Something like fury brewed across his face.
The man was grinding his teeth so hard it looked like his jaw was going to crumble when he turned his attention to me. “Do you really think I’m going to let you out of this house to go meet some random guy? I don’t think so, Dakota. It’s not safe.”
“Ryder—”
“Oh, I see,” Paisley cut in, “because she should probably at least know anyone she might want to date first?” Paisley pressed. “Like, because of this whole break-in biz?”
That was it. My best friend was forever dead to me.
Aggression rolled through Ryder, and he eased back to standing and tossed his head to the side, making his neck crack.
“If that’s what Dakota wants, then yeah.” Something in his tone sounded of regret.
“Oh, right, good to know,” she drew out.
Ryder looked at me in what appeared to be disappointment.
Or maybe it was pain.
Then he turned and walked out.
FIFTEEN
RYDER
I was going to lose my goddamn mind.
Being in that house with her.
Knowing she was in the next room.
Sleeping in that bed.
Or in the shower with water streaming over her bare skin.
Or downstairs, padding around on those cute feet.
Or just fucking everywhere.
She’d infiltrated every crevice and had seeped into every crack.
Her warm spirit and that giving heart and that sweet body I was dying to get lost in when I knew it was the last thing I could do.
After a couple days passing with her being there, it was becoming clear that having her stay at my place was probably a terrible idea. It was something I wasn’t sure I was going to make it through, but I couldn’t stomach the alternative, either. Couldn’t stomach her alone and vulnerable.
But what had nearly sent me over the edge was walking in to find Paisley setting Dakota up on that dating app. The idea of it knocked through me like a hammer to the head.
The truth that one day, she was going to find someone else.
As she should.
That didn’t mean it didn’t nearly spin me into violence.
And kink?
“Fuck,” I grumbled under my breath and rubbed a hand over my face to keep the visions from assaulting my mind. I was at the shop, leaned over the drawing table and trying to focus on transferring the design for the security door for Dakota’s house into a more detailed sketch.
Working through the dimensions to ensure everything would line up right.
All while trying to get the painful visions out of my mind.
Before Dakota and Paisley could continue on about that bullshit, I’d left. I’d had to get the hell out of that house before I did or said something that I couldn’t take back.
So, I’d found myself here.
In my shop.
Where I could let my mind go and pour the tension into the art. Where I could believe I could build something better. Be something better. I wondered if that could ever be the truth.
If what I’d done could ever be eradicated or erased.
If the purpose behind it was enough or if it was just another pathetic excuse.
I had one of the rolling garage doors opened to allow for fresh air to flood the space, and I stilled when I heard an engine wind around the side of the building. A truck pulled up next to where I’d parked my bike.
I did my best not to cringe. I should be excited to see the guy, but after what I’d walked in on this morning, I felt frayed at the edges, the turmoil from what had happened at Dakota’s house making it ten times worse.
Still, I found a grin as I looked at my oldest friend as he slipped out of his truck.
“What’s up, man?”
I’d talked to Cody on the phone yesterday after he’d found out about the break-in at Dakota’s. I was surprised he hadn’t come running, but I knew he had a big job he was working on in the next town over.
I’d promised him I had it handled, and he didn’t need to worry, but that sure as hell didn’t mean he wasn’t going to.
“Not much.” He pulled his cap from his head, squeezing the brim between his hands. It was his tell. Something that he always did when he was irritated. “I stopped by your place and talked to Dakota. She said you’d needed to go into work for a bit, so I thought I’d swing by.”
“Glad you did.” I tossed the pencil to the slanted table, and I shifted to lean against a regular height one that sat to the side of it. I crossed my arms over my chest, watching him as he weaved his way through my shop.
Dude was a giant in the middle of the orchestrated mayhem, which was the way I worked best.
There were projects in varying stages of progress littered about, metal propped on workbenches and tables, raw pieces set in the stands for when I needed them. Every kind of welder known to man were set up at different stations, and there were a bunch of industrial saws and an elaborate paint station at the back.
There were functional pieces and others that were only meant for art, a sculpture that was going to stand eight feet tall and a big wall piece that someone wanted to hang in their living room.
Pride thrummed as I took it in.
All except for the car that still sat like an omen in the far bay.
Cody rounded a workstation, running a shaky hand over the top of his head, and he blew out a sigh as he gave voice to what had really brought him here. “This is fucked, man.”
I swallowed. “Yeah. Don’t like it at all.”
“And Ezra doesn’t have any hunch of who this prick is?” He leaned against the table opposite me, crossing one ankle over the other, his beefy frame taking up the space.
My head shook. “He told me the only thing they got was a partial print out at one of the new builds. So far, they haven’t been able to pull it up against anyone in the system, but he’s confident it’s going to lead to something.”
Anger rippled from Cody, and he gnawed at his bottom lip. “And so what? That’s just it? We have to sit around and wait for that to happen?”
“Guess so.”
Only I was feeling the exact thing that was clearly rolling through Cody.
The need to hunt.
Track this fucker down.
End him before he had the chance to taint the beauty that was Dakota.
“That’s bullshit.” His words were shards.
I huffed out a raw sound. “If I had any idea which direction to look, you could bet your ass I’d be looking.”
His nod was tight. “Know you would. Always can trust you to have Dakota’s back. Her best interest at heart.”
He was back to looking at me the way he’d been in her office the other day. Like he might be speculating there was something that went deeper than that.
“Pretty cool of you to let her stay at your house until this blows over.” How he made it both come out as gratitude and a threat, I didn’t know.
“You know I’d do anything for her.”
He barely nodded, but there was something disbelieving behind it. “She looks at you like you’re a fucking saint walking on water.”
I tried to ignore the insinuation. Refusing to take it in as truth. But I’d be a liar if I denied it. The way she did look at me. The way she felt. The way she’d let me crawl all over her if I asked. The way she’d let me take.
But I wasn’t worthy of that, and Cody never hesitated to point that out.
He didn’t know the details.
But he knew I was dirty.
And I would never be fucking good enough for his baby sister. I was well aware of it myself without him needing to remind me.
I scrubbed a palm over my face. “No, man. We’ve just always been close. You know that.”
Air puffed from his nose, and he pushed from the table. “Just keep it that way, and we won’t have a problem, yeah?”
Fuck.
“Don’t have to tell me, Cody.”
He gave a quick nod and released a heavy breath. “Sorry, man. I’m just…twisted up over this. Can’t stand the idea of something bad happening to her.”
“Neither can I.”
That time, his nod was accepting. “I appreciate you always being there for her. For always being there for me.”
“Of course. You’re my best friend. We’re family.”
At least that’s what I’d always considered him. All of them.