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Ryder chuckled. "Actually, I can. It's the size of your balls I'm questioning. Pussy-whipped?"
"Fuck you. We both know Nicolai Romanovski is done in Russia and you're not the 'sit at a desk' kinda guy. So maybe I see an opportunity for a bit of a win-win-win here. Marshall wants you to consider being one of his newbusiness partners. You have your next career move lined up that will put your unique skill set to work while allowing you to live your life in the open. Not to mention, I'm guessing he'll pay top dollar, unlike UncleSam."
The idea of being able to be seen in public with Khloe terrified him. What if their sources in Russia had been bought out? What if the stories of the Volkov men's demise had been afabrication?
But what if it wasn't? Could he and Khloe really be free to live their lives together? Could the house in Malibu with the proverbial white picket fence be within hisgrasp?
"You said win-win-win. What's in this for you,Webster?"
"Nothing specific. I admit, it'll be nice to have a billionaire owe me a big favor. And I like the idea of having friends like you, with the right skills, available to me when I need to take an investigation off the grid, if you get mydrift."
Ryder got his drift perfectly. Chip Marshall wouldn't be the only one who would owe Brandon Webster a big favor. If Ryder resigned to work for Marshall, his boss would be expecting to collect something in return at some point in the future. That was how these thingsworked.
The two men let a long silence fall between them as Webster gave Ryder the time he needed to think through all he'dlearned.
"I'm not sure I can walk away yet. I'm gonna need to see the evidence collected so far first, but I will take Marshall's phone number. After all, talk is cheap,right?"
"I expected you'd say that. The bodyguard has a sealed envelope. It should have everything you'll be looking for. I had Hansen deliver it himself to theMarriott."
Ryder hadn't asked how his old handler was doing, but was happy to hear he was well enough to be up and on hisfeet.
He'd almost forgotten he was surrounded by some of their good friends. As Ryder looked up at Trevor who was standing a few feet away, he caught the bodyguard staring at an intense discipline scene taking place on one of the nearby platforms with greatinterest.
"Good enough. I'll be in touch then." He was about to end the call, but decided to add a final word at the last minute. "Thanks for tracking medown."
"No problem. Takecare."
The call dropped, but Ryder wasn't ready to talk about all he'd heard. Not yet. He kept the phone to his ear for another full minute, using the time to think back through all he'd learned and make some decisions on what it allmeant.
He wanted to believe that the Volkov men were all dead more than anything else in the world, but it all felt a bit too sensational. Knowing the crime family the way he did, he found it hard to believe they'd let their guard down long enough to get themselves dead, particularly all of them at the same time. Still, he knew they were often together and that they would have certainly all attended their father's funeral. Had he been on the ground with Marshall's business partners––AKA hitmen––that's where he would have made hismove.
"Ryder?" Khloe's shaky voice penetrated histhoughts.
He gave up the ruse of listening, letting the phone drop onto the couch beside him as he hugged his woman hard against his chest. He let hope take seed, spreading through his body like a cool breeze on a hotday.
"Baby."
"Who was that?" she askedtentatively.
"Myboss."
"What did he say?" Her question was almost a whisper against hisear.
He'd cut his right hand off to keep from knowingly hurting her. Could he get her hopes up only to dash themlater?
Just as he prepared to lie to her for her own good, a flash of their goodbye back in February came to his mind. He'd lied to her that night. No matter that it had been to protect her, he couldn't bear the thought of hurting her again. Not now. Not if he didn't needto.
This was a hell of a time to take a leap of faith, but as he pulled her out of their embrace far enough so he could look into her watery eyes, a sense of calm he'd never felt before settled into his gut. It was unlike anything he'd ever experienced and yet, it felt oddly like he was finally cominghome.
Home was where Khloewas.
"He said..." Ryder paused, unsure himself what words would come out of his mouth next. She was patient, waiting for him to clear his throat and announce the conversation to her and their friends. "He said that London is beautiful this time ofyear."
Khloe's mouth gaped open, almost as wide as she'd need to open to take in his erection. It was his turn to put his finger under her chin to lift up. "See something you like,baby?"
"Does this mean what I think itmeans?"
"Well if you think it means that I'm going to be there to watch what you eat every day and spank your ass before bed every night that you start to lose weight, then yes... it means what you think itmeans."
