Page 34 of Straight to You

RYDER

I don’t know how long it’s been since Kyle left, but he’s back.

My bladder is screaming at me with the pain of not being able to go to the bathroom.

He sits right in front of me with an eerily calm expression and I want to get the fuck away from him, except I can’t move.

My wrists still burn against the rope that’s been digging into my skin for hours—or is it days?

I’ve lost all concept of time being stuck in this dark, musty basement.

Based on our last interaction, I have no idea how this will go or what he has planned.

I don’t know how to handle this situation, either.

I want him to know he’s out of his fucking mind if he ever thinks I’ll willingly accept this, but I also have no idea what he’s capable of.

The only thing allowing me to bite my tongue is the hope of seeing Logan again.

Kyle taps his fingers against my knees, and my body recoils. I loathe the way his touch feels.

“Do you ever wonder why I picked you, angel?”

I swallow the bile threatening to rise in my throat at the feel of his touch and that question because I don’t care. I don’t want to hear whatever twisted story he’s told himself to pretend this is normal.

“If you’re about to start monologuing about how I’m your soulmate or whatever, save it. I’ve told you repeatedly—I’m not interested. And I’m not that character from the book. The only person I need saving from is you.”

His smile doesn’t falter, and that has my concern rising. What is his game here?

“You’re perfect for me,” he starts. “You are my soulmate, Ryder. I heard you and had to have you. The way you gave yourself over so completely. The way you said you wanted to be protected and cherished. That was you , Ryder. The real you. Not this hard-edged, defensive version in front of me now.”

I stay silent, knowing nothing I say will help me in this situation.

“I’d been waiting for you, praying for God to bring you to me, even if I didn’t know who you were yet.

I was getting restless in my life, and then my prayers were answered.

” His voice turns almost wistful as if he’s imagining it.

“I knew the second I heard your voice and the words you were saying that you were meant to be mine.”

I still don’t respond.

“Your voice guided me and gave me purpose. I didn’t even know what I was looking for until I found you.

The way you begged for a chance to make him happy…

I knew I could save you the same way he did.

” He closes his eyes and smiles. “I felt your obedience and devotion for your partner, and that was when I knew I had to have you for myself.”

I stare at him, stunned, nauseated, frozen in disbelief.

“I knew you were talking to me. I knew you were waiting for someone who saw you, and I did. Just like I told you, I see everything, Ryder. Every part you try to hide.” He leans in, voice dropping to a whisper, then gestures between us. “This isn’t random. I found you because I was supposed to.”

My chest heaves as I struggle to process this. He doesn’t think this is a sick obsession. He thinks it’s fate. He thinks I exist solely for him, and there’s no reasoning with someone who thinks God co-signed their insanity.

“It’s like you wanted me to find you with how much you post online, too,” he says, voice low and steady. “But those days are over now. No one else gets to see you or have you but me.”

He leans in slightly, and I wish I could move away.

“All I had to do was contact my uncle to get the job at the department. You have no idea how easy it was. And the fact that you lived here? It proved it was meant to be. That first night at the bar, when you looked at me, I thought maybe you’d recognize it too.

But then I saw him and how he hovered around you as if he had some claim.

I watched the way he twisted you up, made you believe he was the one you needed. ” His expression tightens.

I grit my teeth. Logan is the only one I need, and I need him to be okay. He’d be the only person who’d know Kyle took me and the only one who’d come looking. I’m positive he’d burn the world down to find me, so I need him to be okay.

I force myself to stay still and keep my face blank. I’ll never be his anything. Not now. Not ever.

“It’s okay that you’re confused right now.

I get it. I used to think he was the one, too,” Kyle murmurs, almost nostalgic in thought again.

“I gave him everything—my time, my patience, my love—but it wasn’t real.

I was trying to force something that didn’t exist, just like Logan’s been trying to do with you. ”

Who the hell is he talking about?

