Hunter (King’s Men MC #1)

12. Ryleigh

12

RYLEIGH

My furniture arrived the next day and was brought up by the two delivery men from the store where I had gotten everything from.

I hadn’t taken anything from the apartment I had been living in while still in school, mostly because my parents bought it, and in a bitter bid to show them just what I thought about them not showing up to my graduation, I left everything behind, save for the stuff in my bedroom.

It was immature, but it made me feel good at the time.

I wished I had taken it with me, considering how empty my place looked, even with all the furniture.

Everything was brand new, so it didn’t look lived-in yet, and there weren’t little knick-knacks around to make it feel like this apartment was truly mine.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too long for me to finally settle in.

I stood in my kitchen while the men worked to assemble my coffee table, which, impressively, didn’t take them all that long. Then, finally, they pulled off the clear plastic covering the two sofas I had placed adjacent to each other and looked over at me.

“All done, Miss.”

“Thank you,” I said, walking them out to the front door and holding it open for them. They smiled at me before walking to the elevators. One of the men even tipped his red hat at me.

I stood at the threshold for a beat after the doors closed behind them, somehow feeling reluctant to return to my apartment.

I didn’t know what I would do with myself now that this was checked off my short list of to-dos today.

I had finished work early for the day, and now, all that was left was to find something to eat for dinner, get ready for bed, think about Xavier, and go to sleep.

It was barely three in the afternoon.

I didn’t remember my life becoming so monotonous, but that was exactly the case now that I no longer had school to distract me.

My phone rang from inside my pocket, and I pulled it out to see the letters MOM flashing across the screen.

I silenced it and put it back in my pocket, feeling surprised that she had reached out to me first.

That was rarely ever the case.

I wasn’t ready to talk to her or my dad.

It still hurt to think about them not showing up for my graduation to punish me for not falling in line with how they wanted me to live my life.

And I had spent the last two years trying so hard not to be scared.

To not let what I had witnessed from the alleyway, and even from my abduction and brought to the cliffside when I was fourteen, affect me any more than it already had.

Couldn’t they see how badly I wanted to live my own life ?

I didn’t want to be the girl who looked at all the shadows in the world, afraid one of them would come after me.

I took a deep breath before I was about to turn back inside my apartment. I suddenly felt like sulking when another door opened, disrupting my self-pity.

I jumped and looked to see my neighbor from three doors down come out with a plate of chocolate chip cookies covered with saran wrap.

They looked homemade, but I had run into her earlier when I was letting the delivery man in and had seen her carry in store-bought cookies into her place, along with a bottle of red wine and a small pink bag with Victoria’s Secret logo on it.

She looked like she was preparing for a date, and I admit a flash of envy went through me at the thought.

My mind quickly moved to Xavier, but I was sure the man wasn’t interested in me the way I was interested in him.

I told myself to go back inside and mind my own business, but curiosity held me there. I watched as she came up to my next-door neighbor’s door, an elusive neighbor at that, considering the person had moved in the same time I did, and I had yet to meet them.

She knocked on their door.

I should probably mind my own business, but I did want to see who lived next door.

It took two long seconds before the lock disengaged, and my eyes widened in shock when the large figure filled the doorway.

Xavier lived next door to me!

And my neighbor was trying to make a move on him.

Anger burned through me, and I wanted to walk up to them and throw the plate of those store-bought cookies she was trying to sell as homemade out of her claw-like hands…

Okay, so she didn’t have claw-like hands. They were actually nicely manicured, and her hair looked perfectly brushed, coming down in a mass of blonde that reached the small of her back, but still.

“Hey,” she cooed.

It was taking everything in me not to show the disgust on my face.

“I heard you just moved in, and I wanted to welcome you.”

If Xavier responded, I didn’t know.

I had already walked back into my apartment and shut the door quietly behind me.

I had just moved into this building as well, but she didn’t show up at my door with a plate of cookies.

Besides, Xavier wasn’t mine. But he was especially not mine after two measly meetings. The first one had been nothing more than a fleeting glance that I definitely made into something bigger in my mind, yet that didn’t take away the burning jealousy I was feeling inside me.

And I had been feeling sorry for myself just before witnessing that. Now, I felt absolutely lousy.

