9. Ryder

9

"Okay, I'm dying to hear this."

It was the call Ryder had been both expecting and dreading. Ana had promised that she'd handle Emmy, and if anyone could, it was her, but Ryder still figured the chances of keeping his job were fifty-fifty at best.

"Luna got another fucked-up note. She freaked out, but she's calmer now."

"I see. So you also lost your mind, then flew halfway around the world to check she was okay. Tell me she didn't throw you out on your arse?"

Ryder leaned against the headboard and swallowed the last of his whisky. Midnight, and Emmy Black thought this was a good time for a check-in? What if Luna hadn't kicked him out? She'd have called and interrupted…

No.

No, of course she wouldn't have.

"Did you track my phone?"

"Nah, I just had the manager of the hotel call me when you came back. It's late, so I'm taking that as a good sign?"

"She didn't throw me out. We ate dinner at her place, but we agreed beforehand that I'd come back to the Black Diamond."

He'd considered sticking around near her apartment building, but the streets were quiet late at night, and some nosy neighbour would probably have called the cops. He couldn't afford another breach of trust where Luna was concerned, so he'd reluctantly headed back to his room.

"Thank fuck for that," Emmy said. "The dinner, not that you came back to the hotel, I mean. How is Luna? Ana said she left an incoherent message about pasta and smoke. Did she set fire to her apartment?"

"The damage was confined to the microwave, but there might be a bigger problem." Ryder summarised the communications from Mark A—the notes that had come with a pair of earrings and two different takeout deliveries. "Luna's trying to convince herself that it's just a well-meaning fan overstepping, but my gut says otherwise. The guy's gone to a lot of effort, and he seems to believe she's the reincarnation of Cleopatra and he's Marcus Antonius."

"It's not her sister playing a prank?"

"She already accused Cordelia and Jubilee, and they both denied it. I realise that doesn't mean much, but Luna says that on balance, Mark A is too nice to be Cordelia. The earrings and a creepy note? Okay. But not the food. Cordelia's more likely to send a severed cow's head than a dish of linguine."

"Maybe he tampered with the food? Did she keep it?"

"She ate it."

"Are you kidding me?"

"The first delivery, anyway. She would have eaten the second if I hadn't thrown it in the trash."

"I don't understand that woman. She's a survivor, and yet somehow she has no sense of self-preservation."

Yeah, that about summed up Luna.

"She burned dinner, and she said she was hungry."

Ryder couldn't see Emmy, but he just knew she was shaking her head.

"Did you educate her in the ways of psychos?"

"She said she wouldn't eat the food again."

"But that doesn't mean she won't do something else equally dumb." Emmy heaved out a sigh. "Fuck."

"I have vacation days stored up…"

This was it. This was the point where Emmy decided Ryder's future. Either she'd let him stick around to make sure Luna stayed safe, or she'd haul his ass back to Virginia. Quitting without notice would be a shitty thing to do, but Luna?—

"Dude, you've got one month. One month to teach her enough common sense that she won't get herself kidnapped or killed."

"A month?" He'd been hoping to talk Emmy into another week.

"With your head in the place it's at, I can't use you on any high-pressured jobs anyway. Sort yourself out. Sort Luna out." Another sigh. "Plus I owe her. She could've raised merry hell after the debacle in San Gallicano when she ended up in mortal danger not once but twice, but she didn't. And I kind of like her. She might be a pain in the rear end at times, but deep down, she's a good person."

It was true. All of it. "I know."

"Consider your future, though. If your face gets splashed across the internet, that'll limit your career prospects. I can't send you on undercover jobs if there's a risk of shrieking teenage girls telling the world that they've just spotted Luna Maara's boyfriend."

"We're nowhere near that stage, but I get it."

If things went further with Luna, he'd have a decision to make. Love or his livelihood. Their vocations weren't compatible, and he'd never ask her to give up singing. Not when it was her passion. Not when she'd spent her whole damn life bending to the wills of other people.

"So stay in Sin City, see what happens with Luna. If the Vegas office needs assistance with a job your skill set can handle, then you're up, but otherwise treat it as personal leave. Okay?"

"Thanks, boss."

"And send everything she's received from Mark A in for testing. Receipts to the cyber team in case they can track down a credit card, everything else to forensics."

"I haven't seen the earrings."

"Well, find out what she did with them. Call me if there are any developments." Then, more quietly, "I don't want to lose you. The team doesn't want to lose you. Before you do anything drastic, be sure Luna's worth it."

Ryder already knew she was. "I will."

He hung up and closed his eyes. Breathed. Felt one type of stress melt away and a new weight settle in his gut. He'd been prepared to bargain, to offer Emmy his firstborn to get the time he needed with Luna. But she'd given him everything he'd hoped for without him even having to ask. When he'd first heard whispers of Emmy Black, two comments had come up over and over again—one, she was fucking crazy, and two, she put morals above money, even if her moral code was whacked. So far, she'd lived up to his expectations, but today, she'd exceeded them.

He had a month. A month to convince Luna that he was one of the good guys. A month to make sure she'd be safe from the monsters she feared. A month to decide whether a future with Luna was worth a future without everything else he'd grown to love.

