Cut Too Deep(58)
Jenna wanted to cry. She’d been so stupid, leaving Ryker. He was the best thing she’d ever had, and she’d walked out on him because he’d lied to keep her. Garrett would have found her eventually, wherever she was. Had she been using Garrett as an excuse this whole time so she could protect her heart? Had she subconsciously been running because she was terrified of another man hurting her? She wished she could go back and react differently that morning. She wished they’d sat down and talked about things instead of her running away. Now she was probably going to be raped and murdered, and she would never get a chance to see his face again or tell him that she loved him.
Footsteps walked away from the garage door, and the car engine neither of them had noticed before started up and pulled away, growing fainter.
Something—perhaps her dying hope—settled like a rotten lump in the pit of her stomach.
Her chance at help had driven away.
Chapter Twenty-one
Slowly, Garrett removed his hand from her mouth. The dry skin on her lips clung to his fingers as he pulled them away, as if they’d somehow bonded during the last few minutes.
Jenna spat on the floor, trying to get the residual taste of Garrett’s blood and sweat out of her mouth. It could be worse. It could be the taste of her own blood she was trying to rid herself of. So far, other than a bruised, swollen face, a sore neck, and a torn bra, she’d managed to go unharmed. Unlike the poor, innocent man whose body lay behind her.
“Good thing that guy didn’t get in here,” Garrett said, glancing back toward the garage door, “or the bodies would start to pile up.”
Jenna glanced longingly toward the entrance, praying someone else would come—someone able to handle themselves around Garrett and who could rip him to pieces. She didn’t want to give up. She still held out hope that someone would help her.
Where is Ryker?
Why hadn’t he come after her? Even if he wasn’t going to chase her and beg her to come home, surely he would have come to the garage by now, if only to get on with some work. It didn’t make sense for him to be staying away.
“That guy is bound to try Ryker’s cell phone,” she said. “If he can’t get hold of him here, it’s going to be the next number he tries. As soon as Ryker figures out that something is wrong, he’ll be here to kick your ass.”
Garrett’s eyes narrowed. “Who is this Ryker guy?”
She jerked up. “Huh?” She’d thought Garrett knew exactly who Ryker was.
“Your boyfriend’s name is Ryker?” He hazarded a guess, but confusion tainted his tone. “I thought pretty boy’s name was Michael?”
Jenna realized the reason for Garrett’s mistake. Of course! Everything Garrett knew was going on what he’d tracked down online. If Mikey had ordered goods to be delivered to him, he’d have used his own name, not Ryker’s, though Jenna wondered how the kid ever thought he wouldn’t get caught. Typical teenager, acting without considering the consequences.
Jenna thought quickly. “Ryker hates the name Michael. He goes by his mother’s maiden name.”
Garrett’s lips thinned, his eyes still narrowed as he stared at Jenna, trying to figure out what was up with her comment. Then he relaxed and gave a shrug. “Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly ask his name before I hit him across the back of the head with a two-by-four. The last I checked, your boy was pretty damn dead, so don’t go getting your hopes up that he’s going to answer his cell phone anytime soon.”
The world tilted on its axis and she felt herself slide off. She blinked and gave herself a shake. Weirdly, she felt empty inside, hollow and devoid of emotions.
She found her voice and whispered, “I don’t believe you.”
It was as if this news had forced her to detach from her emotions. Where she thought she’d be wailing and tearing her hair out with her hands—if her arms weren’t bound—instead she felt numb and disbelieving.
“Believe it, sweetheart. I wasn’t going to let him race to your rescue.”
She shook her head, a motion she didn’t seem to be able to stop. “No, no, no, no.”
All she could think of was that she wanted to go to Ryker. She couldn’t believe he was dead, and she would never believe it unless she saw his body, though the thought made her want to reach inside her chest and rip out her heart. This was what she’d feared all along, and she’d been right to. Ryker had been hurt because of her.
She pulled together all of her bravado. “I don’t believe you could have harmed my boyfriend,” she said, drawing herself up as much as she could, bound as she was. “He’s got fifty pounds of muscle on you, and he’s got more guts in his little finger than you have in your whole body. He’d squash you like a bug!”