Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
He reaches out his bony hands and with one quick motion, he wraps both of them around my throat. Panic bubbles up. For a split second, I’m ten again. Ten and terrified of this man who seemed so much larger than life.
He presses against my neck, making my vision gray. I flail my hands wildly, connecting with one of his machines that beep. I start jabbing desperately at the buttons and an ear-splitting shriek fills the air.
Ryker rushes into the room and suddenly, I’m freed. I make a strangled gasp and clutch at my throat. Tears are streaming down my face as my breaths come hard and fast. Why couldn’t he just be normal, a loving father? Why did I have to be born to this man?
“Angel, angel, I need you to breathe for me.” Ryker’s voice is shaky and he’s pushing the hair back from my face. I’ve never seen him look this pale.
“He choked me!” My voice is a pitiful wail.
“Give me a moment alone with him,” Ryker says to someone else. That’s when I realize that Agent Swanson and Bruce are here too.
“Let’s get her seen by a doctor first,” Agent Swanson says, ushering us out of the room. It’s probably a good thing. I know by the set of Ryker’s jaw that my father wouldn’t survive the confrontation.
“Are you sure she’s OK?” Ryker asks the doctor in the emergency room. He’s hovered nearby during the entire exam. He hasn’t stopped holding my hand either. It’s a good thing too because my fingers are wrapped around his like he’s my lifeline.
We haven’t been here long. All it took was Agent Swanson flashing his badge and I got checked out immediately. He’s also hovering nearby. I think he feels just as responsible as Ryker.
When they worried about an ambush, they feared some of my father’s men waiting to greet us at the hospital. Not my frail dad putting his hands on my neck and strangling me.
“I’m fine. I didn’t even bruise,” I tell him. My voice is normal and outwardly, there are no signs that anything even happened to me. Just like when I was a kid.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Agent Swanson chimes in. “Half of all strangulation victims show no external bruising. It’s why it’s such a popular intimidation tactic with abusers.”
The doctor nods along to the agent’s words before adding, “You’re breathing normally, and you’re showing no signs of brain damage. But I’m willing to admit you for the evening if you’d prefer to stay.”
I should feel something but right now I don’t feel anything. Probably thanks to the anxiety medication I was given. There’s an eerie calm over my entire body. I haven’t felt this good since I first spotted Ryker at the party three years ago.
“Stay for observation,” Ryker commands.
The doctor hesitates. I don’t think he agrees with my overprotective boyfriend. Is that the right word? We haven’t even been on an official date yet.
“Take me to your place, Ryker. Take me home,” I plead. It’s the one place on earth where I feel safe and happy. I need to be back there. I need to be on his couch with Luna as we watch thunderstorms through those big glass windows.
“Home,” I breathe the word as soon as Ryker pulls his truck to a stop. It’s late in the evening and the house is lit up with bright lights inside, as if it’s happy I’m here too. I search the front of the house, spotting the area Ian used to gain access. The glass has been restored, as if nothing at all happened.
“Colt already replaced it,” he explains. He leaves the truck and comes around to my side. He pulls me into his arms, and I let him carry me up the porch. As he opens the door, he continues, “Brody installed sensors across the house. They’ll detect if any of the glass is ever broken again. An alarm will sound in the house while Brody and Colt will be alerted immediately. They’ll come running.”
I nod. I haven’t asked him about Ian yet. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to know. Maybe I’ll ask him another day when I’m feeling stronger.
Luna is waiting for us inside and she happily follows us to the couch where Ryker sets me down gently. He wraps a blanket around my shoulders.
“Stay here,” he instructs before he retreats to the kitchen.
I pat the seat next to me and Luna quickly joins me on the couch. She’s got a small knot on her head but she’s OK. “I was so worried about you.”
She nuzzles my neck as if to reassure me that she’s fine. “We got through it though, didn’t we?”
The two of us cuddle until Ryker returns from the kitchen with a mug of hot tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. I haven’t eaten all day.