Challenging Ryker (Kringle Security #2)

Chapter 25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

If Amelia was going to work, then Ryker figured he might as well do the same. It would keep him busy and the small space wouldn't feel like it was closing in on him.

He wished he'd been able to convince Amelia to stay home. His gut was telling him something wasn't right and he always trusted his instincts. The problem with that was Amelia was dealing with her own trauma and forcing her to do something was akin to taking ten steps back in their relationship.

He wouldn’t be that person.

There were bound to be a dozen other ways he was going to fuck up this relationship; he really didn't want the first time to be so soon after things were starting to be good.

Adaptation. He could learn to do that.

He just needed a distraction and what better way to do that than to find the bastard who was quite literally making his life hell?

Ryker walked through the brand-new glass door. Luke had been quick to order a new one, this time with reinforced steel throughout. If someone went flying through it, it was going to hurt like a bitch. But it was better to be safe than sorry, and the sales guy said it was the best on the market.

"What do you have for me?" he asked Caden, who sat in his usual spot at the large table with his laptop in front of him. For the most part, their office was one large open floor plan with two offices to be used if privacy was needed. None of them ever took advantage of it. Except maybe Luke, but even he preferred to work with everyone around. It helped them to bounce ideas off each another.

The other was supposed to be Caden's but he never used it. It had been silly to even create it in the first place. None of them were fond of small spaces, due to one specific assignment in the Army.

"You only came to see me because Amelia went to work. Don't think I'm not fully aware of where I rank with you these days." The words were said with such a straight face that if he hadn't known the man for seventeen years, he would never know his friend was teasing him.

"I can't help that I prefer to spend my time with my woman. She's much better to look at."

Caden scoffed. "Ain't that the truth? Your woman, huh? Does that mean you finally got your head out of your ass?"

The smile that stretched completely across his face said it all but he gave his friend the words as well. "Yeah, I did. Best decision I made too."

"I'm happy for you, brother. It's about damn time. You've been living with those demons long enough."

"Nash said something similar. He also told me you guys kept my mother in the loop. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. I've been a shitty son."

He still had yet to call his mother and apologize. He knew it needed to happen but he wanted the shit with Gavin dealt with first. His mother would want to see him and right now wasn't the best time for that.

"You're not a shitty son. Everyone handles trauma differently and we know that. We knew one day that you would regret shutting her out, so we kept that communication open for you. Your mother was more understanding than you realize. She knew she and your father put too much pressure on you to be the protector for your sister. She told us once if she could change anything, that would be it. She hated that you took the responsibility for Sarah's death."

His heart cracked a little more for the parents he neglected. He never openly admitted to his parents that he took their words to heart, but he guessed it made sense they knew. His mother and father were always attentive and that didn't change just because he tried to push them away.

"Well, thank you. I'll never be able to repay you."

"No need, brother. That's what friends are for."

Yeah, it was, and one day he would find a way to show them how much it meant to him. It wouldn't be today and probably not tomorrow, but one day.

"You never answered the question. What do you have for me?"

Caden let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, not as much as I would like. Gavin is good at flying under the radar. He hasn't been back to the place he shared with Amelia in months. There are no credit cards or bank cards in either of his names, not that I expected any in the old one considering he's a fugitive. He hasn't approached his family or any known associates from his former life. For someone who was diagnosed clinically insane, he functions pretty damn well."

None of that was what he wanted to hear, but he wasn’t surprised. He could see how a judge would find Gavin not guilty by reason of insanity; a psychiatric facility was the right placement for Gavin. It was the fact that they hadn't been able to keep him locked down that was the problem.

His cell ringing in his pocket stopped him from responding to Caden's report. He pulled it from his pocket and wasn't surprised to see Monica's name on the screen.

Ryker answered the phone with a smirk. "Hey, Monica." She was likely calling to set something up for her friend. Amelia didn't realize it yet, but Monica cared about her, and when Monica cared about someone, she went all out.

"What the hell, Ryker? You have to let our girl up to breathe sometime."

The smile dropped from his face and what felt an awful lot like a lead ball sat heavy in his stomach.

"What the hell are you talking about?" The tone of his voice got Caden's attention. He didn't have to say anything for his friend to spring into action. Caden's fingers were suddenly flying across the keyboard.

"I'm talking about the fact that Amelia was supposed to be meeting with me and the board members an hour ago, but you probably have her so sex-hazed that she forgot all about it."

It was no longer just a ball sitting in his belly. Now, an elephant sat on his chest. Motherfucker! He knew better than to ignore his instincts.

"What do you mean she was supposed to, Monica? Amelia left the hotel over an hour ago and waved to Dom on her way into the building."

His friend had texted him as soon as he had eyes on his girl. The same way he did with Luke every morning and any time either Monica or Amelia left the building. It was a little reminder throughout the day that they were safe. He had felt marginally better once he got that text, but now he wished he had demanded his friend walk her up.

"Ryker, Amelia never made it upstairs to the office."

The phone slipped from his hand and crashed onto the table. Ryker thought he and Caden were the only two in the building, but at the sound of his phone smashing off the wood, Luke stormed into the area from his office.

"What the hell's going on out here?"

It was Caden who managed to answer since Ryker was frozen. "Amelia made it to the office this morning but never got upstairs to the meeting with Monica and the board. I've got Tex tracking her location now. I'll have it in a moment."

Luke clapped him on the back. "We'll find her. It's only been an hour."

An hour was a long time when it came to a man like Gavin. After what they learned, it was clear the amount of damage Gavin could do in that short period of time.

"I should've listened to my gut. It was telling me not to let her go to work today. I caved because I didn't want to be that controlling asshole and look what happened." He slapped both hands down on the table in frustration. "Fuck! When am I going to learn to listen to my instincts when it comes to the women in my life?"

He was spiraling. He knew it. His friends knew it. The problem was he didn't know how to stop it.

Thankfully Luke had his back, just like he did for the past seventeen years.

His friend grabbed him by the shoulders and shook some sense into him, both physically and figuratively.

"Knock it off! This doesn't help Amelia. Prove to me you can get your shit together or I'm going to have Austin lock your ass down here while we go get your girl."

That got his attention. He shoved everything aside and pushed his emotions into a box. He would pull them back out after he had Amelia by his side once again.

"Like hell you will," he growled. "Gavin's mine."

"Tex has an address for us. It's not far from their office," Caden informed them.

"Are you sure you got this?" Luke checked with Ryker.

He had never been more sure of anything in his life. There wasn't a force in the universe that would keep him from getting his girl back. "Call the rest of the team and have them meet us there. This ends today."