Bully Payback (Taking Revenge on Her Bully Book 1) Page 7

  “There’s actual video footage if you don’t believe me.” He grinned.

  Cameras, right. Why had I forgotten the most important part? I was in a room I’d never been in before.

  My focus should be on figuring out if it was worth it to plant a bug in here, not to wonder whether Ryker had any real cooking skills or not.

  Ryker cooking, though. Oh hell. My mind was forming images that I didn’t want to see. I pictured him naked, wearing only an apron as he held up a wooden spoon and smiled at me.

  Yeah, that’s not what happened. Damn it, Lexi. Get it together.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said, and disappeared through one of the doors.

  I took a big gulp of the wine, which was actually really delicious. When my gaze lifted to the corners of the room, I spotted cameras. Why the hell would he have cameras in the dining room and in the kitchen?

  But then again, maybe he wanted to make sure no one snuck inside or that no one would try to poison his food or something. Actually, he probably had cameras everywhere. Shit. If I wanted to plant something here or snoop around, I’d have to be very careful and assume someone might always be watching me.

  Although, if he had his room or an office somewhere in this house, would he have a camera there too or would it be too dangerous for him to have it? If he was actually striking deals or running his business from here, then I was sure he didn’t want to have any incriminating footage in his own house. But how would I ever get into a less secure part of the house?

  Ryker returned, carrying two plates, and he set one down in front of me. The food had been carefully arranged and it smelled really tasty. He was really trying to impress me, wasn’t he?

  And he knew just how to do it. He somehow knew I’d appreciate something like this more than being taken out to a fancy restaurant.

  Ryker. A man after my own heart.

  Yeah no.

  He wasn’t boyfriend material, no matter how hard he tried. I couldn’t let him distract me or manipulate me into thinking he was a nice guy.

  “It’s just pasta with vegetables. Nothing dangerous inside. I promise.” He winked at me.

  I must’ve been staring at the food a bit too long, so I finally took a bite. My gaze snapped to him as I chewed.

  “Wow. This is great,” I said and meant it. If he’d really made this himself, then I was in awe. Ryker had more hidden skills than I could’ve imagined. I should be very, very careful about him.

  Oh yeah, Lexi. What are you really afraid of? That he put love potion in your food?

  “Thank you. I’m glad you like it.” His gaze never left mine.

  But then his phone rang, and his brow furrowed.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “If it’s important, answer it.”

  He got to his feet, giving me a small smile as he pulled out his phone.

  I eyed him as he answered.

  “What the fuck do you mean there’s a problem?” he hissed a few moments later, his face contorting with anger. The nice guy who’d been having dinner with me was gone, and now he was just Ryker.

  His gaze shifted to me, and I looked away, pretending I was busy with my food.

  “Just get it done,” he sneered, and then slipped his phone back into his pocket.

  When he returned to the table, his face was again pleasant, as if nothing had happened.

  A man with a thousand faces. Or maybe just two. One was the guy I’d love to have as my boyfriend, and the other one was a monster, capable of ending someone’s life without a second thought.

  “Sorry about that,” he said. “It’s just business.”

  “I get it. Where’s the bathroom?” I asked as I dabbed at my mouth with a napkin. This was the perfect chance for me to take a look around.

  “Right through that door.” He pointed at it. “Just down the hallway. You can’t miss it.”

  I got to my feet, flashing him a smile.

  Once I was in the hallway, I spotted more cameras. As I passed by a few closed doors, I realized most of them had keypads next to them. There would be no way for me to pretend I accidently ended up in the wrong place. Ugh. Ryker would have to be with me.

  When I reached the bathroom—the only door that was open, I took a look around. Surprisingly, there weren’t any cameras, or I just couldn’t see them. Still, I let the water run in the sink as I focused on my reflection in the mirror.

  What the hell was I doing? Ryker could drop his nice act at any moment, and then there might not be a way for me to get out of here alive. But I couldn’t back down now. I’d made my choice, and I was going to go through with my plan.

