Page 170 of Fought and Freed

Skylar nodded. “He was moved to the ICU, right beside Cody.”

Maddy looked eagerly toward the door. “We can go back?”

“Yes, we can,” Giselle said.

“Don’t tell Ryder about the baby,” Maddy begged. “I want to tell him when he’s fully awake.”

Giselle mimed zipping her lips. “We won’t say a word.”

Maddy knelt next to Kelly. “I’m going to the ICU for a bit. Would you like to come with me or stay here?”

Kelly nervously scanned the room.

“She’ll be fine here.” Giselle gave her a motherly smile. “Won’t you, dear?”

“If you need me, all you have to do is tell one of the guys, and they’ll come get me,” Maddy added, and Kelly nodded in agreement.

Standing, Maddy briskly walked back to the room next to Cody’s.

Ryder was sitting up a bit, with his eyes barely opened.

“Silk.” His voice was rough.

Maddy’s shoulder dropped, and everything she’d been feeling burst out. Sobbing, she hurried around the bed to his good side and laid her head on his shoulder. “I thought I lost you.”

He clumsily stroked her back. “You could never lose me, Maddy.”

She stayed draped half on top of him, bawling her eyes out for a long time. His arm wrapped around her as she cried. She didn’t remember crawling into bed with him, but that was where she ended up.

When she calmed down, she looked up at him. “How did you get to the warehouse so quickly?”

“I was with Lucca and Marco. Marco lives in the same building as Honey, apparently. I ran into him one day while visiting my sister, and we talked. When I told him how I wasn’t sure what to do with my life, he said he’d seen me a couple of times at Inferno.” He looked down at her. “Did you know Sal owns that place?”

She shook her head. “No, they never told me.”

“He asked me how I’d feel about running a different type of dance club. It would be like Inferno, but with a stage for shows and special theme nights.” He smiled crookedly. “That’s where I’ve been going so much. We’ve been working out the design for the club.”

“Why didn’t you want to tell us that?” she asked.

“I wanted to surprise everyone with a draft.” He looked sheepish. “I was with Marco and Lucca, looking at a location near where you were being held when Lucca got the call from Torr. We took off and snuck inside, weaving our way through the boxes and staying hidden. My heart stopped when I saw him point that gun at you. I ran, praying I could get to you in time.”

Maddy clung to him. “I hope we never have to go through something like this again.”

He yawned. “Me, too.”

He closed his eyes and was fast asleep.

Maddy stayed with him for a bit, just listening to his heartbeat. Then, she snuck out and went into Cody’s room for a bit.

“Hey, sweetheart. Were you just at Ryder’s?” Concern filled Cody’s eyes. “You look tired.”

She took the seat beside Cody’s bed. “A lot has happened. Harry found Kelly, and I’ve been with her. They had an orderly pinning her down in bed, and she was screaming. I told them to get out. It doesn’t sound like Mike did anything physical to her, but she’s traumatized from being kept in a cage.”

Cody growled. “I wish I could kill Mike all over again.”

“That’s what Harry said, too.” Maddy took a breath. “Grant talked about me to her the few times he could see her, so she knew about me. I hope you don’t mind, but I told her she could stay with us. I explained that she won’t have her own room right away.”

He nodded. “Of course, I don’t mind.”

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