“And you just thought you'd drive ninety minutes to offer your best wishes?” she asked sarcastically. It was official, this guy was the worst. Hadn't he gotten her message the last time?
“That mouth of yours,” he said under his breath, staring at the numbers counting down on the display.
“You do realize how inappropriate this is, right?” Ryan's body vibrated with anger and adrenaline as she remembered their last encounter. “You're not welcome here.”
Liam's arm shot out and grabbed Ryan by the back of the neck and he pushed his face into hers. She sucked in a startled gasp. “I'm really getting tired of you being such a bitch when I have been nothing but nice to you,” he ground out. He let her go and she staggered backward just as the door opened on the floor he had chosen.
She made to run past him, but he grabbed her by her arm and yanked her backwards, sending her crashing into the wall beside the door. She hit her head hard and heard ringing. Liam grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling her head back, she let out a cry.
“I'm going to show you exactly what kind of a man I am. And you're going to apologize for your bad manners.” He kept hold of her hair as he twisted her arm behind her back and marched her in the direction of the parking garage.
Chapter 38
Bridge Burning
Sway's knee bounced up and down impatiently. He wanted to get Ryan and get out of there while they still had a window. He felt like he'd just acquired his dad's blessing of sorts and he wanted to talk to her. About everything, as usual.
He wondered if that feeling would ever go away. If he'd ever get tired of hearing her point of view on an issue. The way her brain worked things through and spit out a conclusion that had never occurred to him and seemed so simple to her.
He really wanted her perspective on this. His dad had just dumped a whole lot of confusion on him and Sway needed her reasonable way of sifting through things to help him see the difference in what he was feeling and what was actually said.
Ryan was the only person who knew how to talk to him. Really talk to him. What some people took eighty words to say, she could boil down to five and it made a whole lot more sense than what was usually rolling around in his head. But it wasn't just the talking part that made her different, it was the way she listened. With her head and her heart. Like her soul was attuned to his, honed in on the smallest of nuances. She didn't just pay attention to the obvious or the spoken, it all went in. Which is probably why she was the first woman to trust him, really trust him. Not just hope to trust him. But actually look at him, measure him, and conclude without prejudice that he was the one for her.
He knew it the day he met her. He wasn't sure how, it didn't make any sense and it had made him feel crazy and slightly immature. But she was it. Otherwise he wouldn't have pursued her at all.
It hadn't been easy. But it was solid. Every time they took a step forward, they stayed there until the next step. No backwards movement. Which, when compared to dancing, wasn't exactly feasible, but when compared to having a partner to watch your back in life—it was perfect.
“I feel like she should be back by now,” Mike said, checking his watch, his own knee bouncing. “Just call her.”
Sway nodded in agreement, pulling out his phone and selecting the number that was at the top of his favorites list.
***
“You've got to be kidding me with this,” Ryan said out loud. It seemed too insane to be real. Who does this? Liam had finally gone completely batshit bonkers.
Liam yanked her hair again as he guided her quickly and clumsily through the rows of parked cars. “Shut that mouth. Every time you open it, I just want to smack it.”
He grunted as he maneuvered them through the rows instead of walking straight down the thoroughfare. “You never just follow the plan,” he muttered under his breath. “I thought I'd finally have some time to talk with you while that jackass was distracted. Maybe get some coffee, go back to a hotel. But you always always have to be such a bitch.”
“You can't be serious. You thought, what? We'd have an affair together? You're more of a delusional dick than I originally pegged you for,” she said without regret at having said it. Even when he whirled her around, pressed her back to a car and backhanded her. She glared at him as she licked blood off her lip.
“Big man, hitting a woman half your size. Is this how you keep Cathy in line?”
Liam glared lethally at Ryan. The pain shooting through her arm where he was gripping wasn't enough to keep her from voicing her opinion. She'd had a long couple of days. This was getting ridiculous. And she was pretty convinced that Liam was full of shit.
