I wake up to the bright light flooding the room we are in. The sound of birds chirping can be heard through the window. I am cuddled into Ryan's side. I cannot recall ever being this happy. I wrap my arms around Ryan and give him a tight hug.
He groans and wraps his arms around me and hug me back.
"This is what life should be like" Ryan says in his sleepy voice. A broad smile crosses my face. I agree. This is what life would have been like. It is what was meant for us.
I lay my head on his chest.
"I agree with you. What are we going to do today?" I ask Ryan. I am clearly far more awake than he is. I do not even sound sleepy anymore.
Ryan looks at me with one eye open. The other still closed.
"You are not going anywhere until you promise to wake up next to me for the rest of my life." He watches me a few seconds with his one open eye. Tiredness must have won because he closes his eye and taps my shoulder with his index finger. Clearly wanting an answer.
"That sounds very much like a proposal, Mr Morton." I tell him jokingly. It does sound like a proposal. With no ring.
Ryan groans softly and then suddenly wraps his arms tighter around me. He hugs me to him and rolls over so I am pinned between him and the bed.
"If you are going to give me a hard time for not having a ring ready..." he trails off while kissing me softly in the neck. He covers me in kisses while he rubs his body against mine. I can feel his arousal rubbing between my legs. ".... I have something far better than a ring."
I groan deeply as he slides into me.
"Say yes, be my Mrs Morton." He talks like he has a lot of control. I have lost all control the moment he kissed me. I moan with the pleasure of him making love to me.
"Yesss" I claw into his back with my nails. "Yes!"
* * * * * *
The next time I wake, it is to the ringing for Ryan's phone. He has a boring businessman's ringtone.
"Yes?" he sounds irritated when he answers. "What?" He goes silent when he listens to the person on the other side. I can feel the tension growing in his body.
"Stay safe. I will be there within the hour." Ryan is getting up while he is saying this. He walks to the bathroom and open the taps to the shower.
"Yes, will do" he ends the call and looks at me.
"We need to go. I will explain everything in the car." Ryan says and turns to head into the shower.
I get up quickly and pack everything that can be packed into Ryan's luggage. When he exits the shower, I head in quickly.
By the time I am done, Ryan has already set the luggage by the door. I get dressed quickly and tie my hair up in a wet bun. We leave the room, I give the area one last scan before closing the door and running after Ryan.
Ryan puts the luggage in his car and opens the passenger door for me. I get into the car and wait for Ryan to get into the car.
He is tensed and I can feel it in the air. He pulls the car out of the parking lot and slips effortlessly into traffic. As soon as we get onto the freeway, Ryan pushes the vehicle over the speed limit. He makes his way through the traffic as if they are not moving at all.
I want to ask Ryan what is going on but he seems to be lost in his thoughts.
His phone rings again. It is now connected to the car's sound system.
"Yes?" I look at Ryan. Does he always answer a phone like this? A sneaky smile tugs at my lips. I am grateful for the "Hey there little lamb" greetings I receive whenever he answers my calls.
The voice on the other side of the line comes over the sound system of the car.
"I have called for a helicopter to pick the women up from the roof. Ryan, we have to keep a watchful eye. We have slacked over the last two years. We are paying for it now. She is far more cunning than we are used to. And resourceful!" It sounds like Greyson's voice on the system.
I immediately gather that they are talking about Marcella. I feel a deep ache in my heart. I struggle for a moment to figure out if what I am feeling is hatred or fear.
I still fear her. She ruined my life! But then I honestly hate her for ruining my life. It is a volatile mixture of fear and hatred.
"What do you mean with she is now resourceful?" Ryan asks bluntly.
"She is not working alone. We thought we had good security on the island. She was on the island the entire time. When we left, we left on very short notice. She knew exactly where we were going. We arrived at our destination and she suddenly showed up. Honestly Ryan. I don't think we can stop her anymore."
"Okay, give me a moment. I am almost there." Ryan ends the call. He sounds defeated. His voice is tired and strained. I feel a deep pain in my chest for him. I wish he did not have to go through this.
"Ryan." I wait a second to see how he will react.
He looks at me and gives a watery smile. He places his hand on my knee and squeezes slightly.
"Yes, my little lamb?" his voice is so much nicer when he speaks to me. I feel like a queen. A queen of a very tortured king.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" I place my hand over his and give it a squeeze as well.
"Little lamb. Today, we just need to both survive." he looks at me again before focussing on the road ahead. "Please let us just get through today."
He pulls into an underground parking lot of a very tall building. He drives to the first visible elevator shaft. He stops right in front of it. He does not park the car. We get out of the car and walk towards the elevator.
"Ryan!" Adrien's voice echo's through the underground parking lot. We turn towards the direction where the call came from. Adrien has Ana by the hand. They are both running towards us. Adrien is soaking wet and so is Ana.
"What happened to you?" I ask Ana. She looks shaken.
"I will tell you as soon as I can." Ana tells me. Adrien pushes Ana towards me. She comes to stand next to me and I put my arm around her.
Ryan gives me a very worried look.
"Get Ana to the roof. The helicopter will come for you there." he gives me a quick hug and pushes me into the elevator as soon as it opens.
Ana stands next to me. She is shivering. I give her a worried look.
"That woman tried to drown me in an indoor pond." Ana says as she wraps her arms around herself.
"Marcella?" The disbelief in my voice comes as a shock to me. I have known this woman is the reason why we had to rush here.
"Yes!" There is a sheer look of fear on Ana's face as the elevator comes to a stop. The doors open slowly to reveal the rooftop of the building. There is markings of a helipad landing but there is no helicopter.
A security guard is standing next to the helipad. As soon as he sees Ana shivering even more in the cold wind blowing on the rooftop, he takes his jacket off and wraps it around her shoulder. She seems to calm a little for this gesture.
"Rachel. I honestly do not trust anyone. She has people working for her." Ana's voice is shaky from the cold.
I look at the security guard. There is a sadness in his eyes that seem to come from the fact that Ana does not trust him. He has devoted his life to making people feel safe and now his mere presence is making Ana feel unsafe.
"When will the helicopter be here?" I ask him while putting my arm around Ana. The cold wind against her wet body must feel like shards of ice piercing her skin.
"We are waiting for two more women ma'am" He looks at the elevator door where we came from. There is no sign of the other two women he is waiting for.
Bailey and Ellie must be on their way.
The security guard gets a message in his earpiece. He holds his hand over his ear and then looks towards the elevator doors. He starts walking towards the doors the same time as the sound of the approaching helicopter comes through the air.
The helicopter lands gracefully on the helipad and the doors to the elevator opens at the same time.
Bailey comes running out of the elevator as soon as the doors open wide enough for her to fit through. She is crying and stumbles on the step leading towards the helipad. The security guard catches her just before she hits the ground.