Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 42479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
“You’d bet the club on it?” Kane murmured, his tone unreadable, but definitely not accusatory.
I nodded. “I’ll talk to her, get the truth, and we’ll deal with it.”
Edge flipped his knife shut and shoved it in his pocket as he leaned his hip back against Jax’s desk, his fingers curling around the edge on either side of him. “Gauge, nobody here doubts your judgment—especially when it comes to your woman. But this isn’t something we can just sit on. You need to get this sorted out fast, brother.”
Kane gave a short nod of agreement. “I’ll give you until morning to handle it. But tomorrow, I want answers and a plan. She’s yours, and we protect our own. But we need to know exactly what we’re protecting her from.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I assured them again, leaving no room for doubt.
The only thing I could think about was getting back out there to Riley. I needed to see her face, look into her eyes, and for her to finally trust me enough to share the truth.
I stalked out of Jax’s office without another word, leaving the three of them standing in heavy silence behind me. The lounge was crowded when I returned, brothers and old ladies mingling easily, laughing and talking as if nothing had changed except them moving inside.
But Riley stood slightly apart, watching me with wary curiosity as I approached her. My expression must have given something away, because her posture shifted minutely, the casual ease of earlier replaced by cautious tension.
“Everything okay?” Her eyes narrowed as she studied my face, clearly trying to read my expression.
“We need to go,” I told her simply, reaching out and gripping her hand firmly in mine, my thumb brushing possessively over her knuckles as I turned her toward the exit.
She hesitated briefly, uncertainty flickering across her face. “Is something wrong, Ryot?”
“Not here.” I shook my head, my voice low enough for only her to hear. “We’ll talk when we’re alone.”
She didn’t argue, though anxiety tightened her grip on my hand. Riley trusted me enough to follow without pushing further, even if the questions were clearly burning behind her eyes. I guided her outside toward my Harley, my body tense with tightly restrained impatience.
We put on our helmets, and she climbed on behind me without hesitation, her arms sliding around my waist as I started the engine. The warmth of her pressed against my back steadied my racing pulse, and I pushed away thoughts of what we were about to face for the few precious moments it took to get us home.
When we reached the house, I killed the engine and helped Riley off the bike, leading her silently inside, my hand never leaving hers. Once we crossed the threshold, I shut the door behind us and guided her toward the living room, settling her carefully onto the couch.
Her dark eyes were wide and wary, tracking my every movement as I stood over her, tension radiating from my body. I didn’t want to scare her, but I also couldn’t afford to let her pull back now. I knelt in front of her, keeping myself at her eye level, close enough to hold her attention completely.
There was no easy way around this. I had to confront it directly, and Riley had to trust me enough to finally let me in. Whatever had sent her running was about to come out, and I was determined to face it with her, no matter the cost.
My fingers brushed softly over her knuckles, reassuring her, even though my voice came out firm.
“Jax monitors all of our people with alerts set up to let him know if our names show up in any kind of social media, police records, court filings, news reports, whatever. Then we know before anything becomes a problem.” I watched her expression closely as I continued. “Jax got a ping tonight. An arrest warrant was issued with your name on it.”
The color drained out of her face. Her eyes widened, and her entire body went rigid beneath my hands, genuine panic flashing across her features before she could hide it.
“What?” she whispered, shaking her head immediately. “No. No, that can’t—” She broke off and dragged both hands through her hair, looking genuinely blindsided. “They actually issued a warrant?”
The reaction told me more than anything she’d said in the last two weeks. Riley wasn’t reacting like somebody who’d been checking over her shoulder because she knew law enforcement was closing in. She looked shocked. And terrified.
Whatever had put that wary look in her eyes and made her ask about security before comfort, it hadn’t been the police.
Her breathing had gone shallow, her gaze darting around the room as if she was trying to think ten steps ahead and couldn’t find solid ground anywhere. I tightened my grip on her hands before she could spiral any further, forcing her attention back to me.