Page 35 of Savage Loyalty

“It’s not like that,” I snapped, but the words sounded weak even to me.

Leah’s face hardened, her arms crossing over her chest. “Del, what the hell are you thinking? After everything you’ve been through—everything with Axel, the Vipers—you’re seriously messing around with a Crimson Reaper now?”

I glared at her. “It’s none of your business.”

“Actually, it is,” Leah shot back, her voice low but sharp. “You’re my friend, and I don’t want to see you get dragged into this shit again. Ryder Kane isn’t a normal guy, Del. He’s dangerous.”

“You don’t know him,” I countered, my voice rising despite my best effort to keep calm.

“And you do?” Leah pressed, her brows shooting up. “What exactly do you think this is, Del? Some kind of forbidden romance? Because newsflash: guys like him don’t do happily ever after.”

“Can we not?” Dani cut in, waving her hand to diffuse the tension. “Del’s a big girl. If she wants to screw around with the VP of the Reapers, that’s on her.”

“Dani—” Leah started, but Caleb interrupted with a low chuckle.

“You two do realize she’s sitting right here, right?” he said, leaning back in his chair. “And besides, I doubt Del needs a lecture. She already looks like she regrets the hell out of it.”

I shot him a glare, but the amusement in his green eyes only deepened. “Not helping, Caleb.”

“Wasn’t trying to,” he said, raising his beer in mock salute.

Lucy leaned in, her eyes glittering with mischief. “So, was it worth it?”

I groaned, dropping my head into my hands. “Oh my god, stop.”

“Seriously, though,” Lucy persisted. “I mean, he’s hot, but is he, like,thathot?”

“Lucy!”

She shrugged, completely unrepentant. “What? I’m curious!”

“Okay, enough,” I said, cutting her off. My voice was sharper than I intended, but I didn’t care. “This isn’t a thing. It’s not anything. It was a mistake, and it won’t happen again.”

Lucy smirked but didn’t push further. Caleb exchanged a look with Leah, who shook her head like she was done trying to argue with me.

Dani nudged my shoulder gently. “For what it’s worth, we’re not judging. Just... be careful, okay? Ryder Kane isn’t exactly the kind of guy who plays nice.”

“I know,” I said softly, more to myself than anyone else.

But even as I said it, I could feel his presence like a shadow at my back. When I glanced toward the corner booth, Ryder’s sharp, unrelenting gaze was locked on me.

Watching.

Waiting.

And no matter how much I told myself to look away, I couldn’t.

The tension from our earlier conversation slowly eased as the drinks started flowing. Caleb flagged down a server, ordering a round of shots that hit the table with a satisfying clink. Lucy grinned as she raised her glass, her energy infectious.

“To bad decisions and good friends,” she said with a wink, her eyes darting toward me.

“Speak for yourself,” I muttered, but I clinked my shot glass against theirs anyway. The tequila burned going down, but it did its job, loosening the knot in my chest little by little.

The music shifted to something deeper and sultry, the heavy bassline thrumming through the bar like a heartbeat. Leah groaned as Lucy grabbed her arm, already dragging her toward the dance floor.

“Come on!” Lucy called over her shoulder, her grin wide and unrelenting. “No excuses, Del. You too.”

I hesitated, glancing toward the corner booth where Ryder was still sitting. His crew was deep in conversation, but his eyes hadn’t left me once. I could feel his gaze like a weight, heavy and smoldering, daring me to look back.

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