Renegade (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) (12 page)

John
stood and said, “I’m going to take Jessie home and then I will be back. Keep
the door locked until I return,” he said, and Ryder nodded at him. He hugged
Jessie goodbye and John’s eyes lingered on me for a moment before he turned and
left.

As
soon as they were gone, Ryder came and sat on the coffee table across from me.
“Danni, are you all right?” he asked her.

She
shrugged and said, “I’ll live. What I want to know is why the hell John was
acting so weird and why you just came in here looking like your dog died,” she
said. “We know something’s up, Ryder, and you need to just tell us what’s going
on.” I was so glad to have Danni there in that moment. Sometimes her bluntness
really was a good thing.

Ryder
blew out a hard breath through his lips. “Evie, I have something to tell you
and I need you to stay calm, okay? Can you do that for me?” he asked, talking
to me like I was a child again.

I
sat up straight and ran my sweaty palms on my thighs. “Ryder, I am starting to
get scared. Please tell me what’s going on.”

He
looked down at the floor for a moment before he looked back up at me and took
my hands in his. “Okay,” he said, taking a deep breath. “I got a call from Kip
after I left the bar. Scott broke into your house this morning Evie.”

My
heart dropped into my stomach and fear prickled down to the base of my spine.
Danni shouted out a few obscenities and I gasped and said, “How did he get in?
I thought you had security watching the house!”

“It
happened while Kip and Nathan were getting some rest. Apparently the other guy
they had keeping a lookout wasn’t doing his fucking job and Scott managed to
slip past,” he said angrily.

My
thoughts went to one person…Trish. I was terrified for her safety. “What about
Trish? He didn’t hurt her, did he?” I asked, my heart pounding.

Ryder
squeezed my hands tightly in his and my palms started sweating even more. “She
was out getting groceries when he broke in,” he replied quietly.

“Oh
thank God,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Then she’s all right.”

“Everleigh,”
he said, his tone serious. My eyes flicked to his and my relief completely
washed away when I saw his face.

“She’s
all right, isn’t she, Ryder?” I asked, my voice raising an octave.

“Listen
to me,” he said, trying his best to keep me from freaking out. All it was doing
was making me freak even more. “I have to tell you something and I need you to
stay calm.”

I
felt tears burning my eyes and I said loudly, “Please tell me she’s all right,
Ryder!”

“I
wish I could but…I can’t. She’s gone, Evie,” he admitted. I shook my head in
disbelief as an ache in my chest like I’d never felt before knocked the breath
out of me.

“Gone?
What do you mean, she’s gone?” Danni asked, wrapping her arm around me.

Ryder
lowered his head again and when his eyes found mind they were glassy. “Trish is
dead. Baby, I’m so, so sorry.”

Danni
gasped and cried audibly and I screamed, “No! No, no, no, she’s not dead!” I felt
faint and the room started to slowly spin. This wasn’t happening…

“Evie,
I’m so sorry,” he repeated, getting on his knees in front of me and pulling me
into his arms. I completely broke down and the tears started pouring from my
eyes.

“What
the hell happened?” Danni asked, her voice shaking.

“Apparently
Scott broke in while she was out and he was still there waiting when she got
back to the house. I don’t know any details yet but I guess by the time that
fucking asshole who was supposed to be watching the place knew anything was
wrong, Scott had beaten Trish and left her lying on the kitchen floor. She was
already dead by the time Kip and Nathan got back and by then Scott was long
gone,” Ryder said.

My
whole world was destroyed. I barely registered Danni and Ryder saying anything
else because all I felt was crippling fear and agonizing guilt. Trish should
have been away from my house and living with another patient right now. She
should have been safe from Scott and not been a sitting duck for when he made
his move. Everyone was so busy protecting me that no one thought about the
dangers they were all in as well.

“This
is all my fault,” I said, barely able to form the words through my cries of
despair.

Ryder
shook his head and said sternly, “Everleigh, look at me.” I shook my head, not
wanting to face anyone but he raised my chin with his finger until I was forced
to look at him. “This is
not
your fault. You didn’t do anything to cause
this.”

Danni
sniffed and said, “He’s right, Ev. Scott is a crazy fucker and he would have
done anything-”

“To
get to me. He murdered Trish in cold blood and left her to die alone because of
me. Stop lying to try and make me feel any less guilty because nothing either
of you say to me will change the truth,” I sobbed. “Now she’s d-dead and he’s
probably on his way here right now to find me.”

Ryder
growled and pulled me back into his arms. “He’s not going to get to you,
Everleigh. After everything he’s done that sick fuck will be dealt with once
and for all,” he threatened.

“How
can you say that? He won’t stop until he gets what he wants from me.”

“Scott
won’t lay a finger on you, Ev. You are so protected that he won’t ever get
within a mile of you,” Danni replied.

I
rolled my eyes and said, “Yeah, just like Trish was ‘so protected’. He had to
have been watching and waiting for his chance to get her. As far as actions
Scott might be stupid but he’s not a complete idiot. Hell, for all we know he
could be in New York City right now looking for me.”

Danni
was about to say something but her cell phone started ringing. She looked at
the caller ID and frowned. “I’m going to take this, I’ll be right back.” It was
obvious that Beau was calling her since the truth about Trish was more than
likely out now. Even though he was probably the last person she wanted to talk
to right then, I know she left the room and answered the phone so Ryder could
try to comfort me.

He
stood up from the floor and took Danni’s vacant seat next to me, pulling me
back into his arms. “Everleigh, I know you are terrified right now and after
what Scott has done there probably isn’t much I can say to take your fear or
guilt away,” he said, practically reading my mind. “All I can really do right
now is just keep you close to me and do what I can to help keep you safe.”

