I looked to all of them, all their eyes on me as Phoebe walked up behind me from the kitchen. She slipped her hand into mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
Todd laughed. “What’s he talking about, baby?”
Ryker lunged forward again, and Todd stepped back. Ryder pushed in front of Ryker, his hand on his chest. “Calm the fuck down.”
“I can’t,” is all that managed to slip out of my mouth. My chest swelled and tightened inside of me as I held back the tears that were threatening to surface.
“Bullshit!” Ryker roared, pushing Ryder out of the way and walking toward me. He brushed the hair out of my face tenderly with his blood smeared fingers before running his thumb across my bottom lip. His brows drew in and his eyes softened for a split second. “Bry, you gotta tell us what’s going on. Do you trust me?”
“I don’t trust that you won’t do something really dumb if I tell you, Ryker,” I croaked.
“I can handle it,” he said sternly.
I scoffed, looking pointedly at the bloody man standing in front of us. “Sure. Sure you can, Ryker,” I answered deadpan. His mouth kicked up in a smirk for a brief second before dropping serious again.
“Bebe? What the hell is going on?” my dad asked, walking toward us as Ryker’s steps began to descend. I should have taken note to his stepping back, but at the time, I just needed my dad next to me. I knew that once he found out about everything, he was going to be extremely disappointed in me. It’s that disappointment that had stopped me from coming clean earlier.
“I… Todd… He hit me last night. I guess Ryker saw the bruises,” I whispered, attempting to keep my emotions at bay.
Todd roared up from his spot. “She’s lying!”
“You’ll do good to shut the fuck up,” the guy I’d never met said from his position. Todd took one look at him and slammed his mouth closed.
“What do you mean?” My mother walked up to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. With the alcohol, and the situation that we were all in, I realized this was my out. These people were my people; they would know what to do. I fought too hard. I needed the light at the end of the tunnel, because I had been riding this train for too long.
“Ryder?” I questioned, keeping my eyes locked on my father’s worried face.
“Yeah?” he answered casually from his position.
“Keep a tight grip on Ryker.”
“Shit,” he grunted at my warning, knowing what I was about to say was more than likely about to set Ryker off.
I looked to my father; his wrinkle lines had deepened over the years. The stress of being Senator and probably the stress I’d inflicted on him as a teen was evident. He was the best father any girl could’ve asked for, and I adored him. I ran my hand over my dad’s cheek, a tear escaping my eye. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
Sniffing, I wiped away the tear and squared my shoulders.
“Todd has been blackmailing me for the past three years.”
“What the fu—”
“Shut up, Ryker. Let me finish,” I snapped at him.
A growl escaped him, his fists turning white. I looked to Ryder and he nodded, keeping his hand fisted around Ryker’s collar, as if he were a caged lion who was about to eat his prey.
“When we were younger, we did something bad,” I said to my dad, and his eyebrows knitted in confusion. The boys shuffled slightly from the corner of my eye.
“What do you mean, baby?” Dad asked, his voice soft and tender, giving me the same comfort as wrapping myself around a big teddy bear after a hard day of being heartbroken.
“It was November 11th, 2008. Ryker had just finished one of his fights when I got a call from Becca.” I looked toward the boys, and Ryder’s hand dropped, his face paling in shock. Phoebe stepped up to him, her eyes set into understanding. Ryder must have told her about that night.
“Becca had run someone over. He was dead when we got there. We all decided that the boys would burn her car and set it up as an accident. That night, I heard someone in the bushes. We thought it was an animal of some sort. It turns out it was Todd. He was out on a hunting trip and videoed us there. He held that over my head to climb the political ladder with you, Daddy. I’m so sorry.” I burst out into tears and my dad pulled my head into his chest.
“Shhhh, it’s okay, baby.”
“Ryker— No!” Ryder’s voice blared through my head, but it was too late. Ryker was already on top of Todd again, plow after plow, lost in his rage yet again. I pushed off my dad, looking around at the boys.
