Chapter 26

I watched as Ryder stepped back into the ring. This was it, this was the final round of the match and both Ryder and the other guy had bloody faces. After the second round had finished, I had told Ryder another pep talk and sent him back out.

He can do this. He can do this.

He once fell because of a hit to the hip, where his wound was, but instantly got back up.

The bell chime signaled the start of the last round and I was silently whooping and cheering to myself and for Ryder.

He had to win this. He had to!

My heart suddenly dropped when the opponent struck Ryder's face with a hard hit and Ryder stumbled into the corner.

Shit, he was trapped.

There were only forty seconds left in the round. If Ryder could make it just forty more seconds...

His rival kept punching him deeper into the corner and Ryder kept blocking, but he had no chance now.

Thirty seconds Ryder...

For a second, I thought that Ryder would be able to make it out of the corner and finally beat him, but when he had his perfect shot, the other guy pushed him back and Ryder was desperately trying to win.

Fifteen seconds.

"Come on Ryder!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs but everyone else was already cheering for the other guy.

Ten seconds.

And then his opponent, 'Ace', knocked him to the ground.

Ryder had just lost the championships.

•••

"Hey sleepyhead..." I said when I walked into Ryder's room. His face was looking better now from the mild concussion that Ace had caused.

"Here." I grabbed the glass of water on his bed stand and he urgently gulped the liquid down.

I chuckled and he sighed, putting the water glass down. He tried sitting up but groaned in pain from the bruises on his ribs and abdomen.

"Here, let me help you." I said and gently held his torso and lifted him in an upright position. Feeling his hard abs through the soft fabric had me blushing all over again. "Let me see your abdomen wound, we need to replace the gauzes." I said.

"Look who's taken advice from Dr. Ryder." He wiggled his eyebrows and smirked.

"Shut up... I've watched all 12 seasons of Grey's Anatomy, so I'm practically a doctor."

While he took off his shirt, I couldn't help but stare. I'm pretty sure it's illegal for someone to be this hot and perfect.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." He broke me out of my gaze with a smirk and I blushed bright red. He started to take off his pants.

"What the hell are you doing?" I said, shocked.

He pulled off his pants before I could argue and all that he was in now were some gray Calvin Klein boxers. I saw the low 'v' of his abdomen swoop below the band of his briefs.

"Taking off my pants so you can put the gauze on, duh." He replied easily.

"Oh, okay then..." I said awkwardly as I grabbed the fresh new gauze. Ryder sat still on the bed while with my shaky and nervous hands, I applied the bandage. Since it was on his lower half, I had to gently pull back the band of his boxers. My fingers lingered a bit too long on his skin before I jerked away.

"Thanks." He spoke finally. His eyes glimmered with joy, I think. He laid back down on the bed and watched me. "How'd we get back here?"

"After you got knocked out," he cringed, "I took you to that hospital nearby and they said you had a mild concussion. You woke up a few times to barely eat, but fell asleep right after. It was really freaking hard getting your lazy ass into the plane, you know." I joked and he laughed.

We fell into a silence and I heard his deep sigh. "I lost." He whispered quietly.

"Yeah," I nodded, "but it's okay. There's always next year."

He looked into my eyes with his soft brown ones. "Thanks for making my trip worthwhile, Ruby."

My heart did little backflips and boogie dances while I grinned spastically. "Anytime."

I thought of another question. "And Ryder, what happened to Borshkaschov and the others?"

He frowned. "Who's that?"

"Sorry, I meant Enir. The Russian who kidnapped me. Leader of the Silents." The memories came haunting back.

"Oh, that crazy dude. Well, while you were in the hospital, I called the police and showed them the location. As for the two bodyguards, I made one pass out and the other..." he drifted off.

"What about the other?" I asked, placing my hand over his.

"I-I killed him. I killed him Ruby." He said sadly.

"Hey," I squeezed his hand.

"The police told me that I was good to go since it was self-defense, but I still killed that man. I still took an innocent life."

"He was no innocent man, Ryder. And yes, you did kill him, but like the police said, it was purely self-defense. You couldn't do anything about it."

He shook his head and mumbled something under his breath but I couldn't catch it.

Standing up slowly, I gave Ryder's hand one last squeeze before telling him I had to go.

I was almost out of the room when Ryder's voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Ruby?" He asked.

I turned to give him a small smile. "Yeah?"

He gazed into my eyes and I watched his lips move. "Stay."

My heart was beating so fast and I'm pretty sure it skipped a beat, too. Instead of answering, I walked back over to Ryder's bed and laid down next to him, where he pulled the blankets up to our shoulders and I nestled my neck in the crook of his arm.

He softly kissed my head and snuggled closer. "Goodnight Ruby."

I smiled under the blanket. "Goodnight Ryder."