Challenging Ryker (Kringle Security #2)

Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Amelia stormed through the emergency room doors with Dom hot on her heels. She hadn't comprehended anything after he said Ryker's vehicle had blown up and he was in the hospital.

The hospital was busy. More than two-thirds of the chairs in the waiting room were full, but she zeroed in on the one nurse who didn't have someone standing in front of her and beelined in that direction.

"I'm here to see Ryker . . ." Shit, she didn't know his last name. How the hell didn't she know what his last name was?

"Ellis. We are here to see Ryker Ellis," Dom stepped up next to her and added in a soft voice. Amelia couldn't fathom how he could be so calm. His friend was in the hospital and no one had any idea how extensive his injuries were from the blast.

"Are you family?" The woman managed to sound both bored and aggravated with just those three words.

Amelia was two point five seconds away from vaulting over the desk and getting the information herself. Time was wasting and this woman was not being helpful.

"I'm his business partner. He was hurt while at work."

"I'm sorry." She didn't sound sorry at all. "We can only . . ."

"Dom. Amelia." Luke waved to them from further down the hall, effectively cutting off whatever excuse the lady was about to give them.

"Come on." Dom took her elbow and guided them in the direction of where Luke stood waiting for them. Amelia had to stop herself from flinching or snapping at Dom to get his hands off her.

Thankfully, he released her elbow after only a few seconds.

"Where's Ryker?" she asked as soon as they were close enough for Luke to hear them. She wasn't going to give him the opportunity to ignore her.

"He's in surgery. They have a waiting room on the same floor. That's where everyone else is."

The elevator ride up was done in silence. She wanted to ask a million questions, but it was as if her mind had shut off at the mention of Ryker in surgery.

When they stepped into the waiting room, Amelia realized just how many of Ryker's co-workers she didn't know. Other than Luke, Dom, and Austin, she was flying blind.

"Have a seat and let me see if I can find anything out." Luke led her to the corner, away from everyone else. She could've hugged the man for recognizing her discomfort and handling it in a way that didn't bring attention to her.

After only a minute of sitting in the hard plastic chair, she knew she had too much pent-up energy to be stuck in one place. Her right leg was bouncing off the floor and she doubted it would slow down anytime soon.

Amelia looked around at the rest of the men waiting with her. She wasn't the only one who couldn't keep still. Almost everyone around her was pacing and she didn't miss the side eye or two she was getting.

Regret and guilt threatened to choke her. She had left for work that morning with things strained between her and Ryker, all because he had been dealing with something personal, and instead of trying to figure out what it was, she had prioritized her own feelings. Karma quickly showed her the error of her ways.

At the first opportunity, she was going to beg Ryker for forgiveness.

It was a good thirty minutes later before Luke returned with Monica right at his side. Monica had been on a call when Dom came to her office and delivered the news. Amelia hadn't waited to see if he had passed the information along to her boss. Her only priority at the time had been to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.

"Hey." Monica dropped into the chair next to her and laced their fingers together. "Everything's going to be okay."

"You don't know that." She couldn't bring herself to talk above a whisper. "We argued this morning and I wasn't nice to him. That's going to be the last memory he has of me."

"You're not the only one who fought with him today." Guilt was written all over Luke's face. "Ryker was so mad when he stomped out and I was pissed at him for leaving like that. You won't be the only one apologizing when he wakes up."

Luke probably thought his confession would make her feel better but all it managed to do was make her feel bad for Ryker. He was clearly having a crappy day, and everyone in his life made it worse.

"Were you able to find out anything?"

Luke shook his head. "They won't tell me anything because I'm not family. I called his mother. She'll be taking the first flight out, but that could be a few hours yet."

"So in the meantime, if he wakes up, he has to be alone." The words were harsh. She didn't want to take her anger out on Luke, but damn she was frustrated. Someone needed to be sitting by his side for when he woke up.

"No, I'm hoping the doctor who updates us is more considerate than the nurse. Otherwise, I'll have his mother intervene. I'm sure she can convince them to let us see him."

