Chapter Seven

NORAH ISN’T SURE HOW long she’s been in the middle area between sleep and awake, but she knows it’s most likely been around two hours. She can feel everyone’s stare on her, hear their whispered words as they try to over analyze the situation.

Yes, she is free of the implant.

Yes, she is most likely going to have to go to DC to meet with the team that commissioned the product.

Yes, Dr. Lewis is still missing and is most likely being held by the men that tried to take her.

Yes, she is scared out of her fucking mind that they are going to find her again.

She never imagined that her life would be like this. That using her knowledge and skills for good would lead her into a world that feels more like a sludge-filled abyss. Norah never for one second thought that the project had any malicious intent. When the Commissioner contacted Dr. Lewis and laid out what they were envisioning she saw the potential. The military was struggling with their soldiers being overworked and in more hostile territory than ever before. This was a solution she could get behind so long as the team to use the device and scanners were well trained.

They had planned to use the ten implant prototypes on an elite team to test the effectiveness for a year. She and the technicians had created charts that trace the transmissions and the changes in heart rate and breathing using a feed from the software.

From what she can gather in her false sleep Jameson and some of Scarlet Security may have finally been able to create a program that would be able to use her coding and simulate the scanner’s response. If they’re able to accomplish this, then she can terminate the program and start fresh. A simple security coding fix will allow her to relaunch the program if the Military would still like to pursue it. Unfortunately, Norah fears that the program may be shut down indefinitely and she’s wasted the last few years on a project that won’t get to complete its purpose.

The plane jostles as they hit a bit of turbulence and the group scatters to find a seat and fasten their seatbelts. Norah feels a hand on her shoulder, and she turns to see Ryker crouched beside her.

“There is a storm over Asheville and Carson, so we need to buckle in. It’s going to be a rough landing.”

She nods and sits up so that he can take the seat beside her and they strap themselves into the white belts of the leather couch. As the plane dips and climbs with the clouds and wind Norah feels no ounce of fear, her fear is bottled up in the form of a black market dealer seeking her out.

Luckily the descent doesn’t last long, and they safely arrive at the Asheville airport where their vehicle waits for them to drive them back to Carson.

“I’m so glad that we’re home,” Ryker explains as they duck under an umbrella and rush to the car.

“Why is that?” Norah asks innocently.

“So I can get you into my bed.”

“Oh. Well, I suppose I won’t object to that,” she teases, and Ryker practically growls as he settles into the seat beside her.

“Norah,” her name is called from the seat in front of her. She is so focused on Ryker that she misses Jameson and the rest of the team in the row.

Her cheeks redden as she sheepishly replies, “Yeah?”

“How are you feeling?”

“Good. It’s a bit tender and sore, but I’ll survive. I think I may have a bruise on my hip from earlier, but there isn’t much I can do about that now.”

Ryker snarls beside her and immediately begins to lift her shirt trying to locate the bruise. When he finds it on her right hip partly covered by her jeans, he tugs the shirt back down while cursing under his breath.

“I’m okay,” she says as she rests her hand on his arm instantly soothing him.

The rest of the journey back to Carson is quiet, and when they approach Main Street, Norah finds it odd that the streets are deserted. Of course with the storm raging outside everyone is staying indoors. But it’s bizarre none-the-less.

They have driven past Ryker and Jameson’s neighborhood needing to stop by his sister’s pharmacy to pick up some more first aid supplies. They don’t have to wait long to have Jameson rush inside and exit just as quickly. But Norah is antsy. She wants to rid herself of her clothes, take a hot shower, and eat food. Maybe not in that order.

The thought of food has her stomach rumbling loudly enough that the other passengers in the vehicle turn around.

“Sorry.” Norah covers her stomach with her hands and bites her lips as she glances out the window.

From his seat, Jameson turns around and hands her a bottle of water and a bag of beef jerky.

“I thought this may be better than nothing,” he says as he hands them over and she returns his smile at the offered snack.

“Thank you.”

As they pull into the gated driveway, she’s surprised to find a corral of cars parked along the circular section wrapping around a group of hedges in the center. Norah doesn’t need to ask why they’re here; she knows that they want to check on their brothers and sons. So she’s surprised when the group descends on her the moment she steps from the SUV.

A thousand questions start flinging around her.

