Claiming Felicity (Ace Security #4)(58)

Ryder couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that had settled on his shoulders like a death shroud ever since he’d received the text from his brother. Something was wrong. But he didn’t know what.

He pulled into Blake’s driveway and climbed out, striding up to the front door of the house with large steps. At first he thought it was weird that his brother lived in the house he’d grown up in, where he’d been so horribly abused by his mother, but the more he got to know Blake, and Alexis, the more he realized that it was cathartic for him. That living there and creating new, good memories helped Blake get over the hurts of his past.

Besides, he and Alexis had done so many upgrades to the house, apparently it was hard to even recognize it as the same place. An addition on the back, updated landscaping, completely new kitchen and bathrooms. Grace told him it was like a moth turning into a butterfly.

Ryder pulled out a pistol and knocked on the door before stepping to the side so as not to make himself a target for Joseph or anyone else who might be aiming at him through the door. The bad feeling he had might be because his brother was in trouble. He wasn’t going to take any chances.

He tensed when he heard the locks on the door unlatching, and then it was cracked open.

“Who’s there?”

It was Blake.

Ryder lowered the gun, but didn’t put it away. “It’s me, Ryder. What’s up?”

“Hang on,” Blake ordered, then shut the door. It opened immediately after he removed the chain. “Hey, Ryder.”

Ryder waited impatiently for his brother to tell him why he’d summoned him, but when the other man just stared at him as if he was waiting for Ryder to explain why he was there, Ryder swore. Long and inventively.

He reached for his phone and dialed Felicity’s number. It rang four times, then went to voice mail. He swore again.

“What the fuck?” Blake asked. “Ryder?”

Ryder looked up at his half brother and saw the man was on alert. “You text me about twenty minutes ago?”

“No.” Blake’s answer was short and to the point.

“You sure? Maybe Alexis did?”

“I’m sure. We’ve been . . . er . . . busy for the last half hour or so. We just came downstairs to make something to eat when I heard your knock on the door. Neither of us sent you a text.”

“Fuck,” Ryder swore. “I need to get back to Felicity, but can I see your phone first?”

Blake immediately turned and disappeared inside his house. Ryder stepped into the entryway, but went no farther. This wasn’t a social call. He needed to get back to the gym. Now. But first he needed to check his brother’s phone.

Blake came back to the door with Alexis following behind him. She was almost a foot shorter than Blake, but Ryder knew how tough she was. Remembered all she’d been through, and seeing for himself how happy she and his brother were made him have hope that whatever Joseph had planned for him and Felicity would end the same way.

“Here it is,” Blake said, holding out his phone to Ryder.

He took it and quickly pulled up the text history. The last text Blake had sent to him had been two days ago when they’d had a short conversation about the paperwork to add him to the Ace Security business.

Ryder clicked on his name on Blake’s phone and sent himself a test message. Within seconds his phone dinged with an incoming text. Ryder compared that one to the one he’d received earlier. Both said they were from his brother, and both had the same phone number.

Shaking his head, he turned the screen and showed Blake and Alexis what had brought him over to their house.

Alexis reached for the phone, then hesitated. “Can I see it?” she belatedly asked.

Ryder handed it over impatiently. He needed to get back to the other side of the city. To Felicity. He felt it in his gut.

Alexis clicked a few buttons, then as if realizing that Ryder was on the verge of bolting, handed it back. “If I had more time, I could probably track down the sender. At least what cell towers the message came from. But honestly, if someone knows what they’re doing, it wouldn’t be hard to use a burner phone and manipulate the number.”

Ryder shook his head. He knew that, but hadn’t even considered it in his worry for his brother.

“Go,” Blake ordered. “I’m right behind you.”

“We’re right behind you,” Alexis countered. “I’ll call the cops and have them meet us there.”

Ryder didn’t stay to listen to his brother argue with his woman. He didn’t exactly want Alexis in the middle of whatever was happening back at the gym, but he didn’t really want her staying at the house by herself either. If this was the beginning of whatever Joseph had planned, he wouldn’t put it past the man to hurt all of Felicity’s friends, knowing it would ultimately hurt her.

He hadn’t hesitated to use her mother to get to her, so it was an obvious conclusion that he would use her friends in much the same way. Felicity knew it, and that was why she’d wanted to run in the first place, but for some reason Ryder hadn’t been thinking that way tonight when he’d gotten the text that was supposedly from Blake. He shook his head in regret. He was an idiot, and Rex would’ve kicked his ass if he’d done something as stupid as that on one of his missions.

Ryder raced back to the gym. Blake’s house wasn’t far, but it was way too far for his peace of mind. He calculated that he probably hadn’t been gone more than thirty minutes, but all it would take was a minute or two for Joseph to snatch Felicity.