“What's your plan with this anyway? Kidnap me in front of a thousand security cameras and then plead idiocy when they catch you?” She hoped he wasn't too stupid to hear her sarcasm, she was laying it on pretty thick. But really? This guy? After all that she'd had to do to get to Sway, after all the shit her family had pulled, after her father had made one final appearance to really drive home the fact that she wasn't worthy of springing from his loins and this guy was going to be her final ending? Oh, hell no. Not without her making him feel like an idiot and also taste his own testicles from the inside out.
“I said to SHUT UP!” His empty hand curled around her neck and slammed her head backward against the edge of the top of the car. Oh shit, he was going to knock her out before this was over.
Maybe she was supposed to be scared. Any sane person would be terrified right now. But Ryan was seriously pissed off.
She glared at Liam and pressed her lips together, ignoring the sting of the open cut. He jerked her arm, twisting her back away from the car to continue walking and she let her body go limp. Liam loosened his grip on her arm and tried yanking her back to standing straight. “Stupid bitch.”
Ryan took her opportunity, as she fell toward Liam's body, she thrust her knee hard into his groin. Liam's breath escaped in an “ooph!” as he doubled over, letting her go.
Ryan should have run. It would have been the smart thing to do. Instead, she grabbed the top of his head by a fistful of hair and landed another knee thrust to his nose, breaking it. The space between the cars was cramped, he kicked out his legs and they tangled with hers, taking her down.
On the ground, with blood pouring out of his nose, he used his larger size and strength to overpower her, straddling her body and pining her arms above her head. His hate-filled beady eyes burning into her face.
“I didn't want to have to hurt you,” he spat. “But you just want it so bad.” His arm cocked back, fist clenched.
The adrenaline in her body buzzed with intensity as fear finally took over. He wasn't going to stop. He didn't care if he got caught. He wasn't thinking ahead, he was focused on one thing. Ryan struggled with everything she had, getting one arm free and scratching her fingernails across his face.
She screamed as loud as she could as his fist came down.
And everything went black.
***
“She's not answering.” Sway didn't like this. It didn't make sense. Ryan would have answered. No matter what. Today, she would have made it a point to answer if he called her. Something cold slithered into his stomach and he tried to ignore it. He was being irrational. If Ryan were there, she'd tell him to stop being ridiculous.
But he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong.
“I'll just go look for her,” Lucy said casually, standing up. “Maybe there's not enough reception in the cafeteria.”
“Maybe,” Sway said, deciding to go with her. If he wasn't the only one going, he looked less crazy, right? Besides, Lucy had been twisting her bracelets pretty heavily for a couple of minutes now, so Sway was certain she was feeling just as odd about Ryan's absence as he was.
Lucy looked at him sideways as they proceeded down the hall and to the elevator. “You must really be worried,” Lucy attempted to be light. “You never go anywhere alone with me.” She pressed the button and sent him a tired, for
ced grin.
“Well, you shoot people,” he said by way of explanation, distracted by the slither that had turned into a gnawing on his insides.
“Just the one person. It's not like I have a weird hobby,” she replied with a chuckle, crossing her arms over her chest. “And he deserved it.”
“I don't doubt it,” Sway admitted.
Lucy cast him a questioning eyebrow lift.
Sway shrugged. “I've known Blake a helluva long time. If you haven't shot him by now, the other guy must have most certainly deserved it.”
Lucy barked out a surprised laugh as the elevator doors opened. They entered and turned to face the closing doors, Sway pressed the button. “You seem settled, Sway.”
He glanced in her direction.
“With Ryan, I mean. You're... happy.”
Sway's lips twitched as his eyes drifted to the floor of the lift. “Yeah,” he agreed. His eyes came back up to hers. “It's weird how it happens, isn't it? One day you're just living your life, completely fine doing things on your own. And then you meet the other half of your soul and you have no idea how you managed before, but you know you can't do the rest of your life the same.”
Lucy's large brown eyes glossed over. “You deserve that, Sway. Soul love.”
