Page 41 of Blood & Heartache

Everyone muttered their agreement and got up from the table, looking as wrung out as I felt. Ryker grabbed the handles of my chair and started rolling me right behind the others. “Where exactly are you taking me, Ry?” I asked, leaning my head back to look up at him.

“To my room,” he answered.

“I’m sorry, what? Why are we going to your room?” I demanded.

“Because,” was his cryptic answer.

I tried to grab the wheels, but the cuts on the palm of my hand made it hard to stop him when it fucking hurt to grip the damn thing. “Ryker, I’m serious… you better take me back to my room. I’m tired, my leg fucking hurts, and I just want to sleep and start this whole day over.”

“Not happening,” Ryker countered as he hit the button for the second floor once we entered the elevator. It wasn’t until the doors closed that he turned to face me, then mouthed, “Trust me.”

That had me curious enough I simply continued to scowl at him with my arms crossed. It took mere seconds for us to make it to the next floor and to roll down the hall to Ryker’s room. I’d been in most of the other guys’ rooms for various reasons, but I’d avoided his in particular. I was surprised to see he had a lock on his room just as I did mine, where it took a keycode or a handprint. Once the door was unlocked, he shoved the door open before pushing me inside.

It took two seconds to realize why the added security. He’d made half his room into another security command center. There were six monitors mounted on the wall, each showering different parts of the house. It was almost as if the sleeping part of the room had been an afterthought once the workstation was built. There was a bed, dresser, and an armchair, but other than that, it was pretty simple. It was as if the working area of the room was where he spent his time and just slept in the bed when he had to. Scanning the desk, I saw that’s where all his personal things were—a photograph of him and his father, arms slung around each other's shoulders, another of his mother kissing him on the cheek with a horrified expression on his face. Then I spotted a picture of me, only it wasn’t one from when I was younger and he was around. It was probably taken two years ago if I remember that dress correctly. I was standing on the patio, leaning against one of the pillars, getting some fresh air. Flora decided at the spur of the moment to host a party at the house. The last one she ever hosted, if I’m not mistaken. The image made me look as if I was so alone in the moonlight, almost as if I was waiting for someone who was never coming.

“I might not have been able to communicate with you, but I broke the rules and asked my men to send me pictures once a week. There was no way I could have made it all this time if I didn’t at least get to see you. I know no matter what I say or how many times I apologize, you’ll never forgive me for abandoning you like your father did,” Ryker murmured as he came to stand next to me. “So I’m not going to say it anymore. Instead, I’m going to prove to you that you’re stuck with me for the rest of your life.”

My eyes burned as I fought back the tears. Today has been a clash of betrayal and acts of loyalty, making it so hard to balance the opposing emotions. More than anything, I could really use my best friend I could always count on to have my back, knowing he was a safe haven in the storm of my life. I just wasn’t sure that’s who and what he still was, but right now, I was willing to take the leap because I was simply stretched too thin to handle any more being thrown at me.

“I’m deciding I prefer the whole actions-speak-louder-than-words philosophy. So many people say so many things then go and do the opposite,” I commented, then looked up at him. “Why am I really staying in your room tonight?”

“So Hound can’t watch you.”

Chapter 18

The fucking prick knew exactly what he was doing, forcing her to stay in his room tonight. I’d been waiting for him to reach out to me, but he’d taken his sweet-ass time. Things had been getting progressively worse over the past three weeks, but the cocky bastard thought he could handle it on his own. This is why I kept an eye on things now that she was there—my Luna Selene.

When I’d cracked their system four years ago, I’d discovered a hidden file about her. Curious, I dove into the information and was fascinated to find Colmazio had a daughter hidden and locked away in a gilded cage. The more I read about her, the more interested I became, and so began my obsession. It didn’t take me long to figure out her extracurricular activities as a thief. In fact, it gave me the perfect opportunity for me to contact her. I’d helped her with cracking a few security systems here and there or guided her in the right direction to figure it out herself.

The more we talked on the dark web chat room I helped her find, the more I became addicted. I hacked into the security at the mansion to keep an eye on her. For each job she did that I knew about, I’d hack into that system too, making sure everything went according to plan. The woman was fearless. The ease at which she could pull off these heists was fucking sexy, not to mention the all-black bodysuit she wore. During her last job, I joked that she should lick the stamp and mail it back to the guy to see how he’d freak out. Instead, she decided to keep it as a memento of her last act as Luna Selene. I’d have gone for something more than a stamp, but she didn’t do it for the money, she did it for the challenge.

