He nodded. “I suppose most would consider me as such. But that’s not the point. The point is, now I have you.”
He turned around and faced me with a wolfish grin on his face.
“I now have access to leverage in Max’s life. Through you. And I’ve waited years for it. That boy has defied me for far too long. He’s disobeyed me for far too many years, has hated me his entire life. He never did learn to fear me the way his brother did. To respect me, the way John does. All he ever wanted was to be what I’m not.”
I hissed. “Because he’s better than you. And he always will be.”
The man chuckled. “No. Because he’s a fool. Because he doesn’t have what it takes to be something more. Because he’s willing to let other people overshadow him while he plays in the kiddie pool with his little Red Thorns. Destroying what I created. Dismantling what I willingly handed over to his brother.”
I blinked. “You created the Red Thorns?”
He put his hand over his heart. “Oh, that wounds me. I see Max doesn’t talk much about it.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t even know what you looked like until just now. I still don’t know your name.”
“Such rudeness. Allow me. My name is Ashton Ryddle. At one point in time, I was the president and owner of the Red Thorns. I created them after leaving a crew I was part of. Want to know why I left?”
“Because you’re a monster and they wanted no part of your existence?”
He snickered. “So judgmental. But no. I left because I wanted no part in their drug smuggling operations. Not quite my taste in crime.”
“A murderer with morals. How quaint.”
“Do you know what they did to me, little bird?”
“Deer.”
He took a step toward me. “They chained me to the ground, like an animal. They beat me. Kicked me. Gagged me, so I could barely breathe. They took hot irons from a fireplace and burned their tattoos clear off my back. Leaving nothing but roped, thick, disgusting scars I walk around with every fucking day of my life.”
I bit my tongue as I heard the man’s anger growing in his voice.
“I paid a high price to leave that club. To leave them behind. To this day, I’m the only person to walk away from them. And in my anger, I focused. I established the Red Thorns and ushered them into greatness. I did so well with them that it opened up other doors for me in the business world. Other doors I would’ve much rather walked through. So it only made sense to pass the crew onto my eldest.”
I grimaced. “You mean, the one you can control.”
“Of course. It’s my club, after all. At their peak, those men made five figures a month with contract work and running weapons. Dealing in shipping artifacts from continent to continent. They were living the high life. Until John decided to get himself wrapped up in a turf war.”
I blinked. “Is that why he walks with a cane?”
He waved his hand in the air. “Ah, some shooting. Some accidents. A coma, I think. He really should’ve known his limits better. Left him unable to ride his stupid bike, so of course he handed my precious club over to Max.”
“The one who doesn’t listen.”
Anger filled his face. “He defies me at every turn. Barges into my home like he owns this place. Demands money and clients and payment as if he actually had any power. Well, he wouldn’t have any of that power without me. Without my efforts. Without my sacrifice!”
I tugged at the bonds on my wrists. “If you knew Max at all, you’d know none of that is true. He cares about those men. About that club. He does what’s best for them, even if it means sacrificing himself.”
His eyes met mine. “Is that what you really think?”
“That’s what I know.”
He walked over and crouched down in front of me.
“Do you love him, little bird?”
I blinked. “What?”
He gripped my chin. “You heard me. Do you love him?”