“Is she okay?”

“What happened?”

“Did they find out who it is?”

“Why is there no food in the house?”

The list goes on and on as she stands frozen just outside the open car door.

“Guys,” Ryker shouts causing everyone to stop mid-sentence. “While I’m sure that Norah appreciates everyone’s concern I think she’d rather get inside and rest.”

“I’m still hungry,” she whispers under her breath, and Sydney’s ears perk up. His baker sister ready to come to the food-rescue.

“Well, Dylan, can you whip something up with whatever you can find in Ryker’s fridge? It’s pretty bare,” Sydney suggests.

“I just flew for over half the day and tackled a would-be kidnapper. And you want me to cook?” Dylan asks with astonishment.

“Well, yes,” Sydney says with the prettiest set of doe eyes Norah has ever seen.

“God damn,” Dylan says under his breath as he marches up the front steps and into the house. Sydney turns around with victory written on her features, and Norah cracks a returning grin.

Instead of heading toward the kitchen with everyone else Ryker guides Norah up the steps toward his bedroom. Once inside he locks the door and practically tosses her onto the bed. Being mindful of her he crawls on top of her body and weaves his hand in her hair, tilting her head upward.

“Fuck, I need you,” he reveals as he nips at her bottom lip.

“I’m yours,” she replies as she returns his heated kiss.

They lie like this, kissing each other with the same passion until his erection begins pressing against her thigh. Her body heats, her breasts ache, and wetness pools in her panties. Norah bets if Ryker were to touch her down there he would be amazed at how soaked she is.

It’s hard to believe that only yesterday she was a twenty-three-year-old virgin and now she’s had sex with one of the most famous rock stars on the planet.

A slow sexy smile grows on Ryker’s face as he looks at her, pinning her with his steely gaze.

“I’m hungry,” he utters as he licks his lips, that dangerous tongue peeks out and making an appearance.

“We can go downstairs,” Norah offers as she tries to sit up, but he uses the weight of his hips to pin her in place.

“Not hungry for food.”

At first, she doesn’t understand but as he slides down her body tugging her pants and underwear along with his grip her recognition grows. With her pants scrunched at her ankles, he moves her feet onto the bed, bending her legs with her knees in the air. Ryker spreads them apart and gazes at her dripping pussy. Something about Ryker’s gaze can do that to a girl.

He wastes no time skimming his fingers through her center, seducing her with each pass as he gently glides the tip of a finger in her slit and coating her folds in her feminine juice.

“Fuck, I love how wet you get for me.” Ryker stares at her sex completely mesmerized. As if he sees his favorite toy on display. He brings his fingers to his mouth and groans as he tastes her flavor and Norah’s mouth runs dry as she watches the look of ecstasy on his face.

“I know we need to go downstairs, but I really need to have you on my tongue right now.”

Ryker doesn’t wait, he bends forward and slides his tongue up her slit and then begins circling her clit. Norah’s hips jerk off the bed, and he has to use his arm to pin her down.

He laps at her wetness spilling from her body and with his thumb circling around her bundle of nerves she can feel the tightness building in her core. Norah’s orgasm comes quick and before she can warn him her hand reaches out and grips his hair as her body stills below him.

“I want to make you come all the time,” he states after he wipes his mouth on her thigh. “It’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. Almost as lovely as the blush on your cheeks,” he points out only making her blush more.

She brings her hands up to her cheeks, but he pulls them back just as quickly.

“I fucking love your blush. Don’t cover it up.

“Now, I’m going to go back downstairs and hang out with my family. You, my sweet girl, are going to take a shower and get comfortable. You come down and eat, and I’ll get you something for the pain. The numbing solution is probably starting to wear off.”

He’s right, she can feel the ache and burn behind her ear starting to intensify.

“Okay. I won’t take long.”

“You better not or else I’m going to have to come join you again.”

She takes a quick shower and tosses on a pair of leggings and a T-shirt because frankly she’s had a rough day and deserves a little bit of comfort. Down in the kitchen, the voices amplify with each step she takes until the bustle is loud enough to leave a ringing in her ears.

As she steps into the kitchen, she’s surprised to find such a large mass of people gathering around the living room and kitchen, their hands filled with plates piled high. Norah looks over at the counter and her mouth waters at the taco bar someone has set up.

