Page 14 of Without Fail

The house had been filled with FBI agents and beefed-up security from Cobalt and Suwan.

It suddenly became too fucking hard to breathe and all he wanted was to escape pitying looks and stares. A few people murmured condolences…as if he’d fucking died.

He made it to the parking garage located beneath the house and slipped behind the wheel of the silver Porsche and pressed his finger to the ignition. The passenger door opened and Marshal suddenly slid into the passenger seat. The man’s big body took up a lot of room, making the inside of the car feel smaller.

Ryker clenched his teeth and squeezed both hands on the steering wheel.

He stared out the windshield, waiting for Marshal to forbid him from leaving. It wasn’t like he could shove the man from the car. From under his lashes, Ryker glanced over without turning his head.

Marshal calmly put his seatbelt on and leaned back in the seat. Ryker put the car in drive and peeled out of the driveway, leaving marks on the cement driveway that would take maintenance a while to remove. He was just keeping peopleemployed, he reasoned, and hit the gate opener on the sun shade.

The car fit through the gate with only an inch to spare on each side and he took the corner onto the street. The tires squealed again, but beneath his hands, the Porsche flew. When he hit the main road just off of Langston property, he slowed. There was a school zone ahead.

“Where are we going?”

“I promised Cohen I’d visit Light Bright. So, today is that day,” Ryker mumbled, taking the onramp to the freeway.

Light Bright was Cohen Armani’s baby. The newly formed institution assisted children and families in need and Cohen had built the facility a few months prior.

“I’m meeting Hailey there,” he said, not that he owed Marshal any explanation about his private life, but he didn’t need the man making things difficult. For some reason, Marshal didn’t like Hailey and the feeling was mutual. It was better all the way around if the two kept their distance from each other.

Only, today it would not be possible. Hopefully, the presence of Cohen, Jennifer, and Paige would keep a lid on any open animosity.

The place was a noise fest when he walked through the door with Marshal at his side.

Several pairs of eyes glanced their way and more than one pair focused on Marshal, who wore a black felt cowboy hat. The man’s closely cropped beard and chiseled features were shadowed by the brim, giving Marshal an air of mystery. That and the light tan suede duster coat that reached the top of theman’s knees along with scuffed biker boots had several pairs of eyes lingering appreciatively.

Several feet inside of the entrance, Ryker found Hailey along with her two bodyguards. She wore a pristine white pantsuit and she looked like a million bucks.

Her face lit up when she spotted him, but the smile faltered when she noticed Marshal. When she reached him, Ryker slightly pulled down the standard surgical face mask and offered her his unscarred cheek. She kissed it before slipping her arm through his.

Ryker pulled the mask back up to cover his nose and mouth—it wouldn’t hide all of his scars, but most of them would be covered and would avoid scaring the children.

“Over here!” Jennifer shouted and waived from a table of arts and crafts.

Hailey groaned, but Ryker pretended not to notice and made his way over to the table.

“Grab something to fix or fasten together,” Jennifer said, squirting glue on one side of a colorful popsicle stick. She handed it to a little girl about nine years old, who pressed it down onto a partially completed stick house.

Ryker couldn’t remember a time he’d played with anything remotely like the stuff they had here. His childhood had been lonely and filled with books and mostly online games. He wanted to try putting together an airplane and lifted one of several packages.

“What are you doing?” Hailey huffed under her breath and Ryker shot her a quick look. Disdain filled her face and she grimaced when a running child accidentally bumped into her. He didn’t realize she had such an aversion to children. Or maybe it was people in general. She came from old money and power and she took snobbish to a whole other level.

He slowly placed the package back on the table and slipped his hands inside of his slacks. He’d overdressed, but this was the first time he’d been there.

Marshal reached past him and plucked the airplane package off the table and Ryker shot the man a curious glance.

He almost squeaked when Marshal unlatched Hailey from his arm and grabbed his hand. When Marshal pulled him through the crush of kids and adults, Ryker had no choice but to follow.

“Ryker!” Hailey called out, trying to maneuver through the crowd without actually touching anyone. Which was nearly impossible.

Marshal didn’t give him a chance to stop.

Giddy, he felt like a kid when Marshal pulled him through an open doorway and into what looked to be a supply closet. Flipping the lights off, he found himself crowded up against a stack of supplies with Marshal’s big body crowding him.

With a pounding heart, Ryker gripped the shirt at Marshal’s sides and held his breath. The clean scent of body soap swept over him and he slowly filled his lungs.

High-heeled shoes marched past and Ryker tried to stifle a laugh. Marshal pressed a hand against his mouth and Ryker puckered his lips against the man’s palm, the mask thin enough for him to notice.

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