Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Later that afternoon I received a phone call from Sawyer to say they’d arrived. He gave me the address of their hotel and told me to bring all my things along as they’d reserved a room for me there. I felt uncomfortable taking from them, and planned to pay them back as soon as we got back to the States, until the taxi I was travelling in pulled up outside one of the most extravagant hotels I’d ever seen in my life.
“Holy shit,” I muttered quietly, closing the cab door. I was greeted upon arrival by the concierge, who immediately took hold of the suitcases I was lugging behind me. He guided me to reception, where a woman with fiery-red hair provided me with a key-card before asking Daniel, the man with my suitcases, to escort me to the penthouse.
When we reached the top floor there was a set of oak, double doors right in front of the elevator. On the wall next to them was a doorbell. A freakin’ doorbell! So I pressed it, and almost instantaneously the door began to open.
“Come on in,” Jake said, stepping aside so I could pass him. I heard the brief exchange, a tip I assumed, with the concierge and then Jake joined me on the couch I’d taken the liberty of sitting myself on.
“Ah, you’re here,” Sawyer said with a genuine smile on his face as he walked into the room. Judging by his damp hair and the fact he was dressed only in sweat pants, I assumed he’d just emerged from the shower. I stood up to greet him, and he wrapped me in manly hug, patting my back. “So, the little shit’s got himself in a pickle, huh?” His words were teasing, but there was no humor in his tone.
“He’s real scared, Sawyer. I don’t know what to do.”
“I’ve gotta be honest, it’s not looking too good. With his history and the fact they found him in possession…” Sawyer shook his head and it made my heart sink into my stomach. If Ryder’s friends didn’t believe in him, what hope did he have?
“They weren’t his. I know he has a past and I know it doesn’t look good but I believe him. I know him. I know when he’s lying.”
“Why weren’t you with him when he was arrested?” Jake asked. “Did you have a fight?”
“No,” I answered, sitting back down opposite him. Sawyer headed over to the minibar, pulling out three bottles of sparkling water and then sat down next to me. “He’d been to visit his parents. I can only assume it didn’t go well because he didn’t come back to the hotel.”
“Yeah, Elle mentioned something about that. They’re arseholes from the sound of it,” Sawyer said.
“Hmm,” I mumbled, wishing I knew what had happened between them and Ryder that night.
“Mason,” Jake said my name with such seriousness. “Are you keeping anything from us about Ryder? We know he had a shitty upbringing, but if you know anything else you need to tell us. If someone else is behind this, then we need to start trying to work out who.”
“I don’t understand. Who would want to set him up? How would they think they could get away with it?”
“Someone influential perhaps. Someone who knows the system, maybe even works with it.”
“His father.” The word popped out of my mouth before my brain had even thought it. “He’s a politician, right?”
“But why would his father go to such extremes? It doesn’t make sense,” Jake countered.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I’m clutching at straws I guess. But it’s worth looking into, no?”
“Maybe. What else do you know?”
“Nothing.”
“Mason?”
“Nothing that could be related to this.”
“You don’t know that. I’ve spent my whole adulthood in security, protecting people, searching for people. Believe me, everything is important.”
“He trusts me,” I said defensively.
“He’s in prison, Mason,” Jake uttered. “Whatever you tell us is to help him, and it goes no further than us.”
“When Ry was fifteen…” I’m sorry, Ryder, I said silently in my mind. “He was raped.”
“Jesus,” Jake gasped, closing his eyes briefly.
“Fucking hell. That poor kid,” Sawyer added, taking a swig of his water.
“It was a friend of his dad’s. Completely fucked with his head. Honestly, on the outside he’s this young, carefree, confident guy…but inside, inside he’s so damn broken.”
“Should we be looking into this guy?”
“He’s dead.”
“Look, Mason, I know you’re worried, we all are, but there’s nothing we can do tonight. Go to your room and rest. You look like you haven’t slept in days. We’ll visit his parents tomorrow, find out what happened there.”
“Okay,” I agreed, my voice weak. Sawyer was right, I was exhausted, yet I still doubted I would be able to sleep. “I really appreciate you guys coming over here.”
“He’s family,” Sawyer said. “And so are you.”
Wow. Taken aback, I blinked like an idiot. “Thank you.” The words didn’t seem enough, but they were all I had. “Guess I’ll see you in the morning.”