Page 6 of Save Me

“What are you talking about? You know my name.”

“No, I knowpartof your name. There’s got to be more to it than just Ryker.”

Shaking his head, he said, “Nope.”

“Seriously?” she deadpanned. “So that’s it. Just Ryker. No last name?”

“Maybe that is my last name,” he countered.

“And your first name?”

He grinned. “Just one name.”

“So…you’reRykerRyker?” she asked with one brow perfectly raised.

When she said it like that, it sounded ridiculous, but he was enjoying the banter. “No, just the one name. You know, like Adele, Cher, or Madonna.”

Her lips twitched. “Are you saying you’re like…an aging pop diva?”

I walked right into that one, didn’t I?

“Or like Bono, Sting, or Prince,” he corrected.

“Do you sing?” she asked.

“Um…what?”

Nodding, she once again asked, “Do you sing? I mean…the single name and the comparison to all these musicians, I’m assuming there’s a connection.”

Unable to help himself, Ryker laughed. “Ryleigh, I’m just offering to take you to pick up your keys so you can take your car and go home and save face with your family. Do you want my help or not?”

She eyed him warily. “Fine. I do. But I’m texting my sister and my best friend Ivy. If anything happens to me, they’re going to make sure bad things happen to you.”

“Consider me warned,” he told her before walking over to his truck.

“Um…maybe this isn’t a good idea.”

With a weary sigh, Ryker turned to face her. “Why now?”

“There’s no way I can get into that truck! It’s like…I’d need a ladder to climb in!”

Fine, the truck was a little on the high side. The Ford had been modified quite a bit, but…it was temporary. He was only driving it until he found something else.

“No ladder, Princess. There’s a step and I can help you up.” Walking up behind her, Ryker opened the door and held a hand out to her. The look she gave him told him she was not happy about it, but when she finally put her hand in his, he felt like they’d finally taken that first step into friendlier territory.

Only took six months, but…who’s counting?

It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to put his hands on her ass to help her that last little bit. She smiled nervously at him once she was seated, and Ryker jogged around to the driver’s side and climbed in.

“Okay, where to?”

Ryleigh didn’t come out and give him the address; she simply started giving him directions. “Make a left out of the parking lot and go down to Elm and make a right.”

He did as she instructed.

“So…this fight with your mom. It was bad, huh?”

“To me it was.”

---