It turned out the doctor was much nicer. That or someone had called Ryker's family during the four-hour surgery because two of them were escorted back as soon as they transferred Ryker to his own room.

Thankfully, his teammates didn't require her to beg to see him. They silently, and unanimously, agreed she and Luke would be the first two to go in. Little did they know she had no intention of leaving his side until he woke up. Work be damned.

Yes, she realized the hypocrisy of her statement considering just that morning their entire disagreement revolved around her needing to work in order to survive.

Oh, how much could change in a matter of hours.

Now the only important thing was seeing Ryker's flirtatious smile again. The one she teased him about just days after meeting him.

Tears pooled in her eyes when she saw the man who was so full of life lying there in the bed hooked up to what appeared to be a million machines. His head was bandaged, leaving just a few of his brown locks exposed. Small cuts peppered his face, neck, and arms. And that was just what she could see. There was no telling what lay hidden under the hospital gown.

"Oh, God ..." She flew across the room and pulled the chair close to his bed. She managed to get it in place before her legs gave out.

"The doctor said he shouldn't be out long," Luke told her.

Collapsed lung. That was all she had gotten from all the medical jargon the doctor had thrown at them. Oh, that and the fact that Ryker had been lucky considering how close the bomb was, and the fact that he had been tossed through a glass door.

Luke was still talking, but she tuned him out. Her only focus was on watching the rise and fall of Ryker's chest, and the sound of the machine recording his heartbeat. The two combined grounded her. They were confirmation that he was still alive despite someone's attempt otherwise.

Amelia didn't know how long she sat there just watching Ryker. She ignored the flow of people in and out of the hospital room. The nurse had given up after her first attempt to get Amelia to move so they could monitor Ryker better. Now they simply worked around her and didn't bother to engage in conversation.

Everyone simply let her be.

Except Caden. He was probably the only person more stubborn than she was at this point.

"We need to talk about what happened to you." She took her eyes off Ryker long enough to shoot daggers at Caden before turning her attention back to the man who was slowly winning her over.

"If you want to question me, that's fine. But you can do it while I sit here at Ryker's side because I refuse to leave him."

That had been the first thing Caden suggested when he walked in. She hadn't even dignified it with a response and she wouldn't have this time either but it was obvious Ryker's teammate had no intention of leaving her alone until she talked.

"Do you really think this is the best place to have this conversation?"

"It's here or not at all," she snapped.

What was he not understanding? There was no way she was leaving Ryker's side until she had the chance to apologize. That could take a year, and still, she would wait. Could Caden say the same?

Probably not.

"Fine," Caden huffed back. "For the record, I was against pushing you to give me this information when Ryker told us what happened earlier. If I didn't think the bomb might have something to do with your situation, I wouldn't be in here annoying you."

Her stomach churned at the thought that Gavin might have something to do with Ryker getting hurt. The man was unhinged, but a bomb? That wasn't exactly his style.

"Gavin Yates." She forced the name out of her throat. "That's what you need, right? A name?"

Caden nodded his head.

"That's who chained me to the bed. He's a stockbroker. When we first started dating, he traveled a lot, but the longer we were together, the more he stayed here in Washington. Said he preferred to work remotely and spend quality time with me." Amelia snorted. More like he wanted a better opportunity to control her and steal everything she owned. She quickly rattled off her old address. "I have no idea if he still lives there or not. When I left him, I didn't take more than what I could carry on my back and I made sure I found a place that accepted cash. I did everything I could to fly under the radar. Not that it did me much good in the end, since he found me anyway."

"Thank you." Caden moved across the room to the door. "That gives me a place to start."

"For what it's worth, I don't think it's Gavin. The man was as polished as they come. Hated to get his hands dirty. I can't see him blowing up a vehicle, but what do I know? I never thought he would beat me and steal from me either."

"Maybe, maybe not, but it gives us a place to look. We would've hunted him down just for what he did to you. Now he's a dead man walking if he tried to kill one of us."

Ryker was lucky to have people who cared that much about him. She wondered if he knew the lengths those people would go to. She hoped so. Ryker deserved that in his life and she would make sure she was one of the many who showed him just how appreciated he was.