Page 251 of His Virgin Romance Series

The sound of Ryder’s voice pulled me back to the present, and I sat up and turned off the radio. The room descended into silence, and I went to unlock the door so that Ryder could come in.

“Hi,” he said when I opened the door. He was looking at me with obvious concern.

“Hi.”

“Can I come in?”

“Sure,” I nodded, as I held the door open for him.

We sat down next to each other on my bed, and Ryder turned to me. “How are you?”

“Better,” I told him.

And I really was doing better. I had spent two days in the hospital, and I had been released only this morning. I had spent most of that morning hiding up in my room with the music on. I hadn’t spoken to anyone apart from Devon and Ryder, and even then, I still hadn’t gone over the details of what happened between Walter and me at Gordon’s Run.

“Abby… I know this is really soon… but the cops want to talk to you,” Ryder told me.

“Now?”

“As soon as possible,” Ryder sighed.

“I’ll have to go down to the station?”

“Yes… I can come with you if you want?”

I nodded. “I’d like that.”

Ryder stayed silent, and I knew it was because he wasn’t sure where my head was. He didn’t want to do or say anything to upset me. I put my hand over his, and he turned to meet my gaze.

“You saved me, you know,” I told him.

He frowned. “Saved you?” he asked, in confusion. “I failed you.”

“No, you didn’t,” I said emphatically. “You were the reason I got out of there.”

“How?”

“At one point, Walter had me on the ground, and he was kicking the living shit out of me,” I explained. I felt Ryder’s hand tighten under mine, but I kept going anyway.

“For a second there, I thought I was going to die. And then I remembered everything you’d taught me. You had taught me to protect myself… and this was the moment I made you proud. So I rolled out from under him and sent a kick at his legs. He fell, and I limped as fast as I could to the car. He had left the car keys in the ignition, and I locked the door and started the engine again.

“Before I could start driving, he was at my window, screaming obscenities at me. He was about to break the window when I started driving. I almost hit a couple of trees, but I managed to drive off… only to lose myself in one of the narrower paths. I was so flustered and panicked that I had no idea where I was going. I must have just been driving in circles, but I knew that Walter was after me, and he wouldn’t rest until he found me. And then I saw him—probably at the same time he saw me. He had murder in his eyes, and I knew then that if I didn’t kill him, he would definitely kill me. So….”

I trailed off as I relived the memory, and I felt a shiver pass through my body. It was not an easy thing to take a life… no matter how unworthy that life may be.

“Abby?”

“I drove the car right into him.”

Ryder nodded. “I know.”

“You saw his body?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“He’s really dead?”

“He’s really dead,” Ryder confirmed. “You’re safe.”

I leaned into Ryder, and he wrapped his arms around me. “Thank you,” I whispered to him.

“No, I’m the one who should be thanking you,” Ryder replied.

So many different things were flashing through my mind that it didn’t really register, and it was only later that I wondered what he was thanking me for.

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