Loving Enough (The Enough Series Book 2) (13 page)

Rylee

Sleep comes fitfully until I feel an arm slide around me.
Content to have Austin home, I snuggle back into him and grab his hand to pull
him closer. Then I realize Austin is not the person in bed with me.

My groggy mind tries to process the scene. The arm wrapped
around me is toned and a lot like Austin’s, but the fingers are shorter and
stubbier. The mysterious stranger nuzzles into my hair and places a kiss on the
back of my neck. My hackles go up immediately and adrenaline wakes my exhausted
body.

Now fully awake and on alert, I try to stay still to give
the impression I am asleep. Pretending to be oblivious to the person will give
me time to come up with a coherent plan. My heart is racing and I can only hope
that the man in bed with me cannot feel it pounding.

So many things are running through my mind. Where is Ruzek?
Why didn’t he stop this person from getting up here? Where is Boss? Boss would
never allow a stranger to waltz into my bedroom or the house unannounced. How
am I going to get out of this situation?

The unknown hand makes its way under my shirt and strokes my
stomach, causing my fear to escalate. I am doing my best to keep my body from
trembling in fear. I can tell that the stranger is a large man, clearly much
taller than I am, as he slides closer to spoon me.

I need an exit strategy. My phone is on the table behind the
man, making it impossible to get to. I need to get downstairs to Ruzek, but how
do I escape the person now holding me close?

Pushing the fear to the back of my mind, I focus on the familiar
way this man is stroking my body. Steeling my nerves, I decide I will have to
play along with the seduction until I have an opening to get out. I don’t want
to die tonight, but I won’t be taken advantage of either.

His hand slides over my breast and I do my best to feign
interest with a distressed, ‘hmm’. This seems to spur him on and he continues
his unwelcome assault on my body.

“Oh, Ryles, I always knew it would be me and you. I know how
you like it.”

Holy shit, I know that voice and that stupid nickname. The
smooth and now terrifying voice belongs to Ryan. What the fuck? I know I have
been in this position with him before, but that was different. It was
consensual. How can he do this to me? Why is he doing this?

My mind is reeling as the pieces come together. If Ryan is
my stalker, then he is responsible for all the recent pain in my life. He is
responsible for J’s accident. He is responsible for the detective’s death. He is
responsible for keeping Austin and me apart. My fear is overcome with anger and
a plan forms. Forgive me for this, Austin.

I roll over into Ryan, meeting his dark gaze. It baffles me that
he thinks this is permissible, but if this is what he wants it is exactly what
I will use against him. He runs a hand down my face.

“Oh, Ryles. I have missed you so much, baby.”

My stomach turns in disgust. “I am so glad you’re here,
Ryan. I missed you, too.”

I swear I can taste bile in the back of my throat as the lie
makes its way out of my mouth. He leans in, kissing me with fervor. I allow the
kiss to continue as I pull him atop me, faking interest in his advances. His
heavy body over mine reminds me that I will only get one chance to extricate
myself from this situation. His musky cologne turns my stomach.

He continues to caress my body as he deepens the kiss. The
taste of cinnamon lingers from the toothpaste he has always preferred. A taste
I once thought was sexy is flirting with my gag reflex now. Still playing along
against my body’s wishes, I place my legs between his and raise my arms above
my head. I have one chance to get him off me. A silent countdown runs in my
head. If this plan fails, I don’t know what will happen. Either way, I plan to
make enough noise to alert Ruzek.

Three, two, one …
go
. I fake a cough to break the
kiss. He raises his head slightly.

“Are you OK, baby?”

The concern in voice disgusts me.
Of course I’m not OK,
you are on the verge of raping me
, I think to myself.

My adrenaline spikes as I ready to strike out against my ex.
I slam my knee up into his groin at the same time that I throw an elbow across
his face. Every ounce of strength I can summon is thrown at him in two solid
blows. A loud crack sounds when my elbow makes contact with the bridge of his
nose. Blood spurts out, covering my face and chest and testing my already
sensitive gag reflex.

“Fuck, Ry, what are you doing?” he groans.

His eyes are watering and he doubles down in pain from my
sudden attack. I wipe my arm across my face to clear the blood from my vision. My
body still raging, I use all of my remaining strength to throw his now crumpled
body off me and sprint for the door. I glance back to see him still holding
himself and writhing in pain. Good, that is exactly where he deserves to be.  

His eyes meet mine. “This changes nothing, bitch.”

