“You think that’s funny?” I spun her around, pressing her naked chest against the door, pinning her there as I entered her from behind. Her fingers were splayed on the door, and I leaned forward, sliding my hand over hers and interlocking our fingers as my left hand gripped her hip. I fucked her hard. I pressed my cheek against hers, loving the sound of us panting together.
“That feel good, sweetheart?”
“Yes,” she moaned, breathless.
“Tell me.”
“You feel…so good…inside of me, Ryder.”
I slammed into her again and again until her body began to tighten around me. I knew she was going to come soon.
“I think you were made for me, Ella.”
“I’m yours, Ryder,” she moaned, and it sent me over the edge. I came hard as her body pulsed around my dick.
I wish I’d had the courage to tell her that it was the other way around. From the moment I saw Ella, I never had a chance.
Secret
Chapter 32—Ella
Secret: not known or seen or not meant to be known or seen by others
I rolled over, stretching in the mess of covers, my body deliciously sore from the night before. As I reached for Ryder, my hand fell on an empty pillow, causing me to sit up in a panic. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust in the darkness, but it was very apparent I was alone.
“Ryder?” I jumped from the bed and turned on the light, momentarily blinded from the brightness. I grabbed my clothing scattered on the floor and began to pull them on quickly. I grabbed the hotel phone and quickly dialed his cell, desperate to hear his voice, but it went to a voice mail that hadn’t been set up.
“Fuck.” My eyes scanned the room, and that’s when I noticed his notebook that he had kept in his duffel bag on the table.
Picking it up, I flipped it open to a page marked by the note Katie had left for him in the woods. My eyes scanned it, blurring with tears as I discovered the horrible truths of her secret. The Alexanders knew what was happening. They gave her no choice, and they took me in knowing it would happen again. My hand went over my stomach as I dropped the letter on the table, my eyes focusing on the notebook page that had been marked.
I’ll open your cage, my sweet butterfly
One final page and all villains must die
Happy endings in reach but comes with a price
My love and my life are my sacrifice
I flipped the page, desperate for more of his words, but there was nothing.
“He’s going after her parents.” I flew around the room, struggling to figure out what I could do. There must be something I could do to stop him. I had no idea how much of a head start he had on me, but I had to find him before I lost him.
I pulled open the zipper on his duffel bag and began pulling out his belongings until I found the small scrap of paper with the phone number I had seen before. My fingers shook as I grabbed the phone and dialed the number.
“What did you do?” asked the deep voice, groggy from sleep. I recognized it immediately.
“Is this Phantom?” My voice cracked, afraid I was going to make things worse for Ryder, but I had no choice.
“How did you get this number? This is a burner phone.” He sounded more alert now and pissed off.
“It was in Ryder’s things. This…this is Ella, from the bar.”
“I know who the fuck this is. Where is he? Why didn’t he call me?”
My voice dropped to a whisper as I struggled with how much of the truth to share with him. Ryder made sure Trigger knew I was still around, but the other guys thought I was long gone. I wasn’t sure if he kept his other side a secret as well, the side that killed.
“He’s in trouble.”
The weight of the situation was crushing me, my heart struggling to beat against the fear. I told Phantom as few details as possible, and he promised he was on his way to get me. Pacing the sidewalk outside the hotel, I watched every vehicle that drove by, in hopes the next would be the guys.
When they finally pulled up, Trigger jumped out of the passenger seat and held it open for me. I slid in, thanking him as he closed the door and got in the back with Phantom. Hangman was behind the wheel, and he took off as I gave him directions toward the Alexanders’ home.
“Explain what the hell is going on,” Phantom snapped.
“Ryder…Rellik…ugh…is going after Katie’s parents.”
“He told you about Katie?”
“I already knew about her.” I swallowed hard, rubbing my hands together nervously. I didn’t want to rehash my past. I just wanted Ryder safe. “The Alexanders were my foster family.”
“Holy shit,” Hangman mumbled as he shook his head.
“Why the parents? Why now?” Trig leaned forward in the backseat.