Page 26 of Bound by Vengeance
My hand itches to grab her. Instead, I pull her feet toward me. She tries to pull away, but I hold strong.
“What are you doing?”
“Relax, Austyn. You’ve been on them all day.” With pressure, I massage her feet, rubbing small circles with my thumbs and pushing into the parts she needs it. I watch for her cues, and when she gives me those throaty moans or groans, I make sure to do those spots over and over.
The tension in her body leaves, and then she relaxes into my touch. I pay attention to both feet, rubbing and kneading. We stay like this for a long time, until her eyes close and she falls fast asleep.
Fuck, this shit is harder than I thought.
Friends.
I’m a dumbass.
It only drives home the point that I need to find JK and eliminate him. Austyn is mine, and no one touches what’s mine. He will pay for what he did to her.
As I carefully lift her from the couch, she plasters herself to my body, one hand gripping my shirt. I take a moment to enjoy the feel, searing it in my memories.
I move her to the bed and lay her down. Her dark hair fans out across the pillow. She looks beautiful as hell. I lean down and brush a kiss against her lips, then cover her up and leave the room.
Making my way to the living room, the urge to smoke hits. The balcony is right off the dining room area. I’ve been taking full advantage of it. Austyn even put a chair out there for me to sit on.
As I sit, light, and inhale, my thoughts are all jumbled. Between Austyn, finding JK, and my family, everything is a fucking mess right now.
All I can do is roll with it.
C H A P T E R T E N
I slam my computer closed and flop back onto my bed with a whoosh. The money is still bouncing everywhere. Luckily, it’s moving so fast the worm I put with it is making it difficult for others to track. The worm for the emails hasn’t done a damn thing since JK hasn’t checked it. In order for it to work, he needs to reply to the damn things. I added one that will give me IP
addresses from the location he checks in, as well.
I could reply to the emails myself to see what the responses would be, but the less I put myself out there, the better. I want to find him, not the other way around. It’s a tricky thing. One I didn’t realize was so hard, surprisingly. This sneaking and stealth work is aggravating because it takes time.
Buzz taught me how to tap into feeds from security cameras. I watched around JK’s mother’s house from a camera on a light pole down the road from her place, but I never saw him. It would be the place people will most likely look for him, so if he’s smart, he’ll stay far away.
Every end is coming up dead, and I’m really feeling for my father and the brothers. If this is what it feels like to have your hands tied and do nothing, they can have that shit back.
A cough comes from the living room, and I roll into my pillow with a groan.
Ryker.
For a little over a week now, he’s been by my side everywhere I go. We’ve had to go to the clubhouse a couple of times so he can attend meetings with the brothers and stop by his place for clothes. Other than that, he’s been stuck to me like glue.
Months ago, I’d have been eating this up, having him so near to me. The way he touches me, rubs my feet to soothe out the aches. Years I’ve wanted this. Years.
Ryker has always been there. Always been the one who was so close yet so damn far away. Elusive when it came to me.
There, but not.
A brush of a hand here or there or a ruffle of the hair was about the only physical contact we’ve ever had. I wanted more.
So much more with him, but it wasn’t in the cards.
Prom was the worst. My father made me have my date, Shawn, meet me at the clubhouse instead of our house. My father had all the brothers outside, waiting for him with the sole purpose of scaring the shit of him, which they did. I was surprised we didn’t have to stop so he could change his pants from pissing himself.
As my mother and grandma took pictures of us, my gaze continually landed on Ryker. His strong arms crossed over his chest, breathing in and out heavily, his eyes narrowed, checking the guy out. He stood so tall and powerful. He didn’t even have to come close to me for me to feel it. It was like a punch to the stomach that sent chills throughout my body.
I’d wished and hoped that Ryker would be the one standing next to me instead of Shawn. Imagined Ryker in his jeans, black T-shirt and cut, taking me to prom where we’d dance the night away and hang out. Needless to say, that was stupid. I can’t see Ryker doing the dancing thing. Hope is a powerful thing.
