Ryder - Caveman Insticts Book Three(45)

“Ha, if you were a real man you would have kept my daughter with you.” Eric crossed his arms over his chest.

I gave a hollow laugh. “Your stubborn daughter does what she likes. Have you even noticed that her mountain of shoes and clothes aren’t in her room? I moved my woman into our house, but she packed suitcases and snuck out to stay with you to settle you in after your time away.” I was getting sick and tired of Eric treating me the way he was. The situation we were in wasn’t a good one, but he hadn’t given me a chance at getting to know him. He’d belittled and growled at me, and now when we should’ve been learning more about each other, we were attacking each other. I sighed, frustrated. “Look I don’t want to fight or argue with you. I love your daughter and whether you like it or not you will be my father-in-law. For Divinity’s sake can we get on? Or at least have a truce until she’s better?” I held my hand out for a shake.

Eric shrugged out of Arron’s hold and slowly shook my hand. “Peace. Until Divinity is better.”





My eyes felt like they were glued shut and it seemed to take forever to get them open. The first thing I saw when I pried them apart was bright lights. It took a while for my eyes to focus and for me to realize I was staring at the ceiling. I took a moment to assess my body as memories flooded me of the last things I remembered. I hurt, but surprisingly, not as bad as I thought I would. I had a nice buzz flowing through me and as I carefully turned my head I saw a drip and what looked like fluids. Turning my gaze down, I saw a dark head resting on the bed and noticed pressure on my hand that had no needles attached to it.

Ryder. I knew those tats, and as I became more awake his manly smell was wafting to me. It was comforting and I squeezed his hand. “Ryder.” I croaked out. My voice was rough and sounded like I smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. Slowly, I squirmed on the bed to test my range of movement and cleared my throat, only to groan at the dryness, but tried again. “Ryder.”

This time his head snapped up and his dark green eyes flashed before they caught mine. “Divinity. Oh God. You’re awake. Let me get the nurse.”

I shook my head but it didn’t move much. “No. Water,” I croaked.

He stood and a second later a straw came to my lips. “Sip slowly.”

I did as he said and swished the water around before I swallowed. “How long have I been out?” I asked as soon as I’d had enough water that I didn’t feel like something had died in my mouth.

I didn’t miss the grimace before he covered it with tight thin lips and sad eyes. “A little over a week. They’ve had you in a coma to help with the swelling you had in your brain. They brought you out last night and this morning is the first time you’ve been awake.” He looked me over and I didn’t miss the flash of relief in his gaze. “I pressed the nurse button. One should be here any minute and hopefully she’ll get a doctor to explain everything.” He squeezed my hand and I clutched his because right now he was my lifeline.

“So, my dad? Arron? Where are they?” I darted my gaze around the room.

“They’ve been here. Your dad swap shifts with me. When he’s here I shower, eat and catch up on what’s going on.”

“What is going on? What’s happened?” I was eager to fund out what happened after I passed out. Was I in trouble for killing a man? Had they found X among the men they’d killed? Did they know who X was?

“I’m on leave pending an investigation, but don’t worry. The house was a wealth of information and has helped the investigation with leaps and bounds.” He brushed my hair from my face. “I don’t care about work or anything else but you right now.”

Was Ryder in trouble? Would he go to jail because of me? I stared into his eyes and tried to pry what I wanted out of them, but he didn’t give what I wanted away. Ryder looked tired. He had dark black bags under his eyes and his face looked like he hadn’t shaved since I’d come into the hospital. He had a decent beard going, but I wasn’t sure I liked it. His posture seemed limp and his usual cocky confidence was nonexistent. “Are you in trouble because of me? Is Dad in trouble?”

Ryder shook his head. “Don’t worry about any of that. My family lawyers and I have it sorted out.” He brought my hand up and kissed my knuckles. “I may have to find another job.” He shrugged. “I’m a Silverman, so I don’t really need to work. I have plenty of money. I could start my own business, or do whatever I wanted. So don’t worry about anything besides getting better.”