Ride me Down

Chapter Thirteen - Shadows, Secrets & Sparkles

The sun was barely up when Taylor dragged herself out of bed, her legs protesting every step she took. She wore one of Jax's oversized tees again, this time knotted at her hip over a pair of tiny sleep shorts. Her hair was a tangled mess from the night before, and her eyeliner—what was left of it—was smudged just enough to scream I got wrecked.

She wasn’t even trying to be quiet as she padded into the kitchen, desperate for coffee. If anyone was up this early, they could deal with it. She needed caffeine, and she needed it now. Jax had absolutely ruined her last night, and her body was still recovering from all the ways he made good on every cocky promise he ever uttered.

She rubbed at her eyes as she made it to the coffee bar and reached for her favorite mug—a pink one with a crown on it that Dani said suited her way too well. She hit the button on the cappuccino machine, then yawned as the hiss of steam filled the quiet room.

That’s when she felt it.

A shift in energy.

She turned slowly, her mug clutched in both hands. There, leaning against the far counter with his arms crossed, stood a man she hadn’t met in person before.

He was tall. Quiet. Built like a wall and dressed in black from head to toe. The kind of man whose silence said more than any words could. His gaze locked on her, cold and calculating. Like he was reading her. Measuring.

Ghost.

Dani had mentioned him that night where they trapped Caine. Mason confirmed it. He was one of Jax’s most trusted men—but also the one people feared the most. He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to. When Ghost spoke, you listened. When Ghost moved, things changed.

Taylor swallowed, tightening her grip on the mug.

"Morning," she said, aiming for casual but landing somewhere between breathless and guilty.

He didn’t smile. Didn’t nod. Just studied her.

Great.

She gave a tight smile, lifting her coffee like a toast. "I’m Taylor. I guess you already knew that."

Ghost finally spoke, voice low and even. "You making trouble, princess?"

Her breath caught.

There wasn’t malice in his tone. Just fact. Like he was already guessing her answer.

Taylor straightened her spine. "Only the fun kind."

He stared at her another long beat—then turned, grabbed a black mug from the rack, and poured himself some coffee. Without another word, he walked out of the room.

Taylor blinked.

Well.

That was terrifying.

Dani slipped into the kitchen like she was sneaking past a sleeping dragon, wide-eyed and whispering, “I had no idea he was back.”

Taylor handed her a mug, barely keeping her hand steady. “Yeah, well, he’s here. In the flesh. Breathing judgment like it’s his job.”

Dani’s eyes flicked toward the door Ghost had just exited through. “s**t. He even walks like trouble.”

Taylor tried to distract herself by making a cappuccino—one for her, one for Jax. Dani’s eyes went wide.

“Wait, you’re making coffee for Jax? Before he’s up?” She raised a brow. “Are you okay? Did he not completely wear you out last night?”

Taylor shot her a look, lips twitching. “I couldn’t sleep, okay? My body’s still recovering, but my brain’s on overdrive.” She took a sip, then added in a whisper, “And Ghost asked if I was causing trouble. Dani, he looked right through me. Like he knew I had secrets.”

Dani swallowed, trying to sound more confident than she looked. “He’s bluffing. There’s no way he knows what we did yesterday. He just got back. And unless Mason turned into a snitch, we’re good. THAT is between us.”

Then—

“What is?”

Taylor nearly dropped her cup.

Jax stood behind them, towel slung over his shoulder, jaw tense, eyes pinned directly on her.

She blinked, heart slamming into her throat. “What is… what?”

Dani, bless her, froze like a statue.

Jax looked between them. “What’s between you?”

Taylor scrambled for a believable lie. “Just… girl stuff,” she said. “Periods. You really want the details?”

Jax looked like he’d rather chew nails. “Nope.”

Dani backed her up, fast. “Lots of blood. Cramps. Mood swings. You’d hate it.”

Jax held up his hands and backed toward the fridge. “Jesus. Okay. Carry on.”

As he turned away, Dani mouthed at Taylor: Nice save.

Taylor took a shaky breath. One crisis dodged. For now.

Dani shot her a sly look over her mug. “You ready to have that conversation when he starts asking why you still get your period while you’re out here playing Russian roulette with no protection?”

Taylor sipped her cappuccino, shrugged casually. “I’d tell him the truth. That I’m on birth control. Always have been. It’s only a lie if I start sneaking around for my safety net and pretend like he’s the crazy one for asking questions.”

Dani let out a quiet huff, shaking her head. “I’m telling you, you’re wicked. Full-on calculating, smile-in-your-face-and-hide-the-knives wicked.”

Taylor grinned, unbothered. “I’m just a girl trying not to derail her entire life by accidentally having a biker baby with a man who thinks condoms are a personal insult.”

Dani laughed into her cup. “God help him when he figures out how sharp you really are.”

“Please,” Taylor said, flipping her hair over one shoulder. “He’ll act like he’s furious, but deep down? He’s into it. Men like Jax don’t know what to do with soft women. He needs someone who keeps him guessing.”

They both paused as Jax walked back into the kitchen, shirtless, hair damp, giving off just enough edge to make the air shift again.

He grabbed his coffee from the counter, locking eyes with Taylor for half a second—like he could hear every word she’d just said.

Dani nudged her under the table with her foot. “We’re so dead.”

Taylor took another sip, unbothered. “We die pretty.”

