But she didnotlook happy to see me.
And that was putting it mildly.
65
The Door Did Nothing Wrong
Tessa
A normal person would've screamed. But my own scream caught in my throat the moment I heard Ryder yell.
Not at me.
At Evan Carver.
Who wasn't even here.
What the hell?
My heart hammered as I tried to make sense of it.Was this…a rescue?
I stood there, barefoot and furious, holding a candle in one hand and the small radio in the other, watching Ryder's face in the flickering light. The radio had fallen silent, leaving only the sounds of my ragged breathing and the falling rain.
His jacket was soaked. His hair was drenched. Water slid down his cheekbones, making him look wild, intent, and unfairly magnetic.
I gave myself a mental kick, hating the part of my brain that noticed how stupidly good he looked, standing there in Maisie's shattered doorway.
I swallowed as my brain caught up with my heart.Damn it.
The door.Its shocking destruction was the thing that finally made me speak. "What'd you dothatfor?"
He strode forward until we were close enough to touch. "Is he here?"
"Who? Evan?" I shook my head. "No. Of course not."
Ryder moved a fraction closer."Washe here?"
"No. Why?"
Through clenched teeth, he said, "Youknowwhy."
And then, it hit me. "Oh, my God. Is this a jealousy thing?"
He stared like I'd completely lost my mind. Sounding incredulous, he said, "That's what you think? That I kicked in a door because I was jealous?"
With him standing so close, my pulse tripped for all the wrong reasons. "Hey! I wasn't the one who kicked inyourdoor, so maybeyoushould go first."
He stiffened. "Go first?"
I gave a jerk of my chin. "Yes, actually."
His voice rose. "Are you fucking serious?"
My voice rose, too. "You don't need to swear!"
"The hell I don't." But then, his voice softened. "I thought you were in trouble."
A soft breath escaped my lips. "What?" Of course, part of me had guessed this already, but my brain was still too jumbled to think.
