Authors: Nauti,wild (Riding The Edge)
was drugged.
“Thank you,” she managed.
He swept his hand along her hair. “For what?”
“I don’t know. I just like being with you. You do something to
me, Rick. I can’t explain it.”
His hand stil ed and she studied the expression on his face.
She’d almost cal it shock or surprise, but she certainly hadn’t
said anything shockworthy.
“You hungry?”
She nodded. “Starving.”
He pushed off the arms of the chair and stood. “Me, too.
Let’s go get some breakfast.”
Rick ate his breakfast, inhaled a few more cups of coffee, and
pondered what Ava had said earlier.
She’d surprised him, and women general y didn’t. That
alone made her unique.
He’d felt bad for teasing her, because he could tel he’d hurt
her feelings.
She was way more innocent than he’d original y thought,
which only made this assignment more confusing.
What was a woman who had a total of four sex partners
—and he figured he was probably included in those four
—doing with a gang like the Hel raisers? It made no sense.
She wasn’t worldly or streetwise. She was sheltered. She’d
said so herself. After being al but monitored 24/7 by her
parents, she’d gone off to col ege and . . . studied. She hadn’t
partied her ass off and fucked one guy after another. She’d
gone to col ege and gotten an education. And then a master’s
degree after that.
She had no history of drugs or violence or hanging out with
gangs.
So what the fuck was she doing here with this gang?
He supposed he could just ask her. But what if for some
reason she was embedded in the Hel raisers for a reason?
Hel , for al he knew she’d been paired up with him to test him,
since he’d asked Bo to get back in the gang.
Her whole innocent act could be just that—an act. She could
be lying to him about everything—including the four guys she’d
fucked.
Which meant he was going to have to keep doing what he
was doing. He’d have to stay close to her to figure out her
angle, without revealing his own.
Dammit, he hated being in the dark.
“You’re quiet over there.”
He lifted his head to look over at her. God, she was
beautiful. He real y couldn’t get over her. Today she wore a
burgundy turtleneck sweater that clung to those gorgeous
breasts of hers, tight jeans that molded to her ful hips and
thighs and outlined her sweet ass just perfectly. He’d enjoyed
walking behind her as they were led to the table. She’d left her
hair loose, and it hung like a waterfal of raven silk over her
breasts.
He could stare at her al day and not say a damn word. But
that wasn’t what he was supposed to do, so instead, he
grinned. “Sorry. I real y was hungry.”
“I can see that. I was afraid you were going to lick your
plate.”
He looked down at his empty plate, then over at her partial y
finished one. “I thought about grabbing that last piece of
bacon.”
She picked it up and offered it to him. “Be my guest.”
He took it from her. “Thanks.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know where you put it al .
There isn’t an ounce of fat on you. Do you work out or run or
something?”
“I work out when I can.”
“I thought you rode a lot.”
“I do. But you can’t ride twenty-four hours a day. And
wherever I go I make sure there’s a gym where I can go a few
rounds in the ring.”
“You box?”
He nodded and pushed his plate to the edge of the table.
“It’s great exercise.”
“I’l bet.”
“What about you? What do you do for fun?”
“Yoga.”
“That figures. You look like the spiritual guru, get-into-the-
head kind of person.”
She laughed. “It’s not at al like that. Wel , it can be. But it’s a
great muscle workout, too. And it relaxes me.”
“If you say so.”
“You should try it with me sometime.”
“Can we do it naked?”
She looked at him, then burst out laughing. “Only you would
suggest that.”
“That’s why you like me.”
She quirked her lips. “Probably.”
“Hey, you two snuck out of our room last night and missed
al the partying.”
Ava looked up to find Lacey leaning over her shoulder. “You
and Bo were kind of busy.”
Lacey fel into the chair next to her and grinned. “Yeah, we
were. We just got up. Oh my God, what a fun night.” She
grabbed Ava’s hand. “You should have stayed. We could have
had a . . . sixsome.” Then she laughed so loud that the
customers in the restaurant began to look their way.
Ava shifted and leaned over the table, whispering.
“Probably not something you want broadcast to the entire
place.”
Lacey waved her hand and sniffed. “Oh, who cares. Bunch
of prudes, anyway. So, did you and Rick get it on?”
Who was this person?
“I don’t think Ava’s interested in giving you the details of her
sex life,” Rick said, saving Ava from having to tel her best
friend that she was being too intrusive.
“Why not? Oh, I know, because Ava rarely even has a sex
life.” Lacey snorted.
Ava’s face flamed, and she fought hard to retain her
concern for her friend. “Lace, have you eaten yet?”
Lacey’s gaze flitted around the room, as if she’d just now
discovered she was in a restaurant. “Oh. No. I’m not even
hungry.” She laughed again. “What time is it?”
“Ten.”
“That early? What the hel am I doing up? I thought it was
like . . . afternoon or something. I think I’l go back to bed.” She
pushed back from her chair and stood, then walked away
without saying good-bye.
Ava watched her go, concerned more than ever about
Lacey’s increasingly bizarre behavior.
“She always that disjointed?” Rick asked.
“No.”
Rick leaned back and leveled his gaze at her.
“What?”
“You’re worried about her.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Why?”
“Because who you just saw is not the Lacey I’ve always
known.”
“Yeah. Who is she?”
Ava watched Lacey disappear, then blew out a breath of
frustration.
