Page 23 of Ryder

I pulled her close and kissed her temple over and over. “It’s okay. No one is gonna hurt you or your sister. I promise.” I heard some of the guys mumbling something to each other, but I wasn’t about to leave Braylen’s side to find out what. Not right then.

Ten minutes later, Jagger and Kena finally arrived at the club, rushing through the door because they knew Marek had meant business when he called.

“What’s going on,” Jagger asked, looking all around and waiting for someone to fill him in.

“Braylen was attacked,” Adelaide blurted, looking at Kena specifically when she said it.

Right away, Kena raced forward and sat on the other side of her sister.Are you okay? What happened?She didn’t even wait for Braylen to answer before she was hugging her so tightly I thought they’d never separate. But they finally did.

“I’m fine now. I’m just worried about you,” she confessed, pulling Kena in for another hug. When they finally broke apart for the second time, Braylen looked up at Jagger. “Please make sure you don’t let anything happen to her. Stay glued to her side if you have to. Please, Jagger,” she begged, more tears welling in her eyes as she pleaded with him to keep her little sister safe.

“You have my word. Nothing will ever happen to her.”

In reality, none of us could keep our women safe, not 100 percent, no matter how much we wanted. Not unless we had a . . .

“We need to go on lockdown, Prez,” I yelled, standing and walking toward him with purpose. “Enough is enough. We need to find out who the fuck keeps threatening us.”

“We know who keeps doing it,” Hawke said, walking right up to us. “And the bastard Braylen described sounds exactly like one of the guys who attacked Edana.” His posture went rigid, the look in his eyes one of determination. “Do you know how lucky your woman is, Ryder?”

I did, but I wanted to be sure Braylen wasn’t leaving anything out, no matter how difficult it was to tell me. Spinning around, I was back next to her in three long strides. “Did anything else happen? Did he . . . ?” She knew what I meant and shook her head. “You can tell me.” Even as I said the words, I had no idea what I’d do if I found out she’d suffered the same fate as Edana.

“No, nothing like that.”

I thought someone was gonna put up a fight about my demand for a lockdown, but all of my brothers simply nodded.

“Okay,” Marek agreed. “We go on lockdown till we can find ’em.”

I should’ve been relieved. I should’ve been happy that Braylen would be at the clubhouse safe and sound, but I wasn’t. Not entirely. Yes, she would be safe under our constant watch, but because we had to go in search of the bastards threatening our club, and our families, we were sure to get bloody.

Braylen

Ryder explained what a lockdown meant, and while my initial reaction would’ve been to reject such a thing, I was only too happy to stay at the club until they sorted everything out. “Eliminated the threat,” as Jagger so casually stated. I wasn’t sure what that meant exactly, and I didn’t think I wanted to.

The guys had taken Kena and me back to our place to pack a bag, enough for a week’s stay. They said it shouldn’t take any longer than that. Once back at the club, Ryder showed me to his room, placing my bag on the chair and pulling me in for a hug. I knew he was upset about what happened to me, but the one good thing that came out of it was that he seemed to be showing more of an affectionate side. A more tender side, to be more precise. Maybe it took an incident so drastic to finally make him realize that his feelings toward me might be more than what he wanted to let on.

No matter how tired I was, I just couldn’t fall asleep. Ryder told me that he had to leave for a bit but would be back as soon as he could. He wouldn’t tell me where he was going, other than that it was club business, but he assured me he wouldn’t be in any danger. I wasn’t so sure I believed him.

After another half hour of restlessness, I gave up, pushed off the covers and left his room, walking toward the front part of the club where a few of the members were still gathered, straddling the barstools and throwing back shot after shot.

It was close to eleven at night, and I had a feeling these guys were just starting their evening. Kena and Jagger weren’t present, so I assumed they were in his room. My anxiety had started to come back, thinking about my sister being in danger, when Sully came striding out from the kitchen. I hadn’t seen her in some time, and she was certainly welcome company.

“Hey, Braylen,” she greeted. “How are you holding up?” Ryder had told me a few things about Sully’s past, and I thought she was the bravest woman I knew. Surely the club’s lockdown was nothing compared to what she’d been through.

“I’m all right, I suppose. Just worried, ya know?”

She gestured toward the couch, and I followed, sitting next to her and smiling at her genuine kindness.

“Try not to fret too much. The men will handle it.” She sounded so sure. “They’ll die before they let anything happen to us.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I whispered.

“Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have put it like that.” Sully shot me an apologetic smile, patting my hand before leaning back against the sofa. Her dark eyes roamed over the space of the common area, smiling while watching the mundane task of men drinking and talking. Looking back toward me, she said, “You probably think I’m crazy for smiling, but I’m still getting used to this life.”

“But I thought you’ve been with them for quite some time now.”

“I have, and while it was a little bumpy in the beginning between Cole and me, the entire club has always treated me well. I constantly waited for the other shoe to drop, but it never did. Not with them.” Her smile was infectious, and I soon find myself mirroring her expression. “So tell me, how are things with you and Ryder?”

“Bumpy.” We both chuckled at my word choice, but it fit perfectly. I caught glimpses of another side of Ryder, but just when I thought he’d show me more, he’d throw those walls back up. It was frustrating, to say the least.

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