Page 3 of Ryder

“Good, ’cause you’re up tonight.”

“For what?” I racked my brain to try and figure out what he was talkin’ about, but I came up short.

“Jagger’s fight. It’s you and me, brother.” A slight smile curved up the corners of Tripp’s mouth, trying his best to lighten my darkened mood. The nomad knew I had secrets, a mistakenly shared word here and there during our convos, but he had no idea what I’d been through before becoming a part of the club. None of them did, and that was how I wanted to keep it. I didn’t need anyone’s sympathy or pity. That would only make it worse.

“Fine,” I agreed, sidestepping his large frame. “Send me the time and location,” I shouted over my shoulder as I approached the door to leave.

Straddling my bike and kicking over the engine, I couldn’t help but be annoyed at the fact that I had to attend Jagger’s fight that evening, simply because I wasn’t in the mood. But before I let the thought rattle me too much, I remembered there was a good chance Braylen would be there, seeing as her sister, Kena, was Jagger’s woman. And far be it from Braylen to let her little sister out of her sight for too long.

Braylen

The last thing I wanted to do was attend Jagger’s fight with Kena, but I hated leaving her alone, even though I knew at least two of the other guys from the club would be there, protecting Jagger and his winnings, even though Jagger could take out anyone who challenged him. There was more to their show of support, and while I didn’t know the full story, I knew it was serious. Something coded spoken once about the Savage Reapers.

Ryder and Jagger sheltered my sister and me as much as they could, which sometimes seemed a bit too much. I fought Ryder when he made ridiculous demands, but somehow he always won. It was quite infuriating, to say the least.

Usually I was the last person who would shrink away from confrontation, but I’d been deliberately avoiding him. Well, his phone calls, to be more precise. Surprisingly he hadn’t shown up at the salon where I worked, giving me time and space instead. And while I had no idea whether or not he’d be at the fight that evening, chances were good that he would be.

Why don’t you wear this?Kena signed, a tentative smile on her beautiful face while she waited to see if I’d give her any sort of resistance.

My younger sister had developed a viral infection when she was an infant, damaging the nerves in her larynx which prohibited her from ever speaking a single word. My family had learned sign language, even though many times we chose to speak since she could hear us.

“I’m really not up to going. I’m tired,” I lied, walking past her to grab my cell from the charging dock. Checking to see if I had any messages, even though I wouldn’t respond even if Ryder had contacted me, I busied myself unlocking the device. I kept my head down since that was a surefire way of avoiding my sister.

Strands of my blonde hair flew around me as fabric suddenly covered my vision. Swiping at the material, I realized it was the top Kena had just presented to me. The bitch had thrown it at me. Normally my sister was docile, but apparently not then.

“What the hell?”

Stop avoiding him. Besides, don’t you want to make sure nothing happens to me?The smirk on her face told me she knew damn well what she was doing—drawing on my need to perpetually keep her safe. Normally, Kena hated my overbearing ways, but right then she played on my fears that something would happen to her if I wasn’t around to protect her. My fears weren’t all that irrational, however. It wasn’t long ago that she’d been kidnapped right along with Adelaide, the VP’s woman. They’d been taken by the Reapers but thankfully had been retrieved unharmed, except for some physical bruising. The mental aspect of the incident, however, was something my sister chose to keep to herself, even with all of my incessant prodding.

“I’m not avoiding him. I’ve just been busy.” I saw from the quirk of her manicured brow that she didn’t believe one word of my careless untruth. “I’m not,” I repeatedly lied.

I’d told her about what happened with Ryder, how he’d held me down while trapped inside some crazy nightmare, essentially scaring me half to death in the process. While she’d been concerned about me, she’d also been worried about Ryder. Kena had become fond of the brooding man, explaining that any guy who could periodically render me speechless had to be someone special indeed.

You and I both know you’re hiding from him, but if you really don’t wanna go tonight, then don’t. I’m sure I’ll be fine.She pouted, telling me she didn’t want to go by herself, for whatever reason.

After several very long seconds, I relented. “Fine, I’ll go, but I’m not gonna enjoy myself.”

We’ll see about that.

“I guess we will,” I mumbled, more to myself than anything.

After I finally finished dressing, I glanced at my reflection in the mirror, making sure I looked appropriate enough for public view. I wasn’t vain by any means, but I did care about how I looked when I stepped outside. My highlighted tresses fell just below my shoulder blades in soft waves. As far as my makeup went, I chose to keep it simple with two coats of mascara and a lightly tinted lip gloss.

You look great. Dressing up for anyone in particular?Kena teased, plopping down on the edge of my bed.

“What are you talking about? I’m not wearing anything special.” Looking down, I was confused as to why she thought I’d put any extra effort into the clothes I’d chosen. A simple black tank top that scooped low in front to show a bit of cleavage, paired with my favorite dark skinny jeans and my go-to red heels were oceans away from being special. While I believed I looked good, my outfit wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

My sister smiled wide. She loved to get me going, probably paying me back for all the times I aggravated her. Ours was a special sisterly relationship, both of us caring for the other deeply. But there were times, like right then, when one of us couldn’t help but razz the other. It was all done in good fun, so I smiled back and released most of the tension pent-up inside me.

“You look nice too,” I said, playfully shoving her shoulder as we walked toward the front door. Holding my phone tightly, I chanced a look at the screen once more before the night air hit me.

Ryder

The smell of body odor, piss, and cheap cologne drifted to my nose as I positioned myself against the farthest wall, waiting for Jagger to emerge from the back room. His impending bout started in five minutes, the screams and shouts from numerous groupies making my ears ring they were so damn excited.

Surprisingly Kena and Braylen hadn’t arrived yet, an odd fact since Jagger told me they were coming. I hadn’t asked him—he’d volunteered the information, mumbling something about some goddamn look on my face, how it was sad and pathetic. I’d ignored him, choosing to focus on what would happen once I saw Braylen. Would she continue to ignore me? Would I ignore her in turn?

Shaking my head to rid my brain of the back and forth, I lifted my chin toward Tripp when I saw him enter. A few strides and he’d sidled up next to me.

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