“Hey, princess. Feeling better?” Ryker asks as he comes to stand beside her.

“Yeah. I thought Sydney said there was nothing to eat in the house.”

“Well, it’s amazing what a chef can come up with when he’s given tortilla shells, beans, and five pounds of ground beef.”

“It smells delicious,” she says as she inhales the hearty scent.

“Take a seat. I’ll fill you up a plate.”

“Thanks,” she says smiling up at him, and she can clearly see the feelings he has for her in his eyes. And it’s almost overwhelming, but she knows if she could see her own face that the same feelings are reflected back.

She takes a seat in the middle of Ryker and Jameson’s sisters as they talk about Cassidy’s baby and as Ryker sets the plate in front of her she looks up into the sad eyes of Sydney from across the way. She had suspected that she and her husband Dylan had been trying to conceive but from what Norah can gather those attempts haven’t been successful. Unfortunately, all of the siblings are so blissfully happy she wonders if they even notice how depressed and alone their sister feels.

Norah tries not to let the thought fester as she pictures the way Ryker had broken through her innocence without a barrier to protect him. She is doubtful that she could be pregnant, but she supposes the chance is always there.

What would it feel like to carry Ryker’s child? Not just the child of a famous musician but one brought into a home full of love. What would her child grow up to become? Who would he or she look like? Would he have soft hazel eyes like Ryker? Would she inherit the blonde locks that run in the female Connelly family?

Norah feels a nudge at her shoulder, and she turns her attention to Nikki and shakes her head free from those careless thoughts. In the back of her mind, she is certain that Ryker will grow tired of her soon. She’s just something new, nothing special or extraordinary.

Trying to appear as if she wasn’t thinking about babies with her boyfriend-of-sorts Norah takes a hefty bite of her taco. A bit of excess juice from the meat dribbles down from her mouth toward the end of her chin and thankfully Nikki hands her a napkin.

“So,” Nikki asks, the petite woman having a personality larger than life and commanding attention wherever she may go.

Norah remembers when Nikki first moved to Carson, she had been at the market with Jameson to pick up some things for a bonfire and in walked this gorgeous blonde that barely reached Norah’s shoulders. Not that the men cared. Nikki carried herself with such grace and confidence it was hard not to follow her every step with your gaze. Jameson had scurried off like the rest of the men when Nikki had approached the aisle Norah was standing in. Norah had watched as the blonde bombshell grabbed a box of Marshmallow cereal, the same box of cereal Norah had in her hand to eat in the morning, and she smiled. A box of cereal had formed their friendship, not that they got to speak very often. Norah tended to be busy with school, and Nikki has her growing family.

Nikki continues to stare at Norah waiting for her to elaborate but Norah isn’t quite sure what to elaborate on.

“So . . . what?”

“So, how are you doing? And how long has this thing with Ryker been going on?”

Norah tries to brush off her friend by taking another bite of her taco until she feels five pairs of eyes honed in on her. She places the taco back on the plate and reaches for her glass of water to take a sip.

“Which do you want to know first?”

“Ryker,” they all nod in unison. But then Cassidy quickly tacks on, “But leave out the extra stuff. That’s my brother, and I don’t want to think about you two having sex.”

“You have three brothers. How else do you think the babies are being made?” Norah asks sarcastically.

“Oh, I know it happens. I just would rather not have nightmares tonight, that’s all. Please continue,” Cassidy replies, waving her hand in continuous gesture.

“Well, strangely enough not until the wedding, which by the way Everleigh I am so sorry I crashed. I didn’t have a choice.” Everleigh shrugs her off, and Norah continues. “Anyway, I’ve known about him for years Jameson has been my best friend since college, and he spoke of his brother all the time. They are literally two halves of a whole. I always felt as if I knew him, knew what he liked and didn’t like, what things he enjoyed doing when he wasn’t traveling, but we never seemed to cross paths.

“I knew he was gorgeous not just because I’ve seen him on magazines or on television, but because your entire freaking family is like a walking runway show. Everyone in this family is stunning.

“But when he followed Jameson and me outside on Saturday I just . . . he looked at me, and I fell. I already knew a lot about him but when he touched my hand it was like everything shifted into place and all of those years Jameson had spent carrying on about his brother became years that I spent learning Ryker myself.

