Ryker, p.12
Ryker, page 12
“Here’s there for a reason. Call him again,” Cade demanded.
Ryker took out his phone and called Luke. Straight to voicemail. “It’s off.”
“What are we going to do when we lose track of him? At some point he will take the jacket off.” Kayla tapped her fingers on her leg as she asked. “I think we are all jumping to some seriously bad conclusions. We need to separate fact from assumption.”
April stood. “That’s a good idea. I wish we had a white board in here.” She looked around for something to use.
Matt pulled a tablet out of his bag and did a few things on it before it appeared on his TV screen. He handed it to April. “You can use this.”
She smiled at him. “This is great, thank you. I take it back, you are a real person.”
He shook his head, smiling, and went back to his laptop.
It took half an hour but April had sorted everything they had discussed into two columns on the tablet. Ryker stood back and studied it, realizing what little they actually knew.
“I have a few shady characters that live there. Mind if I take over?” he asked April.
“Go for it.” She handed him the tablet. “Can you email that to us?”
“Yup.” He switched their view to his laptop and went over the people that lived there.
There were some felons and a few domestic violence charges on no less than four tenants, but nothing that stood out.
“What the hell was he doing there?” Ryker wondered out loud.
“Did you do a deeper dive on Paisley?” Cade asked.
Matt nodded. “She’s in debt up to her eyeballs and has been to the doctor a lot lately, but there’s been no big deposits to her accounts, no significant changes.”
“I think we need to go have a visit with the old man,” Cade said to his sister.
Catherine swallowed hard. “I don’t know that we would get much.”
“Anything is more than we have now,” Cade argued.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Ryker reminded her. “Cade can go alone or we can figure something else out.”
She nodded, but the fear was clear. “I think I need to do this.”
Chapter Twenty
Catherine
Catherine rode with Cade to the jail a few days later. Neither of them had spoken for the entire journey, both lost in their own thoughts. They were nearing the jail now and the tension in the car was increasing.
Ryker and April had both offered to come as moral support, but they had denied them. It had hurt Ryker that she didn’t want him there, but she didn’t know how else to handle this. With Ryker nearby, she might fall apart.
He was quickly becoming her rock and the one person she felt comfortable letting her guard down with. That meant that he saw a side of Catherine that no one other than Cade had ever seen. She needed to be strong for this, though. Needed to not have him waiting for her to collapse into when she left because she might not be able to hold it together.
Knowing he was home waiting on her was enough. She’d be able to hide everything until then and if she couldn’t only Cade would know.
“So, you and Ryker, huh?” Cade broke the silence.
She groaned. “Now? This is the time you choose to do this?”
“I’m just wondering how serious it is between you two,” Cade said as though it was a super casual thing.
She was wondering herself. “It’s new, Cade.”
“When you know, you know,” he shrugged.
Catherine rolled her eyes. “Nope. You’re so full of shit. You literally hid from April for years.”
“Doesn’t mean I didn’t know.”
“Whatever.”
A few minutes later Cade pulled into the parking lot. “Are you ready for this?” he asked.
“Nope,” she answered. “But I’m gonna do it.”
“Same,” Cade answered.
The process of getting in to see him was more difficult than she had expected. It was violating and intrusive and she felt gross. The first thing she was going to do when she got home was shower.
The guard, or the cop, maybe both? She didn’t know. He led them to a waiting area and told them to have a seat. She and Cade looked at each other, debating it.
Neither of them felt comfortable sitting, so they stood near the wall and waited. The guard seemed not to want to leave them.
Another glance between them and they both sighed and took a seat. Catherine sat on the edge of the chair, not wanting to lean back. She was too nervous to sit back. The guard finally left them alone, and she hoped it was to get him so they could be done.
Nothing in her was able to pretend that this wasn’t an awful experience. Her parents were in jail and she was here to see one of them.
“Do you know if we will be in the same room that Luke was?” she asked Cade.
“I have no idea how this really works.” Cade shifted in his seat again.
“What are you going to say?” She hadn’t worked it out yet.
Shrugging, Cade shifted again. “I figure I’ll just ask what comes to mind.”
“Follow me,” the guard returned and snapped at them.
Catherine jumped out of her seat, literally, and struggled to take a breath. This was it. It was time to do this, and she hadn’t wanted to back out as much as she did right now.
“If you want to go to the car and wait, you can,” Cade gave her an out.
Catherine shook her head and steeled her spine. “I can do this.”
It wouldn’t have been so bad had he not literally held her and April against their wills. It wasn’t like he was just in trouble for some white-collar crimes; this was actual craziness.
“I still can’t believe he fought to be here instead of getting the help he needs.” Catherine followed behind Cade, whispering.
“He has more freedom here. Visitors like Luke can come and see him and it’s less monitored. I can’t believe he won the fight.”
