Chapter 25

TWENTY-FIVE

KYLE

I stretchand reach out for Rider, but the sheets are cold. Then I hear it. A loud boom that rattles the entire room. Sitting straight up in bed, I clutch the sheet to my chest and stare at the door, wondering if it's going to fly open or not.

My eyes flick around the room, the terror filling my veins, causing my blood to freeze like cubes of ice. I don't know what's going to happen, but I do not want to be here for it, either. I want to be anywhere else, because I have a feeling that the sound I heard is the semblance of my safety being blown to pieces.

Shattered.

As much as I want to jump out of this bed, throw on my clothes, and figure out a way to slip away from all of this, I am frozen in fear. I can't move a single inch. There is shouting downstairs, and I strain to hear Rider's voice, but I can't make out any specific men in particular.

Holding my breath, I continue to stare at the door. I don't know if I should hope for it to open or if I need to pray that it doesn't. There are some more noises. These ones sound almost like fireworks, but I know they aren't. They're gunshots.

After I hear a round of loud pops that jolts me enough to move, I do just that. Jumping out of bed, I reach for the first article of clothing that I can find on the floor, and that's Rider's T-shirt. I tug it on over my head, then walk over to the window and curse. It's a straight drop down. I'll break a leg if I try to climb out.

Shit.

Walking over to the door, I suck in a breath and slowly open it. As quietly as I can, I stick my head out and look down the hallway. Shifting my head from side to side, I listen for any sign of movement, but there is nothing.

Inhaling a deep breath, I hold it before I slip out of the bedroom and tiptoe toward the staircase. I bite the inside of my cheek as I try to ignore the fact that I'm not wearing a bra, panties, or pants, just Rider's white T-shirt.

Hugging the wall as I move down the stairs, I freeze in my place when I hear men's voices. I also hold my breath, my teeth sinking deeper into my cheek to the point of tasting blood as I attempt to decipher what's being said and by whom.

"Where is she? Where are the others?" a deep voice growls.

It's Talon.

I know it's him just based on what he's said. He wants me. He wants the other girls. I don't know why he wants me in the mix, but those girls are enamored by him. They are clearly obsessed with him. I don't know why, I don't care to know why, I just don't ever want to see his face again.

"That's not going to happen. You come here, you start shit and make demands," a deep voice booms. "Where is Sal?"

"Sal is dead," Talon snaps. He's impatient, and I wonder how much longer before he completely snaps.

I bet he's holding on by just a single thread at this point. "You wanted war, you got it," he states.

A voice hums, and I recognize that hum from not long ago when he was buried deep inside of me.

It's Rider.

"Besides, if you think you're taking over Sal's bar, you aren't. He dies, and he already signed the entire thing over to the club. The bar will never be yours. So, you better fucking produce him," Rider snaps.

I take another step down the stairs, and then I feel a hand press against my mouth from behind me. My eyes widen, and I let out a muffled scream. "It's Brew," the man hisses.

I close my mouth and stop my screaming, and he removes his hand. I remember him from earlier. Letting out a heavy sigh, I turn my head to look at him. He's got an expression that I can't place, but I can tell it's not happy.

"What's happening?" I ask on a whisper.

His brows snap together, and his gaze shifts down the staircase before he brings his eyes back to meet my own. "The Southern Mafia is here. They want you, they want the other girls, they want the bar, and they want Texas."

I really don't know what any of that means. I don't ask him, though. It doesn't seem like the right moment to have a conversation and ask for details. So, instead of asking him what the hell he's talking about, I just nod once.

"What do I do?" I ask, continuing to whisper.

He clears his throat, then reaches out for my hand and turns back toward the stairs. He tugs me behind him, and I almost call out for him to stop. We're going in the exact opposite direction that I want to go in. This definitely does not lead toward the exit by any means whatsoever.

Brew hurries me down the hallway, then stops in front of a door. I watch as he reaches out, twists the knob, then pushes it open. With little to no fanfare, I am gently, but quickly, swung into the room by his arm and then the door closes behind me.

Instinctually, I want to turn around and reach for the knob to let myself out of the room, but when I lift my eyes and look into the room, I realize I am not alone. In fact, a very pregnant Ryan and Shawn holding a baby stare back at me.

"What the hell?" I whisper.

"This is the safest place you could be," Shawn states.

Ryan gives me a smile, but it doesn't reach her eyes. She's scared, maybe not as frightened as I am, but she isn't breathing easy, that's for damn sure.

"There are at least four men on the other side of that door, and those assholes will have to get through them to get to us."

I don't ask her what happens when those assholes do make it into this room. I don't think it will do any of us any good at all. So, instead of being a downer, I give them a tight smile and let out a heavy sigh.

