Crazy bastard.
Ryder returns to work, but he’s started doing it from the dining room table. I hear a lot of swearing on the other end of the phone. Turns out, he’s destroying everything that is left of the Triad.
One day, when I’m feeling annoying, I prop myself on his lap while he’s on a call—okay, so I’m hoping for a repeat of the office incident, but it doesn’t happen. He seems nervous suddenly and holds me closer. His nose goes to my neck, and he sucks in a breath before he straightens and starts the call.
It’s a woman’s voice on the other end, a husky one that even has me wiggling, not that Ryder seems to notice. No, there is respect on his face for this woman, whoever she is. Jealousy shoots through me, and he must notice, because he drags up my shirt and grips my bare pussy under the table. Just holds it. All possessive like.
Yeah, it kinda helps.
Though I want to take a bat to the sexy phone voice woman.
“Mr. Viper, how lovely to hear from you. I understand you had a little trouble recently—”
Ryder smiles, a mean one. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
“Of course.” She laughs, it’s a smoky sound. “We, too, had a small issue with them, but they seemed to have focused all their efforts on you. You can rest assured we have no quarrel with you or your city, we have our own to deal with.”
I look at him at that. Who is this? “I never asked, did I?”
She laughs again. “Let’s not play games, we are too smart for that. I know why you’re ringing, and yes, we are still allies. You have your city, us Petrovs have ours.”
Ryder relaxes a bit, and I realise he was worried he was going to have to go to war with the Russian family he told me about. “That’s good, please let me know if I can help your…quarrel, in any way.”
“Your kindness is appreciated. I hear you have found yourself a woman finally. Do I need to buy a dress for a wedding?”
I freeze, my eyes wide. Wedding? Oh fuck no! I try to run, but Ryder chuckles and wraps his arm around me tighter, obviously knowing what my reaction would be. “In the future, yes, she is very…slippery.”
Slippery? Oh, I’ll give this bastard slippery. Yanking my elbow back, I drive it into his stomach, and he gasps and releases me. Standing, I narrow my eyes on him. “Slippery? I wouldn’t marry you fuckers even if you held a gun to my head,” I hiss, before storming away.
I hear their laughter trailing after me. “I like her, bring her to visit. Goodbye, Mr. Viper.”
“Roxxane,” I hear him call after me, his voice cool and demanding. Ah shit, I’m going to pay for that. Looking over my shoulder, I see him stripping off his shirt, those eyes locked on me and heating fast.
Shit, shit, shit.
I do the only thing I can—run.
He laughs as he chases me. I should have known he will always catch me…and when he does, well, I’m screaming for good reasons, not bad.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
DIESEL
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but I swear I didn’t know what they were going to—” I cut off his words by grabbing the needle and putting his head in a vice-like hold.
Tears fall from his eyes as he struggles in the chair, his arms and legs tied to it with barbed wire, like they did to my girl. “Shush, don’t move or I could mess this up,” I snap, as I start to thread it through his lips.
He moves and screams, but when I step back, it doesn’t look too bad. Even stitching, not too far apart, and his mouth is effectively sewn shut. His eyes bug from his head, blood dripping down his chin as I hop on his desk and swing my legs.
Ryder is destroying the Triad’s business, and I’m cleaning up our beloved city. Anyone who ever wanted to stand against us, who ever worked with the Triad or made threats, they die. We can’t risk one of them getting ideas and coming for Roxy. Not again.
“They were your sons, you knew.” I snort.
Oh yes, Triad’s daddy, all the way over in China. I hopped on our jet while Roxy was sleeping and came straight to his corporate building. He knew, his sons never made a move without his approval.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of time. I have to be back on the plane before the authorities catch me. I would have preferred to play more—” My phone rings, and I look to see it’s Little Bird. “Hold one moment, the old lady, you know how it is.”
Answering, I put it on speaker as I hop from the desk and circle their dad. “Little Bird?” I murmur.