“I wish I knew, Rick. I real y wish I knew.”
Because the way things looked now, it was much worse
than Ava had original y thought. She had thought it was just
love that had changed Lacey from studious to flighty.
Now she feared it was more than that.
And a lot worse.
R
ick studied the concern on Ava’s face, and wondered if her
friend Lacey was the primary reason for Ava being with the
Hel raisers.
Not to irritate her father, not because she was involved in
drug distribution.
But because she was concerned about her friend.
He’d have to walk a fine line here, but he intended to find
out. And he hoped that Ava was in the mood to talk.
“Let’s head on out of here.” He pushed his chair back and
stood. Ava fol owed.
“So tel me, what’s different about her?” he asked as they
headed toward the elevator.
She stepped inside, waited while Rick pushed the button
and the doors swooshed closed, then turned to him,
seemingly eager to unload her concerns on someone. He was
glad to be that person.
“She’s frenetic. Al over the place. Lacey used to be calm,
organized. And shy. Oh so shy. Does she seem shy to you
now?”
Rick laughed. “Uh, no. Not from what I saw in their room last
night.”
“Exactly. Everything about her changed after she . . .”
“After she what?”
She hesitated. “I don’t want to make you mad.”
He cocked his head to the side. “How could you make me
mad?”
“It’s about Bo.”
“You can be blunt with me about whatever you want, Ava,
including Bo. Say what’s on your mind.”
“Everything changed after she met your cousin.”
The doors opened and they started down the hal way
toward their rooms. “And you think it has something to do with
Lacey hooking up with Bo.”
“Yes. As soon as she started dating Bo, her entire life
changed.”
She handed her key to Rick and he opened her door. Ava
slid into the chair near the window and Rick took the chair on
the other side of the smal table. Sunlight streamed into the
room, highlighting her hair and face. She didn’t turn away like
she had something to hide, instead leaned into the light like
she was soaking up the warmth.
“Tel me how her life changed.”
“She quit school. We were in the master’s program
together, and she dropped out with only one year to go.”
“Was she struggling?”
Ava let out a short laugh. “Not at al . Lacey was an ace
student with plans far into the future for both her academics
and her career as a psychologist. But after she met Bo and
started riding with the Hel raisers, everything changed.”
Rick shrugged. “People grow up, Ava. Sometimes that
happens. What they thought they wanted when they were
younger is sometimes altered when they get a little age and
experience in them.”
“I realize that. But not Lacey. She knew what she wanted to
do, what she wanted to be. She was focused, had short- and
long-term goals. She knew on Monday what she was going to
do on Friday.”
“A little anal?”
Ava managed a slight smile. “A little. But I’ve known her al
my life. I know how she thinks, how she acts. The woman you
saw downstairs isn’t anything like her.”
“And you think that has something to do with her
relationship with Bo?”
Ava worried her lip, hesitating.
“You can talk to me without worrying I’m going to go running
to Bo. I don’t tel him anything.”
She nodded. “I think joining the Hel raisers had everything to
do with her change in personality, but I don’t think it’s just Bo.”
He didn’t want to ask leading questions, so he just let the
silence drift between them and gave her time to think it out.
“Her eyes were so glassy. And we knew they were smoking
pot last night.”
“Yes.”
She waved her hand in the air. “But that wears off. And it
wouldn’t account for her frenetic behavior. She’s been sniffling
a lot. Her nose is irritated.”
He knew where she was going, but he wanted her to say it.
“I think she’s taking drugs.”
“Real y.”
“Yeah.” She looked down at her hands for a while, played
with the cuticle on one of her fingernails, then swept her gaze
back up to Rick. “She never even liked to take acetaminophen
for a headache, Rick. So how could she make such a drastic
change?”
Now he knew he’d have to say something. “Drugs alter
people’s perception of things.”
“Do they? I don’t know. I’ve never known anyone who took
them.”
“I’ve known plenty of people who have. It changes them.”
She wrapped her arms around herself and stared out the
window. “I don’t know what to do for her.” She looked at him. “I
mean, I do, from a professional standpoint. But she’s my
friend.”
He nodded. “It’s different when it’s someone you’re close to.
You lose your objectivity.”
“So what do I do?”
“You can’t make her stop taking drugs if that’s what she’s
doing. Al you can do is talk to her, see if she’l open up to you,
then try to make her see the reality of it.”
“I know al that. But I want her to stop. Right now. Selfishly, I
want her to be the old Lacey—the one I grew up with, the one
I’ve been friends with since we were kids.”
“That person is gone, Ava. That’s the first thing you’re going
to have to accept. Time and experience changes a person.
You’l have to learn to live with Lacey as she is now, and move
forward.”
He saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes and wished he
could wipe them away. But if Lacey was on drugs, then what
he’d told Ava was the truth. Only Lacey could help herself. Ava
could only be there to support her. Deep down, Ava knew that.
It might take her a while to come to grips with it, though.
She sighed. “How did you get to be so wise? You’re almost
like a counselor yourself.”
He laughed. “Me? Hardly. I’ve just been on the streets a long
time. Seen a lot. Know when to get involved and know when to
back away. Sometimes you can lend a hand, and sometimes
just an ear. You learn to recognize the difference.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
She went over to him and sat on his lap. “For being wil ing
to listen. We don’t know each other al that wel . And I don’t
have many—any—friends. Except Lacey. We used to confide