Redeemed (Bad Blooded Rebel #4)

  Redeemed

  Bad Blooded Rebel Series #4

  By Mellie George

  Text copyright ©2014 Mellie George

  All Rights Reserved

  Edited by D.B./J.W.

  Cover Photo Courtesy of CanStockPhoto.com

  Cover Design ©2014 Mellie George

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.

  Support your favorite authors by saying no to piracy! It is not a victimless crime. Do your part to end the theft of many author’s hard work!

  The Author acknowledges referencing the following people, places, music, bands, sports teams, movies, and all that noise: MGM Grand, Guns N’ Roses, Pizza King.

  This book, the final chapter in Ryder and Everleigh’s story, is dedicated to all the readers who have loved their story as much as I have loved telling it. This one is for you!

  Table Of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  Soundtrack

  Chapter 1

  Ryder

  “You did great,” I said to Everleigh as I took the paper target from the clip.

  Everleigh rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah, really great, Ryder. I hit him in the hip.”

  I smiled and kissed her forehead. “At least you hit the target this time. You just need to keep practicing, baby,” I said and I put the target down and gave her shoulders a little shake.

  “We’ve been here for three hours. Can’t we just go? I’m getting hungry anyway.”

  I took off the goggles I’d been wearing and said, “Okay, we’re done for the day. Let’s go get something to eat.”

  Everleigh looked relieved as she took off her gear and handed me the G26 9 millimeter I’d had John, our bodyguard, purchase for her a week ago. She was uneasy about having to carry one anyway but with our current situation it was necessary.

  The past five weeks for Everleigh had been a nightmare. First, she’d lost her beloved father to cancer; then the day after his funeral her ex boyfriend Scott Adams attacked her and tried to rape her in a public bathroom. After that we’d come to New York to record our band’s latest album and had three seemingly calm weeks. Just when I thought Everleigh was finally starting to relax and move on with her life, we found out that Scott had broken into her house, back in Muncie, Indiana, and killed Trisha Cramer, Everleigh’s friend and her father’s former hospice nurse. She had been staying at Everleigh’s house while we were in New York.

  The last week had been tense because Scott had not only fled after Trish’s murder, he’d shown up here in New York City. He let Everleigh know she was in danger by having a picture of Trish’s dead body delivered to our penthouse. No one had been able to track the fucker down so we could put an end to this and it had everyone on edge. I wasn’t scared of the prick at all and had my own gun loaded and ready if he even thought of trying to contact Everleigh, but seeing how terrified Everleigh was made me tense.

  I was as patient with her as I could be given the situation but she was wound so tight that it didn’t take much to make her either lash out in anger or cry tears of despair and fear. I tried my best to distract her and keep her mind off of Scott but it was getting harder. With every passing day that Scott was out there roaming free, her moods were becoming more and more erratic. Everyone was stressed out but Everleigh was the one that I was truly worried would break. I felt so helpless as to how to make her feel at ease. I knew all I could do was just be there for her and continue to try to keep her calm and happy.

  Everleigh couldn’t get her coat on fast enough as I gave the protective glasses and gear back to the guy in the shooting area. She was almost to the door before I pulled on my coat and half ran to catch up with her. “Hey, wait up!” I called after her.

  She stopped just shy of the door and turned to face me, pulling her hair free of her coat. All she did was give me a forced smile as I took her hand and walked with her out into the chilly New York air. We walked down the street hand in hand not really saying anything while John tailed us in the SUV. We were halfway to the Mexican restaurant that we loved and had found near the gun range when I felt her give my hand a squeeze. “Ryder, I’m sorry.”

  I stopped and turned her to face me. “Why are you sorry?” I asked, taking my free hand and tucking her hair behind her ear.

  She sighed and said, “I know I’ve been a total bitch to you and everyone else this past week. I really am not meaning to be like that but I can’t help it. I feel so trapped right now and I just wish we could get out of here and run away.”

  I placed my hand on her cheek and caressed it with my thumb. “I know, Evie. I know,” I said, pulling her close to me. “I wish I could take you away from all of this too, but our album isn’t finished yet and even if we could leave, you know that no matter where we go Scott will be able to find you because of who I am. None of us can go anywhere without cameras following.”

  She bit her lip in an effort to stop her emotions from getting the better of her and nodded. “I just hate this, Ryder. I hate that we all have to carry guns like we are some gang. I hate that I can’t go home and be there for Trish’s family and say goodbye to her. None of this would have happened if she wasn’t trying to help me out.”

  “Evie, don’t say this is your fault again because, for the hundredth time, it isn’t. I know you feel guilty for her death but you want to know something? So do I,” I confessed, feeling tightness in my chest.

  “You do? Why on earth should you feel guilty? It wasn’t your homicidal ex that killed her,” she said.

