Page 30 of Riding Danger

In a matter of minutes, Ethan had everything he needed for the next twenty-four hours and I was busy locking up my house.

As I made my way to my car, he called over. “Dad?”

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“You promise you’ll call me?” His voice was small, but the solemness could not be denied.

“I promise.” And there was no way I was breaking a promise to my son.

That seemed to appease him and Tess drove off as I got behind the wheel of my car.

One of the benefits of small-town living was how much less traffic there was. It didn’t hurt that it took less than fifteen minutes to drive from one end of town to the other. I was at thesmall hospital within five minutes. And I didn’t have to break too many traffic rules to do it.

The argument with the nurse at the desk outside took longer than expected. It was true that one of the things I loved about Marina De Ferrier was that no one treated me like a celebrity. Still, there were times when being me meant doors would open. Unfortunately, that door was not to the emergency room where the mother of my child was.

I was about to take out my phone to call Tess, surely, she knew someone who could help me, when Dr. Evans stepped into the emergency room.

“Hey, Brenda.” He smiled at the nurse on duty. “Dr. Banner had to call in sick, I’m filling in.” He spotted me. “Ryder. What are you doing here? Is Ethan okay?”

He worked here. Maybe he could help me. “Shiloh’s been shot. And no one will let me see her.”

The man smiled at Brenda. “Worried the celebrity is overplaying his hand?”

“He abandoned that poor girl when she needed him.”

Dr. Evans nodded. “I’m not one to cross Nurse Brenda. But if you go through there,” he pointed beyond the grey screen, “follow all the men and women in blue. They’ll be circling until she is released.”

I smiled at him and then forced one for Nurse Brenda. “Thank you.”

Beyond the grey screen, I could tell that Dr. Evans was right. The sea of navy-blue uniforms was rather overwhelming. It looked like every cop in town was hovering around the emergency room. The sight was rather intimidating and I had to wonder how they were not in the way. Also, if they were all here, who the fuck was patrolling the streets.

By the time I got to front of all the uniforms, I was just in time to see Shiloh pulling out of Harry’s arms.

“I’m fine.” She rolled her eyes at her father. “I’ll be back at work in a day or two.”

Like hell she would. “You’ll be back at work when the doctor says it's okay.”

Something crossed her face when she saw me. It was gone too quickly for me to pinpoint, but I was sure it was relief. Was she glad I was here? Her next question indicated not.

“Ryder, what are you doing here?” She looked around me and frowned. “Where is Ethan?”

Did she honestly think I would’ve brought him with me? I tried not to feel insulted and focused on her.

“He’s with your mom.” I stepped ahead of everyone else and took out my phone. “She’ll take him to school tomorrow. Smile.”

I took a step back from her to take a picture. Her frown was adorable, though I imagined she was trying to intimidate me. “What are you doing?”

“I promised Ethan I would let him know that you’re okay as soon as I saw you.”

Her face softened as her shoulder dropped, but she did offer me her beautiful smile. “Don’t get the bandage in.”

Again with the underestimation. But I let it slide. I still needed to prove myself to her, and it was neither the time nor the place for me to get offended.

I sent the image to Tess and before I could say another word, another man walked in. He was roughly our age and had an air of money about him.

“Hey,” he said. “I just heard, are you okay?

“Theo.” She smiled at him. Not the same way she smiled at me, or even Ethan, but there was definite familiarity there. “You guys don’t need to fuss.”

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