I took a deep breath and tried to center myself before walking to the kitchen to find something to make for dinner… for one.

Fuck.

My eyes stung, but I refused to cry in self-pity.

I was better than that.

It wasn’t until I was in the middle of making a spaghetti dinner that I realized I didn’t have tomato sauce.

And I was way too excited over the prospect of going out to the store to buy it than I should be, I knew, but it was so much better than to be surrounded by the four walls of my apartment, wondering if my neighbor was now enjoying hot sex with Xavier.

He looked like he knew what he was doing.

There wasn’t a way for a man to walk around with that confident swagger and not know what he was doing.

I shivered, just imagining him doing that to me.

I had only had sex with one person in my life, and it had only been a handful of times with Rhett before he decided that being with me was too much work and was damaging his high school life.

Asshole.

I was still bitter about that relationship, and sometimes I wished I had waited and not given him any part of me.

It was done and over now, and I hadn’t dated anyone seriously since.

There was definitely something wrong with me, and now I was imagining having sex with my neighbor.

I walked out to the lobby when the elevator stopped on the main floor, moved toward the revolving door, and walked out to the grocery store.

It wasn’t much further from the building, just down the street, which was super convenient but not enough if I wanted to be out for longer than fifteen minutes.

I didn’t want to return to the empty place, but I didn’t know where to go after getting the sauce.

My eyes moved around the city.

The grocery store was to my left.

I stopped at the cross street, and just as the light turned on for me to cross, I made a rash decision and took a right instead.

I walked aimlessly from one end of the street to the other, not knowing what the hell I was supposed to do now that I had taken this little detour when I found a small bar just on the corner .

The last time I went to a nightclub, I ended up becoming a key witness to a crime I didn’t want to witness. I knew a nightclub was different from a bar, but it was close enough that I still felt a shiver of fear run up and down my spine.

And that just pissed me off.

I should not be feeling like this.

I should not still have been affected by that, which only made me more determined to go inside.

I walked up to the doors, my hand hesitating on the handle before I shook off the apprehension and opened it. I walked inside to a dimly lit bar. It was not as full as I thought it would be.

I looked around, saw a handful of groups around the spacious bar, and made my way up to the bar top.

The bartender was an attractive man in his thirties with a neatly trimmed beard that wasn’t unlike Xavier’s.

I had half a mind to ask him if he would like to come home with me at the end of his shift if only to stave off the loneliness. Still, I had never been good at flirting, let alone picking up men for a one-night stand. I knew I would probably regret waking up in the morning light when I no longer felt like this.

So instead, I shot him a small smile and ordered a Long Island Iced Tea.

“Coming right up,” the man answered, his voice gruff.

I watched as he made it, and when he placed it in front of me with a wink, I looked down at the table and pretended not to notice how charming his wink was.

His eyes were blue, surrounded by enviable sooty black eyelashes that I couldn’t achieve even with mascara.

“It’s on the house, sweetheart.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

He nodded and offered another charming smile .

How easy would it be if I was actually attracted to him and not to someone as unattainable as Xavier?

He would probably spend his night with my neighbor tonight while she modeled whatever skimpy little thing she had bought at Victoria’s Secret.

I shook away the thought.

I did not want my mood to be sour, and it seemed to be heading in that direction.

I took a sip of my drink, pacing myself, considering how badly I handled my alcohol.

I had only turned twenty-two several weeks before.

It was about the time when I told my parents about my decision after graduation, and they were punishing me, so none of them had acknowledged nor showed up for that.

More ways to hurt me, I supposed.

I should be used to it by now, yet each time, it slashed right into my skin and left a permanent scar.

I shook my head.

So much for trying not to sour my mood.

At least they had both sent gifts.

A bouquet of black Baccara roses.

They were my favorite flower, and Mom had sent me a journal.

Both presents were unsigned, but it wasn’t like it was hard to figure out who sent them, considering my parents were the only ones who knew and—supposedly—celebrated my birthdays.

I wasn’t sure how she thought the journal would make things better for me, but I had been writing in it a few times a week.

I didn’t dislike it.

I took another sip and looked around the bar.

My bartender was off in the corner, his voice muffled as he talked on the phone with someone. I couldn’t be sure what was said, considering the music that filtered through the place, but I thought I heard him say, Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll keep an eye on her for you.

