Page 79 of Locked Down

He gave her a quick smile.“It’s fine, Vic. I’ll get it taken care of.”

She moved behind him and sucked in a harsh breath. His back was a mass of cuts and still had glass shards sticking out of it.“We need to get you to a hospital.”

Her uncle’s cell went off and he answered it. His face turned a deep shade of purple. He started to say something, but the line must have gone dead. He stared at the phone and then threw it across the room.

“You ungrateful little bitch!”he yelled and lunged at Vic.

Ryker moved her out of the way and met Davis head-on. He grabbed the senator by the throat and slammed him up against the wall.“You brought this on yourself, you piece of shit. I’m going to enjoy squeezing the life out of you.”

He was closing his hand and her uncle’s face was now the color of a pomegranate. She should be horrified, but somehow, it just didn’t seem to bother her.

Archer came to stand beside him. He had his cell to his ear.“Yes, Mr. President. No, sir, Davis is alive. Yes, sir. He will stay that way.”Archer hit Ryker’s shoulder, but he didn’t stop. Archer hit him again but Ryker wouldn’t let go.

“Ryker,”Vic said,“stop! The president wants you to stop. I want you to stop.”

Ryker glanced at her and then let go. Davis fell to the floor, coughing and gagging.

Ryker sneered at him.“You are so fucking lucky right now that I don’t kill you. You come anywhere near Vic and I’ll rip you limb from limb, the president be damned.”

* * *

“Is he okay?”Vic asked as she peeked her head in the hospital room.

Archer nodded.“We were just leaving.”He, Rush, and Cash nodded to her as they left.

“Hey,”she said quietly.

Ryker was sitting up in bed. He was still wearing his tux pants, but his chest was bare. His back was a mass of bandages that she could see the ends of as they came up and over his shoulders and around his ribs.

“Are you in much pain?”The thought of Ryker being in pain was a hard one to swallow.

“No. They give good drugs here.”He gave her a quick smile.“How about you? Are you okay?”

She nodded.“Yeah. A couple of small cuts but that’s about it.”

“Good.”He was studying her.

She purposely stood about halfway across the room. She knew if she went closer, she wouldn’t be able to do what she had to do.“Ryker, I…I can’t thank you enough for saving my life. I…you…you were amazing. I owe you my life.”

He smiled at her.“I can think of a way you can pay me back,”he said with a slow sexy smile that made her nipples pucker while her heart was shattering.

When she didn’t respond, the smile slid off his face and a coldness crept into his blue eyes.“You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

She nodded.“Yes. I…I need to go. I have to process everything that happened. I always planned on leaving and I need a clean break now more than ever.”

“I understand.”His face was a mask of blandness. It was as if they were discussing the weather.

“Do you? I…care about you Ryker but I…I just need some time. I have a lot to figure out.”

He nodded.“You’ve been very clear since the beginning. You said you had nothing to stay for in D.C. I understand that. Good luck, Vic. I hope it all works out for you.”

“Ryker I?—”

“I’m tired, and my back is on fire. I’m sure you have a flight to catch. Please close the door on your way out.”He eased back onto the pillows and closed his eyes.

Vic was grateful at that moment that he couldn’t see her because her heart was in a million pieces, and she was sure it was written all over her face.

THIRTY-FOUR

---