“Thanks,” he said softly.
The doors opened and they walked down the hall and around the bend, to the cafeteria. Where they searched the near empty seats and even the bathrooms.
“I don't get it,” Sway said, that cold snake of dread tearing into his stomach lining. “If she was going to leave, she would have told me.” He faced Lucy. “Right?
Because right below the surface of his confusion was the fear that she had left. That all they'd been through was suddenly too much and she'd bolted. It didn't make sense. She wasn't a coward. She would have at least sent him a text. No, she'd have told him goodbye.
She wouldn't run.
Lucy frowned and chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Excuse me,” she blurted, stopping a janitor on her way by. The young woman paused, her eyes darting to Sway and Lucy, sizing them up in a way that made her appear older than she probably was. “We're looking for a friend of ours. She came down here a while ago and we can't find her.” Lucy had the woman's attention and kept going. “She's about this tall, blonde hair, tiny little thing.”
The janitor nodded. “Yeah, she left about fifteen minutes ago.” She pointed back the way they had come. “I think your other friend found her already, though.”
Sway entered the exchange. “What friend?”
The janitor shrugged. “Guy. Dark beard. Small eyes. He got onto the elevator with her.”
“Shit,” Sway spat, turning back to the lifts and picking up his pace.
“Thank you,” Lucy told the janitor and ran to catch up to Sway. “Do you know who that is?”
“Her douchebag neighbor that has a problem with personal space.” He punched the button with two fingers. “Shit!”
“Okay,” Lucy said calmly. “But he lives in Hartford. Why is he here?”
Sway shook his head, the snake in his stomach becoming violent and sinister. “Probably a paper or something. He knew she'd be here. And I'd be distracted!” he snarled, hitting the button again.
The doors opened to the second lift, not the one they had ridden up on. Sway charged right on in and stopped short when he spotted a cell phone in the corner. He didn't have to pick it up to know that it was Ryan's.
“Maybe she accidentally dropped it,” Lucy suggested, but her tone belied her belief in that idea.
Sway's eyes connected with Lucy's and he tried to remember how to breathe. This couldn't be happening. Not today.
Lucy lurched to the panel of buttons and pressed one. She turned around, her eyes wild. “The parking garage. He couldn't just walk her out the front door.”
Sway wasn't sure. It kind of made sense, but that didn't say much considering the circumstances. The doors closed and Sway dared to hope.
Because it was rapidly becoming the only thing he had left. He didn't trust that bastard, he never had. And it made his gut turn at the thought of Liam alone with Ryan's goodness.
“I'll call security,” Lucy said, her phone already out. “Maybe someone has already seen them.”
“What if...?”
Lucy shook her head, refusing to hear him. “We'll find her.”
The doors opened and Sway broke into a jog down the hall, Lucy right behind him. He crashed through the double doors and stopped in the open thoroughfare, his heart thundering in his chest.
Nothing. Just cars. No people, no sounds.
The air was pierced with a woman's scream that sent Sway's skin crawling and his pulse into a gallop.
“Ryan?” he called, his voice sounding intensely panicked in his own ears. “Ryan!” he screamed, running in the direction he had heard her.
It had to be her. No other voice screaming out like that would have him feeling so terror-stricken. The part he was trying to not think about, and yet was completely focused on, was how her voice had been suddenly silenced.
“This can't be happening,” he said to himself, pausing to look down every aisle of cars and then jog on. His head was filled with every awful scenario possible, playing through each torturous one at light-speed and then starting over again. He couldn't lose her. Not today. Not ever.
The next aisle turned his gut to gravel.
Liam was just righting himself after having leaned into the passenger side seat of his truck. He stood, turning his face in Sway's direction, blood running out of his nose and into his beard. Long, bloody scratches along his face.
Sway didn't have to see who was in the truck. He knew.
“Hey!” Sway challenged, his legs already heading in that direction.
