Wrapped Up: A Triple Threat Sports Romance (44 page)

She waited. She kept her eyes on Ryder, waiting for him to make his move. It had to be soon, right? He couldn’t let them take them somewhere, or maybe they’d just shoot them anyway. Her father had said Ryder needed to be killed, so maybe he was only seconds from death. They met eyes and he smiled a little. She wanted him to give her some idea of the plan. Some little sign or something so she would know what to do.

But as she waited and watched him, she could almost see him thinking. And he didn’t look like he had a plan. He looked like he was still figuring things out. Which was no good. She couldn’t wait any longer. There had been too much of this. Too much waiting and too much anxiety about what might happen and too many threats. She needed this to be over. Needed to just be with him and have him hold her close and kiss her. Enough of this.

She didn’t want to put any more stress on the baby. She’d heard that stress was bad when you were pregnant and the level of stress she had faced in the last few days was likely far more than she should have faced in months. She needed to get to safety and have peace, and she should see a doctor. She didn’t even know when she was due and she wanted to know if the baby was a boy or a girl. Doctors could do all of that. Maybe not the one upstairs, clearly, but doctors who did that sort of thing could see inside her belly and assure her everything was just fine.

Then she thought of something. Obviously, Ryder couldn’t shoot her father because Paolo would shoot him, and he couldn’t shoot Paolo because then Matteo would shoot her. But if she could cause some sort of distraction, then maybe Ryder would be able to kill them both. She was in the perfect place to hurt her father, too. He probably didn’t even realize it. She held Ryder’s gaze and went for it.

She stuck out her arm and brought it back as hard as she could, sending her hard little elbow right into his crotch. That always hurt men. That was why you went for that spot first. It was the easiest and the surest. A guy was nearly incapacitated when you kneed him or elbowed him in the balls.

And this time was no different. Her father bent over in pain. She smiled for an instant, but then shouted to Ryder to kill him. In case he’d thought maybe she wouldn’t want him to or something.

She ducked and moved out of the way. That worked out to be perfect because her moving drew Paolo’s attention. Then Ryder was able to get his gun and shoot.

Only then did she stop to think. He’d set down his gun. What if that had been his only gun? She might have just gotten them killed. Seemed like Paolo should have checked him for other weapons or something. She knew that Ryder never had just one gun on him. Didn’t her father know that, too? He had to. So, wouldn’t Paolo? Oh well, better for them that he hadn’t, because if he had, she might have done a very bad thing. She hoped Ryder wasn’t mad at her for doing it. It had been kind of risky.

But Ryder shot her father, then Paolo. When both of them were on the floor dead and her and Ryder were uninjured, it looked like it had been a good plan after all. Thank goodness. But there were more men coming for them. She heard footsteps all around them, and she was terrified all over again. There were so many guns, all aimed at them. But now she didn’t have to worry. Ryder was here.

She dove for him, throwing herself into his arms like she’d wanted to so badly for days. He squeezed her back and the feeling sent liquid warmth and comfort running through her. This was where she was meant to be. Right here in his arms.

There wasn’t time for a kiss. They had to get moving now or they’d be in trouble all over again. But the men were coming at them from every side. What could they do?

Ryder took her hand and tugged her forward. They ran up the stairs two at a time. She was out of breath when they reached the top. She still needed desperately to eat something to get her strength. She’d have to find some energy from somewhere, though, because the men were on their heels.

They went into her father’s room, the master bedroom. The door was locked, but with one hard kick, Ryder broke it down. As they ran, he would turn around every few seconds to shoot someone who was getting too close. How in the world did he aim like that as they were all running? He continued to amaze her.

She dashed over to her father’s dresser and tore open the top drawer. She reached to the back, where she knew he kept extra money. She grabbed everything that was there.

“What are you doing?” Ryder asked, exasperated.

She held up the cash for a split second before shoving it in her pocket.

“Come on,” he said.

They pushed open the French doors that led to the balcony. She’d been so upset when they moved into this house years ago and he wouldn’t give her the room with the balcony. He said he’d have one built onto her room, but he never did. Jerk. It was a gorgeous view usually. But right now, all she could see were two dead bodies in the yard.