She sighed. Cade was right and they should have maybe fought harder against it. At the time, she really believed that everything was over when he was convicted.
“Through there.” The guard pointed at the open door. “No touching the inmate, no exchanging anything that wasn’t already approved. If you want to leave before your time is up, knock on this door.”
They walked through and the guard slammed the door closed behind them.
“I knew they wouldn’t, but I still can’t believe we are in here alone.” Catherine looked around the gray room with the chairs and table bolted to the floor.
“They’re recording, remember? Probably watching in real time but giving the false sense of privacy.”
She nodded and bit her lip, waiting for the other door to open and their father to walk in.
After what felt like forever but was probably less than a minute, the other door unlocked and their father was led in. He was cuffed to the table and the guard then left through the same door, closing it firmly behind him.
“Ah, my children. To what do I owe this pleasure?” he asked, sounding cheerful.
“We want you to stop harassing us and our friends,” Cade answered.
He laughed in answer. “I assure you that I am not doing anything. Just serving my time.”
Catherine took a step forward. “So you aren’t trying to get Marcus to marry me so you can have his father in your pocket?”
“What purpose would that serve?” he challenged.
“The seat at the board table. I know, and you know, that would give you strings to pull on Cade’s company,” Catherine spat back, waving her finger as she spoke.
Cade rested a hand on her shoulder, silently telling her to calm down.
Their father leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “You two must think pretty highly of me to think I could interfere with the company from in here. I would imagine the stories you make up and pretty wild.
“Knock it off,” Cade warned. “We know what you’re up to and we’re done dealing with it. From here on out every time you think you can pull something over on us we will be there to stop it. This won’t work and neither will anything else.”
“If you keep it up, we’ll take you back to court and have you committed for real this time.” Catherine threw the threat out there, unsure if it would matter.
He threw his head back and laughed. “You can’t prove any of these accusations, not legally.” He looked up at the camera. “Let that be a lesson to you.”
“You think so? These records can be subpoenaed and we have a damn good legal team. What do you think would happen if they blocked you from having visitors or phone calls while all this is tied up in court?” Cade stepped in front of Catherine. “We want to know what all you have in the works, now.”
“Son, there’s not a chance in hell that I would tell you anything even if your delusions were true. Maybe you have a little bit of crazy in you. I hear it’s genetic.” The casual way he spoke was doing its job and pissing them both off.
Cade’s fists clenched at his sides. “I won’t ask again. Give us what we want to know or we’re leaving and my threats aren’t empty.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to see what you can do then because I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Let’s go,” Cade said as he turned to Catherine. “This was a waste of time, just like the person over there.”
“Careful now, I would hate for something to happen to either of you,” their father said suddenly, menace is his tone.
Catherine’s breath caught as he tossed out the warning.
Cade turned to face him which only caused their father to start laughing. It echoed in the empty room, sending shivers down her spine.
“That’s enough, old man. You’re a worthless piece of shit who will die in this jail with no power over anyone.” Cade banged on the door to let the guard know they were done.
Catherine flew through it the moment it opened, eager to be away from him. That laugh would haunt her dreams, she knew it.
Getting out of the jail was much simpler than getting in, ironic. As soon as they were in the car, Cade locked the doors and took off.
“I’m going to call April,” Cade told her.
The Bluetooth came on and dialed her number. She took the time to text Ryker and let him know they were done.
Ryker: How did it go?
Catherine: Awful and we didn’t get any information.
Ryker: We knew that was a risk. Are you okay?
Catherine: No.
Ryker: What do you need?
Catherine: You.
Ryker: I’m here waiting for you.
Catherine swiped at a tear falling down her cheek as she read his response. Cade was just getting off the phone with April when he noticed.
“We won’t be doing that again,” he assured her.
Catherine nodded. She didn’t think she could handle it again.
At one time, she had no real issues with her parents, but everything had changed in the last year or so. She constantly questioned if her father had changed or if she had just been blind.
Cade had never gotten along with him. They were like night and day, and even when she was little, she knew that.
“It’s not our fault,” Cade finally said. “That he’s lost his mind, it’s not because of us.”
“How do we know we won’t do that too?” She voiced her fears.
He gripped the steering wheel and glanced at her before returning his attention to the road. “We can’t guarantee anything but I like to think that we are better people now than I ever remember him being.”
Catherine let the truth of Cade’s words wash over her. Neither of them were greedy or mean. Sure, she could be a bitch sometimes but usually because the other person was acting worse.
Maybe this wouldn’t happen to them. Maybe they wouldn’t change.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ryker
“Can I still call you Hacker Guy?” Catherine asked Matt as they sat in the conference room in Cade’s office.
“Stop flirting with him and get over here,” Ryker pulled her away from Matt.