  “No it wasn’t, but I was the reason she was there. Trish was staying at your house because I asked her to. She said she wanted to but that she had to move onto another patient in order to pay her bills. So I offered her ten times what she would be making at her job to watch your house until we got back. I intentionally put her in harm’s way. Trish wasn’t murdered because of you. She died because of me,” I said, hanging my head down.

  Everleigh pulled away from me and placed both of her hands on my face, forcing me to look into her eyes. “Ryder, that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard you say. You did nothing to cause her death!”

  “Well, neither did you, Evie. The one person that is to blame for this is Scott fucking Adams. He is the one that was stupid enough to dump you when you wanted to wait a little while before being with him again, and he is the one that hasn’t fucking gotten over it.”

  “I know that, but I still can’t help feeling guilty. I just wish I could say goodbye to her. She was really the closest thing to a mother I’ve ever had,” Everleigh sniffed.

  “I know, baby,” I said, kissing her forehead. “When this is all over we will go back to Muncie so you can say goodbye, I promise.”

  She hugged me for a moment, taking deep breaths and trying to stop her impending tears. “Can you maybe call everyone and ask them to meet us for lunch?”

  I rested my chin on her head and said, “Sure I can, but may I ask why?”

  “I just want to be with my family right now,” she replied timidly. “Is that okay?”

  I chuckled for the first time in what felt like day
s and said, “Of course it’s okay, gorgeous. Let’s get inside the restaurant and out of the cold and I will send a text to everyone.”

  She nodded and smiled up at me before we started walking toward the restaurant. “Thanks, rock star,” she said. We walked a few more blocks before we reached La Cantina and we ducked inside. The place was small and quaint and luckily it looked pretty deserted today.

  “Hola,” said the older man standing at the podium at the front. “Back again today, mister rocker?”

  I smiled at him and said, “What can I say? The food is so damn good here I can’t stay away.”

  He smiled back at both of us and said, “Well, follow me right this way. Our best booth is open, nice and quiet for you two lovers.”

  “Actually,” Everleigh said, “we are expecting a large group to meet us here today. Is there any way we can have a big table?”

  The man’s eyes widened and he smiled. “Sure thing, senorita. How many will be joining you?”

  Everleigh counted in her head for a moment and replied, “Seven, so with us that makes nine.”

  “Okay, we will give you our banquet room in the back so you can have privacy. Will that do for you?”

  She smiled and said, “That will be perfect. Thank you so much, Rico,” she said, and I grinned at her. I must have been out of it for me not to remember this guy’s name when he probably told me every day for the past week that we’d been there.

  Once Rico showed us to the private banquet room, I shot the guys a group text message telling them to pick up the girls and meet us at La Cantina. It had been a tense week for everyone but it had been a double whammy for Everleigh’s best friend Danni and my band mate Beau. When I had followed Everleigh to Muncie, Beau and my other band mates Kris and Jude had followed the same day. Beau and Danni, who’d been friends on Facebook since the concert where we all met, had instantly jumped into a relationship of sorts. They definitely weren’t a couple but even though they tried to deny it, they were definitely more than just friends with benefits.

  After Scott tried to rape Everleigh on New Year’s Day at a local nightclub, Danni had decided to stay behind in Muncie when we all had to fly to New York. She didn’t want to seem clingy; she reminded Beau that this thing between them wasn’t a big deal and she was fine staying behind. Beau didn’t want her to stay but he was too damn proud to admit he wanted her to come with him, and Danni was too proud to come along on her own, even though she wanted to be with him. The three weeks leading up to our night out at The Rock Steady were agonizing with Beau being a dick to everyone around (with the exception of Everleigh). We all thought that once they saw each other again it would be like it was before, but unfortunately things didn’t happen that way for them and she ended up walking in on him having sex with a random girl in the bathroom of the club.

  After Trish’s murder, Beau had confessed his feelings for Danni to Everleigh, finally admitting that he loved her and that he would do whatever he could to get her back. In the midst of all of this, I was really worried about him; even though it had only been a week since all this shit happened, he was trying really hard to talk to her but she kept her distance, telling him that everyone’s safety and helping to get Scott behind bars was what was important. While she was right about that, it was frustrating to see Beau trying so hard and being pushed aside. I’d noticed the last few times I’d seen him he had a bottle of Southern Comfort somewhere near him.

  Everleigh and I sat together, her hands in mine as I traced a pattern on her palms. I heard Jude’s booming voice coming from the front of the restaurant. We both looked up to see everyone walking toward us and for the first time in days I felt Everleigh relaxing. Kris and Jessie led the way, holding hands and smiling at us. Danni followed behind them, smiling weakly at Everleigh. Jude walked behind Danni with his big, muscular arm wrapped around Sadie in a brotherly hug. Sadie looked like a little doll with Jude draped around her, although she was anything but. The girl could shoot the shit and drink as much as me and the guys, and she wouldn’t be twenty-one for another four days. Beau walked behind Jude and Sadie, his eyes a mixture of sad and dazed…he looked like he’d already been hitting the bottle today. John closed out the group, standing a good six inches above the rest of them.

