Chapter 28

chapter

twenty-eight

Izzy stared in shock at the cascade of notifications lighting up her phone. Mom. Dad. Her brothers. Sofia texted her a link to an article with a series of emojis and a WTF with lots of exclamations points. Lucia, ever pragmatic, just texted:

And he had the nerve to fire you.

Another text came in from Lucia, but Izzy ignored it and pocketed her phone. She had to find Rylan and Ash and warn them.

“I’ll be right back, buddy,” she told Noah and hurried from the room. Out in the hall, she found the deputy assigned to guard Noah but no Rylan. No Ash. No Special Agent Callahan. She asked at the nurse’s station if anyone had seen them and was pointed to a waiting room at the end of the hall. She found Rylan and Ash standing in the middle of the room, staring up at the TV bolted to one wall. Callahan was nowhere to be seen.

“What’s going on?”

Rylan glanced back at her with a grimace. Ash didn’t move. It barely looked like he was breathing. She moved to stand between them and looked up at the TV as AG Parker announced that his office was launching an investigation into the Lost County Sheriff’s Department.

Izzy’s stomach churned as Parker’s words echoed through the waiting room.

“In light of recent events and the mounting evidence of misconduct, we have no choice but to take immediate action. The people of Lost County deserve a sheriff’s department they can trust, one that upholds the law without bias or personal agenda. It is our duty to ensure that justice is served.”

An investigation into the sheriff’s department?

For corruption?

No. It was absurd. She knew Ash, knew the kind of man he was. He would never tolerate corruption, let alone participate in it. He’d spent the better part of the last few years weeding out anyone who carried even a whiff of suspicion. It was one of the reasons he’d given for firing her, even though it had hurt him to do so.

Ash’s gaze was fixed on the screen like he was contemplating launching himself through it and throttling Parker with his bare hands. “That fucking hypocrite.”

“This is insane,” Izzy said, shaking her head in disbelief. “Ash, you know this is all bullshit, right? You’ve done more for this town than anyone.”

Ash remained silent, his jaw clenched so tightly that Izzy thought his teeth might shatter. Rylan placed a hand on his shoulder, but Ash shrugged it off.

“I need to get back to the station,” he growled, his voice tight with barely contained rage. “I have to get ahead of this before it spirals out of control.”

His phone started ringing, and he snapped it up as he strode out.

She swung around to face Rylan. “Monica’s boss shows up when she goes missing, and now this? It isn’t a coincidence. Parker’s involved in this somehow, and now he’s trying to cover his tracks by discrediting Ash.”

“He’s been gunning for Ash for years. It’s possible he’s just using this situation to push his own agenda.”

“Do you believe that?”

Rylan sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. “No, I don’t. Something about this whole thing stinks. But proving it...” He shook his head. “Parker’s a slippery bastard. If he’s involved, he’ll have covered his tracks. We’ll need to find concrete proof of a connection between him and Julian Graves.”

“We’ll need Sawyer’s help.”

Rylan winced but didn’t deny it. He cupped her cheek in his palm and smoothed his thumb over her frown, then lowered his lips to hers.

The kiss surprised her. Not because Rylan was kissing her in public, but because of the tenderness in it, the way his lips moved softly over hers like he was trying to soothe the worry from her mind.

When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers. “Okay, look. Noah needs you here, so I’ll talk to Sawyer. I owe him an apology anyway.”

She reached up to tangle her fingers in his hair and bring his lips back to hers. Memories of last night, of his mouth on her, his cock buried deep between her legs as they lost themselves in each other, sent heat rocketing through her. God, she wished they’d had more time together before reality intruded. She deepened the kiss, wanting to lose herself in him again, wanting to forget, just for a moment, the chaos swirling around them.

Rylan’s arms tightened around her, pulling her flush against his chest as he took control of the kiss. His tongue swept into her mouth, tangling with hers in a sensual dance that sent heat spiraling through her core.

A throat cleared behind them, and they broke apart, turning to find…

Her entire family.

Oh. God.

Papá and her brothers looked like they wanted to be anywhere else. Mama wore a knowing smirk that she was trying hard to hide, while Abuela was openly grinning. Sofia was giggling. Lucia, dressed for work in her scrubs, crossed her arms over her chest and eyed Rylan like she was sizing him up and finding him lacking.

“When I got to work this morning, I heard Noah was here,” Lucia said and motioned to their family. “So I called in reinforcements. Like you should’ve done.”

Their mother sent Lucia a narrow-eyed look. She rarely had to raise her voice because that look was always enough to get her children to behave.

Lucia sighed, but her tone changed when she asked, “How is he?”

“He’s okay. A little dehydrated, but he’ll probably be discharged today…” Izzy trailed off as she realized he had nowhere to go.

“Of course, he will stay with us until Monica is found,” Mamá said as if it was never a question.

Tears rushed into Izzy’s eyes.

God, she loved them.

Abuela stepped forward, her smile equal parts warm and mischievous. “Isa, mija, introduce us to your guapo young man.”

