Page 24 of Ryder

I nodded and watched as Dr. Bradford and the nurse walked back behind the doors before I turned and received a right hook to my face.

“So not only do you get my daughter kidnapped, you fucking knocked her up?”

Shaking off the black dots that clouded my vision, I struggled to straighten and then glared at Eric. “She may not be pregnant, but I sure hope so. I want your daughter. She’s mine.”

“What the hell do you mean she’s yours? Look what fucking happened to her from being seen with you,” Eric yelled.

“I had bodyguards on her. I didn’t think she w—”

“That’s the fucking thing. You didn’t bloody well think. She is not something for you rich pricks to use as property. She’s her own person and definitely not yours. I won’t allow it. She’s too good for the likes of you. This is all because of you!” He lunged for me, but this time Arron come out of nowhere and held him back.

“Dad. No. You’ll get kicked out of here. Stop! I saw someone run to get help. Oakley and Andrew went to stop them.”

I darted my gaze around the waiting room and saw my head of security and friend Chad, and Joel, one of the security that sat in the salon most days with Divinity, my mother and father, and my brother Tyson, who stood slightly behind me. I had no idea when they’d arrived, but I was grateful.

I glared back at Divinity’s father. “I knew the moment I laid eyes on Divinity, she was mine and I may not be good enough for her, but I love her. I love her with every fiber of my being and if I could swap places with her right now I would.” I raked my fingers through my short hair. “She would have had her bodyguards with her if she hadn’t been worried about you and what you’d say about us being together. She wanted to settle Arron back in with you before she left. She always thinks of everyone else first before she worries about herself. So don’t start the blame game.”

“Ha, if you were a real man you would have kept my daughter with you.” Eric crossed his arms over his chest.

I gave a hollow laugh. “Your stubborn daughter does what she likes. Have you even noticed that her mountain of shoes and clothes aren’t in her room? I moved my woman into our house, but she packed suitcases and snuck out to stay with you to settle you in after your time away.” I was getting sick and tired of Eric treating me the way he was. The situation we were in wasn’t a good one, but he hadn’t given me a chance at getting to know him. He’d belittled and growled at me, and now when we should’ve been learning more about each other, we were attacking each other. I sighed, frustrated. “Look I don’t want to fight or argue with you. I love your daughter and whether you like it or not you will be my father-in-law. For Divinity’s sake can we get on? Or at least have a truce until she’s better?” I held my hand out for a shake.

Eric shrugged out of Arron’s hold and slowly shook my hand. “Peace. Until Divinity is better.”

My eyes felt like they were glued shut and it seemed to take forever to get them open. The first thing I saw when I pried them apart was bright lights. It took a while for my eyes to focus and for me to realize I was staring at the ceiling. I took a moment to assess my body as memories flooded me of the last things I remembered. I hurt, but surprisingly, not as bad as I thought I would. I had a nice buzz flowing through me and as I carefully turned my head I saw a drip and what looked like fluids. Turning my gaze down, I saw a dark head resting on the bed and noticed pressure on my hand that had no needles attached to it.

Ryder. I knew those tats, and as I became more awake his manly smell was wafting to me. It was comforting and I squeezed his hand. “Ryder.” I croaked out. My voice was rough and sounded like I smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. Slowly, I squirmed on the bed to test my range of movement and cleared my throat, only to groan at the dryness, but tried again. “Ryder.”

This time his head snapped up and his dark green eyes flashed before they caught mine. “Divinity. Oh God. You’re awake. Let me get the nurse.”

I shook my head but it didn’t move much. “No. Water,” I croaked.

He stood and a second later a straw came to my lips. “Sip slowly.”

I did as he said and swished the water around before I swallowed. “How long have I been out?” I asked as soon as I’d had enough water that I didn’t feel like something had died in my mouth.

I didn’t miss the grimace before he covered it with tight thin lips and sad eyes. “A little over a week. They’ve had you in a coma to help with the swelling you had in your brain. They brought you out last night and this morning is the first time you’ve been awake.” He looked me over and I didn’t miss the flash of relief in his gaze. “I pressed the nurse button. One should be here any minute and hopefully she’ll get a doctor to explain everything.” He squeezed my hand and I clutched his because right now he was my lifeline.

“So, my dad? Arron? Where are they?” I darted my gaze around the room.

“They’ve been here. Your dad swap shifts with me. When he’s here I shower, eat and catch up on what’s going on.”

“What is going on? What’s happened?” I was eager to fund out what happened after I passed out. Was I in trouble for killing a man? Had they found X among the men they’d killed? Did they know who X was?

“I’m on leave pending an investigation, but don’t worry. The house was a wealth of information and has helped the investigation with leaps and bounds.” He brushed my hair from my face. “I don’t care about work or anything else but you right now.”

Was Ryder in trouble? Would he go to jail because of me? I stared into his eyes and tried to pry what I wanted out of them, but he didn’t give what I wanted away. Ryder looked tired. He had dark black bags under his eyes and his face looked like he hadn’t shaved since I’d come into the hospital. He had a decent beard going, but I wasn’t sure I liked it. His posture seemed limp and his usual cocky confidence was nonexistent. “Are you in trouble because of me? Is Dad in trouble?”

Ryder shook his head. “Don’t worry about any of that. My family lawyers and I have it sorted out.” He brought my hand up and kissed my knuckles. “I may have to find another job.” He shrugged. “I’m a Silverman, so I don’t really need to work. I have plenty of money. I could start my own business, or do whatever I wanted. So don’t worry about anything besides getting better.”

Nibbling on my lower lip, I tried to see if what he said was true, or he was just trying to not make me feel bad for all the trouble I caused. He winked, smirked, and kissed my hand again and I relaxed.

“What about me and the man I…” I trailed off unable to say out loud what I’d done.

His laugh was hollow but it did put me at ease. “Oh, my feisty little vixen, the man you killed is not even a blip in what’s gone on. The police accept it was done was in self-defense. The only thing they’re pissed about is he was moved from the room by your father.”

I opened my mouth to argue, because I was sure that it wasn’t my dad who moved the man, but saw the flash in his eyes and shake of Ryder’s head. They had a story, and right now wasn’t the time. Before I could say I understood a nurse rushed in apologizing for being held up. She checked my drip and asked how my pain was and then told me my doctor would be in any moment.

Almost as soon as the nurse left, the door opened and a man in his late forties came in with a white coat. The doctor. This was confirmed when he smiled a kind smile down at me, and picked up my chart off the hook on the end of the bed. “Hello, Divinity. It’s good to see you awake. I’m Dr. Linkon and I’ve been the head of managing your case. You are a lucky woman. You had a brain bleed that we stopped when you came into us. We’ve had you in an induced coma to make sure there was no more stress or anything to cause further damage for a week. Yesterday afternoon we slowly brought you out of the coma. How are you feeling?” He leaned forward and produced a small light that he flashed in one eye and then the other. He then did a pattern with it, nodded and put it back in his pocket.

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