A new wave of adrenaline, laced with fear, courses through
my body. I run down the stairs in search of Ruzek. All the lights are off, but
I can see him on the couch with his head tilted back. I flip on the kitchen
light as I run through. That’s when I see Micah standing by the front door.

Fuck.

I look between him and Ruzek, who I now realize is likely
unconscious. He is bleeding from a gaping head wound. Micah looks like a deer
in the headlights when he takes in my blood-covered appearance.

Without much thought, I flip the light switch off and on a
couple of times, hoping to alert the cop outside before leaving it off. I
figure I know my way around better than they do, so the darkness is my ally.

Rylee

Concerned for Ruzek, I ignore Micah and make my way to him. Grabbing
his shoulders, I whisper.

“Ruzek.”

He is out cold and the deep gash in his forehead is bleeding
profusely. Shit, he needs help now. Struggling to find my next move, I remind
myself to breathe. His radio, which is on the coffee table, breaks the silence.

“Ruzek. Is everything all right in there? I saw the lights
flash.”

Thank God - the lights got Officer Walker’s attention. Ryan
hits the stairs, but his pounding steps are slow. Ruzek has a gun, but I don’t
see it with the rest of his things on the table. Shit. He always has it on him and
never goes anywhere without it. I need to find it before Ryan gets down here. I
don’t want to use it, but I have to protect myself and my unconscious friend.

Hoping for the best, I check his hips and it isn’t there. OK,
think Rylee. Where else could it be? Maybe Ryan or Micah took it. I guess that
is a definite possibility. With one last effort, I check the waistband of his
jeans. Damn, he is heavy. I roll him forward enough to get my arm behind him. Sliding
my hand down his back, I feel his piece as the radio goes off again.

“Ruzek. Come in, Ruzek.”

Just get the hell in here, I think to myself as I pull the
gun from his waistband. Jackpot – it’s loaded. Not having a plan at the moment,
I slide down beside the far end of the couch. God, I wish Ruzek would wake up.
I could really use some help here. Where the hell is Boss? My stomach tightens
because I know something has happened to Boss; he would never be this quiet
with strangers in the house.

Ryan descends the stairs one clomping step at a time.

“Where the fuck is she?” He screams at Micah.

His steps are coming quicker now, escalating my pounding
heartbeat. Peeking over the couch, I can see Micah has not moved and looks utterly
terrified.

“Jesus, Ryan, what are you doing? I didn’t sign up for this
shit. You assaulted a cop, and it doesn’t look like she wants anything to do
with you.”

“Shut the fuck up. She doesn’t know what’s good for her, but
she will when I find her. I will kill the bitch before I let her run off with some
other dude,” Ryan barks at Micah.

His words spread terror throughout my body and my palms begin
to sweat. I wish I had pants on so I could dry my hands on them.

“Whatever you say, man, but I ain’t killing nobody. This
shit is insane. You’re on your own,” Micah says to Ryan.

I am thankful it seems that I only have to deal with Ryan
now.

“You are such a pussy. It’s no wonder you couldn’t make it
in the big leagues. Now where the fuck is she?”

Micah gestures in my direction and I slouch down, trying to hide
behind the arm of the couch.  

Ryan turns a light on and his steps become stomps as he
crosses the kitchen tile.

“Come on, Ryles. Let’s talk about this, baby. I know you
still love me. You want this as much as I do. Now where are you? You’re pissing
me off.”

I curl myself into a small ball with a tight grip on Ruzek’s
gun. It has been a while since I have held or fired a gun. I hope I don’t have
to use it tonight, but I feel safer with it than I would be without.

The footsteps are closing in and my options are limited. I
can’t stay here. I am in no position to protect myself if he comes around the
back of the couch. There is nowhere for me to conceal the gun, since I only
have a tank top and my panties on. Head on is the only way to deal with this
situation.

With a deep breath, I countdown again: three, two, one … Then
I vault up with a tight grip on the pistol and a finger on the trigger.
Please
God, don’t make me use this.

Ryan is covered in blood, stumbling towards me. He has a
clear limp and his face is swelling. He smiles a wicked smile, showing the
blood in his teeth.

“There you are. Now come here, or your detective friend
dies.”

He raises his arm so I can see the gun in his hand pointed
at Ruzek. With a stroke of luck, my weapon has remained concealed behind the
back of the couch, giving me a slight advantage. My best hope is to talk him
down without getting too close. I can’t let him kill Ruzek.