That night, Ryder dreamed of Neve and wished he'd had the gift of an extra month with her.

"I have fruit, pastries, and breakfast sandwiches with hash browns, hot chocolate, and coffee."

Luna was digging through the bags before Ryder finished the sentence. Once, she'd still have been wearing the silk camisole and shorts she slept in, but she'd made the effort to get dressed today, although her tank top and skintight leggings didn't hide a whole lot more than the sleepwear. Had she just gotten up early? Or did the change in clothing represent another change in their relationship?

"Hash browns? That right there makes you a hero. Did you bring ketchup? Something went wrong with my last grocery order—I thought I ordered ketchup but it turned out to be tomato soup, plus they ran out of Goldfish crackers, so they sent a whole octopus instead. Why would they do that?"

"I guess the person packing the bags was having an off day. You're getting groceries delivered?"

"Isn't that what regular people do?"

"Yeah, when they don't have a stalker. A different person makes the delivery each time? Brings the bags right to your door?"

"How else am I supposed to get food? I can't just drive to the store when I don't have a driver's licence. And don't tell me to hire a chauffeur because I don't have the money for that anymore. At least, I don't think I do. I'll have to ask Caro."

"You're not going to the store yourself." Aside from the risk Mark A would show up, she'd get mobbed by fans and paparazzi. "Caro's helping with your finances?"

Ryder knew Caro had been speaking with Luna, but Caro had refused to tell him what they discussed. Said she'd be betraying a confidence.

"I'm not real good with numbers. Are you mad at me?"

"For not being good at numbers?" Ryder was genuinely confused.

"For talking to your roommate but not you."

"I'm just glad you had some support." His fingers itched to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, but he held back. "While I'm here, I'll pick up the groceries."

"And when you're gone?"

"We'll work out a plan by the time I leave."

"When will that be?"

"I'm here for a month."

"A month? I didn't think you'd have that much time off." Luna chewed one corner of her lip. "I didn't even believe you about the vacation. When you showed up on my doorstep, I figured you'd done something crazy like walking out of your job."

He almost brushed the comment away, but he'd promised no more lies. "That's not a million miles from the truth, but now I have a month off."

"An actual month off? Or you quit, and in a month, you'll start looking for a new position?"

He forced a laugh. In a month, he might be out of a job, but he couldn't tell Luna that. If he did, she'd make the decision for him and send him back to Virginia.

"An actual month off. There's a chance I might need to lend a hand in the Vegas office, but you're my priority."

Luna found the hash browns and the breakfast sandwiches and tipped them onto the kitchen counter, grinning like a kid. The newspapers had labelled her as high maintenance, but in truth, she was anything but.

"Do you want to share this? If I eat more than half, I won't fit into my costumes."

"Sure. I'll eat whatever you don't want." Ryder could spend an hour in the gym when he went to the office later. Every Blackwood location had workout equipment, even if it was just a treadmill and a stack of weights. Staying fit was part of the company ethos. "Moon, I need to send everything from Mark A for analysis. Where are the earrings and the note you got with them?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I left the bag on the table backstage with all the other stuff I didn't want. So I guess they might still be there?"

"I'll take a look."

"You're coming to the theatre?"

Luna found plates and a knife and cut the sandwich in half. The pieces weren't quite the same size, and she gave Ryder the bigger one.

"Yeah, I'm coming to the theatre. Once you're in rehearsals or make-up or whatever it is you have to do, I'll head out for a while, but I need to make sure you get there safely."

"There's no show this evening." Luna flashed a smile. "Day off. You didn't realise?"

In truth, he'd avoided everything to do with the show until her phone call. Okay, yeah, he'd considered buying tickets, but Caro had vetoed that idea and Knox took her side. And Luna hadn't mentioned her schedule last night. After the conversation about Neve and Shylah, they'd eaten more or less in silence. And when he said "eaten," he meant that Luna picked at her chicken while he nudged food around his plate. But when he asked if she wanted him to bring breakfast in the morning, she'd agreed, and so he hadn't pushed for more.

"Where do you need to go this afternoon? Actually, forget that. It's none of my business."

"Moon, it is your business. Blackwood's going to take a look at Mark A, see if we can identify him."

"You really think he's a problem? I get a lot of letters from randos. Jubilee used to joke that she could paper a house with them."

"I get that, moon, but this one's different. He knows where you live, and in the two notes I've seen, he says he's going to see you soon. Plus he's talking about reincarnation. Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius essentially died for each other."

Luna shuddered. "I read that story on the internet. I hate this. I hate it. All I ever wanted to do was sing, and now I've got the show at the Nile Palace, which is great and everything, but there's so much other trash that comes with the package. Interviews, meet-and-greets, stalkers, photographers… How many are out there this morning?"

"Half a dozen so far."

"They're going to write about you, you know. About us. If you hang around with me, you won't be able to avoid them."

And that had the potential to be problematic. By its nature, Ryder's work meant he needed to keep a low profile, and there had already been speculation about their relationship after videos leaked of the fight in San Gallicano. Thankfully, the sound had been garbled and nobody seemed to know the details of the argument. Luna hadn't commented, nobody from Blackwood was going to talk, and the others involved had kept their mouths shut. So far.

