PRESENT DAY

THE RHYTHMIC SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS lulled me from the slumber I begged myself to drown in. My head bobbed against the chest of the stranger that cradled me, their strong scent of ash and cinnamon encased me. Panic arose in the back of my throat, but I swallowed it down, figuring it was a futile attempt as this was probably just part of a weird process, before my final descent into Hell. 

Hell. I don’t know why I automatically thought that was where I would go, but I’ve never done anything spectacular with my life, and as I think about it, that was one of my biggest regrets. One thing was for sure, though; I just wanted to see my father again. 

I squeezed my eyelids shut, hoping the darkness would swallow me once again. This whole dying process needed to speed the fuck up. I had a pounding headache, and I was absolutely miserable. Heartache included. 

“What do you think Master Reginald is going to do with her?” A gentle and soothing voice pulled me from the black pits of slumber, just as I was about to dive back in. A surge of annoyance sprung forth, and the urge to hit the male who spoke was overwhelming. 

The chest that my head lay against vibrated as he who held me, spoke. “He will do what he always does. He will give her the choice.” His voice was deep and erotic. Enticing, yet there was also a darkness that hinted of danger. I loved it. 

Wait, am I really dead?

I mentally searched my body for any kind of physical pain, but there was nothing besides the dull pain of a headache. No bruises or aches from the captors that held me, or a bullet through my skull. I guess I just figured the numbness came with death. But the warm chest against my cheek, the heart that beat underneath the solid muscle, and the distinct scent of cinnamon and ash, all told me what I knew, deep down: I was definitely alive.

Another voice, different from the previous two, spoke up. “Why? You saw what happened back there. Both of her parents are dead, and the Alexandrite is gone. She’s useless.” Ouch. 

The man that carried me growled. “Shut the fuck up, Hunter. We’re following orders, so let's just get the job done.” Double ouch. Guy with the alluring voice was kind of an asshole. Definitely a disappointment. I never understood why guys who knew they had something going for them, felt the need to be a jerkwad. 

There was a pause, I kept my eyelids closed gently as they went on. “What about Markus?” I held my breath at the mention of my father’s name. How did they know him? 

The chest beneath me rumbled. “He’s dead, Mason. There’s nothing we can do.” His voice had softened a touch, surprising me. 

A throat cleared. “The least we could do is take care of his daughter, Ryder.” Mason suggested. Someone attempted to cut in, but Mason cut them off. His voice grew hard, determined to get his point across. “We should protect her. Felix will be back, and to finish what he started no less.”

Hunter managed to cut in, and replied to Mason with an annoyed tone of voice. “We don’t have time for that. We have to train, now more than ever. Harder than we've been even. Master Reginald can protect her himself.” 

“Enough!” Ryder snapped. I swallowed a squeal of surprise. Ryder intervened between the two and their little bicker fest, a fleck of annoyance littered his tone. “We will do as we are told.” His statement was a command, rough and harsh, as if he was daring defiance. There was none: One snorted, another sighed, and silence followed, but the tension that surrounded us was laid on thick.

After a few moments, my body relaxed, my eyelids softening and my mind began to clear as much as it could. Unable to help myself, I snuggled further into Ryder’s arms, using his undeniably large chest as a pillow for my head, and his body heat as a blanket for warmth. I felt him tense from under me, but then his arms clutched my body a bit tighter as it  relaxed, I lost all train of thought. Once again, I welcomed what consumed me, ready to succumb to the darkness.

───☪───

SOFT VIBRATIONS CURLED around my body in a cocoon of comfort, encasing me in warmth. A hug from song, the light melody of a humm stirred me from the deep unconsciousness that had willingly held me captive. The source of body heat entwined around me, and it was nearly enough to snuggle closer to where it came from and drown me back under. I breathed in a deep lung full of air as my eyes fluttered. The deep scent of cinnamon and ash assaulted my senses in a way I found myself welcoming. Fast, overwhelming, and demanding.

My eyes slit open a touch, adjusting to the bright white lights overhead. White light bounced off the similarly painted walls, every inch of the room that I could see was bland but bright. Lowering my eyes, a largely defined chest hugged in black stared back at me, the humming continued as I let my eyes fall open completely. My breath caught in my throat as my gaze lifted from the muscled chest, traveling over his adam's apple as it bobbed, and rested upon his facial structure. The air in my lungs vanished as my gaze drank in the man before me. 

