Chapter 50

*Ryder*

As expected, she wasn't handling the news of Rachel's betrayal very well. I held her through her crying jag, which broke my heart into pieces, and then I had a hard time getting her to calm down and not do anything rash once the tears were over.

She wanted to confront the other woman as soon as she returned in a day or two, but I had something better up my sleeve, something I was hoping she'd agree to not only for her sake but for my own peace of mind as well.

Since I couldn't stay here with her just yet, there was no way I wanted her here alone, so when she took a trip to the bathroom to wash her face, I made a quick call to the guys with my suggestion. Since we didn't have a lot of time before she got back, I didn't exactly get an answer from them, not that I needed one in this situation.

As long as it was about her safety, I wasn't about to take any chances, and I was almost certain they'd see things my way. So I waited for her return to put my plan into action and hoped for the best, meaning I hoped I didn't have to overpower her so soon after we'd mended things, which, knowing how stubborn she is, could be an issue.

I broached the subject as delicately as I could without giving too much away, knowing that if she knew the whole truth of what I was asking, she'd deny me. But this was the best course of action for her safety, so I was willing to face her considerable wrath.

"You want me to just disappear?"

"Not really, no, just tell them you're taking some downtime. You've done it before, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone."

"And where pray tell will I be going? I don't really feel like traveling, and besides, I have to be back in New York in a week or so."

I'd almost forgotten that filming for her new series was about to start back again soon. "That's fine, I just want you away from her for the time being, and since she doesn't travel there with you, it should be okay. One more thing, I want to make sure that place is secure as well. Will you let me?" I plan to ask Tyler and Zak about seeing about that since they seemed more capable than anyone I could hire on my own.

"I have my own security team there."

"I know that, but I would feel better if you let me take care of it." I didn't tell her that I didn't trust anyone anymore because I didn't want to scare her any more than she already was. If I could keep her with me from now on, that would be best, but I get the feeling that what I'm about to hear isn't going to make that easy.

I've suspected for a long time that I was being used as a front, and I think I'm about to find out what for. And even without knowing what it is, I don't want her anywhere near it. New York would be perfect except for the fact that I'll still be here, but at least I'd know that she was away from whatever was about to go down.

I wouldn't put it past Mary and the others to follow her there or have her followed because I'm unsure if her part in all this is over yet. From what I've seen so far, they have their hands full covering their own ass, plus there was already tons of speculation about their part in our breakup and my sham of a marriage, so all eyes were on them.

I doubt they're dumb enough to pull anything with all that heat on them, but nevertheless, I won't be taking anything by chance; that's why I'll be asking the guys to have something done to ensure she's safe while in New York.

For now, though, I had something else in mind. I wasn't quite ready for her to be that far away from me, but neither did I want her here where those people knew where to find her. "What's this idea of yours?"

"I bought a house in Bel Air; they just finished the remodel a few days ago. No one has lived in it for years, and it's way more secure than this place. I want you to stay there for a while, at least until you go back to New York."

I had no plans of taking no for an answer, but I had to at least give the impression that she had a choice. I wasn't about to play that game with her again, especially not when it came to her life and safety, and I'd learned something else from the guys, never argue with your girl. Just state the obvious and carry it through.

That was easy for them to say since they never had to deal with her hard-headed ass, but I was up for the job this time around. I know all of her arguments and how she fights to win; this time, I'm going to take a leaf out of another playbook and be the man I should've been before I got us into this mess.

Surprisingly she didn't put up much of a fight, and by the time the guys showed up, I'd helped her pack a suitcase and lock up her place. Tyler didn't ask any questions when he came to the door, and in fact, he seemed pleased about the plan.

I thought for sure, since I hadn't given them time to respond on the phone, that he'd have asked me to wait until later, but he seemed to understand when I told him now that I wasn't comfortable leaving her here alone.

She seemed a bit intimidated by them, but who wouldn't be? they went out of their way to make her feel comfortable with their presence even though they didn't say much. I didn't bother to ask where they got the utility van from or the disguises they brought, or even where they got that shit from with such short notice.

I called them as soon as I got her answer about staying at the house that Janie thought was going to be hers, something else I didn't tell Elena. However, there would be time enough to tell her that it had been my plan all along for us to live there together once I had won her back.

