Free Bad Boys for Hire: Ryker (Bad Boys for Hire #1) by Rachelle Ayala Page A

like she was nothing to him.

Chapter Sixteen
    R yker moved away from the table without looking at any of Terri’s friends. They were gawking at him, expecting some sort of reaction from him for the way she’d bulldozed him. He had to remain calm and act as if he didn’t know her or care. There was no way he could let any of his brothers make the connection between Terri Martin, florist, and Teresa Terkel, thirteen-year-old titty-tipper, who more than likely had shown her goodies to all of them.
    After pretending to chat casually with his buddy Axe, who was tending bar, he sauntered out of the exit.
    The two probes were still hanging around watching his brothers’ motorcycles, but the bus stop across the street was vacant.
    Terri had given them all the slip. Good job.
    Meanwhile, her friends Leanna, Jolie, and Nikki had agreed to go for a ride with his brothers, leaving Sherelle to drive along behind them in her car.
    Ryker couldn’t worry about these women, even though they were Terri’s friends. He could only hope they wouldn’t mention her name. Sherelle, the brightest of the bunch, seemed to have picked up some unsettling vibes, because she kept catching his eye and frowning.
    He tried to warn her as best he could with motions of his finger across his neck, and to her credit, she insisted she would drive her own car, no doubt to keep her girlfriends safe.
    Ryker hurried to his bike and in no time, he was outside of Terri’s apartment. He leaned into the doorbell, buzzing it long and loud. What was he going to tell Terri?
    You’re in danger. My brothers want to kill you.
    Right, she’d write him off as a lunatic.
    His mind scrambled for a plan, but as soon as Terri opened the door, his brain turned into mush. She was the vision of a bountiful angel, and he ached to belong to her, to be the one she came home to.
    “How dare you come and bother me again?” Terri jutted her chin at him. “You made it plain you didn’t want to be seen with me in front of your brothers.”
    “No, I didn’t.” He forced his way into the apartment and shut the door firmly. “My brothers are dangerous. They’re still in that club. I’m sure you saw their 1% patch.”
    “That’s why I got out of there as fast as I could,” Terri admitted. “Are my friends okay?”
    “Probably. They seem to be playing tourist. Last I heard, they were going for a ride with them.”
    Terri’s face blanched, and she rubbed her palms down over her cheeks. “Oh, no! I shouldn’t have bailed. Do you think they might be in real trouble?”
    “No. You would have been in more danger, not them.”
    “Me?” Terri stepped back and blinked hard. “Why me?”
    “Do you remember the Metal Wolves and the Storm Demons?”
    If her face was pale before, it was now positively bloodless. Her eyes widened and fear edged into them. “Your brothers are Wolves?”
    “Yes.”
    “And you? Are you one of them, too?”
    “No, not anymore.” He stared at her, watching for any sign of recognition, not knowing how much her parents had told her.
    “Who are you then? A supporter? Or a probe?”
    “I’m a Marine. I’ll never go back to that life again. The problem is, there are still old scores to settle, and the Metal Wolves haven’t forgotten.”
    Terri bit her lip and turned quickly so he couldn’t see her face. “I know how these clubs operate. It’s much more than a group of guys riding together for fun. It’s all for one and one for all, and hell be damned who has to pay or go to jail.”
    “Then you’ve heard of my dad, Ernie Slade?”
    Her eyes popped wide as she covered her mouth and recognition slowly dawned on her. “You’re that boy? The one my mother beat up?”
    “Yes, all grown now. Do you think she recognized me?” Ryker caught Terri as she swayed and slumped against the entry wall.
    Her breath came in pants, and she shook her head back and forth like a terrier torturing a chew toy. “No, it can’t be. Can’t be. You’re that