Chapter Ten

THE BEEPING NOISE IS doing nothing to quell the pounding in her head, and she wishes that it would stop. Norah tries to raise her hand to get someone’s attention, but the weight is too much – like trying to lift a fifty-pound bowling ball. Instead, she groans loudly as the beeping increases.

“I wondered how long you would sleep,” a familiar voice says as the noise stops and relief washes over her when she realizes that it’s Jameson.

Norah tries to open her eyes, the brightness of the room overwhelming her and she squeezes them tightly shut.

“Hey, Avery, can you cut the lights off?”

Suddenly the room seems darker behind her lids so she pries them open again and the darker hue of the room doesn’t burn her irises.

“What happened? Where am I?” Norah’s voice scratches.

Jameson’s kind eyes glance at her sympathetically and he hands her a small cup of water and advises her to sip it slowly.

“Mmm, that’s better. Now, where am I?”

“Asheville Medical. We needed to bring you here when the press began to arrive in Carson. It’s safer here.”

“Am I hurt?” she asks feeling around internally for any measures of pain but other than aches from non-use she doesn’t notice any injuries.

“No, you’re fine. You went into shock though and shut down. We haven’t been able to wake you up for twelve hours. They told us it was your mind’s way of blocking out everything that happened.”

Avery comes to stand beside her bed and takes Norah’s hand in hers. “Do you remember anything?”

Norah begins to shake her head until suddenly visions flash in her mind, and she is transported back to the scene this morning.

Jameson had moved quickly inside the building, but Alexis had called her over, and they chatted. Norah hadn’t wanted to rub it in Jameson’s face that she wanted to make sure Ryker arrived at the clinic down the street safely. So Alexis had given her the perfect excuse to stay outside.

She had felt the warmth spread across her body as Ryker turned in her direction and winked just as he hit the parking lot. Alexis had said something under her breath, but Norah ignored her; she was too entrenched in Ryker to care.

Ryker’s attention began to waiver as a car came barreling around the turn just before the clinic and for some reason, Norah got a dreadful feeling in her stomach. The car was moving too fast, and she had thought they intended to run her over. But the car stopped suddenly and before Norah had a chance to grasp what was going on a shot rang out, and Alexis was sent flying back against the stone wall of the pediatric clinic.

“Alexis!” she had screamed at the same time her own name was shouted across the way by Ryker. Norah turned to look at him just as a hulking size of a man came toward her and wrapped his beefy arms around her body.

Norah screamed as loud as her lungs would allow and kicked at the man’s legs with everything she had but the man barely flinched. As he dragged her toward the other side of the car, she bit down on his arm hating the taste of his blood in her mouth but satisfied that she had caused some damage. Not that it did her any good. He slammed his stumpy fist right into the side of her head causing the pain from her burn to intensify a million times. Tears ran down her face as he dumped her into the car and he moved toward the front seat.

She was fearful that she would never see Ryker or Jameson again and that she was afraid what would happen to her after they were through with her,

What she never expected was for a man to occupy the seat next to her.

“Hello, dear daughter. What a pleasure it is to see you,” her father said and as she turned in her seat, the pounding in her head growing as the car begins to move quickly away from the town.

“How could you do this to me?”

“It’s not personal. You have something I want,” her father replies. “And this time I plan to get it from you myself.”

“I’m your own daughter! Don’t you love me?” she shouts, her anger beginning to get the best of her and her emotions are running freely.

Her father begins, “Don’t be silly,” but his statement is never finished as one shot rings out. The men in the car start to scramble for their weapons obviously underestimating the town.

Norah looks out the window to see Shirley and Temple Fitzgerald standing beside their brother Fred who has his gun drawn and his finger on the trigger. Whipping her head around she finds Ethel, the local waitress, with Preston the sheriff standing on the other side of the road, his finger on the trigger of his gun. And up ahead Cliff the town’s tattoo artist stands poised with his Military issued sniper rifle aimed at the speeding vehicle.

Four shots ring out. Sounds she’ll never be able to erase from her memory.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

As if it happened in slow motion one shot rings out breaking through the front glass. A second louder shot clangs and the massive man that tossed her around like a rag doll knocks his head back against his headrest and then slouches forward. The driver follows suit and slumps against the steering wheel as his blood splatters against the shattered windshield and car interior.

Though the car is moving Norah reaches for the door handle trying to escape, fearful for her life.

“Norah!” her father shouts, and for the first time, she notices the fear in his eyes as she turns to look at him.

“I . . .” he starts, but a single bullet collides into his face spewing skin and blood across the back seat.