He pursed his full pink lips, broad shoulders relaxing the more he hummed his tune. Angled jaw sharp and chiseled, a dark shadow of facial hair glided across his flawlessly tanned skin. His features were perfect enough to be on the face of a god. The raven black hair on his head was tousled, thick and visibly soft.

I caught the sight of a small piece of torn cloth in his large hands, his muscles rippled as he then bent over the bed. The faint sound of water splashing back into a bucket of sorts, reverberated through my eardrums. It wasn’t until my eyes caught the sight of the wet rag in his palm, did my heart beat faster, and my instinct to defend against strangers, pushed me to react. 

Water droplets splattered on my cheek and lips, waking my slack body and bolting upright. I shot my arm up without moving the rest of my frame, catching his wrist in my grasp before the rag made contact with my skin. His large upper body was half leaned over me as I steadied myself in the upright position, our faces mere inches from touching.

The humming stopped, much to my displeasure, and I was half tempted to let go to see if he would continue the melody. Blinking back the fog that clouded my mind, I snapped my gaze to his and locked. His amber eyes, bright and feral, brightened a touch and churned. We stayed like this for a moment, locked in each other’s gaze while staring each other down. I noticed then, that if he was surprised by my action, he certainly didn’t show it. Specks of freckles dotted his straight nose, light enough to be near invisible unless you were close enough to see.

“What are you doing?” My voice came out hoarse, dry. It was almost as if I'd been screaming for hours, and my throat had been rubbed raw from the lack of fluids. Oh wait, I had been-- however long ago that was. Emotion clogged my breathing for a split second, but it was long enough for the heavenly man in front of me to notice. 

He blinked, eyes flickering back and forth between my own, searching for something he hopefully could not find. I didn’t like when people tried to read me, it was invading. He frowned, letting it linger a moment before he seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts. “Cleaning your wound,” he replied easily. 

His voice struck a chord within me, and after a moment, I recognized it. “You’re the one who carried me,” I murmured, more to myself than him. My eyes drifted to his chest, thinking back to how good it felt against my head, then back to his eyes. Stranger or no, he and his friends had saved my life. I owed them.

His expression remained passive, but he gave a curt nod. “Yes.” If he knew whether or not I had been eavesdropping on their conversation, there was no indication. 

“What’s your name?” I asked. Of course I already knew the answer, but I’d rather hear him say it, first. 

His lips ticked. “You already know the answer to that.”

Damn. 

My eyes rolled. “Amuse me.”

“Ryder.” His voice curled around his own name, like he knew he was some sort of ladies man. Cocky bastard. Though, I’d never admit to his face that it worked for him. “What’s yours?” 

His question took me by surprise, and I narrowed my eyes. There was a playful glint in his expression, so I spun his words back on him. “You already know the answer to that.”

Ryder’s shoulder lifted. “Amuse me.” 

This was a little game to him, I realized. Fair enough, but if he wanted to play games, I’d be damned if I let him walk all over me without a little revenge. Fluttering my eyes, I slid my eyes from his, down to his chest. Slow enough to grab his attention, fast enough to keep it. “Angelina.” I didn’t purr my name, but simply murmured it softly as it trailed off my lips. Gentle enough to seem as if I was shy, but strong enough to know I had confidence. 

Ryder watched me intently. His expression seemed blank, but I caught a wisp of what looked like fire, igniting behind his eyes. From that alone, I knew I got him.

Check. Mate.

Taking my victory in stride, I grinned from ear to ear and slowly let my grip on his wrist ease. “Nice to meet you, Ryder.” 

Ryder snorted, chuckling softly as pulled away and shook his head down at me. He raised the rag to my forehead, the cloth soft and damp with warm water. “And you, Angelina.” 

As he drifted the rag across my skin, my body relaxed against my arm. My mind eventually cleared, and questions began bubbling to the surface. Every other emotion besides curiosity, and anger, I pushed far back and locked them in a safe, far, far away. I buried it, hoping I would never come across it ever again. 

My lips parted, and the first question to come to mind fell off my tongue. “Where am I?”

Ryder lifted the rag from my skin. “Under the Blue Mountains.” 

I raised an eyebrow. “Are we in a bunker or something?” Ryder turned his back to me, and my eyes followed each and every rippled of muscle as it moved.

His lips curved at the edges. Ryder dipped the cloth back into the bucket of water, ringing it out and turning back toward me. “Or something.” 

