13. Ryder
13
RYDER
I t had been a long time since someone had actually knocked on my door. At my apartment in Los Angeles, I had a buzzer. But even that was rarely used. Normally if someone visited me, the doorman would ring my apartment before they would send the person up.
Of course, nothing was like what I was used to in this town. I’m sure if I left my door unlocked, whoever was there would’ve just walked in. I imagined it might get tiresome after a while but it was a small-town thing. And I was embracing that.
As I jogged up to the front door, the person knocked again. I checked the peephole to find Tess standing on my porch. Without any hesitation I opened the door and the worried look on her face gave me pause.
She wasn’t small, but she was on the slender side with a mop of dark curly hair sprinkled with gray. Her straight cut jeans and striped button down added to her unfussy appearance.
I moved back so she could step inside. “Is everything okay?”
She nodded. Her voice was all but a whisper. “There was a shooting.”
Every cell in my body went on alert and my muscles grew tight. Fear like I’d never known gripped my insides.
“Where is she?”
“Calm down, Ryder.” She shook her head and stepped inside. “You have a little boy to consider.”
I took a deep breath. She was right. I needed to be there for Ethan. “What happened?”
“I don’t know all the details.” Tess never raised her voice. “But from what I could gather, her partner is in critical condition and she needed stitches. Harry is with her now. And I imagine so are Maggie and Tiffany.”
Maggie was her foster sister, and Tiffany was the pushy friend who looked like she wanted to kick my ass the morning of the obstacle course. And that was great, but I needed to see her. I needed to make sure she was okay. It wasn’t a feeling I wanted to explore.
“Tess, could you watch Ethan?” I would need to be the one to explain what was going on, but, as Shi reminded me, this would be the time to rely on the support structure she had put in place.
I told myself that whatever news there was, it would be better for Ethan if it came from me. That was why I needed to see her for myself. And as long as I was doing it for Ethan, everything would be fine. No one was muddying the waters or acting on whatever was happening between us.
Tess nodded. “I’ll take him to my place. And make sure he gets to school in the morning. I have Maggie’s kids, so they’ll make a party of it.” She smiled at the thought of having all her grandkids together. “Maggie or Tiff will likely want to take her home. Or that’s what they’ll say. They think I don’t know what she does on days like these. You need to insist that she comes with you.”
There was no way Shiloh would be going anywhere with anyone else. That was never going to be an option. Still, that cryptic little lecture had me worried. What usually happened when Shi had a difficult day at work? How often had she been shot?
“Ethan. I need to talk to you.”
My son walked in from the bedroom he had claimed as his own. “What’s—Oh hi, grandma. Is everything okay? Did something happen to Mom?”
I knelt down in front of him and made him face me. “Your mom got hurt, but she is going to be fine. I’m going to get her and bring her back here.” I took his hand to stop it from shaking. “I will text your grandma as soon as I lay eyes on her and I will get her to call you as soon as we get here. But I need you to go with your grandmother. Grandma will take care of you, so I can take care of your mom.”
Ethan gave me a slow nod. “Mom’s not good with anyone taking care of her. So good luck with that.”
I imagined the kid wasn’t wrong. I would probably have a hard time convincing her to come home with me. “I will make sure she listens to me.”
In a matter of minutes, Ethan had everything he needed for the next twenty-four hours and I was busy locking up my house.
As I made my way to my car, he called over. “Dad?”
“Yeah, kiddo?”
“You promise you’ll call me?” His voice was small, but the solemness could not be denied.
“I promise.” And there was no way I was breaking a promise to my son.
That seemed to appease him and Tess drove off as I got behind the wheel of my car.
One of the benefits of small-town living was how much less traffic there was. It didn’t hurt that it took less than fifteen minutes to drive from one end of town to the other. I was at the small hospital within five minutes. And I didn’t have to break too many traffic rules to do it.
The argument with the nurse at the desk outside took longer than expected. It was true that one of the things I loved about Marina De Ferrier was that no one treated me like a celebrity. Still, there were times when being me meant doors would open. Unfortunately, that door was not to the emergency room where the mother of my child was.
I was about to take out my phone to call Tess, surely, she knew someone who could help me, when Dr. Evans stepped into the emergency room.
“Hey, Brenda.” He smiled at the nurse on duty. “Dr. Banner had to call in sick, I’m filling in.” He spotted me. “Ryder. What are you doing here? Is Ethan okay?”
He worked here. Maybe he could help me. “Shiloh’s been shot. And no one will let me see her.”
The man smiled at Brenda. “Worried the celebrity is overplaying his hand?”
“He abandoned that poor girl when she needed him.”