“Put the gun down, Ryan. This is ridiculous. Nobody needs to
get hurt. Put it down and we can talk,” I plead with him.

He lowers the weapon slightly.

“All right, let’s talk about
this
.” He motions to his
broken nose and his blood-splattered t-shirt. “Why the hell did you do this?”

I am not sure how to answer him and keep things relatively
calm.

“Why are you doing this, Ryan? We haven’t been together in
years. You left me, remember? Why come back now? Why try to scare me into being
with you? Why? Can you answer that?” My voice is shaky. I fight tears back as I
stand watching someone I used to love threaten to further tear my life apart.

He lowers his head and almost looks remorseful before he
answers. “Why? You want to know why? Because I changed my mind, that’s why. I
made a mistake, Ryles, and seeing you with Austin makes me sick. I want us to
be
us
again. What is so wrong with that?”

He is pleading with me. He wants to go back to the way
things were. Jesus, this guy is delusional. With the amount of pain he caused
me, I cannot even bring myself to be friends with him, let alone anything else.
However, right now he doesn’t need to know that. That would only escalate the
already volatile situation.

With as much compassion as I can muster for the man holding
me hostage, I reply, “There is nothing wrong with that, Ryan. But don’t you
think you should ask me what I want? Shouldn’t I get a say in my life?”

I want to yell and scream at him and tell him what a jackass
he is. He nearly killed my brother, my only family. Does he expect me to
forgive that? I will never forgive or forget that.

He begins to slowly shuffle towards me.

“If I asked you, what would you say, Ryles?” He pauses and
my silence spurs him on. “I know what you would say. You would say you want
him
.
I see the way you look at Austin. You never once looked at me that way. Why?
Why can’t you look at me that way, huh?”

Now standing only a few feet from Ruzek, he has backed me
into a corner with his question. How can I tell him that I never looked at him
the way I look at Austin because I never loved him half as much as I do Austin?
I never expected to love anyone after Ryan. Not having an answer, I look at the
floor and shake my head.

“Do you love him that much more than me?” He continues with
a catch to his voice. “What does he have that I don’t? I can give you
everything, Ryles. We can be happy. Please, Ryles, just give me a shot.”

What scares me is that he seems to believe he loves me. The
look in his tear-filled eyes tells me that he is serious. He really thinks this
can work out.

As I try to come up with something to say to his heartfelt
plea, Ruzek’s radio sounds again.

“Ruzek, I am coming in.”

Fear and anger lash across his face before he yells at me
and starts nervously glancing around.

“Who the fuck is that?”

Shit. The timing of that radio call could not be worse. My
stomach drops in fear. I have to tell him the truth.

“That is the cop parked across the street. Ryan, please put
the gun down and let this go before things get worse.”

Agitation courses through him as he runs a blood-stained hand
through his messy hair. Then he redirects the gun at me.

“No, Ryles. You decide what it’s going to be now, or nobody
is walking out of here.”

Unsure how much time I have before Officer Walker comes in,
I try again to diffuse the situation. “Ryan, please. It doesn’t need to be this
way. Just put the weapon down and you can walk out of here.”

Ruzek moves, drawing our attention when he moans and runs a
hand across his bleeding head. His eyes go wide with realization as he takes in
the situation. The concern is clear in his gaze when he looks up. I give him a
slight nod, hoping he will just stay put and let me handle this. Any move Ruzek
makes now could push Ryan over the edge and make this situation worse than it
already is.

With his gun still pointed at me, Ryan barks, “Choose now,
Ryles, or it’s all over.”

The loud boom of a gunshot echoes through the quiet house at
the same time Ruzek falls forward. Trembling, I watch as Ruzek tumbles to the
floor and white stuffing from my couch bursts into the air. I steady my hands
and, without a thought, raise my weapon and return fire.

My eyes close as the weapon recoils in my hand. After a
silent prayer, I peek from one eye to see that the bullet has pierced Ryan's
shirt and a pool of blood is forming across his chest.

Everything moves in slow motion. Ryan raises his gun again, firing
a wayward shot before falling to his knees and clutching his now blood-soaked
shirt. Distress lines his face and he mumbles what sounds like ‘help me’ before
landing face first on the hardwood floor.

Adrenaline is coursing through my veins at lightning speed. My
body trembles, causing me to drop Ruzek's gun before collapsing on the ground
next to it.