Page 8 of Rolling 75 (The Noire Brothers #1)

RYKER

I t’s nearly six in the morning, and I’m on Mercy’s couch, sitting in the dark. It’s quiet. I should be working, but like I do most mornings, I find myself rubbing my thumb over my dice and staring at the last text Mercy ever sent me.

My whole world shattered at that moment. It was the text I’d told her to send and prayed she never would.

White oak and screams.

Sometimes, I stare at that simple SOS and wish I could go back to the night I’d told her to use it and do everything different.

Mercy throws the last of her moving boxes into her hatchback. “My mind is made up. I appreciate the offer, but—”

“Do you love him?” I’m not sure why I asked that. It doesn’t fucking matter.

“No.” She stares at me for a beat, breath held like she wants to add something, which only perplexes me further.

Hope simmers in my veins.

I shut the trunk and block her route to the driver’s side. “Then what the fuck is this, Mercy? Did you hear everything I told you?”

“Yes,” she huffs. “And there is no evidence to support that claim, which is why no charges were ever pressed. I’m sure you heard this from one of your stand-up guests at La Lune Noire, who no doubt has self-indulgent motives for spreading those rumors about some girl, whose own family admitted she was prone to disappearing.

Hailey is probably on a beach somewhere, sipping a margarita. ”

I scrub my hands over my face, feeling the ashes piling up around me. “She filed a domestic violence complaint a month earlier. You’re smarter than this. Goddammit.”

“Which she immediately reported was an argument that got out of hand on both sides, and the prosecutor dropped it because there wasn’t any evidence. I get that it looks bad, but you’re reaching.”

“I’m showing up,” I counter. “And I always have, so I’ve earned the right to voice a fucking opinion here. Unlike Dalton, who I’d bet my life tampered with your birth control.”

She crosses her arms and rests against the side of the car.

“I don’t love him, but Dalton has been nothing but sweet to me.

He’s handled all of this with a lot of class.

And aside from that, this is what’s best for the baby.

With the long hours I work, it just makes sense.

And it’s what my parents would want. Don’t let this come between us.

This is hard enough. None of this was my plan—or his—certainly not this pregnancy or moving in together, but here we are.

I’m going to embrace everything that comes with it.

You, of all people, should understand making sacrifices for a child. ”

“You don’t have to sacrifice. Come home with me,” I plead, my stomach wrenching. “I’ll keep you both safe. I’ll give you everything you need.”

“Ryker”—she sighs, exasperated, as she swirls her long coffee-brown hair on top of her head—“I’m not going to … Please drop it.”

This is a losing battle. Mercy has always dug her heels in further when pushed. I went through this same bullshit with my mother, watching her believe in a man who would only end up hurting her. There was no talking to her either.

I should kill Dalton. Mercy would hate me now, but maybe she’d thank me someday.

Unlikely. If I murdered the father of her child, I’d lose her forever.

She’d be safe though. Fuck. She’s right.

I can’t prove anything. Everything I’ve heard is speculation.

No one had any evidence, and Hailey Holden had her own sketchy story.

Other than that, on paper, this guy looks okay.

But I feel it in my gut. Those rumors are true.

Unless I am reaching because … doesn’t matter.

I’m too late. She’s having another man’s baby.

This is one of those crossroads where every route leads to loss.

So, I move to damage control. “Eighty-six means foul play in the casino. Can you remember that?”

“Of course,” she says, so I go on.

“If there is ever anything you need … if you’re ever in danger or even just have a bad feeling, you text me eighty-six, and I’ll be there.

No matter the time. Memorize my phone number so if you have to text from a different phone, you can.

I’ll know it’s you. If you’re somewhere other than at home, leave an address or landmark. ”

Her brows knit together in concern as she squeezes my arm. “I’m fine. I don’t like you this upset. You’re worrying for nothing.”

Fuck, I hope so.

“Promise me,” I demand.

“I promise. If I’m ever in danger, I’ll text you eighty-six.”

My phone vibrates in my palm, pulling me back to the present.