It had been tough since we don’t have our weekly chats, but I was soothed by the fact that I could still check in on her whenever I wished. Her father had paid me handsomely to upgrade their security and improve the firewall. He’d never said anything about me not being allowed to build a backdoor so I could access their system and continue to watch through their cameras. My moonflower needed me to look after her with all the shit that’s been going down. Recently, I’d been distracted by hunting down what that bitch of a stepmother was doing after the whole car issue. I couldn’t fucking believe that witch would dare to do something like that. She’d never had the balls to go after Astin before, so why now? Thank fuck I’d been able to get to the car in time and destroyed what I could.

I’ll hand it to the boys, I’d missed the severed head in the trunk. In my defense, I didn’t have much time to come up with a plan but fuck if I was going to let Flora mess with my Luna. When I’d discovered Luna had drawn up the documents to cut Flora off, I almost threw a party. It was about damn time that woman had a reality check. The thing I hadn’t counted on was the big guns calling her note. If she wanted to live, then the evil stepmother had to play nice with the other villain in my Luna’s story—Harvey.

I had been keeping tabs on him, but I’d clearly underestimated the lengths he’d go to get what he wanted. No, my Luna lost her father, the only person she loved most in this world, and the fucker wasn’t done with her yet, either. In preparation for Luna’s return to Springmont, I relocated back to my original stomping grounds since I didn’t need to be in Huntingford anymore. I like to be within a half hour of my Luna just in case—you never know what could happen on a job or if she needed me for some reason. It certainly came in handy a few nights ago being able to get to the docks so fast. Now what I needed to decide was how I’d introduce myself to her.

Clearly, I wasn’t going to be able to keep an eye on her tonight locked away in fuckface’s room. Why he’d assumed I was watching had me intrigued. Or was it because he simply didn’t think I’d just show up there before investigating things? If he thought he could keep her out of my sight for long, he had another thing coming. Besides, I wasn’t a total fucking creep. It wasn’t like I watched her sleep or anything that invasive. All I wanted was to make sure she didn’t overwork herself by staying up too late. That and to make sure these so-called lieutenants didn’t make any moves on her that she didn’t welcome.

I’d watched the whole nightmare fiasco until they took her into the bedroom where there wasn’t a camera. I could hear if they left the door open to the office, but that seemed to be happening less and less. The bonus was Luca and Ryker told all the others about her alter and the trigger phrase out in her sitting room where I could hear and see it all happening. Back at the manor, I might have put in my own camera in her room only looking at her window so I knew when she snuck out, but I could hear the many nights she was trapped in her memories. She didn’t realize it, but she talked a lot the longer the memory held her. While I wouldn’t have killed her father, I definitely would’ve had a thing or two to say about what the fuck he’d been thinking, letting that psycho send someone to train her.

That was neither here nor there at this point. My Luna needed me, and I was going to arrive like the hound I was—lurking in the shadows. Ryker purposely built his room to keep me out if I ever managed to get back in again. I have to say I love a challenge, and this one was just too tempting to leave alone.

“It won’t be long, Moonflower. I’ll be at your side soon enough,” I vowed, typing in the code that would lock down my computers and self-destruct if anyone tried to get into them.

Grabbing my duffle, I tossed it over my shoulder and looked around the warehouse I’d converted into my workspace. Ensuring I had everything, I grabbed my keys and helmet and hopped on my bike.

Time for the H∅und to meet his new master or should I say, mistress.

Chapter 19

My worries over it being awkward to sleep with Ryker were pointless. I was so fucking tired after what had happened in the wee hours of the morning that the moment my head hit the pillow, I was out. If I had a nightmare or dreamed at all, I didn’t remember a thing I slept so soundly. When I finally woke, it was to someone combing their fingers through my hair in such a soothing manner I let out a contented sigh. Ryker tucked me closer to his chest with the arm around my waist as his hand around my throat twitched.

The realization that a third hand was stroking my hair gave me pause. I took stock of the fact one of Ryker’s arms rested on my ribs with a forearm between my breasts, his hand gently around my neck. The other was under me since I could feel the arm I was lying on. Therefore, it was impossible for there to be someone petting my head, which meant the advanced security Ryker promised me he’d put into this room had failed, and someone had gotten in.

Taking stock of my options, I realized I was somewhat limited. I didn’t have a weapon in this room and didn’t know where Ryker kept his. There wasn’t much I could do with the element of surprise since if I tried to pull away, the arms around me had already proven they would constrict to keep me from leaving him. I couldn’t even kick out with my legs since I was lying on my good leg, leaving only my injured one available to do the attacking.

What this situation made glaringly obvious to me was I needed to carry a weapon around at all times, no matter where I was or who I was with.