Chapter 169 Diego's call
Ryder's POV
I was in the middle of a meeting with the club's lawyers when my phone rang.
We were discussing our defence for the killings they happened during Dante's attack and how we were going to bring up Inspector Adams' corruption. The lawyers were explaining something about witness statements and evidence chains, and I was nodding along while understanding maybe half of what they were saying.
Then my phone buzzed on the table and Diego's name appeared on the screen.
My heart stopped.
For a second, I just stared at it. I only had his number because I needed to keep my enemies closer. But how did he have mine and why would he call me of all people? There was no love lost between us because he had initially threatened to get rid of me if Sage didn't fulfil the agreement and marry him before. This was all before Dante ripped up the whole place in bullets. He had won. He had Sage now. So why am I still on his radar?
This could only be about Sage.
My hands shook slightly as I picked up the phone. The lawyers stopped talking and looked at me expectantly.
"I need to take this," I said, my voice coming out rough.
They nodded and started gathering their papers to give me privacy, but I was already standing and walking toward the window, pressing the phone to my ear.
"Diego," I answered, unable to keep my voice steady.
"Ryder. I would have been surprised if you didn't know it was me." Diego's voice was calm and even, like he was calling to discuss the weather. "I wanted to let you know that Sage is coming back to Millbrook."
The words did not make sense. I heard them but could not process them.
"What?" I managed to get out.
"Sage is coming back," Diego repeated. "She will be leaving Arizona soon."
I could not breathe. I could not form coherent thoughts. My brain had stopped working somewhere around the word "back."
"Why?" The question came out as barely a whisper.
Diego did not answer immediately. I heard him take a breath on the other end of the line, like he was choosing his words carefully.
"She needs to be there," he said finally. "Not here."
"But the marriage—" I started.
"That's left for her to decide ," Diego said, and his voice was kind but firm. "Sage really misses her home, her family and her club."
"When?" I asked, my grip on the phone so tight my knuckles were cracking. "When is she coming back?"
"I do not know exactly. A day or two. Maybe." Diego's tone was matter-of-fact. "I thought you should know."
"Should I pick her up?" The words tumbled out desperately. "From the airport or the bus station? Just tell me where and when and I'll be there."
"She will find her own way. If she gives you more details, that's fine." Diego said. "She needs to do this on her own terms."
I wanted to argue, wanted to demand more information, wanted to know what had happened and why she was coming back and whether it meant what I desperately hoped it meant.
Why was he letting me know? Why not tell Jaxon? Why is she not calling by herself? I had so many questions I needed answers to prove the legitimacy of what he was saying.
But before I could form the questions, Diego spoke again.
"She has been through enough. Make sure she is treated well."
"I will," I promised, my voice breaking. "I swear I will."
"Good." Diego's voice was warm now, almost approving. "She deserves that."
The line went dead.
I stood there with the phone still pressed to my ear, staring out the window at nothing, trying to process what had just happened.
The lawyers were watching me with confused expressions, probably wondering what kind of phone call could make someone look like they had just been hit by lightning.
"I'm sorry," I said, pocketing my phone with shaking hands. "We need to reschedule this meeting."
"Is everything alright?" one of them asked.
"I don't know." The honest answer. "But I need to go."
They gathered their things and left, still looking confused but professional enough not to push for details.
As soon as they were gone, I pulled my phone back out and stared at Diego's name in my recent calls.
I hit redial before I could talk myself out of it.
The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.
Then it went to voicemail.
I hung up and tried again.
Voicemail again.
My fingers flew over the screen, typing out a text message.
"Why is she coming back? Did she change her mind about the marriage? What did you do to her? Please, I need to know."
I hit send and watched the message deliver. Watched the read receipt appear.
But no response came.
I waited five minutes. Ten. Fifteen.
Nothing.
Diego was not going to answer. He had said what he needed to say and now he was leaving me to wait and wonder and hope.
I called Tommy, my hands still shaking.
"What's wrong?" he answered immediately, probably hearing the panic in my breathing.
"Sage is coming back."
There was silence on his end of the line. Then, "What?"
"Diego just called. He said Sage is coming back to Millbrook in the next day or two." The words came out in a rush. "He didn't say why. He didn't explain anything. He just said she's coming back and then he hung up."
"Holy shit." Tommy's voice was stunned. "Did he say if she—"
"He didn't say anything else. I tried calling him back but he's not answering." I paced the length of my office, which was technically Jaxon's office. "What does this mean? Why would she come back if she married him?"
"Maybe she didn't marry him," Tommy said slowly. "Maybe that's why she's coming back."
Hope flared in my chest, painful and terrifying. "Or maybe she just needs to get some things from her house. Or maybe she's coming to take care of Jaxon till he is better."
"You don't know that."
"I don't know anything!" I snapped. "Diego wouldn't tell me why. He just said she's coming back and I should know, and then he hung up on me."
"So you wait," Tommy said. "You wait for her to get here and then you talk to her."
"What if she doesn't want to talk to me?"
"Then you respect that." Tommy's voice was firm. "But my guess is if she's coming all the way back from Arizona, she has something to say to you."
I wanted to believe that. I wanted to let myself hope that Sage was coming back because she had changed her mind, because she still loved me, because we had a chance to fix this.
But hope was dangerous. Hope could destroy me if I was wrong.
"I need to see her," I said. "As soon as she gets here, I need to talk to her."
"You will," Tommy said. "Just don't screw it up this time."
"I won't." I would not get another chance after this. I knew that. "If she gives me one more chance, I won't mess it up."
We hung up and I stood in my office, staring at my phone and willing it to ring again.
Willing Diego to call back and explain.
Hoping that Sage would text me and tell me she was on her way.
But the phone stayed silent.
And all I could do was wait and wonder and try not to let the hope consume me.
I pulled up Diego's contact again and stared at the messages I had left for him.
Then I typed out one more message, even though I knew he probably would not answer.
"Why is Sage coming back? Did she change her mind about the marriage?"
I hit send and watched the message deliver.
Watched the read receipt appear.
But Diego still didn't respond.