Page 15 of Her Darkest Possession
"That can come later. Mom's not that cut up about it, and I figured I don't need to be either until the funeral itself." He pulls up a nearby seat, and in the process, gives Marcus a sideways arrogant glance. "At any rate, she's been preparing for his funeral since their divorce two years ago. So, no love lost there."
Fuck you.
His eyes travel over my body, and that sleazy gleam in his eyes flashes just a little bit brighter. I can't help but pull the sheets higher.
"But I didn't think I'd see you again. I mean, wow. Amelia Taylor." He finally looks me in the eye. "You look good, by the way."
My jaw drops open "Are you fucking serious right now, Ryan?"
"What? I'm not allowed to compliment you?"
"I'm in a fucking hospital! And you think you have the right to just come in and comment about how good I look?"
"You're right." He holds up his hands and gives a non-apologetic bow with his head. "That was super inappropriate of me. I just didn't think I'd ever see you again."
"Yeah, and I was hoping I'd never see you again. But here you fucking are."
The subtle shift in Ryan's expression is unmistakable. Politeness vanishes, and the sleaziness in his eyes turn predatory as he looks at me. I want to tear my eyes away, but I'm afraid that if I do, he's going to keep undressing me with those eyes.
"Look, Amelia, I said I was sorry, alright?" His hand moves like he wants to touch my arm, but he stops when he sees that I'mstaring icy daggers at him. "What, do you want me to get on my knees and beg you for forgiveness? For what? For some bullshit that my dad did? That's all in the past. Let it go. And maybe once you do, we can catch up again. I'd love to take you to dinner and?—"
"What the hell is wrong with you?" The words explode loud enough to finally get him to shut up for once. "Are you seriously trying to ask me out on a fucking date right now? Have you noticed that you haven't even once asked about just how thefuckI ended up in here in the first place?"
Ryan stands up, and the fake friendliness in his voice finally gives way to indignity and reveals who he really is underneath the surface.
Just an angry man who hates it when he's not getting his way.
He jabs a finger in my face, snarling. "You know?—"
That's when Marcus rests a heavy hand on Ryan's arm. "I think it's time to leave, son."
"Fuck off." Ryan shoves Marcus away before he turns back to me. "You haven't changed one fucking bit, Amelia. You're still that same holier-than-thou bitch who thinks she has the right to lecture people."
"Oh, you're one to talk, Ryan." I sit up straighter now in bed. "Because from where I am right now, you're still the biggest piece of shit I've ever met in my life. Even more than your father."
"Don't you dare talk about my father," he hisses. "My father was a good man."
"Your father was a fucking rapist!" The words that I tried to scream at him two years ago in that awful summer finally came pouring out. "And I'm glad he's fucking dead. Because death is the least he fucking deserves for what he did to me."
"Shut your fucking mouth." He shakes his head dangerously.
But I don't care anymore.
"Or what? Are you going to shut it for me? Like your father did?"
A dark shadow passes over Ryan's face, and for a moment, I think that maybe I might've said too much. Pushed him too far. Then, his hand rises. Dread rushes through my heart as I squeeze my eyes shut, expecting to feel the crack of his hand across my face.
But it never comes.
Instead, I hear a deep rumbling voice snarling. "Get the fuck away from my wife."
My eyes fly open to see Anatoly standing by the hospital bed. His broad shoulders tense and his ice-blue eyes burning with unspeakable anger. And he's squeezing Ryan's wrist so tightly that Ryan's entire hand has turned gone limp.
"Who the fuck are you?" Ryan asks, but I can hear the uncertainty creeping into his voice.
Anatoly leans in closer, and it's like the air gets sucked out with each inch he gets into Ryan's face. His presence—controlled violence barely contained in a designer suit—is overwhelming.
And it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
