Page 41 of Dare You to Catch Me
We get to the stairs where Ryan is standing, greeting me with a smile as his words come out, happy. “Emma, good to see you.” He leans down and places a kiss to my cheek and my head cocks back as my brow lifts. And now I know something is up, why has he been so fucking nice to me, and what the fuck was that.
“Um, it's good to see you too? Am I missing something?” I ask in question because honestly, I haveneverhad a Mafia Boss of Ryan's power greet me how I am required togreet them.
I hear Ace snort a laugh with my question before he shakes his head, with a playful tone. “You're not missing anything, Baby Girl. Come on, let's get on the plane.” Ace ushers me to the stairs and I catch him shooting his father a deadly stare before looking back in front of us as we get on the plane.
We settle in the seats, as the door is closed and the engines start. Those rattling nerves of course racking against every part of my body thinking about flying and my fear of heights.
I lean my back against the couch as Ace sits beside me, holding out a glass of whiskey. “Drink?” He asks with a raised brow and I wrap my hand around the cold glass with the amber liquid inside before I bring it to my lips. My insides screaming out to me, picking up the vibe between Ace and Ryan, it's not a good vibe, it's a vibe that a bomb is about to be dropped. So I slam back the drink, the warm amber liquid slides down my throat leaving a burn in its path, before I pull the glass from my lips. Perfect timing too, I feel the plane start moving as we glide down the strip, finally getting in the air.
Ace takes the glass from my shaking hand before his words come out in a whisper. “Are you okay?” I look up and meet his gaze before I nod with my answer. “Yes.” I turn my gaze to Ryan, still wondering why he is here, so I ask. “I don't mean to be rude for asking, but what are you doing here, Ryan?”
He looks up, meeting my gaze before his eyes snap over to Ace causing my brows to furrow as I look up to Ace, meeting his gaze before he looks back to Ryan. “This isn't my doing, you tell her.” Ace growls. My eyes widen as my lips part and my heart slams against my chest;have I been set up?
My eyes snap over to Ryan as I watch him nod before his words ring through my ears. “I came for many reasons, Emma. The first being to help and keep you safe, to make sure this goes smoothly.”He pauses and my look is questioning, annoyed with these fucking hushed secrets, games, bull shit that keeps arising, my tone harsh and annoyed when it spills from my lips. “I'm really not in the mood for you to beat around the bush. Why are you here? What are you hiding?”
I look back over to Ace as he holds his deadly stare on Ryan, the black in his eyes darkening. And Ryan clears his throat drawing my gaze back to him before he says. “I went to Russia to visit someone that you know, but you haven't seen her since you were a little girl.”
My head snaps back with a questioning look.Who could he be talking about, and her?
“Her?” I ask in question before he nods. “Yes, her. Emma, I have been keeping this person in hiding waiting for the right time and now is that time, for you to know.” My heart beats against my chest walls at a rapid pace ready to explode, causing my breathing to increase as he continues. “ Your Mother is alive Emma.”
His words echo in my ears.Your mother is alive.Shocked and trying to catch my bearings but all I can hear are Ryan’s words ringing in my ears, over and over again.
“My What?” I snap. Finally able to get the words from my throat.
How? How can this be true? I saw her. In the coffin. I remember, I was young, really young, but I remember. This is some kind of sick fucking joke, right? I mean people don't really come back from the dead, do they? But he said she's been in hiding? Why? And why with Ryan?
What the Fuck!
I feel Ace's hand on my thigh, but I am still lost. Until Ace's voice pulls me from the lost place I have been in, causing me to blink several times before I look over at him. “Snap out of it, Baby Girl.” I blink a few more times and it is like a light switch is flipped in my head causing my eyes to snap over to Ryan. Hot rage filled with fireencases my vision and my judgement. I launch from my seat straight for Ryan, intending to release a portion of the emotions, the fire inside me. But Ace's hand wraps around my throat before he slams me back down on the couch, his face inches from mine as he stares into my eyes. “Not a good idea, Baby Girl. Breathe.”
I grit my teeth and take a deep breath, trying to calm myself, because he is right, I do need to watch myself with Ryan's position and power, and my thoughtless action. But I am filled with a dangerous anger, needing to release it before I explode.
Ace's hand loosens its hold around my throat before he stands to his full height, sliding his hand from my neck, standing between Ryan and I.
I lean to the side, shooting daggers at Ryan. “You mothafucker! How could you keep her from me!” The words hiss from my tongue, trying to contain my racing heart, the emotions that are starting to mix with the hot rage inside me, never a good mixture. Ryan doesn't say anything, maybe he doesn't know how to tell me, or has a reason, no matter, the words roar from my mouth. “ANSWER ME!”
“Baby Girl, calm down.” My breath catches in my throat as my eyes widen;he did not just tell me to calm down. Looking up to Ace, meeting his gaze, my words are filled with a deadly venom as they explode from my mouth. “Do. Not. Tell Me. To Calm Down!” My lip curls. “I want answers now. I'm fucking done playing these games.”
“I will give you all the answers, Emma. Are you prepared to hear them?” I deepen my stare with Ryan, swallowing hard, I give him a small nod. “Your father tried to kill your mother, because he was told she was having an affair. She never had a chance to prove her innocence, so he tried to kill her, and almost succeeded, but I found her. I kept her hidden until she was well enough to move to Russia, knowing if your father knew she was alive, it would have caused a war, and an even worse death for her.”
The words snap from my mouth. “You're a powerful man, you could have kept her safe with me. I had no one, Ryan!”
“It's not what your mother wanted, she didn't want this life, she wanted to stay dead.”
My heart breaks. She didn't want me. She left me. I feel every ounce of energy I had, drain from my body as I fall back against the couch.
“I took her to Russia, to give her what she wanted, and to keep... the woman I love, safe.” My eyes snap back up, wide, my mouth parted. “What? You caused all of this!”
Ryan shakes his head. “NO! Your mother and I didn't fall in love until after she was almost killed and I sent her to Russia, we stayed in contact, I visited.”
“Are you fucking joking right now, Papa?” Ace growls.
“No, I'm not, it is what it is, what's between April and I had nothing to do with Charles trying to kill her, Rocco was the reason for it.”
“Glad I killed that mothafucker then, wish I had made him suffer longer. He probably tried to rape her like he tried with me, and when he didn't get what he wanted…”
“He went to Charles and told a lie to cover his ass, yes.” Ryan speaks up.
