Page 70 of Outlaw Ridge: Ryker
Emma gave a soft snort, a flicker of a real smile. But the shadows stayed in her eyes.
She grabbed her clothes, moving to dress as well. “We’ll hear him out,” she said. “Then we put him behind us. For good.”
“Exactly.” Ryker reached for his shirt and his badge, feeling a grim satisfaction settle deep in his chest.
Let Ethan have his say. It wouldn’t change a damn thing.
And when it was done, he and Emma would finally be free of the last grip Ethan had on their lives.
Once they’d dressed, they made their way to the garage and got in Ryker’s truck that he’d brought over after their ordeal with Ethan. Of course, they hadn’t actually needed transportation since they’d basically spent three days, and nights, in bed. But they got in now and started the drive to what Ryker knew would be the final farewell. He swore to himself that after this interview, memories of Ethan would be shoved way back in his mind as part of a really shitty past. No way did Ryker want Ethan anywhere in his future.
Which got him thinking.
Futurewas a damn big word, and it was an even bigger decision. And while as cops, it might never be completely rosy for Emma and him, at the moment rosiness was definitely there.
And he wanted to keep it that way.
Wanted to keep her in his life.
He’d need to spell that out to her once they were done dealing with the asshole who’d tried to take that future away from them.
Ryker made the short drive to the hospital and parked. He kept his hand close to Emma’s lower back as they pushed through the hospital’s sliding doors, a shield against the sharp sting of the wind and whatever fresh hell waited inside.
The blast of overheated air inside the lobby didn’t chase off the chill in his gut.
They made their way down the sterile hallways, past nurses at the station shooting wary glances toward Ethan’s room. There was a deputy posted just outside his door, lean, sharp-eyed, and fully alert. Ryker gave him a quick nod. The deputy stepped aside but didn’t relax an inch.
When they walked in, they saw Hallie waiting for them. The sheriff didn’t look especially relaxed either. More like pissed off. Ryker got that. This was part of the job, too. Wrapping up the paperwork with the asshole.
The hospital room was dim, the blinds pulled, and the only light was coming from the monitors tracking Ethan’s weakened heartbeat. He was pale, battered, a shell of the man he once was. Tubes snaked from his arms, his handcuffed wrist secured to the bed rail.
But when he saw them, those bloodshot eyes lit with venom.
Hatred practically radiated off him.
Hallie pulled out her phone, hit record, and kept her distance by the door. “He’s been Mirandized,” Hallie let them know.
Ethan’s mouth twisted into something that was probably meant to be a smile, but it came out a bitter, broken sneer. “Well, well,” he rasped, his voice wrecked and thin but still laced with malice. “The golden ones themselves.”
Ryker stood silent beside Emma, refusing to rise to the bait.
Ethan’s gaze flicked to Emma. His lip curled. “You betrayed me,” he hissed. “You used me, threw me away.”
Emma didn’t flinch. She stood tall, steady, her face like stone.
Ethan turned his glare on Ryker. “And you. You were supposed to have my back.Brother.You choseherinstead.”
Ryker stayed cool, his face unreadable. He wasn’t going to let Ethan get even an ounce of satisfaction.
Ethan wheezed in a shallow breath and coughed, straining against the handcuffs for a moment before sagging back into the mattress, defeated but still vicious.
“You think you won?” Ethan spat out. “You’re standing there because you got lucky. That’s all.”
Ryker shrugged. “You lost everything because of whatyoudid.”
“We just survived it,” Emma finished for him. “And now, Ryker and I will get to lead our lives… and you won’t. You won’t get the chance to try to end us.”
Ethan’s voice cracked through the room, raw and furious. “You should be dead!” he practically shouted, the monitors beside him spiking with the effort.
