Braylen
I woke to the mattress dipping beside me. Brief panic enveloped me until I realized it was Ryder. I felt safe whenever he was close, which was quite the conundrum since it was because of him that I’d been attacked and was now involved in his club’s lockdown, essentially trapping me inside their clubhouse until they deemed otherwise.
“Sorry, babe. Didn’t mean to scare you.” I loved when he used terms of endearment. I knew it was corny, but they made me feel like he was truly mine.
“It’s okay. Are you coming to bed?” I turned to face him, conscious of the puppy lying close to me, one eye open to see what all the noise was about.
“Not yet. I have to leave, but I’ll be back. I promise.” Even though he tried to mask it, I heard the worry in his voice. Ryder was a tough-looking man, had the personality to match, but there were times, like right then, when he was simply a human being. A flawed, unsure, slightly nervous person. It was his flaws that kept me interested in knowing the whole man. If that made any sense, because it sure as hell didn’t to me most days.
“Where are you going? I thought the club was on lockdown.” I was confused, and from the look on his face, I soon became alarmed. More for him than myself.
“Marek, Stone, and Trigger will be here to watch over you all. The rest of us are leaving. We have business to take care of. When it’s done, we’ll be back.”
“But I don’t want you to go.” Sitting up, I moved the puppy to the other side of the bed so I could be closer to Ryder, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him to me. “Please don’t go,” I pleaded, having a bad feeling something was going to go terribly wrong. Having no idea where they were even headed off to, I still knew in my gut it wasn’t a good thing.
“If I could stay here with you, I would, but I can’t.” Tension laced his words, but rather than argue with him, which was what I would have done before, I gave him what he needed—my acceptance of the situation. Besides, there wasn’t anything I could do to change his mind. I knew when it came to his club, he would do what he needed to, come hell or high water.
He gave me a quick kiss, unhooked my hands clasped behind his neck and stood up. “Make sure to take care of Brutus.”
“Who?”
“Brutus,” he repeated, pointing toward the bundle of fur drifting in and out of sleep next to me.
“I thought you weren’t gonna name him. Does this mean you’re definitely keeping him?” With everything going on, I still couldn’t hide my smile. I considered it a small win.
“Yeah, so make sure you watch over him.” Ryder grabbed a few things from the dresser and tucked something into the waistband of his jeans before stopping by the door. Without looking at me, he said, “We’ll talk more when I get back.”
The minutes turned to hours and still I heard nothing from Ryder, and neither had anyone else. At least I didn’t think so. I doubted Marek or Stone were going to give me a play-by-play regarding their club’s business.
Adelaide and Reece carefully sat down next to me, Adelaide rubbing her belly and grimacing. “I swore I wasn’t gonna let that man come near me again after I gave birth to Riley.” She smiled big when Stone’s eyes caught hers. “But I just can’t resist his charms.”
“I don’t think it’s his charms that got you pregnant,” Reece countered. I laughed, but it felt empty.
Seeing the worry on my face, Adelaide soothed, “It’s better you know this now rather than years in. The club does stuff that won’t make you happy. Ryder won’t be able to tell you things, and it’s frustrating, but he’ll do it for your own good. For your safety.” She continued to rub her stomach. “Stone’s always telling me that there’s an end in sight, that the danger toward the Knights won’t always exist, but then shit like this happens.”
“What exactly is going on?”
“Hell if I know. Just because I’m engaged to the VP doesn’t mean I’m privy to information.”
“How do you deal with not knowing, always wondering if he’ll come back unharmed? Or at all?” I squirmed in my seat while looking at both of them, hesitant to hear the answer.
“When he goes away and can’t tell me why, I remind him why he has to come back to me. That we have a family, and that if he stupidly puts himself in danger, I’ll marry Tripp.”
Reece chuckled at that one, her blue-gray eyes lighting up at the mention of her man. She was aware of the special bond Adelaide and Tripp shared, and she apparently had no issue with it.
“In all seriousness, there’s nothing I can do but wait and pray he stays safe.”
“That’s it?”
“I’m afraid so.” She gave me a grin before getting to her feet, Stone watching her and rushing right over. I thought it was adorable how much he fussed over her.
“Damnit, woman, you need to go lie down.”
“Wanna come with me? Finish where we left off before?” Marek overheard their conversation and lifted his chin toward his VP. “We have your friend’s approval. Now help me back to your room.”
Stone just shook his head as he picked up his fiancée, carrying her down the hallway instead of allowing her to walk.
After briefly chatting about her own pregnancy, Reece and I soon followed suit and went back to our respective rooms.
The more I slept, the sooner Ryder would come back to me.