Read Redeemed: Bad Blooded Rebel Series #4 Online
Authors: Mellie George
Redeemed: Bad Blooded Rebel Series #4
Redeemed
Bad Blooded Rebel Series #4
By Mellie George
Text copyright ©2014 Mellie
George
All Rights Reserved
Edited by D.B./J.W.
Cover Photo Courtesy of
CanStockPhoto.com
Cover Design ©2014 Mellie George
This book is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the
products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely
coincidental.
No part of this publication may
be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of
the author.
Support your favorite authors by
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The Author acknowledges
referencing the following people, places, music, bands, sports teams, movies,
and all that noise: MGM Grand, Guns N’ Roses, Pizza King.
This book, the final chapter in
Ryder and Everleigh’s story, is dedicated to all the readers who have loved
their story as much as I have loved telling it. This one is for you!
1
Ryder
“You
did great,” I said to Everleigh as I took the paper target from the clip.
Everleigh
rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah, really great, Ryder. I hit him in the hip.”
I
smiled and kissed her forehead. “At least you hit the target this time. You
just need to keep practicing, baby,” I said and I put the target down and gave
her shoulders a little shake.
“We’ve
been here for three hours. Can’t we just go? I’m getting hungry anyway.”
I
took off the goggles I’d been wearing and said, “Okay, we’re done for the day.
Let’s go get something to eat.”
Everleigh
looked relieved as she took off her gear and handed me the G26 9 millimeter I’d
had John, our bodyguard, purchase for her a week ago. She was uneasy about
having to carry one anyway but with our current situation it was necessary.
The
past five weeks for Everleigh had been a nightmare. First, she’d lost her beloved
father to cancer; then the day after his funeral her ex boyfriend Scott Adams
attacked her and tried to rape her in a public bathroom. After that we’d come
to New York to record our band’s latest album and had three seemingly calm
weeks. Just when I thought Everleigh was finally starting to relax and move on
with her life, we found out that Scott had broken into her house, back in
Muncie, Indiana, and killed Trisha Cramer, Everleigh’s friend and her father’s
former hospice nurse. She had been staying at Everleigh’s house while we were
in New York.
The
last week had been tense because Scott had not only fled after Trish’s murder,
he’d shown up here in New York City. He let Everleigh know she was in danger by
having a picture of Trish’s dead body delivered to our penthouse. No one had
been able to track the fucker down so we could put an end to this and it had
everyone on edge. I wasn’t scared of the prick at all and had my own gun loaded
and ready if he even thought of trying to contact Everleigh, but seeing how
terrified Everleigh was made me tense.
I
was as patient with her as I could be given the situation but she was wound so
tight that it didn’t take much to make her either lash out in anger or cry
tears of despair and fear. I tried my best to distract her and keep her mind
off of Scott but it was getting harder. With every passing day that Scott was
out there roaming free, her moods were becoming more and more erratic. Everyone
was stressed out but Everleigh was the one that I was truly worried would break.
I felt so helpless as to how to make her feel at ease. I knew all I could do
was just be there for her and continue to try to keep her calm and happy.
Everleigh
couldn’t get her coat on fast enough as I gave the protective glasses and gear
back to the guy in the shooting area. She was almost to the door before I
pulled on my coat and half ran to catch up with her. “Hey, wait up!” I called
after her.
She
stopped just shy of the door and turned to face me, pulling her hair free of
her coat. All she did was give me a forced smile as I took her hand and walked
with her out into the chilly New York air. We walked down the street hand in
hand not really saying anything while John tailed us in the SUV. We were halfway
to the Mexican restaurant that we loved and had found near the gun range when I
felt her give my hand a squeeze. “Ryder, I’m sorry.”
I
stopped and turned her to face me. “Why are you sorry?” I asked, taking my free
hand and tucking her hair behind her ear.
She
sighed and said, “I know I’ve been a total bitch to you and everyone else this
past week. I really am not meaning to be like that but I can’t help it. I feel
so trapped right now and I just wish we could get out of here and run away.”
I
placed my hand on her cheek and caressed it with my thumb. “I know, Evie. I
know,” I said, pulling her close to me. “I wish I could take you away from all
of this too, but our album isn’t finished yet and even if we could leave, you
know that no matter where we go Scott will be able to find you because of who I
am. None of us can go anywhere without cameras following.”
She
bit her lip in an effort to stop her emotions from getting the better of her
and nodded. “I just hate this, Ryder. I hate that we all have to carry guns
like we are some gang. I hate that I can’t go home and be there for Trish’s
family and say goodbye to her. None of this would have happened if she wasn’t
trying to help me out.”
“Evie,
don’t say this is your fault again because, for the hundredth time, it isn’t. I
know you feel guilty for her death but you want to know something? So do I,” I
confessed, feeling tightness in my chest.
“You
do? Why on earth should you feel guilty? It wasn’t your homicidal ex that
killed her,” she said.
“No
it wasn’t, but I was the reason she was there. Trish was staying at your house
because I asked her to. She said she wanted to but that she had to move onto
another patient in order to pay her bills. So I offered her ten times what she
would be making at her job to watch your house until we got back. I intentionally
put her in harm’s way. Trish wasn’t murdered because of you. She died because
of me,” I said, hanging my head down.
