Page 77 of Critical Doubt

"What?" Ryker demanded. "What do you mean?" He didn't want to believe what she'd said, but he already knew it was true.

"Hank died on the way to the hospital. The nurse gave me his phone. When I saw your text, I thought I should tell you so you didn't come to your meeting. But I don't even know who you are."

"I served with Hank in the army."

"Oh, that makes sense. I'm sorry I didn't know. We've only been dating a few months and he's not a big talker about his army days. I can't believe he's gone. I think we could have been something, but now I'll never know." At the end of her sentence, Brenda started to cry. "I—I have to go."

"Wait," he said sharply. "Where did it happen?"

"Larimer Park. I can't talk anymore. It's too much. I'm sorry."

The connection ended, and he felt an overwhelming sense of rage. He picked up the phone and threw it against the wall. "Hank is dead."

Savannah stared back at him with concern. "What happened?"

"He went for a run and was hit by a car. Sounds like what almost happened to us."

"Who was on the phone?"

"A woman named Brenda. She said she's his girlfriend. Dammit! I should have stayed with Hank. I should have insisted we meet earlier."

"You tried. I was there. He barely wanted to meet you tonight."

"What about Mason? He could be next."

"Call him," she said, walking over to grab his phone from the floor. "Tell him what happened."

He punched in Mason's number. It went to voice mail after the fourth ring. "No answer," he said tersely.

"He said he was working late."

"Or he could be dead, too." That realization hit him hard, and the phone dropped out of his hand. "I can't be the only one left." He looked at Savannah, feeling a sudden tidal wave of fear and pain. And then the bells went off…

As Ryker covered his ears and fell to his knees, Savannah went down on the floor with him, putting her arms around his shoulders, refusing to let him push her away.

But this time her comfort wasn't enough. He started yelling. "Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Every agonizing word made her cringe. This attack seemed worse than all the rest. And she knew what had triggered it—Hank's death, the possibility that Mason could be gone, too. But hopefully that wasn't true. Mason was just in a meeting; he wasn't answering his phone.

With Hank's death right on the heels of their narrow miss the night before, she had to think about Ryker, about the danger he could be in. Suddenly, their isolated cove didn't seem like a great place to be. They needed to get back to the marina. They needed to go somewhere else, somewhere safe.

She just couldn't go anywhere until Ryker got through this episode. He'd stopped yelling, but his eyes were squeezed tight, every muscle in his face tense, as if he couldn't bear to see what he was seeing or hear what he was hearing.

"Ryker," she said sharply. "Ryker. Open your eyes. Look at me." She paused. "Look at me," she repeated.

His eyes flew open, and his raw gaze almost made her want to turn away.

"Listen to me, not the bells," she ordered. "We have to get out of here. We need to go upstairs, and you need to get us back to the marina. I can't do it without you. I need you, Ryker." She was suddenly terrified that he couldn't come back to her, that his fear that one day he'd go completely crazy and lose his mind might actually be happening now. "I need you to be with me. I need you to protect me," she said, hoping his sense of duty would wake him up.

He stared at her for a long minute, his chest still heaving from his rough breaths, but finally his breathing came easier.

Relief ran through her. She ran her hands up and down his arms, bringing warmth and life with every touch. He blinked again, and his gaze refocused.

"What—what did you say?" he asked in confusion.

"We have to go back to the marina. We need to find somewhere safe to stay. Someone could be coming for you next."

"Right." He scrambled to his feet. "Sorry."

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