Izzy felt heat rise to her cheeks as she realized she’d never formally introduced Rylan to her family. They all knew who he was, of course, but still. She cleared her throat. “Um, everyone, this is Rylan Cross. Rylan, this is my mother, Marisol; my father, Javier; my Abuela Ramona; and my siblings, Mateo, Lucia, Diego, and Sofia.”

Rylan greeted each of them with a respectful nod. When he reached Sofia, he gave her a conspiratorial wink that made her giggle.

“Mr. Delgado, sir,” Rylan said, reaching out his non-metal hand to shake her dad’s. He was composed, his posture soldier-straight, but she noticed the faint blush of embarrassment staining his cheeks under his beard.

Was he embarrassed because he’d been caught with his tongue down her throat? Or because they had both rushed out of the house so fast, they hadn’t showered and looked like they’d spent the night tangled up in each other?

Izzy couldn’t tell, and the thought sent another wave of now-uncomfortable heat coursing through her veins. She wished she could disappear into the floor as her family appraised Rylan like he was a freshly caught fish at the market, so she couldn’t imagine how he felt.

Papá shook Rylan’s hand firmly, holding his gaze for a long moment before offering a small nod of approval. “Please, call me Javier. It’s good to finally meet you properly, Rylan.”

Rylan’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Thank you, sir—Javier.”

Mamá stepped forward, her eyes sparkling with warmth. “Rylan, it’s wonderful to meet you. We’ve heard so much about you from Izzy.” She reached out and patted his arm. “You must come for dinner soon. I insist.”

Rylan’s eyes widened slightly, caught off guard by the invitation. “I... Thank you, Mrs. Delgado. That’s very kind of you.”

“Marisol, please,” Izzy’s mother corrected gently. “And it’s no trouble at all. We’d love to have you.”

“So we can grill you about your intentions toward my sister,” Diego said and draped an arm over Izzy’s shoulders, giving her a hard squeeze. Izzy knew he was only half joking.

Warmth and anxiety swirled in her belly at the idea of Rylan sitting down to dinner with her boisterous family. It somehow both thrilled and terrified her.

“Mamá,” she started, not sure if she was going to protest or agree.

But before she could decide, Rylan’s hand found hers. He squeezed her fingers in silent reassurance. “I’d be honored.”

“Perfect! I expect you on Friday then.”

“Mamá—”

Her mother didn’t give her a chance to protest further. “Now, why don’t you take us to Noah’s room, mija? He needs family now.”

Izzy nodded, grateful for the chance to escape the awkwardness. “He’s just down the hall.”

As they filed out of the waiting room, Rylan caught Izzy’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I should head out. I’ll call you later, okay?”

She nodded, her chest tightening at the thought of him leaving. If Noah’s account of events was accurate, then not only did someone try to kill Rylan, but they’d held him captive for two days and interrogated him. She knew a drunken fall couldn’t have put all of those bruises on him. She’d known it, but everyone else believed he had fallen so far off the wagon that he’d intentionally hurt himself, and she’d gone along with it, afraid to cause waves.

But she was done with that. She was done with worrying about whether people liked her or trusted her. The people who mattered did, and that was all the approval she needed.

And she was done making herself small out of guilt for a choice that she would absolutely make again.

From now on, when her gut told her something was not right, she was making waves. Hell, she would be a fucking tsunami.

She touched the fading black eye. “Please be careful.”

Rylan’s eyes softened. He leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I will. You too, okay? Stay alert.”

Izzy watched him go, anxiety churning in her gut. She wanted to go with him, to have his back. But Noah needed her here. And her family...

She turned back to find them all watching her with varying degrees of curiosity and concern.

“So...” Sofia said, breaking the silence, and looped an arm through Izzy’s. She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. “That’s Rylan, huh?”

Izzy rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a small smile. “Yes, that’s Rylan.”

“Sis, you were not lying when you told me about him this summer. He’s even hotter in person. Those shoulders! And that jawline?—“

“Body like that, I bet he’s excellent in bed,” Abuela said, earning a horrified “Mamá!” from her son.

Abuela tsked, shaking a finger at Javier, chiding him like he was still just a boy instead of a nearly sixty-year-old man. “What? You think because I’m old and a widow, I can’t still appreciate sex? How do you think you got here, nino? It wasn’t immaculate conception, I’ll tell you that.”

“Ugh,” Diego said and made exaggerated gagging noises that earned him a smack across the back of his head from Mateo, even though Mateo looked just as disgusted.

Izzy laughed and looped her other arm through her grandmother’s. “I’m really glad you’re all here.”

“Where else would we be?” Abuela asked and squeezed her arm. “La familia es lo primero.”

“And Noah is family in all ways but blood,” Mamá added. “Now, let’s go take care of our boy.”

La familia es lo primero.

Family comes first.

It had been their family mantra for as long as she could remember. It was both comforting and suffocating at times. But right now, with everything falling apart around her, it was exactly what she needed.