Page 24 of Breaking the Rules (Roaming Devils MC 1)

“I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t have it.”

Her father grunted. “He has it. The Roaming Devils are one of the largest coke dealers in the city. Young Blood was in competition with them.”

“I don’t know about that. All I can say is that I didn’t do anything illegal and you don’t need to worry about either one of them right now. You need to focus on getting better.”

“Your mother said that you were in trouble. That this whole rescue thing got you in trouble.”

“My mother doesn’t know shit about what’s going on.” Ella squeezed the railings of his bed. Her mother simply couldn’t keep her damn mouth shut. “And if you don’t rein her in, she’s going to start saying stuff she knows nothing about and get everyone in trouble.”

“What has she said?”

“She asked me a million questions about the Roaming Devils, drawing her own conclusions based off nothing. She knows nothing about them but making stuff up isn’t going to be good for any of us.”

He nodded. “I’ll have a talk with her.”

“Good.” Ella glanced over toward the door. “You scared us both when Young Blood got you. Please don’t ever do anything like that again.”

He didn’t say anything. Her father was a cop and he had to take out the bad guys. It was in his blood. There had been some scary situations over his twenty years on the job, but nothing as bad as the most recent.

After spending a few hours with him, Ella’s cell phone rang and she frowned at the readout. “Dad, I need to go. I’ll come back later.”

He nodded. “Okay. Go save the world.”

She smiled at him and left, answering the phone on her way to the elevator. “Hey.”

“Where are you?”

“Hospital. Why?”

“I need you. I’ll meet you at the clinic.”

Ryker hung up and she frowned, getting into the elevator. That didn’t sound like a sexual call. She rode the elevator to the second floor and went out to the parking garage. The distance between the hospital and the free clinic was merely a few blocks. When she pulled in, she saw Ryker on his bike, waiting. Ella parked next to him and got out.

“What’s wrong?”

His hands shook. “I need help.”

She pocketed her keys. “Okay. Are you having another craving?”

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. “I breathed some of the powder in.”

Ella stared at him. She didn’t know how it had happened, but it didn’t really matter either. He’d come to her because he trusted her. Because he wanted her to help him. Ella’s mind kicked into full gear. She rubbed her hand along his arm, trying to calm him down.

“How long ago?”

“Minutes.”

She nodded. “Okay. Was this the first time in years?”

He opened his eyes. They were glossy with need. He kept his fists clenched as he sat there taking one breath, then another.

“I can give you a prescription or I can sit with you and let you ride it out. A craving only lasts for a little while, but if you’ve breathed in some of the powder, it could have the full effects of withdrawal.”

He groaned and pressed his fingers into his temples. “Just fucking sit with me.”

“Okay.” Ella glanced around. “I can make you a bed in the clinic or we can go to my apartment.”

He got off his bike and Ella watched as he walked around to the other side of her car.

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