Page 68 of Riding Danger

Lilly stood and eyed me. Immediately getting on her phone. No doubt she was about to make some enquiries.

I spent a little more time on the phone with Maggie to calm her down. Whatever Fred planned on doing he wouldn’t be in town for another week. We had some time to figure out how to keep her safe.

As soon as I put the phone down, it started ringing again. I saw Ryder’s name appear on my screen. “Hey, handsome.”

“Oooh, she’s about to cancel plans.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I’m handsome when you want something. Gorgeous when you’re hor?—“

“Okay, I get it.” He really knew me better than I knew myself. “Fred’s being released next week. I wanted to do a girl’snight with Maggie and Tiff. And Grace is in town for a doctor’s appointment as well.”

“Sure, but you’re coming home first right?” His voice got a little weird. “There’s something I want to give you before your girls see you.”

“Sure.” I could hear him in his car and I remembered he’d had a meeting in Los Angeles earlier in the day. “How was your meeting?”

“I have a contract to direct five music videos for Moore Entertainment. John Moore said I shouldn’t sign on for more than that because it could be limiting down the line. I can still work with the record label but not on music videos that are part of a soundtrack. There’s more to it, but that’s the gist.”

“Cool. That’s what you wanted, right?”

“Yeah.” I hear his blinker clicking in the background. “How far are you? I’m about twenty minutes out.”

“I’m packing up now. I’ll probably be home before you.”

As it turned out we arrived at home at the same time.

Since Ethan was with Maggie, I figured we could get him when I saw her later.

Ryder dragged me in through the door and slammed it. “I know you want to get to your friend, but I thought I’d give you some good news to celebrate. Instead of the doom and gloom that is her ex.”

With that he dropped to one knee. My gasp was audible as my hands flew to my mouth. “I know you have a whole file on how you want this to go, but babe, you’re the girl of my dreams. My first and only love. When I think of all my hopes and dreams, I want you beside me. I want to be that soft landing at the end of a hard day for you. I want to find solutions with you. I want you.” He took my hand in his and opened the ring box “Shiloh. Will you marry me?”

I would never consider myself materialistic, but even I was impressed by the shiny rectangle rock on the ring he slipped onto my finger. I smiled down at him. There was no containing my tears as I knelt in front of him. “Yes. Of course I will marry you. Tomorrow if you want to.”

Ryder stood and opened the front door, then he punched the air and whooped. “She said yes.”

A loud cheer erupted from the front lawn. All our friends and family stood outside, clapping and smiling.

I stood on my toes and whispered in his ear. “Well, now you’re not going to get laid.”

EPILOGUE

THE RIVAL

Bunch of idiots, all of them. Proposing in public like that. I never understood the need to tie oneself down to one person. Never understood what it took. Oh, I was married once, but it didn’t stick.

In my experience marriages never stuck. Well, at least not the ones without some strong emotional bond. And even then, there was no guarantee. In fact, when emotions were involved, things tended to get messier. And when family was involved, messy did not even begin to describe the fallout.

That was why Marshall Felix had to be eliminated. He was not suited to the life of a doting father. He thought that just because some bitch carried his genes, he needed to do right by her. He thought he could waltz into her life and make it as if nothing was wrong. He wanted to come clean. She was a cop for fuck’s sakes. There was no way she would’ve let him get away with all the crimes he’d committed.

Not only would she have rejected him, she would’ve handed him over to the police and investigated the ever-loving shit out of him. And that was the last thing I needed. No, it was better to pin it on that little bitch.

I knew immediately she was targeting fathers who had somehow abandoned their kids. She also had all sorts of signatures and I managed to copy all of them. Of course, they never reported the marking on the back, which Marshall didn’t had. But that was explained away by both the press and the assistant district attorney. She ran out of time because the kill site was so far from where she stored the body and then needed to get it to the dumpsite.

All in all, that worked in my favor. Credit never bothered me. I didn’t need the accolades to know I was better than everyone else. The mere fact I got away with all I had for as long as I had, meant that I had won.

I watched as the couple’s friends and family dispersed. I started my car before anyone noticed me. The last thing I needed was to draw attention to myself. Although they were such a big clan, they’d hardly notice an extra body. As soon as I arrived in my own driveway, I waved at my neighbor. Pretty girl, but nosy as hell. Not that she was interested in anything I had to say or do. No, she was more interested in celebrities. Like that Ryder chap who just got engaged.

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