Ryder (Scandal U Book 1) Read online

  Ryder

  Scandal U

  A Scandalous Series Spin-Off

  Book #1

  R. Linda

  Ryder

  Copyright © 2019 by R. Linda.

  All rights reserved.

  First Print Edition: September 2019

  Limitless Publishing, LLC

  Kailua, HI 96734

  www.limitlesspublishing.com

  Formatting: Limitless Publishing

  ISBN-13: 978-1-64034-775-5

  ISBN-10: 1-64034-775-5

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  Dedication

  Dedicated to everyone whose hearts were stolen by Ryder.

  Table Of Contents

  Then

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Epilogue

  Then

  Ryder

  I noticed everything about her. From the way she hung back and always followed in Christina’s shadow, to the way she winced every single time Chace called her B. Not that I was a creep or anything. I just paid attention to the things that interested me. Granted, these days, it wasn’t a lot, but she’d held my interest for years. And for whatever reason, I couldn’t shake her.

  Not when she changed her hair colour to look like Malibu Barbie.

  Not when she changed her clothes to look as though she had lots of money.

  Not even when she began dating my best friend.

  And certainly not when she failed to notice my existence, not then, and not now because in her eyes, there was no one other than him—my ex-best-friend.

  I still didn’t lose interest. Still noticed everything about her.

  And right then, she was trying to hold herself together. Keep the tears at bay. Regulate her breathing even though she was on the verge of a panic attack—I recognised the signs. Had seen them too many times on my sister.

  “It’s not working, B,” he said.

  She swallowed and sniffed, attempted to square her shoulders, and put on a brave face, but I could see she was breaking, crumbling, piece by piece in front of the entire damn school.

  Chace was a jerk. No. That was too generous. A douchebag. Asshole. Tool. Narcissistic piece of crap.

  He was vile.

  A decent guy would break his girlfriend’s heart in private.

  He wasn’t decent.

  “I need to be single for a while,” Chace continued, and Bailey squeezed her eyes shut. A sob escaped her lips, a sob she was trying so desperately to hide in front of all the eyes watching their exchange. This school was pathetic. It was like small town life meant small minds. They flocked to drama, started a spark of a rumour, and had the audacity to look offended, disgusted, surprised when it spread like wildfire. No one was safe, not even from their best friend.

  Bailey tried desperately to get him to change his mind, almost to the point of begging. I clenched my fists. What did she see in him? What did anyone see in him? He’d swept my sister off her feet, knocked her up, made her a pariah, and forced her from not just the school she attended in the next town but entirely out of Blackhill. Then, before she’d even settled into my aunt’s house, Chace had swooped in and stolen Bailey from me.

  He knew how I felt. He had been my best friend and used to laugh at me for being so infatuated with the girl who tried too hard to be someone she wasn’t. And then, while I was picking up the pieces of my sister’s shattered heart and helping her prepare to become a single mother at sixteen, he took my girl.

  Twat.

  Bailey pushed her way through the students and ran into the bathroom, no doubt to cry in peace. The students at this school were pathetic sheep. I could guarantee within an hour their break-up would be public knowledge, and judging by the smirk on Chace’s face as he greeted Calvin with a fist bump and loud, attention-seeking laugh, he was going to lap it up and make the most of it.

  It wasn’t until the afternoon that I saw Bailey again. She was a mess. Her tearstained cheeks and puffy eyes were a dead giveaway that she wasn’t coping with the attention. Honestly, she never seemed to be the centre of attention type. The students had been gossiping all day, and Chace strutted around like he was the king of the school. It took all my self-control not to wipe that stupid smug smile off his face with my fist.

  I was outside checking on my sister—she was exiled at my aunt’s house, though it was more of a self-imposed exile—instead of being in class when Bailey came running out of the building and crossed the parking lot to her car.

  “Ah, Kenz…I gotta go,” I said into my phone, cutting off her rant about Chace’s parents sending her another cheque to keep her mouth shut about my nephew Cole, and hung up without a goodbye.

  I felt bad about that, but I’d apologise and make it up to her later. Right then, though, I needed to check on Bailey.

  I found her car and watched as she buried her face in her hands. She was crying, and the urge to tear Chace a new one was almost too much to bear. He deserved it, but I couldn’t walk away from her. Not when she was so sad and vulnerable. How could anyone hurt someone so sweet?

  I didn’t have the first clue what to say to her. How did you approach the girl you’d been in love with for the last four years when she’d never glanced in your direction? Maybe I was a sucker. Maybe I was just as pathetic as the rest of the sheep at this school, but I couldn’t walk away and not say anything.

  I’d give anything to see her smile. I was such a sap when it came to her, but I didn’t care.

  She was so fucking worth it.

