Page 46 of Rescuing Ryder
She closed the door behind her. He checked Claire’s vitals for himself, kissed her head, and settled into the recliner. He prepared to chase her monsters away and made damn sure the one who put her in the bed no longer bothered her again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Claire winced as the specialist checked her eye again. The bright light seemed to penetrate through her brain and her head throbbed. A week flew by in chopped-up segments of her waking to discover a different person sitting with her. Ryder seemed to take the night shift while the women settled into a routine of visiting during the day. Of course, it made sense, considering he went to his appointments with Dr. Hill. In the afternoon, he attended physical therapy and joined Whiskey for evening sessions.
She felt relieved when he showed up nightly. Yet it confused her. Claire heard him tell Kassie how he felt and then he slept beside her in the recliner. Hopefully, Chase planned to release her today and allow her to return home.
Kassie arrived and assisted her into the recliner, which smelled like Ryder. She placed the quilt over her lap and brought in a breakfast tray. Instead of leaving her to eat, Kassie changed the sheets on her bed and sat on the edge facing her.
“How do you feel?” she asked. “You’re still moving a bit slowly. It’ll take a while before the headaches disappear completely. I don’t want you driving.”
“Does this constitute my discharge paperwork? Believe me, I want to sleep in my own bed. Don’t take this wrong, but I’m ready to bust outta here.”
Kassie chuckled. “I don’t blame you. Chase will release you when he returns from the team meeting.” She grew quiet. “They’re concerned about you.”
Claire sighed and put down her fork. “I’m feeling better.”
“We’re worried about you. Why didn’t you confide in us about this Kilner guy? If Ryder didn’t go after you, we might be organizing a funeral for you,” Kassie admonished.
“I went to the police in Seattle. They confirmed he remained under lock and key. The captain suggested it might be a few bored teens terrifying a new resident,” she explained.
Kassie frowned. “You didn’t tell us. Then this situation with Ryder…”
“There’s no situation with Ryder,” she rushed.
Kassie sighed. “It’s me. I see the way you interact with him.” She held up her hand when Claire started to interrupt. “I’m not saying you acted inappropriately. You clung to him and refused to let him go until we sedated you to give you the care you needed. When you woke, you searched for him. I know those feelings and how deep they run. As your friend Claire, I’m telling you it’s okay to feel close to someone. I’m hoping one day you’ll realize the line between us isn’t gray… it’s nonexistent. Because we’re more than friends, Claire. We’re your family.” She didn’t wait for a reply as she walked from the room.
Ryder rangthe bell at the Serenity Securities building. Within a minute, the SEAL, Shadow, opened the door and allowed him in. Ryder only met the team for PT in the woods and on the outdoorequipment. Now he received the invitation to join them at the facility. Somehow, it didn’t feel like an honor. A feeling in his gut warned him they didn’t ask for social reasons.
Shadow lifted his chin and pointed down the hall. “Whiskey’s in the kitchen. Tess made homemade waffles and Taco’s helping. Head straight, and I’ll see you in a few.”
Ryder headed in the direction Shadow pointed and smelled the heavenly scent of breakfast cooking and people chatting.
He entered the kitchen to see Whiskey sitting at the table with his laptop. Leo held baby Grace and fed her a bottle. Tess and Taco stood side by side while she flipped the waffles. Taco’s hand trailed down her back in a possessive manner. Chase walked in behind him, still in a doctor’s coat. Leo nodded for Ryder to sit.
He glanced at the serious expressions on the men’s faces and noticed Tess disappear from the room. Shadow and Matthew joined the table. Taco set down a plate of waffles, a platter of assorted breakfast meats and a bowl of fruit. Like one big family, they passed the bowls to one another, and Taco dumped stuff on Leo’s plate while he burped the baby. Saint drifted in at the last minute, sitting beside him. Taco passed Ryder a plate.
He picked a waffle and filled a side bowl with fruit. He grabbed the butter and lathered the food in syrup.
“We called you here because I want to question you about the night of Claire’s attack. Why did you follow her?” Leo asked as he dug into his breakfast.
“Claire made a deal with me from the beginning. I didn’t have to talk. Believe it or not, your friend can’t assemble anything with a screwdriver. You must’ve witnessed her bringing in projects for me to put together. I became her handyman of sorts up until a few weeks ago.” Ryder sipped his coffee.
“Did she say anything to you about David Kilner?” Shadow asked him as he bit into some fruit.
“No. I’m a previous patient of hers. What about you?” Ryder bit out.
Leo frowned. Shadow shot daggers at him as he seethed, “She’s our friend.”
“You’ve visited her house quite a bit, from what Chase’s godfather, Jake, tells us. He says one of her neighbors mentioned Claire screamed a couple of times when you showed up. Claire assured the neighbor you were a friend who startled her. Do you care to explain why you made her scream?” Leo cut through the bullshit of the meeting.
Ryder sipped the orange juice, considering if he wanted to tell the group to fuck off. The only thing stopping him was the worried expressions on their faces. “If you’re truly her friend, you might’ve painted that eyesore of a house instead of fixing the landscape. I’m afraid I startled her one night as she fled the house because she thought someone broke in.”
“When you asked to transfer to Dr. Hill, did something occur between you?” Chase asked.
“No.”
“I went through the tapes. It seems like you met her when she went jogging and then you stopped suddenly,” Matthew stated as he reached for the butter.