Page 34 of Reacher
“My office, now.” I didn’t wait for a response, striding across the hall to my small office, leaving the door open for Ryder as I sat down.
“Close the door.”
He did, and then he grabbed a seat, figuring he was here for the long haul.
“I’m only going to ask you one question, asshole, and I expect the truth. No matter how much you don’t want to tell me. Got it?”
Ryder cursed, rubbing his face with both hands.
“Jesus. You know, don’t you?”
Hell.Suspicions confirmed.
“That shit is for you and your old lady?”
He nodded, staring at the floor. “You have to understand, Pres. She’s my old lady, and whatever she needs, I’m gonna fucking give it to her.” I understood the compulsion, but this shit was too messed up to even comprehend.
“So, just to make sure my old man brain is getting this right. You’re willingly letting that woman inject you with an unknown fucking substance, so she can keep raping you?”
I saw disgust on his face, just like I could feel it in my gut at the thought of this sick shit.
“See, I knew you wouldn’t understand. This is why it’s a fucking secret, and what two people do in the bedroom is their fucking business, Reacher.”
He was standing now, his fists clenched at his sides.
“Brother, your reaction to my comment tells me you know how wrong this is. Maybe you’ve even known for a while, but you’re holding back on dealing with that, because it keeps your lady happy. Are you seriously telling me that never experiencing your sex life with her is gonna be enough for you? It wouldn’t be for me.”
He dropped heavily onto the seat he’d leapt out of.
“It’s not like that, Pres. We tried that, sure we did, but it wasn’t enough. You were right about that. Watching a video after the fact, and jerking off wasn’t enough.”
I groaned. At what point is the phrase ‘too much information’ not even enough to cover it?
“I don’t need details, fuckface.”
He smirked briefly, then turned serious again.
“The stuff in the syringes is what that mafia guy used on Tori.”
What the actual fuck! I thought this couldn’t get any more fucking twisted, and yet here we are.
“How the hell did you even get hold of that shit?”
“Ice.”
Fucking hell. Fucking Ice. Is this what got him stabbed to shit?
“Did you get your brother almost killed, Ryder?”
He shook his head. “It can’t be about that. He’s shagging some tech there to get hold of the stuff. It’s not like that would get him attacked. Reacher, it’s the only way I can be with Tori. It lets mefeel. It lets me feel her fucking me. It’s intense. If we don’t have this, I think she’ll retreat into the black hole again. I can’t do that to her.”
I rubbed at my own face for a minute, taking time to press the piercings in my eyebrow, letting the small bite of pain pull me out of the whirling thoughts.
“Anyone else know about this?”
“Is it gonna come down on them if they do? Because if so, I’m not telling you a damn thing. I’ll take the heat for this. Just me. Not even Tori.”
I glared at him. “Listen, you stupid prick. This could be a real issue, if anyone outside of the club finds out. Best way to prevent that, is to make sure nobody else inside the club knows.”
