His to Claim by Shelly Bell

Author:Shelly Bell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2018-04-10T04:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

Ryder wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her sideways onto his lap. Once they settled at the headboard of Isabella’s squeaky old twin bed, Ryder rested his chin on top of her head.

He didn’t like to think about his childhood. For so long, he’d locked away those memories and thrown away the key.

Walking through life being angry at his father was easy.

But talking about his past…that was fucking hard.

He swallowed hard, easing the tension that had built in his throat, and took a deep breath. Jane didn’t rush him. Instead, they sat in silence, simply holding on to one another. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled her fresh scent. She fit so perfectly against him.

He could get used to this.

After a few minutes, he found himself ready to tell her about his darkest days…and his biggest regrets. “One of my earliest memories is sitting on my father’s lap,” he said, staring at the pink wall in front of him, “eating a cookie as he talked to three men about setting a fire to someone’s house to teach them a lesson. I couldn’t have been more than four and I was already terrified of him. Afraid of what he’d do to me if I ever disobeyed him.”

“What were you afraid he’d do?” she asked, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.

His recurrent nightmare of a woman covered in blood flashed through his mind.

“When you hear your father complimenting one of his enforcers for shattering the bones of someone’s legs with a baseball bat, you tend to have an active imagination when it comes to the idea of punishment.”

She grew rigid in his arms. “Did he ever—”

“No, Keane never laid a hand on me.” He hadn’t needed to. Not when fear had worked so well. “My father never hid his crimes from Finn or me. He was grooming us to take over McKay Industries, just as his father had groomed him. But Finn and I made a pact. We would never become our father. Never join the family business. Never provide Keane with any heirs for him to mold.”

Her eyes softened with understanding. “That’s why you don’t want Keane to know about Maddox.”

“He’s not done with me, Jane. I haven’t figured out why he set up a business to compete with mine or how you fit into it, but I swear, I will never allow Keane to get his hooks into our son.”

She gave him a small smile as she soothingly ran her fingers through his hair. “I know you won’t.”

A wave of relief crashed into him. “You believe me?”

“I do.” She frowned. “Did you think I wouldn’t?”

Only a few days ago, she’d been firm in the belief that Keane hung the moon. What had changed since he’d last seen her?

“Other than talking about it with Finn, I kept it all to myself for a long time,” he said. “When I finally did tell someone, it didn’t go well.”

“What happened?”

“The day before I started college, I went to the cops.

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