“Daddy!” she shouts, her younger self-reaching out toward her father as she wishes for the love she craved as a child.

The car jerks wildly as it collides with a tree, the motion causing her father’s body to lean in her direction, blood oozing slowly from his mouth and onto her lap.

Something in her snaps at that moment and in alarm she finds the door handle and staggers back on all fours away from the car, away from her life. All she can see is the men. The men trying to take her. The men trying to hurt her. The men that can’t love her.

In her haze, she hears someone approach, her name but a whisper on his lips. She doesn’t see his face, can’t make out the form in the mist, but she feels fear. Fear for herself, fear for him. And as she continues to wobble away from the scene, her haze begins to filter away as the blackness looms.

A blackness that she welcomes because the blackness can do the one thing no one else has accomplished. To take her away.

Her body jerks as the visions crash into her. So bright. So clear. So vivid. And as she looks around her room, her heartbeat pounding wildly in her chest, the damn beeping starts up again.

“Where’s Ryker?”

Jameson and Avery exchange a glance and then Avery begins, “Well, he’s back at Carson. You see when the press began arriving, and by the way, we’re still trying to figure out who called them, Ryker needed to get away. And you sort of lashed out at him when he tried to approach you. We all felt it was best for him to stay in Carson and let Logan treat his wound there. Jameson and I traveled with you here.”

“I don’t understand. I lashed out?” Norah asks as a different fear begins to fester and grow in her stomach.

Jameson draws her attention as he says, “Ryker tried to get to you to help you get away from the car, but you kept backing away from him. He kept trying, and you smacked and kicked at him as he tried to  help you from the ground.”

“Oh my gosh. I didn’t mean . . . it wasn’t intentional” Norah tries to explain through the wetness growing in her eyes.

“It’s okay,” Avery assures her with a gentle hand on Norah’s shoulder.

“It’s not okay.”

“He understands,” Jameson fills in. “He knows you were in shock and lashing out at the men, not necessarily at him.”

“But I hurt him. How can he forgive me for that?”

“You didn’t hurt him. At least not physically. And, well, he loves you. He’s probably pissing Logan off trying to find a way to get here.”

Avery glances down at her phone and smiles a small, secretive grin and then looks back at Norah. “Logan said Ryker threatened to give him a vasectomy if he didn’t bring him here, so it looks like you’ll have a visitor soon enough. You should probably get some rest.”

“Hey, Norah,” Jameson begins, and Norah turns to look at her friend who has a mix of intrigue and curiosity in his eyes. “Have you thought about how you and Ryker are going to do this dating thing? I mean, he has thousands of girls and women vying for his attention at all times. The fan mail he gets is ridiculous; he actually has to hire someone to take care of it all. It’s a lot to take in.”

“It works for Harlan and Cassidy,” Norah suggests as the realization that she’s dating an actual rock star begins to sink in.

“Harlan and Cassidy can both easily work the press. It’s different when you’ve never been exposed to it. And Norah, remember that they’re going to dig up everything they can about you to paint you in the worst light. Ryker’s fans will want him single, and they’ll stop at nothing to tear you apart.”

“Why are you telling me this?” she lashes out. “You’re supposed to be my best friend. What do you suggest? Do you think I should just end it now because I’m the daughter of the Moretti Mob king? It’s not like I signed up for it Jameson! I am not my father!”

“Hey now, don’t get all worked up. I just want you to think hard about this. I know my brother, and he’s going to want to shout it from the rooftops that he’s in love with you and that you’re his girl. But are you ready for that? Are you ready to be followed everywhere you go? Are you ready to receive the hate mail and stalkers? I want you to make sure you’re prepared for the shit storm that is about to take over your life.”

“Why can’t I just love him and be happy?”

“You should know now that nothing is ever that easy,” Jameson says as he pats her thigh and hands over her phone. “On the plus side, I was able to deactivate the program just as you suggested. The coding worked perfectly. You did a really good job.”

“Thanks, Jameson,” Norah whispers still confused at whatever Jameson was suggesting moments ago. “I guess I need to contact the Commissioner and let him know that the program has been closed. Have they been able to locate Dr. Fields?”

“Yes, with the track I was able to gather this morning Dylan had Preston send it to the FBI, they were able to find Dr. Fields and the device.”

“How bad was it?”

“Unfortunately they believe Dr. Fields may have been working with your father all along. That’s why you were brought into the project. But Dr. Fields grew to care for you which is why he left the message on his computer. He hadn’t saved anything to retire and saw this as an opportunity to get some cash. He knew what he was doing. I’m sorry about that, Norah.”