I didn’t know who the girl he was keeping an eye on for his friend was, but I thought that was sweet.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had someone who would keep an eye on me to ensure I was safe.

And my parents didn’t count.

Besides, it was mostly Mom, who still hadn’t eased up on her hovering after almost a decade of worrying. Dad, well, he turned into an even bigger workaholic than he had been since the release of Roman Stone.

I closed my eyes, trying not to think about that night or his voice.

It had been two years, and I supposed my brain was protecting me in some way because I found the memory of it to be somewhat distorted.

I had forgotten what the voices had sounded like, though I remembered the words.

Sometimes, I dreamt of the words being spoken, but without a sound.

If I was asked to come back into court and testify for the prosecuting attorney…

I didn’t think I could do it.

I wanted to leave this memory behind, and on the off chance that Roman Stone was innocent, I didn’t want to be the key witness to send him back to jail.

I also didn’t want to draw attention to myself with the King’s Men MC, and what was more, I’d make an unreliable eyewitness.

“I didn’t know you came here,” a voice spoke to my left just as the chair was being pulled out.

I opened my eyes in surprise and looked to find the same man from the elevator the day before .

I blinked up at him in shock, unsure of how to answer. I shifted away from him when he moved close to me, close enough that our shoulders touched.

My skin heated, and I felt eyes on me then.

I looked up and found the blue eyes of my bartender set in a glower as he watched my neighbor from the floor above pretend to forget what personal space meant. I didn’t feel creeped out by that. Surprisingly, I felt safe, knowing someone was around if my neighbor did something I didn’t want.

And judging by the alcohol on his breath, I was sure the last thing he had now was a bit of self-control.

I jumped when his hand landed on my shoulder as he wrapped his arm around me.

“Why don’t we go back to my place?”

He leaned down as he spoke, his hot breath fanning over my cheek, and I resisted the urge to gag.

“No, thanks,” I said, removing his hand.

“Man, I am having the worst week with the ladies. First, Trinity ditched for that rough, wannabe biker douche on her floor, and now I’m being rejected by you .”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

Was Trinity my neighbor?

And rough, wannabe biker douche? Really?

Wait—what the hell did he mean by you ?

I glared over at him, trying to find an escape from this situation before it got out of control.

“Is everything okay here?” the bartender asked.

I didn’t even hear him come up.

I turned to him and offered a small smile. It wasn’t his fault that the one night I decided to do something different, I ended up running into an asshole.

My hands shook as I reached into my purse and pulled out a twenty. He shook his head, placing his hand on top of mine before I could leave the bill.

“Like I said, it’s on the house, sweetheart.”

“Lucky bitch,” the guy murmured. “That’s all you all are. Bitches, using men to your advantage and leaving them out to dry when you’re done.”

“That’s it, you are done.”

The guy stood up, and I jumped off the stool before I found myself sandwiched between the angry bartender and the drunkard.

I stuffed the money back in my purse since he didn’t want my money, and I waved when the bartender made eye contact with me.

He nodded before turning back to the man, and I slipped silently out of there.

I headed back toward the grocery store, my bad mood skyrocketing when I realized I didn’t even get to finish my drink or order a meal.

Eating alone in a bar wasn’t exactly ideal, but at least it was in the vicinity of other people, and that was much better for my loneliness than going to the grocery store to buy tomato sauce and eating spaghetti alone in my apartment.

I squinted when a car came driving past, the headlight flashing over my eyes, and jumped slightly when the asshole driver honked the horn.

I tried to get my eyes to adjust to the sudden onslaught of light when I was grabbed from behind and pulled into an alleyway.

For a moment, it didn’t feel real.

It didn’t feel like the fact that I had just been grabbed in the middle of the street was real. That it could happen to me, when these sorts of things were supposed to happen in the movies.

The man who grabbed me pushed me up against the alley’s brick wall, and he wasn’t being gentle about it .

I grunted in pain from the impact and tried to get my eyes to adjust to the dark, feeling as if this was nothing more than an out-of-body experience.

Shock widened my eyes when I finally made out the familiar features of the man.

The guy from the bar, also the same guy from my apartment building.

And he was drunk.

And mean.

A mean drunk.

Fear held me immobile, stealing my voice.

