Page 113 of Ivory's Ruin Romance

The door opened before they rang the bell, and Riley ushered them in while Raptor yelled a greeting from the kitchen.

“Ooh, look at you,” his sister said, already fawning over Ivory. “Making that wind-blown biker hair look sexy! Don’t worry, I’m serious. There’s nothing to fix.” Ivory tucked a strand of hair behind her ear while Riley shot him a pointed look, her own glossy hair falling in natural waves to her waist. “Please don’t tell me you’ve been dragging her around on that bike all winter. This is the first good day we’ve had, and she’s already a natural.”

He stared back, unamused. Ivory got a compliment and he got an accusation? But he’d expected no less. “Nice to see you too, sis. What else am I supposed to use, a car that I’ll never drive?”

“Well, you’d drive it now,” she shot back. “Women need to have some creature comforts, unlike men who think the rougher and tougher, the better.”

“I heard that,” Raptor shouted from the kitchen.

Something sizzled in the background, and mouth-watering spices wafted through the air. It smelled like his mom’s recipe.

“You know tougher is better,” Raptor added.

Ivory laughed, then spoke with a faint blush. “I really don’t mind the bike. I admit I was terrified at first, but it’s growing on me. You ride, too, right?”

Riley’s grin stretched from ear to ear. She’d heard the magic words. “You bet I do. Wanna see my beauty? And I don’t mean just in looks, but those, too. Just wait until it gets dark. I have pink LEDs under the frame.”

Ivory glanced over, and he kissed her on the top of the head before Riley could whisk her away. “Go have fun.”

His own smile appeared as she gave him an apologetic wave. From the moment they’d been invited over, he knew this would be inevitable. Riley may have been able to whip a room full of bikers into shape all by herself, but the prospect of adding another woman to their ranks had his sister acting like a kid again—she’d always been the first to make new friends and wasted no time showing off whatever she thought was cool at the time.

Ivory would have fun, though. He didn’t need to question whether Riley would give her enough space while providing a warm welcome. Some one-on-one time would benefit them both.

He ventured into the kitchen, hoping Raptor had improved at cooking since they were teenagers. “You’re in charge of food tonight?”

A laugh filled the room, and Raptor stepped away from the stove to pull Adrian in for a proper greeting. “Wouldn’t that be something,” he replied. “No, Riley did all the prep work. I’m just following instructions at this point.”

“Any word from Cortez?” Adrian asked, taking a seat at the table.

“Two weeks, Friday night.” Raptor returned to his post by the steaming pot. “At the abandoned factory out by old town. The Dragons agreed to all the terms, so looks like it’ll be a fair fight.”

Adrian breathed out in relief. “Good. Two weeks then.”

“Yep,” Raptor agreed, pausing for a beat. “Listen, man, I don’t need to know why you went after Jace, and I’m not asking…but whatever you got on him and the Dragons, is this gonna solve it?”

Adrian looked down at the table and flexed his hands. Scratches marred the shine on his gold rings, unlike the polished silver ring that connected the Yu’s to his father.

Closure was a fickle thing. For so many years, the hole in his life had felt so large, an impossible void that could only be filled with sin of equal magnitude—but then it was eclipsed by something, or someone, even greater. Figuring out who killed his father would only be valuable if it meant he could keep his family from further harm, and that meant not putting them in more danger.

“Yeah,” he finally replied, looking up at Raptor as he closed his fist. “I figured out who my enemy is, but that doesn't mean I’ll become them. Better to preserve life than take it.”

The corner of Raptor’s lips turned up as he nodded. “Can’t disagree, and you gotta a helluva lot that’s worth preservin’.”

“Sure do,” Adrian agreed.

They fell into a short silence, his stomach grumbling as the food continued to simmer.

“She ready for all this?” Raptor asked. “Ya know your girl’s gonna want to be there, right?”

Adrian felt himself tense before he registered his reaction. The thought of Ivory anywhere near a gang fight put him on edge, but Raptor was right. She’d want to be there, and he had no right to stop her.

“You letting Riley come?” he asked instead of answering.

Raptor sighed. “I’d never let Riley come under the circumstances. But if she listens to me, that’ll be a first. All I can do is make sure my guys stay close enough to get her the hell out if shit blows up.”

Before they could continue, both women barged back inside through the garage door. Riley had the same wicked grin plastered on her face, and Ivory trailed close behind, holding a purple bandana and looking much more relaxed than when she first arrived.

“I swear, if you don’t keep this one, I’m adopting her,” Riley announced as she took a seat across the table.

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