Chapter 61 Saving her
Sage's POV
"If I had been three seconds later, they would have had you in that van." He pulled back to look at my face, his eyes wild with emotions. "Three seconds, Sage. That's how close I came to losing you. Three fucking seconds."
"But you didn't. I'm right here." I touched his face, feeling the tension in his jaw. "You got here in time."
"I should have stayed with you, should never have left you alone for even a minute." His hands cupped my face like I was something precious and fragile. "I'm never making that mistake again. Never."
Sirens wailed in the distance, getting closer, and I knew someone must have called the cops. Ryder looked at the men scattered around us, his expression hardening again and becoming cold.
"We need to go before the police get here."
"But your bike—"
"I'll come back for it later. Right now we're getting you somewhere safe." His tone left no room for argument.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward one of the vans the attackers had been using, the keys were still in the ignition. They left it running, probably planning for a quick getaway with me inside.
"You're stealing their van?"
"They tried to kidnap you. I think grand theft auto is the least of their problems right now." There was a dark humor in his voice that made me shiver.
He was right. We climbed in and he started the engine, pulling out of the parking lot just as the first police car turned onto the street. Ryder drove fast but not recklessly, his jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscles jumping, his bloody knuckles gripping the steering wheel hard enough to twist the silicon cover of the wheel. I watched him in profile, seeing the way his eyes kept flicking to the rearview mirror, the way his breathing hadn't quite evened out yet.
"Talk to me," I said quietly, needing to hear his voice, needing to know he was okay.
"Not now."
"Ryder—"
"I said not now!" His voice came out harsh and I flinched slightly. Then softer, almost pleading, "Please. I can't talk right now without losing it completely."
I stayed quiet and watched the road, understanding that he needed time to process what had just happened. The adrenaline was still coursing through my own veins, making my hands shake and my heart race. After fifteen minutes he pulled into an empty parking garage and killed the engine, then turned to me with a look on his face that made my breath catch. He looked devastated, like he'd already lost me and was mourning that loss.
"I would burn the world down to protect you," he said, his voice rough and intense. "Do you understand that? The entire fucking world. I'd watch it all turn to ash if it meant keeping you safe."
"I know." And I did. I could see it in his eyes, in the way he was looking at me like I was the only thing that mattered.
"Do you? Because I don't think you understand what you do to me." His hands were still shaking as he reached for me again, touching my face like he couldn't quite believe I was real. "When I saw those men dragging you toward that van, when I thought I might not get there in time, something inside me broke. I realized I would kill anyone who tried to take you. Not just hurt them, not just beat them. I would end them without hesitation or remorse. Does that scare you?"
"You did end them. You destroyed all five."
"I should have killed them, should have made sure they couldn't come after you again." He ran his hands through his hair, leaving streaks of blood in the dark strands. "But the cops were coming and I needed to get you out of there. I needed to get you safe."
I reached for his hand, the one covered in blood and bruised knuckles, and brought it to my lap. "Thank you for getting there when you did, for saving me."
"I didn't save you. You saved yourself." Pride flickered in his eyes despite the fear still lingering there. "You broke that first guy's nose before I even knew what was happening, took down two more on your own. You were magnificent, Sage. Fierce and brave and so fucking strong."
"I was terrified."
"Being scared and fighting anyway, that's real courage." He brought my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles gently. "But you're never doing it alone again. From now on I don't leave your side, not for twenty feet, not for twenty seconds. Nowhere. I don't care if you think I'm being overprotective."
"That's going to make things difficult."
"I don't care. Difficult is better than dead." His voice was flat and final.
He had a point.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and Jaxon's name flashed on the screen. I answered and he started talking before I could say hello. "Where are you? Snake just called and said someone tried to grab you at the grocery store."
"How does Snake know about that?" I was surprised and a little annoyed that we'd been followed without knowing it.
"Because he was tailing you. I had him following from a distance just in case." Jaxon's voice was tight with barely controlled anger. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
"I'm fine. Ryder got there in time."
"And the men who tried to take you?"
I looked at Ryder, whose expression was cold and satisfied, like a predator who'd successfully defended his territory. "They're not going to be trying anything again anytime soon."
"Good. Get back to the clubhouse now. We need to talk about what this means." There was something in Jaxon's voice that made me nervous, a hardness I rarely heard from him.
He hung up before I could argue.
Ryder started the van again, his movements sharp and controlled. "Jaxon's right. We need to figure out who's coordinating these attacks."
"You think the kidnapping attempt and the garage attack are connected?"
"It's very possible. There have been several attempts for you before, but this is the closest they came to getting you." He pulled out of the parking garage, his eyes scanning the streets like he expected another attack at any moment. "And I guarantee Diego knows something about it."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, I'm not sure why he would want to take you by force especially after you've already openly agreed to his marriage proposal." Ryder's jaw clenched and I saw his knuckles grip harder on the steering wheel again. "He's showing you what happens if you refuse again, making sure you understand the stakes. Making sure you know he can hurt the people you care about."
"By trying to kidnap me?"
"By reminding you that he can get to you anywhere, that running won't help because his reach extends everywhere." Ryder glanced at me, his eyes dark with anger. "But he made a mistake."
"What mistake?"
"He pissed me off. And when someone threatens what's mine, I don't negotiate. I eliminate the threat completely." The cold certainty in his voice was absolute, leaving no room for doubt.
His words should have scared me, but instead I felt safe and protected. Because Ryder meant what he said, he would burn the world down to keep me safe.
And maybe that kind of obsessive protection was exactly what I needed in a world this dangerous.