Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
I became a ball of burning agony, absorbing blows I could no longer distinguish between.
All I could think of was how grateful I was to have convinced Ryder to stay home. As excruciating as this beating was, seeing someone assault Ryder in this way would be unbearable.
He’d lose his shit when he saw me bruised and a battered messed.
If I made it out of here.
The next blow to my torso made my body convulse, a painful cough that tore through my chest like fire.
The guy—I’d never learned his name—grabbed my hair, yanking my head off the floor. “Think my message will put a fire under Kenny’s ass?”
“Fuck… you,” I slurred. Every inhalation felt like spikes through my chest, and getting those two words out nearly killed me.
“Not yet?” His fist flew at my face, but by that point, I was too weak and injured to react in time.
A detonation of pain burst through my cheek as his knuckles made contact. Blood filled my mouth, then dribbled down my chin as I cried out.
The guy chuckled. “Yeah, that’s better. I think he’ll get the message now. The face always does it.”
He abruptly released my hair, and my head fell to the linoleum floor with a sickening thud. I barely even felt it over all the other throbbing. The eye he’d hit swelled until I could no longer see. Forced to stare at him through only one eye, I tried my best to keep tabs on his movements as he circled me, admiring his handiwork.
He grabbed my hair, lifting my head again. I couldn’t hide the flinch as I prepared for another of those brutal blows to my face.
But it didn’t come this time. He chuckled and leaned down. “Make sure you tell Kenny I stopped by.”
He dropped my head again, then straightened with a harsh laugh. The last thing I remember was the bottom of his heavy combat boot careening toward my face.
Someone should tell him he’d stepped on a tack, and it lodged in the sole of his boot.
Pain burst through my head.
Ryder…
Then nothing but blackness.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
RYDER
At eight, I frowned at my unread texts.
At eight-fifteen, I glowered at my still unread texts.
At eight-thirty, I paced as my call went to voicemail.
At eight-forty-five, I sent a few salty texts demanding Alex stop ignoring me.
They stayed unread.
At eight-fifty, my annoyance turned to worry.
Alex told me he’d only stick around until eight, then give up and return home if Kenny didn’t show. Not hearing from him likely meant Kenny arrived before the deadline. What if he’d shown up high as a kite and unable to process the conversation? What if he’d been confrontational and aggressive? What if he’d been catatonic and Alex had to call the paramedics or something equally dramatic?
So many things could have gone wrong, and here I sat at home like an idiot twiddling my thumbs.
At eight-fifty-two, I decided to drive over there.
I stuffed my bare feet into the closest pair of sneakers and grabbed my keys on the way to the door.
At eight-fifty-three, I decided I was being ridiculous.
Alex would call me if he needed help with Kenny or if something went wrong. Most likely, the brothers were deep in conversation, and Alex wasn’t paying attention to his phone. That would be a good thing. I shouldn’t interrupt.
I set the keys down but kept the sneakers on as I walked to the couch, where I sat, bouncing my knee and gnawing on the inside of my cheek.
At eight-fifty-eight, my gut screamed at me that something was wrong.
At eight-fifty-eight and thirteen seconds, I hit my limit.
“Fuck this,” I muttered as I hopped back up and grabbed my keys again. If Alex didn’t want me to bust in on his conversation and get all up in their family business, then he should have responded to my damn texts.
And calls.
Rude.
I ran out the door and straight to the elevator, which opened immediately. Thank God. After stepping in, I hit the button for the lobby at least twenty times, like an impatient child hoping to speed up the process. Because that’s how it works.
“Come on,” I muttered as I tapped an impatient rhythm with my toe. Why the fuck was this elevator so slow? For what I paid for this place, it should move at warp speed.
I’d just passed the eighth floor when my phone rang. In my haste to retrieve the device from my pocket, I bobbled and nearly dropped the damn thing. Thankfully, I managed to get it under control before it hit the ground.
Alex’s name flashed across the screen.
I’d never be able to give words to the immense relief that washed over me. It had my breath whooshing out and my knees wobbling to the point I sagged against the elevator wall. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I was a chill guy, but for some reason, tonight fell into that one percent, and I’d fully convinced myself something catastrophic had happened to Alex.