Page 69 of Ryder

“Yes, they’re on a plane. Luca already left, he’ll be here soon.”

“No, Ryder.” I don’t even finish the sentence before I feel a heavy weight pull me under. I can’t be sure, but I feel him press a kiss to the top of my head.

“… broken eye socket, fractured cheek, she suffered multiple broken ribs, and a cracked trapezium. The CAT scan showed no other signs of injury to her brain. She has multiple cuts and bruises, as you can all see, and she’s concussed. I’d like her to stay for observation for another day, but I’m confident she’ll make a full recovery,” the doctor says. “But it will be a slow process. Sedation was necessary so we could perform the CAT scan safely?—”

“And her eyesight?” Ryder interrupts. “She couldn’t see in the car. Will she get her full eyesight back?”

“The blow to the eye socket caused the right eye to swell. Once the eye socket heals, we should expect full eyesight toreturn in the coming weeks. I would suspect her blurred vision was because of the light, and the fact she was concussed.”

Weeks?

“What about…otherinjuries?” I hear Ryder ask. Then he clears his throat “Was she…r-raped?”

“We will need her full permission to perform a rape kit,” the doctor says. “When she regains consciousness and can fill us in on what she knows, we can go from there. The police will be here to question her.”

“Holy shit,” Ryder whispers. “I don’t believe this.”

“Thanks, doc,” Cash says.

I try to move, but I’m so weak. So tired. “Ryd?” I whisper. “Ryder?”

“Fuck.” I hear him move and then his hands are on me. One knuckle caresses my cheek, the other hand strokes my shoulder.

“I’ll call a nurse,” I hear a woman’s voice say. I don’t know who it is.

I open my good eye and try to sit up.Why is my other eye not working?

“No, Crys, baby, wait for the nurse,” Ryder says.

“Where am I?” I stammer.

“You’re in the hospital.” I feel the bed dip as he sits next to me. “You were kidnapped and…”

I open my mouth when he pauses, but no words come out.

“It’s okay, Ryder,” the woman’s voice whispers. I still can’t make out who it is.

“I can’t. I can’t see her like this, Jas.”Jas?Oh, she works for the club as their accountant. I met her once, briefly.

What strikes me the most is how stricken Ryder’s voice sounds. He’s broken.

“I’ll stay with her. Why don’t you step out and have a break?”

“No,” Ryder says. “I’m not leavin’ her.”

“It’s time we got some fresh air, and grab a coffee before Crystal’s parents arrive,” Cash says. “She’ll be safe. Cops are on the door, and half the club is in the waitin’ room. Nobody’s gettin’ in here that isn’t allowed.”

“Torin?” I call. “Where’s Torin?”

“He’s out in the waitin’ room,” Ryder comes back to me, planting a kiss on my forehead. “I can get him for you if you’d like?”

“She’s still woozy from the drugs,” Jas says. “I’ll keep her company. Go. You need to have a break, like Cash said.”

“I’ll be right outside,” Ryder whispers into my hair.

I mumble something, but it’s barely coherent.

“Jas?” I mutter when I hear the door click. I shift to look at her. Everything is still really fuzzy.

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