Page 52 of Ryder
We sat and did that for a fucking hour, and then Ice appeared, his hair standing up, like he’d been pulling at it.
“We’ve got something. Hell, we’ve got a whole lot of something.”
We followed him to his room where he laid it all out; who she was, who her family were, and who likely had their hands on her.Fuck.
Nineteen
The first few hoursafter waking, I was tormented by the fact that I heard someone enter the room more than once, but they didn’t speak, or remove the blindfold. They wouldn’t reply when I spoke to them either.
The third time that person entered, assuming it was always the same one, I flinched when I felt fingers touch my face, and stroke my cheek. They gently caressed my skin, and then trailed down my neck. I trembled as those fingers traced my collarbone, and started to edge lower.
“Stop,” I gasped, wishing I knew who was in the room, touching me. Could it be Ryder? Could this all be some game, some power trip, to show me how it felt to be him? As if I didn’t already know.As if I hadn’t been there before.
There was a flapping movement. Fabric.Oh. There had been a sheet over me, and it had just been whipped away. The breeze against my skin when it moved told me that they’d stripped me. I was completely naked, and there was a person touching me. Against my will.
“No,” I started to pray.Please be Ryder. Please be the one man I might be able to tolerate touching me, because I suddenly knew that I might be able to. That he was different. Maybe that was why I’d been obsessing about him, because maybe he was the right one.
“It’s been too long, Victoria,” the voice whispered, and in that moment, my stomach lurched, and my lungs seemed to stop working. No. Not him.Please, not him.
Ryder
What the fuck wasthis shit? He had to be messing with me.
“Wait. Slow down. Her father is who now?”
Ice looked frustrated at having to repeat himself.
“Massimo fucking Rossi. Mafia. She’s a mafia don’s fucking daughter.”
I shook my head. “That’s not possible. That’s not even her name.” Dumb fuck that I am, I couldn’t remember the surname they’d mentioned before, but it wasn’t Rossi. I’d have remembered that, I’m sure I would have.
“So her family have her?” Stitch interrupted, trying to get to the point.
Reacher groaned, shaking his head.
“She’s estranged from her family. She’s been hiding under the radar of being this Tori Hastings chick, but apparently she’s someone far more important.”
No. Fuck it. None of that matters.She needs me to save her.
“If you’ve found that out, why the hell haven’t you found her yet?”
Ice shoved back from his desk, his chair crashing to the floor, as he cursed at me.
“You think you can do a better job, asshole, go right ahead. You think this shit is fucking easy? You think hacking shit, and realising I’m sneaking into the fucking mafia’s business is a good thing? I get caught, and we’re all in fucking trouble.”
Reacher had retrieved the chair, and carefully eased Ice back down to his desk.
“Ignore him, brother. I know you’re on top of this. Tell me. If she’s mafia, who might have taken her?”
Ice took a deep breath, cracking his knuckles as he glared at me. Yeah, I wasn’t about to be forgiven any time soon, but right now that wasn’t my priority. She was.
“Her father has a beef with another family; the Casettis. You don’t want to know where I’ve been snooping around to have found this, but this goes back to when she was eighteen.”
I didn’t even know how old she was now. There was so much I didn’t know, but I’d find her, and I’d get to learn all of it. I had to.
“Go on,” Reacher prompted, shooting me a glare that was very clear in its intent.Keep my fucking trap shut. I nodded, because every delay I caused was more time some asshole had with my woman.
“Dominic Casetti is the head of the family now, but back then he was just the oldest son. He took a shine to Victoria Rossi.”
