Chapter 26
COLE
Click. Click. Click. Click.
I stare at the red light, waiting to make a left turn. My shoulders are so tense that the muscles running up the sides of my neck burn.
My mind is split between who’d switch out my playbook and watching Ryder jog up a dark ramp and into. . .
What? The only thing I know is she’s prepared for danger.
My mind spins with the realization of just how much I still don’t know about this woman. The one I spend all of my free time with. But it doesn’t matter. A massive wave of anxiety wreaks havoc on my stomach because, despite that, I need to know she’s safe.
My sweaty palm grips the steering wheel as I check my phone for the hundredth time, waiting for her name to appear.
The light turns green, and I make the turn, watching the car behind me in the mirror. My phone vibrates, and I snatch it up.
Maggie. After today’s fiasco, I knew she’d be calling. Desperate for a distraction, I answer.
“Hey, Mags.” I croak through my dry throat.
“Hey. Some game today. What the hell happened?”
I really wish I knew. I’m so sick of my life.
“Yeah. It was something. Not sure I can tell you what happened other than there was a lot of confusion.”
There’s a long pause. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but I can’t handle any more stress or anxiety at the moment. My body is strung so tight, one more unit of pressure, and I’ll snap.
“Cole, are you ok?”
Am I?
I stop at another light. Ryder’s same soft words hit me in the chest, constricting my lungs.
I recall the comforting weight of her hand in mine.
I don’t know what to make of anything that’s happening right now, but I want that back—the safety of her warm hand in mine.
That feeling of not being completely alone.
But I don’t want just anyone. I want her.
And right now, she’s facing something that requires a loaded gun.
I check my phone again.
Dammit. Where is she?
“Cole,” Maggie’s voice pulls me back.
“Sorry. Yeah, I’m ok. I. . . Today was a mess. I need to talk to Coach. Seems I was given the wrong playbook.”
There’s a long pause. “What? How?”
My sister knows as much about football as she does about dance. She’s brilliant, and she understands stuff like this doesn’t happen.
“I’m not sure. I’m trying to sort through it and figure out who’s responsible.” The thing is, I’m beginning to worry about what’s coming next.
“This team has been one. . . ” She doesn’t finish her statement, as if deciding I don’t need her frustration on top of everything else. “Are you still getting those emails?”
Oh, how to answer that? I go for honesty, not having the energy for lies. Well, mostly. “Yeah, but it’s all being investigated.”
Another long pause. “I saw pictures of you hugging your. . .friend. So, she was there today?”
She should be here with me right now.
“Uh. . .yeah.”
“Cole. Are you really ok? You know if this is all too—”
“Mags, I’m good.” I cannot handle a deep conversation about too much pressure or my mental state. “It’s just been a really long day.”
And if Ryder doesn’t text me in two minutes, I’m going to lose my very last shred of patience.
“You need to come home for Thanksgiving.”
My head falls back against the headrest. She means well, but there are way too many scary things happening for me to think about holidays.
“Maggie, I know you—” My phone buzzes. Ryder. “Mags, I gotta go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
I don’t even wait to hear a reply and switch over. “Hey.”
“Meet me where you dropped me off. Hurry.”
The line goes dead. I quickly make a right and head back. She sounded winded, as if she was running.
Fuck!
I kept circling the vicinity but got off track talking to Maggie.
What if she’s hurt? Her torn open shoulder flashes through my mind. I press the pedal down further.
I zigzag my way back and ease into the dark loading area, knowing enough not to make any kind of scene. I put the SUV in park and switch off the lights, sitting in the same spot where Ryder left me.
The silence fills with the sound of my heartbeat. I glance around, but see nothing.
Then, I spot her walking down the loading dock, holding—
What the hell?
I push the door open, but Ryder shakes her head, and I quickly close it. She opens the back passenger door, lifts a. . .child inside, then quickly slides in.
“It’s ok.” Her voice is soft and soothing.
I stare, unable to move. I watch her grip the hand of a boy wrapped in a towel.
“It’s ok. He’s going to help us. Ok? Remember what I told you?”
His young body shakes so badly it looks like he’s convulsing. Ryder puts her arm around him.
“I need you to take us somewhere.”
My eyes snap to her, but my brain is unable to make sense of anything.
“Cole.” Her firm, gentle voice is a shock to my racing mind and stalled lungs, forcing me to breathe and halting all the thoughts I can’t seem to piece together. “Drive. I need you to head out of town. Can you plug in an address?”