“Where are you?” she asks, her voice sharp.
“Missing me?” I tease, as I grab his head, rip it to the side, and tear off his ear. He tries to scream, the muffled sound filtering down the phone.
“Ahhh.” She laughs. “Sorry, didn’t know you were working.”
“I always have time for you, you know that,” I murmur, as I do the same to the other and toss the bloody appendages on the desk. “What’s wrong, Little Bird?”
“I’m bored, and Garrett and Kenzo are sleeping, and Ryder is off somewhere. I wanted to play.” Her voice drops an octave, making me shiver and my cock turn hard.
“Torture Garrett for a while, I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I promise.
She sighs. “Fine,” she mumbles, then seems to perk up. “Garrettttttt, Diesel said you had to play with me.” Her voice is sweet as sugar, but it makes me laugh.
I hear him swear and then grunt as she laughs. “Bye, D, see you soon!”
Holding the man in the chair, I hold my phone to one ear as I lead him over to the bay of windows. “Bye, Little Bird, be bad.” Hanging up, I pocket the phone as I press my face to his, looking at our reflection in the window.
“Women, am I right? Can’t live without them, can’t kill without them.” I nod seriously. “Now, I want you to say hi to your sons for me.” I laugh as I straighten, and my phone rings again. Sighing, I answer it.
“What did you tell her?” Garrett roars.
“To play, why?” I query, looking at my blood-stained nails.
He groans as if in pain. “D, she’s wearing chains as lingerie, I’m supposed to be on bed rest.”
Laughing, I wink at their dad. “Then be on bed rest…with her in the bed with you. Gotta go, bye!”
Putting my phone away, I grin down at the Triad’s daddy. “Sorry, mate, duty calls. I’ll have a nice flight if you do.” I laugh as I pull back my leg and kick.
I watch as he rolls towards the glass before flying through it, the pane shattering around him. Leaning through the broken window, I watch from the fortieth story as he falls to the concrete below with a splat. Now that was fun.
Laughing, I wipe the table for prints and, whistling to myself, take the stairs back down. I have a plane to catch, my little bird needs me, and now that the city is clean…she is all I have to focus on.
I hope she’s ready.
RYDER
I know I should be celebrating, except I can’t help but blame myself. With the emotions Roxanne has unlocked in me…for her, it comes with guilt. If we hadn’t taken her, she would have never been tortured and almost killed. She’s still limping, her toes, ribs, and fingers hurting her when she thinks we don’t notice. I’ve been making sure she takes her pain relievers, but she got hurt because of me.
Not to mention my brothers, who even now are still healing. They almost died because I wasn’t smart enough to see this coming. My father was right, I will never be good enough to lead.
Knocking back the scotch, I turn to the windows around the conference room. I don’t know why I came here, only that it felt right. I’m too dark, too angry and confused to be with anyone tonight, even my love. She would try to save me from it, and I can’t have that. My failures are mine, and I have to learn from them.
I need to do better in the future to keep them all safe. I need to see the looming threats to protect them. Which is why I hired more guards and the treaty with the Petrovs is officially in effect. It took a lot of negotiating, but they are a good, strong family to have our backs.
It might keep my family safe. I knew this life might kill us all when I entered it, I welcome it gladly, but now with Roxxane here, I wonder if I made the right decision. She would be just as happy living in a shitty apartment and working at the bar every night, she doesn’t need money or power.
Just us.
As if summoned by my dark, turbulent thoughts, I spot her in the reflection in the window. Turning, I meet her gaze. She’s framed in the doorway, wearing nothing but one of our shirts. “Go to bed, love, it’s late,” I tell her, but my voice is trembling, so I turn away, my hands shaking again. Why does she have this effect on me?
I never worried like this before. Never second-guessed my every decision, wondering if she would agree if it was right. Fuck, I even keep going through my past and everything I have done, all the demons that hide there, pondering if she would be disgusted by the man she shares her bed with if she knew.
“Come with me,” she murmurs.