CHAPTER 16
1480 Words
RYDER
The more Hunter explained why he thought something was wrong, the harder I pressed my foot against the gas pedal.
According to him, Liora had walked out of the company where she worked looking completely detached from reality. She had moved through the parking lot with slow, dragging steps before eventually making her way into the elevator of her apartment building. Since then, Hunter had been keeping an eye on things from a distance.
Over an hour ago, the bathroom light in her apartment had switched on and it still hasn’t gone off.
He has gone upstairs and repeatedly rung the doorbell, but no one had answered.
"Can you slow the hell down, Ryder?" Logan snapped from the passenger seat, gripping the handle above the window as I swerved around another car. "If you wanted to get there in record time, why didn't you just take your bike?"
Because if I found Liora unconscious, I needed something big enough to carry her in.
Ignoring Logan's complaints, I pushed the car even harder, weaving through traffic with the kind of recklessness only desperation could justify. Horns blared behind us as I narrowly beat several changing traffic lights.
Normally, I lived for the adrenaline, but tonight? it tasted like fear.
By some miracle, we reached Liora's apartment complex in one piece.
The moment I pulled into the parking lot, Hunter rushed toward the car.
"The bathroom lights are still on," he reported urgently as soon as we stepped out. "And she's still not answering the door."
A sick feeling settled heavily in my stomach.
Without wasting another second, the three of us sprinted toward the building entrance and piled into the elevator.
"Call Kane and get Liora's passcode," I ordered Logan, my gaze fixed impatiently on the floor indicator above the elevator doors. Each passing number seemed to move slower than the last.
The last time we'd dropped Liora off, Kane had managed to hack into her security system. If anyone knew the code, it would be him.
The elevator crawled upward.
First floor.
Second.
Third.
The metallic ding announcing the fourth floor had never sounded so slow.
The second the doors slid open, I shot down the hallway toward the apartment at the very end.
Behind me, Logan pressed his phone tighter against his ear.
A few seconds later, he called out loudly, "I've got it!"
I stopped in front of Liora's door, my hand already hovering over the keypad.
"One-eight-two-zero-two-five," Logan said.
My fingers moved immediately across the panel as my pulse thundered in my ears.
Please be okay, Liora.
Please.
With slightly trembling fingers, I punched the passcode into the keypad.
For one terrifying second, nothing happened.
Then the lock flashed green, a loud beep echoing through the hallway before the mechanism clicked open.
I shoved the door inward so hard that it slammed against the wall behind it. My boots nearly making me stumble as I rushed into the apartment.
"Liora!" I roared.
No response.
My pulse hammered violently against my ribs.
"Liora!" I shouted again, louder this time as I sprinted down the hallway toward her bedroom.
I threw the bedroom door open.
The sight that greeted me made my blood run cold.
Pieces of clothing were scattered across the floor.
A blouse.
A pair of jeans.
Undergarments.
They formed a clear trail leading straight toward the bathroom.
My stomach dropped.
Logan had already started moving in that direction, but I shot forward and grabbed his forearm before he could take another step.
"Wait in the living room with Hunter," I growled.
Logan's eyes dropped to where my hand gripped him before shifting toward the discarded clothes littering the floor.
Understanding immediately dawned across his face.
He glanced back toward Hunter and after a brief pause, he nodded and took a step backward.
"Don't forget to take a blanket," he muttered quietly before turning away and ushering Hunter back toward the living room.
The moment they disappeared from view, I snatched the comforter off the bed and stalked toward the bathroom.
Please don't let me be too late.
I pushed the bathroom door open and the first thing I noticed was the water.
Cold water soaked through my boots the second I stepped inside.
The tiled floor had flooded, water spreading across the room from the still-running bathtub faucet.
My heart lurched painfully. "Liora?"
I scanned the bathroom frantically.
The sink.
The shower.
The space beside the vanity.
Nothing.
My breathing turned uneven as I stepped deeper into the room.
Then my eyes landed on the bathtub.
Everything inside me stopped.
Liora was lying at the bottom of it, completely motionless beneath the cloudy water.
For a split second, my brain refused to process what I was seeing.
No.
No.
No.
"f*****g Christ!" I cursed, the words ripping from my throat as the blanket slipped from my grasp and hit the flooded floor.
Please don't do this to me, Liora.
Please.
Without wasting another second, I reached into the bathtub and gathered Liora into my arms.
Her skin was ice cold.
I shut off the running tap before carrying her out of the flooded bathroom. Water dripped from both of us, soaking into the carpet as I hurried toward the bedroom. The entire bathroom floor had been swallowed by water, leaving no space to lay her down safely.
My heart pounded so violently against my ribs that it hurt.
Please.
Please be okay.
I carefully lowered her onto the bed, brushing the wet strands of hair away from her face.
"Liora?" I called out, my voice rough with panic. "Liora, open your eyes."
There was no response.
I gently shook her shoulder.
Nothing.
The terrifying stillness surrounding her made my stomach twist.
I began chest compression, trying to get out the water she swallowed, pinching her nose and breathing into her mouth.
Nothing happened.
She remained unresponsive.
"Liora!" I barked louder, fear creeping into every syllable. "Come on! Wake up."
I forced myself to focus despite the chaos roaring inside my head. Wrapping the comforter securely around her small frame, I gathered her into my arms and carried her toward the bedroom door, every instinct screaming at me to move faster.
Then something on the floor caught my attention.
Several empty medication packets lay scattered beside the dresser.
I froze for half a heartbeat.
A horrible thought tried forcing its way into my mind.
I shoved it away immediately.
No.
I refuse to believe it.
Tightening my grip around her, I rushed into the living room.
The sound of hurried footsteps made Logan look up from where he had been pacing with his phone in hand.
The moment his eyes landed on Liora lying limp in my arms, all color drained from his face.
Hunter rose abruptly from the couch.
"Ryder..." Logan's voice came out strained as he stared at Liora. "Please tell me she's breathing."
I couldn't answer him.
Because for the first time in years, I had no idea how to fix what was happening.
I looked down at Liora's pale face before lifting my gaze back to Logan.
"Get the car ready," I ordered hoarsely, tightening my hold on her. "We're getting her to the hospital. Now."
No one argued.
Hunter was already moving.
Logan shoved his phone into his pocket and sprinted toward the front door. “She’s breathing, right?”
"She's breathing." I wasn't sure if I was trying to reassure Logan and Hunter...
...or myself.
"She has to be breathing," I repeated, my voice trembling as I hurried toward the elevator with Liora held tightly against my chest. "She has to be."
Her head rested limply against my shoulder, damp strands of hair sticking to her pale face.
The metallic doors finally slid open, and I rushed out of the building.
Hunter pulled the car around, while Logan opened the back door for me.
"Careful," he muttered.
As gently as my shaking hands allowed, I settled Liora across the back seat, refusing to let go of her for even a second.
Hunter climbed into the driver's seat.
"Hospital?" he asked.
"Drive," I barked. "Just f*****g drive!"
The tires screeched against the pavement as Hunter accelerated out of the parking lot.
I resumed CPR, compressing her chest, and blowing air into her mouth, hoping to hear her gasp, but none of that happened.
"Liora." My hand cradled the side of her face. "Hey,"
No response.
"Come on," I pleaded, brushing the wet hair away from her forehead. "You don't get to ignore me now."
Nothing.
From the front seat, Logan kept glancing back at us, his usual sarcasm nowhere to be found.
Hunter's hands gripped the steering wheel tightly enough that his knuckles had turned white.
And me?
I was falling apart.
Because beneath the panic…is guilt.
This is my fault.
This is my f*****g fault.
I pushed her into this.
- Writer