The place was much bigger than hers or mine and in a much nicer area with more land and in a protective community where it wasn't as easy to get to as where we lived now. This action, I must admit, was one of the things bred from my hatred of Janie.

I had no plans on moving to this area, to begin with, but once I remembered how much she liked it up here and had salivated over this house in particular, I knew that she'd hate the fact that her dream house now belonged to her enemy and belonged to her indeed it did.

When I bought the place, I bought it in Elena's name, under an umbrella trust, of course, so no one would be the wiser if they went looking. It's the first of many gifts I plan to give her to make up for what I'd done to her, and although it cost thirty million dollars, it was nowhere near what she deserved for the hell she'd been through because of me.

I watched her as we drove through the gates, and her eyes lit up. "Ryder, where did you find this place? I didn't even know this was here. It's beautiful." She wasn't lying; the place is known as a masterpiece among the elite and was built sometime in the early nineteen hundreds by some tycoon who had way too much money.

I never really had any interest as the place had about ten bedrooms and as many or more bathrooms, which for a single guy was too much. Funny how I thought of myself as single even when Janie had brought it to my attention the first time. When I lied to her a couple of weeks ago about buying the home for us, I'd already made up my mind that I wanted to live there with Elena.

Not just to get back at Janie, of course, though I couldn't wait to see her face once she realized what I had done. But when I saw the place for myself and learned its history, I fell in love with it myself and knew that Elena would love a place like this.

For Janie, it would've been more like a fashion statement, whereas I knew my girl would love the place's aesthetics and layout. The gardens and grounds alone were worth it, but the mansion itself was something out of an old Hollywood classic.

I didn't tell her when I gave her the old iron key that still worked on the front door that this was her new home, and there was a lot I couldn't do because the guys were there, like carrying her over the threshold, though the way Tyler rolled his eyes at me and walked away told me he knew exactly what I was thinking. I'll have to thank him later for not calling me bitch made in front of my woman.

Zak signaled to me that I had five minutes which I used to let her drag me all over the first floor, which was as massive as my own house, and that shit has two stories. "This is huge. When are you going to decorate?"

"I was hoping you'd want to do that." She didn't say anything, but I think her blush was answered enough. She got so lost in her excitement that she grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the floor-to-ceiling French doors that led to the backyard and the Olympic-sized pool, which was one of the first things I'd had remodeled because I knew how much she loved to swim.

Even after dropping her off there, I found it hard to leave, but I felt a little more at ease when I saw some of the men that had been at my home there. There was one newcomer who, when Elena saw her, she seemed surprised.

"Do you know her?" I was ready to bounce the older woman out the door until she smiled and approached my girl.

"Why do you look so familiar?" Elena asked her, but there was no alarm in her voice.

"Wait, you're the old lady who warned me about the dark magic, aren't you?"

"Yes, dear, sorry I had to be so secretive back then, but I was in a bit of a rush. My name is Char."

Black magic, what the hell was she talking about? I looked at Elena for answers, but she was too busy looking at the other woman as if she'd seen a ghost.

"We've got to go, Ryder. She's in good hands with Char and the others here."

"I'll be fine, Ryder. Go do whatever it is that you're doing." I guess that was her way of telling me that she trusted the guys on my say-so.

I shared as much about them with her as I could, and I know she appreciated all that they'd done. However, I get the feeling she trusted them more because of their nieces than anything I said.

"Okay, I'll be back later tonight," I looked at Tyler for reassurance, and he nodded yes.

"Okay, I'll see you then, I guess." This isn't how I wanted to introduce her to our new home, but I guess it'll have to do. I hated to leave her, but the guys were acting kind of antsy, and I got the idea that time was of the essence.

They didn't take me back to my house but instead headed for the Saunders estate way on the other side of town. If Bel Air was exclusive, then this place wasn't even on the map.

This place is one of those well-kept secrets of the Uber-Rich; each house starts at about one hundred million, and that's for a bungalow, believe it or not.

There were a few new faces when we arrived, the younger Saunders among them, and they all looked me over like I wasn't much. It shouldn't be, but it's very refreshing being treated like just another guy instead of the star worship I'm accustomed to getting wherever I go.

