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Now all eyes are on him. Good. Fuck him.
Ryker’s jaw tightens, his gaze flickering for a moment before he looks away. “Look, things aren’t as simple as they seem. I had my reasons.”
I scoff, the bitter taste of betrayal in my mouth. “Oh, I’m sure you had your reasons. Maybe I was just an easy mark, right? A way to get at my father.”
He doesn’t respond, and the silence between us is heavy with unspoken truths. The ache in my chest deepens, and I take a step closer, my voice low and intense. “You know, I wasn’t just some pawn in your little game. I’m a person with feelings.”
The air might as well be sucked out of the room because the tension is so thick. The other guys might not have known before, but they sure as shit know now. But with one slight flick of his hand, they all do exactly as he commands, like they are pawns in his game too, and they back away, leaving us alone in this horribly small confined space where I’m all chained up.
Ryker finally meets my gaze, his expression a mix of frustration and regret. “I never said you weren’t a person with feelings, and I never meant for things to get so complicated. But there are things at play here that you can’t possibly understand.”
I shake my head, my frustration boiling over. “Don’t patronize me, Ryker. I deserve to know the truth. I know this is about my father, and I know what he’s like…”
“So, you need to let this happen because it’ll all be right in the end.”
“Is that supposed to make it better?” I retort, my anger giving me a temporary surge of strength. “You could have told me, Ryker. You could have given me a choice.”
He looks genuinely conflicted now, his earlier façade crumbling. “I know. And I’m sorry for that. I never meant for you to get hurt.”
“So what happens from here?” I wave my arms around, making the chains clank dramatically. “Huh? Are you just going to leave me here like this?”
He steps closer to me, so close I can breathe him in again. I know I should back away from him, but I don’t really want to. I guess I like being all caught up in his presence, even in this situation. How sick is that? There must be something twisted in my brain, and it all got messed up the moment Ryker stood next to me at the bar. I kinda wish that hadn’t happened that I had just spent the night listening to Alex talking about his date with James before staggering home a little tipsy and very much alone.
“You know, your time here doesn’t have to be bad. I can make sure you’re comfortable and maybe even have a good time.” He ignores my scoffing. “If you behave yourself.”
Any witty retort that plays on my lips falls away the moment our eyes lock in together and he shoots me a playful wink. I hate that this is happening, but there’s something about Ryker’s charming appearance that makes my heart ache for him. I don’t want to be this weak, especially not to a man who has just kidnapped me, but there is just something about him. I force myself to look away, but I’m sure he can still hear my heart hammering in my chest. I’m not getting away with it today. Ryker knows exactly what he’s done to me, and he is probably fucking loving it. Urgh, this is a nightmare. One that I can’t wake up from however hard I try.
4
NOVAK
The dimly lit room exudes an air of hushed tension, punctuated by the soft clinking of glass and the rich scent of cigars that linger in the air of Ryker’s well-designed home bar. I’m perched on a barstool, my fingers tracing the rim of my whiskey glass as I watch the interplay between Maddox and Ryker unfold before me. The success of our mission, the capture of Lily, hangs heavy in the atmosphere, mingling with the uncertainty of our next move.
Ryker leans casually against the bar, his fingers wrapped around a crystal tumbler of amber liquid. The low light casts shadows on his face, accentuating the lines of weariness that tug at his features. Across from him, Maddox reclines in an armchair, a cloud of fragrant smoke curling upwards from the cigar gripped between his fingers. Their camaraderie is evident, a testament to years of shared experiences, but tonight it’s laced with the gravity of our situation.
“Getting Lily was a damn good move,” Maddox rumbles, his voice gravelly as he exhales a plume of smoke towards the ceiling, his eyes following the smoke as it goes. “But we’ve just scratched the surface. The hard part’s ahead of us.”
Ryker’s eyes narrow slightly, his gaze steady on Maddox, almost as if he’s studying him. “Yeah, I know. We need to leverage her to get to Alistair.”
I take a sip of my whiskey, letting the liquid burn down my throat as I absorb their words. Lily – once an elusive figure – now sits in one of the back rooms chained to a bed, a high stakes pawn in this treacherous game we find ourselves entwined in. She’s the key to putting an end to all of this, and to Ryker coming out victorious, getting exactly what he wants.
Ryker swirls the contents of his glass, his mind undoubtedly churning with plans, strategies, and contingencies. “I’ve been working on an approach to get to her father. Alistair’s shrewd, and he’ll be cautious. But we have an advantage – his daughter. A proud man like that will never stand forushaving Lily trapped here. He’ll do whatever it takes.”
Maddox leans forward, his cigar stubbed out in an ashtray as he focuses on Ryker. “What’s your plan, then? Come on. We need to act quick, don’t we? Now that we have Lily and everything.”
Ryker’s gaze flickers toward me, a subtle acknowledgment that this decision affects all of us. “I’m going to arrange a meeting with Alistair. Tell him he needs to back down if he ever wants to see Lily again. Let him know what’ll happen otherwise.” Those words hang in the air. No one wants to think too deeply about that because it’s unlikely to come to that. “The full moon is on the rise. We can make use of that. Shift and bathe in the moon’s glow before we go, making sure we’re as strong as possible before we face that man.”
I watch Ryker closely, admiration mingling with caution. He’s driven, focused on getting what he wants, and willing to put himself on the line to achieve it. But the risks are immense, the stakes higher than ever. Lily’s life hangs in the balance, and if anything goes wrong, we don’t know where it’ll leave any of us. I want to vocalize that, but I also don’t want to put a dampener on the mood.
Maddox’s gaze sharpens, his brows furrowing as he scrutinizes Ryker. “And what if this goes south? What if Alistair smells a trap?”
Okay, so I guess one of us is going to address the elephant in the room, even if it isn’t me.
Ryker’s lips press into a thin line, his resolve unwavering. “Then we adapt. We’re not going to let this fail. We won’t let this go wrong. This is our best chance yet.”
A heavy silence settles over the room, the weight of our collective determination palpable. We’re a mismatched trio, bound together by circumstance and necessity. The future is uncertain, a tangle of risks and possibilities, but we’ve come this far.
I drain the last dregs of my whiskey, setting the glass down with a soft clink. Rising from the barstool, I step closer to the conversation, my voice edged with determination. “We have to make sure we do this right though. We can’t afford the risk. I mean, what if Alistair just kills you?”