  She hadn’t noticed me creeping around her car, so I tapped on her window and startled her. Instead of winding the window down, she stared at me, slack jawed. Maybe she didn’t know who I was. It wasn’t like we’d spoken in the last two years, and I’d changed a lot from the time we were…barely acquaintances.

  I waved my finger in the air, signaling for her to open the window. And still she just stared at me. Rolling my eyes, I ripped open her car door and crouched down beside her. She gasped and sat back a little, looking alarmed.

  “I saw what that jerk did in there this morning. You okay?” I asked with a clenched jaw, flexing my fingers and trying not to reach out to touch her. Her eyebrows lifted, and she looked stunned, dazed. A tear rolled down her cheek.

  Screw it.

  I reached out a wiped the lone tear from her skin. “Bailey?”

  Still no response.

  “Look, Chace is a douche. You don’t need him. You’re better than that. You need to show him that,” I said. She swallowed but remained silent
. I didn’t know what I was saying. I was just spouting crap to get a reaction from her, but for whatever reason, my mouth was running away from me, almost like it had a plan I didn’t know about. All I did know was that she couldn’t let him get away with treating her like that. Brushing her aside like she was a piece of gum on his shoe. My sister had, and it didn’t do her any favours. “Nothing will hurt him more than knowing he hasn’t broken you. I can help you.”

  What the hell? No, I couldn’t. I had enough on my plate with Kenzie and Cole. How could I fix another broken heart courtesy of Chace? As much as I wanted to be the one who made her smile, I couldn’t do it.

  “So, anyway, think about it. We’ve got all summer to work on it.” Dammit. I needed to shut up. I ran a hand through my hair. Something I did when I was nervous or confused. Bailey just sat there and stared at me with wide doe eyes. “Have you got a phone?”

  I could kick myself. Who didn’t have a damn phone these days? Trying to act cool and calm, I reached across Bailey, my arm brushing her skin that sent tingles up my spine, and grabbed her phone from the console. I typed in my number. “Now you have my number. Call me if you want to get payback. I know I do.”

  I stood, closed Bailey’s door, and walked away.

  Crap.

  I couldn’t believe I did that. Payback? What sort of payback was I expecting to get? I was more than happy to give him a black eye and broken nose. But on the upside, she had my number.

  I just hoped she used it.

  Chapter One

  Ryder

  It was over.

  Done.

  A year and a half in this hellhole with them, and things were finally starting to look up.

  “Dude, you should have seen it.” My buddy Jayden laughed. “Actually, I’m surprised you didn’t hear it. She went completely psycho, and campus security had to drag her away. It was intense.”

  “Surprised it lasted this long, to be honest.” I shrugged as we walked across campus.

  “They’re both crazy. It was a match made in hell.” Jayden paused and punched me in the arm. “Oh, hey, there’s Cohen. I gotta go. We’re going to kick the ball around,” he said, bouncing on his toes.

  He was always full of energy, fast on his feet. Probably why he was the best on our soccer team when were back in Blackhill. “You could always join the team, you know.”

  “Not a chance in hell. I have too much going on as it is.”

  He shook his head in defeat. “Anyway, have a good weekend. Tell Kenzie I said hi, and wish Cole a happy birthday.”

  “I’ll tell Cole.” I nodded once.

  “And Kenzie…”

  Nope.

  “Piss off. Leave my sister alone.”

  Jayden threw his head back and laughed. “One time, dude. One time.”

  “You’re lucky I didn’t cut your damn hands off.” I shoved him in the chest.

  “You broke my nose,” he deadpanned, pinching the bridge of his nose and rubbing it as though it were still sore.

  “You were feeling my sister up in my kitchen.” I shuddered, not wanting to relive the memory of walking in on them one day after work.

  Jayden claimed he came over to see if I wanted to train with him, but when I wasn’t home decided that shoving his tongue down Kenzie’s throat and a hand up her shirt was a good way to kill time while he wanted for me to get home.

  “That took a lot of self-restraint,” I said.

  “No, that took Bailey calling your ass out and getting you to back away.”

  I smiled at the thought. Bailey was the only one who could calm me down. And get me all worked up. One touch was all it took.

  “A broken nose was a bit much, though, don’t you think?” he said.

  “Not at all.” Probably would have broken his arm if Bailey hadn’t walked in right when I twisted it behind his back, so I settled for punching him in the face. Once. Then I let Bailey drag me away. It was our thing. She’d let me get in at least one good hit before intervening.

  “Remind me again why I’m friends with you?” Jayden rolled his eyes.

  “Because he has a really nice ass?” Jack’s voice called from behind me. “Clearly not for his happy-go-lucky, friendly personality.”

  “Jack,” Jayden greeted my annoying roommate with a fist bump.

  “Hi, handsome.”

  “Dude, do you have to flirt with everyone?”

  “Aww, don’t be jealous, hot stuff. You’re still my number one.” Jack slung an arm around my shoulder.

