Challenging Ryker (Kringle Security #2)

Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Ryker watched Amelia sleep in their bed at the hotel. He wasn't sure there was going to be a time in the near future when he didn't keep his eyes on her every minute of every day.

Breaking down that shitty door in the same apartment building where she used to live and seeing Gavin crouched over her with his hands around her neck was an image that wouldn't be leaving his head anytime soon.

His heart had nearly stopped. He owed Austin his life for taking the fatal shot that ended Gavin's miserable existence. Never again would he be able to convince a judge of his insanity and get to live the rest of his life in a psychiatric facility.

Although he understood how a judge came to that conclusion. When he saw the chunk taken out of Gavin's arm and the way it had been bandaged, he knew there was nothing sane about the man.

Amelia had yet to speak about what happened while she was trapped with Gavin but he didn't know if he could hear it either way. It was bad enough seeing her fight to live. She had come so close to dying. Another few more seconds without oxygen and he wouldn't have this brave woman to hold.

"You're staring at me. It's getting a little creepy." He knew Amelia was going for a laugh, but the words were barely more than a croak. And the big red marks on her neck didn't help.

"Get used to it, sweetheart. I told you I'm not letting you out of my sight and I meant it."

"You have a job to do," she tried to argue.

Yeah, he did but what she didn't realize was he already told Luke and the guys it would be a few weeks before he would be ready to come back to the office. He could do things from the hotel room if it came down to it.

"You're more important to me."

Amelia sighed. "Okay, then I have a job to do. I can take a few days but that's it. I have a board to speak with and new clients to meet."

Ryker did his best to push down the irrational fear that came with those words. The last time she had gone to meet with the board members, he’d almost lost her. Gavin might be gone but that didn't mean that fear wasn't still front and center in his mind.

"Then I can do my job from your office."

He could see that Amelia was getting frustrated, but to her credit, she didn't say anything. She moved up on the bed until her back was against the headboard. Those angry red handprints were a stark reminder against her creamy white skin. He wished he had been the one to put a bullet in Gavin. Better yet, he wished he got the chance to torture the man to within an inch of his life.

"I'll let Monica know you will be joining me once I come back."

"Thank you." He rested his head in her lap and relaxed as she ran her fingers through his hair. She was being extremely understanding.

"You're not the only one who needs this time together. If it wasn't important for me to show the board I was serious about this new position, I wouldn't bother going back yet."

"I know," he sighed, rubbing her leg through the blanket. "I'm having a hard time realizing you're safe now though. I didn't sleep last night. I spent the whole time watching you."

They had taken her to the hospital after they found her. She had only lost consciousness for a few seconds, so the doctors assured him she would be fine. She just needed to rest and that included her voice. Gavin hadn't done lasting damage, something he had to remind himself every time he looked at her.

"I'm sorry I scared you. I promised myself I wouldn't do anything stupid to put myself in that position, but then I went and tried to close the emergency door instead of telling someone else about it."

Just like with Monica, it was a freak coincidence. A propped-open door. None of them could've predicted that, and it wasn't Dom's fault. He did routine perimeter checks and the door had been closed the last time he did a walk. Gavin had managed to slip in at just the right time.

"Not your fault. I would've done the same thing."

"Maybe so." She continued to play with his hair and they fell into a comfortable silence.

Ryker thought of all the things that could've gone wrong if he hadn't gotten to her in time. While at the hospital, she told him about Gavin's plan. How he had sliced his arm like it was nothing at all and then the casual way he spoke about her eating his piece of flesh like it was a normal ritual for couples.

He had expected Amelia to wake up during the night screaming and thrashing after what she went through but she surprised him again by sleeping straight through. The doctor offered her a sedative but she refused. He had the prescription filled, just in case she changed her mind, but she hadn't.

His woman was stronger than anyone gave her credit for. If he hadn't already been in love with her, then the last twenty-four hours would've changed his mind.

So much was going through his head but one thing kept popping up over and over again.

"Would you come with me to talk to my mother?" he asked her.

Nash reminded him she was still in town. She was aware of some of the things that were happening, but not to the full extent. His mother had told his friend she would willingly wait as long as he needed.

"Are you sure you want me there?"

He picked his head up and shuffled around so that he was facing her on the bed. "There's no other place I would rather you be."

Tears pooled in her eyes and he wondered if maybe he took things too far.

"I would love to."

Ryker gathered her up so she was sitting in his lap and it was his back against the headboard. They stayed like that until their stomachs demanded food. It was then that he got up the nerve, and called his mother.

It was a tear-filled conversation; they agreed to meet the next day but his mother insisted on coming to them, and who was he to say no? It meant not taking Amelia out in public and that was a relief. He wasn't ready to share her just yet.