My lungs seemed to tighten, and thankfully I was alone as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked the same as always, and yet I felt different. As if I held this weight on my shoulders and I didn’t know how to relieve it.
Ryder was just all words, and my body’s reaction was just that, a reaction that lacked any logical reasoning. Natural and in no way wanted.
He was delusional if he thought, even for a second, that I would be interested in the man who’d stalked, cornered, and then tossed me into the hands of a brute. It didn’t matter that technically he hadn’t abandoned me, not when the only reason he stayed was because I had something he wanted.
His charm and cheap little tricks wouldn’t work on me. I wasn’t one of those women blinded by a pretty face and hard body. He was just pushing, trying to get me to give up the USB drive.
Which… I didn’t actually have.
The door slammed open behind me, causing me to startle. “Ryder? What are you?—”
“Shh!” He went to grab me, his large palm covering my lips. “Be quiet,” he whispered, moving us both into the stall and closing the door. It barely managed to fit us, with Ryder crushing me to his chest to make space.
I went to shove him, but then the bathroom door opened once more, and Ryder pressed harder against my lips, his large hand covering the bottom of my face. There were footsteps, loud even against the blood rushing in my ears. I could feel my heart in my throat, fear a sour taste at the back of my tongue.
Ryder remained perfectly still, his breathing even and calm while I tried not to panic.
The footsteps stopped outside, a shadow appearing beneath the door.
“Come out.” A strange click, followed by the sound like metal against wood. “Or I’ll shoot you through the stall.”
A strangled breath exhaled through my nose, giving us away.
“You must have a death wish, Cedric,” Ryder commented calmly, his chest rumbling against me. “Not many would risk pissing off theKnyaz’.”
The gun scraped against the door, and I was pretty sure I was shaking.
“Give me the girl, and I’ll let you go. For now.”
“What girl?”
A bang, the entire door rattling on its hinges. “Last warning, Ryder.”
“Ty chto tvarísh’?!”came an angry voice.
“Back off,” Cedric growled at the newcomer. “This is private.”
“Neutral ground,” the bartender growled.“Ty chórtov idiót!”
The shadow stepped away, and after a tense moment there was a knock on the door. Ryder finally released me, reaching around to try and open it.
“Come,” the bartender ordered, his expression severe.
Ryder had to press us both against the stall’s wall to allow the door to open enough for us to squeeze back through. We followed the bartender outside the bathroom, but instead of returning to the bar, he guided us slightly behind it to the storage room full of kegs and bottles.
“Here,” he grunted, pulling on a sconce on the wall. Something clicked, followed by a hiss of air. “Go.”
Ryder grabbed my hand and pulled me after him,leading the way down the narrow metal stairs into the tunnel below. Darkness swallowed us, almost pitch black, but Ryder moved with unshakable purpose, his grip on me firm and unrelenting. It must have only been minutes, but it stretched like hours before another staircase appeared, ending at a heavy wooden door.
He shoved it open, and we spilled out into an alley a few streets away.
“Come on,” Ryder urged, reaching back to haul me up onto the pavement.
My eyes darted over the shadows. “How did he find us?”
“Someone probably sold me out for a few quid, the greedy bastards.” Ryder slammed the wooden doors shut with a crack that echoed down the alley. His jaw tightened. “Until this is sorted, we’re going to have to be more careful with who we trust.”
Chapter 21
