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Humid night air trailed like fingers against Ryder’s skin as he rode north on I-95 toward the South Carolina boarder. Ryder loved nights like this. Warm and clear. No clouds, just a big moon and a million stars. The moon shone so brightly that he could see the silhouette of the trees against the night sky, and the water glimmered a midnight blue.
It was the end of the first watch, and he was heading home. Normally, the roar of his bike cutting through night settled him. Calmed his nerves and smoothed his rough edges. But not tonight.
He’d done rounds with Nine, and they’d gotten nothing from the hookers. No helpful hints about what was really going down. Nobody’d seen anything or heard anything. Just Rosie.
And because of what they’d seen happen to her, the other women were clamming up, so if they knew anything, they weren’t telling.
Of course, with Ryder’s size and Native coloring, the reactions he got from women were extremes. They were either scared to death or wanted to fuck. Nothing much in the middle.
So Ryder hoped the girls would feel more like sharing with Gate or Talon.
Hewas the one. Talon could talk just about any woman into just about anything, and Ryder wasn’t sure why he didn’t go out first since he would have gotten more out of the hookers than anyone else could.
Nine was just as bad with women as Ryder. Messed up with PTSD after the Middle East, he could be unpredictable, but there was nobody better at your back in a fight because that motherfucker did not back down. Ever.
Between the two of them, Ryder had done the talking, and that had been a nightmare. Jagged questions and one word answers. The only thing he excelled at was making the girls feel safe. Once they got over being scared of him.
Ryder veered off on an exit and after another mile, turned left onto a black top and slowed when he reached his driveway.
Every time he drove up to his house, his chest expanded with pride, a shining golden feeling that swept through him and nearly carried him away.
Spanish moss hung from live oaks, and the antebellum mansion reflected ghostly pale in the moonlight. Ryder could just make out the Savannah River flowing by on the other side.
At night, he couldn’t see the holes in the roof or the lumber and building materials stacked in the side yard. All he could see was potential. The promise of what she’d be someday.
But for now, as always, Ryder parked his Harley, unlocked the front door, and walked through the house to gaze out at the spectacular view of the river. Alone.
*************************
Jenna
I backed the Audi into a prime parking space just next to the stone steps where I was supposed to meet Talon.
It was late enough that the people who were there to drink were already ensconced at the bars up and down River Street, and the people who were out for a casual dinner had gone home.
I figured Talon would recognize my car since he’d mentioned it, but I was nervous, so I got out and leaned against the door. I looked at my watch. I was a little early, and I didn’t see him anywhere.What if he doesn’t show?
The worry grabbed hold, and I couldn’t help my train of thought from barreling down the long, dark tunnel of the past ten years of my love life.
Once I’d gotten shot of Edward, I’d sworn off men entirely. That lasted through two years of CrossFit, a rock n roll wardrobe, and a much edgier curriculum at the university.
Then I met Sully at a literature conference in Athens, and after a week-long sex binge, I discovered that Sully the Harley riding rebel was actually Sully the married with two kids cheater.
So I swore off colleagues.
Six months after that, I met Hank, a pilot stationed at Hunter Army Airfield. We were together long enough for me to find out that he was great in bed, but when he got deployed to Europe, we parted ways on friendly terms. For a while, I’d held out hope that he’d move back and we could pick up where we left off, but that never happened. To this day he sent me kick ass concert tee shirts from all over the world and called every few months to let me know he was still alive.
Beau was three years later, and he was just that. Handsome, sophisticated. A banking executive that my mother introduced me to at a fundraiser. We were together for two years, and around the time that I started fantasizing about engagement rings and tropical honeymoons, he repented of his sinful ways and reconciled with his ex-wife. I always thought that had more to do with his alimony payments than the fact that he saw the proverbial light, but I could be wrong.
A year and a half after that, I met Robert, and while he started out looking like a winner, I ended up filing a restraining order and hiring a bodyguard. The bodyguard lasted longer than Robert did. Robert finally got his medications straightened out, apologized, and now volunteers at a center for the elderly. They adore him.
I looked at my watch again.Time.
I took a breath and decided that no matter how much the past ten years had hurt, I’d had a lot of fun too. I had an amazing daughter, a now amicable relationship with her father, an awesome wardrobe, and a job I loved. I was stronger now because of the life I’d lived. Whether he knew it or not, Talon had inspired my revolution, and I was a better woman because of it. I wondered what he thought of the transformation and how long it would take him to tell me. Or if he’d be too polite to mention it at all.
Then I saw him round the corner. He walked up the cobblestone hill toward me, all predator’s grace, dressed in jeans, boots, and a black tee.
His eyes lit when he saw me, and my heart pounded in my chest. I wanted to jump up and down like I was in fifth grade all over again, but I held back.
