Page 37 of Outlaw Ridge: Ryker
Because he’dseenhow it was. Ethan hadn’t been the one used. He’d been the onedoingthe using.
The gaslighting. The manipulation. The slow erosion of Emma’s confidence until she’d barely recognized herself, Ryker had watched it unfold from a distance, and now he was watching the fallout up close.
Ryker leaned back slightly in his chair, keeping his expression neutral, but inside, he was already filing this moment away. Because Dr. Colvin wasn’t just sharing information. She was revealing whatEthanhad let her believe. And that, more than anything, told Ryker how deep this ran.
Ryker kept his voice calm but firm, leaning in just slightly.
“Dr. Colvin,” he said, “help us understand him. Help usfindhim, before it’s too late.”
She hesitated, eyes flicking once more to the photo of Ruiz before she finally exhaled and gave a small nod. “Ethan could be… obsessive,” she said slowly. “Especially when it came to justice. To being misunderstood. He hated being questioned. Hated being wrong. Even when he was.”
Ryker watched her closely. There was a shift in her voice, less clinical now. More personal.
“He used to talk about something he called his Reset Plan,” the doctor added.
Emma straightened a little. “What did he mean by that?”
Dr. Colvin folded her hands tightly, gaze fixed somewhere just beyond the table. “He wanted a clean slate. To start over. Somewhere no one knew him. Where the past couldn’t follow him. He didn’t want redemption, he wanted erasure.”
Another pause, this one longer. Ryker didn’t rush her.
Finally, she looked back at them. “There was a time… we talked about leaving together. Starting fresh. That was part of the plan. A new city, new names, no baggage.” Dr. Colvin’s jaw tightened, and a flicker of something sharp flashed in her eyes.“But then,” she said, voice clipped, “I saw the photo. On his phone.”
She didn’t have to say which photo.
Janette. Nude. Sent to Ethan. Proof that whatever promises he’d made, he was still playing games.
The anger flared in Dr. Colvin’s eyes, just for a breath. Then she swallowed it, smoothing it down like pressed linen. “That’s when I realized Ethan wasn’t ready for a committed relationship,” she murmured.
Emma didn’t move. Didn’t speak. But Ryker didn’t miss the way her chin lifted, the flicker of steel in her silence. He was willing to bet that’s the exact moment Emma had figured that out, too.
Dr. Colvin cleared her throat, soft, polite, but final. Then she stood, brushing invisible wrinkles from her jacket and smoothing her expression back into its cool, professional mask.
“I think I’ve said enough for now,” she said. “I need to consult my attorney before continuing any further discussion about Ethan.”
Ryker gave a slight nod and reached for the recorder.
“Interview concluded,” he said, citing the exact time and pressing the button to stop the recording.
Dr. Colvin turned toward the door, her heels clicking once on the tile, then she paused, hand on the handle. She didn’t turn fully, just glanced over her shoulder, eyes landing on Ryker with something too pointed to ignore.
“One last thing,” the doctor said, voice softer now. “Ethan talked aboutyou, too.”
Ryker straightened.
Dr. Colvin’s eyes sharpened, the edge of a cold memory in them. “Ethan didn’t like the way you looked at Emma. Or the way she looked at you.”
And with that, she opened the door and walked out, leaving behind silence that felt a little too loud.
Ryker stayed still, jaw tight.
Because whatever Ethan had seen between him and Emma, it wasn’t just imagined. And now, it might be one more reason Ethan wanted him gone.
Ryker lingered for a moment on the door where the doctor had just made her exit, and then he turned toward Emma. She hadn’t moved. She was still standing beside the interview table, arms crossed, face unreadable.
He stepped in close, lowering his voice. “You okay?”
She looked up at him then, and whatever he’d expected, grief, maybe, or some quiet unraveling, it wasn’t what he saw. Her eyes were bright with frustration. And something colder, harder.
