Chapter 16

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

Liv

Ryder thanked me several hundred more times before giving me a kiss and heading to his room to call Cara, Brian, and Tom to share the news. He’s only been gone for about ten minutes when my hunger becomes more prominent than my tiredness, causing my belly to growl. Jaxon notices and quickly gets up to head to the kitchen.

“We can’t have our girl going hungry, can we?” Chase teases, but River is still sitting beside me, quieter than usual.

“Are you okay?” I ask him, and he nods slowly.

“Yeah, I’m just in awe of you,” he says. “Ryder and the others have been working their asses off for years, only landing those little gigs and not getting the recognition they deserved, and then you come along and make it look so easy.” Chase agrees, nodding.

“I knew you were good, but damn,” he adds, impressed. River pulls me closer to him.

“You did this. You made this happen for him,” he says, his voice filled with admiration. I smile and shrug.

“I just did what I know how to do. Those guys are the talented ones,” I say. “I would never want to go back to being famous myself, but I know it’s Ryder’s dream, and I’m going to do everything I can to help him achieve it. If my experience in the industry can help with that, how could I not offer it to him?” River shakes his head.

“You’re amazing,” he says, grinning at me, I blush and look down at my feet.

“He’s right,” Jaxon says as he comes back into the room, a plate in hand. He gives it to me while sitting down next to me. It’s a delicious-looking avocado egg sandwich and my mouth waters. Yum.

“Thank you, Jaxon,” I say wholeheartedly before digging in, which makes Chase snicker.

“Sure, they are the ones with the talent, but they didn’t know how to sell themselves,” Jaxon says. “They never could’ve done that without you.”

He rubs my back as I devour the sandwich.

“Good?” he asks, smiling, and I nod with my mouth full. There is so much affection in his eyes. “I’m going to cook you dinner tonight. This is just to hold you over and keep you going through your dance session. You are going to dance, right?” He looks at my clothes.

“Yeah, but I’ll make it a short session. I’m too tired and would rather go lift some weights too,” I say.

When I’m done, he takes my plate from me, takes my face in his hand, and squeezes my cheeks together so I involuntarily make fish lips, which he then kisses, making me giggle.

“Good girl,” he says and brings the plate back into the kitchen.

We get to Tanner Fitness shortly after, and the guys get to work while I head to the studio and begin my stretches, contemplating which routine to work on for the day. Eventually, I settle on a sequence of movements that I need to evaluate for an assignment. Since I’m still feeling tired, I don’t want to push myself too hard, and this routine is perfect for just getting moving a bit.

After an hour, I make my way to my locker, change my shoes, and head over to the weight section. I’ve barely sat down at the leg press machine when Jaxon appears in front of me, and I smile up at him.

“Hey, in the mood for some assisted pull-ups?” I tease, and he smirks.

“Only if we’re naked while we do them,” he says.

“That’s a great way to ensure some membership extensions, when word gets around that Mr. Tanner helps his customers in such a thorough way,” I say.

“Oh, I’m going to help you, little brat,” Jaxon says as he gets down to my eye level, gripping my chin. “Just us, you hear me?” he whispers while swiping his thumb over my bottom lip.

“Yes, sir,” I murmur, and he pushes his thumb into my mouth.

I suck on it before he mutters a quiet “Fuck” and pulls it back out.

“You’re tired. Don’t overdo it,” he says in his trainer voice before walking away. I snicker as I see him adjust himself while walking.

After my shower, I change into the clothes I packed in my sports bag that morning. Despite feeling good, I’m exhausted as I make my way to the reception area. I need a nap before I eat Jaxon’s delicious food.

Jaxon, River, and Chase are standing at the reception desk, but they all look worried as I approach them.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I ask. That’s when I notice Chase holding a yellowish letter with the familiar scrawl on the front. “No,” I whisper.

* * *

Angel,

It’s been too long since I last saw you, too long since I last held you in my arms and felt your warmth against my skin. I know you think you’ve moved on, that you’ve found happiness with those other men, but you’re wrong.

You belong to me, and me alone. Stay away from them. They don’t deserve you. They don’t know how to take care of you like I do. They don’t know your deepest desires, your darkest secrets, your wildest fantasies, but I do. I remember everything, Olivia. I remember how you used to moan when I touched you just so. I remember how you used to look at me with those green eyes, full of longing and desire. You can’t hide from me, angel. You can’t run away from what we had. I won’t let you. I’ll come for you, and when I do, you’ll see that you’ve made a mistake. You’ll see that you belong to me, and me alone. Those other men? They’ll learn to stay away.

I’ll be waiting for you, always.

I love you.

* * *

Jaxon

Liv is finally asleep on the couch with her head resting in River’s lap while he strokes her hair. She cried for nearly half an hour, but it seems like River is her Xanax, and although I thought something like this would make me jealous, it doesn’t. I’m just grateful that he can help her like this and that she’s being taken care of, even if I can’t do it for her. My emotions are in turmoil, and I want to punch that Liam guy so hard. Who the fuck does he think he is?

He seems unhinged, and I shudder to think about what kind of hell Liv went through with him. She completely broke down when she saw the letter but still demanded to read it. We hadn’t opened it, trying to protect her privacy, but I swear if another one of those letters arrives, I’ll check it first before I give it to her.