“Get him off!” I yelled at them. They finally pulled Ryker off Todd, who again slowly got up from his position to standing on his feet. His face was so severely swollen and smothered in blood he was unrecognizable. He laughed smugly, though his steps were lopsided. “You’re all going down, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” He smirked.
Phoebe spun around and looked at Ryker. “I can have that dealt with, if you’d like?”
His eyes hardened, his shoulder’s squared before he walked up to Todd, gripping his hands around his collar.
“Ryker!” I yelled again, but this time, he only spoke.
“Listen to my next words very closely. We all know people who know people who will end you and make it look like an accident. Got it?” he growled.
Todd laughed again, wrapping his hands around Ryker’s to push him off. “Fuck you.”
Ryker brought his arm back before swinging a right hook, landing right in his face. The crack that sounded out broke through the deafening silence. Todd’s body fell in slow motion. I started running toward Ryker, but when Todd’s head hit the side of the sharp bonfire pit, my feet halted, my hands flew up to my mouth, and a scream ripped through me. Everything was a blur. When my dad whisked past me in a run and big arms wrapped around my waist, I lost it.
“Ryker!” I cried, looking to my dad, who was knelt down by Todd, checking his pulse on his neck. He looked up to the twins and shook his head.
Everything slowed, my breathing deepened, and the tears washed over my cheeks like a downpour of rain. I looked up to Ryker, his chest still panting, blood dripping down his beautifully tattooed arms. His head moved toward me before looking behind me. “Take her out.”
The person behind me cradled me into him, carrying me into the house, with Phoebe and my mom following behind us. I couldn’t stop the flow of tears that was running over me, and they weren’t tears for Todd. They were tears for Ryker.
“Son, this is bad. You have the blood of a dead man dripping from your hands,” Victor said from the ground, where Todd was laying. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t wrap my head around it, because all I could think was that he got out easy. If I had known he was going to die, I would have at least enjoyed doing it. Though I had his coffin in my mind after each hit I pounded into him, that wasn’t what I was really intending to do.
“We can sort it out,” Ryder mumbled from beside me.
I shook my head, running my hands through my hair. “Nah, man, that’s not me. This started because of us playing Russian roulette with the law and hiding our wrongs. It was our mistakes that made Bry suffer for all these years. I won’t do it again.”
“Ryker.” Ryder stepped up in front of me. The sweet musk of weed lit up around me and I looked to the side to find Tommy lighting up a joint. I held my hand out to him and he nodded his head, handing it to me. “You can’t go down for this.”
“I can, and I will. There’s too much at stake here. With Vic here too? You wanna drop that kind of heat over him? ‘Cause I sure as fuck don’t. There are a lot of people here that could go down for accessory to murder, Ryder. It was an accident,” I stated, taking another hit. “Call Aunt Corlette, fill her in. There are enough witnesses here to say what happened.”
“I will get the best team in for you, son,” Victor said, taking a stand from where he was kneeling, stretching his hand out toward me.
My eyebrows shot up at him. “Really?”
He smirked. “Just hand me the damn joi
nt, son.” I passed it to him before looking back at Ryder.
His eyes were shifting with worry.
I clutched his shoulder. “I’ll be fine, bro. We can argue that it was an accident. I’ll spend some time away, but all will be fine, Ry.”
“And if it’s not?” he asked under a scoff, before gripping his hair in frustration.
Leo stepped up to us and pulled Ryder aside, nodding at me. “I’m sorry, bro.”
I looked to Leo. “What for?”
“You didn’t want to hide Becca’s accident. Fuck, I’m sorry.” I knew what he was implying, but I’ve had enough of anyone carrying our shit from the past.
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. Just look after this fool.” I pointed to my brother, who had dropped to the ground with his hands covering his face and his knees drawn up.
“Look after Bry,” I said to Tommy, who then nodded. “And make the call.”
I spoke to Victor, who was already studying me. “I think it might be best for Bryleigh to stay here through the trial and all that. Shit is going to get crazy real fast. I have a good team here. I can hire a couple of boys I know who will watch her, and Phoebe is here with Tommy and Rellik. Will you be okay with that?”