“God, I don’t feel like I know anyone anymore. Dr. Fields was like the grandfather I never had. How can I trust my own instincts now?” she ponders as she considers her feelings for Ryker.

Are they real? Or are they a consequence of the situation she has been placed in?

Avery steps into Norah’s line of sight again. “Don’t over think it, Norah. I can see the wheels spinning. The heart knows what it wants; a bad situation can’t manipulate that.”

“I’m so confused now. I’m questioning everything.”

“Don’t. You’re going to waste a lot of energy worrying about something you can’t control. Instead, you should relax and watch some mindless television because once Ryker arrives, he’s not going to let you out of his sight for a very long time.”

Jameson snags the remote and turns on a reality show that is so bad Norah actually feels better about everything going on in her life. The chair in the corner squeaks as Avery readjusts herself, her eyes closed as she tries to catch up on some sleep. Norah had asked her where the twins were and she explained that Amy and Joseph took them back to their house, so she had a few hours of peace and quiet.

“Hey,” Jameson whispers from beside her. “Do you really love my brother?”

Norah doesn’t hesitate, her answer forms freely and she responds, “I do. It happened so fast and took me by surprise, but I do.”

“Then make sure he knows that. I know my brother, and he’s never going to feel like he’s good enough for you. He doesn’t even think that he’s good enough to be my brother. But I admire him more than anyone. He’s never held back at going after what he wants. That takes a lot of courage.

“If you’re not ready to share him with the world yet, that’s okay. Just make sure he knows. He’ll understand. Just don’t crush him. I’m not sure he can handle that.

“I can already see that he’d give up anything for you. You’re it for him. It’s written all over his face. If you ask he’d even give up music for you. That’s been the most important thing in his life for the past few years, and he’d stop if you wanted. You have that much power over him.”

“I don’t want him to give up music for me. I don’t want him to give up anything for me.”

“But remember, you’re going to be giving up a lot for him. So much so that you’ll hold all of the cards. He’d do anything for you.”

“Jameson, he’s already giving me everything. Not just himself, which is more than I deserve, but he’s giving me the one thing I’ve always dreamed – to be a part of a family.”

A soft knock on the door sounds and a weary Ryker steps inside with Logan on his tail. Ryker stands stock-still at the entrance with his eyes glued to Norah, and she returns his stare. She barely notices as Logan lifts Avery into his arms and carries her out of the room or as Jameson steps out after patting Ryker on the shoulder.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” she whispers when they’re finally alone.

“I wasn’t sure you’d want to see me,” Ryker replies as he shrugs.

“Ryker, I. . .” she begins, but he interrupts.

“Before you begin and tell me everything, I want you to know that I love you.

“I love you too,” she says with a smile.

“Now tell me everything.”

 

*

 

RYKER SITS ON THE edge of Norah’s bed in rapture as she explains everything that took place. He had seen most of it with his own eyes, using what he knew to answer the officer’s questions when they had torn apart the scene of the crime that morning, but to hear it from her point of view put him in a new perspective. And he is furious.

How could someone’s father treat them so carelessly? How could that person even consider putting their daughter in that kind of danger?

Of course, now that Anthony Moretti is dead and his brain matter spread into billions of tiny pieces in the back seat they’ll never have an answer.

When Norah had crawled away from the car, he had thought she was freaking out over her father’s blood all over her body, which thankfully has been cleaned up. But hearing her talk, he knows that shock had controlled her. Pure unadulterated shock at the situation that unfolded in front of her eyes.

“Are you okay now?” he asks her as she finishes her story at the point when she passed out.

“I’m not sure. I haven’t really processed it all. But I suppose knowing that my father is dead should be some sort of reassurance that I’m free. That his mistakes won’t come back to haunt me.”

Of course, Ryker bites his tongue as he considers the aftermath their relationship may have. Neither of them has spoken about how they plan to navigate the winding road of being in a relationship with a celebrity, but they were about to get a crash course since a slew of photographers were waiting for them at the entrance. In a situation like this one he would normally call his bodyguard Gary to escort him back and forth, but since Gary’s life was taken at Norah’s father’s hand, he had no one to turn to. At least until the record label hired him a new security staff member.

“What do we do now?” Norah asks breaking Ryker free from his thoughts.

“I think we take it one day at a time. We can get a therapist to help you deal with the traumatic event you witnessed if you think that will help. Someone may be able to help you deal with everything you’ve dealt with at the hands of your father.”

“What about us? My past isn’t going to go over well with your fans.”

“I don’t care about that. Those were your father’s mistakes, not yours.”

“But you know how people are. They will forever associate me with the Moretti Mob. Not even a name change can fix that.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Ryker says as he leans down to kiss her, but Norah turns her head away forcing his lips to brush against her cheek.

