Page 5 of Ryder

Me:Not a lot of downtime. What’s up?

Blaze just got married to Remy. She’s pretty cool and I have no idea why she puts up with him, but they are in love.

Blaze:We were just hoping you could make it back to town for a few days. Axel and Ivy are expecting another baby, and you haven’t been home in a while.

I cringe when I read his text. Guilt instantly washes over me. Blaze and Remy have a beautiful little girl and Axel and Ivy are on their second baby, another boy for them. Even Drake is married to a woman who has put up with way too much shit from him, but still loves him. I’ve missed a lot since I moved to Los Angeles.

Me:I know. Once my schedule calms down, I will make it back. Hopefully this time, we won’t be dealing with crazy ex-boyfriends, disgruntled assholes like Chuck and Josh, or torched bars.

Being a Raven and part of the Twisted Kingdom Motorcycle Club had made us many enemies. The last couple of times that I had been back home to Hollow Cove, I had spent my time helping my brothers out of some pretty dangerous situations. I loved them and didn’t mind to help, but sometimes, I just wanted to relax when I went home. Maybe that’s why my trips home were short.

Or maybe it was because the last time I was home, I allowed a shady guy named Josh, to almost destroy my brothers and Lacy was kidnapped. Before hitting it big, I did a lot of illegal street racing to make money to pay for parts for my bike and entry fees into real, legitimate races. It was a fucking thrill to race and I loved doing it when I went home. However, since all of that trouble, I had found excuses not to come home as much as I used to.

Blaze:Ok, just don’t stay gone too long.

I stuff my phone back in my pocket and try to focus on my emails once again. However, I have a sick feeling in my stomach knowing that my new world is conflicting with my old life.

Chapter 3

Scarlet

Lying awake, I found myself unable to fall asleep. Ryder’s face played in my mind until the early morning hours. I don’t know why I was allowing this man who I had only met once to have such a profound effect on me. I had found myself itching to learn more about this man. I knew I was going to push myself down a rabbit hole, but I just couldn't help myself.

Grabbing my phone, I began Googling Ryder. Articles and images popped up and biting my lip. I began to read about this man that had me beyond unnerved.

From what I had read, it was clear that Ryder came from a pretty shady past. Growing up in a motorcycle bar, he and his brothers, The Ravens, had been through their fair share of drama. He had spent his teen years and early into his twenties doing some small-town racing. It wasn’t until he was sponsored by a local business that he began to get noticed. Now, he was asuperstar on the track as he raced both motorcycles and cars. He was spotted with every young pop star in Hollywood.

Throwing my phone onto the bed next to me, I tried to erase the images I had just seen. Ryder was a playboy. The type of guy who would give you one hot and steamy night in bed and then move on to the next girl. I had already been burned by my ex-douche bag, and I wasn’t interested in going down that road again.

Ryder would be fun to look at, but that was it.

Managing to close my eyes around two in the morning, I was able to get four hours of sleep before my alarm went off.

I had a busy day of getting the boys ready for school, making sure I got the house cleaned and ready for the next crew on shift and then helping the boys

Stretching, I rolled out of bed and stumbled down the hall to begin waking the five boys we currently had with us.

My first stop was to wake up the teenagers. They were the hardest to get out of bed. Opening the door, I flipped on the lights and heard Isaac and Ethan groaning. Isaac was on the top bunk, and he rolled over, digging his curly red hair into the pillow. Ethan was on the bottom bunk and sighed, knowing there was no use in trying to fight me. Once, I poured cold water on him for defying me.

“Wake up, boys,” I called.

Moving out of the room, I went to the next room. I knew I would have to circle back around to ensure Ethan and Isaac were up. Opening the door, I turned on the light as Charlie sat up, rubbing his eyes.

“Morning,” he grumbled. He was ten-years-old but was far more mature than the older boys. He got his own room because he had a traumatic experience at a previous foster home where he shared a room with a group of older boys. We didn’t talk about it, but he seemed calmer when he was alone.

Finally, I stopped at the last door. Opening it, I turned on the lights and waited for Christian’s smile to brighten the room. Sleeping on one of the twin beds, he sat up and began moving about the room. Lucas rubbed his eyes as he, too, sat up.

Checking on the teens, I made sure everyone was up before I hurried downstairs. Allison, the other person on shift with me, was already making breakfast. Greeting her, I began packing lunches and checking backpacks for homework.

The schedule was on the wall by the backdoor. I glanced at the calendar to see what was in store for this afternoon.

Suddenly, a knock at the front door startled me. Sometimes, the boys in the neighborhood would come by and eat breakfast with our kids.

Rushing to the door, I grabbed a cup of coffee that Allison handed me as I went to the front door.

Opening, I expected to see smiling faces of a bunch of little boys. Instead, I was greeted by a rock-hard chest against a tight, gray t-shirt. As my eyes traveled up the body, I saw tattoos peeking out of his shirt and snaking up his neck.

“Good morning,” Ryder greeted.

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