  No matter the cost.

  No matter the risk.

  When I returned to the dining room, Ryker was waiting for me.

  “I hope you’re ready for dessert,” he said. “I didn’t make this one, though. Still learning.” He let out a laugh.

  The sight of the chocolate cake on the plate almost made me salivate.

  Oh hell.

  Ryker really was after my heart, wasn’t he?

  Chapter 17

  “IS THERE ANYTHING I can do?” I asked as I paced up and down Nia’s living room.

  “I don’t know, but if he has cameras everywhere, it’s too risky for you to try anything. If they find the bug, they’ll know it was you if you’re the only one who was in that room.” She gave me a concerned look.

  “But maybe they won’t find it. Maybe more people come to his house.”

  “Are you willing to bet your life on that? Because I’m not.”

  I let out a sigh. “Then what? Should I just give up? It’s not like I can ask him too much about his illegal business, and he’s careful around me. When someone called him, he made sure that I wouldn’t overhear anything or figure out what he was talking about.”

  “Maybe you should. There’s not much you can do without putting your life in danger. Is it really worth it?” Her eyes were hard on mine.

  “Yeah, I think it is. I’m hoping he has an office somewhere in the house. He probably doesn’t want anyone to record what’s happening in there. Or maybe some of those rooms protected with keypads and who knows what else don’t have any cameras.”

  Nia tilted her head. “I doubt he’s going to take you to one of those rooms. Who knows what’s in there? Unless you think he’s going to show off his weapons collection to you.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think he’ll do that. He was kind of nice, actually. Okay, for him, that’s more than nice. I mean, he made me dinner.”

  “So? The guy likes to cook. Doesn’t make him special.”

  “I know, but it looked like he was really trying to make me happy. It’s just... I don’t know.”

  “Maybe he just wants to find an excuse to stop paying you.” Nia shook her head. “Don’t forget who he really is. You know him better than anyone. The real him. This charade and the nice-guy act can’t fool you.”

  Yeah, I hoped that was the case. Although, a part of me was starting to doubt what I knew about Ryker. But things were rarely black and white. It wouldn’t be surprising if there were a few good sides to him, but that didn’t mean they erased all the bad stuff he’d done.

  “You’re right. I should just focus on my plan and forget everything else. So what else I can do? Is there a way to disrupt his cameras so they’ll stop recording for a while? Could you hack into them or something? If no one knows the cameras were messed with, I could plant the bug and they wouldn’t suspect a thing until it was too late.”

  “Nope. I can’t do that. Well, I might be able to do it if I go to his house, but that’s not going to happen, so no. You’ll have to find another way. Planting a bug in his office sounds like the best idea, but I have no clue how you can get in there without being spotted. I guess he has plenty of security there too, even if there are no cameras inside.”

  I crossed my arms. “I’ll need to come up with something. I just don’t know how long it will take.”

  “Once you plant that bug, you c
an never go back to his house,” Nia said. “No matter what happens.”

  “I know. If he finds it, I’ll be a suspect, or he’ll immediately know it was me. I need to have a plan to leave the city quickly if that happens.”

  I was going to be really, really mad if he discovered the bug before I managed to get any useful information. But hey, if I couldn’t put him in prison, at least I’d punished him in a way. He might’ve enjoyed it too much, though, so it wouldn’t be that big of a win.

  Unless finding out who I really was would seriously piss him off and make him regret everything. Okay, yeah. That was somewhat satisfying.

  “Oh, and I need to have a plan to protect my club too,” I said. “If I go down, the club needs to remain as if nothing happened. There’s also one more thing. Are you sure that the Cobras won’t be able to trace the bug back to you? What if they can detect its signal or something?”

  “If that happens, which I doubt, I’ll be long gone before they find me.” She grinned. “And don’t talk as if you’re going to fail. He might not figure out anything if he’s smitten with you.”