“It’s crazy to explain, and it makes no sense, but I fell, and I fell hard, and I think he did too.”

Norah hasn’t been making eye contact with the group instead she has been staring out the window overlooking the backyard and letting every vision pass before her eyes as if she is an outsider looking in. Every moment with Jameson as she hung on his every word concerning his brother and the way she had blushed the first moment she laid eyes on Ryker in person. Telling the girls how she feels allows her to relive every moment over again and Norah enjoys every second of it.

She finally turns her attention back to the group and finds them looking at her with stars in their eyes.

“That’s how it happened for us too. That insta-love crap that everyone claims doesn’t exist but you fight it tooth and nail until the pressure becomes too much,” Everleigh points out and Avery and Sydney nod along with her.

“Not me,” Nikki says. “I wanted Austin from day one, I just needed to knock some sense into him.”

“And you know about Harlan and me. Pretty sure we fell in love that first night together. Probably one of the scariest things I ever did was walk away thinking I’d never have to face him again,” Cassidy points out.

“Pretty sure I’ve been in love with Ryker since Jameson started telling me all about him and he brought me here that first time.”

“How do you think Jameson is dealing with all of this? I would have sworn you two would have ended up together,” Avery asks as she places her hand gently on her stomach and Norah has to wonder if Avery and her husband Logan are expecting again.

“He hasn’t said much. I know that he loves his brother, and he loves me as a friend, but I can’t imagine he had expected either of us to fall for each other. I’m worried that this new relationship has damaged our friendship. He always used to go on about how his brother must be surrounded by a harem of women, but I don’t think that’s the case and now that I know Ryker better it actually kind of bothers me that Jameson would say those things about his twin. I don’t know, I’m confused,” Norah points out.

Nikki turns completely in her chair to face Norah, and a solemn look etches onto her face.

“Now the real question,” she says as she tucks a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “What happens if you’re forced to chose? On the one hand, you have your best friend who is the sole reason that you met Ryker at all and on the other, you have a man you’ve been in love with for less than a week.”

“Wow, I hadn’t actually thought of that.” Norah’s head spins as she considers how difficult the situation may be for the brothers. Could she choose between the two? Should she even have to? “I hope that a situation where I’m forced to choose doesn’t come to pass. I love them both, and I’d hate to be a wedge in their relationship. But I think if I had to choose I’d follow my heart. And if something ever happened between Ryker and me, I would hope that Jameson and I would be able to maintain a friendship.”

Norah weighs her words carefully and tries to explain it the best way she knows how. She would choose Ryker. She would have to; her heart wouldn’t allow her to make any other decision. Notoriously she has always thought out her every action carefully, using a scientific method of sorts to establish her actions and choices. For once she feels that her heart deserves the chance to make a lifelong decision.

“I would do the same, no doubt. But remember this situation is tricky. Because even though you would hope to keep a relationship with Jameson, Ryker is still his twin brother. And blood is always thicker than water,” Nikki admits.

Norah lets her friend’s words sink in and level out in her mind as she considers the choices. Taking a moment, she glances over to the living room where Ryker and Jameson sit on opposing ends of the couch, Harlan sitting between them. They both look over at her and smile; the twins mirroring each other, looking so similar in that moment it scares Norah. She loves them both but in equally different ways and isn’t that the crux of her problem.

 

*

 

RYKER LOOKS OVER AT the table of women but his vision is tunneled by Norah, she is all he can see amidst his siblings. She has a look on her face, a dreamy look that he can’t decipher but as Nikki starts to speak with her Ryker realizes that it’s not good news. Nikki turns completely in her chair to face Norah and then Norah’s face drops. He has never seen a look of torment cross someone’s face before. Not like this. Not like he would tear his own heart out to make her smile again.

She turns her attention toward him, and he smiles trying to reassure her but then she looks away again quickly, her face never changing.

“Dude, what did you guys do?” Harlan asks from beside him as he shovels another taco into his mouth.

“We didn’t do anything. We’ve just been sitting here.” Jameson points out, and Ryker nods.

“Bullshit. That girl right there is being pulled in two different directions and it’s all y’all’s fault.”

“Our fault? We don’t even know what we did,” Ryker states as he meets Jameson’s eyes narrowed in his direction.