I could have asked him what he wanted from me, but it was pretty obvious, considering his eyes weren’t even trained on my face.

I was wearing dark jeans and a simple short sleeve black t-shirt with a V-neck.

It wasn’t low by any means, but under his gaze, this felt almost… indecent.

I crossed my arms over my chest, and he finally moved his eyes up to my face.

“Do you really think you’re in any position to say no to me?” he asked.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

“You should be thankful I’m even giving you the time of day, bitch,” he said, moving in closer to me.

I turned my head to the side and pressed my body against the wall when his face was a mere inch away from me. I wished the wall would somehow have some magical secret passageway and open up, letting me escape this horrible man.

How could I not have taken more caution when walking home?

It was still busy at this time of night, but it had been empty where I had been walking, and he must have followed me from the bar, waiting for the perfect time to strike.

“Don’t worry,” he said, his hot, putrid breath blasting over my face. I let out a small cry, unable to hold it in. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

He leaned down and tried to catch my lips with his. I struggled against him, trying to push him off, but he was much too strong.

Certainly stronger than me. I didn’t know how I would escape this unscathed.

This couldn’t be happening to me, could it?

I let out another small cry when he pulled on my hair roughly, hard enough that I was sure he had pulled out a few strands.

“Hold. Still,” he gritted out as if I was doing something bad simply because I didn’t want him to touch me.

And that just pissed me off.

It made me scared and angry at the same time, and I pulled my leg up without thinking, kneeling him in the balls.

He let out a small scream in pain but didn’t move away as I expected.

Instead, the moonlight flashed over, showing me enough of his face to let me know he was angry I had fought back.

I didn’t think. I opened my mouth and screamed, only for it to cut off when he slapped my cheek.

“Shut up, you stupid bitch.”

I tried to blink away the tears. I didn’t want him to see me cry, and a stubborn part of me didn’t want to beg for mercy, but the thoughts running rampant in my head…

I would beg. If it would help, I’d beg.

I closed my eyes when he raised his hand up once more, bracing myself for the impact, only…

It never came.

Cold air whooshed past me from where he had been standing. When I opened my eyes, the man was no longer standing there but several feet away, lying on the ground. Another—bigger—man was on top of him, throwing punches.

My breath caught when the light reflected on his face, and I realized it was Xavier.

I didn’t know how he knew I was here, and I didn’t care because he was here, and I was safe.

I looked at him as tears streamed down my face, and it took me a moment to realize the other man was crying and begging for mercy on the ground.

His hands came up to protect his face from the punches, and I looked out to the mouth of the alley, afraid someone might stop by and investigate.

I didn’t want Xavier to get in trouble because of me, and I didn’t want my parents to know I had run into trouble so soon after disobeying them.

Slowly, I walked over to Xavier.

It didn’t seem like he was aware of what was going on.

He was in a bloodthirsty rage, and I feared I might not get through to him.

Surprisingly though, he stilled as soon as I placed my hand on his shoulder.

“Xavier. Please stop.”

I felt his back move up and down from taking a huge breath, and I moved back a step when he suddenly stood up, facing me.

“Shit,” he muttered quietly, holding his hand in front of him as if he were trying to approach a frightened animal. I felt like one. I closed my eyes, and more tears fell.

“Ryleigh, I’m not gonna hurt you, okay?”

I let out a stuttered breath, and all I managed was a slight nod.

I felt his shoulder sag .

“Can I come closer to you?”

At this point, I didn’t think I would feel safe unless he was close by.

How odd.

The man was nothing more than a stranger to me, but I felt safe with him.

Again, I nodded.

He was in front of me before I could take in my next breath.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him, his face hidden in the shadow from the angle.

“Can I hold you?” he asked gently.

How contradictory. The man was as rough as any man could get. If my mom ever met him, I was sure the word unsavory would have escaped her lips before they would ever speak to each other. Yet, this rough man was being so gentle with me, and I had the sudden urge to find out what it would be like to be cuddled up close to him in bed.

“Please,” I whispered.

He didn’t hesitate.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in close. I buried my face in his chest as a loud sob came out, surprising even me.

“Hush, now, baby. Don’t cry. Okay? Seeing you like this makes me want to come back and finish off the bastard.”

