Page 71 of Breaking the Rules (Roaming Devils MC 1)

Ryker didn’t say anything. Ella came back to the dining room with a glass of tea in her hand and set it next to the plate she’d made for him.

“Are you two getting along?” she asked.

“We haven’t killed each other yet.” Ryker gave her a tight smile and pulled out the chair to sit.

She glanced between them. “I thought you had a truce.”

“I haven’t said a word.” He lifted the fork on his plate. “He’s the one bringing up bullshit.”

“I’m going to protect my daughter. If she can’t see the evil in you, then she needs me to.”

“Yeah? I wasn’t aware that you had any say over who keeps her warm at night. It’s a bit sick and twisted of you to even want that much control over her.”

“Stop it.” Ella pressed her hand against Ryker’s chest.

“My daughter deserves better than a criminal.”

“Pat, stop it.” Ella’s mother came out of the kitchen and stood by her husband.

“If I’m a criminal, arrest me.” Ryker arched an eyebrow. “Go ahead. I’ll go willingly.”

“You think you’re sly, don’t you?” Her father gripped the chair in front of him. “Ella, why don’t you ask him where he was last night.”

Ryker sat back. So the fucking police were watching him. Or maybe her father was grasping at straws to make him admit to some conspiracy theory he’d drummed up in his head.

“I’ve already asked him,” Ella commented.

“And what did he say?”

Ryker clenched his fists.

“He said he was doing club business.”

“Do you know what that means?” Her father finally took his attention off Ryker. “It means that he went to New Orleans to find his father and then he killed him.”

The room fell silent. Ella’s hand was still on his chest and he leaned forward to kiss her arm. He was far from being a good man, but it never seemed to bother Ella. He could simply be himself around her and she loved him for it.

“Did you kill Razor?” Ella asked him.

Their conversation about him lying to her floated through his mind. If he lied to her, then he lost Ella for good. So Ryker didn’t say anything. Her father didn’t want her with him and he’d do whatever he could to stop them from being together. If telling her that he’d cheat on her didn’t do the trick, why wouldn’t he disclose how Ryker murdered people? He should have seen that truce bullshit as a trap from the beginning.

But he hadn’t. He wanted to be civil with him for Ella’s sake. He didn’t want her to feel like she had to choose.

“I need to go.” Ryker stood from his seat and stared at Ella. “Maybe you should stay here for the night.”

“Why?”

Ryker caressed her face, brushing his thumb along her chin. “Because I’m not going to make you choose between us. He can tell you about how many women he thinks I’ve slept with and how I’ll cheat on you because that’s who I am. He can tell you how he thinks I’m a criminal and did heinous crimes without any proof to back it up, just to get you to hate me. He can tell you whatever the hell he wants about me. I’m not playing that game. You know who I am and if you’re that easily swayed, then you need to stay here for the night.”

“Don’t manipulate her.”

Ryker clenched his jaw. “I’m not the one manipulating her.”

“Please stop.” Ella fisted Ryker’s shirt in her hand. “I’m not a hapless female. I can make my own decisions.” She looked at Ryker. “You and I still have a lot we need to talk about.” She glanced over at her father. “And you… You don’t get to make decisions for me. I asked you for information and you gave me what I wanted. You don’t get to tell me how I feel about someone based on your own feelings for them.”

She shook her head. “I love you both.”

Ryker pulled her to him, kissing her temple. “I love you too, Ella. More than you could ever know.”

Stepping away from her, he went to the door. He thought about saying something polite to her mother, but getting out of that house seemed more important. He left, heading down the sidewalk to his bike. Tonight proved to him that they came from different worlds. Ella would always be better than him and he would always be a glutton for punishment with her.

He started his bike. Maybe sleeping at the club was a better option for him. He didn’t know if he was welcomed to stay with Ella any longer, and maybe he needed his distance as well. She didn’t trust him, and that was a serious issue between them.

He didn’t know how to fix it either.

---