“Oddly specific,” I grumbled, prying my gaze away, with stupendous effort, and toward one of the plain white walls behind him. 

Ryder shrugged, indifferent. “You’ll find out soon enough.” He placed the rag on my neck, gently whipping away whatever was there. His brows furrowed in concentration, gazing intently at the skin with a frown. A slight pinch made me hiss where the rag came into contact with my skin. Ryder jerked back, but I reached up, and wrapped my fingers around his wrist. More gently this time. “A bruise,” he murmured. 

My head bobbed, letting my fingers fall from his wrist as I thought about his previous statement. It stirred something within me. “What if I don’t want to?” The words were whispered, but they echoed in my head, over and over again. What if I turn away and never look back? The questions were never more than an echo away in my mind. I want to go home. But I knew I couldn’t, no matter how much I wanted to.

Amber eyes shot up to meet my gaze, unease stirring within the tamed flames. Flickers of disappointment and indifference battled within his eyes, and I drank it all in. “Why do you say that?” He murmured, as if shaking himself from the trance he let himself sink into. 

I stared back, but his gaze went deeper. Almost too deep for comfort. I tore my gaze away, my throat bobbed as I thought about his question. I knew what I knew, and everything that I knew told me I shouldn’t be here. Instead of answering, I raised my eyes once again and I asked my own question. “What happened to Felix?”

Ryder flinched, it was small, but noticeable enough for me to see. “He got away.” He cleared his throat, glancing away, but his eyes met mine again when I parted my mouth. 

“Why aren’t I dead, like my f-father?” I stuttered over the words, emotions attempting to seep through the cracks in the vault I locked them in. My eyes closed as I got a hold of myself, my instincts to stay in control was not allowing for anything but just that. 

Ryder watched me intently, studying me with an interest he let me see. “I shot Felix in the shoulder before he could pull the trigger.”

The cloth grew cold against my skin, and I shivered. “What happened to…” I paused, my heart thrumming in my chest. “Where is he?”

“He’s been buried, we’re having a memorial for him tomorrow morning.” That was good enough for me, knowing his body was at least safe, but I didn’t think I’d be able to stomach seeing my father dead and lifeless. Ryder reached back and dipped the rag back into the water, repeating the same process he had been doing for who knows how long, all without breaking eye contact.

I watched him, just as he watched me. My curiosity pulled me in another direction, toward my father and how all of this came to be. How he ended up dead in our own home, and with me watching. Utterly helpless. “How did you know him?” 

“He was a family friend,” he said, able to understand who I was referencing without saying my father’s name. I didn’t really want to talk about Felix, unless it involved him getting what he deserved. “We all were.”

“You, Mason and Hunter?” I attempted to keep my grimace at a minimum while mentioning the last one, but I guessed it wasn’t good enough as Ryder noticed and chuckled. 

“Yes,” he nodded. “And our families.”

“Where are they?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“Mason is in the other room, attempting to reason with our brother.”

I snorted, unable to catch it before I let it out. “I seriously doubt that will help much,” I muttered, and Ryder grinned.

“He’s not so bad. He had a tough childhood.” He admitted, a kind of tenderness softening his voice. “We all did,” he sighed. 

I frowned, picturing three boys going through things they shouldn't. An displeasurable pinch in my chest told me that I didn’t like the thought of it. Regardless of what I thought of Hunter, the other two weren’t so bad. I didn’t have to know them to feel they didn’t deserve whatever terrors or uncomfortability they grew up with. Hunter included. I knew what it felt like, and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone. “I’m sorry,” I murmured.

“It is what it is,” he stated simply. Then his voice grew lighter, I was barely able to catch it, but I heard it nonetheless. “For now.”

I studied Ryder, my eyebrows furrowing as a question I’ve kept on the tip of my tongue pushed forward. “Who are you people?” Felix had mentioned a bunch of batshit crazy things that simply put, weren’t normal. For these boys to show up in the timely manner when they did, to handle Felix and those men; to know what was going on, was not convenient. He knew something, they all did. I was determined to find out what. 

Ryder’s cocky smirk returned, and I could have drowned myself in his eyes the way he gazed at me with that stupid look. The stupid thing was, he knew it too. “That’s a little more complicated.” He admitted shyly. “But, I can show you better than I can tell you.”

My eyebrows shot up to my hairline. “Oh?”