Taming Ryder (Souls of the Knight 2)

“Great thanks, Eli. We’ve missed you down at the studio.”

“Busy season,” he explained. “Everyone’s gearing up for LA Fashion Week.” Eli was a fashion photographer and stylist and he hadn’t visited the studio for the last month.

“I should put you in touch with my friend Elle. She might be working the event too. Plus she’s awesome, you’d get along great.”

“Well any friend of yours is a friend of ours. You should bring her over one night.”

“I will. She’s thinking of moving over here permanently so I’ll see what I can do. Where’s Ivan?”

“In the sitting room,” he replied. His voice was low, dejected, and a knot formed in my stomach.

“I knew it. I knew something was wrong with him.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t need to. What’s going on, Eli?” I pressed, closing the door behind me. Eli simply sighed and led me into their large, segregated living room. He sat beside Ivan, resting his hand on his partner’s knee. These guys were adorable. You could almost physically feel the love between them radiating from their bodies when they were together.

“What’s going on, Ivan?” I asked impatiently, taking a seat on the opposite side of the coffee table.

“Well hello to you too,” he tried to tease, but his meek expression betrayed his words.

“Cut the shit, Ivan. You can trust me, you should know that by now.”

“I do, kid,” he said before dragging in a deep breath. “It’s Mack.” Mack was Ivan’s silent partner of Back Door Studios. He didn’t have any input in the day to day running of things, he simply helped Ivan with the start-up costs and now took his share of the profits. I’d only met him once, but it was enough to know he was a giant fucking sleazeball. “I’ve always known he was a gambler, but I didn’t know just how bad. He’s in debt up to his eyeballs and has been taking from the business to try and repay them.”

“Holy shit.”

“There’s nothing left, Ry. I can’t afford to buy him out so I need to do something to get us back in business or…”

“Or we’re screwed.”

“Yeah. We’re screwed.”

“Can’t someone else buy him out?”

“Like who? I don’t trust anyone else. Anyone who’d be interested would already have their own connections in this business and might have ulterior motives. You know we’ve been climbing to the top this past year and there are a lot of people who want to bring us back down.”

“I don’t know what the fuck to say. Except if you think a scene with me and Stewart will bring in some new fans then I’m in.”

“Kid, you know you don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“He’s a jerk, but it’s just a fuck, Ivan. I’ll do it. Is he up for it?”

“You know Stew. He thinks anyone is lucky to be paired with him.” A crooked smile flashed across Ivan’s face but it left as quick as it came. He got that right though. The word ego could’ve been invented for Stewart.

“It’s not gonna be enough though. Is it? One fucking scene isn’t gonna get us out of this shit.” Ivan smiled – the first full smile I’d seen since I arrived. “What?”

“Just the way you said ‘us’.”

“We’re a family.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Yeah we are. You’re a good kid, Ry. You all are.”

“We’ll find a way, honey,” Eli assured, curling his arm around Ivan’s waist. “You’ve worked too damn hard to give up now.”

“I’m with Eli. You should have told me. Told all of us. We’re a team, and as a team we’ll find a way out of this mess. As for Mack, he’s a fucking arsehole. What’s he got to say for himself?”

“Not much. We’ve never really gotten along, but at the time he was my only option. He’s convinced he’ll win it back. But aren’t they all?”

I nodded in solemn agreement. This couldn’t have been the end for us. Rumor had it we were on course to bring home at least three Silver Chain Awards in November’s event. That was a huge fucking achievement in this industry. The best of the best.

“Are you staying for dinner?” Eli asked.

“No,” Ivan answered for me, and my eyes widened in surprise. “Go home, kid. Or go out and have fun. Get high, get fucked, and enjoy yourself. Have fun and leave me to worry about the serious shit. Got it?”

“You know that’s not gonna happen, but I am gonna get going. I’m giving Mason lessons in social media.”

“I like that kid. Something innocent about him. Draws you in.”

“Yeah, he’s turning out to be a pretty great friend.”

“Good. You keep your eye on him, I think he needs a friend right now.”

“You do?”

“I’m not stupid,” he said with one of those fatherly expressions that lets you know you’re busted. “I know he’s crashing with you because he came here with nothing. He didn’t even have the brains to research LA before he listed his address on his paperwork. According to his contract he lives on one of the wealthiest streets in the city.”