Victor nodded, pulling me in for a hug. “I am, but it will be up to her though.”
I pulled back and smiled at the only man who ever came close to being a father figure for Ryder and me. “Thanks.”
“I’ll get you out, son. I think it doesn’t look good, but I will have the best in the country working on your clock.”
I smiled, swallowing past the lump in my throat, realization beginning to slowly seep in.
Ryder looked up at me from the ground. “I’ll call Blake. We’ll get you some protection inside. You’re going to need it.”
Nodding, I exhaled. That hadn’t even crossed my mind. Blake was Phoebe’s brother and was in the Sinful Souls Motorcycle Club. “Yeah, thanks.”
Ryder rose up off the ground around the same time red and blue lights flashed through the moonlight. Police officers began pushing through the open doors that led to where we were.
“Ryker!” Bryleigh yelled, shoving through the officers and running straight into my arms. Her little body molded into mine perfectly. Kissing her softly on her head, I breathed in her familiar scent, and in a heartbeat, I was back in San Diego, strumming out Guns on my guitar and her little laugh filling the air.
My throat clenched as I pushed her back slightly, gripping my fingers around her chin.
Scanning her eyes, I whispered, “Stay here, please. Your dad will fill you in, okay? Just promise me you will stay here.” The officers tore my arms away from her, cuffing them behind my back and reading out my Miranda rights. Bryleigh’s eyes searched mine desperately as more tears ran down her cheeks. It fucking pained me to see her cry.
Stay, baby, I mouthed silently to her.
She nodded while stepping backward slowly, but then she stopped and ran back into my arms. She pulled back, her hands cupping my cheeks. “Thank you,” she whispered, before gently pressing her soft lips to mine. For the miniscule second her lips were connected to mine, nothing existed anymore. There were no police officers handcuffing me, or paparazzi trying to jump the back fence, and there definitely wasn’t a dead body, which I had ultimately caused, five feet away from me. That single kiss took me right back to where it was just me and her. Until one of the officers pulled her off me. I glared at him.
“Stay here, baby.”
The officers started pushing me forward, so I began walking toward the living room, turning my head back to see Bryleigh crying into Victor’s chest, and I think that was the exact moment when my heart broke. My shoulders squared, my jaw set into stone, and as soon as the officers pushed open the front doors, the snapping of cameras blinded my vision. There was always at least one paparazzo who was crashed out outside one of our houses when we were having an event, big or small, and it never took much for them to all begin swimming in.
A police officer stepped in front of me, pushing the paparazzi out of the way. There had to be over a hundred of them crowding around outside, and a chopper hovering over our head. Once we reached the squad car, they popped it open and pushed me in, where I rested my head back on the headrest. “Fuck,” I mumbled to myself.
What had I just started?
My cheeks were numb, my throat was dry, and my heart was hindered. “Here you go,” the man who I hadn’t officially met yet walked me inside and handed me a hot mug of cocoa.
“Thank you,” I replied, taking it from him. He took a seat on the sofa beside me. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to catch your name.”
He smiled, his elbows coming to rest on his knees. “I guess things moved pretty fast. I’m Rellik, Ryker and Ryder’s brother.”
My eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t realize.”
He shook his head. “No one knew. It’s all new, and a long, long story.”
I nodded, blowing on the hot cocoa until the steam sifted over my cold cheeks. “Okay, maybe you guys can tell me about it someday.”
“I’m sure we will.” He patted my knee before standing and walking toward Ryder, who was talking to one of the officers with my dad. Phoebe took a seat beside me, where Rellik had been, and I leaned onto her shoulder.
She wrapped her arm around me, and asked, “How are you feeling?”
“I’m not sure. I know I’m feeling like I made a huge mistake telling Ryker what happened.”
