Page 63 of Locked Down

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.“Please, don’t go out of your way. I’m all good.”Her voice was icy. He’d used her. They’d used her. Manipulated her. And she’d fallen for it like the fool she was.“Get out,”she said.

Ryker had just finished pulling on his shoes.“What?”

“Get the fuck out of my place, Ryker. Right fucking now!”She pointed towards the front door.

He opened his mouth as if to say something but shrugged and walked out. The moment she heard the door close, she let out a loud yell. That fucking asshole! She closed her eyes and heat filled her cheeks. She’d let him fuck her and she’d loved it and the whole time he was using her. Laughing at her probably. It was so fucking humiliating.

She put her hands over her face and then immediately took them away. They smelled like Ryker.Shesmelled like Ryker. She needed a shower right now. After she washed away any lingering scent of him on her body, she would clean her place, erasing any trace of him. She swiped a hand under her eyes, hating that it came away wet. She wasn’t going to cry about that bastard.

The countdown was on. Less than two weeks and she was gone for good. She would leave this city in her rearview mirror and never look back. Ryker could go fuck himself because there was no damn way she was helping now. She wouldn’t tell her uncle what was going on. The truth was she didn’t think he would be good in such a powerful position, but Ryker and his crew would have to figure out that shit for themselves. She wanted no part of it. She was done being anyone’s doormat. Her life was her own and it was about damn time she started living itherway.

TWENTY-SIX

“What do you want me to do?”Ryker asked. He was standing against the back wall at yet another event. Davis was chatting with an ever-growing circle of Washington power players. Word had gotten out that Davis was being tapped for something important. From what Ryker could gather, no one knew exactly what yet, but rumors were flying.

“I need you to come with me to meet Bullard Whiklow,”Archer said.

Ryker froze. In all his time with the Society, Archer had never asked him to attend a meeting with him. Not once. His shoulders knotted.“May I ask why?”

Archer remained silent for a beat.“If you are present there’s less chance of me or Whiklow killing each other. To say we have an uneasy truce is an understatement. I dislike the man intensely. I find myself on edge in the current situation, and if Whiklow annoys me I might just lose control and snap his neck. It would not be a first for me.”

Ryker understood immediately. He felt the same way these days. Like he was walking a tightrope, and one little thing could force him over the edge. For him, it had been a daily dance not to kill Davis. He’d imagined becoming the angel of death so many times and in so many different ways. He’d hit the point where it was easy to be farcical about it. He could push Davis out of an airplane without a parachute or feed him to sharks. He’d even envisioned drawing and quartering him, a la Braveheart. Or dropping an anvil on the man’s head, like he was a coyote killing the roadrunner. Dreaming up creative ways to kill Austin Davis had kept him amused.

“Of course I’ll be there. Let me know the time and place.”

Archer seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, which Ryker found weird. He didn’t like this newly human Archer. Nothing could have prepared any of the team for that. The man had always been a cold, calculating, and deadly leader. Not once did Ryker ever consider Archer the man. And he wasn’t about to start he decided.

“Two hours. The Vietnam Memorial.”Archer clicked off the call.

Ryker dropped his phone back into his pocket. No wonder Archer wanted Ryker to stop him from doing something stupid. If he killed Whiklow at the popular monument someone would see him. Hell, it would probably be on video and that would be hard to erase, although not impossible.

He surveyed the room. Yup, a definite energy of something brewing hung in the air and they all knew it. They hovered around Davis like demonic acolytes. Everyone wants to be close to the sun.Careful or you will get burned.No one emerges from Davis’s sphere unscathed.

He glanced at his watch. He had to leave now if he was going to get the Senator home and then back to the National Mall on time. Ryker took one more glance around the room. He’d been hoping Vic would be there. Davis had said she might make this event if she could fit it in her schedule. She was busy with the party preparations, and it was only a couple of days away.

Ryker gave himself a mental shake. He had to let it go. Lethergo. His work was not designed to allow space for a woman in his life. At least not one whom he could build a relationship with. If Vic had been the type of woman who was just up for a booty call at odd hours, he’d be all in, but she wasn’t. If he were being honest, he’d admit he didn’t want that type of relationship with Vic. No, he wanted her as his and his only. He wanted to build something with her. Something more permanent. That just couldn’t happen. So he’d burned it down. Made her hate him. For real this time.

It had taken work to get her to wake up without her realizing he’d done it on purpose. He’d set the whole scene and spun the facts to make her think he was a complete jerk. If he’d left the door open even a tiny bit, he’d come charging back through and that wouldn’t help anyone. Vic was his weakness and he needed to be invulnerable.

She was better off without him. She’d said it herself. She was heading to Texas and there was nothing in Washington she wanted. She needed to run her own life and do her own thing. He wanted that for her. He knew she’d be amazing at whatever she chose to do. He just didn’t want to know if she was doing anything with another man. If he found out she was sleeping with another guy, he’d kill the guy on the spot, no question. It was a damn good thing she was leaving town or, more likely than not, he’d end up in prison.

As he moved toward Davis, he mentally apologized to his mom and grandma for the coarse direction of his thoughts. A sure tell that his frustration level was rising was the increasing frequency of his mental and verbal curses.

“Senator,”he spoke as he approached the group.“Apologies for the interruption. You have the other event this evening. It’s time to go.”

Davis shot him a frown but then he smiled.“Of course.”He turned back to the crowd.“Sorry, must run. I look forward to seeing all of you on Saturday evening.”He gave a small bow and followed Ryker out of the room.

“Thank you for saving me from that crowd,”Davis said as Tony drove them back to the Senator’s house. Ryker sat in the front passenger seat and watched the mirrors.

The Senator continued.“It does get a little tiring being the center of so much attention.”

Ryker bit his tongue as he and Tony exchanged a quick glance.“Senator, do you have any other plans for the evening?”The whole other event had been a ruse. Davis told Ryker to come get him at a certain time so he could leave with everyone still wanting more. It was all such a load of hogwash. Ryker did as he was told, but he’d decided after all this was over, he was taking a vacation somewhere far, far away. Archer owed him big time.

“No, I’ve got work to do. Floyd and I will get Martha to whip something up for us. I think Marilee and Vic will be there as well.”

Ryker didn’t react. Davis had been doing this for the last week. Dropping hints about Vic. Ryker suspected that Davis thought there was something between Ryker and Vic. That made him more determined to not show any reaction. He didn’t want to be the cause of any more issues in Vic’s life.

They pulled into the driveway and the Senator hopped out. Ryker gave Tony some instructions and also posted some more on the group chat. He didn’t bother to even enter the house. As much as he wanted to see Vic, wanted to know for himself that she was okay, he knew it was better for both of them if he kept his distance. He commandeered one of the fleet of SUVs and headed back downtown.

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