Page 28 of Keeping What He Wants

Chapter Five

Ryker sat at the head of the table with a cigarette between his lips. “Things have been going good for us for a while. I don’t think we’re going to make any drastic changes. Each one of us works hard and plays hard. It’s a much easier life when everything goes right.”

“Yeah, but how long will it last?” Superman asked.

Ryker puffed on his cigarette a second before flicking the ashes in the tray next to him. “Where are we with the gun issue? The cops still have that target on our backs.”

“No news from the usual sources,” Vampire commented.

He needed to have another conversation with Pat. The very idea of it made him want to roll his eyes. Ella hadn’t mentioned her father in the past few days, but he could see how run-down she felt. Ryker didn’t help matters any either.

“Well, keep your eyes and ears open. Somebody is pushing these guns. The quicker we get rid of them, the better off we’ll be.” Ryker puffed the last of his cigarette and stamped it out in the ashtray next to him. “And that brings me to my next order of business. Women.”

Vampire laughed.

“I don’t think it was a secret that Beth was here and trying to start something with me.” Ryker brought another cigarette to his lips and lit it. “I’m only going to say it once. Don’t any of you try to come between me and Ella.”

Superman snorted. “I think the message is loud and clear. Ella is badass.”

Ryker smiled. He’d known that long before they ever had. The idea of her prancing around naked in front of everyone was not a good one for him, but he liked that his brothers seemed to understand her in a different way. Superman especially. He wasn’t Ella’s biggest fan. Now, who knew?

“She is. Rizzo was entertained but pissed. Beth is his trophy and I didn’t want it. She tried though.”

“You could have had both,” Rooster said. He shrugged when Ryker looked over at him. “I’m just saying it’s not unheard of.”

“Not an option. Don’t suggest it again.”

He liked coming home to her. She made him look forward to seeing her and spending time with her. There was so much bullshit in his life, but he knew Ella had the power to erase it all. He could sit on the sofa with her in his arms watching some comedy on TV and everything was right with the world.

A knock sounded at the door, and Ryker frowned. Vampire stood to answer it. One of the prospects handed him Ryker’s phone, and Vampire passed it to him.

“Hello?”

“Today is not my day. Who am I kidding? This month is really not my month.” Ella blew out a breath, frustrated. “My car is dead. Can you come pick me up? I think it’s just the battery, but I don’t know. It’s raining too, which is going to suck on the back of your bike.”

He licked his lips. “I’ll be there in a minute. Are you okay for right now?”

“Yeah.” She sniffled.

He didn’t like the hitch in her voice. “What’s wrong?”

“I had someone cuss me out. He made a big scene in the middle of the ER saying he was going to sue me for malpractice.”

He turned away from the men staring at him. “We’ll talk about it when I get there. It’ll be a few minutes so sit tight.”

He could only imagine some blowhard being a complete ass and cussing her out. It didn’t matter what the dickwad thought—there was nothing Ella could do that deserved that.

“It’s just been a really bad, really long day.”

“Let me finish up here, and I’ll come get you. Just sit tight.” Ryker hung up from her and set the phone on the table. “I need to go. Let’s distribute the money and go about business as usual. If anything comes up, call me.”

After they distributed the money, Ryker left, grabbing the keys from the prospect and making his way to the van. He climbed behind the wheel and drove toward the hospital, finding Ella at the ER pavilion waiting for him, drenched. He pulled up and leaned across the van to open the door for her.

“Why were you standing outside?”

“I left my keycard in my locker.” She wiped her wet hair from her face. “The hospital got a new security system and they’re working out the bugs. No one is allowed to enter the side entrance except by keycard. If I wanted to get back inside, I have to go through the main entrance around the other side of the building. They said they would fix it by tomorrow. It’s been a pain for the last twelve hours.”

“Today really wasn’t your day, was it?”

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