"I'm not gonna add fuel to the fire, moon. I'll walk behind you, the same as I always do when I'm acting as your bodyguard."

"Right."

"Let's make the most of this month, okay? You get every Monday off?"

She nodded. "Usually, I just watch TV when I don't have to work, but we can go look for the earrings if you think it's important. They'll let me in. Do you have a car?"

He'd borrowed a pool car from Blackwood. "I do. Have you ever thought about learning to drive?"

"Mom didn't think it was a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because it's dangerous. There are usually reporters following me, and they drive like maniacs. She figured it was safer for me to have a driver."

A valid point, but he suspected the greater motivator had been Amethyst Puckett's desire to control her daughter. Easier for her to keep Luna under her thumb if Luna couldn't escape easily.

"And what do you think?"

"I think…I think there are times when I'd like to drive into the middle of nowhere and just scream until no more sound comes out."

Not quite what Ryder had been expecting, but at least she was being honest. "You'd have to lose the paparazzi first, but I can give you some tips on that. How do you feel about getting a learner's permit?"

"How would I do that? Is there a test?"

"Of basic driving knowledge, yeah, but we can practise for that."

"And can we find a female instructor?"

"I was planning to teach you myself."

"Really? I always knew you were brave, but…wow."

Ryder chuckled. "If I can supervise my teenage sister, then I can teach you."

He'd been twenty-one and home on leave when Phoebe had begged him to sit in the passenger seat while she got some extra driving hours in, and in hindsight, he'd rather have ridden a bicycle across a live firing range. The L and R written on her hands in Sharpie when she climbed behind the wheel should have been an indicator of what was to come, ditto when his mom wished him luck and jokingly suggested he wear his body armour. At least, he'd thought at the time she'd been joking. Anyhow, Phoebe thought stop signs were optional, and she'd tried to drive the wrong way around a roundabout.

"You're even braver than I thought. But we'll have to find somewhere quiet because if I'm going to crash, I don't want to do it live on social media."

"We can sneak out. Trust me, I'm good at that."

The building had a rear entrance, which wasn't as secure as Ryder would have liked, plus an exit in the parking garage. He'd find a way to get her out of the building on the down-low.

"How do I buy a car? I mean, I do have one—I got it free from a dealership in exchange for modelling work and a few Insta posts—but it's in the garage at my house if Mom hasn't sold it."

"Can she sell it? Is the title in your name?"

"You mean the paperwork? I think so. I remember some guy asking if Maara was my surname, and I had to tell them it was Puckett. Man, I hate that name."

"Why didn't you take your father's name?"

"Is Luna Fotherington-Gale really that much better?"

"Fair point."

She shrugged. "There was something in the child support settlement. Dad agreed to pay more if Mom took full custody and I didn't have his name."

Luna acted as if she didn't care, but that little quiver of her lips said she did. And she should be upset. Her father had paid to erase her from his world.

"Want me to go get the car for you?"

"Mom will never hand it over."

"I wasn't intending to ask her. Do you know where the key is?"

Luna's jaw dropped. "You'd steal my car?"

"It's not stealing if it's yours, moon. It's retrieving."

And if he could keep Luna distracted with groceries and learning to drive, maybe she'd forget he had a cock and they could rebuild the relationship they'd once had. Yeah, he wanted more, but the friendship had to come first. And it was the best part. When he thought back to his time with Neve, it wasn't the sex he missed the most; it was the fun times they'd shared. Weekends spent on the beach paddleboarding, swimming, and surfing. Cheering on the Jags because although Ryder had lost his taste for football, Neve still loved to watch a game. Shopping at the Riverside Arts Market because Neve loved to buy pretty things she didn't need.

"Mom keeps the keys in the hallway. There's a table at the side with a drawer."

"What kind of car is it? I'll get someone to check with the DMV that it's registered in your name, and then she can't cause any trouble."

"If you think she can't cause trouble, you don't know my mom very well."

"I meant with the cops."

"The cops? They might remember the car from the last time."

"What ‘last time'?"

"A guy from the dealership parked it on the side of the highway to take pictures, and I was sitting there on the hood in a bikini when six cars drove into each other, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. Which I guess is another reason I never learned to drive if crashing is that easy. I mean, it was a straight road."

"Moon, if I saw you at the side of the road in a bikini, I'd probably crash too."

"Really? Huh. I thought you were a better driver than that. Anyhow, the car's a BMW. Mom also has a BMW, but mine's easy to pick out because it's pink."

Ah, fuck. "Pink?"

She nodded, beaming. "A fuchsia-pink convertible with bubblegum seats and glittery side mirrors. They painted it specially for me."

"Maybe I could just get you a different car?"

How much would the monthly payments be for a non-pink BMW? Say, black or dark blue. Ryder would have headed straight for the nearest dealership, but Luna's face fell, and he knew he'd do anything to put the smile back.

"You love the pink car?"

She nodded.

"Then I'll get the pink car."