“I have to worry.  I don’t want to see your career tarnished because of me.”

Placing his hands on the sides of her face he turns her attention back to him. “Norah, you don’t have to worry about any of that. No one will have to know he’s your father. I have money, and the FBI will make sure that those records of your last name aren’t made public. You’re worrying over nothing. All my fans will see is that I am in love with a brilliant and beautiful woman.”

He lets his words sink in, and when Norah finally relents on her hold of the past, he can see as her body relaxes in his hands.

“I’m so glad that you’re okay,” Ryker says to Norah as he brushes his lips against hers. “At first I thought you were covered in your own blood, but then I realized that it was your father’s and I had never been more relieved. I knew you didn’t mean it when you fought me, I could see in your eyes that you didn’t recognize who I was. I just hated that I couldn’t come with you. I needed to get you away as quickly as possible.”

“So no one knows that I was in the car with my father?”

“No one, Preston said he will leave it out of the report since you weren’t hurt. The police were more concerned that they caught the real Anthony Moretti. We sort of said that he figured out Jameson had helped build the program and he was after him. It made sense.”

“Wow,” Norah says, and then her eyes widen. “How is Alexis? Oh my gosh, they shot her!”

“She’s okay,” Ryker comforts as he strokes his hand over her head. “She just had the wind knocked out of her.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Now I have a question for you,” Ryker says, and Norah grows nervous as a million scenarios flitter through her mind. “When are you getting out of here?”

 

AN HOUR LATER NORAH and Ryker leave the hospital newly dressed and in a car Dylan has sent for them. The windows are tinted dark, and the driver stays quiet, just as Ryker wants. The same fast food restaurant from the weekend comes into their view, and Ryker and Norah turn to look at each other before her giggles join his laughter.

“Are you hungry?” he asks, and Norah nods.

“Famished.”

Ryker asks the driver to pull into the restaurant and instead of going through the drive-thru Ryker has the driver pull into a parking spot.

“What are you doing? Someone could see us.” Norah exclaims as she frantically looks around the parking lot for paparazzi.

“I know. Trust me, Norah. I will never be ashamed of you.”

Ryker holds out his hand to her as he stands outside the vehicle waiting for her to make her choice. He can already see the few teenagers in the car waiting at the drive-thru tugging out their phones and posing them in his direction. Normally the gesture would bother him but not today. Today he wants to eat a quick meal with the woman he loves, and he wants the world to see.

She is contemplating the move, her eyes moving over his hand and then locking onto his gaze. She would say that she looks a mess, but Ryker has never seen someone so beautiful. Finally, Norah gently places her palm against his, and he sighs in relief. He was almost fearful she wasn’t ready to proclaim their relationship yet, but again she surprises him. Ryker wants to jump up and down and show the world that this amazing woman is his. Instead, he guides her out of the vehicle, and they walk hand in hand to the burger joint.

At first, the restaurant grows quiet, and a few of the older patrons glance around not sure why everyone else is clamoring to retrieve their phones and cameras, but they soon go back to their meals. They order their food, and Norah picks a table in the center of the room surprising him.

“If we’re going to do this we might as well make it easy for everyone,” she clarifies, and Ryker laughs as he agrees.

As he sets down the tray of greasy goodness, he leans down and brushes his lips against hers. “Well, let’s give them something to talk about,” he says as he deepens their kiss, plunging his hand into her hair.

Pulling back Norah laughs as she grabs her drink. “You know, I love that song. Bonnie Raitt, right?”

“You would be correct,” Ryker affirms as he takes a hearty bite of his burger.

“How long do you think it will take for this to be public?” Norah inquires as they finish their meals.

“Let’s see,” he says as he pulls out his phone and logs into one of the band’s social media pages. He doesn’t have any of his own, but he likes to check in on Exoneration’s pages every now and then. “Oh, it seems we’re already trending on a few sites. Everyone is wondering who you are.”

Ryker’s phone rings in his hand, and he chuckles as he looks up at Norah.

“That’s our publicist, guess she just saw the pictures, and she’s going to chew me out for not giving her a heads up.”

Answering the call Ryker listens to Rachel, the band’s new publicist, try to tear him a new one for not letting her know he is seeing anyone. But as Ryker explains everything Rachel’s anger diminishes and she seems excited for him. He also asked her to put out a statement regarding the privacy of their relationship.

As he ends the phone call, he looks up to Norah’s relieved and smiling face and for the first time since they’ve met Ryker feels like everything is going right.