My eyes drift over her. Her shirt is torn, blood smeared on one side, and her cheek is red and puffy.
Shit! What the fuck?
I twist further in my seat, reaching for her—
“Matthews.” My name comes out as a command. “Give me your phone.”
I nod, handing it over. I put the car in drive and follow the programmed route, glancing at the rearview mirror to see Ryder tuck the boy closer to her, his little body still shaking.
“The big guy up there,” she says softly. “He’ll take us to that place I told you about. It’s a safe place. Ok?”
His auburn curls nod ever so slightly.
“You know what else?” Ryder’s soothing tone fills the intense quiet, and I need it to calm something ricocheting through me. “He’s got brothers about your age. He won’t hurt you. Not him or anyone else. All right?”
He doesn’t respond this time, but she keeps talking.
“Want to know something crazy? He’s a football player. Do you like football? He’s been teaching me how the game works.”
A subtle, shaky nod.
“Well, don’t tell him, but he’s pretty good.”
I drive, gripping the steering wheel so hard my palms ache while my heart pounds to the rhythm of confused rage.
It’s so loud it almost drowns out Ryder’s gentle voice, filling the space all the way to our destination.
My mind is consumed with nothing but the alarming revelation that Ryder saved this boy from—
I stop, unable to go further without throwing the door open and emptying my stomach, thinking of the possibilities.
I take slow breaths, focusing on driving until I have a minute to absorb what I’m witnessing. I stop at a tall metal gate, but beyond is a large, white stucco house lit in the dark. As if we’re expected, the gate opens, and I pull into a long driveway and park.
Ryder climbs out, reassuring the boy again. “Remember, I told you about Kerry and Jos. They’re waiting inside for us, and I promise they’ll make sure you’re safe. You won’t be alone, not for a second. Ok?”
She reaches for him, and he shies backward. Ryder stops, giving him a second.
She looks at the house and then back at the boy. “This is not the same.” She leans down, getting eye level. “The only people inside this place are—” Her eyes flick to mine, but then drop back to his. “They’ve been hurt, too. They’ll make sure that never happens again. Ok?”
He blinks a few times and grips the towel tightly as she helps him down.
She holds the door open, her attention moving to me. “I’m sorry. You have to come in. It’ll be a while.”
Sorry? She’s sorry?!
I’m not sure I can comprehend what this all means, but my stressful issues have shrunk to fucking nothing in the last fifteen minutes.
I follow her into the double-story house, which resembles a large family home.
We step into a living room filled with a couch and two plush chairs. There’s a stairway to the second floor, and above a doorway leading to a long hallway is a beautifully painted quote.
She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom.—N. Hawthorne
I swallow, and it’s painful. I’m not sure of anything except that I’m certain I’m witnessing a side of the world I never understood existed. I’m gathering a shitload of assumptions, but one thing is for damn sure. I won’t be the same when I walk out of here tonight.
Jos appears in the hallway, and a middle-aged woman with shoulder-length blonde hair is right behind her. Both wear gentle smiles as if we stopped by for a visit, and this is a normal, everyday greeting.
Their eyes stall on me, and I’m not sure if they were expecting me, but if not, you’d never know.
“Hi,” Jos says, her tone soft.
The little boy has a tight hold on Ryder’s hand, his other gripping the towel around his shoulders.
Jos drops to her knees. “I’m Jos. What do you think if I get you some clothes, extra soft ones?”
He tucks into Ryder’s leg, and she rests her hand on his head.
“I’ll be right back, ok?” Jos stands, glances at me again, and then disappears down the hallway.
The other woman steps closer, inspecting Ryder. “You ok?”
Ryder nods but peeks at me out of the corner of her eye. “I have to touch base with TJ, and then Rodrigez has some. . .clean up to do.”
The woman nods. “I’ve contacted the department, and Dr. Martinez is on her way.”
Ryder’s gaze falls to the boy.
“You need anything for that?” She points to Ryder’s side, where her ripped grey Stingrays T-shirt is being held closed by her blood.
“Nah.”
The woman gestures to the boy. “Name?”
Ryder shakes her head.
My usual calm mind is blown to absolute shit, and I can’t follow the code-like conversation.
I peer down to see two grey eyes staring back. I shift a little, my stomach dropping to the floor at the sight of his massive pupils, which equate to absolute terror. Those eyes bore all the way through me, burning holes in my soul.
Not even thinking about it, I drop down to the floor like I saw Jos do.
“Hey,” I say, keeping my tone light, even though I feel like I might actually be able to kill someone.