Page 28 of Ryder's War

“Any man would accept a little risk for the sake of his only child, so I tend to agree with you,” she said, proving him right.

“Especially Darkness. The only family he has is his younger sister.” When it came to family, a man’s judgment could develop a blind spot, and Ryder witnessed firsthand tonight that Darkness was no exception. That baby had placed a huge shadow over his vision—the kind that could hide threats until it was too late.

As Sergeant at Arms, Ryder's job wasn't just about watching backs. It was about seeing the dangers others couldn't afford to focus on. That woman was trouble, and he wasn’t about to let her hurt his president or any of his men. Not on his watch.

“Abby seemed really worried about her child, but the couple running the boarding school seemed like they weren’t expecting her. That struck me as strange at the time,” Tiffany observed. It wasn’t something he’d even stopped to consider, but now that she mentioned it, it seemed blatantly obvious.

Glancing at his very perceptive woman, Ryder nodded his agreement. “She’s told us a few lies. First one was that her mother recently died. I clearly remember my dad telling me that he thought Darkness was dating a real nasty piece of work when I was only a teen. He said she reallywent wild after her mother died, ‘cause she apparently couldn’t handle the grief.”

Lies were like trip wires in their world—you had to trace them back to their source to know which ones would trigger the real explosion. Some lies protected, others destroyed, but they all left traces if you knew where to look.

“That does sound like a lie. Mothers don’t die twice.”

“She also said Devil didn’t know about the kid,” he continued. “That’s unlikely if she has her vehicle parked at his place with a freaking car seat strapped to the back. How many single drug mules run around with child safety seats in their vehicles?”

“Maybe people with a child in their extended family?” Tiffany threw out.

Shifting on the bed, he grumbled at her reasonable suggestion. “It’s still suspicious, if you ask me.”

Smiling indulgently at him, Tiffany rubbed his shoulder gently. “Maybe you’re just suspicious by nature.”

“Damn straight I am, woman.” Staring at the blank walls, he added, “Another thing doesn’t sit right with me about this situation. Why did the Seven Devils elect to shoot her instead of just gun Darkness and me down and take her? Why did they walk away then turn around and shoot her? It’s either because she knows more about their operation than she’s letting on and they didn’t want us to sweat it out of her, or Devil has someattachment to her and would rather see her dead than fuckin’ Darkness again.”

Nodding, Tiffany said, “Men are weirdly possessive of the women they’re abusing, so I can see that going either way.”

Now, the polite thing to do would be to ask her about how she would know something like that, but Ryder already knew about everything there was to know about his nurse. He’d had Peb pull her credit history, marriage license, divorce decree, all five restraining orders from three different states, as well as the rundown on her ex. Now was not the time to open yet another can of worms. They had enough to worry about sorting out this situation with the Seven Devils. Besides, maybe her knowledge came from her time working in the ER. Lord only knew the kind of shit she’d encountered there.

Tiffany’s soft voice reached out to him. “Tell me about the Devils.”

Turning on the bed to face her, Ryder replied, “I’ll talk about those bastards all night long and tell you anything you want to know. Just don’t ask me about club business or my brothers. That’s out of bounds.”

Her eyes flew open, and he tried to mitigate his losses. “It’s for your protection. I don’t want to tell you anything that could get you hurt.Knowing more about our enemies can only help you make good decisions if you’re ever confronted with them, but knowing about Blind Jacks shit can only get you killed.”

Her eyes dropped submissively. “I guess that makes sense.”

He took a moment to brush the fall of hair from her eyes and meet her stare before continuing. “The Seven Devils are the worst kind of outlaws. They don’t follow any kind of code. They’ll kill a patched member as quickly as they’ll kill their mother or their old lady. Even most once-percent MC clubs operate under a set of basic principles. Our club and the ones we associate with claim territory and run a variety of illicit, as well as legal, businesses. We don’t deal in the skin trade, nor do we sell anything to kids. Seven Devils crosses every line, takes every feud further, and their body counts are higher than anyone I know. Lots of times, clubs will toss someone who has wronged them in our version of detention, beat the shit out of them or make them pay restitution. The Devils think just killing everyone across the board means people will take them seriously. Instead, it’s isolated them ‘cause no one trusts them to keep to their word or believes they’ll get a fair shake.”

Tiffany looked a little unnerved, but to her credit, she didn’t freak out. “I’m getting a feel for how this works now,” she said softly. “But I have to say that I don’t see you being able to be at your best tomorrow if you don’t get at least a few hours of sleep. And, baby, you really need to have your head screwed on straight to see your way clear of this.”

“I’m going to have a drink or two and make myself sleep,” he assured her, then an even better idea entered his headspace. “Maybe you can do that thing you do with your hands on my back.”

His pretty little nurse snorted a laugh. “It’s called a backrub, baby. But I got a little something to relax you more than a mere massage.”

Rolling over and grabbing his beer, Ryder drained the amber bottle in one long guzzle. Pulling off his shirt, he stood and shucked his pants, shoes, and socks. Turning, Ryder was gratified to see that Tiffany had done the same. His woman was always ready and eager to get him inside her.

Crawling into bed, he allowed her to turn him onto his back. “I like where this is headed.”

Curling up beside him, she tilted her head back, and they locked lips. There was nothing quite as nice as kissing a woman you really loved.Her hands wandered over his body, slowly mapping every bulging muscle. The thing was, it was kind of relaxing and exciting at the same time.

When her hands landed on his junk, and she cupped his balls, gently running her soft hands over him, he moaned. “That’s damned nice, sweetness.”

“I’m not finished yet,” she purred.

Pulling the blanket up around his torso, she slid down, kissing a hot trail straight to his cock. He was hard as a rock, there was no doubt about that. Only, between the alcohol, the warm blanket, and the gentle handling, he was also all kinds of relaxed. Tucking his arms under his head, Ryder grinned as her mouth closed around his rod.

His mind reeled back to the first time she ever put her lips on him. It was after he’d taken a couple of bullets and was on the run for his life. He remembered pulling her flush with his body when they were hiding away in one of the back rooms at the hospital. His own words floated through his mind.You’re the only thing right in my world at the moment. Ever thought of stealing a moment in time, just for yourself?

The poor woman had looked so confused, and even though she turned him down flat, she’d circled back around and sucked him off. He couldstill remember the sexy dream and waking up to her on top of him. It was by far the best memory of his life. Whoever thought a beautiful and accomplished woman would find it in her heart to tend to him in his time of need? Now she was doing it all over again.

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