Chapter 142 TYLER

Chapter 142 TYLER
“How the hell did you get in here?”

Racquel grinned like she had been waiting for that question. She raised a finger to her chin, pretending to think while she paced lazily in front of me. My eyes tracked her every movement.

“Hm, let’s see,” she said, stopping right in front of me. “Big compound. No real security. Scalable walls. Open windows.” Her smile stretched a little wider. “Pretty easy.”

My teeth ground together. “Where’s your partner in crime?”

Her head tilted, amusement flickering across her face like I had just said something entertaining. “Why do you care?” she asked. “Or are you… jealous?”

I let out a short breath that didn’t carry any humor. “I’m far from jealous,” I said. “If anything, I was hoping he’d be here too. Would’ve made things easier.”

That earned me a small laugh, light and careless, like we were talking about something normal instead of the mess she had dragged into my room.

“Don’t worry about Sam,” she said, waving it off like he was irrelevant. “I didn’t come here to talk about him.” Her gaze settled on me, something deliberate settling into it. “I came for you.”

There was something wrong with the way she said it. No softness, no emotion. Just that look in her eyes that seemed like she'd already decided how this was going to end.

“I’m here to give you another chance,” she continued, stepping closer. “Actually, let’s call it your third chance. You wasted the second one when you couldn’t even prove you loved me properly.”

I stared at her, trying to understand how her mind even got from one point to another without collapsing in on itself.

“This time,” she went on, lowering her voice slightly, “I’ll be nicer. I promise not to hurt anyone.” Her lips curved again. “Especially your girlfriend. In fact, I don’t even mind sharing.”

Something in my chest twisted at that, not because of what she was offering, but because of how easily she said it. Like Harper was just a variable she could adjust.

She reached out then, fingers lifting like she was about to trace them along my jaw.

I caught her wrist before she could touch me.

Her eyes flickered down to where I held her, then back up to my face. For a split second, there was something else there. Not fear. Not even anger. Just amusement. She yanked her hand free and shoved me back.

I hit the bed behind me, the impact jarring enough to pull a curse to the edge of my throat. Before I could push myself up properly, she was already moving, climbing onto the mattress and settling on my lap like she belonged there.

“Stop acting like this,” she said, leaning in slightly. “You know you still want me.”

My hands went straight to her shoulders, gripping hard enough to make my point clear. “Get off me.”

She didn’t move.

“I didn’t come here to fight,” she said. “I came to fix things.”

“There’s nothing to fix,” I snapped. “You’re out of your mind.”

She leaned closer again, like she hadn’t heard a single word I said.

Then my door flew open.

The sound cut through everything.

Voices spilled in right behind it, overlapping mid conversation until they all stopped at once.

Kane. Jax. Peter. Mark. Every single one of them froze.

Peter’s expression shifted first, his usual humor twisting into something sharper as his eyes landed on Racquel sitting on me like this was normal.

“What the hell is the devil’s spawn doing in here?” he demanded.

Racquel turned her head slowly, still seated on my lap, completely unbothered by the fact that four people had just walked in on her.

“Well,” she said, looking them over one by one, “if it isn’t the king’s jester and the rest of the court.”

Kane scoffed from the doorway. “You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here.”

“Oh please,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “What exactly are you going to do to me?”

Peter didn’t even wait.

He turned his head toward the hallway and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Mom! I think we’ve got a rodent situation!”

Racquel flinched.

It was small, but I felt it under my hands. The shift. The crack in her wall of armor.

She started to push off me, like her instinct had finally kicked in, but I tightened my grip on her shoulders before she could get far.

“No,” I said, my voice low and firm. “You’re not going anywhere.”

She struggled then, trying to twist out of my hold, but I didn’t let go. I pushed up from the bed, dragging her with me as I stood, keeping her locked in place even as she tried to pull free.

“Let go of me,” she snapped, her composure slipping just a little.

I leaned closer, just enough that she had to meet my eyes. “Is that fear I’m smelling?” I asked quietly.

Her expression flickered again, then changed completely.
Her face softened. Her shoulders dropped. Her eyes filled like she had flipped a switch inside herself.

