Page 49 of Ryder

Both SUVs made the same stops. Ryder, Jagger, and Tripp were “in charge,” as they called it, of our vehicle, while Marek, Stone, Sully, Kaden, Addy and Riley rode in the other one. Thank goodness both trucks had third-row seating or we’d all be sitting on each other’s laps.

When we weren’t talking to our men, Kena, Reece and I chatted about the latest Hollywood gossip, doing our best to pass the long stints on the road. A few times I’d drifted off to sleep, then woke up only to find out that a measly twenty minutes had passed.

“Why didn’t we fly?” I asked fifteen hours into the drive, growing more agitated with each passing mile.

Jagger was driving, taking his turn at the wheel while Kena sat beside him in the passenger seat. Every time we got back in the vehicle after stopping, we were sitting next to someone new. Right then Ryder sat next to me, stroking my bare knee with his middle finger.

“Because we don’t want anyone knowing,” Tripp answered from behind me. He sat next to a sleeping Reece in the third row. I had no idea what he meant and I knew if I asked, one of them would only give me a vaguer answer. It simply wasn’t worth getting aggravated over. I was annoyed enough as it was. Tired and miserable, to be more precise.

“You know,” Ryder said, leaning close to whisper in my ear, “I would love to fingerfuck you right now.” His comment completely came out of left field, but I should’ve expected something, especially this long into the trip. Besides, he’d been rubbing my knee for the past fifteen minutes. “What do ya think?”

“Are you serious?” I whispered back, keeping my eyes forward so as not to draw attention from any of the other passengers.

“Why not?” His gripped my knee and tried to pull my legs apart. “I’ll make you come. Take your mind off being miserable.”

“I’m not—”

“Yeah you are, and I don’t blame ya.” He kissed my neck. “Let me do this for you,” he tempted, his fingers moving up the inside of my thigh. I clamped my legs closed before he reached the edge of my panties.

“Remove. Your. Hand.” I turned to face him and gave him a tight smile. “You’re not shoving your fingers inside me with Tripp and Jagger right next to us. Never mind that my sister is right there,” I said, pointing toward the passenger seat.

“Are you sure?” He smirked, but when my expression didn’t change, he removed his hand. “Fine, but I’m gonna fuck you so hard when we get to the club.” He didn’t say the last part quietly, both of his friends laughing out loud when they heard it, Kena turning around and smiling.

“Oh my God, Ryder!” I exclaimed. “How embarrassing.”

“Don’t worry about it, Braylen. I plan on putting one on your sister as well.”

“Ewwww.”

Kena at least had the decency to slap his arm, even though she kept the smile on her face.

“Yeah, Reece isn’t gonna be able to walk for a few days after I get done with her.” Tripp laughed, clasping Ryder’s shoulder in amusement. Good thing his woman was asleep; otherwise, she would’ve joined me in being mortified.

“Oh, please stop talking. All of you. Especially you, Jagger. Just . . . no.”

All three of them laughed harder. At least my humiliation helped to ease the rest of the trip for them.

Ryder

We pulled into the secluded clubhouse compound of our Laredo chapter, closing in on nine in the evening. After spending time with our women, we gathered with our brothers, everyone present and accounted for.

“So if any of you want to come back with us, we’d sure appreciate it,” Marek announced, sitting next to Salzar at the head of their meeting table. Jagger, Tripp, and Stone leaned against the nearest wall, next to me.

Salzar was one of the original members of this charter, a full head of white hair and a clean-shaven face making him look innocent. But anyone who knew the man knew the opposite was true. He was loyal as hell but as mean as they come, when driven to be so. He kind of reminded me of Cutter.

“I’ll go,” a man named Etch said, his long shaggy hair tied back into a low ponytail. He was older, probably mid-fifties. I’d known the guy for many years, and while he may be close to twenty years my senior, his reflexes were on point, especially with a blade.

“Count me in,” another said.

“Me too, Marek. Whatever you need.”

The last two were new to the charter, at least newer than two years, but I had no doubt Salzar wouldn’t have patched them in if they weren’t good men.

“I’m in as well,” Salzar offered, nodding toward Marek. “We’ve dealt with the Reapers here too, although this charter has nothing on Psych’s.

“Well, it’s a good thing we ain’t gotta deal with Psych anymore, isn’t it?” Stone asked, cocking his head to the side while a ghost of a smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

Marek grinned. It’d been a sweet victory for our president to finally end the life of the man who’d put his wife through hell her entire life. Every once in a while, when he’d mention a nightmare that Sully had—which weren’t as frequent anymore—or him not being able to completely push down his rage when he saw the scars that littered her skin, he said he wished that Psych was still tied up in our safe house’s basement so he could torture him all over again.

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