Ryder led her to the side of the balcony and up to the railing. “Climb carefully down the trellis. I’ll be right behind you.”

“But they’ll be here before I can get down and you can follow. How will you get out?”

“Don’t worry about me.” He leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss. “As soon as you hit the ground, run.”

“But, Ryder—”

“Go!”

She swung her leg over the railing and grabbed onto the thin bars of the trellis. She looked over at him and met his eyes for a moment. “I love you,” she said.

He pulled his mouth into a crooked smile. “I love you. Now go.”

The trellis looked like it would barely hold her as she began her climb. How would it ever hold Ryder? She made her way down as quickly as she could. One foot, then a hand, then another foot and another hand. Her bare feet touched the grass, she let go, and looked back up at the balcony.

He was standing there, alternating between watching her and looking behind him. He saw her reach the ground and as she watched him watching her, a man appeared behind him and put his arm around Ryder’s throat.

Pia screamed and watched in horror. She reached for the trellis to climb back up, but she wouldn’t be able to do anything. She dropped her hand and as she continued to stare, saw Ryder clock the guy in the nose with his elbow. Then he turned around and she heard a gunshot.

Ryder hopped over the edge of the railing and grabbed the trellis. He didn’t go one rung at a time, foot then hand, as she had. He swung his body down far, caught two rungs with his feet, grabbed the bars at his waist and let his body hang. He let go and hit the ground hard. He had dropped at least ten feet.

He took her hand again and they were running. They ran right to the fence. She had thought maybe there was a broken piece or some sort of door that she didn’t know about. But when they got to it, Ryder bent down and laced his fingers together.

“I’ll boost you up. Grab the top and pull yourself over.”

“What?” she squeaked. Not only did she not think she was strong enough to do that, but what if she fell?

“You’ll be fine, just jump into my hands and grab the top of the fence.”

She took a deep breath and hopped into his hands. He pushed up, sending her up so high, she almost flew over the fence without even trying. She grabbed the top and flipped her leg over, then held on for an instant to lower her body before letting go. She heard a loud bang on the fence, then Ryder’s hands appeared at the top. He must’ve jumped on the fence. His head showed, then his whole body flew over the top and he landed on the ground.

He stood and took her hand again. They ran up a grassy hill, her feet slipping with the effort. He got behind her and picked her up, tossing her into his arms like she weighed nothing. He ran up the hill with her in his arms and all she could think was,
He is so strong
. She could fall asleep right now in his arms. She was that peaceful and comforted by him.

He put her down gently on the gravel next to his car and opened the door to get her in. Then he dashed to the other side, jumped in, and they took off. The tires spit gravel behind him as he sped away.

“We’re just going to make one stop, then we’re getting the hell out of this city.” He reached for her hand, took it, and kissed her knuckles.

Chapter 21

Ryder just had to get to his house. It would only take a minute or two, but everything he needed was there. This was risky, though. Matteo knew where he lived, knew Lorenzo had been sent and never came back. He might have people waiting for him here. If it was anything else, he wouldn’t bother. But Ryder had more than ten thousand dollars inside. They would need that. Pia had grabbed some money from her dad’s room, but they needed all they could get. He’d also grab his other guns, some ammo, and the bag of clothes he kept packed and ready to go at all times.

Pia was clutching his hand so tight. It hurt like hell. Somewhere along the last few days, with all the beatings he’d taken and all the fights he’d been in, his hand had been smashed. It ached just to open and close it, and since that was his dominant hand, he’d been using it to hold a gun and pull the trigger. But after all they’d been through, and now that he finally had her with him, touching him, he’d take whatever pain there was in this world if it meant she was touching him.

“How much money did you grab?” he asked.

She mercifully released his hand to dig in her pockets. She pulled out wads of cash. Thick stacks of hundred-dollar bills. “Looks like twenty thousand dollars. Thought he kept more than that.” She looked upset at this.

“Hey, babe, this is perfect. That’s a lot of money. Plenty for us to get away. And if we have to rob a bank on the way, we will.”