  A smile quirked my lips. “Smitten. That actually sounds hilarious.”

  My phone vibrated, and when Ryker’s number appeared on the screen, I almost dropped it.

  “He must be psychic or something,” I muttered, and Nia went quiet as I answered.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Ryker said.

  Freaking psychic. “No. What’s up?”

  “It looks like it’s going to be a nice day tomorrow. How would you like to go on a short trip?”

  My eyebrows shot up. “A trip? Where?”

  “I prefer for it to be a surprise, but you should bring your bathing suit with you.”

  “Let me guess. You don’t want to go alone?”

  “Yeah. My yacht is too big for me.”

  A yacht? Geez. Now he was just showing off. “Okay.”

  “Great. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

  I stared at my phone a few moments after he ended the call.

  “What’s going on?” Nia asked.

  “Are you sure he didn’t put a bug on me or something?”

  “Yeah. I am. Now tell me!”

  “He has a yacht, of course, and he wants me to come with him.”

  Nia clamped her hand over her mouth as she laughed. “Oh, my God! He really likes you!”

  “I guess.” I flipped my phone in my hand.

  “But what? Why do you look like you’d like to run for the hills? This is what you wanted, isn’t it? For him not to be able to live without you.”

  “Yachts aren’t all that big. It might be hard to escape if things get... weird.”

  Maybe I should call Ryker back and cancel. My mind immediately flashed to the time when he’d found me in the girls’ locker room and I was all alone. I’d thought he was going to hurt me, and there’d been nowhere for me to run.

  But all he’d done was push me against one of the lockers and show me that I was at his mercy. He’d laughed at me, and then he’d just left me there. I’d been petrified and it had taken me more than a few minutes to make my legs work again.

  Would I feel the same way on his yacht with him? Would I feel trapped?

  “How big is his yacht, exactly?” Nia had a peculiar expression on her face, which made me think she had an idea.

  “Why?”

  “Did he say that you can’t bring a friend with you to keep you company?”

  My jaw went slack. “Wait, are you saying you want to come with me?”

  “Sure, why not? And it might give me a chance to hack into something, if he has a computer with him or a phone. Or maybe not. But I can keep you company. Hell, I can bring a few more of my girlfriends with me. We can have a party on his yacht.”

  “Well, he did say that he didn’t want to be alone.” A slow smile spread across my lips.

  Giving Ryker what he wanted but not quite was something I really liked.

  “Okay. Whoever wants to come with me should do it, but please make sure everyone understands the risks. There will probably be guards who won’t mind pulling the trigger if they think they need to. And don’t get caught hacking anything.”

  She lifted her hands. “I promise.”

  Oh yeah. I couldn’t wait to see what Ryker would do.

  Chapter 18

  THE LOOK ON RYKER’S face when he saw the four of us—Nia brought two more of her friends, who weren’t in the least worried about the Scarlet Cobras—was priceless, and I wished I could’ve snapped a photo. But he quickly recovered and welcomed us all to his yacht.

  As I settled on my towel while Nia and her friends were dancing to the loud music, Ryker sat down next to me. His shorts were hanging low on his hips, and I had to force my eyes up.

  “I hope you don’t mind I brought my friends with me,” I said, giving him a small smile.

  “Not at all.”

  I picked up a bottle of sunscreen, and Ryker reached for it.

  “Let me,” he said, and I gave him the bottle.

  He squeezed some of the sunscreen onto his palm and then moved behind my back. His touch sent a strong current through me, and as he gently massaged the sunscreen into my skin, I couldn’t help but lean into his touch.

  His fingers trailed down my shoulders so gently that I almost let out a moan. And when his hands reached my stomach, I sucked in a breath. When I glanced at him, our lips were so close that I thought he was going to kiss me.

  But instead, he moved so he could put some sunscreen on my legs. I was barely breathing as his fingers traced circles on my thigh. His eyes met mine as he caressed my skin, and every inch of me was on fire. If only he would lower his lips to my calf and...