Liam hurried to the driver's side and pulled the door open. But Sway was already on him. He grabbed his shoulder, whirling him around and landing a solid fist along Liam's cheekbone. Liam fell backwards into the truck, he grappled with the door frame and steering wheel then came back out of the truck with a revolver.
Sway froze.
“Just back up and let us get out of here,” Liam said, his voice empty and dark.
Sway's eyes flicked to Ryan's unconscious form slumped over in the front seat. She was so small.
Liam motioned with the gun, getting Sway's attention again. “Back up,” he repeated. “Or she won't have anyone to come back to when I'm done with her.”
Sway refused to look at the gun, instead he stared hard into Liam's eyes. “I hate you.”
Liam smirked. “I bet you do.” He took another step away from the truck, backing Sway up further. “Keep going.”
Sway didn't know if Liam was a killer. He hadn't assumed he was one when he first met the guy, but that didn't mean anything. Nothing about Liam's recent choices screamed “sanity.”
And getting shot might be worth it. As long as it meant Ryan being safe. Sway had a sudden flash—an epiphany. He didn't care what happened to him. At all. Ever. Not if it meant Ryan would be hurt by his doing nothing. Yeah, Sway could let Liam leave with her and she might be okay eventually. Or, Sway could do everything in his power to stop Liam now and save Ryan any sort of pain inflicted by this asshole.
The sound of a gun discharging made Sway flinch. At first he thought Liam had actually shot him, but Liam was struggling with an arm around his neck and another one holding onto his gun hand from behind, pointing to the floor. It went off again and Lucy and Liam staggered backwards into the door of the truck, closing it. Liam cried out in pain as Lucy smashed the back of his hand against the hood of the truck and the gun clattered to the ground.
Sway stepped up, kicking the gun away and landing a one-two punch to Liam's gut. Liam doubled over and Lucy scrambled out from behind him, Taser drawn. She didn't even hesitate. As the bearded man's body went down in spasms, Sway threw Lucy a look as he hurried to the passenger side of the truck. “Why didn't you just tase him to start with?”
She shrugged. “It's less satisfying to hit a guy when he's already down, and I wanted to offer you that opportunity.” She pulled out her cell phone and placed it to her ear, keeping the Taser trained on Liam.
Sway ran to the door of the truck and yanked it open. Ryan's limp body and bloodied face, filled him with fear. His hands shook as he pulled her free of the vehicle. His knees buckled and they both sank to the ground.
“Baby,” he whispered, pushing her hair out of her face, noting the bruise forming around her eye and the split in her lip. “Ryan, sweetie, wake up.” She was the smallest she had ever been. Tiny, little. Just a wisp of a promise. Her personality was so huge that he'd always pictured her as being his height, his size, proportionally speaking. His chest burned, and his eyes strained to focus on her. His hand slipped to her neck and the healthy thrum of her pulse below his fingers eased the pressure in his head, but barely.
“C'mon, brown eyes, you got this.”
Her eyes fluttered open and landed on him. “Sway. Liam!” She sucked in a breath and tried to sit up.
“Lucy tased him. It's okay. He's drooling onto the pavement right now,” Sway said, cradling her face with a palm as his other hand gripped her body, feeling its presence, its warmth, its safety in his arms. He didn't want to ever let her go again.
“How did you know?” she asked, touching his chin, as if to make sure he was really there.
“I told you, we have Radar Love.” The twisting in his stomach ceased at the sight of her smile, even though it was slightly blemished by the split in her lip and the blood oozing out.
“Everything comes back to rock and roll with you guys.”
“It's a disorder. I should have told you sooner. Chances are I'll pass it on to our kids.”
She lightened his heart by letting out a chuckle. “I really hate that guy.”
“He's the worst,” Sway agreed seriously.
“Stay down there!” Lucy barked from the other side of the truck. “So help me, I will shoot you again.”
Sway chuckled, thankful that he'd gone with Lucy on this little expedition. She was still scary as hell. Good thing she was on their side.
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