“Branna?” Ash said from my phone. “Who was that?”
“Someone… someone is in me house,” I replied and felt oddly calm, but that feeling fled a moment later.
I heard movement over by the back door, and screeched when the shadow of a tall man came out of the shadows and surged toward me. I dropped my phone and tried to run out of the kitchen, but the man was on me before I even had a chance to move. We hit the floor with a thud, and almost instantly I felt blunt pain rack up and down my body. It caused a shrill scream to rise up my throat and break free.
“BRANNA?!” I heard Ash scream through the phone lying by my head.
I had fallen to the ground first and the body of the man’s added extra weight on top of mine when I hit the ground only caused the impact to hurt that much more. He used my sudden stillness to his advantage and quickly pinned my arms above my head with one hand, while he used the weight of his body to pin my legs and body to the ground. I forgot about fighting him off when fighting to breathe became my number one priority.
“Shhhh, sweetheart.” The man crooned with a Southern American accent. “It’s going to be okay, Branna. Don’t you worry about a thing, honey. I’m going to take real good care of you.”
I wheezed as I desperately tried to suck air into my lungs, but suddenly felt my body go lax as something pinched my neck. One second I was in pain and a blind panic, and the next I was slipping into unconsciousness.
My last thought was of Ryder and the woman from the white Range Rover, and how my life had already ended before this stranger had chance take it from me.
One year ago…
I was tired.
Not physically, but mentally.
I felt as if I was on a merry go round with Ryder. Our stupid arguing had amplified and instead of happening once or twice a week, it was happening once or twice a day. We either fought with one another, or ignored each other. It was becoming tiresome.
It all started six months ago, just after Dominic started fighting at Darkness under Brandon Daley. Ryder would disappear for a few hours, and when I asked where he was, he’d blow up at me. I forgot about it after a while because my long hours at the hospital had me overlooking his nightly absences. I could have probably dealt with him being evasive, but while he was in my presence his arsehole behaviour and snippy remarks picked away at me until a fight was ignited.
This was the beginning of our downward spiral, and now, six months later, I was at a stand still. I didn’t know what to do about the situation, and I refused to bring my problems to my friends or Ryder’s brothers because they had their own shit to work through. They didn’t need my drama added to theirs.
The only thing I could do was turn a blind eye to the situation, which meant ignoring Ryder. I knew it was wrong to brush our problems under the carpet, but knowing any attempt to deal with it would turn into a screaming contest kept my mouth shut.
It was hurting me though. I didn’t know what had gone wrong in order for Ryder not to talk to me or trust me anymore, but whatever happened, it was enough to change him. He wasn’t the man I once knew, and it broke my heart.
I shook my head clear and grabbed my shower bag. I had been sleeping in Dominic’s old room once or twice a week when fighting got bad between Ryder and myself, and last night was once of those nights. Usually, I’d shower in any of the bathrooms in the house when I couldn’t use another one, but I preferred the shower in my and Ryder’s master bathroom. It was bigger and the showerhead was made so it was like a waterfall raining water onto your head instead of a little spray.
I made my way down the stairs and headed into my room. It was empty, as expected. I didn’t know where Ryder was; he probably didn’t come home last night. He sometimes did that. Since I had two hours until I needed to leave for work, I would enjoy my shower and wash away my latest fight with Ryder, and try and relax.
It was something I hadn’t done it a while.
I headed into the bathroom, and was surprised when steam puffed into my face. I dismissed it and closed the door behind me and turned towards the shower. I walked head first into a hard, wet chest.
I gasped and looked up. When my eyes landed on him, I swallowed.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were in here.”
I didn’t know you were home at all.
Ryder looked down at me and raised an eyebrow. “It’s your bathroom too, don’t be sorry.”
I slowly nodded.
“Are you still giving me the silent treatment?” he asked on a sigh.
“I don’t know. Are you still being an arsehole who can’t answer a few simple questions?” I countered.
“Yeah,” he quipped. “Seems I am.”
I lifted my hand and wiggled my fingers for him to move out of my way, giving him my reply. Silently.
“Only you could give a huge ‘fuck you’ with a singlehanded gesture and silence.”
I rolled my eyes, and tried to push by him.
Ryder didn’t move, he just continued to stare down at me. I didn’t like how he was openly raking his eyes over my body like I was a piece of meat, so I returned the favour. Only that backfired very quickly because I adored the view on display.
I found my eyes slowly, very slowly, scanning their way down Ryder’s chiselled, tattooed body and fuck me if it didn’t stir something lower in my abdomen. I licked my lips as I watched a droplet of water run from his chest, down to the beautiful defined oblique muscles at the base of his torso.
Fuck.