“I’m just asking a question. I didn’t know him in real life when he got that nickname.”
“He didn’t need it then or now,” he bit out.
Catherine laughed.
It had been two days since she and Cade had gone to visit their father and everyone was meeting again to come up with another strategy. It hadn’t given them anything.
“Has anyone heard from Luke?” Ryker asked everyone.
They all shook their heads, looking at each other.
“Dammit.” Ryker was worried about him and didn’t have a clue how to help.
“He went home yesterday,” Matt said. “Hasn’t left since.”
“You’re just now telling me?” Ryker shouted.
“You’re just now asking. It wasn’t anything out of character, so I didn’t see the need to bring it up.”
“We need to talk to him.” Ryker clenched and unclenched his fists. “This is important.”
“Like I said, he hasn’t left.”
“Can we get back to the task at hand?” April intervened.
Catherine came over and slid her hand into his, holding him steady as he worked through his anger and next steps.
“Okay, the plan is to gather everything that we legally can and see if it’s enough to prove guilt of something on Marcus. Though, if I find something bad, even illegally, I’m not above an anonymous tip to the proper authorities.” Matt spun in his chair to face Ryker. “It’s not going to be as easy as we want it to be.”
Ryker nodded. “Nothing ever is.”
“And if it is, it’s a trap,” Matt finished the quote. “So, going back to April’s list, we want to cross out what we know is true but we can’t legally prove. I also pulled up a list of all his known associates and if anyone knows them, because y’all are connected somehow, then you’re going to see what they know.”
“If we start asking around about him, won’t that tip him off?” Catherine asked.
“Doesn’t matter if it does. He should know by now we are on to him. Or he’s just that dumb, either way, it won’t matter.” Matt ran a hand through his short brown hair.
Catherine made a small “hmm” sound, indicating she wasn’t sure she believed him.
Ryker walked to the window and looked out into his backyard. He wanted this settled and for Catherine to have peace over all of this. A small part of him wondered if they should get married and maybe that would stop her father’s pushes.
Marriage? Where had that come from? They hadn’t even discussed her staying with him beyond this situation resolving and now he was thinking about marriage. Hell, she was the only woman he’d ever let in his house for any reason, he was definitely getting too far ahead.
The thought of Catherine not staying with him after everything was over was jolting. He didn’t want that to happen, but he didn’t know how to stop it. If she wanted to leave, then it was her choice and he wouldn’t beg her to stay.
“Ryker.” Catherine placed her hand on his shoulder. “You good?”
He nodded and cleared his throat. “Just thinking about what we need to do still.”
Catherine gave him her own nod and walked back to the sofa. He’d probably upset her and now that would be another thing he’d have to deal with.
If she left, those moments would happen less. He wouldn’t need to feel like he was going to cause a fight for being himself in his own home. Then, he didn’t feel that now most of the time. Catherine wasn’t clingy, and she didn’t get upset when he got broody.
“Okay,” Matt said loudly. “I’ve sent the list of known associates to everyone’s emails. Go through and start there.” He was good at giving directions Ryker noted. There might be another business for him to create if Matt was interested.
The topic of business pulled him out of his thoughts of Catherine and what came next. Tossing those ideas around in his head, he pulled out his phone.
Skipping the email that Matt had sent to everyone, he opened a note and typed in his ideas. He wanted to get those down before he lost them. It would be a good business and he’d take Matt on as a full partner if he was interested.
“I know a few people,” Cade said.
“Same,” Jake agreed.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone,” April admitted
“I’m pretty sure a few of these are clients at the restaurant.” Kayla reached for a notepad from the stack they had sitting on the table and began to write.
“Good,” Ryker joined the conversation.
“I know you know a few, so I think you, Cade, Jake, and I should divide and concur,” Evan was already writing in his own notepad.
Catherine was quiet but was looking at the list. Ryker joined her at the table, taking a seat next to her.
“Do you know anyone?” he asked softly.
“Not many and none I would feel comfortable asking any questions. A few passing acquaintances are on here though.” She worried her bottom lip and continued to look at the screen.
Ryker reached up and released that lip from her teeth. “It’s going to be okay,” he assured her, hoping he was telling the truth, and that she believed him.
“Ryker, make your list,” Evan said.
He grunted his annoyance to Evan, but pulled the list up finally. There were more than a few names on there that he recognized. None that he had any close relationship with, thankfully.
He wrote up his own list and handed it to Evan to do whatever he was going to do. If Ryker had to guess, there would be a spreadsheet before too long, probably color-coded and he’d be assigned people to contact.
“From here, we need to make sure we are staying in contact with Matt who will hold all our evidence. I don’t think anyone really knows how closely involved he is with this so he’s the best person to keep it together.”