“You made the right decision, babe. He’s going to be fine. We have a very…” she searched for a word to use, before continuing “…complex bunch of people that ride within our group. Between your dad, Corletta, and my club? He’s going to be okay. You just need to make sure you’re okay.”
“Your club? Motorcycle club?” I questioned, resting the mug down onto my legs.
She nodded. “Yup. The boys will have him protected while he’s locked up. He’s going to be okay.”
I took another sip of my drink, the hot, rich chocolate slipping down my throat before settling in my stomach. “You need to keep your head up. We can take you back to Ryker’s place he has here in Westbeach, or you can stay here with us. It’s up to you. I know Ryker has strict orders for Tommy to call in extra security, so I’ll do that, because I know those boys personally. Does that sound okay?”
I think over their request for a second, the chopping sound of the helicopter hovering in the air and the bright flashing lights from the paparazzi cameras reflecting off the windows from outside. I knew this had just started a shit storm, so I knew I needed to listen to whatever it was Ryker needed from me. Right now, he needed me to stay put, so I would.
“Yes, that’s no problem. But I think I’d rather not stay here. It’s just a bit too raw right now. Is that okay? And I’ll probably call my best friend and get her to come down. If she hasn’t already,” I added from around the rim of my cup. Knowing Indie, as soon as she’d see the news, she’d drop everything and leave.
Phoebe patted my knee briefly before standing. “Of course. I understand completely. I’m just going to go and get the keys off Ryder for Ryker’s place, and then we can pick up your stuff from the hotel before taking it up there, okay?”
My hand shot out to hers. “I’m sorry. For all this.” I waved my hands around the room. “You just got married yesterday, and now you’re cleaning up this shit.”
She smiled, her brown eyes twinkling. “Honey, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” she replied casually, before walking toward Ryder. Those words didn’t surprise me much. It was the manner she said them in. Like it was a fact and it didn’t bother her at all. I almost wanted to laugh at how unaffected she was. Shaking my head, I looked up to Leo, who was walking my way.
He sat down beside me on the sofa. “I’m sorry,” he began. I was about to cut him off, shaking my head, when he cut back in. “No, look, I just need to say I’m sorry. I should have never let Becca walk away from that all those years ago. Maybe if she
was in jail, she wouldn’t have drowned herself in drugs.” He shook his head, rubbing his hands over his face roughly. “The cops need to question you. We’ve all said the same, the truth. Are you okay with that? We didn’t mention the tape or the hit and run. We said we found out Todd was abusing you and Ryker lost it. It’s not exactly lying.”
Looking into his eyes, I nodded. “I’ll do anything, Tommy. This is Ryker,” I whispered.
He smiled in understanding, squeezing my hand gently. “I know, I know. Are you going to stay here, or head up to Ryker’s?”
“I’ll stay at his place,” I replied with a sad smile.
“Will you be okay up there on your own? I think Tommy will probably want to come with you.”
I bobbed my head. “I don’t mind whoever wants to come up. I’ll probably call Indie anyway,” I answered, looking toward the backyard, where the coroners were zipping up the black body bag and placing it on the gurney.
“Indie? You still talk to her?” Leo inquired in amazement.
“Of course, we haven’t separated at all. She followed me to Hollywood too,” I explained, watching him carefully.
“Well, shit. That was unexpected.”
I laughed, standing to my feet and patting him on the shoulder. “She’s still pure mischief, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Leo chuckled, pushing his ash blond hair behind his ear. “Yeah, I could only imagine.” Leo looked the same, long blond hair that hung to his shoulders, a longish beard, and calm blue eyes. He usually always wore his hair in a man-bun, and damn if the man didn’t pull it off.
A police officer walked toward me. Her hair was up in a tidy ponytail and her eyes were soft, while her smile remained sweet. “Hi, Bryleigh, I’m Officer Brooks, but you can call me Erica. I need to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?”
I smiled, sitting back down onto the sofa. “Yes, of course.” I swallowed roughly. She kicked off the questions almost instantly, and I relaxed into the sofa, answering each question she threw at me without missing a beat.
It was going to be a long night.