Her eyes went wide and her mouth popped open in shock.

“I’m kidding, Pia. We’re stopping at my house because I have some cash there, too, and some other things.”

“Are we staying there long?”

“No. I’m going to run in and out. It might not be safe.”

“Oh.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing really. I’m just starving and I need a shower.”

“We’ll get a hotel as soon as it’s safe to stop. I’ll try to grab something when I run in, okay?”

She nodded. He pulled up to his house. He wasn’t sure what to do. He was so used to looking out for himself only. Taking care of someone else was new. Was it safer to leave her here? What if someone showed up and they took her again? No, she had to come in. But what if someone was in there, waiting?

His stomach clenched and clenched again. Finally, he settled on something that seemed okay.

“I’m giving you my gun. It’s already loaded and chambered. All you have to do it pull the trigger, okay?”

She nodded and gingerly took the gun. He positioned her fingers on it properly. “Like this. Anyone comes and tries to hurt you, aim at their chest.”

“Isn’t the head better?”

“It’s much harder to hit.” He kissed her and got out of the car, then locked the doors.

He ran into the house, dashing through the rooms with his other gun in his hand in case someone was there. Maybe they were all at Matteo’s? Or if someone was here, maybe they’d been called and sent back to Matteo’s when they knew Ryder was there instead.

He hit the bedroom first. He grabbed the duffel bag from the closet and opened the zipper, then shoved the cash from the box in the back of the closet inside the bag. He tossed in his other bottle of pain pills, a few boxes of ammo, and went to the bathroom. He pulled out every Band-Aid and ointment he had that might help them. Then he went to the kitchen. He didn’t usually keep much food around, but he had some chips and Pop Tarts. He threw them in the bag and ran out the front door.

He let the door slam behind him and bolted for the car. When he saw it, Pia wasn’t in it. His chest constricted and the sudden panic was there again. Had someone come for them? Had someone taken her?

“Pia!” he shouted, and ripped the door open.

She scooted up from where she had been hiding on the floor in front of the seat. He sat behind the wheel hard, putting his hand to his face, shaking.

“Jesus,” he said.

“I’m sorry. I thought it would be safer if no one saw me.”

Then he saw that she was crying.

“No, you’re right, it was,” he said. He closed the car door and made sure they were all locked. Then he reached for her. “Come here.”

She awkwardly slid over the center console and leaned into him.

“You scared the fuck out of me,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I may not be able to let you out of my sight for a while.”

“I’m okay with that.”

He brushed the hair from her face and kissed her. It felt like it had been ages since their lips met. He wanted more. He wanted to devour her right there. But they had to get moving.

“We need to go,” he said.

She slid back into her seat. He started the car and took off. She was still crying, weeping silently and wiping at her eyes.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

She could barely talk through her tears, which seemed to worsen as she tried to explain. “It was just so awful. Ryder, he tried to make me kill our baby. He sent this doctor and he had these pills and he was just so mean and cruel to me.”

“The doctor was?”

“No, my father. He called me horrible names and said the worst things. But the worst part is, as much as I wanted him dead, I’m sad he’s gone. I can’t believe my father is really dead.” She was sobbing too hard to continue.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “There was no other way, I—”

“No, I’m not sad he’s dead,” she said. “I mean, I’m sad he’s dead, but my dad, not my father.” She shook her head and tried to calm herself. “I mean, the man I thought he was. The man I thought my father was. I miss that man, but he never existed. It was all a lie. I don’t miss the man you killed, who was going to kill me because I’m having your baby. Not at all.”

“I understand.” Ryder took her hand and kissed it.

She still breathed in jagged breaths, but calmed some eventually. “I’m so glad you came. I wasn’t sure what to think after I last saw you, but I thought, the way you wouldn’t kiss me? I don’t know if I was just reading too much into it, but I thought since I said, ‘Kiss me goodbye,’ and you didn’t, that it was your way of saying it wasn’t really goodbye. But then it took so long, I didn’t know.”

