Chapter 43 43

Chapter 43 43
    ~TESSA~
    The house was quiet when we walked in.
    Too quiet.
    Ryder’s hand never left the small of my back as he guided me through the entryway, past the grand staircase, through the halls.
    I felt the tension in him...
    And I... I didn't know what to say or how to feel.
    I was... dumfounded. I had a lot going on in my mind.
    A lot. 
    I needed answers... right away!
    We didn’t stop in the kitchen.
    We didn’t stop in the living room.
    We went straight to the room.
    He shut the door behind us with a quiet click.
    I stood in the middle of the space, staring at the rug under my boots, arms crossed tight over my chest.
    Then I turned to him.
    “Sit,” I said.
    He raised an eyebrow, still gripping the handle of the door. “You okay?”
    “Ryder,” I said, “I want the truth. All of it. Now.”
    He hesitated.
    So I stepped closer, voice trembling but clear. “No more holding back. No more protecting me. What happened today… that could’ve gone so much worse. If I didn’t have that bat... if Casey hadn’t been there—”
    “I know,” he said quietly.
    “Then tell me, Ryder.”
    He sat.
    “Listen, babe... I... I didn’t want this touching you,” he said. “But I knew it would. Eventually.”
    I didn’t speak. Just waited.
    He lifted his head.
    “That guy wasn’t the first. They’ve been circling the shop. Watching the house. I didn’t want to scare you, so I kept it from you. Thought I could end it before it got close.”
    “But you didn’t.”
    “No. Because Marcus is worse than we thought.”
    He stood then, started pacing...
    “He’s got help. Not just street guys. Not just thugs. There’s money backing him. Maybe a black-market fixer. Someone with real resources. Knox says he’s linked to a name—Gravik. Quiet guy. Dangerous. Connected to the Cobras... Has a network that launders stolen bikes, fake plates, IDs, whole setups.”
    I felt the room start to tilt.
    “And Marcus is tied to that?”
    Ryder nodded once.
    “He’s more than obsessed now. He’s invested. He thinks you were stolen from him. And worse... he knows I’m the one who ruined his grip on you. That I took something from him he thought he owned.”
    I swallowed hard. “So what does he want now?”
    Ryder stopped pacing.
    His voice was flat. Final.
    “You.”
    I sat down slowly on the edge of the bed. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
    “And what are you going to do about it?” I asked.
    He knelt in front of me.
    Took my hands in his calloused ones.
    “Whatever it takes,” he said. “But from now on... you’re in the loop. No more secrets. No more shielding you.”
    “Good,” I whispered, and wrapped my arms around his neck.
    Because I didn’t want to be shielded anymore.
    I wanted to stand beside him when the storm came.