Chapter 31

*Ryker*

The man was bleeding, lying on my foyer floor. I reached for my phone to call the security team for the house. How did they let him through? "Fuck!" I said under my breath laying the cool metal on the bar. I left him there bleeding and poured myself a drink. I saw Iris come running down the hall from the bedroom. She stopped and her eyes got large. "What.." She couldn't finish her thought. "He would have killed me, Iris, he could have hurt you, I had to take him out." I knew I sounded cold, but this was a first for me. It was me or him, and it wasn't going to be me still standing. I can't wait to talk to my security to see how he got through. I thought we were covered out there. I put the phone to my ear waiting for someone to answer. "Yes, Mr. Lorcane, Did we hear shots? Thomas is headed up to the house. Are you okay?" A frantic man from my security team outside was almost yelling into the phone. Deacon had ordered more security since the wreck, already, replacing the men that were here. Thomas was a good man. Tall and strong, but not very talkative. I know he would take a bullet for any man he protected. "One of the security is coming up here Iris, please stay calm," I said walking over to her. Her face was pale, and she was not okay. "Iris?" I said her name and put my hand firmly on her chin bringing her eyes to mine. "I had to do it. I know you aren't used to this, and I am sorry I brought you into it. You have to understand that I was protecting you, and myself. He would have killed us both. He was a hitman. He was sent her to kill me." I know I had already told her that, but I needed her to understand. Tears streaked her beautiful soft features, which tore at my strings, but I quickly shook it off. I heard a pounding at the door and walked quickly to open the door. "What the fuck!" Thomas yelled when he walked inside, rushing to check the man on the floor's pulse. "He isn't dead Ryker, he is breathing." He stood up and like it was just another Sunday, he shot the man in the head. I shoved him against the door. "What are you fucking thinking?" I was furious, not for the man on the floor, but that he would be so fucking stupid to shoot the man right in front of my beautiful Iris. She yelped and closed her eyes tightly.

Seconds later, I felt her hand on my back. "Ryker he had to, I am okay, It's okay. Let him go." Her words sounded foreign to me. How had she accepted that so quickly? Maybe there was more darkness to my sweet girl than I thought. "Thomas, take care of this, I am taking her out of here." Thomas nodded not reacting to my actions. "Yes sir, He will be gone in 10 minutes, no trace." I nodded and wrapped my arm around Iris to lead her out of the room. She was calmer in voice but I could feel her trembling against my arm. "Are you okay?" I whispered to her as we walked towards my bedroom. " Not really, but I will be." Her voice is not as soft as I thought it would be. She was assuring either herself, or me, that she wasn't a victim in this situation. "It's okay to be upset. You saw a man shot. I think you are in shock. Do you want a drink?" I needed to feel like I was doing something to help her, considering that I was the reason she was standing here, in this mess. "This isn't my first Rodeo Ryker, I'll be fine." She squeezed my arm and walked towards my master bathroom, closing the door. I am pretty sure I heard the lock click after she was inside. I sat down on the bed, confused by what she said. Had she seen a man shot before? Has she been in a situation similar to this one? I find it hard to believe a young, sweet girl from Ohio could have seen a hitman from a mob get shot in the head. What did she mean? I didn't know. I stared at the door in disbelief, trying to understand how she went from looking terrified to looking like she was in control. I took a deep breath and put my head in my hands. She may be okay, but I am not sure I am. I left this damn city for a reason, I wanted out of here. I wanted away from this life. Here I am, with more blood on my hands, and another body on my conscience. I closed my eyes and tried to think of something else. The beautiful young girl in my bathroom. The one I saw on the beach, the one I saw walking on campus, the one I took for myself. *The one you dragged into this fucked up life of yours, you selfish fuck*

My eyes flew open, I stood up and avoided looking in the mirror. I paced around the room, justifying to myself what was happening in front of my house. Minutes later, the door to the bathroom opened, and she stood there wrapped in a towel. "Go take a shower Daddy, we need to get to the hospital and talk to Deacon. He is the head of your security, right? Shouldn't he know what's going on here?" She walked over to me calmly, kissing my lips, and walking past me to my drawers. She didn't have any clothes here yet, and I wasn't going to ask her to wear Ivy's stuff. There are basketball shorts, and t-shirts, in those drawers over there baby girl, help yourself." I said pointing to the drawers in the dresser to her right. She smiled and nodded without speaking, so I walked into the bathroom with some underwear and a tank top and shut the door. I let the steaming hot water in the rain-function showerhead wash my sins away. I watched as water swirled around the train. I had never noticed that it formed a small cyclone-type funnel as it went through. Pulling everything around it right down the drain with the water. Is that what I do? Pull everything around me into darkness, like this cyclone does these bubbles? I shook my head and kicked my foot through the water. I shut it off and got out of the shower so I would stop focusing on such nonsense. Once I was dry and dressed, I walked back into the bedroom. There she sat, seemingly calm, in a pair of shorts and a tank top. She was beautiful in everything she wore. I looked away fighting the urge to push her out of the house. Tell her to run, as far, and as fast as she can. I am no good for her. I am surrounded by a cloud of darkness and pain. I always have been.

"This isn't your fault Ryker," she said standing up from the bed and reaching me for some socks. "You didn't do this to me." She kissed me. "It is my fault, Iris, I could have just left you alone when I saw you. I knew I wanted you and I didn't think about the consequences of that. You should be at school, studying for tests, and working on assignments. You shouldn't be sitting in my room while my associates rid my house of a dead hitman. " She looked at me and smiled. "I want to be here. I could have decided not to come, but I didn't. School is important and I will get caught up. I just wanna be close to you Ryk, I don't want to leave." She was reading my mind. I don't know why she had become so important to me so quickly, but I didn't want to let her go. I feel like she is drawn to me much in the same way. I smiled, "Okay sweet girl, I will go out and check on things, and then I will come and get you so we can go." I ran my hand down her face and she tilted her head into my hand. When I walked out of the room I instantly got that sick feeling. I have had that feeling before anytime I have had to handle these things on my own. When I got to the door everything was gone. No one was there, no blood, no men, no trace of the past two hours. I instinctively shook my head as if to shake off the feelings that came along with it. "Hey Iris, we can go." When she walked out of the room, she almost looked impressed. We walked out the door and headed to the car. I could have used a driver, but not many people had seen my Aston, so I felt that was safer, but I still grabbed my gun. I opened the door and leaned in to kiss the beautiful woman who got in. I couldn't figure out why she was still here. When I walked to my side of the car, I saw a dark figure out of the corner of my eye. I pulled my gun and pointed it in that direction, "I will end you, stop where you fucking are." I stood there, gun trained on the shadow. "Ryk, it's just me, calm down".