He cleared his throat. “You’re still going to help me, right?”
“I can’t talk about this anymore. I need to cool off first and wrap my head around everything you told me. Go to bed, and we’ll talk in the morning.” I cracked open the door.
“Am I allowed out of my room?”
I glanced over my shoulder with narrowed eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Princess Hattie is sleeping over tonight, right?”
“What are you getting at?”
“You don’t want us to meet.”
I leaned my shoulder into the doorjamb. “You’re right, but it’s unavoidable. She’s going to be staying here for a while. Just leave her alone, and you can stay here.”
“Qué chingados?” he growled, his nostrils flaring. “You can’t trust her with all the shit going down right now. You hardly know her.” He shook his head. “It’s crazy. She could turn on you in a second and sing like a canary to every government agency under the sun.”
I spun around. My hands clenched, I prowled forward until I stood inches from his face. I shoved my palm against his chest, and he stumbled backward, bumping into the edge of the mattress. I wanted to hit him, but I smothered the urge. Giving Rever a black eye or a bloody nose wouldn’t solve anything. Besides, he’d fight back, and I didn’t want to wake Hattie up because I couldn’t keep my fists to myself.
“?Cállate!” I yelled, switching to Spanish.
“Bastardo,” he hissed as he grabbed my wrist and pushed my hand away from him. “No me toques.”
“I don’t care what you want or don’t want. Don’t talk about Hattie. Don’t talk to Hattie. You got that? You don’t know anything about her. Don’t pretend otherwise.”
He breathed hard through his nose, and his chest heaved with barely concealed rage. “She’ll complicate everything. You know it, and I know it.”
“Yeah, well, so did your dumbass relationship with Anna. If you’d stayed away from her and kept your dick in your pants, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
I walked out of the room without waiting for his answer. He’d never admit any wrongdoing, and he’d never apologize unless I held a gun to his head.
Chapter Eighteen
Hattie
I woke to the sound of hushed voices outside of Ryker’s bedroom. I couldn’t make out any of the words, which meant he didn’t want me to overhear the conversation. Resting on my elbows, I stared at the ceiling and the walls, absorbing the minimal details of his bedroom. Similar to the rest of his apartment, it didn’t have any personal effects.
No pictures.
No artwork.
No books or scattered papers.
Just the bare necessities.
Would Ryker always be a mystery? Occasionally, I glimpsed pieces of him beneath his mask, but as quickly as those moments materialized, they disappeared. Just as I thought I’d gained ground, something happened to make me realize I didn’t know much of anything. I shook my head to dispel my morose thoughts. Things were getting better.
When the voices faded, I jumped out of bed and snagged one of his dress shirts from the hanger in his closet. I buttoned it enough to cover me, and combed my fingers through my tangled hair. I hadn’t been back to the apartment I shared with Vera for two days, and I didn’t have anything to wear except for the few things I snagged from Evan’s place.
My phone vibrated on the nightstand. I picked it up and read the message.
Vera: Where are you? You haven’t been home in two nights. Your mom and dad are blowing up my phone and threatening to come over.
I rolled my eyes. My mom must have received news of my fight with Evan. She probably wanted to have a family meeting to discuss my obligations as a member of the Covington family. Fuck her.
Me: I’m fine. I’ll be back later today.
Vera responded immediately.
Vera: Okay. Can you call your mom? I’d prefer to stay out of her line of fire. She’s on the warpath. What the hell did you do?
I groaned. A couple of months ago, I would’ve shared all the sordid details of my relationship with Ryker, but now I didn’t know if I could trust her. In a matter of months, I went from having a best friend, a serious boyfriend, and an organized, predictable life to total chaos. Even crazier, I wouldn’t change anything. I was hopelessly drawn to Ryker, inextricably caught in his web for better or for worse. My soul had chosen him. I didn’t have a choice.
Me: Who knows? I’ll call her. Don’t answer her calls. You don’t need to deal with her.
I sat crossed-legged in the middle of Ryker’s bed as I scrolled through my missed calls. Five from my mom last night and one from my dad an hour ago. If I could find any way to avoid calling her, I would.
I slammed my finger on her contact. Unfortunately for me, she answered after the first ring.
“Hattie, where the hell are you?”
“I’m getting ready to go on a run. What do you want?” I responded after a lengthy pause. It was a lie, but the truth wasn’t necessary.
I heard her heels, clicking on the tile floor. I guess she needed some privacy to say what she wanted.
“Can you meet me for coffee around the corner from my house in the next twenty minutes?” Her voice was hushed.
I lifted my chin and closed my eyes briefly. “I don’t know. I just woke up.”
“Thirty minutes, then? Is that long enough? This is really important. We need to talk.”
I grabbed my purse off the dresser and pulled some clothes from my purse. I cringed. They were damp and hopelessly wrinkled. “Fine. I’ll do my best.”
When I walked out of Ryker’s bedroom, his apartment was empty. I spotted a note on the kitchen counter.
Hattie,
I’ll be back by noon. Breakfast is in the refrigerator. Call me if you leave.
Ryker
I picked up the pen sitting next to the note and then set it back down. I’d planned to beat him back here anyway. I didn’t need to leave a note.
***
Forty minutes later, I walked into the coffee shop. The rich smell of coffee flooded my nose. My mom sat in the back corner with huge sunglasses covering her eyes and her hair styled into an elegant twist. Unlike me, her light gray suit was pressed.
“Hi, mom,” I said as I pressed a kiss to her plastic cheek.
Her eyes swept down my body. “You look…tired.”
I shrugged as I slipped into the chair across from her. “It’s been a rough couple of days.”
She gestured to her cup of tea. She didn’t drink coffee. She drank herbal tea, preferably organic and single-estate. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Maybe later.”
She removed her sunglasses and placed them on the table. “Did you get everything settled with your professors?”
I leaned back in my chair. “Yes, but I’m pretty sure I told you that last week.”
She glanced at the exit. “You’re probably right.” She tapped her sunglasses against the table. “How do you like living with Vera?”