It takes the entire hour to travel back to Carson, and Ryker wishes that his driver would at least attempt to go faster than the speed limit. He’s itching to get Norah back into his bed. Something about the possibility of losing her today made everything real, made everything about his feelings more transparent. He didn’t need to ask her how she feels, he can see it in the way she smiles at him, at the way she laughs with him, at the way she seems so carefree in his presence.

It’s all he ever wanted for himself, a relationship to mimic his parents’, to mimic his siblings’. He would give it all up for her if she asks; which is why her reaction to their picture being plunged all over social media warms him. She doesn’t seem deterred, and he wonders if Jameson spoke with her about it. About expectations and reality.

He’s lucky that the band’s tour schedule is now on the back burner. That gives them a chance to settle into something solid before the threat of the road weighs on them. An obstacle known to break up many relationships.

The car pulls into the gated community, and the moment that the vehicle comes to a stop he’s lifting Norah out of the passenger seat and carrying her over the threshold. A vision of her wearing a white dress flashes behind his eyes and he smiles at the thought.

It’s funny to think that they met officially at a wedding only a few days ago and now he can envision her walking down the aisle toward him.

It’s crazy, and foolish, and something he wants more than anything now that he has her.

“Hey, why that serious look?” Norah asks as she rubs at the wrinkle between his brows.

“It’s nothing. I’m just thinking about how many times I plan to make love to you tonight.”

“Oh. Well, you go on and keep imagining then,” she whispers as she nips at his earlobe sending a jolt through his body.

Ryker tosses her on the bed as he enters his bedroom and follows closely behind as she scoots up toward the headboard being mindful of his injury.

“You look very determined,” she says as he rests his hips against her.

“I am very determined. Very determined to get you naked.”

With a twist of her hips, Norah flips them over until she is straddling him, the heat of her core searing him through his pants. Without saying a word, Norah begins to slowly remove her shirt as she rocks her hips back and forth to a silent beat. Her bra soon follows, and Ryker is mesmerized by the soft swaying of her naked breasts.

Just as Ryker attempts to reach for the puckered tip, she stands on the bed above him and shimmies her pants and panties down her toned legs, kicking them off to the side of the bed.

A growl sounds from his chest as she crouches back on the bed above him, her pink pussy on full display.

“God, I want you to sit on my face,” Ryker groans as he reaches for her hips trying to bring her forward.

She holds still against him not budging until he grips her hips tighter practically bruising her skin.

“Well, I suppose if that is what you want.”

“Fuck, yes,” he barks as he maneuvers himself underneath her sex ready to devour her.

And he knows that she won’t disappoint him.

 

FROM THE BED HE watches as Norah sleeps soundly beside him, his princess lost in her own world. He pulls back a tad as a song filters through him and his need to write the words bears down heavy. But as he pulls away Norah’s grasp tightens around his waist.

She grumbles slightly but relents her hold as he presses a kiss to her head. As he moves from the bed, he grabs a new notepad from the nightstand and makes his way to the chair in the corner.

But instead of writing words he stares at Norah, her beautiful face and one of her bare breasts exposed from the sheets. She’s perfection in his eyes. Everything he ever dreamt of. Her soft body curves against the sheet, the swell of her breasts convexing upward toward the strawberry tip. Ryker can almost taste it in his mouth.

He continues to stare as he jots down the words ringing in his mind until Norah moves on the bed and reaches out to him. The sunlight is beginning to filter through the windows casting the room in a warm pink glow.

“Mmm, morning,” she says in her sleep-filled husky voice.

“Mornin’”

“What are you doing out of bed? Trouble sleeping?”

“Naw. I had a song wake me up, and I wanted to write it down before I forgot.”

“Does that happen a lot?” she asks as she comes more awake and sits up some resting her head on her bent arm.

“Every now and then. I do my best work early in the morning. I’ll probably see if Harlan wants to record the demo with me today or tomorrow while it’s fresh in my mind.”

“That sounds great. I need to call the University and the Commissioner and straighten everything out. I don’t even know if I still have a job to go back to.”

His heart lurches. Ryker hasn’t considered her going back to Virginia to finish her position. He hasn’t thought past today.

“Oh. Do you want to go back?” he asks curiously as he sets down the notepad and ambles back to the bed, back to her.

“I suppose so. It’s one of the few labs where I can practice using the grant.”

“So I guess we need to make the most of our time this morning,” Ryker points out as he settles in her arms, his growing erection pressing against her thigh seeking out her sex.

“Whatever shall we do?” she jests.

“I’m sure I can come up with a few things,” Ryker claims as he presses his mouth against hers and slides his cock deep inside her to show her what he has planned.