  I shrugged him off because the dude had no boundaries. Jayden chuckled and said, “All right, I better go before Cohen loses it.”

  Jack perked up. “Cohen?”

  “Mmm-hmmm.” Jayden pointed to where Cohen was kicking a soccer ball at a tree over and over. He had mad skills with a ball, and his footwork was flawless too. Yet another reason I didn’t see the point in joining the team.

  “Do you need a ref?” Jack asked hopefully.

  “We’re just messing around with the ball.”

  Jack grinned, and I groaned. I knew that look.

  I held up my hand. “Don’t sa—”

  But he cut me off, “I happen to have amazing ballhandling skills.”

  “As long as the only ball you handle is the soccer one.” Jayden shrugged. “Come on.”

  Jack smiled like the cat that got the cream and held his hands up in surrender. “I make no promises.” He turned to me and winked. “Don’t wait up.”

  “I won’t. I won’t be here.”

  His eyes lit up. “So, can I sleep in your bed while you’re away?”

  “No.”

  “Yes.”

  “Jack!” I growled in warning.

  “Don’t miss me too much!” Jack waved, undeterred, and I made a mental note to remember to change my sheets when we returned in a few days because I knew what he was like, and there was no doubt in my mind that he’d make the most of my bed while I was out of town.

  That was just him, though. He gave no fucks about anything or anyone. He did what he wanted, when he wanted. He had no filter and said whatever he was thinking when he thought it. He made no apologies for who he was as a person, and I respected that. He was loud, obnoxious, and the biggest pain in my ass, but he owned it. He didn’t let anyone tear him down, and he loved hard. And a person should count themselves lucky if they were on the receiving end of his love and friendship.

  He was a good person, and as much as we gave each other shit, he was my closest friend. Ever since Chace the ass knocked up my sister and broke her heart, subsequently ending our friendship, I’d kept to myself. I’d spent most of my high school years looking after my sister and her baby, supporting them in any way I could. I never had time for friends, and the only people I ever saw were the guys on my soccer team back home, like Jayden. At least until that day I found Bailey crying in her car alone after Chace broke up with her too. After that, it was only a matter of time until I wormed my way in, and we became inseparable.

  My hands clenched at just the thought of him. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I wondered if Bailey had heard the news yet as I sent her a quick text to tell her my class finished early, so I’d meet her at The Coffee Pot for lunch instead.

  Ordinarily, on a Friday, I’d meet her at her class, and we’d walk together to have lunch, but since I still had thirty minutes to kill, I figured I could grab a coffee and study while I waited.

  The bitter scent of roasted coffee beans hit me the moment I walked through the door, and I screwed my nose up in disgust. Two years ago, I wouldn’t have touched a coffee, but my intense study load and late nights working at the auto shop in town meant coffee became a necessary evil if I wanted to survive the next couple of years.

  I ordered my coffee and found a table in the corner where I could study while I waited for Bailey to arrive. I was studying business management because I didn’t have a clue what the hell I wanted to do with my life, and figured business was a good start.

  I was
studying my notes from the morning’s class when arms wrapped around my neck and a warm body pressed into my back. Dropping my pen, I smiled as Bailey kissed my cheek.

  “Hi,” she said, releasing me and moving to sit across the table where she picked up the menu and pretended to browse the food. I didn’t know why she bothered. She ordered the same thing every Friday. A chicken salad and a coffee.

  “Hmm, I think I’ll have the salad.” She smiled.

  “Something different.”

  “Shut up.” She laughed and placed the menu to the side. “How was class?”

  “Good.” I watched her. She was bouncing in her seat, trying to hide her smile. Excitement in her eyes. I knew she was dying to talk about it, but I was going to make her wait a little longer. Nothing like delayed gratification.

  “I figured we could grab some lunch,” I looked over my shoulder and waved for Lennon, the waitress, to come over, “then pack a bag and get on the road early. What do you think?”

  She fidgeted with the salt and pepper shakers and bit her lip before nodding. Opening her mouth to speak, she paused as the waitress approached.

  “A chicken salad, latte, and a burger with the lot. Thanks.” I smiled at Lennon. She was our regular waitress and most of the time had already written our order down before she got to our table.

  “Cook’s on it already. I saw Bailey walk in,” she said with a frown. She looked as though she wanted to be anywhere else but there.

  “Thank you.”

  Lennon left, and Bailey tapped her fingers on the table.

  “She look off to you?” I asked Bailey, referring to Lennon. Normally, she was bright and bubbly and far too happy for my liking.

  Bailey shrugged. She hadn’t noticed because she was too preoccupied.

  “What’s up, love?” I gave in, not able to torture her any longer. She was dying to talk about it.

  Her face spread into a grin, and she tipped her head back and laughed. “Chace and Christina broke up!”