Chapter 30 Standing her ground
Ryder's POV
"Get in the bathroom," I said, already pulling on my jeans. "Now."
"No."
I turned to look at Sage. She was sitting up in bed with the sheet pulled around her and her jaw set in that stubborn way that I understood to mean that arguing would be pointless.
"Sage, this isn't a debate. Jaxon is about to kick my door down and if he sees you here like this, he'll kill me."
"Then he kills you." She climbed out of bed and grabbed my t-shirt from the floor, pulling it over her head. "I'm done hiding. If Jaxon wants to be pissed, let him be pissed. I'm not sneaking around anymore."
"This is different than sneaking around at the clubhouse. This is his sister in my bed and him knowing exactly what we've been doing."
"Good. Then we don't have to lie anymore."
Footsteps pounded up the stairs outside my apartment. The next thing I heard was the sound of heavy boots that could only be Jaxon moving fast and furious.
I grabbed my gun from the nightstand and Sage's hand with my free hand. "Stay behind me at least."
"Fine."
The pounding on my front door was loud enough to wake the whole neighbourhood. I checked the peephole and saw exactly what I expected. Jaxon, face red with rage and his fist raised to pound again.
I unlocked the door and opened it. Sage stepped up beside me instead of behind me, making our relationship unmistakable. Her bare legs showed beneath my shirt and her hair was messy from my hands and there was no question about what we'd been doing.
Jaxon's eyes went from me to Sage and back again. His jaw clenched so hard I heard his teeth grind.
"Get inside," he said, his voice deadly quiet. "Both of you."
"Jax—" Sage started.
"Don't." He cut her off with a look. "Don't say a goddamn word until we're inside with the door closed."
We backed into the apartment and Jaxon followed. He slammed the door hard enough to rattle the frame.
Then he exploded.
"Are you fucking kidding me right now? My sister? You're fucking my sister after everything I said, after I explicitly told you to stay away from her?"
"I'm standing right here," Sage said. "And I'm not a child you get to control."
"You're just twenty-four! He is at least fourteen years older than you are!!! You are my responsibility! My only family!"
"And what about what I want?" Her voice rose to match his. "What about my choices, my life, my feelings? Do those not matter at all?"
Jaxon's eyes flashed. "Of course they matter. But you're thinking with your heart instead of your head and you're going to get hurt."
"Maybe I'd rather get hurt choosing something I want than be safe with something you picked for me."
"This isn't about—"
Gunshots cracked through the night.
I hit the floor, taking Sage down with me. Glass exploded inward from the living room window as bullets tore through the walls. Jaxon dove behind the kitchen counter and pulled his gun.
Three more shots. Four. They were firing from the porch, aiming at my apartment specifically.
"Stay down," I ordered Sage, already crawling toward the window to return fire.
I risked a quick look and saw two figures beside a dark sedan. Shooter one had a handgun. Shooter two had a rifle.
I aimed and fired three rounds. One of the shooters stumbled back and they both scrambled for the car.
Jaxon was firing from the kitchen, providing cover. The sedan's engine roared to life and tires squealed as they peeled out.
I got a partial look at the plate before they disappeared around the corner. They were New York plates and the first three letters were JKM.
Then there was silence. Just the sound of our heavy breathing and a car alarm going off somewhere in the distance.
"Everyone okay?" Jaxon asked.
"Yeah." I turned to check on Sage. She was pressed against the wall, her eyes wide but her hands steady. "You hit?"
"No. I'm fine."
Sirens wailed in the distance, getting closer fast. Someone had called 911.
Jaxon stood up slowly and surveyed the damage. Bullet holes peppered the walls. Glass covered the floor. My TV had a round through the center of the screen.
"They knew exactly where to find her," he said quietly. "They knew she was here, in your apartment, which isn't public knowledge."
The implication settled over us like ice water.
"Someone's tracking her movements," I said. "Someone close enough to know things they shouldn't."
Sage stood up, brushing glass off her bare legs. "You think it's someone in the club."
"Has to be." Jaxon's expression was grim. "Hardly anyone outside the brotherhood knows about this place. I barely know about this place."
We looked at each other. The same terrible realization dawning on all three of us.
The person trying to kill Sage wasn't some outside enemy. It was someone in the Steel Wolves. Someone who'd been watching her every move, tracking her locations, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Someone who knew she'd be with me tonight.
Red and blue lights then flashed through the broken window as police cars pulled into the parking lot. We had maybe two minutes before they were pounding on the door with questions we couldn't answer honestly.
Sage's phone buzzed on the counter where she'd left it and we all stared at it.
She picked it up and her face went white.
"What is it?" I asked.
She turned the screen so we could see.
It was from an unknown number. The message sent chills down my spine.
“I warned you. Now everyone you love pays the price.”