“Sure ya do. You’re in love with her, that’s clear as day. But your brother here feels like you’re encroaching on his territory. We can all feel it, so can Norah. Don’t make her choose or you’ll both regret it. You’re brothers work your shit out.”

“What shit?” Ryker asks again completely dumbfounded. He pounds his fist against his thigh as he rests back against the couch.

Out of the corner of his eye he watches as Jameson’s eyes crinkle in the corners, a look of determination on his face. His brother stands from the couch and struts his way over to the table. Ryker can already see what’s going to happen before it takes place.

Jameson stands beside Norah’s chair and says her name, beckoning her to come to him. He places both of his hands on her face and bends forward, sealing his lips with a surprised Norah.

“What the fuck?” Harlan yells from his seat effectively saying the words that are stuck in Ryker’s throat. He’s paralyzed as he watches his brother, his best friend; kiss the woman he’s fallen for. Ryker waits to see Norah’s reaction, and thankfully she looks just as stunned as Ryker feels. Her eyes never close, they stare at her best friend as he destroys his brother.

Finally, Jameson pulls back not noticing how Norah’s hands hang limply at her side, confusion swimming in her gaze. At first, Ryker just sits on the couch his anger festering deep within. It’s not until Jameson turns to look at Ryker with a smug look on his face.

He’s unsure how it happens, but Ryker jumps over the arm of the couch and sprints after Jameson who runs through the front door. His fury and determination control his movements and Ryker can do little to squelch them.

His brother, his twin, his other half has put his mouth on his woman, and Ryker wants nothing more than to tear his brother from limb to limb. They stumble out the front door and down the porch steps, falling as a heap onto the pathway below. Ryker lands a few punches to Jameson’s face while his brother returns a jab to Ryker’s stomach.

“She’s mine,” Ryker shouts as he sends an uppercut into Jameson’s chin, his brother wobbling back until he rights himself and roars toward Ryker grabbing him around the waist.

“She was mine first.”

The two grapple back and forth as their siblings and spouses look on from the porch silently eating their dinners as if watching a fight on television.

“Boys,” a solid and steady voice calls out from the porch, and the brothers pull apart, both breathing heavily as their chests rise and fall.

Only after they separate does Ryker notice Norah standing with his mother as she cries into her shoulder, his mother brushing her hand up and down Norah’s back in comfort.

“Princess,” Ryker hoarsely calls out. Norah looks at him for a moment and rips his heart out of his chest as she turns and runs back into the house.

Turning toward his brother standing a few feet away he watches as Jameson wipes away blood trickling from his nose onto his black shirt. “This is all your fucking fault.”

Jameson lets his shirt fall, and he turns with a look of retaliation.

“Boys, don’t you even think about starting again.” They turn regretfully in the direction of their mother as she moves down the steps in their path, a feeling of disappointment hanging in the air.

Ryker points his gaze toward the ground, the same feelings of being a scolded child rushing through him.

“How could you do this?” his mother asks, and Ryker at first believes that she is speaking with both of them about the fighting, but as he looks up to answer, he finds his mother looking prominently at Jameson.

“I don’t know,” his brother responds quietly reminding Ryker of the times they would get in trouble as kids.

“You don’t know? You just threw that poor girl for a spin after the last few days have been some of the hardest of her life and you don’t know?”

“I just thought -”

“You just thought that you wanted what your brother had and have this preconceived notion that she was yours first. Did I get that right?”

Ryker continues to stand silently watching his brother, the one he never feels that he can compare to wilt under their mother’s gaze.

“He can have any person he wants. Why did he have to want mine?”

“Oh, good grief. Jameson, this isn’t some toy you both are fighting over like you did when you were seven. This is a woman. A woman that can make her own decisions. And it pains me to hear you speak about your brother this way. He’s never been a playboy, not like your other brother,” she says, and Ryker can faintly hear Austin shout from the porch where Nikki effectively tells him to stuff it. “You don’t get a say in who a woman falls for, and if she made her choice, you better believe that I expect you to stand beside her as her best friend. She’s had it rough, you and I both know that, be the person she needs you to be, not the person you wish you were.”

Their mother looks back and forth at them, and Ryker waits for her to unleash her anger at him, so he’s surprised as she smiles warmly and brushes her hand across his swelling cheek.

