Page 21

Chapter Twenty-One

“Um, what?” I said, my eyes narrowing as I crossed my arms.

“You can’t just go out like that,” he said, shaking his head. “Not without telling me.”

My mouth dropped wide. “Uh, I don’t have to tell you anything.”

“You have to try to understand this isn’t a normal situation you’re in. You know, I’ve been calling you,” he said, holding up his phone. “Why didn’t you answer?”

I pulled my phone from my pocket and saw five missed calls. I’d silenced it last night when I’d been trying to sleep and had forgotten to turn the volume back up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear it.”

“God dammit, Everly,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “I was fucking worried sick. I thought something—” He stopped himself, nostrils flaring as he inhaled deeply. His entire body went rigid. “You saw Kellan.”

It wasn’t a question. I remembered what Kellan had said about smelling Ryder on me. Apparently, it worked both ways.

“I didn’t want to?—”

“Now, do you see why it’s not safe for you? Why don’t you trust me to handle this?”

My arms dropped to my sides as I let out a breath. “It’s not like he’ll do anything in the middle of the day with witnesses around.”

“Where were you?”

“I’ll talk if you calm down.”

Ryder let out a breath. “I’m calm.”

“No, you’re not,” I scoffed.

“This is likely as calm as I can get at the moment,” he said, exhaling slowly. “Where were you?”

“May’s Diner,” I said, keeping my eyes down. “Courtney stopped by and asked me to go to lunch. I can’t not ever leave the house again, Ryder.”

Ryder’s eyes darkened. “What did he say to you?”

“Nothing specific. Just trying to paint you as the bad guy.” I stepped up onto the porch, but he didn’t follow. “He said you broke the rules… not him.”

“That bastard.”

“What rule did you break exactly?”

Ryder ran his hand through his hair. “When a human finds out… we need to make sure they can’t talk. Ever.”

“That’s why Kellan was going to kill me,” I said, sucking in a breath. The yard began to spin, and I backed up, stopping when I bumped into the door. “I need to… Are you going to… I have to get out of here. Is my car fixed?”

“I’d never hurt you,” Ryder said, taking a quick step forward.

“You said you could hurt me,” I said, my eyes wide.

He shook his head. “Because I’m strong. I would never do anything on purpose, Everly. Whatever this is between us… it’s something bigger than all that. It’s something?—”

“I need to leave!”

“Everly, now you need to calm down.” He glanced over his shoulder at the truck. “Do you know where he was going?”

“He said lumberyard, I think.”

Ryder started to back away. “Stay here. Please, I beg you, don’t leave again.”

“Ryder,” I said, feeling as though I’d just finished running a marathon. “Are you the bad guy?”

Ryder’s shoulders dropped, the tension seeming to drain from his body as he looked at me with those intense eyes. “Everly…”

“Tell me the truth, Ryder,” I ordered, my breaths coming quicker. “Are you the bad guy?”

“I’ve done things I’m not proud of. Things to protect my pack, to defend what’s mine. But no, I am not the bad guy. Don’t you see what he’s doing?” he asked, taking a cautious step toward me, keeping enough distance that I wouldn’t feel trapped. “He’s trying to turn you against me. I need you to believe that. I need you to trust me.”

I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling suddenly cold despite the afternoon warmth. Trust. Such a simple word for something that never came easily to me.

“I can’t ever trust anyone,” I whispered, hating how small my voice sounded.

“This is exactly what he wanted,” Ryder said, pain or maybe it was defeat flashing across his face. “What do you want me to do to prove it to you?”

“I have no idea,” I said, looking down. “I don’t think it’s possible for me to ever trust anyone, no matter what they do or say.”

I stood there, frozen on the porch, unable to move toward him or away. The truth was, I didn’t know what to believe anymore. My life had been turned upside down in the span of a few days, and now I was caught between two men who weren’t even human, each claiming the other was the monster.

“Everly,” Ryder said, as if my name were something fragile. “I know trust doesn’t come easily to you. It’s like someone taught you that people will hurt you if you let them close. I’m not like the person or people that did that to you.”

I swallowed hard, hating how easily he could read me. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“You don’t have to trust me, but please, don’t run. Not yet,” Ryder pleaded, pressing his palms together. “Give me a chance to show you the truth.”

“Why aren’t you following the rules?” I asked, raising a brow. “I know about you… what you are, and if that means I need to die, why aren’t you doing it?”

Ryder grimaced. “They’re ancient rules. I think things have changed. It’s violent. It’s not who or what we are supposed to be.”

The tension in his shoulders and the concern in his eyes all seemed so genuine. But then, I’d been fooled before. I’d believed in people who turned out to be nothing like they presented themselves, all just to get what they wanted.

For all I knew, Ryder and Kellan were both the bad guys. I didn’t want to be a fool… not again.

“How am I supposed to know what’s real?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Kellan said you’re the one breaking rules. You say he is. You’re both... and I’m just caught in the middle with no idea what’s going on.”

Ryder took another cautious step toward me. “What did your gut tell you when you were with Kellan today? Did you feel safe?”

“No, definitely not,” I admitted. “But that’s not?—”

“What do you feel now, with me?”

“This isn’t proof of anything,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m a terrible judge of character. Why do you think I moved out here to be away from people?”

I watched Ryder’s face cycle through frustration, worry, and something else that looked almost like hurt. My chest felt tight, my instincts pulled in opposite directions. Part of me wanted to believe him, while the other part screamed to run back to the city.

“Just please, give me a chance,” he said, his voice low. “I’ll go to the lumberyard and deal with this like I should have years ago. Then, after it’s dealt with and I know he won’t do anything to hurt you, you can leave if that’s what you really want.”

I didn’t respond… I just wrapped my arms tighter around myself.

“Lock the door behind you,” he said, then turned and jogged toward his truck.

I watched him drive away, the dust kicking up behind his tires. Only when he disappeared down the road did I step inside, locking the door as instructed. It was almost as if I didn’t have a choice… that I knew he was right, but really, it was probably just that I was too scared not to listen.

Trust had never been my strong suit, not after what my ex had done. He’d seemed so perfect at first — charming, attentive, protective. Until “protective” became controlling, and “charming” became manipulative. By the time I’d gathered the courage to leave him, he’d isolated me from everyone I cared about. I’d felt trapped, just like I did in this house at the moment.

Was I walking into the same trap again? Ryder had been nothing but protective since I’d arrived, but was it genuine concern and caring or something darker?

It didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to get involved with anyone. Not Ryder. No one. When my car was fixed, I would say goodbye to Ryder and just head back home. I’d buy new things if I had to, but I was never going to come back to this place.