Page 87 of Ryker

“I can’t let go.” Ryker’s voice cracks. “I can’t… I can’t let… her go.”

Muting the sound because I can’t bear to hear anymore, I drop into his chair. What do I do? Listening to the rest would be such an invasion of privacy, but also, it’ll make me want to go back to that suite and try again with this guy.

I refuse.

If he can’t let me go, then he’ll have to come get me. On my turf. On my time.

Although, who’s to say he’s even talking about me at all? That possibility makes my stomach twist. I’ve heard Dmitri say weird shit to Ryker before—during their fight in the hallway—where he said, “She’s not the one.”

There are too many possibilities in what any of this means, and since I don’t know Ryker Hudson intimately, I’ll likely never found out what his issues are. But seeing him break down like this? Watching a grown ass man crumble in such a drastic way?

My god. I can’t put it into words.

I also can’t seem to pull away from the computer. Not until I see both Dmitri and Vault leave. Okay. He must be better now, right? They wouldn’t leave him alone if he was still suffering, would they?

No. They wouldn’t.

Okay, I gotta get out of here. Grabbing my things, I head for the door.

Maybe I should check on Ryker one more time before I go, though. Just to make sure he’s all good.

Creeping back over to his desk, my heart sinks. He looks absolutely broken.

The office door suddenly swings open. Shit! On reflex, I slam the laptop closed like a teenager caught watching porn. Dmitri halts when he sees me behind the desk. “I-I was just getting my stuff.”

He steps inside and shuts the door, locking us both in together. “How much did you see?”

“Nothing. I saw nothing.”

Dmitri slowly closes the gap between us. “Don’t lie, Butterfly. Tell me what you saw.”

“I barely saw anything. Just a group hug.”

He sits down in the leather chair facing me. “Sit.”

“God, what is up with you guys always barking orders at me like I’m a dog?”

“Sit.”

I drop my ass into Ryker’s chair. Damnit. No part of me would take orders outside of this club, and I think the only reason I’m willing to do it now is because I desperately want to know more about Ryker and I’m betting if I play nice, Dmitri will share.

He crosses one leg over the other and leans back in the chair, arching his brow at me.

“What happened in there?” I ask quietly.

“That’s not for me to say.”

Well, this chat just became worthless. I open the laptop and the cameras all come back to life. I watch Ryker stand up and head towards the bathroom. “Will he be okay?”

“Do you honestly care?”

I drag my gaze away from the screen once Ryker’s gone from view. “Yes.”

Dmitri’s expression softens. “Do you really, Tara?”

“Yes. And I hate it.”

“Good.” He gets up and opens the door. “Get the fuck out of here.”

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