Page 153 of His Virgin Romance Series
“Wait,” I said. Ryder turned to me with one raised eyebrow. “What makes you think he’s so dangerous?”
Ryder walked over to me and to my surprise pushed back the hair that fell over my shoulder. I tensed immediately, wondering what he was doing. Then, he tilted my face up a little so that my neck was exposed.
“These marks,” Ryder asked. “How did they get there?”
I clenched my jaw. “Walter tried to choke me.”
“What made him stop?”
“He was half drunk… he started choking...”
“Do you really need to ask me why I think he’s dangerous?”
“There are different kinds of danger,” I said. “And different kinds of dangerous men. He knows that my brother is part of a pretty well-known motorcycle gang. What makes you think he’s coming for me?”
Ryder looked up and glanced at Devon, who was standing behind me. I turned to look at my brother. “What?” I asked, realizing that they were having an unspoken conversation just then.
“Show it to her,” Ryder said, and it sounded like an order.
I felt my body tense as Devon came forward and handed me a piece of paper. I frowned at it for a moment before opening it up.
“I’m coming for you.”
The words were written in red ink that had left little splotches all over the paper. That was all that was written on the otherwise blank piece of paper. My body grew cold, and I looked up at my brother.
“Where did you find this?” I asked.
“Outside your door,” Devon replied. “Last night.”
“Last night?” I gasped. “You mean… he was in the building… he was outside my door—”
“He’s playing with you,” Ryder replied calmly. “He’s toying with you. He’s sending you a message. He’s the predator, and you’re the prey.”
I looked down at the note again, and something about the ink caught my eye. I brought it up to my face and sniffed it.
“Is this…?”
“Blood,” Devon confirmed.
I could feel the color drain from my face, and I glanced up at Ryder, who was watching me carefully. He took the paper from my hands and stared at me challengingly.
“Is he right, Abby?” he asked. “Are you the prey?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
“Don’t worry,” Ryder said. “You won’t be for long.”
