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Another stream of curse words flew out of Taylor’s mouth but this tirasp and I slid down the wall to the floor, pulling the curtain withon the curtain rod I watched his footsteps cross the roo for breath, barely able to holdbreaths, willinget out of here, my only shot to escape As soon as he turned the door handle, I would make my move

I started to crawl noiselessly toward him My clutch lay abandoned on the floor and thankfully directly in my path I snatched it up onor anything else in it besides my phone and my credit card if I needed to pay for a cab My vision was starting to clear, and I had enough big breaths now that I felt the strength to run return

Taylor yanked open the door, wider than I think he intended, but he was blind with bloodlust and unable to gauge his strength And that was all I needed I burst forward like a sprinter out of the blocks and bull-rushed his side, squeezing under the space just between hinored Blake’s shocked look of surprise at seeing me bolt out of the roo at the top of ed, shrill but scratching and raspy fro incident not forty-five seconds before

I looked around for the exit, desperate and wild and I just kept screa and ive up, I willedsound, to fulfill this plan for escape My vision was still hazy enough that it took way longer than it should have to find the stairs, but all the while irritated guests had started to step out of their hotel rooms to see what the commotion was about I heard the suspicious sound of a door clicking shut and locking Without looking I knew it had to be Taylor and Blake hiding away froirl ould rat them out to the police in a millisecond if they tried to follows so I could take five and six steps at a tilanced behind me, I was too afraid A tiny, but present rational part of my brain announced that not a door to the stairwell had opened since I entered and only the sound of hout the stairwell but I couldn’t chance it I couldn’t take the risk

Once I reached the ground floor I tore through the door and to the lobby I spun in frantic circles, looking for Taylor or Blake or Drew My eyes moved back and forth, frenzied in their search They could have taken the elevators down; they could be waiting for ain I would just keep screa until I drew so much attention to myself that someone called the police and they carted me away to an insane asyluain

That was insane

I wasn’t But that was

Now I just had to figure out what to do How to get out of here I dug throughhands I scrolled to the first nuht toI would call hi?" He asked after the first ring

"I need you," I sobbed "I need you You said to call if I needed you and I do I need you"

People were starting to stare at awk I didn’t kno I could stop the at e down here and takefor you outside," Ryder announced That was the most wonderful news I had ever heard Ever

With nu knees I walked out the lobby door of the hotel and into the frigid fall air The end of October was bitingly cold, signaling a snowfall soon and the presence of a loo with shivers but I was certain those would have been happening with or without the cold air

Ryder leapt from his Bronco that he had pulled front and center of the covered driveway A valet was yelling at him to move his junky POS fronored him

Instead he sprinted to h to fall into theainst his throat

"I’ you home," he demanded and then picked me up like a child One hand supported my back, the other slipped under my knees and he walked directly to his car He depositedmy face in both of his hands "I knew this was bad news I just couldn’t… I wanted to be here if so already present in the parking lot

"So," I admitted in a croaky, harsh voice as if it wasn’t obvious "But I’avemy door When he turned around Blake and Taylor were just walking out the sliding doors of the hotel They noticed ers’ seat of Ryder’s car and pointed at me Ryder noticed them too unfortunately and I watched his body physically react to Taylor It was like I could feel his stare fall on Taylor’s outstretched hand that was bloodied and scratched froood punch in or hit hi his hands turned out to be its own form of karma

Ryder’s whole body tensed when he realized Taylor was the one that hurt ertip up the length of his arether in his head And then Ryder snapped

He launched himself forward, onto Taylor and his fist connected with Taylor’s face like a branch breaking off a huge tree during a lightning storm I heard the crunch of bones from even inside the car and then watched the splurt of blood soil Ryder’s face, hands and chest My hand flew to ainst the horror of the moment

And then I just watched in trancelike fascination as Ryder cocked his arm back and delivered one punch after another Ryder tackled Taylor with his initial hit and so with each subsequent one, Taylor’s skull bounced against the hard concrete There was blood everywhere, flowing in thin crier man, and maybe not even equally e He was a e and retribution

I couldn’t move I couldn’t think I just watched Ryder take out my pain on the man that inflicted it

Blake tried his hardest to pull Ryder off, but it was like he was a th Eventually the valet jue Someone called the police but by the time the ambulance and police cruisers pulled up six men had stepped in to restrain Ryder

I stayed frozen in place while Ryder was handcuffed and then shoved into the back of a police car His hand swollen, led and bloodied But his face was cal if I said I didn’t feel those sah me

Taylor was loaded onto a stretcher and the a I barely heard the sound though After everything that happened tonight, I had finally becoh these events as if everything was happening to so, soth bruises across their neck, soernails and black and bluetheir skin

As ifto someone else

I hated that Ryder was separated froet to see hiain because of what he’d done for me And if he wouldn’t have stepped in, I could very likely be back in that sick f-ing hotel roo bastard