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Chapter 44: Ryker
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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
Dear Diamond Chapter 49: Nikki
"You're prettier than your mom said you were." His lip curled, and I became the object of his desire."Ralph," my mom moaned his name. The guy below her never stopped moving, and her breath hitched when he hit a spot she seemed to rather enjoy-I nearly vomited. "Leave her...alone." She was geeked out and wouldn't be of any help.Ralph-I assumed was the man who now stood between me and my escape-was a brute. In any other circumstances, he might have been considered good looking. I assessed him, not out of curiosity but rather self-preservation. He was stacked from his thick neck to his tree-trunk thighs. I backed away, trying to put distance between me and what appeared to be my mother's pimp, but he'd narrowed the gap between us with each step he took that were twice the size of mine. To get to my room, I'd have to get past my mom, and to escape through the door, I'd have to get by Ralph. Neither option held much promise, and the closer he got, the more I froze. At the same t
Dear Diamond Chapter 50: Nikki
Once I'd cried all the tears my eyes would form, Ryker leaned down, placing his lips to my ear. "Get your shit, babe. All of it." There was no room for discussion in his tone. He'd given an order, and I didn't dare disobey...not this time. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, and I inhaled the scent of lemons before letting him go. I felt the weight of his stare as he tracked my movement down the hall, and just before I stepped into my bedroom, I made eye contact with a man who should have scared the shit out of me. His eyes were narrowed and stormy and his jaw set in a hard line, but somehow, I found security in his broodiness. I held his stare for a beat, and the connection I'd felt to him on the stage-before I'd even known his name-wrapped me up like a warm blanket. I didn't wait for him to tell me again to get moving and disappeared into my room. Ryker didn't try to keep his voice down as he kicked Ralph out, nor did he quietly close the door when he slammed it. And as he
Dear Diamond Chapter 51: Ryker
I needed more than a ten-minute ride to clear my head. Leaving the Warehouse, I hadn't been able to shake Jesse's words or what I'd implied in claiming Nikki. It was more than just getting her out of the current situation. I never wanted her in danger again. I didn't even want the stench of the Union to rub off on her, and the only way I could ensure that was by having her at my side. But I'd stayed clear of relationships with women my entire life. Not because I batted for the other team-hell no. If the day ever came where one won me over, the game of life in Dacon ended. I had too many connections to the Silvanos, and any female in my life would be tethered by those ties as well. It was a greater burden than a help. Yet from the moment I'd laid eyes on her, I couldn't shake the need to protect her. She'd fought it. Hell, she was still fighting that shit until I had shown up at her apartment tonight. If I'd had to give an account of what took place once I had knocked on the door
Dear Diamond Chapter 52: Ryker
Every sentiment she uttered rang true in my own life, only I hadn't been smart enough to keep everyone at bay. My tie to Chase ended up completely derailing me, and I'd never been able to get back on track. However, I still wanted the same things Nikki did. "I didn't mean to sound ungrateful for what you did, Ryker. It just meant more to me than it did to you." She'd managed to get my attention with that statement."How so?" This time, I pulled back, making certain she could see the dismay in my expression.Nikki swallowed and took her time before saying anything else. "You're safe here. The Silvanos will always have your back. But now that I'm on their radar, if I do anything to you, or you discard me...it won't be so easy for me to recover." I couldn't tell what exactly she meant by that. The only thing I knew with any certainty was that I was hungry and tired, and I had to be at work in the morning. This wasn't the time to have this conversation, especially when I couldn't
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