Dani laughed, shaking her head. “You know I talked with the other women when Jax first brought you home. We were all guessing what you were to him. He walked you in through the front door, which—around here—means something.”

Taylor arched a brow, sipping her cappuccino. “That I’m not just another girl he drags in through the back?”

“Exactly.” Dani smirked. “But then we saw you—all glitter, perfume and ‘get out of my way’ energy. No offense, but you’re not exactly the usual type he brings home. Someone actually called you an uppity bitch.”

Taylor rolled her eyes. “Of course they did.”

Dani leaned in a little. “But they were wrong. You’re different. And not in the way we expected. You hold your ground. I like hanging out with you, Sparkles.”

Taylor smiled, a little surprised at how much that meant. “Good. I like you too, even if you’ve dragged me into biker bootcamp without warning.”

Dani shrugged. “Hazards of becoming the property of a man like Jax.”

Taylor gave her a dry look. “Right. Property. So romantic.”

Dani snorted, but her face sobered. “Just don’t screw this up. I mean it. If things go south between you and Jax, I’d hate to be there when they start digging your grave.”

Taylor blinked. “Jesus, Dani. Could you not?”

“What?” Dani shrugged like it was a casual Tuesday. “I’m being honest.”

Taylor rubbed her temples. “I didn’t have enough coffee for this conversation. Scratch that—I need tequila for this level of trauma.”

Dani grinned, totally unfazed. “Now you’re talking.”

Taylor let out a sigh, then eyed her half-empty mug. “Okay, but first, more cappuccino. Then maybe we fake our deaths and move to Spain.”

Dani raised her glass in mock salute. “I’m in.”

They both went quiet when a blonde with tangled, slept-on hair and smug satisfaction written all over her face wandered into the kitchen. She was trying to act casual, but the glow said she’d had a good night. The woman tossed them a self-satisfied smirk on her way out the back door.

Dani rolled her eyes hard enough to sprain something. Taylor just raised a brow and sipped her cappuccino like the classy menace she was.

That woman? She’d had her moment. A one-night highlight, leaving with her heels in one hand and a secret she’d pretend was special. But Taylor didn’t have to leave. She wasn’t some back-door girl. She belonged here now—in the messy, brutal, testosterone-drenched chaos that was Jax’s world.

And like hell was she giving that up.

She smirked into her cup, the caffeine warming her chest and fueling the tiny storm of smug that curled in her belly. “She won’t be back,” Taylor muttered.

Dani glanced her way, already reading her thoughts. “And you like that.”

Taylor didn’t deny it. “I didn’t come here looking for power,” she said softly, “but I’m not giving it up now that I have it.”

Dani lifted a brow. “Look at you. All patched-in old lady energy.”

Taylor laughed. “God, don’t call me that. I’m still me—glitter, heels, and a panic attack waiting to happen.”

“Yeah, well,” Dani said, nudging her. “You’re also the woman who has Jax Maddox wrapped around her sparkly little finger.”

Taylor smirked. “Let’s hope I don’t mess it up.”

“You won’t,” Dani said firmly. “Just stop running off, and maybe stop talking about Spain.”

Taylor chuckled. “Fine. But I’m still keeping tequila on standby.”

Taylor slipped out of the kitchen with her half-empty coffee mug, ready to crawl back into Jax’s room and pretend she hadn’t just been blindsided by gossip, warnings, and the lingering smell of expensive hairspray from the blonde. Her head was already spinning with what she should wear—something sexy, obviously, but still with that cool, effortless edge that made Jax look at her like she was both a problem and the solution.

She rounded the corner too fast and collided with a wall.

Not a wall.

Ghost.

Her coffee almost went flying, but she caught it with a gasp, barely avoiding disaster. He didn’t even flinch. Just stood there, all hard lines and silent judgment, eyes as unreadable as ever.

"Sorry," she muttered quickly, stepping back, suddenly hyper-aware of how small she was in his shadow. He hadn’t said a single word to her yesterday and yet the energy radiating off him was enough to send her nervous system into lockdown.

Ghost tilted his head, eyes trailing over her face, like he was reading everything she wasn't saying.

"You always walk around corners that fast, or just when you’re running from something?"

The question struck deeper than it should have. She swallowed hard.

"I wasn’t running," she lied.

"Hm."

Just that. One sound. Like he knew better. Like he already saw through her.

Taylor straightened up, adjusted the strap on her tank top, and forced herself to meet his eyes. "Are you always this intense, or is it just with me?"

Ghost cracked what might have been the ghost of a smile—ironic, right?

"You’re in this life now. It doesn’t come with training wheels. You screw up, people get hurt. Jax may be wrapped up in you, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us won’t step in if you bring heat."

She bristled at that. "I’m not a liability."

"No," Ghost said slowly, "but you’re emotional. That makes you unpredictable."

She hated that he wasn’t wrong.

"Jax chose me."

"He did," Ghost agreed. "Which means you’re under this roof, on our radar, and one of us now. Whether you like it or not."

The weight of his words sank in deeper than she expected. It wasn’t a threat. It wasn’t even a warning. It was a fact. And she… wasn’t sure yet how she felt about that.

Taylor nodded once. "Then I guess I better look the part."

She moved around him, heart hammering, spine straight. But even after she made it back into Jax’s room and shut the door behind her, she still felt Ghost’s gaze like a pressure against her skin.

She needed to keep it together.

And maybe throw on some lipstick bold enough to remind herself who the hell she was.