Claiming Felicity (Ace Security #4)(65)

His brothers were following right behind him in Logan’s truck. He didn’t know how Blake felt about being back where Alexis had almost died, but he honestly couldn’t even think about that right now.

Obviously Joseph had done his research on the Andersons and had picked the location on purpose, to try to throw them off emotionally, but it wouldn’t work. Ryder knew his brothers well enough by now to know all their thoughts were on what might happen in the next few minutes.

Nate’s life depended on them doing everything right.

Ryder stopped at the end of the road and motioned for Felicity to climb over the console and get out on his side. He wasn’t going to chance that Joseph would change his mind and decide to immediately shoot his woman. He didn’t think that was his plan, but he wasn’t willing to risk her life on it either.

He and Felicity figured that Joseph wanted to take her away somewhere private where he could torture her at his leisure. That was never going to happen.

Ryder knew his brothers were just as well armed as he was. He had a handgun in a holster at his back, one strapped to the holster at his side, and three knives hidden on his person as well. Felicity had wanted to carry a pistol, but he’d talked her out of it. He had the utmost confidence in himself, and his brothers, to be able to protect her. The last thing he wanted was for Joseph to somehow get ahold of any weapon Felicity might have. Besides, Ryder was the killer, not her. He’d do whatever it took to keep that from her conscience, no matter how confident she was that she could handle killing Joseph if it came down to it.

He gripped Felicity’s hand tightly as he helped her climb out of the driver’s side of his car. Ryder looked around for Joseph, but didn’t see him. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end again, letting him know the man was there, simply not showing himself yet.

Pulling Felicity into his side, making her less of a target, Ryder waited for his brothers to approach.

“He here?” Logan asked softly.

Ryder nodded. “Yeah, I can feel him lurking somewhere.”

“Me too,” Blake agreed.

Just then Joseph walked out of a break in the trees about twenty-five yards away.

“Women never could follow directions,” he drawled as if he hadn’t blackmailed the group into meeting him.

“Where’s Nathan?” Felicity called out.

“Step away from them,” Joseph ordered, walking closer.

Felicity went to do as ordered, but Ryder held on to her hand for a long moment. “Don’t be a hero,” he warned. “Don’t believe anything he says.”

She looked at him impatiently. “I won’t. And trust me,” she returned, “I’m not going to be stupid.”

Ryder did the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life. He let go of Felicity’s hand.



Felicity could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest. Letting go of Ryder’s hand had been like hanging off a four-hundred-foot ledge and letting go of the only thing that was keeping her from plunging to her death.

She took four steps away from Ryder and his brothers, looking back to see them spread out in a line behind her. Tears threatened at seeing how thoroughly they had her back, but she blinked them back. She needed to be clearheaded and clear-eyed for whatever Joseph had up his sleeve. And she had no doubt he had something planned. The man was a sore loser and wouldn’t have wanted them up here in the middle of nowhere without some sort of plan.

Felicity looked at the man who had been stalking and terrorizing her since she was twenty years old. In many ways he looked the same as he had back in college. He had the same air of superiority that he’d always worn like a cloak. His dark-brown, almost black, hair was cut close to his head. He had a bit more of a paunch than when he’d been younger, and there were more lines on his face.

His bright-blue eyes were just as piercing in intensity as they’d been back then, but she could also see a hint of uneasiness in the blue orbs. He’d probably expected Ryder to show up, maybe Logan too, but having all four Anderson brothers arrive, and looking as pissed off as they were, had rattled him.

“Well?” she asked. “I’m here. Now what?”

“You were supposed to be alone.”

“Yeah, well, sorry, but I’m not that stupid. There’s no way I was going to come and meet you by myself. I don’t trust you, just as you don’t trust me.”

Joseph crossed his arms over his chest, as if settling in for a long conversation. “So, Megan, how does it feel to have someone butt into your life? Sucks, doesn’t it?”

She grit her teeth. She hated how he said her old name. “My name is Felicity now.”

He ignored her. “It took me a long time to find you, but I must say, the last six months have been quite entertaining. If I knew what lengths you’d go to stay under the radar, I might’ve let this little game continue a bit longer.”

“What does that mean?” Felicity asked, hating that she was probably asking him exactly what he wanted her to, but, dammit, she had the right to know.

“It means if I’d known how desperate you were, how often you moved around, how you didn’t make any friends, didn’t use credit, didn’t even have a real driver’s license . . . I might’ve backed off and let you continue to live on the run. But, on the other hand, it was extremely gratifying to do the one thing I knew would make you come back to Chicago.”