23.

                                    

                                          

"What are you doing here?" I ask as I look at Ryder. We were walking back to my hotel, it was already late so I knew no one would notice us. 
"You need me" he said as he blew out the smoke from his cigarette. "What makes you say that?" 
He took another puff of his cigarette before putting it out and looking at me. 
"Because you're a mess and everyone might think you're taking care of yourself but you don't. Your weight loss is not because you work out a lot, it's because you don't eat"
His gaze scanned over my body. He knew he was right. 
"You're trying to forget a guy by sleeping with guys you don't really like, they break you even more Aimée" 
I looked down, Verstappen definitely broke me even more. He lied, used me for his advantage and now I had to act as if nothing happened because I worked for him and I didn't want to hurt Kelly.
"Who's the guy you're trying to forget anyways?" He asked as he looked at me. "Lando" I quickly mumbled. 
"Not the guy who visited you last night I assume?" 
I shook my head. He didn't say anything, he just scoffed a little.
"But why are you really here? Not to protect me from guys or to make sure I eat healthy, right?" 
He shook his head with a chuckle. "Let's go inside first" he said as he put his hand against my back and guided me back to my room. 
We didn't talk on our way to my hotel room, we just walked in silence next to each other. 
It felt nice to have him by my side, I don't know why but I felt safe with him. 
He would do everything to keep me safe. Everything. 
Maybe I could ask him to kill Lara, he would definitely do that for me. 
Okay no, bad idea. 
We walked in my hotel room and I immediately sat down on the edge of my bed. 
"Your dad visited Jamie, he threatened her to tell him where you were" Ryder said as he leaned against the wall. 
Why didn't Jamie tell me that? Probably not to scare me. 
"He's after you Aimée, I don't know why, but I don't think he just wants to talk to you" 
He obviously didn't just want to talk to me, he never just wants to talk. 
I shrugged my shoulders. "I am not scared of him" 
"But you should be scared Aimée. You should be prepared" he crossed his arms in front of his chest. 
"Where were you for five years though? We all thought you were dead" I looked at him. 
I couldn't believe he was alive all this time. I wish he reached out to me, I missed him so much. 
"I was on a mission Aimée, undercover. I couldn't reach out to anyone" he said as he softened a little. 
He walked up to me and kneeled down in front of me. 
He grabbed my hands and held them softly. "I am so sorry, I never thought I would be gone for five years" 
We had such a strong connection, he was never soft, never. 
But for me he was. 
That's why I was so confused why he didn't even try to reach out. 
I sighed. "I am happy you're here now" 
"Me too" he said as he wrapped my arms around me and we hugged for a while. We both needed this hug. 
"Now tell me all about this guy who you're trying to forget, do I need to kill him?" He laughed as he laid down next to me on the bed. 
I laughed as I turned my face to him. "Please no, but you can kill this bitch who stole him from me" I obviously didn't mean that. 
Hopefully he would know that. 
"I might have a better idea" he smirked as he looked at me.