“Nothing,” I lie, smiling and hoping it doesn’t show what I feel.
Ryder narrows his eyes. “Bullshit. Tell me.”
Knowing I won’t be able to leave this room until I tell him, I decide with the truth. “I feel you didn’t tell your dad because you’re ashamed.”
He turns me to face him fully. “Ashamed of what? Of you?” I nod, and his eyes take on that scary gleam. “Never think I’m ashamed of what we have or you,Bello,” he growls. “I’ll scream it from the fucking rooftops if that’s what you want.”
“Why haven’t you told him then?”
“Because I wanted to sit him down and tell him face to face without everything else breathing down our necks.” He pulls me closer so he can grab my face. “I love you, Holden. Never doubt that, and don’t let me ever hear you say you think I’m ashamed of you.”
“I love you too,” I whisper. Ryder’s never uttered those words to me, no matter what we were going through. I’ve known that I love him. I’ve just been giving him time to work it out for himself if he loved me too.
I can’t stop the groan when he lays his lips on mine. Kissing Ryder, aside from Les, is my favorite fucking thing in this world. One of his hands slides to my neck, holding me closer so he can sink his tongue into my mouth. My hands have a mind of their own and slide to his ass, jerking him against my hard cock.
Ryder jerks his mouth away. “Fuck, Holden,” he groans, placing his forehead against mine. “We have to go.” I nod, taking a step back with a grin, causing Ryder to laugh. He slings an arm around my shoulders, steering me toward the door. “You’re fucking dangerous.”
I laugh with him, feeling a weight lift off me.
I should have known better than to think Ryder was ashamed of us.
Chapter 18
Leo
“We’re fucking going,” Les says for the third time. We had just got to the garage, ready to leave, when Ryder said he thought we shouldn’t go, which ensued the current argument between him and Les. “I told you I wasn’t fucking hiding.”
“Do you not remember he fuckingshotat Dex, Gage, and Holden?” Ryder growls. They’re facing off in front of Ryder’s Explorer; the rest of us are sitting back and waiting for him to give in because we all know he will.
“No. I conveniently forgot,” Les snarks, and Gage covers a laugh with a cough. “Yes, I remember. But he isn’t going to scare me into staying at the damn house, Ryder.”
“We. Aren’t. Going,” Ryder says between clenched teeth. I know what he’s feeling, but the more he pushes that she doesn’t go, she’ll push harder, probably resulting in her leaving alone.
Les takes a step back. “You stay. We’ll go.” She turns to us, expecting us to argue. When she doesn’t get any, she jerks a nod. “Let’s go.” She steps towards Gage’s Range Rover, and Ryder grabs her arm, spinning her back around.
“Get the fuck in the car, Les,” Ryder says, striding over to his door, jerking it open, and slamming it behind him.
“That was fast,” Gage mutters before opening the backdoor.
“What did you expect?” Dex laughs.
We all knew he would give in, including Les, if that sly smile is any indication.
The ride to Rocco’s is quiet, between Ryder brooding and Les looking out the window. When she turns to him, I’m just waiting for the argument to start again until she leans over and kisses his cheek. “You can’t keep me under lock and key, Ryder,” she says softly. “If I do that, he wins. He can’t win.”
All the tension leaves Ryder’s shoulders. “I know that,Il mio sole,” he says, sliding a hand onto her thigh. “We can’t lose you again.”
“You won’t,” she promises. “I know what we’re up against now.”
As far as I know, Holden can’t figure out who those other guys were. Ryder took pictures of the ones killed at the house that day so Holden could run it through facial recognition, but there weren’t any hits yet. The only lead we have is that Jay is working with Viktor.
Ryder pulls in front of his dad’s house, shoving the car into park. We all pile out to walk to the front door. Ryder pushes it open without knocking, searching for my mom and his dad. I hate that Mom can’t go home, but I don’t trust Viktor enough not to try anything. We thought all of this would be over by now, and now we have to tell her she still has to stay here.
We round the corner into the kitchen, and Les’ shocked gasp is the only warning I get before the scene in front of me unfolds.
Rocco has my mom in his arms, his lips sealed over hers. “Mom?” I croak out.
They split apart fast, looking toward us. “Shit,” Rocco mutters under his breath, stepping back from Mom.
