Page 47 of Ryker

“That’s a good boy.” Ryker lifts Garret off the floor with his suit jacket. My stepbrother has never looked so scared, disheveled, and pissed off before. It makes me want to take a step back, but I can’t since I’m already against a damn wall. “Now what do we say?”

Garret glowers at me.

I roll my shoulders and take back a little of my power. “Yes. What do you have to say to me?”

Never mind how my knees wobble. I’m just glad my voice is still steady.

“Sorry,” Garret spits out.

Ryker manhandles him out of the lobby like he’s taking out the trash. Shoving him through the glass doors, he says something I can’t make out, and then calmly turns around and stalks back to me again. “Are you okay?”

Yes. No.

“I’m fine.”

His jaw clenches as he stares at my neck.

“I…” It’s like the world stopped spinning. “Can I go up to my place for a minute?”

I don’t know why I’m even asking permission. Ryker’s not my master, not outside the club. But when he nods, I can’t describe the relief it gives me. I click the button, calling the elevator and hate how my hands shake.

Holy shit. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. This is bad. All of this is so bad. Garret will retaliate, and I have no clue how I’m going to handle it.

And how did Ryker get here so fast?

The silence is deafening on the ride to the seventh floor. When the elevator doors open, we both step into my living room.

I gave Garret the code to my place a couple months ago because I needed him to swing by and pick up paperwork for our father while I was away on a business trip. I never bothered to change the code afterwards, but I do now. God, the thought of him coming here whenever he wants sends shivers down my spine.

There was absolutely no reason for that asshole to show up here today. He doesn’t care about me, and he definitely wouldn’t give a shit about that Greene Street property. Still trembling, I reset the passcode while Ryker watches from a short distance away. He’s not speaking. Then again, neither am I. What’s there to say?

Jesus, I can’t believe just a few short hours ago I was having some of the best orgasms of my life and now here I am, my throat sore from being squeezed, my nerves shot, and my anger simmering in my belly.

“Who was that man, Tara?”

I don’t owe him answers and I didn’t ask him to step in and save me just now—even though I’ll be forever grateful that he did. “I’m guessing your club isn’t burning down.”

“There was a small fire in one of the bedrooms from a fucking candle. It’s being handled.” With arms crossed over his chest, he glowers. “Who is he?”

“No one that concerns you.”

“It very much concerns me.” He blocks my way again. “You’re mine for the next twenty-eight days.”

He’s counting? Anger simmers under my skin like hot coals. “I’m not something that can be owned.”

“Yes, you are.” Ryker steps in my way again, his hand outstretched like he wants to touch me, or grab me, or hold me down, or I don’t even know what because I can’t see past my tears. “You’re mine to pleasure,” he says in a softer tone. “And mine to take care of.”

My chest cracks open, letting my heart plop out between our feet. Sure, I’m his for the next twenty-eight days, but not past that. Coming home for two seconds is a harsh reminder of what I have to look forward to when I’m no longer the Butterfly.

I’m just so grateful Ryker showed up when he did to stop Garret this time. I’m not even going to ask how he got here so fast, or how the hell he even knew where I lived. Knowing Ryker, he probably has a tracker in his car and my damn address memorized.

Ryker tips my chin, his brow furrowing as our gazes collide. “Who is he, Tara?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because I want to know who I’m planning to murder.” He looks serious. “But really his name doesn’t matter. I just want to know who he is to you, so I know exactly how fucking brutal I should be when I get my hands on him again.”

My chin trembles. I almost confess everything I’ve kept inside since I was twelve. Then survival mode kicks in and I toughen back up. “He’s not worth the prison sentence.” I brush past Ryker and go into my room, shutting myself inside until I calm the hell down.

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