Page 193 of His Virgin Romance Series

CHAPTER17

Ryder

“Turnsout you’re a good teacher after all,” Devon said, walking into the living room.

I smiled. “You doubted me?”

“Just because you’re a good fighter doesn’t mean you can teach,” Devon said. “And in any case, I just assumed you lacked the patience.”

“Well, you’re not wrong there.”

“So what changed?” Devon asked.

“Nothing changed,” I shrugged. “I still despise teaching, and I still have zero patience.”

“And yet you managed to teach my sister how to defend herself.”

I paused, realizing that he had backed me into a corner, and I had walked right into it. I paused for a second. “This was not about her,” I said, hoping that I didn’t sound too defensive.

“No?” Devon asked, with raised eyebrows.

“Of course not,” I said, refusing to look him in the eye.

“Then what was it about?” Devon asked, with interest.

I had hoped to avoid that question. “Walter Black,” I said, and the lie rolled easily off my tongue.

“Walter Black?” Devon repeated. “You mean to tell me that you’re doing all this for the elusive Mr. Black?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “He’s trying to fuck with us… indirectly, but it amounts to the same thing. One thing is certain: he’s going to try and goad us into a fight using Abby. He’s already got our attention because of what he did to her… He obviously handpicked her because he knew her connection to the Angels. Every time I teach her a move, I imagine that move being used against the bastard.”

“The faceless bastard with no name,” Devon pointed out.

“Doesn’t fucking matter,” I said. “We may not know his name. We may not know what he looks like. But we know who he is.”

“What do you think their plan is, honestly?” Devon asked.

“I don’t have a fucking clue,” I said. “Their next move is a mystery to me. I would have thought he’d come out of the woodwork by now. But since he hasn’t, we have to assume the plan is still underway and either they’re waiting for the right time to strike or something has gone wrong.”

“You think that’s possible?”

“Everything is possible,” I said. “I prefer believing in the former because that way, we don’t let our guard down.”

Devon nodded. “And afterward?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, wrinkling my eyebrows at him.

“Say we manage to stop this guy, and we don’t ever have to worry about Walter Black again?”

“Yeah?”

“What happens then? Abby is going to have to leave the clubhouse, you realize.”

He had surveyed the situation, and he suspected. He suspected, but he didn’t know, and I wasn’t about to add fuel to the flames.

“I realize that,” I said. “She can’t stay here.”

Devon stayed silent for a moment. Then he nodded, almost as though he had been afraid I might insist that Abby stay here with us. “I think she might like Chicago.”

---