Axel: Did you sleep last night?

Me: A solid five hours.

I’m generally lucky to get three, even after exhausting myself with an hour or more of swimming laps in our pool.

Axel: That’s something. Feeling rested?

Me: More than I have in about four years.

Maddox: Update? Did you let her friend-zone you already?

Me: Definitely not. She’s pissed, but I felt a spark from her. Time to play hard to get.

Maddox: Oh fuck. Please do it here. I want a front-row seat to this train wreck.

Me: WTF? Who said it would be a train wreck?

Maddox: You can’t play hard to get when you’re obsessed.

Cash: Agreed, but it’s a sound strategy if he can pull it off. It works famously with Martina. Bro might be onto something. Want me to tell your girl you’re celibate too?

Me: Say nothing about me. Ever. Keep your mouth shut.

Maddox: Tell me this, man. If the answer is no, I will take back my train-wreck jab. Did you sniff her? Smell her hair?

This is the problem with my brothers. I really hate it when they know shit.

Me: No comment.

Cash: Goner.

Axel: You’re definitely not in the friend zone. I reviewed the fucked-up contract. So not friendly.

Me: Fucked up? Try brilliant. It’s smoother than all the twisted shit with your endeavors.

Axel: Interesting you should bring that up. Does she understand she’s signing her life away? That there is no way out? Whatever happens with you aside, as a member of my executive staff, she’s in this forever.

Me: So melodramatic. I didn’t phrase it like that. And there is no aside from me.

Maddox: Good, bro. Let’s not take pickup lines from Papa Axe.

Axel: She’s going to be working for me. I need to know her expectations.

Cash: She probably doesn’t expect you to tell her she’s signing her life away. Don’t lead with that.

Me: ^^^ Facts.

Axel: You’re agreeing with Cash. Shouldn’t that tell you something?

Cash: Hey, I have brilliant ideas.

Jax: And cunning.

Cash: See? And cunning.

Me: This has her wearing my ring and living under my roof. Nothing else matters.

Axel: Except that it’s fake.

Me: Only to her.

Maddox: I’m not sure that’s an argument you want to lead with either.

Cash: You tricked her into a proposal?

Jax: He’s cunning too. Fake means he can still play hard to get.

Axel: And it still puts me in a bind.

Me: Give her a month of orientation. She’ll be eased into her attorney role. I’ll be where I need to be by then. In a better zone, where I can be certain she will care about nothing else.

Jax: I see what you did there, man.

Me: It’s eight a.m. there, Jax. How the hell are you up already?

Jax: Never went to bed. I had a late night session for a full-back tattoo. And I’ve got my *feelings* appointment at ten.

Axel: Let’s not get into that now. Ryker, are you sure this is the way you want to go with her?

Me: You told me not to bulldoze.

Axel: How is this not fucking bulldozing?

Me: We agreed I needed to get creative. No collar. No offing anyone. No hauling her ass back home on a damn leash. This solves it all. Genius.

Maddox: That way sounds fun too though.

Axel: Be up-front about everything or better yet, just tell her how you feel.

Me: It’s too early for feelings. She’s too jittery. She’ll have some amendments to the contract, but she’ll sign. This arrangement makes acclimating her to my plans easier.

Jax: Hear that? It’s too fucking early for feelings, Axel.

Maddox: Hard to get is better. He’s chased her for years.

Cash: Her turn.

Axel: What if she comes back, doesn’t chase you, and ends up hating you for hiding things from her?

Me: I’ll deal with it. They’ll be with me. I’d rather live with her hating me or not wanting me than suffer through not being near them and not knowing they’re safe. I can’t go through that again.

Me: And it’s not completely one-sided. She can’t see it, but she feels something.

Axel: Because of the spark you felt?

Me: Yeah. And because she renamed Jett—Remy, short for Remington.

The rapid-fire replies cease until all the texts hit at once.

Cash: Mic drop.

Maddox: Sniff that fucking hair.

Jax: Fuck, man.

Axel: I’ll get the rooms and her office prepared. Bring them home.