Everleigh
pulled away from me and placed both of her hands on my face, forcing me to look
into her eyes. “Ryder, that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard you
say. You did
nothing
to cause her death!”
“Well,
neither did you, Evie. The one person that is to blame for this is Scott
fucking Adams. He is the one that was stupid enough to dump you when you wanted
to wait a little while before being with him again, and he is the one that
hasn’t fucking gotten over it.”
“I
know that, but I still can’t help feeling guilty. I just wish I could say
goodbye to her. She was really the closest thing to a mother I’ve ever had,”
Everleigh sniffed.
“I
know, baby,” I said, kissing her forehead. “When this is all over we will go
back to Muncie so you can say goodbye, I promise.”
She
hugged me for a moment, taking deep breaths and trying to stop her impending
tears. “Can you maybe call everyone and ask them to meet us for lunch?”
I
rested my chin on her head and said, “Sure I can, but may I ask why?”
“I
just want to be with my family right now,” she replied timidly. “Is that okay?”
I
chuckled for the first time in what felt like days and said, “Of course it’s
okay, gorgeous. Let’s get inside the restaurant and out of the cold and I will
send a text to everyone.”
She
nodded and smiled up at me before we started walking toward the restaurant.
“Thanks, rock star,” she said. We walked a few more blocks before we reached La
Cantina and we ducked inside. The place was small and quaint and luckily it
looked pretty deserted today.
“Hola,”
said the older man standing at the podium at the front. “Back again today,
mister rocker?”
I
smiled at him and said, “What can I say? The food is so damn good here I can’t
stay away.”
He
smiled back at both of us and said, “Well, follow me right this way. Our best
booth is open, nice and quiet for you two lovers.”
“Actually,”
Everleigh said, “we are expecting a large group to meet us here today. Is there
any way we can have a big table?”
The
man’s eyes widened and he smiled. “Sure thing, senorita. How many will be
joining you?”
Everleigh
counted in her head for a moment and replied, “Seven, so with us that makes
nine.”
“Okay,
we will give you our banquet room in the back so you can have privacy. Will
that do for you?”
She
smiled and said, “That will be perfect. Thank you so much, Rico,” she said, and
I grinned at her. I must have been out of it for me not to remember this guy’s
name when he probably told me every day for the past week that we’d been there.
Once
Rico showed us to the private banquet room, I shot the guys a group text
message telling them to pick up the girls and meet us at La Cantina. It had
been a tense week for everyone but it had been a double whammy for Everleigh’s
best friend Danni and my band mate Beau. When I had followed Everleigh to
Muncie, Beau and my other band mates Kris and Jude had followed the same day.
Beau and Danni, who’d been friends on Facebook since the concert where we all
met, had instantly jumped into a relationship of sorts. They definitely weren’t
a couple but even though they tried to deny it, they were definitely more than
just friends with benefits.
After
Scott tried to rape Everleigh on New Year’s Day at a local nightclub, Danni had
decided to stay behind in Muncie when we all had to fly to New York. She didn’t
want to seem clingy; she reminded Beau that this thing between them wasn’t a
big deal and she was fine staying behind. Beau didn’t want her to stay but he
was too damn proud to admit he wanted her to come with him, and Danni was too
proud to come along on her own, even though she wanted to be with him. The
three weeks leading up to our night out at The Rock Steady were agonizing with
Beau being a dick to everyone around (with the exception of Everleigh). We all
thought that once they saw each other again it would be like it was before, but
unfortunately things didn’t happen that way for them and she ended up walking
in on him having sex with a random girl in the bathroom of the club.
After
Trish’s murder, Beau had confessed his feelings for Danni to Everleigh, finally
admitting that he loved her and that he would do whatever he could to get her
back. In the midst of all of this, I was really worried about him; even though
it had only been a week since all this shit happened, he was trying really hard
to talk to her but she kept her distance, telling him that everyone’s safety
and helping to get Scott behind bars was what was important. While she was
right about that, it was frustrating to see Beau trying so hard and being
pushed aside. I’d noticed the last few times I’d seen him he had a bottle of
Southern Comfort somewhere near him.
Everleigh
and I sat together, her hands in mine as I traced a pattern on her palms. I
heard Jude’s booming voice coming from the front of the restaurant. We both
looked up to see everyone walking toward us and for the first time in days I
felt Everleigh relaxing. Kris and Jessie led the way, holding hands and smiling
at us. Danni followed behind them, smiling weakly at Everleigh. Jude walked
behind Danni with his big, muscular arm wrapped around Sadie in a brotherly
hug. Sadie looked like a little doll with Jude draped around her, although she
was anything but. The girl could shoot the shit and drink as much as me and the
guys, and she wouldn’t be twenty-one for another four days. Beau walked behind
Jude and Sadie, his eyes a mixture of sad and dazed…he looked like he’d already
been hitting the bottle today. John closed out the group, standing a good six
inches above the rest of them.
“Hey
everyone,” Everleigh said, standing to hug them one by one. When she got to
Beau she hugged him a little longer than the rest and whispered something into
his ear that made him crack a smile.