Page 64 of Ryder
I laughed with relief, wondering why the fuck she just came out with that. It was hardly fucking news to either of us.
“Uh… yeah, I know. I was there.”
She shook her head at me. “No.You killed a mafia boss, and they’ll come after you. Oh god, this is bad, this is very, very bad.”
It was cute really, how she thought we hadn’t already dealt with that issue, like Reacher would leave something that important in the wind. Maybe I wasn’t the only one with a lot to learn here.
“Darlin’, that’s so already sorted out. You don’t even need to worry.”
“You don’t understand. It’ll create a power struggle for that family, and whoever takes over might challenge others, and my god… it’s all going to implode on us.”
I wanted to put my hand over her mouth and shut her up, but I wasn’t fucking touching her unless she permitted it.
“Hey, stop that. Let me explain; Reacher has already dealt with it. He notified another prominent family, and they’ve already stepped in, taken credit, and are dealing with what’s left of his syndicate. It just put someone else in a better position, so actually we’re in favour with a mafia family right now.”
Her eyes were wide as she rolled on her side to look at me, hissing with pain as she probably pulled at some of those cuts. Really should have made that fucker suffer for longer.
“Who?”
“I think you call him daddy.”
She chewed her lip as she stared at me, her eyes still wide and shocked.
“Is there anything you don’t know?”
Yeah, a fuckload, but now’s not the time.
“Probably, but for now all you need to do is get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll sort anything that isn’t already sorted, but you’re safe, and you need rest. I’ll stay right here, over the covers, so if you wake in the night needing anything, you can wake me.”
She swallowed hard. “I’m not ready to be held.”
Well, duh. “I know, but I’ll be here if you need me, okay?”
“I…” Her hand moved tentatively across the bed between us. “I could hold onto your hand.”
I’m fucking cool with that. I reached my own hand across toward hers, and let her be the one to take it. I could do this ‘gently, gently’ thing, because I understood a tiny fraction of what she was feeling, and I was going to be the one to help her recover. She just didn’t realise that yet.
Twenty-Three
My dreams were fullof darkness, and evil, and pain, and helplessness. I didn’t know if the drug in my system had caused this, but I couldn’t wake from them. I’d have preferred to wake up screaming each time, to find some escape from them, but I was trapped inside the hell of my own mind.
When I did finally wake, I quickly registered the male presence beside me, his breaths warming my neck, his body pressed close to mine, and that was enough to set panic burning through me, as I realised I was still there.Trapped in hell, with the monster who’d abused me, and destroyed me, over and over.
With a scream, frantic struggling, and a bone-jarring crash onto the floor, I escaped him, and then I was shuffling back across the carpet to the wall, before he spoke. He’d watched me, not moving, not speaking, until I sat against the wall, panting for air, and trying to work out where the hell I was.
“Tori? Darlin’? You gotta calm down.” His voice was low, even, calming. He lifted his head to look at me, and I could see it was Ryder. Nothim.
“Breathe a little slower for me, can you do that?” He didn’t move any further. He watched me, as I tried to do what he said, and he nodded as I managed to take a few slower, deep breaths.
“Good girl, that’s better, right? Just keep doing that.”
It was helping, but something else was happening now. Now that I was awake, and aware, and trying to reduce my panic levels. Pain. So much pain. I pulled at the t-shirt I was wearing, wincing at the pulling bite of pain in several places.
“Sorry, darlin’. I didn’t think of that. You bled in the night, and it stuck to you. I’m sorry. That’s on me,” Ryder was saying, still staying completely still. I glanced down at the grey t-shirt, seeing bloody patches here and there.
I watched him as he scrubbed his hands over his face, starting to sit up as slowly as he could, like he wanted to keep me from bolting again.
“Where am I?” I asked finally, because there were big holes in my memory, and I didn’t know if they were from the weird dreams, or whatever I’d been dosed with.
