Total pages in book: 12
Estimated words: 11601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 58(@200wpm)___ 46(@250wpm)___ 39(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 11601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 58(@200wpm)___ 46(@250wpm)___ 39(@300wpm)
“I’m here.” My head snaps toward her soft voice, and I wince in pain. I find Riley huddled in the corner, looking so small and frightened. “I’m okay,” she whispers shakily. “Are you?”
Riley has a bloody gash on her forehead. My heart aches at the sight of her like this and the throbbing in the back of my head intensifies.
“Grayson,” she croaks, her voice wavering. “Are you okay?”
I sit up, hiding another wince because I don’t want Riley scared. She needs me right now. But fuck, it feels like someone is mercilessly hammering into my skull. “I’m fine. Are you hurt anywhere else?”
Harrison better not have hurt Riley more than that gash on her forehead or touched her—
I’ll kill him.
Riley shakes her head, sniffling. “No. He didn’t hurt me.”
She’s not bound, that’s good. That means Harrison doesn’t see her as a threat. “How long was I out for?”
“A few hours. I don’t know.” She brings her hand up, touching around the gash on her forehead. Riley winces slightly. “My wound is not bleeding anymore. He took our phones.”
Her shoulders hunch over, almost like she’s trying to make herself appear smaller. “When I gained consciousness, he was there. In the dark, sitting beside your body, with that damn baseball bat in his hand. He was staring at me, his eyes devoid of any emotions. It’s like…staring at a cold, lifeless statue. He didn’t say anything. I was barely conscious when he injected me with something. I couldn’t move.” A muffled sob escapes her. “I couldn’t…whatever he put in my body paralyzed me. My whole body went numb. I couldn’t move, Grayson, and that scared me more than anything. Sitting here, staring at your listless body and not being able to do anything.”
My stomach churns, seeing Riley this scared. This is all my fucking fault.
I should have stayed away.
Should have never approached her again.
Should have never fucking dreamed of another chance with Riley Johnson.
If only I had stayed away…maybe, just maybe, she would have been happily moved on with Colton Bennett. She would have been safe.
Safe with him.
Safe in his home, in his bed, in his arms.
Not here, with me. In an abandoned construction site, in the middle of the night and not knowing if she’ll survive or not.
“I kept praying you’d wake up,” she whimpers. “I don’t remember the last time I prayed this hard for something.”
“You’re brave. I always knew you were,” I tell her, trying to soothe her fear. “Are you finally regaining some feeling in your muscles again?”
Riley gives me a slow nod. “I can move my head, arms and shoulders now. My legs are still not working though. I can’t feel them.”
“Okay, I’m going to move closer to you and you can help me with the ropes around my wrists. I need my hands free.”
She nods again. Her cheeks are tear-stained and Riley looks unnaturally pale. It worries me and all I want to do is gather her in my arms, hold her and keep her safe.
When I move to stand up, I’m swamped with dizziness. The searing, blinding agony in the back of my skull sends shock waves of dull nauseating pain deep into my abdomen. My knees buckle underneath me, and I fall back on my haunches.
I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting to remind myself to breathe.
“Grayson?” I can hear the worry in Riley’s voice, and my name on her lips somehow calms me. It keeps me grounded.
“I’m okay,” I say, masking the pain in my tone as to not scare her further.
I don’t try to stand up this time. Instead, I just scoot closer to her on my knees until we’re side by side.
She sniffles again, blinking back her tears. “Turn around, I’ll help you with the ropes.”
I turn around, giving her my back, and she starts working the rough ropes loose. I can feel her hands shaking, her fingers still somewhat numb and she can’t work on the knots as efficiently. But Riley doesn’t give up.
“That was your father, right?” she asks quietly.
I knew that question was coming. Of course she wants to know about the man who attacked and kidnapped us. And Riley deserves answers.
She deserved them a long time ago.
“Yes,” I confess morosely.
“I remember you said you were trying to protect me.” Riley pauses, taking a deep, shaky breath. “Were you trying to protect me from him?”
I peek back at her over my shoulder. Our eyes catch and hold. There’s a heartbeat of heavy silence before I respond. “Staying with me would have put your life in danger. This situation is exactly what I had been trying to protect you from. Your life was at risk because of my father and my job. So I did the only thing that felt right to me at that moment. I pushed you away.”
She swallows, her gray eyes glassy. “So your father is the reason we broke up?”