Out of Bounds

Part 3

"Where the hell is he... He said he'd be back by at least 3:00... No you don't get it... we don't have time for this... She'll be awake any second god damnit!"

His phone came crashing down on the table with a resounding thud. Frustrated he ran his hands through his hair and took a sip of his black coffee. Minutes later Ryder strolled in, his regular airs about him.

"What the hell man?! Where have you been?"

"Taking care of something okay. Don't get so heated, I'm here now Gun." Ryder spoke coolly.
Ryder walked over to where Aspen slept. They had put her on a small couch with what ever bandaging they could find over her wound. Slowly he ran a gentle finger over her forehead. For the first time in his life, he didn't feel right doing this. Not to her. Not like this. But he couldn't understand why so he quickly pushed the thoughts out of his head.

"Give her another shot, move her to the big house in an hour." Ryder ordered clearly in his deep voice.

"Okay, I'll meet you there?" Gunner asked.

"Yeah. And Gun, be gentle with her k?"

A small snicker came from gunner. "Whatever you say boss.. Eh, why is this girl special? Do you fancy her?" A smirk formed on his face.

"No! I just want her in one piece when I get there." Ryder quickly retorted back. In his head he asked himself that same question again though, worried that he didn't know the answer.
~~~
Confused and angered, I awoke in a room with nothing but the bed that I lay on in the center. Although I wanted to make sense of what was happening, my mind was too foggy to register anything. Bruises littered the crease in my right arm.

"God damn it." I cursed aloud.

Nobody, not even the most skilled nurses, could find my veins. They're so hard to find I had figured they were invisible. My blood boiled knowing that they, whoever they were with Ryder, had drugged me for who knows how long. My eyes registered on the door that was to my right. Slowly pulling myself off the bed, I headed toward it, hoping to god I could get out of here, wherever here was.

Immediately I felt the room spin, bile rising in my throat. While I stopped for a minute to regain my balance I noticed a small camera in the upper left hand corner of the room. Goosebumps appeared on my arms and I tried my hardest not to imagine why they would want a camera in here. With a few dizzy hobbled steps I made it to the door. To my surprise it was open and I slowly turned the knob.

Outside of the room was a dimly lit rounded hallway that spiraled into a grand staircase. From my point of view it looked as if I was on the top of 3 floors. There were many doors on this floor but not a clue as to what lay behind them. Taking soft and slow steps, I made my way to the entrance of the stairway. The burgundy velvet carpet felt soft against my bare feet making me realize that my socks and boots were gone.

When I got to the mouth of the stairs, I stood with my toes on the edge of the first step and peered down, trying to see what was on the lower floors. All of a sudden a strange dizziness hit me, my eyes beginning to see small black dots. Although I grabbed onto the banister it was no use, I collapsed to the ground and my eyes faded to black.

~~~

"Eat. Please aspen, you need to." Ryder tried to coax for the thousandth time.

My head ached from fainting and my stomach gurgled with hunger. I was in a different room now -a nicer room- with plush pillows and fancy wallpaper. Ryder sat by my side, a spoon full of chicken soup in his hand, trying to feed it to me despite my resistance.

"Tell me where I am. I will eat then and only then. Until you do, I will be more than happy to starve." My anger overruled my fear when it came to Ryder. The whole situation made me scared beyond belief but he only made me angry and stubborn.

A long sigh came from Ryder. Forcefully putting down the spoon he got up and started to wander the room, his hands pulling at his hair. He turned around, his gaze landing on me, frustration embedded in his eyes. I could tell that something more than my refusal to eat was definitely bothering him.

His stare was so fixated on me I couldn't help but stare back. I began to study all his features again, his defined jaw was now clenched, the allure in his eyes glazed over with worry. Embarrassment flooded me as I realized that he still made me so god damn turned on. God, how can someone bad be so good?

Just then, a man opened the door urgently and walked in. He was shorter than Ryder but shared the same rugged bad boyish look. My mind tried to search and see if I recognized him from when I tried to escape but the memory was too blurry to remember details.

"Xavier wants to see her tonight in the main room. Get her bathed and dressed by 7 and have her waiting there for him." The man said in a low voice, the demand evidently nonnegotiable. The way he spoke about me, almost spitting out the word her, made me feel uneasy.

"Okay, thanks Gun." Ryder responded.

Gunner gave me a queasy smile and a wink before leaving the room.

I could feel my hands begin to shake but I tried to steady them while finding the courage to speak up.

"W-who's Xavier and what does he want with m-me?" And although I tried my hardest to sound brave, my voice shook too.