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“I’ll get my coat,” said Oakley, confident she had gotten through to these men who loved their women so completely. “I’ll tell Ryker I didn’t give you a choice. I was going to take an Uber.”
“You need a spanking,” said Jac.
“I do not. I need Ryker.”
Monroe laughed. “Maybe he’ll think you need a spanking, too.”
Oakley rolled her eyes as the men grabbed their jackets and grumbled. Monroe looked sternly at Oakley. “We do it the right way and no other. Get me?”
“Yes.”
She felt like she should attach sir at the end, but chalked it up to nerves. She wanted to go, but she was afraid to leave the protection of this overly secure house. But this was Ryker, and he needed to know she would risk anything for him. She’d risk everything.
Oakley had only spent a small amount of time with the women his friends loved, and she wanted to get in more. Bella, whom she had expected to see, hadn’t come by at all, and she wondered why. Ryker said she had disappeared when Oakley had, and the coincidence of that didn’t escape her. Bella was either in trouble or the trouble. It hurt her, but she knew whatever was going on with Bella would have to wait. Maybe she should call her and see if she would answer. If she was hiding from trouble, Oakley needed to let her know what kind was out here.
Hopefully, Bella would do what she suggested for once. Suddenly, a loud, angry voice exploded in her head. It was a blaring, distorted sound, but one she knew deep in her soul that she had heard before. She shivered and bent over with her hands on her ears.
“That’s it. We’re video calling Ryker when he can receive the call, but you aren’t well, and we’re keeping you here.” Monroe was as adamant as she had ever heard him.
“No. Please, let me go to him. I promise. I pinkie promise I won’t leave your presence. Please? I’m okay. Really.”
The unexpected flashback had faded almost as quickly as it had appeared. Oakley knew that may not always happen, but she was thankful for it this time. She hoped with all she was that Ryker wanted her there and he wouldn’t end what they had because of the danger she brought with her. Since the moment he laid eyes on her, she had been embroiled in some kind of trouble. He should run as far and as fast as he could, she thought. And in the next breath, prayed he wouldn’t.
Garrett spoke into the room. “Take your coat off, Oakley. They are not allowing visitors today. They hope to remove that restriction around lunch tomorrow.”
Oakley visibly deflated. “Oh.” Then she brightened. “That’s fine. I’ll just sit in the waiting room.”
“The answer is no,” said Jac. He held up his hand when Oakley opened her mouth. “That discussion is over. We will go when they allow visitors. Protecting you in a hospital room is challenging enough without adding a shit ton of people and activities to the mix. No.”
The tears raced down her cheek, unchecked. Mallory, who had come with Monroe this morning to help keep Oakley’s mind off Ryker being gone for a day, gathered the other woman in her arms.
“Keep your coat on. I’ll get mine. We are going for a walk.”
Monroe, who knew his Mallory, said, “Mal, if you leave these grounds, we will still be talking about this next month.”
Mallory rolled her eyes. “Understood... meanie.”
Monroe shook his head, but smiled. “Go for a walk. It’s getting cold out there, so don’t stay gone for too long.”
They released Levi from the hospital the next morning, and Ryker was allowed visitors at noon. The moment they got word that he could receive visitors, Oakley was dressed and waiting for her ride.
“Young lady, you remember what I said about doing as you are told the minute you are told? I’m not playing around with your safety.”
“I understand, Jac. Can we go now?”
Monroe rounded the corner with his coffee in a to-go cup. “I’m not going to start off the day with hospital coffee.”
Oakley could tell neither man was happy about her demanding this happen, but they didn’t say anything else. She was relieved because her stamina wasn’t what it was before the kidnapping. She still tired easier and had residual flashes of her psychedelic ride, compliments of Audra.
Oakley had been able to get a message to Charles that she was taking some time off. She also warned him to be careful around his sister and to keep his medications hidden. Audra was having some mental health issues herself. Oakley didn’t feel bad about warning Charles. She felt it came under her duty to protect.
The ride to the hospital was quiet, as everyone was caught up in their thoughts. Oakley was full of what-ifs, and she knew that was not a good road to go down. She resolutely changed her thoughts the best she could and concentrated on getting Ryker back home. Soon they were pulling up in front of the hospital, and true to her word, she made no move to exit the vehicle until Jac and Monroe flanked her while escorting her inside the building. Jac nodded his approval.
The men were hyper-vigilant, and while Oakley appreciated it, she also realized the danger she was really in. She wondered if Ryker was in danger just by being in the hospital. She worried that this attack indicated that Ryker was now on their radar and was in an equal amount of danger as she was, maybe even more now.
“Jac, maybe I shouldn’t go in,” she asked outside the door of Ryker’s hospital room.
“Oh, you have no choice now,” said Jac with some satisfaction. “You insisted on being here, and I understand. If I don’t make you work through this fear, it will stay with you. Yet it’s our job to take care of you, and I get it, but it also was the dilemma. You pushed to have this happen, so you need it, and it is happening. Ryker will do better knowing you are safely under lock and key with big brawny bodyguards around you, so expect him to send you home.” He smiled. “I also expect you to push back and stay.”
