Chapter 51

*Iris* 

I was drowsy and in pain, but I didn't want to go back to sleep so I said nothing. I wanted to hear what the hushed whispers were that they didn't think I noticed. These people tried to kill me. They used me to get to him, does he not see how angry that makes me? I am not used to playing the victim. I am someone who plays offense, not someone who cowers in defense. Yet he I lay, the victim of a group of monsters, being looked on with pity and fear. I asked Ryker what would happen when this was over, and I could tell he lied to me. He hesitated and his eyes went from happy to saddened. He lied to me to protect me, but he lied. "A vacation?” I said with a short laugh, searching his face for more deceit. He smiled running his fingers down the side of my arm. “That sounds amazing.” He didn't seem to lie knowing that would be amazing. He also didnt say we could go. Nonetheless, I smiled up at him. I wanted to be with him, so I would make sure he didn't try to send me away. I was wrong to walk away. I won't make that mistake again, I do not want to be without him. 

I heard something about Ivy before I let them know I was awake. I wanted to know everything. I was tired of lying there as the victim. I pulled the blanket away and started to try to push myself up. “What are you doing Iris?” Ryker said, leaning over trying to hold on to me. “I can’t lay here anymore.” I said, feeling more frustrated by the minute. “What? You were shot. You are pretty beaten up. Please try to rest.” I shook my head and grabbed his arm, “Help me up.” I said sharply. He looked confused, again not used to women speaking to him that way. He pulled slightly on my good arm and helped me sit up on the side of the bed. I still had a catheter in so I couldn't go far. “I need this thing out.” I said pointing at the tubing. “He was leaving it in to make sure it was there if you had to go back to surgery, which you may have to if you don't lay back down.” I shook my head no, “I don't want to lay and sleep anymore. I want to know what's going on?” I had been in and out for what felt like days even though I knew it wasn't. This was the most awake I had felt, and I was ready to get back into the game. Ryker looked at me strange, again, before shaking his head no. “I don't want you in the middle of this anymore.” He said, his voice stern. “Ryker... I was shot. I was there, held captive, scared they would kill me and I would never see you again. I already am in the middle of it, hell, I am the middle of it. I don't want to be their victim. I refuse to be anyone’s victim.” I felt the tears stinging in my eyes. 

After a few silent moments, I spoke up again.  “Tell me what we are doing?” I gripped his arm tightly. He was silent for a moment, like he was trying to process what I had said to him. Before speaking to me directly, he paged the nurse to tell her I wanted the tubes and wires disconnected. “I talked to Ivy; she gave us the address for Claud. A security team is circling the building right now. We will find him and end him. Ivy is giving me all the names of the men she knows in the punisher crew, and I will end them as well. By the end of this week, I will take out as many of the Punisher members as I can.” He didn't look directly at me, almost like he was ashamed by what he said. Like I didn't know he has the ability to take a life, but I did, from his house and the assassin. “And Ivy?” I asked, unbothered by the multiple men he planned to take out. “Ivy will be dropped in a different country with some money and a way to survive with the threat that if she returns to the United States, she will be shot on site.” He sat down beside me. “Good.” I said leaning onto his shoulder. I let out a deep sigh, relieved that he was handling this situation in the only way that ensures his safety as well as mine.  

The nurse entered the room with the doctor. He tried to plead with me to stay in bed, but I just wanted to go home, to the Ryker’s bed. “Can you not make home visits? I will pay you double what I do for one of us.” Ryker offered immediately getting acceptance from Ayden. Ryker stepped out while they removed everything except the bandages. The nurse offered to help me shower before I left and I agreed. Mostly because I was still a little dizzy from the meds. Ayden reached me a couple small bottles of medication. “This one will keep you from getting clots so please take it as prescribed. The other is a pain medication. It won't help as much as the IV meds do, but it will take the edge off. They are habit forming so be mindful of how much you take. I nodded, knowing well how habit forming those medications can be. The shower felt good for the most part, aside from the wound dressing being changed. It was going to leave such a hideous scar. I closed my eyes as she dressed it. Seeing the stitches and the bruising there just made me feel sick. She helped me wash my hair. Blood still washed down the drain from the trauma to my body. “You are one tough cookie, Iris.” The nurse said smiling as she helped me get dressed. *I have always had to be*. I thought as I helped her as much as I could. 

“You will need help with the restroom and showers for a while. Tell Ryker, I will take my regular price if he will allow me to come help you heal.” She winked, kissed me on the cheek sweetly, and walked out of the room after I was dressed and ready to go. I thanked her before telling her I would ask specifically for her and watched as she walked out the door. Seconds later, in walked Ryker and Deacon with a wheelchair. It hadn’t been a long time since I walked into his classroom at college, but after everything, it felt like a lifetime. I looked at Deacon, who smiled at me, and knew he was family. I could see why he and Ryker were so close. They were like brothers. Deacon was protective of his boss, above and beyond the call of duty. He was also protective of me. Distraught by what the captors had put me through, I watched as he sobbed beside my bed while Ryker was not there. He felt responsible, but he wasn't, I was. I chose to leave and not heed the warnings. I wouldn’t tell anyone about his tears, but I would be sure to tell him it wasn't his fault. “I think that nurse has a thing for you, Babygirl.” Ryker said as he lined the wheel chair up to help me into it. I giggled, then grimaced from the pain. “Are you okay?” Deacon said reaching for my shoulder to help me as well. “I am just happy to be going home.”