“So you unchained him because you thought he was dead?” Hawk’s eyebrows bunch together.
Ryder pinches the bridge of his nose with a heavy sigh. “I wanted to check and thought I had it handled by myself if he ran. But even with his injuries, the motherfucker somehow had enough in him to get past me.”
Hawk shakes his head and strides to the door. “I’ll be back later.”
Jaxon purses his lips and gets more comfortable in his seat. He pulls out his cell phone and taps the screen as he types out a message—likely to his sister Dahlia since he doesn’t talk toanyone else other than us. I’m the only one in our friend group that’s more sociable with other people. Always been the social butterfly. And always people-pleasing. It’s why I have so many friends, like Haze and his twin sister, Indi.
I glance at the door as it shuts behind Hawk, then eye Jaxon. He’d clearly rather be somewhere else, but Ryder doesn’t need to be left alone right now. I’d rather be somewhere else too—preferably at home, keeping my promise to Nova. I told her I’d spend the day with her.
My people-pleasing mouth runs away before I can consider what I’m saying. “Why don’t you go back home, Jax? I’ll stay here with Ryder.”
“I can stay here by myself,” Ryder says. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
Blowing a raspberry, I wave a hand, dismissing Ryder. “I have nothing else to do.”
Jaxon eyes me. “If you’re sure.”
I stride to the couch and drop onto the seat beside him with a nod. “Go home and spend time with your sister.”
He stuffs his phone into his pocket and stands. “Call me if anything else happens.”
“Will do,” I say. “We’ll be here.”
And I’ll hate myself the entire time, regretting my decision.
ELEVEN
NOVA
I swivelmy gaming chair from side to side as I mindlessly scroll through Instagram. It’s a needed distraction while I fight to keep the anxiety at bay. Brandon texted me an hour ago, wondering if I was going to play. I haven’t responded because I’m supposed to leave him hanging per Aiden’s orders.
I click on my profile and look at my recent post featuring the pictures Aiden took. He texted me earlier, apologizing for having to stay late after he promised he’d spend the day with me. He sent the pictures as a token and told me to post them with a caption of a pink heart.
Less is more, he said. And he wasn’t lying. The sheer amount of engagement the post is getting almost matches Madison’s numbers.
I stare at the photos of Aiden and me in different poses. He left his full face out of all of them, but captured the faux-heated moment of us playing pretend. I’ll admit, it appears real, especially the light blush on my cheeks and the small upward curl of Aiden’s lips against mine as we kiss.
Though I don’t remember him taking pictures while we kissed. It’s all a blur.
I slide to the last picture and linger on it. In it, I’m straddling his waist as his hand cups my ass cheek. My face is buried in his neck. Like all the other pictures, he kept his face hidden by tilting back his head, capturing only his teeth digging into his bottom lip and the strained muscles in his neck, like he’s holding back from doing more.
For some reason, I keep gravitating toward this specific image of us. It’s different from all the others. I don’t know if it’s the angle, the lighting, or the pleasure on what we can see of Aiden’s face.
I shake my head.
Damn. He’s a great actor.
I open the message thread with Brandon and re-read the recent missives he sent.
Brandon
We playing tonight?
You alive lol
Don’t tell me… that biker friend who’s like a brother to you finally snagged you?
My stomach flips.
