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Through the pain, I pulled back and kicked him hard, stumbling backward. My feet caught the chair legs, and I fell to the ground, trying to climb quickly back to my feet. We stood face to face when I realized I had backed myself into the corner. Putting my shoulder down, I prepared to fight. Instead, he lunged toward me, the shroud of shadow from his clothing cloaking me. I clawed and scratched at him, feeling a needle push into my neck.
He held my wrists tightly as I squirmed, trying desperately to get out of his grip. However, whatever he had injected me with was fast. My body began to feel like it weighed a thousand pounds. I tried to move my lips to form words, but nothing came. Then, within seconds, as my knees hit the ground, everything went dark.
Chapter Sixteen
Ryder
I pulled the bike up on the pavement in front of the apartment complex, turning it off before running inside. As I approached the front desk, Mr. Gold stood, smiling. "Ah, you have arrived."
I took off my helmet, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Your lovely bride-to-be, she came in just about an hour ago. She said you sent her a message to meet her here for lunch."
I shook my head. "I didn't send any message."
Mr. Gold looked confused. "Oh, dear. She showed me the message. You didn't answer, but I figured it was fine to take her to your apartment."
I put my hand on the desk. "Call the police. Tell them there is an intruder in my apartment. That they are dangerous."
Leaving my helmet on the counter, I raced to the elevator, taking it up to the top floor. As I exited, I found the door wide open, rose petals scattered out into the hallway. Slowly, I approached the apartment. The lights were off, and the drapes were drawn, which wasn't how I left the place. I carefully stepped inside, squinting through the dark. I flipped the switch for the lights, but they didn't turn on.
"Amber?" I called out but heard nothing. "Amber, if you're in here, it's me. Ryder. I need you to come out."
As I took another step, my leg caught on something. I looked down to find a rope hooked across the walkway. As I stepped back, the rope released, wildly unraveling, smoke coming from the hook as it spun through it. I followed the rope up and over, seeing it connected to my vintage bike hanging from the ceiling. I reached down to grab it, but the rope burned my hand. As the last bit of it escaped my grasp, the bike swung wildly overhead before releasing, falling.
I dove to the side and covered my head. The bike and stand crashed into the coffee table, sending bike parts flying all over the place. Several bounced off my back as I pulled my legs into me. When the falling parts finally settled, I unraveled and sat up, waving my hand in the air. A plume of debris and dust clouded everything. Something underneath me poked into my side, and I reached down, pulling Amber's shoe from under me.
"Amber," I whispered.
Fear flooded me, and I ran over to the bike, hurrying to open the drapes for light. The dust began to settle, and I let out a deep breath, finding no sign of Amber. As the light from the windows filtered through, I could see the shadow of words on the floor. I turned quickly around to find Jan. 6th painted on the window.
Suddenly, from the hallway, I heard a thud and muffled moaning. I ran around the debris field of what used to be my most prized possession toward the hallway. As I passed the kitchen, I stepped on several pieces of broken glass, noticing the flowers from the vase strewn everywhere. Beneath the glass where tiny droplets of blood leading to the corner where a larger pool was smeared. The trail of smeared blood led down the hallway to a closet.
My heart beat wildly in my chest, and I mustered every bit of courage I had. There was no way of knowing what I would find behind that door. Whatever it was, I already knew it would change me forever. I gripped the door handle and threw it open, squinting into the dark. Amber kicked her feet, turning from side to side.
I put up my hands. "Hey. Hey. Calm down. It's okay. It's me. It's Ryder."
She shuddered as I put my hand on her leg but quickly calmed. I bent down, finding her hands and feet bound with duct tape. There was a piece firmly placed over her lips as well. I reached in my pocket and paused. "I'm going to cut the tape away, okay?"
Tears were flowing down her face, and she nodded. Carefully I opened the pocket knife and cut the tape apart. She reached up and pulled the tape from her mouth, letting out a deep breath. I leaned in and picked her up into my arms, walking out to the steps leading into the rubble of a living room. I sat down with her cradled in my arms and pulled her in tightly.
"Amber, I'm so sorry. I got here as fast as I could."
She wept, trying to speak through her words. "He…He followed me…he tricked me…."
"I know," I whispered, rubbing her head. "God, I'm so sorry. Where are you hurt?"
She hiccuped through her tears, showing me the gash on her arm. "I…I think my ankle is broken."
I looked down at the swollen, black and blue ankle and nodded. "It's okay. The police are on the way. You just stay here with me, okay. I'm going to keep you safe. You're safe now."
I knew I should check the rest of the house, but I couldn't bear to put her down on her own. Besides, I knew he was gone. He had done what he'd come to do. His games were playing out quite nicely for him. But, whoever the guy was, he was getting closer and closer to us, and I didn't know what to do. I did know that no matter what, I would never let anyone hurt Amber again. Even if I had to hunt the guy down myself and kill him with my bare hands.
There was no denying it anymore. Amber had become so important to me. I cared for her deeply and beyond any agreement, fake marriage, or anything like that. I was in it deep, and there was no backing out now. I didn't care about the media or the contracts. All I cared about was Amber.
Carter rolled his shoulders, standing outside of the ambulance. "We're going to have to take over your condo. I'll try to get some guys to help keep the detectives from overdoing their search, but we have no idea what he touched. We'll have to go through everything. I need you to come by after we've looked for prints and tell me if anything is missing or destroyed…outside of the bike."
"I don't know how you're back on this," I said, shaking my head. "After what happened…."
