, drowning out whatever he had to say next. Sometimes his little brother needed to pull his head out of his ass and buy a clue. He might have all the charm in the world, but that wasn’t going to work with this one.

* * *

Irene sighed. Business had picked up after Ryder left, and they had all been busy trying to get things out fast enough. She was glad to finally have a lull in customers, so she could straighten things up before closing.

The door chimed, and she groaned inwardly. Outward, she smiled and looked up. It didn’t last long though. As the smile slipped from her face, Irene felt her stomach lurch.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Todd?” Taylor said.

Irene was grateful. She couldn’t have said something, even if she tried. As she stared at him, blond hair and politician smile, all she saw were the years she had to endure the pain of not being near her family because of him.

“Language, Taylor.” Todd glared at her.

“I’ll show you some fucking language.” Taylor stepped forward, hands balled into fists.

Irene held up a hand to stop her.

“What do you want, Todd?” Irene asked. She could hear the weariness in her voice, and it bothered her that he still did that to her.

As if oblivious to the feelings in the room, Todd stepped in and walked around the dining room. Every sneer or eye roll only added fuel to her fire, but she pushed it down. None of that was going to get her anywhere with him.

He looked to her after a moment.

“So, I guess you did it,” he said, his tone bored.

“I did,” she said, ignoring her still fuming cousin.

“Doesn’t look very busy in here,” he said, looking around the place.

Her face flamed at the obvious insult, and she wondered if she could be arrested for just choking him out a little bit. Surely that couldn’t be that big a crime.

“Is there something you want?” Irene shook a little as she spoke to him. It still wasn’t easy to be so blunt with some people. Years of training from her parents to be a certain way didn’t go away overnight.

Todd narrowed his eyes. It was obvious he wasn’t thrilled with being talked to like that.

“I’m going to ask Mary Harper to marry me,” he said.

Her eyes went wide with shock. All through school he’d done nothing but talk badly about Mary.

“Good,” Taylor said near her. “Maybe you and Mary will take a flying fucking leap.”

“Now what did I say about language?” Todd stepped forward and poked his finger at Taylor, but she was ready.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Taylor said and grabbed his finger and yanked back. Todd yelped in pain and buckled to the floor. “Don’t point your finger at me, you little douche, or I’ll rip it clean off, along with a couple other things.”