“He found me right after my mom died. I was angry and alone, and he was perfect for me at first. We were good for a while, but then he started pulling away, saying I was too much and that he needed space.” Kyle’s mouth twitches in anger.

“He stopped answering my calls, blocked my number, and moved to a different state. He tried to date someone else, like I was something he could run from.”

He looks at me, and this time there’s nothing soft behind it.

“He couldn’t see what was right in front of him. He fought me and denied what we had over and over, and it started to irritate me.”

I don’t want to engage, but I need to know what he’s talking about. “What happened to him, Kyle?”

Kyle sighs, shaking his head like he genuinely pities the guy. “He made choices, Ryder. I warned him what would happen if he kept pushing me away, but he didn’t listen.”

The nausea rises so fast I nearly choke on it.

“You know, people like him…they twist everything. I gave him love, but he was too broken to see it. He pushed me until I had no choice.” He sighs before continuing.

“It’s heartbreaking, really, what he did to himself.

But actions have consequences. I warned him what would happen—begged him to stop running from what we had. ”

He leans forward slightly, voice softening like he’s trying to console me.

“But maybe that pain had a purpose because it brought me here to you. And I don’t want you to end up like him.

You still have time to learn, angel. Know that I’m patient—so patient—but even patience wears thin when someone keeps hurting you after you’ve done nothing but try to love them.

You don’t want to keep making that mistake, do you? ”

I blink, unsure I heard what he’s insinuating correctly. “What do you mean? What did you do to him?”

“He wouldn’t stop fighting me. I gave him chance after chance, and he kept throwing my loyalty back in my face. He made his choice when he refused to stop. His death was his decision.”

Oh god. Kyle killed someone because they didn’t love him back, and in his head, it wasn’t murder.

It was their fault.

He truly doesn’t see anything wrong with this.

My heart slams into my ribs. “You…you killed him?”

Kyle shrugs, but his expression is calm. “He gave me no choice. I warned him, and he still chose not to listen. His death was his fault, just like Logan’s was.”

My stomach lurches, and this time, it doesn’t stop.

The nausea claws up my throat too fast to swallow down, and I vomit right onto Kyle’s shoes and pants.

My whole body shakes as I gasp for air, bile burning my throat, and tears threaten to fall.

I hate how powerless I feel at this moment.

I have no idea what to do or how to survive this, except to start complying.

Even if he thinks I’m part of his divine plan, he just made it clear that he’d still be willing to kill me.

He’s done it before, and now I know, he’d do it again.

Kyle stares down at the mess, and for a moment, I can’t tell what he’s going to do—yell, shove me, snap entirely. Kill me .

But then he does something worse.

He smiles.

A small, eerie smile that barely touches his eyes. “You’re overwhelmed,” he says, almost tenderly. “I hate that it’s so hard for you, angel,” he murmurs. “But I’m doing this for us, and maybe now, you’ll get that.”

He crouches down in front of me again, totally unfazed by the vomit. “Can’t you see how much I love you?” he asks, brushing a hand through my hair. “Once we leave this place, everything will be easier. I’ve built the perfect home for us. You’ll be so good for me, won’t you?”

The air in the basement shifts because he’s serious.

He’s going to make me disappear, lock me away somewhere no one can find me, and call it love even though he has no idea what love truly is.

His expression darkens slightly as he studies me, then he sighs.

“I have to do this, Ryder. You’ll understand when we get there. ”

Panic crashes over me as he reaches into his pocket. I jerk against the ropes, raw skin screaming, but it’s no use. My heart races as I see the syringe.

“You’re stubborn,” he says, almost admiringly. “That’s why I have to protect you from yourself. That’s why you need me, Ryder. I’ll save you.”

He steps forward, and I thrash as hard as I can, but it doesn’t matter because I can’t move. My wrists feel like they’re bleeding from the rope burn.

He uncaps the needle with his teeth and jabs it into my neck.

“Shh,” he whispers. “You’ll thank me for this. We’ll be home soon.”