"You've been through it. Come on and sit down," Shawn says, her body swaying gently to keep the baby calm.

Biting the corner of my lip, I do what she suggests, and on shaky legs, I make my way over to the side of the bed and sink down onto the mattress. I am so scared. I don't think I've ever been this terrified, and I've been through some things.

Even being taken a few days ago, I was scared, but everything was unknown. Now I know. And what I know is that Talon is not going to be so nice this second time around. Then my mind shifts to Bren. I haven't thought about her since this whole thing started.

I haven't asked about her, if she's okay. If any of the girls are okay. What if they were taken, too? My heart starts to race at the thought. I don't know what to do. I feel helpless and scared.

"Breathe," Ryan calls out.

My eyes lift to hers, and I'm sure I look completely wild as I stare at her for a silent moment. She gives me a smile, her hand resting on her belly. I don't know if she's going to know the answer to my question, but I have to know.

"Are the other girls who work at Sal's okay?" I ask.

Ryan doesn't answer me, but Shawn does almost immediately. "They're all fine. They got a couple days off and are supposed to go back to work tomorrow. First, they were only going to have one day off, but then the guys decided they needed to get some things straightened out here. Which now I'm glad for."

I let out a heavy sigh of relief. I cannot believe that everyone is okay, but then I realize that they were never in danger. It was always me. It was always Xavier.

"This was targeted. It was my ex," I whisper.

Ryan reaches out, wraps her fingers around my hand, and squeezes gently, her fingers flexing as she gives me a smile before she speaks.

"Maybe he was part of it, but, honey, these men are here trying to gain control of this area. You are a pawn, but so is your ex. The difference between the two of you is that you'll come out of it. This?—"

"And he won't?" I ask even though I damn well know the answer.

Rider has made it clear that Xavier isn't going to come out of this breathing, let alone on top. I know I am, without a doubt, a horrible person because I feel nothing other than sweet relief at that knowledge.

I've never thought I needed a white knight to save me, and maybe that's not quite what he is, but to me, he's exactly that. A knight in leather. The most beautiful knight I've ever seen… but probably the most dangerous, too.

I want him too badly.

I'm not sure what that means for me if I'm going to survive this with him, whatever this is.

Him being my man.

Me being his woman.

Because every time I've wanted something this desperately, it's blown up in my face. It's backfired to the point where I've barely survived it. But then again, I'm not sure I want to endure it without Rider.

I know it's stupid because I've only known him for about a second, but I've fallen for him.

Completely and totally.

If I were pressed to actually say the words, I would tell him that I love him. That's exactly how I feel anyway. I'm sure it's just lust at this point, but I know it's going to be more. I feel a hell of a lot more than lust for this man.

When the bedroom door flies open and hits the wall so loudly that I hear the Sheetrock crack, my entire body doesn't just swing around to face it. I also stand and widen my legs as if I'm bracing for something—for impact.

Chaos ensues almost immediately, but not the kind that sends ice through my veins again. This time, it's chaos and relief all wrapped into one. The room fills with men. Those men are in leather and perfect.

Rider rushes me.

He's shirtless, wearing his vest, jeans, and nothing else. Before I realize what's happening, I'm in the air. He wraps his arms around me, his hands gripping my ass. He turns me around and wordlessly walks us out of the room. My hands grip his shoulders as I look into his eyes.

He doesn't speak as he moves toward his bedroom. I gasp when he kicks the door closed behind us. I open my mouth to ask him what happened, but no words come out, mainly because his mouth slams against mine, and his tongue fills me.

Rider sets my ass on the edge of the bed and sinks down to his knees, his tongue swirling, moving, tasting every inch of my mouth. Then his fingers are working between my legs. Ripping my mouth from his, I whimper as he brings me toward the edge so fast that my head is spinning.

"Rider," I moan.

It doesn't take him long, me long, to send me over the edge. My hips lift. They roll as he continues to touch, circle—and consume all of me.

"Yeah," he grunts. "Fuck, yes."

When his hand disappears, I gasp as he buries himself deep inside of me. His fingers grip the outside of my thighs, his eyes focused on mine as he begins to move. I can see the sweat beads begin to form on his forehead.

I hold on to him by wrapping my fingers around the back of his neck. The fingers of my other hand curl around his forearm, gripping him there. He lowers his face, resting his forehead against mine as he moves.

"Fuck, baby. You're everything, Kyle. Fucking everything."

Nothing else is said. Nothing else needs to be said. He moves inside of me, but it feels like he's moving through me. This man is everything I never knew I needed. He is… mine. And I am his.