We had to talk her out of her instinctive need to run away again to protect us, since now the threat is clear as day. Liam knows about us, and he doesn’t like it. What’s still unclear is how he gets his information and what he can do from inside an institution in another country.

Ryder storms into the living room, frantic.

“Where is she?” he demands, and River shushes him.

“She just fell asleep,” he whispers, and Ryder sits down near her feet, pulling them into his lap and holding them.

Chase called him on our way home, updating him on everything. Even though he told him that we had it covered, he rushed here to be with her. I’m proud of the little dumbass. He’s never put anyone before his music besides River, not even Chase or me. Now he’s discussing a record deal and still prefers to be by her side when shit gets real.

“How did she take it?” he whispers, and I huff.

“How do you think? She just wanted to up and leave,” I reply, and Ryder looks at me with big eyes.

“She promised,” he hisses.

“She’s desperate and doesn’t know what to do, Ry,” River chimes in quietly. “That guy is threatening us. Wouldn’t you leave to protect her if the roles were reversed?”

He nods, then says, “We can’t let her.”

“We won’t,” I nearly growl.

River goes back to stroking her hair when Chase comes out of the kitchen, handing each of us a water bottle and putting one for Liv on the coffee table.

“We stay together. There is no other option we would even consider,” River says. “But we have to think about what he could do. What exactly are we up against here?”

Chase sits down on the couch and lets his head fall into his hands.

“And how exactly are we going to do this?” he asks, and River is quiet for a moment.

“I don’t know,” he finally says. “But we should be careful. Don’t go out alone anymore, watch our surroundings—stuff like that.”

“You mean this fucker is a threat to us?” Ryder asks, his eyes widening.

“I don’t really know,” River says with a shrug. “But he killed Liv’s family. I think underestimating him would be a mistake.”

“We also have to think about Liv,” Chase says, leaning forward. “How do we protect her without making her feel like a prisoner? She already went through that once. We can’t make her feel trapped again.”

We all nod in agreement, knowing that Liv’s mental health is just as important as her physical safety.

“I think we should share our phone locations with each other at all times,” River suggests.

We all nod, liking the idea. I’m sure Liv will be okay with it too, since it’s not about us monitoring her but all of us sharing our locations to keep each other safe.

“I think Liv is right when she told us that he isn’t going to hurt her,” Ryder says. “He wants her back. He also didn’t want to hurt her when he went after her family.” He looks down at her beautiful sleeping face, while Chase lets out a sigh.

“Should we call the police?” he asks.

“It’s still just a threat from a man who’s locked up,” I say, shaking my head. “Maybe we should check in with her manager to make sure.”

“It’s not a bad idea to get some information from him,” River says, nodding in agreement. “If it weren’t for the fact that he found her and knows about us, I would say he’s just trying to rile her up with letters but can’t do anything about it like he did when she was still back in Canada. Obviously, he has someone on the outside feeding him information, and that’s the part that worries me.”

When River doesn’t have a plan anymore, we are all fucked.

“I’m going to make some dinner,” I announce to the room. “I think Liv should stay here, at least until Sunday. Gunner is working tomorrow and won’t be home, and I prefer him to be over there with her when she’s not with us.”

Chase nods. “She can use our stuff for tonight, and tomorrow, I’ll go with her to get some clothes and her school stuff so she can sleep and study here,” he suggests.

“I’ll tell Chris that she has to cover for us tomorrow,” I say, taking out my phone to send her a message. Ryder frowns and looks at me.

“Honestly, brother, how come you’re best buddies with Gunner? I don’t like him,” he complains, crossing his arms.

“I don’t like him much either, but I trust him with her, and it’s never a bad thing to have more eyes making sure she’s safe. We exchanged numbers to check in when Liv went missing, and somehow, we just kept updating each other about her. He truly cares for her, and that’s all that matters to me,” I say.

“How grown up of you,” Chase says with a smile.

“Yeah, well, fuck off,” I retort.

“Never mind,” he says with a chuckle.

Just as I turn to walk into the kitchen, a gut-wrenching scream comes from Liv, who’s still sleeping. River puts his hand on her, but she screams again. We all rush to her side, and she sits up in a blur, eyes wide, screaming once more.

“Liv, you’re safe. You’re with us, we’ve got you. You are safe,” River says, holding his hands up in surrender.

She holds her breath for a second before she starts sobbing, and River pulls her into his chest, shushing her and stroking her back.

“Is this what her nightmares are like?” I ask Ryder in disbelief. The twins had told Chase and me that they’d experienced them once before. He nods, eyes sad.

“Gunner said she has them nearly every night,” he says.

Fuck.No wonder that guy runs over there every time he hears her. That shit is ripping my heart apart.

“I’m so sorry,” Liv whispers, and Ryder scoots over to them, kissing her head.

“You don’t have to apologize, baby. You’ve had a rough day. It’s no wonder your mind isn’t settling,” he assures her, while River kisses her temple.

“Do you want to try to go back to sleep?” he asks, but she shakes her head.

“I’ll make us dinner, then we can watch a Disney movie or something,” I suggest as I walk to the kitchen.

“Wow, Jaxon Tanner is offering to watch a Disney movie for you, gorgeous,” I hear Chase say. “If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”

“Yeah,” Ryder chimes in. “But don’t choose something cool like Mulan or Moana. Make him suffer through Cinderella.”

I hear Liv giggle, and my heart feels a little lighter.