"Is this him?" One of the new guys asked as he looked me over. He had more tattoos than I did, which automatically put him in my good book.

"He's what all of this fuss is about? Kid, dafuq, did you get my kid into?" His kid? I've never seen this man in my life, let alone his kid.

"I don't…."

"Lyon, give the kid a break. He's had it hard."

"From what I've heard, he's a pain in the ass. Look, I'm tired; I just came from bum fuck USA to this hell hole, no offense Saunders. I do not wish to be here in this hellscape that's about to disappear off the face of the earth for any longer than I need to be."

"Geez, Lyon, these people live here."

"Dafuq, then they should know. I haven't seen my wife and kids in weeks, so let's get this shit rolling. Did you fill him in?"

"Not yet; his girl was in the van." They all nodded as if they understood. Lyon, I'd heard his name mentioned a time or two, but nothing much was ever said. All I could gather was that he was the boss, the one Tyler and Zak referred to before doing anything.

"The kid, the nieces are yours?"

"One of them is, and you can thank your lucky stars that she likes you and your girl, or your ass would be in a world of hurt right now."

"Not his fault, Lyon. I don't think he knew."

"Knew what?" And why is this guy so pissed at me? I felt like I was back in elementary school, getting into trouble for shit I did on the playground.

"What's going on?"

"First things first, there was a situation at your place." Zak looked at Lyon when he said that, and Lyon's face looked like thunder.

"What kind of situation?"

"Janie, your ex, was rushed to the hospital."

"What's wrong with her?" Is it bad that I didn't care?

"Uh, she uh…." For the first time, Zak was speechless; I didn't think he knew what that was.

"My kid sent her a warning; that's what I meant about you being lucky, or your ass would've been next."

"I'm not following. What kind of warning?"

"Probably anthrax or some fuck. I wasn't there. You'd have to ask the rest of them." He didn't seem too pleased by that if the way he glowered around the room was any indication.

"We didn't know she was going to do that. I think they must've said or done something to piss her off." One of the new guys offered; his name was Cord, I think.

"What the fuck were the lot of you doing? And don't feed me any bullshit. How did she get the flowers here without your help?"

"Flowers? Is somebody going to tell me what's going on?"

"There was a flower delivery sent to your house for your ex. I was told to deliver them wearing gloves and not to inhale. Ask Jace. He's the one who brought them to L.A."

Jace Saunders didn't seem too bothered when everyone's eyes turned his way.

"Don't look at me. I have no idea what they used. I just followed instructions. And before any of you give me shit, you would've done the same thing, too, unless you wanted to end up on the wrong side of the insidious trio."

"Forget it. Let's just brief the kid and get it over with before my nut takes out any more of Hollywood's elite before the earthquake takes them out. And the next time you fucks… never mind, let's just get on with it."

"Are we still talking about the little girls on the computer?" No one answered my question, but by process of elimination, I figured I was right.

The room changed immediately. I can't quite put it into words, but it was as if there was a shift in the air, not visible, but it was felt all the same. I could almost surmise that that little skirmish was their way of blowing off steam before getting down to business, and the next few minutes proved why. It was the least expected bombshell of them all.

"Come on, Ryder, sit down. We think it's time we told you our reason for being here, the other one at any rate."

"Okay, what is it?" Why am I so nervous?

"Your tours, do you know that some of your female fans never make it home after seeing you on stage?" Huh?

"Why? Do they get into accidents from drinking and driving or something?"

"No, nothing like that; they're being trafficked."

"What the hell are you talking about."

"Sex trafficking, human trafficking, whatever you wanna call it. That's what we do. We try to find the people who do that shit and take them down."

"Who does that? I don't know anyone who does that. How can my tours be used for something like that? I don't understand."

"Your manager Scott, Mary Hudson, and Matt, along with some others."

"What, how? How do they do that? Is it just random? How would they set up something like that?" I felt my anger growing by the second as the weight of their words hit me in the gut. I never imagined that something like this could be so close to me; it was hard to take in.

"Some of them are random, yes, but mostly they choose young girls that come backstage or sign up for a meet and greet." My heart beat a steady rhythm in my chest, but I felt dead inside. I looked around the room at all the men, "You don't think I had anything to do with it, do you?"