Dr. Evans nodded. “I’m not one to cross Nurse Brenda. But if you go through there,” he pointed beyond the grey screen, “follow all the men and women in blue. They’ll be circling until she is released.”
I smiled at him and then forced one for Nurse Brenda. “Thank you.”
Beyond the grey screen, I could tell that Dr. Evans was right. The sea of navy-blue uniforms was rather overwhelming. It looked like every cop in town was hovering around the emergency room. The sight was rather intimidating and I had to wonder how they were not in the way. Also, if they were all here, who the fuck was patrolling the streets.
By the time I got to front of all the uniforms, I was just in time to see Shiloh pulling out of Harry’s arms.
“I’m fine.” She rolled her eyes at her father. “I’ll be back at work in a day or two.”
Like hell she would. “You’ll be back at work when the doctor says it's okay.”
Something crossed her face when she saw me. It was gone too quickly for me to pinpoint, but I was sure it was relief. Was she glad I was here? Her next question indicated not.
“Ryder, what are you doing here?” She looked around me and frowned. “Where is Ethan?”
Did she honestly think I would’ve brought him with me? I tried not to feel insulted and focused on her.
“He’s with your mom.” I stepped ahead of everyone else and took out my phone. “She’ll take him to school tomorrow. Smile.”
I took a step back from her to take a picture. Her frown was adorable, though I imagined she was trying to intimidate me. “What are you doing?”
“I promised Ethan I would let him know that you’re okay as soon as I saw you.”
Her face softened as her shoulder dropped, but she did offer me her beautiful smile. “Don’t get the bandage in.”
Again with the underestimation. But I let it slide. I still needed to prove myself to her, and it was neither the time nor the place for me to get offended.
I sent the image to Tess and before I could say another word, another man walked in. He was roughly our age and had an air of money about him.
“Hey,” he said. “I just heard, are you okay?
“Theo.” She smiled at him. Not the same way she smiled at me, or even Ethan, but there was definite familiarity there. “You guys don’t need to fuss.”
Tiffany stepped up. “Please, like you expected anything less. You should know by now this is what we do.” She gave me a look which indicated she still wasn’t happy with me. “She’s the one who put all this in place. The one who made sure we’re always there for each other. You don’t get to fuck with her again.”
Theo’s eyes widened as he turned to me. “You’re the baby daddy?”
Shiloh rolled her eyes. “Oh god.”
“Yes, Ethan is my son.” I pushed my shoulders back and raised my chin. This asshole was not going to intimidate me.
“Then you and I need to have a drink soon.” He looked over at Harry. “Have you spoken to him yet?”
Harry shook his head. “No. I was waiting to see if he stuck around.”
“For the love of god.” Shiloh hopped off the bed and winced.
I pointed at the bed and frowned at her. “Get back there until the doctor gets back.”
“They’re trying to intimidate you.”
Her defending me was as appreciated as it was adorable. Still, I was not having her hurt herself.
“I am well aware of what is happening.” These men loved her. They wanted to protect her. “And as much as I appreciate your support, you are hurt.”
Theo tilted his head to the side and nodded. “He’ll do. For now.”
Tiffany stepped forward and pushed at Theo’s chest. “Listen, brother dearest. As much as Shiloh appreciates your protective streak, she needs to get out of here. Why don’t you use all your rich man powers and go find her doctor.”
Theo looked down at her and smiled. “You just wanna get rid of me so you can interrogate him yourself.”
He walked in the direction of the nurse’s station.
I turned to Harry. “If it's okay with you, I’ll take her home.”
Harry nodded. Then darted his eyes between all three women. “See that you do that. If I hear that she left with one of these two, you’ll have to deal with me.”
And then it was four of us. Shiloh shook her head. “You don’t have to wait for me. Tiff and Maggie were just deciding which one was on Shiloh duty before everyone else got here.”
“Not necessary. I’m on Shiloh duty.” I sat in the chair Harry had just got out of. “I promised Ethan you would call him as soon as you were out of here and I intend to keep that promise. And, no offense Shi, but the former Marine who just threatened me is a lot scarier than you right now.”
She shook her head. “Look, you don’t know what I need right now. Tiff and Maggie will take care of me. I’ll be fine.”
“Actually,” Maggie stepped forward, a wicked smile on her face. “I think Ryder is exactly what you need.”
Tiffany frowned. “You think?”
Shiloh wasn’t having any of it. “That is the last thing…”
“Will someone tell me what is going on?”
The three women seemed to have a conversation entirely out of facial expressions and hand gestures.
Tiffany rolled her eyes and smiled at me. “Sex. That is what she needs right now.”
Then she and Maggie turned around and left me with Shiloh