Free Defending Serenty by Elle Wylder Page A

able to keep from her.
    “I’ll deal with that when I have to,” I
say.
    “Fair enough. You can’t tell her about
Beaumont. We do some business with him occasionally.”
    “Parts?” I ask.
    “Yeah. And the fights.”
    I wasn’t planning on telling her about
Beaumont anyway so this is no skin off my back. A couple minutes
later we turn on the road leading into River City. Ryder hasn’t
said but I’m assuming we’re collecting late debts tonight. It’s the
first time I’ve ventured into the city since my release and I’m
amazed at how much it’s grown in ten years. I start to relax.
Unlike Madison, it’s not likely I’ll be recognized with all the
newcomers here.
    “Did you grab dinner yet?” Ryder asks.
    “No.”
    “Good. I’m starving.”
    A few minutes later we pull into a chain
steak restaurant. The place is packed so we go to the bar. The
bartender flirts with Ryder when we sit.
    “Hey stranger. Where ya been?”
    He smiles back. “Work, darlin’. Man’s gotta
earn a living.”
    “I get off at ten if you want to go out.
There’s a new club downtown.”
    “Make it eleven,” he counters. Whatever we’re
doing after dinner apparently wasn’t going to take all night.
    “Sure,” she says then turns and looks me over
before focusing on Ryder again. “Carla’s off tonight. Maybe we
should introduce her to your friend. I’m Shelby by the way,” she
adds to me.
    “Nice to meet you.”
    “So you’re coming out with us?”
    “He’s taken, darlin’. I get you and Carla all
to myself.”
    She blushes and I get the impression he’s
already done that. I’m not surprised. Ryder has never had to do
much more than wink and snap his fingers and gets any woman he
wants. She takes our orders and walks away to deal with another
customer.
    “So we came here so you can get laid?”
    He shrugs. “Two birds one stone.” Then
grinning, he slaps me on the shoulder. “Multitasking, brother. You
should try it.”
    I want to know what we’re doing after dinner
but I can’t ask here. It’ll have to wait. I take a drink of the
beer Shelby sits in front of me and listen to them flirt. After a
few minutes they switch to mutual acquaintances and I’m surprised I
recognize several names. Thankfully our food arrives before I have
to contribute to the conversation.
    The steak is excellent, juicy and flavorful.
I can’t remember the last time I’ve had anything this good. It’s
gone too soon and I’m tempted to order one to take with us but
decide against it. We pay up and leave. Soon we make the first
visit, collect some money, and move on. Everything goes smoothly
and we head to the last stop.
    We drive to a building on the edge of town
and walk into a bar that’s so seedy I doubt it ever had better
days. There’s a handful of people inside, most look like bikers and
they aren’t happy to see us. Easy just went out the window. I
should have known and realize Ryder intentionally left this for the
end of the night. Hope his dates like the battered and bloody look.
Oh hell. I groan. Serenity is gonna want an explanation I can’t
make. I’ll just tell her my sessions with Lake went a little too
far.
    “Which one?” I ask grimly.
    Ryder jerks his chin to a back corner and
leads the way. Two men are slumped across from each other in a
booth.
    “Oh look, he sent his killer after me,” one
of them says.
    I squint in the dim light and study him. I
know the voice but the face isn’t coming back to me.
    “Knock it off, Thompson,” Ryder says.
    Fuck. If I get out of this in one piece I’m
gonna kill Ryder. He should have warned me. I recognize the guy
now. Mike Thompson, Billy’s little brother. The man I killed a
decade ago. The years have not been kind to Mike. Or more
accurately he hasn’t been kind to himself. He’s got a beer gut and
the sallow skin of a hard partier. I’m guessing drugs as well as
alcohol.
    “You owe us money,” Ryder says. “Time to pay
up.”
    We’ve attracted the