"No, we've checked, and you're in the clear. But that's how you came to Chad's attention. When your PI was digging for information, he tapped into something that sent off signals. He doesn't know what he tapped into, but we were alerted. We needed an excuse to get close to you, and we asked Chad to make contact."

"While we were discussing things, the nieces overheard and apparently have been following your personal drama online and decided they wanted in. So, Jace came to see you, and since we weren't sure if you were involved or not, Zak and I played the role of your coaches to get into your house."

"So, this whole time, you were investigating me as well?"

"Nope, just the first day. That's how long it took for us to figure out you had nothing to do with any of it. Your wife, on the other hand, knows a little bit about it. She's not directly involved, but she knows what's going on. Her dad, on the other hand, is in deep."

"So, they were using me as a cover?"

"You're not the only one. That's why it took us so long; we kept finding more and more avenues they were using. Let's just say your manager, whoever he manages, is being used the same way, and the higher-ups in that church are the real masterminds."

"Fucking demons walking around masquerading as men," Lyon grumbled, and the others nodded their heads in agreement. This was too much. I'd accepted that they were using me for money, which was more straightforward and easily accepted in this town, but this was a whole other type of evil.

"Are you sure… of course you are." I won't even bother asking them for proof because they've proven themselves time and again since we met.

"What about Elena? Do they do it to her tours as well? You can't tell her; it would kill her."

"No, but if they could've done it with her, they would have. That seems to have been part of their plan."

"What do you mean done it with her?"

"Mary didn't just want to be her manager."

"What are you trying to say?" I had a bad feeling in my gut at Tyler's incendiary words.

"There are some very wealthy people in the world who would pay hundreds of thousands of dollars just to spend one night with their favorite celebrity; your girl has lots of admirers. She wanted to pimp her out like she does her daughters and their friends."

"What the fuck are you saying to me right now?" I guess the old me wasn't too far behind because my first and only thought was to go find these people and put a bullet in them one after the other. I'd trusted these people at one time, and what's worse, she'd tried to warn me. Elena had tried to warn me about the cultish way the church was and Mary's hold over some of them, especially the leading members.

But they'd known about spiritual guidance; they spoke so highly about living the right way and doing the right thing. One of the things Matt had told me, and I later remembered, was that Elena getting rid of my child was a sin that would be on my record and would lead me straight to hell.

I went to that place bitter and broken after one of our breakups years ago, and once we got back together, I'd invited her in because it seemed to be a decent place I could trust. They were doing so much for me that I thought being there was a way to keep our relationship wholesome and not like so many in this town that don't last long enough for the ink to dry on the marriage certificate.

And now they're telling me that the whole thing was a setup? "I'm going to destroy her, all of them."

"We were hoping you'd say that.

"But wait, I don't want Elena to know about this, but what am I going to do? I can't go back to her publicly until this is all taken care of. We just got back together. How can I leave her again so soon?"

The thought of dragging her into the middle of this left me cold.

Did they think she knew about this, and that's why she'd tried so hard to keep me out of there? I always thought it was because Mary had seduced me, and she didn't want that getting around, but this is much worse.

"I'm glad to hear it; we don't tell our women this kind of shit either, as to what to do, don't worry, she has something big coming up that will take most of her time anyway for a little while at least."

"Really, what's that?

"She'll be working with Heather Saunders on a project for a little while. It would take her out of the country at least for a few months so she'd be out of danger. Plus, isn't she going back to New York next week?"

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that, about beefing up her security."

"It's already taken care of, thanks to the nieces."

"They thought of all of that?"

"You can say it's a coordinated effort. We're dealing with this side of things while they have taken it upon themselves to handle your personal shit." Zak explained. He seemed to be the only one talking, come to think of it.

"Great, now that's out of the way, let's tell him what he'll be doing to get these fuckers so I can go dafuq home. My kid's getting married. Did you assholes forget?"

"No, Lyon, we didn't forget. How could we? If you're not reminding us, the women are." The Mancini guy smirked.

"Your girl safe?" Lyon asked me."

"Yeah, I took her to a new place. I think some of your guys are with her and Char. I think she said her name is?"

"I don't wanna know. I want no part of that hoodoo bullshit. If they have so much power to do shit, they need to think up a way to keep this shithole from sinking into the ground."

I guess he really hates L.A.