I
should have felt safe after hearing his words, but I didn’t. The truth was no
matter what Ryder, John, or the rest of the guys tried to do to keep me
protected nothing would stop Scott from ultimately getting to me. I knew Scott
was an asshole and possibly had some kind of mental health issues, but I truly
never thought he would ever be so desperate to actually murder someone,
especially a completely innocent woman.

I
was so wracked with grief and guilt that I didn’t even have the strength to
reply to him so I just did what I did best and cried a river of tears. What the
hell had I ever done to deserve this? None of this would have happened if I
hadn’t gone with Danni to that concert and met Ryder. I found a deep, pure love
in the most unlikely of places and because the ghosts of my past wouldn’t let
me go, Trish was dead and all of our lives were in danger.

For
one split second I considered running away from all of this, from the only
family I had left and the one man that I loved beyond measure just to keep them
safe but I knew I would never be able to do that. Kris, Jude, and Beau were my
brothers. Danni and Jessie were my sisters. John was the protective uncle I
never had. And Ryder…he was my soul. I knew that I’d be broken without the rest
of our little family but without Ryder I may as well be dead. Besides, if I
left to keep them safe Scott would attack them anyway as a way to hurt me. I
knew I was safer, if I could even really call it that, if we were all together.

I
lost all track of time and everything else around me as Ryder held me in his
arms, stroking my hair, and letting me cry. The last thing I remember before
exhaustion finally took over was hearing him humming a song into my ear in his
deep, soothing voice.

The
next thing I knew I was waking up on the couch wrapped in a blanket and I
couldn’t feel Ryder anywhere near me. Panic was starting to set in and as I
opened my eyes I heard John saying, “I don’t want Everleigh to be afraid but I
really don’t know what to do here. No one has seen Scott since before he broke
into the house yesterday and that was over twenty four hours ago. He very well
could be in New York City by now.”

“Let
that fucking prick try to get her. He won’t get far, trust me,” I heard Ryder
say in a terrifyingly calm voice.

“We
are all going to do what we have to do protect Everleigh but this isn’t just
about her anymore, man,” Jude said. “As long as Scott is out there roaming the
streets, Jess and Danni aren’t safe either. The fact that he went after Trish,
who was nowhere near Everleigh when she was killed, makes this whole thing
really
fucked up.”

“Jude’s
right. Until Scott is caught we have to not only up security but we need to
pull the
whole
family together,” Kris said. Something in his voice made
me take notice.

I
opened my eyes and peeked at the five of them all sitting around the kitchen
table. I eyed Kris looking at Beau with a hard stare. Beau’s eyes widened and
he snapped, “Who, Sadie? No fucking way.”

“Beau,”
Jude began but he was quickly cut off.

“Scott
is already a danger to Everleigh, Danni, and Jess. He probably doesn’t even
know Sadie exists. Why would I intentionally fly my little sister here and into
the path of a psychotic killer?” Beau asked.

“Beau,
we’re a famous rock band. If Scott wanted info on us all he would have to do is
get on the internet and search. Sadie is safer here with us than in Chicago,
you know that,” Jude said.

“She’s
in her final semester of college, Jude. How can I force her to fuck up
everything she’s worked for only four months before her graduation? Besides,
have you met Sadie? She’s not just going to do what anyone tells her to do,
even if it’s for her own good. How am I supposed to convince her to come here
now?” Beau asked.

Jude
nudged his arm and said, “You’re Beau fucking Cavanaugh. You will do anything
for her, including throwing her over your shoulder and bringing her here
kicking and screaming. Don’t stress, man. Sadie might be stubborn but she’s not
stupid. If you tell her the truth about what’s going she’ll be here with no
hesitation.”

I
felt even guiltier now. Beau’s sister, whom I’ve never even met, would have to
fly here and might have to miss out on her remaining few months of college now
because of me. She was having to uproot her life for a girl she didn’t know. She
would hate me because of this. The thought made me want to start crying yet
again.

Ryder
looked at Beau and said, “Call Sadie and tell her to pack whatever she can and
to get on the next plane out here.”

“Fine,”
he grumbled. He took out his phone and started to dial her number but stopped.
“I swear to God Ryder, if anything happens to our girls…”

“It
won’t,” Ryder said. “I am going to do whatever, and I do mean
whatever
,
I have to do to stop that fucker before he even blinks in their direction.”

“This
is just so fucked up,” he said, dialing her number. He put the phone to his ear
and he walked out onto the balcony.

I
realized then I was too tense to try and fall back to sleep so I sat up,
throwing the blanket off me. I looked at Ryder and when he saw me he immediately
stood up and walked over. “Hey baby,” he said, “did we wake you?”

I
shook my head, which was pounding. “No, I woke up on my own.”

He
sat next to me and pulled my hair back from my face. He kissed my temple and
said, “Did you sleep okay?”

I
shrugged my shoulders and answered, “As good as can be expected, I guess.”

“You
want me to get you anything?”

“I
need some aspirin. My head is killing me,” I said, leaning against him.

Jude
stood up from the table and said, “I’m on it, sis. I’ll make you some coffee,
too. It helps me when I get headaches.”

“Thank
you, Jude,” I replied and he nodded at me.

“Where’s
Danni and Jessie?” I asked.

Kris
came over to us and sat in the recliner next to the couch. “Jess is in the
shower and Danni’s still sleeping.”

“What
time is it?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.

“It’s
almost two o’clock. You’ve been out for almost ten hours,” Ryder said.

“I
have?”

Ryder
kissed my hair and said, “Yeah, you cried yourself to sleep around four and I
didn’t want to risk waking you so I let you sleep here.”

“Where
did you sleep?”

“Right
here with you,” he said. “After what happened there was no way in hell I was
leaving you alone so I just leaned back and let you sleep on me.”