“She’s a good girl, Ryker. If I could have chosen anyone for you myself, I couldn’t have done a better job. Just remember there are two types of love and she loves your brother just as much. Don’t come between that or it will tear you two apart.”

“Okay,” he whispers as he feels like an elephant is pressing onto his chest.

Standing straighter and taking a step back their mother addresses both of them. “Now, both of you say that you’re sorry and hug it out. Just like you used to.”

“Oh god, Mom. We’re not ten,” Jameson exclaims

“You will always be my children so hug it out.”

He and Jameson look at each other apprehensively and then slowly approach until their arms are wrapping around each other. Two halves as one.

“There, that’s better. Now, Ryker, I believe you have someone to go check on. Jameson, please gather everyone together outside on the back deck. I want to come up with a plan to catch this person going after my family. And we may need to alert the Lady Busy Bees if they haven’t figured out that something is amiss already.”

Amy spins around like a graceful ballerina, and Ryker fears that once the Lady Busy Bees are made aware of the group trying to kidnap Norah that his quiet home won’t be so silent any longer.

Inside Ryker searches the first floor and then the upstairs bedroom looking for Norah and his pace quickens as she’s nowhere to be found. He can make out Jameson asking everyone to move outside, and Ryker takes one last look in the sunroom and finds Norah standing on the deck just outside the exit. The same place he found her the other day.

“So we meet again,” Ryker says as he approaches her doing his best sinister voice.

Norah turns around quickly and wraps her arms around Ryker’s neck, and he knows he wants to feel her arms around him for the rest of his life. Her touch makes him feel alive, feel wanted, feel worthy. Norah leans back with her hands clenched behind his neck, and he realizes that he doesn’t need to ask her about the kiss. He doesn’t need to question if she felt anything. It’s all there across her face, in her eyes, in her hold.

“I love you,” Ryker blurts.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know-”

Ryker interrupts her apology and says, “I know, and I love you.”

“I love you too,” she cries as she presses herself against him once again, her face burrowing into his neck.

They only get to stay like this for a moment because Jameson’s voice rings out. “Guys, we need you.”

They walk across the side deck and pass Jameson along the way, but his hand reaches out and presses against Ryker’s chest. Norah turns around, but Ryker shakes his head telling her to go on.

“I don’t want to fight with you again,” Ryker says as he takes a step back.

“Then don’t. Look I really am sorry. It’s not that I am in love with Norah. It’s just . . . I needed to make sure.”

Ryker thinks about the way his chest had felt as if it was caving in the moment his brother’s lips met Norah’s. Did he know her lips taste like the cherry Chapstick she uses? Did he feel how soft those plump lips are? Did he feel anything more?

“I want to apologize and just ask you to take care of her. She’s special. Not just because she’s smart and beautiful, but because she has a black hole in her past that she could easily be sucked back into.”

“I know, she told me.”

“She told you?” Jameson asks in surprise. “I’m not even supposed to know, but I had to check on her before I brought her home the first time.”

“Yeah, we don’t have secrets. Norah knows all about my insecurities, and I know all of hers.”

“Yeah, okay. Sorry, she just never talks about it and -”

“Jay, I’m not going to hurt her. I’m in love with her. I’d rather die than hurt her.”

“You sound like an idiot.”

“No, I sound like every person sitting out on that deck right now. Come on, let’s not keep them waiting. Oh, and I accept your apology but you may need some ice for your face.”

The brothers stare at each other and then break into laughter as they recall the earlier fight.

“I honestly had no idea you had that in you. I mean, the rest of us work out because of the volunteer fire team, but, dude, you throw a mean punch.’

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Ryker adds as he throws his arm over his brother’s shoulder and they walk back as one to the group.

Norah looks up at him first quickly followed by their mother, both smiling widely.

“Everything, okay?” Norah whispers from beside him, and Ryker tosses his arm across the back of the wicker sofa, touching her shoulder with his hand, and then leans down to press a kiss to her stunned lips.

“Everything is perfect.”

She curls her body into him, and as the sun sets off in the distance, Ryker feels that for the first time today everything seems right.

Dylan stands to address the group just as Preston saunters onto the porch, the sheriff bringing with him a slew of the town folk in the rear.

