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SURPRISE, SURPRISE

YARA

R yden and I spent the next two days at home. I had no desire to move my body from the comfort of my mattress or see the outside world. I just wanted to stay right here with Ryden, naked in bed.

Ryden nuzzled my neck with a groan. “I’m hungry. Do you want anything to eat?”

“Coffee,” I said, staring at the ceiling with a yawn, and Ryden chuckled.

“Are you still thinking about Logan?”

“I can’t stop thinking,” I said.

“I can make you forget,” he said, kissing me on my shoulder. I laughed. He really could.

“I’m already sore,” I said, and he smirked. “Go bring that coffee first.”

He walked out, naked, without a fucking care in the world.

I was finishing my coffee when I got a message.

TS: You’ll find a surprise waiting for you on your doorstep. Scratch that. Surprises. You’ll enjoy it. Also, darling, I will kill Ryden Sinclair sooner or later. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.

Fuck this.

Ryden and I walked downstairs in silence. When I opened the door… I gasped. My car was in the driveway, and it looked pristine, like someone had painstakingly cleaned it. The door was slightly ajar.

“Should I open it?” Ryden asked, and I nodded.

I stiffened when I saw a brown package sitting sullenly on the passenger seat. The package had a confidential sticker and my name scribbled on top of it. I ripped it open with a curse.

“What the hell’s that?” Ryden asked, grabbing a printed document from the pile.

“Detective Patel’s investigation report. His case notes.” I studied the papers like they were vile snakes and would come alive to bite me if I blinked. “He was… typing up a warrant to have my phone investigated.”

“Shit.”

“If that had happened…”

Should I thank the bastard for saving me? He did save me. Detective Patel was so close to breaking my life into pieces. My secrets would have come spilling out if he had.

There was a note taped on the inside. My hand was clammy and cold when I opened it.

A cold chill ran down my spine. My stomach churned with a mix of fear and dread. Was it… Irene? No, no. It couldn’tbe… no. Fuck no.

“What was he… talking about?” I whispered to myself, pulling away paper after paper, fear making my movements frantic and unsteady, until something slid between the pages and fell to the ground. Ryden picked it up, and his face went pale.

“What is that, Ryden? What the fuck is that?”

“I—I don’t know, but… I think…” Shaking his head, he handed me the picture.

My hands shook as I took the picture from him. My breath hitched, and I stumbled back a step, my eyes widening in horror at the image before me.

My heartbeat pounded in my ears, and my knees felt weak, as if they might give out at any moment. The picture slipped from my grasp, fluttering to the ground, but…

My phone vibrated with a new message.

TS: Your forty-eight hours start now. Will you save Sister Serena, Little Love, just like she saved you?