He looked over at her and smiled. “I’m glad you got that. I didn’t know any other way to tell you the truth. That it was never over and I’d never end it. But they were listening and watching, so that was all I could do.”

“I’m glad you did it, because it was the thing that kept me going the last few days.”

“You really doubted me that much? You really thought I would end things like that?”

She hung her head. “I wasn’t sure,” she whispered. “At first, I thought there was no way you’d end things or that what you said about not caring was true. Not after all the time we’d had together. But then I thought, why would you want me? Just a spoiled little daddy’s girl and you’re so tough and strong and sexy that you could have anyone, so—”

He started to laugh, but had to cut it off when the pain was too much. “You think I can have anyone I want?”

She shrugged. “Have you looked in the mirror lately?”

He gave her a crooked smile. “Well, you’re the only one I want.”

“You’re the only one I want. You and some food.”

“Look in the bag.”

She unzipped the bag and took out the chips and Pop Tarts, then consumed the entire package of both.

“Did he starve you?” Ryder asked, concerned, the flare of anger in his chest again.

“No. I couldn’t eat. It was stupid, but I kept getting sick. Uh-oh.”

He looked over at her and her face seemed to be green. She put her hand to her mouth. He immediately pulled over, slamming the breaks hard to stop the car. She pulled open the door and stuck her head out to puke.

When she was done, she wiped her mouth with her hand.

“Maybe eat a little slower,” he said.

She nodded, sweat breaking out across her forehead as she lay back against the seat. They were in bad shape, both of them. He needed to find a place for them to crash and recover, but also needed to make sure they were far enough away. They’d only been driving a short time.

“Hang in there a little while, okay, babe? I have to get us to some place safe. Then we’ll get food and take showers, and sleep for a few days.”

“Sounds perfect.”

She sat back and closed her eyes. He drove as fast as he could and an hour later, decided they had gone far enough.

He pulled into a little motel and left Pia sleeping in the car with the doors locked. He parked so he could see the car from the motel’s office. This place looked old enough and run down enough that they wouldn’t have much security, if at all. He didn’t see any cameras or anything.

“I need a room for two. One night,” he said. Though they needed a few days to recover, they wouldn’t stay in one place.

He handed the guy cash and gave him a fake name. He then moved the car, finding a spot in the shadows, and parking so that his license plate faced the building. They’d need to get a new car.

He unlocked the motel room, then came back to get Pia. She stirred when he picked her up.

“Are we there?”

“We are,” he whispered.

He set her on the bed before going back to retrieve his things from the car. They’d need to get her clothing and whatever she needed, too. She’d run out without so much as shoes on her feet.

“You know,” she said softly. “I had a whole bag packed and everything. Clothes, makeup, jewelry, things I wanted to take with me. Wish I had grabbed it.” She yawned and stretched. “Oh well. It’s just stuff.”

He slid into bed behind her and wrapped her tight in his arms. “Right. We’ll go buy all that stuff again. It’ll be okay. This is what’s important. This right here.”

She turned in his arms so she could kiss him. He was raging hard in seconds, but he noticed her lips had stopped moving.

“Pia,” he said.

She murmured.

“Did you just fall asleep kissing me?”

“Hmm?” She didn’t open her eyes. She was too exhausted.

He laughed softly and closed his eyes, letting his tired, aching body drift off to sleep.

***

Ryder blinked in the morning light. Pia was curled against his side and his body was stiff and achy. But in slightly less pain. He was on guard, though. Something had woken him up.

He listened, his ears piqued. This was a motel. It likely had been someone in another room slamming a door or shouting or doing something loud. Or a car door. He heard voices outside their door.

His heart raced and he slowly climbed out of bed, trying not to wake Pia. She stirred when he moved away from her and murmured his name.

“Shh,” he whispered. “Sleep.”

She nestled back into the covers and he picked up his gun. He went to the door and looked out the peephole. He saw Sergio and another guy out there, looking around his car. Shit. They’d found them. And he liked Sergio. He didn’t want to kill him. But now he had no choice. He had to kill them and they had to run. Get away from there as quickly as possible before more could come.