“Good, everyone’s here. So far, here is what we know. This person is a specialized black market dealer with intel in the government. Specifically the military. There is no other way someone could have learned of the whereabouts of the device without that knowledge.

“At roughly fourteen hundred hours Norah was able to infiltrate the lab. Unfortunately, the suspect had planted a camera with the hopes that she would return.”

“Why would they hope that?” Fred Fitzgerald, ex-sheriff of Carson, asks.

“Great question. Let me back up. Norah and her team member Dr. Lewis created a device for the military. He has been kidnapped, and we are confident he has disclosed that Norah is the sole creator of the launching software for the program. Her coding is necessary to make the device work. It’s a lot of mumbo-jumbo but to put it mildly Norah is crucial for the suspect to make the device work in a way it was not intended.

“At fourteen three zero Norah was attacked in a public area in an attempted kidnapping. The suspect was thwarted by Ryker, but he escaped. We currently have Agent Alexis learning their position.

“What we need now is a lookout. Norah will be in grave danger until we apprehend the suspect and we are certain that they are aware of her position.”

Cassidy raises her hand as if she is in school and waits for Dylan to call on her. “Let me get this straight, someone is out there trying to kidnap Norah so they can launch this device, which still does God knows what but it’s bad.” As Dylan nods Cassidy continues, “You want her to sit like a waiting duck for someone to come out of the woodwork?”

“Yes, it’s the safest method.”

“Safest, probably, but how long will she need to wait? How long do we have to keep our eyes peeled?”

Squirming slightly from Cassidy’s gaze Ryker watches as Dylan shuffles his stance slightly. Ryker would smirk at the man’s situation if the thought of Cassidy flinging her gaze toward him didn’t terrify him. There is a reason she owns her own business, Cassidy is as cut-throat and no-nonsense as they come.

“I don’t know,” he responds as he pleads to his wife and Ryker’s sister Sydney to get Cassidy to ease up on him.

“I have a better solution,” Cassidy touts.

As a cunning smile graces Cassidy’s lips, Ryker’s gut churns with the words he is dreading to hear. “We should set her up as bait.”

“No,” he says as he launches himself from the seat causing Norah to fall back onto the cushions. “Absolutely not.”

“Ryker,” he hears his name called, but he’s too overwhelmed to acknowledge the person.

“She’s been through too much already. How could you even consider it, Cassidy? In the past year or two it seems like almost everyone in this family has been stalked or kidnapped. What the fuck is wrong with us?”

“Calm down, honey,” his mother says calmly from her perch at the outdoor dining set. “People always take what they can’t have. A lot of people see our family as a perfect and loving group, and they want to tear it apart. We can’t control their actions, but we can control our own.”

“Then explain to me why this is a good idea? A better idea? Why should she risk her life?”

“Because if it protects everyone else, I want to do it. I was going to suggest it actually,” Norah says from behind him, and Ryker spins around and pins her with his astonished gaze.

“Ryker,” Cassidy begins. “If we put her somewhere out in the open where they believe they have a chance to capture her we can capture them in return. You know how this works. We have enough people living in this town to have eyes, ears, and strength in every fissure.”

“And you want to do this?” Ryker asks to Norah who nods vigorously.

Ryker doesn’t wait for a reply or to learn how they plan to make this work. Instead, he turns around and storms back through the house.

I just found the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, and she wants to risk losing it all.

As he makes his way to the staircase, Ryker looks out the front window and is surprised to see a car barreling toward the house at a breakneck speed. The car’s brakes lock up, and it drifts around the fountain rounding out into a perfect parallel park on the edge of the driveway. He stares there stunned, most likely with his mouth hanging open wondering who is driving the vehicle. To his surprise, Alexis jumps from the car and runs en route of the front door.

Ryker opens it easily and lets her pass, amazed that she isn’t huffing for air from the speed at which she ran.

“I’m surprised to see you,” he says, but she quickly cuts him off.

“Where is everyone?”

“Out back. I’ll take you.”

Somehow he ends up following her out to the deck as if she’s been on his property before. At first, everyone looks at her as just another guest to the party until she begins to move toward Norah. Ryker’s nerves go on alert, and he shuffles in behind her.

“I know who it is. Who is behind it all,” Alexis says to the crowd in general but crouches down beside Norah to speak to her privately. But fuck if Ryker is going to let that happen.

“It’s your father.”