“Tyler, please,” she said, her voice trembling now. “You’re hurting me.”

Peter clapped slowly from behind me. “Wow. Nice acting.”

“Shut up!” she snapped over her shoulder before turning back to me, tears already lining her lashes. “I didn’t hurt anyone this time,” she insisted. “I swear. You can’t let them take me. They’ll hurt me.”

I didn’t react.

“You remember how it was,” she continued, her voice dropping, pleading now. “When we were together. You cared about me. I know you still do.”

That was when I grabbed her chin. Not hard enough to bruise, but firm enough to stop whatever she was about to say next.

“Don’t,” I said.

Her breath hitched, not from fear, but because I had interrupted her script.

“Don’t get it twisted in that head of yours,” I continued, my voice quieter now, but carrying more weight than anything I had said so far. “We still have a score to settle. You tried to kill Harper. The only reason you’re still standing here is because I haven’t decided to cross a line I can’t come back from.”

Her eyes searched mine, like she was trying to find something she could use.

“There’s nothing left between us,” I added. “Nothing.”

From downstairs, my mom’s voice carried up. “Boys? Is everything okay up there?”

Footsteps followed right after.

Racquel’s head turned toward the door, then back to me quickly.

“If you let me go,” she said in a rush, dropping the act just enough to sound urgent, “I can help you. I can help you get Sam.”

I didn’t respond.

“You don’t have anything on him,” she pressed. “But I do. And you should be worried about him more than me. He’s closer to Harper than you think. He can get to her anytime.”

“Tyler, don’t listen to her,” Mark said from behind me.

“She’s bluffing,” Jax added.

Kane scoffed. “Yeah, she’s obviously just trying to save her own skin.”

Peter folded his arms. “Classic move.”

“Please,” Racquel said again, her voice breaking just enough to sound convincing.

My mom’s footsteps reached the door. “Boys?”

The shift was instant.

I tightened my grip on Racquel’s arm and leaned in just enough for only her to hear me. “Bathroom. Now.”

Her eyes flicked toward the door, calculating.

“Move,” I added under my breath.

Mom’s footsteps got closer.

Racquel didn’t argue this time. She slipped out of my hold and moved quickly, disappearing into the bathroom just as the door swung open. I stepped back into place, blocking the line of sight without making it obvious, while the others adjusted as if we’d rehearsed it.

“Boys?” my mom said again, stepping in.

I forced my shoulders to relax, turning toward her like nothing had happened. “False alarm,” I said. “Peter thought he saw a rat.”

Peter didn’t miss a beat. “Yeah. My bad. Bad eyesight.”

My mom looked at him, one brow lifting. “Since when?”

“It’s a hidden condition,” Kane said smoothly. “He just doesn’t like to talk about it.”

She let out a small laugh, shaking her head before her gaze moved across the room to Jax and Mark. “Everything alright?”

Jax nodded easily. “Yeah, we’re good.”

Mark followed with a quiet, “All good.”

She looked between us for another second, like she was deciding whether to believe it, then sighed lightly. “Alright. Dinner will be ready soon.”

“Got it,” I said.

She lingered for a second longer, then turned and headed back down the stairs.

We didn’t move until her footsteps faded completely. The second they did, the tension snapped right back into place.

I turned toward the bathroom immediately. “Racquel.”

No answer.

I crossed the room in two strides and pushed the door open. “Racquel.”

Still nothing.

The shower curtain was drawn halfway across. I pulled it back.

Empty.

A faint draft brushed past me, just enough to make something click. My head turned toward the window. It was open.

I stepped closer, my eyes running over everything automatically. The edge of the sink. The toilet. The small ledge beneath the window.

“She used this,” I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. “Stepped up here, pushed off, and got herself through.”

Peter let out a low whistle behind me. “Yeah, we seriously need better security.”

“And window locks,” Jax added. “Actual ones, not whatever this is.”

I didn’t respond.

I just stood there, staring at the open window, the night air slipping in like nothing had just happened.

I had her.

Right here.

And she still got away.

Behind me, Mark spoke, his voice barely audible. “We need to tell someone.”

I nodded, my gaze still fixed on the window, as I promised myself this would be the last time she got away from me.