  “Hey everyone,” Everleigh said, standing to hug them one by one. When she got to Beau she hugged him a little longer than the rest and whispered something into his ear that made him crack a smile.

  I shook hands and bumped fists with everyone before we all took our seats and placed our orders. “This is a cute place, Ev,” Sadie said to Everleigh. “How did you find it?”

  Everleigh smiled at Sadie and said, “Ryder did, actually. We’ve been going to the gun range every day this past week and we happened to spot it when we were walking down the street one day. You know Mexican food is his favorite so we stopped in and we’ve been back every day since then.”

  “Well, these chips and this salsa are fucking to die for,” she said, picking up a chip and scooping a big amount of salsa onto it before shoving it into her mouth. I had to laugh at her. Sadie Cavanaugh looked like a little punk rock princess with her long light blonde hair that had pieces of hot pink and purple all through it…it reminded me of when Everleigh used to do that to her hair. She still had the same piece of red in her dark hair that she had when I came to Muncie a little over a month ago, but it was faded out into a dull red color. I made a mental note to take her to a salon for a day of pampering so she could get her hair done and have someone wait on her for a change.

  Everleigh grinned at Sadie as she took a long drink of Jude’s beer and belched loudly. Beau shoved her playfully and said, “Jesus, Sadie, where did I go wrong with you? You’re disgusting sometimes, kid.”

  “Fuck off, bro,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

  Jude put his arm around her neck and pulled her in to his arm and rubbed her head with his hand. “Hey, leave her alone. She’s going to make some lucky bastard happy one day, trust me. There is nothing sexier in the world than a woman that can drink and burp like a man.”

  Sadie giggled and I thought I saw her cheeks turn slightly pink. “See? Thank you Jude,” she said, moving out of his grip. “Oh yeah, and if you mess with my hair again, friend or not I’ll fucking cut you.”

  Everyone laughed at her and Jude held up his hands in surrender. “Whatever you say, brat,” he said and she winked at him.

  Our food came to the table a short time later and we all dug in. The food was amazing and I was going to miss this place when we had to leave New York. I pulled Everleigh closer to me and kissed her cheek as she took a bite of her enchilada. “Love you, gorgeous.”

  She let out a little sexy sigh and said, “I love you too, rock star.” Clearing her throat, she tapped her beer bottle with her fork. “Hey, everyone, can I have your attention for a minute?”

  Everyone turned to her and smiled, waiting for her to speak. “Of course, sweetheart,” Beau said. His eyes flicked to Danni for a brief moment before he looked back at Everleigh.

  She stood up and placed her arm on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I asked Ryder to call you all here today for two reasons. The first one was that I wanted to spend an afternoon out of the penthouse or the studio with my family. I love you all and given everything that’s going on right now I am happy that you are all here,” she said, emotion clearly in her voice.

  Jessie raised her beer to her and said, “We love you too, Ev.”

  Everleigh winked at her and continued, “The second reason I wanted you all here was to apologize to you.”

  Jude took a swig of his beer and said, “Why do you need to apologize, sis?”

  “Let’s be honest. I have been either a raging bitch or an emotional wreck this past week since Trish’s death. I’ve had trouble sleeping, I’ve been crabby and a brat over having to carry a gun, and just plain tense over the fact that Scott is still out there. Every one of you has been patient with me and let me rant and rave and c
ry and I just wanted to let you all know that I appreciate it more than I can say.”

  Kris cleared his throat and said, “Everleigh, Trish was like the mother you never had, we all know this. It wouldn’t be normal for you to act any other way. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we love you and we have your back no matter what. If that fucker wants to get at you he will have a wall of pissed off rockers and three scrappy bad ass girls to get through first. I wouldn’t want to be the dumb fuck that tries to cross Sadie’s path.”

  Sadie puckered her lips, trying to make a scary face, and raised her arms up like she was flexing her muscles. “Damn fucking right, brother,” she said. “I’d rip his balls off first, I don’t fucking play around.”

  Everleigh laughed at her and said, “Oh I know it, girl.” She had been worried at first that Sadie would hate her for having to come to New York from Chicago while during her final semester of college but she didn’t. She was incredibly pissed that Everleigh had been going through this shit with Scott so she was more than willing to get on a plane and come here and had loved Everleigh from first sight. We all wanted her close to keep her safer, but Sadie wanted to get a few swings in on him. Beau and Sadie had to watch their mother jump from man to man after their father left when Sadie was a baby. Every loser their mother ended up with would not only beat her up, but would often turn on Beau and Sadie as well. Beau was able to eventually fight back and protect his sister but it was hard when we signed our deal and had to leave Sadie behind. She had to learn fast at fourteen years old how to defend herself against any kind of abuser and she’d taught herself well. She might be tiny but she could hit as hard as John could. We all loved her like the sister that none of the rest of us had and would protect her with our lives, but she really didn’t need our muscle at all. Sadie Cavanaugh was not a girl to fuck with by any means.