Fuck. She has no idea what she just did.
“I’m sorry,” she repeats, but her words don’t matter. The damage has been done.
“Start on the papers,” I order and turn away from her.
Leaving the room, I walk back upstairs to talk to Maddox. Before I enter his office, I take a calming breath, as if that would help.
Not knocking this time, I simply walk into his office and take the seat across from him.
“She needs to go. She is nothing but trouble, and she doesn’t know her place.”
“I’m handling it.”
“Fuck you are. You’re not handling shit. She has you wrapped around her little finger, and the guys are taking notice. You need to stop thinking with your dick and start using your brain. You are bound to this club, not to some pussy. Deal with her, or I’ll do it.”
His threat hangs in the air. I want to tell him to fuck off, but the truth is he is right. Whether or not I want to admit it, she has been getting under my skin. Worse than that, she makes me look weak. This has to stop.
I need to end this… and I need to do it before Maddox does.
Chapter 25
Penny
Ryder is givingme whiplash with his mood swings and multiple personalities. One minute, he is swooping in to save me, and the next, he is keeping me locked in a room.
In one breath, he tells me,I like taking care of you.The next, he tells me,you owe me, I take payment in the form of fucking. That’s it.
Which one is it? Am I really that desperate I’m imagining there is something else between us?
There are these moments when I’m positive there is more. The way he kissed me back and held me to keep me warm. The way he washed me in the shower and then let me wash him in return.
It’s been three days, and I feel like I’m going crazy. Being locked in a windowless room doesn’t help. At least I have something to do now.
The first two days I spent going over the bookkeeping Maddox had given me. Tucker had been skimming money since he started running the numbers, but in the past, it was not a lot. Only recently, he has been getting greedy, taking more and more cash that didn’t belong to him.
Yesterday, Ryder made good on his words and brought me a laptop. I’ve been on it non-stop, using this time to fill out college and grant applications.
Ryder gets me breakfast each morning but leaves me here throughout the day. I wait for him to come back. Each day, I wait with anticipation for the door to open and for him to walk in. Today is no different.
Checking the time in the corner of the computer screen, I realize he’s been gone for a long time. It’s Saturday night, and the music from the bar is louder than usual. I try not to think about Ryder being there, drinking with his friends, and the naked women.
Jealousy wraps around my chest, making it feel tight and hard to breathe. Idon’t want to imagine Ryder with another woman, but I’m not stupid. I have no claim on him.
When I hear the rattling of the key and the lock turn, I close my laptop and set it next to me on the bed. Expecting Ryder, I watch the door swing open, and a large body fills the frame. I suck in a sharp breath when I realize it’s not Ryder stepping in the room.
“Hello, Penny,” Maddox’s voice is clipped as he closes the door behind him.
I instinctively scoot back on the bed until my back is pressed firmly against the headboard. Maddox steps closer, a mischievous grin tucking on his lips.
“W-where is Ryder?” I ask, failing miserably to keep my voice even. His grin widens. He knows I’m scared of him, and he enjoys that thought. Men like him feed on it.
“Getting drunk. Having fun.” He sits down on the edge of the bed, and I pull my legs to my chest as much as I can.
“Why are you here?” I ask, knowing damn well that I won’t like the answer.
“Just wanted to ask you some questions. Ever since you walked into my bar, Ryder has been different. Distracted. You’re a weakness, and I can’t have that.”
“I’m sorry,” I say on autopilot. I’m not sure what I’m apologizing for exactly, but he clearly thinks this is my fault.