  I couldn’t take it anymore, so I snatched the sunscreen from him. “My turn,” I said.

  Amusement danced in his eyes, and I was sure he’d noticed just how much his touch had affected me. It was silly, though. Sexual and physical attraction didn’t mean a thing. It was all just for fun. I wasn’t falling for him.

  I spread some sunscreen over his back, my fingers exploring every inch of his skin, and when I reached around him, pressing myself close to him, I felt his breath catch. Good.

  But then he got to his feet and offered his hand to me. “Come,” he said.

  I let him pull me up and then he broke into a run, still holding my hand. When I realized he intended for us to jump overboard, I almost wanted to back out because I’d never done something like that before.

  But what the hell? It looked fun.

  Kind of.

  I screamed as I jumped, and then hit the water. I’d let go of Ryker at some point, but when I resurfaced and pushed my wet hair out of my eyes, I couldn’t see him. I spun around, squinting around me as my eyes still stung.

  “Over here,” he said with a laugh, and when I turned in his direction, he sent a splash of water at me.

  I shrieked, closing my eyes, but then I slapped the water and splashed him back. Laughter bubbled up at the back of my throat, and I couldn’t remember when the last time I’d had so much fun was.

  “Okay. Enough!” I shouted, and Ryker helped me climb back up on the yacht.

  Nia and her friends were watching us, and Nia winked at me. Just what did she think was going on here? My hand was still in Ryker’s, and I didn’t even feel like pulling back.

  What the hell was wrong with me? When he finally let go of me, he brought me a towel and wrapped it around me.

  “Thanks,” I said, giving him a small smile.

  “Are you cold?” he asked, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

  “No, I’m fine.” Except, I didn’t want him to stop touching me. The heat of his body against mine was strangely comforting, and we just stood there for a while, gazing at the ocean.

  “I need a drink,” I said, pulling away from him.

  “Let me make you a cocktail. It’ll warm you up.”

  I gave him a nod.

  Nia approac
hed me as soon as he was out of sight.

  “Are you sure you want to destroy him?” she whispered into my ear. “It looks like he just might be the perfect boyfriend. He’s basically doting on you, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone looking at someone the way he looks at you. It’s adorbs.”

  “No, it’s not,” I said through my teeth. “And yes, this doesn’t change anything. He’s just pretending.”

  “Are you sure about that? People rarely change, but sometimes it happens.”

  “He’s the leader of the Scarlet Cobras. That’s enough.”

  “Well, yeah, but damn, girl. He might be willing to leave it all for you.”

  I let out a laugh. “Have you found anything interesting?”

  “Not really. The guards are always keeping an eye on me. It’s like they think I’m going to steal something.” She rolled her eyes. “Why did he have to bring them with him? Is he afraid of us?”

  “I think he’s more worried his enemies might find him or that he’ll need to go into action quickly. And he doesn’t really know any of us, so it makes sense he’d want to make sure we aren’t snooping around for the cops or something.”

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re defending him. How sweet.”

  “I’m not. I’m just saying. And thank you so much for being here. I’m glad I’m not alone with all those guards around.”

  “I don’t think anything would happen to you with your man around.”

  “My man?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “He’s not my man.”

  “Keep saying that.” She turned on her heel and strode away just as Ryker showed up.

  He handed me a cocktail glass with a little pink umbrella, and I took a sip of the orange liquid.

  “Do you like it?” he asked, an expectant look on his face.

  I gave him a nod. “Yeah, it’s good.”

  “I’ve never met a woman like you,” he suddenly said. “I think you and I might be a good match, don’t you think?”

  I took another sip of the drink so I wouldn’t have to immediately answer that. “Maybe,” I finally said. “Why do you say that?”

  “I know you can feel it too.” His finger brushed my shoulder. “We don’t have to be strictly professional. Why not explore the connection between us?”