Ryker by Savannah Rylan

Author:Savannah Rylan [Rylan, Savannah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Goodreads: 48202103
Publisher: Pink Empire Publishing
Published: 2019-11-13T00:00:00+00:00

13

Ryker

I wrapped my arms around my daughter and felt her sigh into my stomach. My girl. My sweet, beautiful princess. The second I’d seen her shadow coming down the steps, I knew I didn’t have a lot of time. All I wanted was to see her. To hold her. To feel her in my arms and hear her breathing and feel her heart beating against my own. I dipped down and picked her up, feeling her wrap her legs around me. She whimpered into the crook of my neck, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck.

“Ariel,” I whispered.

“Don’t leave me again, Daddy. Please.”

Her words broke my heart. So many terrible decisions. So many “bad daddy” moments. I didn’t deserve a daughter like her. I didn’t deserve the love she had for me. I buried my face into her shoulder, kissing her and tightly clinging to her small frame. My Ariel had always been small. Petite, even as an infant. For a while there, doctors had been concerned. The ones I could afford to see told me to keep upping her caloric intake. They made her drink these loaded protein children’s drinks with all sorts of nonsense in them. Shakes I eventually had to put into ice cream and mix up just so she could get past the texture. She’d always been headstrong, though. Powerful. Like the red head of hair, she had framing her face.

And feeling her body shake against mine broke my heart.

“Are you all right? Are you okay?” I murmured.

She nodded. “Can we go home now?”

“I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure we can.”

“Why did you leave?”

“I had to, sweetheart. I wasn’t sure taking you from that soup restaurant was safe.”

“Why not?”

I sighed. “There are some bad guys doing some bad things right now. Daddy’s playing a very delicate game.”

She perked up. “I like games.”

I chuckled. “Not board games, honey.”

“Board games?”

I’d completely forgotten Kaylynn was in the room. And the second she piped up; I saw her peeping over her shoulder. She had her back turned to us, providing me with an opportune moment.

“Get behind me, Ariel. And stay there,” I said.

“Why?” she asked.

“Just do as I’m asking, okay?”

“It’s just Kaylynn. She’s not—”

“Now,” I said curtly.

Ariel sighed as she wiggled out of my arms and I stood in front of her. I postured, rolling my shoulders back as I watched this young woman slowly turn around. She looked unfazed by my growth, though. Unfazed by the broad shoulders and the jagged scar that split my face in half. In some ways, it was unnerving.

And in other ways, very telling.

Her lack of fear told me she’d experienced worse. And not simply experienced but had gotten used to worse. That punched me in my gut, too. Hard. On the outside, she seemed beautiful. A wonderful smile. A nice laugh. Kind enough, from my impression of her at the shop. Definitely had no personal ties to whatever it was she’d been mixed up in. I didn’t get the impression she worked for Lars.

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