Page 110 of Hellbent
“Who tried to grab you?” he asks. “Did you recognize them?”
I shake my head. “No. But they came after I got there, so I think someone at the bar tipped them off.”
Damian steps in, voice sharp. “What did they say?”
I hesitate. Swallow. My palms sting like they’re remembering the pavement.
“They said they had orders. Tried to drag me to a van.”
Jake’s expression darkens instantly. “Fuck. Did they touch you?”
I shudder at the memory of Scar on top of me, unbuckling his belt, but shake my head. “I’m fine.”
“And the men?” Damian asks, voice clipped. “Did they get away?”
Ryder doesn’t blink. “No.”
Jake’s head turns. “Jesus. You found her? How did you even know she was there?”
Ryder exhales. “She tripped the Zone Three motion sensor. I got the alert and saw her heading west.”
Damian finally speaks. Voice low, cutting: “And you didn’t call us?”
Ryder meets his eyes, calm as ice. “Didn’t have time.”
Jake’s thumb brushes against my cheek. I lift my eyes to his. He watches me with deep concern.
“What the fuck, baby?” he says softly.
“I’m okay,” I whisper.
Jake’s jaw works. “But you’ve got bruises.”
“She’s fine,” Ryder interjects, with a strange hostility.
There’s a pregnant pause.
Then—
“And what happened after you saved her?” asks Damian.
The look that Ryder gives Damian makes me viscerally uncomfortable, but Damian doesn’t so much as flinch—his hazel eyes are hard as diamonds.
“It’s handled,” Ryder says. The words are low and final. “That’s all anyone needs to know.”
“I’m sure it was,” snorts Damian, dropping an empty duffel bag on the dining room table and brushing past Ryder on his way into the kitchen.
He doesn’t so much as look at me—jaw tight, eyes cold—and the implications of my actions start to sink in. Like a stone dropping through my heart.
Jake is the only one who seems oblivious to the unspoken tension in the room. His hand brushes the small of my back, pulling my attention back to him. It’s warm, familiar, and welcome—and it just compounds my guilt. But for a moment I just let myself be grateful to him.
“Hey,” he murmurs, voice dropping low. “I’ve missed you.”
He leans in and kisses my cheek. The corner of my mouth.
My heart jumps. I feel the heat of Ryder’s eyes on us.
Jake kisses my lips—just softly, barely there—and I stiffen.
