Fuck.
What a timing. I shove the door open and head out, tension coiling tight in my chest. We can’t have two brothers distracted, dammit.
Not with all this going on.
THIRTY-ONE
Ruin
I’ve never paid this much attention to another brother before. If anyone caught me right now, they’d think I’ve lost my damn mind. Like I’m obsessed with Ryder.
Kian Emerson. He doesn’t look anything like the fresh-faced nineteen-year-old who walked into the club and impressed the hell out of Savage and my dad.
Back then… fuck, Dane and I were in awe of him.
The way he climbed the ranks. Fast and clean. He earned every ounce of respect thrown his way. Became someone people trusted without question.
I respected him, too. Still do.
I watched him back the older generation with that sharp head of his, that easy charm that made people listen. Made things smoother.
When Dane took the gavel, Ryder didn’t hesitate. Shifted his loyalty like it was second nature.
Then I stepped in as VP a few years later.
Not once did he flinch. Not once did he question us.
Maybe he should have.
Ever since last week—since the kiss—I’ve been watching him. Closely. Every interaction he has with Charlotte, I clock it. Hold onto it. Turn it over in my head like it means something more than it probably does.
Looking for something. Anything.
A sign that the kiss they shared changed something between them. But nothing seems different. Charlotte’s the same. Untouched by whatever the hell is going on in my head.
She treats him like she always has. She’s comfortable with him. There’s absolutely no edge, no tension. When he’s on her protection detail, she doesn’t fight it. Doesn’t question it.
Her hands never reach for him. Not once. I notice that too. Every single time.
Something in me loosens when I do.
Pathetic. Fuckingpathetic.
But Ryder seems off. He’s distracted, like his mind is somewhere else entirely.
He can’t sit still. Keeps moving. His body tight, and jittery, wound tight.
Every time a random door opens, his head snaps toward it. Just as quickly, he looks away with an embarrassed drop in his face. Like he doesn’t want to be caught looking.
I’d bet money it’s about Bel.
The day after we found out she left, we had church. He didn’t say a word. His uncharacteristic silence was alarming.
Healer was pissed—rightfully so. Losing his best nurse in the middle of this shitstorm? Bad timing doesn’t even begin to cover it.
But Ryder didn’t react like the rest of us. Didn’t argue.
Even after church ended, he stayed rooted to his spot. Just staring past Wolf, like he wasn’t even in the room anymore. Like something in him had already checked out.