I let out a small whimper from his words, not because of the threat that sounded serious—even as I knew he wasn’t—but for the fact that if he went through with it, he would have to let me go, and I didn’t want him to let me go.

My hands moved up to his waist, and I clung to him tightly.

“Shh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that to you. I won’t let you go, okay? Can I take you home, baby?”

I nodded against his chest .

“W-What about him?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about him,” he answered darkly, and even though I had already established how safe I felt with him, his tone of voice still sent a sliver of fear down my spine.

I swallowed, and he pulled away slightly from me to take in my face.

“Give me one second, okay?”

I grabbed hold of his shirt when he turned from me, and he looked back, his dark eyes shrouded in curiosity.

“I won’t go far,” he answered softly as if he was afraid of scaring me off.

I could only nod.

I watched as Xavier moved over to the man’s unconscious body. I would have thought he was dead if not for the fact that his chest was moving in and out deeply.

Xavier reached into the man’s pocket and pulled out his wallet.

Was he trying to steal from the man?

I didn’t think so. Even though Xavier didn’t look like he came from old money or polished money, like so many of the people in my parents’ circle, he looked like he had money.

But I couldn’t think of a reason why he would want the man’s wallet unless…

Was he trying to find out the man’s identity?

What for?

It wasn’t like I would want to go to the cops for this.

It would become public record, and it wouldn’t take long for my dad to find out.

Xavier pocketed the wallet, grabbed my hand, pulled it away from where I had fisted his shirt, and led me out of the alley.

I was still in a small daze as Xavier walked me back to our building, and it wasn’t until the elevator dinged to announce our arrival on our floor that I finally jumped .

He led me to his apartment instead of my own, and I took a deep breath as I entered.

As dazed as I was, I still remembered a part of the reason for my bad mood today, and I wondered if I could tell if he had spent the day having sex with Trinity.

My nose wrinkled in disgust from the thought, and Xavier looked back at me, not saying anything.

I took a moment to take in his apartment.

It was even more barren than mine.

There was one large couch, a large wooden coffee table, and a TV stand that housed a wide flat-screen TV.

It was surprisingly clean, and from the looks of it, he lived here alone.

He deposited me on the couch and left for the kitchen. I almost begged him to stay, but he wasn’t gone long, coming back moments later with a glass of water and sitting down close to me. So close our thighs touched.

I focused my gaze on that before he brought my attention back to him by moving the glass of water in front of me. He gently pressed it against my lips. Our eyes met as he tilted the glass forward, and I drank steadily, taking in the cool water on my dry lips and mouth.

When I decided I was done, I turned my head away, and Xavier placed it on the coffee table.

“How did you know where I was?” I asked quietly, staring down at my lap.

“I was already on my way to the bar when I heard a scream in the alley. I went to investigate and found the bastard had pressed you up against the wall.”

I nodded, my bottom lip trembling. How fucking lucky was that? I shuddered to think what would have happened to me had Xavier not heard. I’d hate to think about the state I would be in now .

Perhaps lying on the dirty ground of that alley, with no one around to help me.

“Oh, fuck,” I distantly heard him mutter before he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in close.

I didn’t care that he had seen Trinity that afternoon. I didn’t care that this day was already crappy, and I didn’t care that my family—parents—were so fucking crappy.

I buried my face in his chest and cried. Part from terror over the thought of what could have happened and part from relief so strong, I was shaking.

“Oh, baby. Just cry, okay? I’ll be here. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”

I closed my eyes as more tears came out and soaked his shirt. How nice would that promise really be if he wasn’t a stranger to me but someone I could count on?

I knew he was just saying that to console me, but I clung to his words as if they were true.

He was here, and he wouldn’t let anything happen to me.

My arms came up, and I wrapped them around his waist.

Slowly at first, then tightly.

Please don’t let me go.

“I won’t let you go,” he vowed.

I hadn’t realized I had said it out loud.

I whimpered, feeling so exhausted, I just wanted this day to be over. I knew the exhaustion was more than just what had happened tonight. Still, with everything going on in my life, Xavier was strong and steady in my arms, and I just wanted to let go, if not for the rest of the night, then for the next hour.

That would be so nice.

That last memory I had before falling asleep was his words echoing in the recess of my mind.

He won’t let me go.