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Chapter 40: Nikki
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Dear Diamond Chapter 41: Nikki
The immediate sense of loss I felt when he pulled out and rolled onto his back hit me in the gut like a power punch thrown by a professional boxer. I refused to let my heart get involved. After tonight, I'd go home, back to the slum of an apartment I shared with Ma. If I was lucky, I wouldn't have to spend any more nights getting naked at Swank, but I wasn't even assured of that. This wasn't a fairytale, and Ryker didn't have on armor. His trusty steed was a black Harley, but the last time I checked, tattoos didn't repel bullets. Our worlds hadn't changed just because we'd gotten naked. We'd fucked. Twice. That was it. Ryker wasn't looking for a relationship, and I didn't need to be. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and when my feet hit the floor, I took off like my ass was on fire. The last thing I needed was to have an emotional breakdown after sex in Ryker's bed. And the only place in this damn apartment to hide was the shower, which was exactly where I la
Dear Diamond Chapter 42: Nikki
Ryker's apartment brought new meaning to the word boredom. There was nothing, I mean nothing, to do. No TV, no magazines, no books. Just me and my cell phone after I cleaned up the two dishes I'd used. The man was the epitome of a minimalist, and with nothing in the apartment, being a neat freak didn't take a lot of effort, either. I'd entertained myself on my phone for as long as humanly possible and started to get restless. When I glanced at the time, I groaned. It was barely eleven in the morning, and I still had seven hours to fill before Ryker came to relieve me. With nothing to do other than cook and eat, I went back to the kitchen to see what I could rustle up for lunch. I didn't know how I'd missed them before, but there on the counter, like a glowing, neon sign, gleamed a set of shiny, silver keys. I made my way across the living room and peeked out the blinds into the parking lot, praying I didn't see a Harley in front of the building. To my chagrin, the bike was gone, and
Dear Diamond Chapter 43: Nikki
I pulled my key from my pocket and stuck it in the deadbolt. The turn was ominous, and I expected something dramatic on the other side. But when it opened, the place had been picked up and restored to as much normalcy as one could expect after the hurricane that had blown through here two days ago. I had a difficult time wrapping my head around the fact that I'd only been in Ryker's care since Friday. The door shut behind me with a click, the weight of the metal closing it on its own. "Ma?" I called out, although I could tell she wasn't here. The television wasn't on, the lights were all dark, and the place was still. "Ma?" I tried again as I moved through the living room and then down the hall.Everything had been put back in its place, which surprised me. Ma wasn't the greatest of housekeepers. That and the cooking always fell to me. She tried, but when she worked more than one job, she was tired when she came home. I didn't mind helping out then. She'd even picked up my room an
Dear Diamond Chapter 44: Ryker
When five o'clock rolled around and I hadn't heard from Nikki, I tried to call her to see if she wanted me to pick up something for dinner or if she wanted to go out. I wasn't in the mood to cook. By the time I got home and showered, I'd have no desire to spend another hour working in the kitchen. It'd been a long day with more shit to show up in the shop than I cared to work on, and I just wanted to unwind before we met up with Jesse. When she didn't answer, I assumed she'd gotten bored and fallen asleep. I should have known better. I came around the corner in my complex and immediately noticed the empty spot where the SUV sat this morning when I had left. I shouted a string of expletives that couldn't be heard over the roar of my bike, but they made me feel better just the same. One day. One fucking day. I asked her to sit tight, not do anything stupid for one goddamn day, and she couldn't follow that simple request. I ripped the helmet from my head after putting down the kicks
Dear Diamond Chapter 45: Ryker
I fumed from my apartment until I pulled into the Warehouse parking lot. For people with power oozing from every orifice of their body and more money than most people made in ten lifetimes, one would think they could come up with a name more original and better suited for a huge gang than the Warehouse. I had friends as a child with clubhouses more aptly named. God, I hated everything these motherfuckers stood for. My disposition didn't get any sweeter when I got off the bike, nor when a jackoff in a suit opened the door to escort me inside. "Mr. Silvano is in his office. He's expecting you." The unidentified man who'd let me in didn't accompany me upstairs. Instead, he pushed the button on the elevator and then resumed his post at the entrance to the building. Sam waited for me on the other side of the metal doors on Jesse's floor. "Ryker." "Sam." I followed him down the familiar hallway. Even as a kid, I'd known there was nothing good about this place. Despite its opulence i
Dear Diamond Chapter 46: Ryker
"Diamond is special." He spoke to me, staring directly at her. "And she's in the service of the Union." Jesus, he sounded like a psychopath. I'd known the man my entire life. Never had I heard him sound like a lunatic as if he'd fallen off his rocker. If I could have sunk my fingers into his eyes, I would have gouged the motherfuckers out just for looking at her. That wouldn't get either of us anywhere, though. I took a deep breath and threw down what we all knew I was here to say. "I'm calling in my mark."Nikki hadn't made a peep and stood just far enough behind me that I knew she was there, but I couldn't see her face. I'd kill to have her in front of me so I could witness the emotion cross her cheeks and see her irises change color. Jesse sat up, putting his feet on the floor. His eyes narrowed on Nikki. "This is how you want to use the debt of the Union?" His tone not only depicted his surprise, but there was an element of disgust behind it as well. He returned his attenti
Dear Diamond Chapter 47: Ryker
"Wait." Jesus, she was fucking gorgeous, but I wanted to tape her damn mouth shut. "What did you just agree to?" I could tell without looking, Nikki was addressing me, not Jesse. And Jesse was amused by her outburst when he chuckled from across the desk."Just like Camilla..." he muttered under his breath and sat back to watch the show with a gleam in his eyes and a smirk on his lips.Nikki moved to the edge of her seat and turned my direction. "Was that some weird mating ritual that just happened? What the hell, Ryker?" She swatted at my arm to get my attention. I flinched, unsure of how to handle the situation to my left while the man in front of me snickered at her apparent disagreement with my statement."I'm not a piece of property for you to claim," she sneered. "I can handle my own problems."I shouldn't have engaged, but I couldn't stop myself. "Oh yeah? Is that what you've been doing? Handling your problems? Jesus, Nikki, you have no idea what you've committed yo
Dear Diamond Chapter 48: Nikki
I wasn't his to claim. I didn't belong to anyone, much less someone affiliated with Jesse Silvano. And to top it off, Ryker had stayed behind for God knew what in that office. "Just let me go," I hollered at the man who still held my bicep after we'd walked into the lobby. I jerked away with little effort.The man held up his hands in surrender. I didn't stay to figure out what happened next. I wanted the hell out of Dodge, and the only way to make that happen was to start walking. I wasn't far from my apartment. When I burst through the doors at the Warehouse, the wind outside hit me with brute force. It was colder than it had been in days, and my jacket did little to ward off the bite of the night air. It had been daylight when Sam dragged me in there, but after hours of waiting on Ryker, the sun had dipped low, and darkness had taken its place in the sky. I hated being on the streets at night. Even after my shifts, Jerry always dropped me off. I groaned at the thought of my bos
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